Where’s Professor Watt’s Request? Streamlining to a Paperless Acquisitions Workflow

Authors

Rita Cauce, Florida International UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

2011

Document Type

Presentation

Abstract

Having trouble finding an inquiring faculty’s request because it is not in your ILS? This is no longer an issue at Florida International University (FIU) Libraries since we created OLAS (Online Library Acquisitions System), an electronic system to gather, organize, and store incoming new material requests. The implementation of OLAS was a big step towards paperless acquisitions. This session will show the previous paper intensive acquisitions workflow, and the new streamlined electronic workflow. It will demonstrate the advantages of having acquisitions processes trackable at all times online, instead of buried in a paper file. In creating OLAS, my goal was to streamline acquisitions procedures by creating a central database for incoming new material requests. This database could be searched and organized to simplify ordering and to find the status of any request at any time in the acquisitions process. Our ILS tracks our orders once they are placed, but it was important for us to be able to track the pre‐order steps, as not every request is automatically purchased. It was also very important for us to keep a record of the requests that were not ordered due to duplication or other reasons. This new system has greatly improved efficiency and accountability. I’m very pleased to be a participant in Charleston’s first year of Pecha Kucha‐like Shot Gun Sessions. This practical, concise presentation format is a great way to present this acquisitions management system we created at FIU.

Comments

Presented at the 2011 Charleston Library Conference

DOI: 10.5703/1288284314944

Recommended Citation

Cauce, Rita, "Where’s Professor Watt’s Request? Streamlining to a Paperless Acquisitions Workflow" (2011). Works of the FIU Libraries. 37.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/glworks/37