July, 2020 - 2021
MARINet
RFID Consultant
The MARINet consortium is composed of nine multitype libraries in Marin County. They have decided to move forward as a consortium to implement RFID. Lori Ayre is on retainer to support this process.
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Projects
2017-2018
Stark County District Library
Library Materials Handling Strategy Analysis
Stark County District Library was pursuing a series of initiatives to minimize redundancy in materials handling practices and reduce the time staff spend in the back office so they can spend more time out in the library engaging with customers in a variety of ways. The Library’s strategic vision included a dramatic reduction of materials handling activities in each branch and the elimination of service desks. Instead of working behind desks, the expectation is that staff will work with patrons side-by-side in the branches and spend more time delivering high-quality programming inside and outside of the library buildings. In order to achieve this vision, the Library explored a “pure central processing” strategy in which material is returned at each library location but only checked in at a central sorter. This workflow would be supported by two times daily delivery service. The expectation is that this approach would result in material check-in within a four hour window, physical delivery turnaround times of no more than 36 hours and a traditional “bookdrop” workflow for patrons. The Library sought consulting assistance to analyze the “pure central processing” strategy and to identify critical elements of a materials handling strategy that would allow the Library to achieve their strategic vision.
2018
Barrie Public Library
Library Materials Handling Consultation, Team Building and Leadership Development Workshops
The Barrie Public Library is a two branch system based in Barrie, Ontario. The Library serves one of the fastest growing communities in Canada and the Library expects to grow to a six branch system by 2031, with the first two branches proposed for 2022 and 2024. The Library seeks assistance in achieving higher levels of service performance and increasing efficiencies especially in the area of holds process, sorting, and delivery.
The scope of work with The Galecia Group includes a combination of materials handling analysis and recommendations provided by Lori Ayre along with change management, team building and leadership development workshops delivered by Cheryl Gould.
2018
NorthNet Library Systems
Library Resource-Sharing and Physical Delivery Consultation
NorthNet Library System was seeking assistance evaluating their physical delivery options for libraries interested in joining the Link+ resource-sharing network. Link+ is a very popular resource sharing network that is composed of a software component (INN-Reach by Innovative Interfaces) and physical delivery of items (provided by Tricor).
The goal of the engagement is to develop a solution for fairly distributing the total cost of Link+ between existing Link+ libraries and the new ones so that no current library pays more than their current costs and to develop a delivery model for getting items where they need to be in an acceptable time frame.
2016-2018
Faith in the City
"Faith in the City" Digital Mapping Project
"Faith in the City: Chicago's Religious Diversity in the Era of the World's Fair" [Note: the exhibit is currently offline while The Newberry re-organizes their digital exhibits.] is a digital humanities project focused on religious movements and figures in Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The project, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Newberry Library, displays hundreds of historical points as well as essays from over a dozen prominent scholars related to the theme. The map technology allows visitors to toggle between a custom-generated modern map layer of Chicago and a georeferenced panoramic map from the 1890s, seeing how neighborhoods and the city itself have changed in the past 120 years.
2016-2017
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Library Automated Materials Handling (AMH) and RFID Consultation
Engagement with Charlotte Mecklenburg as they plan their transition from barcodes to RFID and from manual processing to automated materials handling. They Library is in the unusual position of having to renovate one of the branches and will introduce their first automated materials handling system there. In order to plan how best to transition to RFID systemwide and how best to use automated materials handling, Lori Ayre has worked with the Library to evaluate potential vendors. With Ayre's support, the Library has selected an AMH vendor and will roll-out a longer term plan for implementing RFID in a way that will reduce the workload for Library staff throughout the transition. The project is ongoing.
2015-2017
Peninsula Library System
Library Consortium Feasibility Analysis and Procurement for Central Automated Materials Handling
Peninsula Library System (PLS) is a consortium of nine libraries providing. PLS hosts a shared integrated library system (Sierra) and provides delivery services to 41 locations daily. PLS asked Lori Ayre to provide a feasibility analysis for implementing an automated materials handling system to replace the manual sorting done by couriers.
Ayre evaluated the delivery volume, materials movement patterns, courier sorting, presorting done at the libraries, delivery turnaround times, and other aspects of the operation. She provided the PLS Council with several options for consideration including adding a smaller sorter that would operate two waves of sorting, a larger sorter for sorting all material in one wave, providing batch check-in of incoming deliveries at the libraries, and adding an additional delivery day on the weekends.
2017
Cambridge Public Library
Library Automated Materials Handling (AMH) Consultation
Cambridge Public Library was in the process of renovating two of their branches, Main and the Valente branch. Lori Ayre was brought in to work with the architects on both projects to help the Library identify ways to improve the materials handling workflows at each of the libraries. In both cases the architect teams were well into the Design Development phase so the options were limited as to what could be done. Materials handling considerations especially when automated materials handling is being considered should happen early (Schematic Design) so as to provide the most affordable options for optimizing workflows.
2016-2017
San Mateo Public Library
Library Automated Materials Handling Consultation and Procurement
Worked with San Mateo Public Library to replace the existing automated materials handling system with a state-of-the-art system. Project involved consultation related to RFID and automated materials handling configuration options and includes development of RFP, guiding the library through the procurement process and assisting with selection of a new system.
The existing system was installed in 2006 and provides convenient patron returns from numerous locations including drive-up returns, outside walk-up returns and two inside returns. The project will include evaluating options for retaining some of the conveyance and only upgrading the sorter as well as full-scale replacement of all components. Ayre worked closely with the team to develop specifications for the new system and guided them through the procurement process. The new system has been successfully implemented and is now up and running.
2017
The Newberry Library, AHCB Website
Website Development - Atlas of Historical County Borders
Historians and genealogists searching for historical records can often be challenged by geographical changes over time. As county and state borders have shifted throughout US history, locating physical records can be tricky. Over