[Web4lib] Library Staff Scheduler

Wed Sep 5 13:33:27 EDT 2007

I'm a reference librarian in a 4-location city/county library system. We have several part-time and temporary staff who are rotated through the whole system covering staff shortages. We also have a van driver/courier who travels between all the branches and also does scheduled pickups of donations for the annual Friends Booksale. 

Another feature we might use in a tool like this is staffing of volunteers - our system has about 5-7 homework tutors, a dozen or so volunteer/community service shelvers, and a small number of other volunteers who work in several departments and locations throughout the system. 

Being able to handle their schedules easily would probably help staffing quite a bit.

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Sharon Foster
Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2007 11:02 AM
To: Deb Bergeron
Cc: Code for Libraries; web4lib
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Library Staff Scheduler

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 <bergeron at macalester.edu> 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 <bergeron at macalester.edu> 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
> bergeron at macalester.edu
> 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
> bergeron at macalester.edu
> www.clic.edu
>
>
>

-- 
Sharon M. Foster, B.S., J.D., 0.58 * (MLS)
F/OSS Evangelist
Cheshire Public Library
104 Main Street
Cheshire, CT  06410
http://www.cheshirelibrary.org
My library school portfolio: http://home.southernct.edu/~fosters4/
My final project for ILS655, Digital Libraries:
http://www.vsa-software.com/ils655

Any opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
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