Moving Mountains: An Exploration of National Physical Delivery Options

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Moving MountainsAn Exploration of National
Physical Delivery Options

• Valerie Horton
• Executive Director
• Colorado Library Consortium

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Patchwork Quilt of Couriers

Green courier service White no known
courier service Gray partial
service INCOMPLETE DATA
Courtesy of Brenda Bailey-Hainer Exec Director,
BCR
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Courier Organization

• Formed around political or geographic regions
• Statewide
• City-county library systems
• Colleges and universities only
• Formed around organizations consortium
• MINITEX, AMIGOS (TexShare)
• Orbis Cascade Alliance, CLiC, OhioLInk

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GIS Map courtesy of Brenda Bailey-Hainer, BCR
Example Widespread Statewide Participation
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Example Multiple State Courier Systems
MINITEX Examplehttp//www.minitex.umn.edu/deliver
y 
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Example Partial Participation -- This is common
nationally
Orbis Cascade Alliance http//www.orbiscascade.or
g/courier/index.htm
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Current Delivery Services
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Delivery Methods

• Managed fleet of trucks and drivers
• ADV Greater control and customization
• Contracts with commercial vendor
• Regional vendors
• National vendors (UPS/FedEx)
• ADV Less liability and share costs with film,
  photo, pharmacies, etc.

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Current Service Arrangements (cont)

• 3. Hybrid use both commercial vendor and
  self-managed
• 4. Central source deliveries to hubs, locally
  managed delivery to libraries

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A Commonality Among Library Couriers

• Volume and demand are growing!

Courtesy Brenda Bailey-Hainer
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Rapid Courier Growth

• Colorado moves 5 million
• Wisconsin moves 11 million
• TAE/TExpress 735,831

COLORADO STATISTICS
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Example Why has Colorado had rapid growth?

• Long history of success (early 1980s)
• Wide spread participation across the state
• Social pressure
• PAC-Integrated, patron-direct request
• Low cost (state subsidy)
• Plus high volume charges

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Couriers are Cost Effective

• 2003 LRS study found
• US Mail, UPS or FedEx would cost Colorado 1.4 to
  2.1 million more than the courier
• Duplicated the study now results Summer 2007
• www.lrs.org search on courier
• Other state studies have duplicated these
  findings
• 2005 local library study found they spent 25
  CENTS per courier transaction

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Models for Creating a National Courier System

• Linked regional couriers
• Nationally managed courier service
• User centric model - Library 2.0

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Linked Regional Couriers Need Four Legs

• You need an ordering system
• You need a delivery systems
• You need line-hauls and sorting hubs
• You need national standards for package label

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1. Ordering System

• LINKED Interlibrary Loan Software
• National system OCLC
• Statewide or regional software
• OCLC-PICA, INNReach, Uris, Auto-Graphics, etc.
• Self-written software
• Hospitals, State of Georgia
• KEY POINT Patron Placed Holds
• Caveat Easy to use patron placed holds

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2. Delivery System

• Systems (regions) of libraries with courier
  delivery
• Contiguous systems
• Connection points between contiguous systems

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3. Line Hauls and Sorting Hubs
Line Hauls
Sorting Hubs
Minitex and Wisconsin link between delivery
systems
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4. National Standards

• Standardized labeling
• Allow for easy sorting at hubs
• Mail to and Return addressing
• Codes? Other?
• Standardized or at least sharable packaging
• Totes, large bags, individual packages

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Different Labels
Sample Shipping Log Form Shipper
_____________________ SHIPPING
LOG__________________________ (Pick-up
Date) Transaction Destination Contents 154-
receiver - date -1 154- -2 154- -3 etc.
Colorado Library Courier TO AD-12-SCH Use
Library Courier Code DATE
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Different Packaging
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National CourierSystem
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A Truly National System Would Have

• Centralized administration
• Standardized pricing
• Economy of scale lower prices?
• ILL software interconnectivity
• 48 (50) state buy in
• Federal funding

• Shared standards
• Shared packaging
• Significantly faster turn around time than US
  Mail
• 2 to 3 days
• Lost/damaged replacement fund
• INSURANCE

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Some Entity Provides Infrastructure

• Who
• Manages it, sets standards, markets it, fixes
  problems, etc?
• Provides a fleet of vehicles or contracts out to
  commercial vendor(s)?
• Options
• Non-profits like AMIGOS or BCR?
• An association like ALA or ALA Division?
• A nationwide for-profit vendor?

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Some Delivery Companies who Already are
Nationwide
Map of Velocity Express Hubs
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Could we Create a Wal-Mart-like Supply Chain
Future?

• Standardized RFID tags
• Regional warehouses of popular materials
• Supply chain
• Library vendor delivery materials
• Books, labels, supplies, etc via the courier
• Possible connection to home delivery services

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The Obstacles

• How do you price a national system?
• Must cost less and be faster than US Mail
• Is there a cost per each sort or line haul?
• Geographic price neutrality? Alaska/Hawaii
• What about states that dont have a courier or
  have only partial couriers?
• Is there POLITICAL will to do this?
• Can we agree on standards?

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Which Directionare our PATRONSGoing?
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User Expectations are High

• One day turnaround expected
• Daily multiple delivery times
• Monday thru Saturday delivery
• Weather, mountains passes, natural or man-made
  disasters shouldnt be an obstacle

Source of Brenda Bailey-Hainer
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Library 2.0

• Based on Web 2.0 work
• Focus from users perspective of fulfillment
• Library has it, buys it, borrows it, or steals it
• In this vision, the library makes items
  available
• wherever
• whenever, and in
• whatever format the user requires it
• Source Lori Bowen Ayre LBAyre_at_galecia.com

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Is a National Courier the Right Direction to Go?

• What users really want?
• FREE service
• Easy searching (Google-like)
• Easy requesting
• Quick turnaround
• Home Delivery
• Easy drop-in the mail returns

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What Next?

• International Courier Symposium held in Denver
  Sept 14 15, 2006
• http//www.clicweb.org/couriersymposium/
• Clearinghouse for physical delivery issues
• LISTSERV, best practice documents, links to other
  courier services, etc.
• Working Groups
• ALA Annual Conference Program

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ConclusionFirst we have todecide where
wewant to end up?