Leipzig Municipal Libraries: Online ordering system for class sets and media boxes
Category: Civil Society
Challenge title
Leipzig Municipal Libraries: Online ordering system for class sets and media boxes
Question
Which digital solutions can be used to make the order management of media boxes and class sets transparent, appealing and reliable in planning for educators and teachers?
Challenge description
The Leipzig Municipal Libraries (LSB) offer teachers and educators an extensive stock of class sets and media boxes. This is intended to relieve the financial burden on families. Educators can benefit from the libraries’ current reading and market knowledge in terms of efficient reading promotion (= contemporary).
The stock includes about 120 class sets and 60 media boxes with about 10.000 copies. The ordered class sets can be made available at special rental conditions through all 15 district libraries. In the school year 2020/2021, approximately 600 class sets were borrowed.
In order to make the selection and ordering system transparent, viewable and informative for the intermediaries, an effective and secure digital solution is being sought.
The task and challenge: Online availability of class sets and media boxes, ordering on the desired date, booking and timely provision of all copies. Monitoring of loan deadlines and timely return so that a smooth ordering process and thus lesson planning can be guaranteed.
Current system: Neither the class set nor the media box loan can currently be viewed and planned externally with regard to availability. The order is managed by handwritten calendar (see photos). The individual media are booked manually via the library management system Sisis-SunRise. Educators have to call the public library to check availability and make reservations. For each order, an order form is created with details such as school, name, user card number, number, additional media and filed by date of availability. A member of staff uses these order forms to check the class sets or media boxes to be made available on a daily basis. These can also be obtained from other branches via the in-house transport service. Before collection or transport, the media are booked on the respective user account/library management system. An enclosed list of all media is printed out and additionally enclosed. Accordingly, a transport time is to be taken into account in alignment with the routes.
The flow chart of the current process can be found in the attachment.
Vision / Expected Result
With this challenge we seek an externally operable and viewable, secure and user-friendly ordering tool that uses an interface to the library management system. This is intended to dissolve the current paper management system and replace it with an interactive, modern and digital solution.
Users and target group of the desired solution are:
- Eligible educators and media promoters according to §2 No. 7 Statutes LSB, who have a user account. Online access is a prerequisite.
- Library staff members who are entrusted with the management and provision of class sets and media boxes.
The Leipzig municipal libraries use the library management system Sisis-SunRise from the company OCLC. A corresponding interface to the stock information as well as to the user account has to be evaluated and, if necessary, developed in cooperation with the system provider.
Consideration of accessibility (Act on the Implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies Barrier-free Websites Act).
Contact
Robby Elstner,
Head of the Children’s and Youth Library Department
Tel.: +49 (0)341 123-5339
E-Mail: robby.elstner@leipzig.de
Björn Röhricht
Online-Services
Tel.: +49 (0)341 123-5379
E-Mail: bjoern.roehricht@leipzig.de
Further information
- Website Leipzig Municipal Libraries https://stadtbibliothek.leipzig.de/(external Link)
- Leipzig Municipal Libraries – overview media boxes and class sets
https://stadtbibliothek.leipzig.de/kita-und-schule (external Link) - Library management system Sisis-SunRise (https://www.oclc.org/de/sunrise.html)(external Link)
- Use Case – class set lending process (PDF, 1.33 MB)