Excellence Gateway
Published: 01 February 2010
This case study was produced by JISC Regional Support Centre for South West on behalf of the Excellence Gateway.
Sector relevance: Further education and Sixth Form colleges
Keywords: Improving responsiveness to learners, improving institutional effectiveness, library services, impact on learners (quality improvement), monitoring improvements (quality improvement), electromagnetic self-issue library system
Exeter College decided to investigate whether it could introduce a self-issue library system that would make more effective use of staff time in providing services to College users (ie learners and staff) and increase the efficiency of the library.
Established in 1970, Exeter College was the first tertiary college in England.
Rated the top performing further education college in Devon in Government league tables, published in January 2010, it offers a wide choice of full- and part-time courses and training programmes to students aged 14 to 19, ranging from NVQs, Apprenticeship schemes, and national Diplomas, to A-levels and the International Baccalaureate.
Exeter College has close ties with the University of Plymouth, the University of Exeter, the University College Plymouth St Mark and St John, and Bicton College, offering many higher education qualifications accredited to these institutions, ranging from Foundation Degrees to BA Hons.
The main challenge was to embed the self-issue system within the College's current library management system (LMS), whilst ensuring that it would be secure and easy for learners and staff to use.
Different models and systems were investigated, including RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which has the additional benefit of enabling multiple items to be issued concurrently.
Implementing RFID, however, necessitated the purchase of new security gates and retagging of existing library stock. Ultimately, the College decided to invest in three EM (Electro Magnetic) self-issue stations, which are compatible with its existing security system, whilst leaving the option open to convert to RFID at a later date if required.
The background operational principles of the self-issue system will be readily recognisable to library staff.
In order to borrow items, College users place their College identity cards under a scanner, which is built into the self-issue station. They then slide the books they require through a separate barcode reader.
Image 1: The self-issue screen display
Returned loans are simply passed under the barcode reader and placed on a trolley for shelving later.
Items are desensitised and resensitised as they are issued and returned, and in both instances a receipt is printed out confirming the transaction.
Image 2: A student using the self-issue college library system
The new self-issue system has demonstrated several benefits:
Comparisons can be made to supermarkets, and public and university libraries – all of which are starting to have self-issue systems installed. It offers the customer more flexibility and the freedom to serve themselves.
Exeter College Library Services Co-ordinator Trevor Leyland explains that the introduction of a self-issue system is not intended to entirely replace human interaction at the service points, especially as a number of users may still prefer to speak to library staff in a traditional manner.
However, it is predicted that it will encourage independent and more informal use of the College library service in future.
Already proving popular with learners who have started using it, Trevor explains:
“The feedback so far has been very positive from students, who are finding the system both visually appealing and easy to use. In fact, many now prefer using the self-issue system when borrowing or returning books.” Trevor Leyland, Exeter College Library Services Co-ordinator
“The feedback so far has been very positive from students, who are finding the system both visually appealing and easy to use. In fact, many now prefer using the self-issue system when borrowing or returning books.”
Trevor Leyland, Exeter College Library Services Co-ordinator
And while, at present, library staff are spending time helping learners while they become accustomed to using the self-issue terminals, Trevor expects they will soon be enjoying its time-saving benefits too.
“Ultimately, the introduction of the self-issue system will free-up staff time to ‘roam' the library. By doing so, they will be in a better position to offer more complex support to customers as they become less involved with more routine counter duties.” Trevor Leyland, Exeter College Library Services Co-ordinator
“Ultimately, the introduction of the self-issue system will free-up staff time to ‘roam' the library. By doing so, they will be in a better position to offer more complex support to customers as they become less involved with more routine counter duties.”
The introduction of a self-issue system was designed to further enhance the learning experience at Exeter College, by increasing the efficiency of the library service and enabling the delivery of more in-depth curriculum support. It reflects a wider College and departmental strategy of placing its learners at the centre of all its activities, and using new technologies to make resources available and readily accessible to them through a variety of means.
Exeter College now recommends other colleges look into introducing a self-issue system for their libraries as, overall, it is believed that the introduction of self-issue has had a beneficial impact on the learning environment for students and staff.
EM systems are slightly less flexible than RFID systems, in that only one item can be issued at a time, and there are certain limitations regarding multimedia transactions.
In conclusion, the self-issue system introduced at Exeter College offers a very efficient service and has proved to be a successful addition to its existing Learning Resources provisions, for which it recently won an Association of Colleges Beacon Award for quality.
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