Sharon,
Thank you. While our application may be different, I am interested in
what you develop. Are looking at starting development immediately?
Please let me know your progress or if I can help in any way.
Deb
Sharon Foster wrote:
Gotcha! My library is in a consortium as well, and there is a courier
service, although since we are such a small state, it is actually a
state-wide service, not just for our consortium.
My initial reaction is that the application I have in mind *could* be
used to set up a courier schedule, but instead of one desk and several
people staffing it over the course of a day, you have one person
moving to different "desks" (libraries) over the course of a day. I
think that's a different enough pattern, along with the "is it on
time?" requirement, to warrant its own application.
The question I was asking was directed to public and academic library
systems with more than one location or branch. Do you ever move people
around among the branches? If so, then I want the scheduler to
incorporate that.
On 9/5/07, Deb Bergeron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Sharon,
I think I need to clarify. We are an academic consortium of 14 completely
different libraries who share a common ILS, consequently we have no
'branches;' each library is independent. Some of the libraries have their
own branches or locations, however, and could use your scheduler application
in their own library. So your question about staff being assigned to
another branch does not apply in our case. What does apply is knowing the
library hours and academic calendar.
Our office manages the ILS and all of its components. One of those
components is the courier. The courier picks up and delivers items to all
of the consortial libraries as well as our state-wide ILL system (MINITEX).
The courier schedule changes throughout the year and sometimes daily (i.e.
storm, accident, traffic, etc.). It would be great to have an online
application indicating:
Courier's schedule
Is he on time?
Issues
If a library requests an additional pick-up Our goal is 24 hour turn-around
and often-times it's less than that.
For both applications, it would be fabulous to have an online tool that
provides all the information I've described.
I hope this clarifies the lay of our land for you.
Thanks,
Deb
Sharon Foster wrote:
Indeed! I hadn't even thought of multiple libraries in a system, since
I haven't yet worked in a system with branch libraries.
Is it ever the case that staff may be temporarily assigned to another
branch, not their "home" branch?
Are couriers thought of as assigned to a particular library, or are
they part of the larger system?
Thanks for your input!
On 9/5/07, Deb Bergeron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Sharon,
Kudos to you for taking this on!
In looking at your wiki and your requirements list, we could use this in a
completely different way. We're an academic consortium with 14 libraries.
I can see this type of application working for us in two ways:
1. Manage our courier schedule.
2. Manage library hours. With so many libraries, hours vary greatly.
Is this the type of 'unique requirements' you're looking for from other
libraries?
Thanks,
Deb
Sharon Foster wrote:
I've set up a wiki to collect software requirements for a Library
Staff Scheduler. Initially it's intended for use by public libraries,
because that's what I'm most familiar with, but I'd also like to
incorporate any unique requirements from other kinds of libraries.
I know there is at least one implementation of this type of
application at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/empscheduler/, and I
fully expect to use that project as the starting point for the
implementation of this one, but the demo page is missing or broken,
the project itself hasn't been updated since 12/2004, and it doesn't
particularly address the special requirements of library staffing.
The wiki is at http://libstaff.pbwiki.com/ and the password is librarygeek.
(aside: I started it with WetPaint, but there are so many ads on each
page that I thought it was too distracting. Free PBWiki may not have
the variety of themes that WetPaint has, but it also doesn't have all
those annoying ads.)
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember: Choose nutritious edible weeds for snacks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deb Bergeron
System Administrator User Support
CLIC
1619 Dayton Ave. Suite 204A
Saint Paul, MN 55104
T: 651.644.3878
C:651-487-7609
F:651.644.6258
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.clic.edu
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember: Choose nutritious edible weeds for snacks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deb Bergeron
System Administrator User Support
CLIC
1619 Dayton Ave. Suite 204A
Saint Paul, MN 55104
T: 651.644.3878
C:651-487-7609
F:651.644.6258
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.clic.edu
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember: Choose nutritious edible weeds for snacks!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deb Bergeron
System Administrator User Support
CLIC
1619 Dayton Ave. Suite 204A
Saint Paul, MN 55104
T: 651.644.3878
C:651-487-7609
F:651.644.6258
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
www.clic.edu <http://www.clic.edu>
