News

There has been some confusion as to whether or not we still do Delivery On the Go (DOG).  DOG is where a library, on the same route, has requested an item for delivery. That item may be able to be delivered later that day when the driver arrives at that library.  DOGs are only available if that library is on the same route as your library and delivery is scheduled to arrive at the receiving library later that day.

We will do our best to deliver those items that same day. There may be times when that is not possible but we are striving for that service to be offered.  The Statewide Delivery Committee recommendations say “As a statewide best practice that enables same day delivery, libraries have the option, in order to accommodate an immediate or a special circumstance’s interlibrary loan need, to sort and separate items for libraries following theirs WHEN those libraries are on the same delivery route and WHEN those libraries receive delivery that same day.”

I feel that this is an important and needed service that we need to help facilitate. We have now standardized our procedures in delivery. What this means is that we are no longer having the drivers sort on the route. It makes more sense for them to bring the library’s items back to their hub to sort them in a climate controlled building versus sorting out in the weather.

That being said, the way that DOGs need to be done, is that the items that are going “downstream” on the route, need to be labeled for that library and put on top of the delivery tub that is being picked up. If you have several items going to that same library, please package them separately in another bag. If you do not have another container/bag to place the items in, please call your hub manager and they will try to find some bags that may be used for this purpose.

Again, each item still needs to have a label on it. You may group together multiple items for the same library into a bag/container.

Please go to IHLS’ website to view your route. Go to Delivery, then Routes, or click here. You will see all the libraries on your route are listed. We will do our best effort to deliver the item that day.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, Susan Palmer, or your delivery manager with any questions or concerns.

Susan Palmer
Operations Director
Illinois Heartland Library System
618-656-3216 extension 409
spalmer@illinoisheartland.org

It’s been one week since IHLS implemented new routes and changed hub boundaries. We saw a few bumps in the first week, but the good news is that there will be less in the coming weeks as we work through these changes.  I thought I would share some of the questions I’ve received and hopefully this will help!

1.  I am worried about the 24 hour access.  How does this work?

1. We’ve asked for “24 hour access”, but what we really mean is that since we run routes earlier – we need access to your library before you open to make the exchange of items. That doesn’t mean that we need access to you library at all hours – it just means that we need more flexibility in your schedule and access when your library may be closed to deliver your items more efficiently.

2.  I used to get delivery in the morning, now the driver is coming in the afternoon.  Is there any way that my library could go back to morning deliveries?

1.  This is a multi-faceted answer. The short answer is maybe.  Nothing is written in stone.  Delivery has gained 31 ILDS stops. The Laboratory for Applied Spatial Analysis (LASA) from SIUE, generated routes for us and, I will be honest, we are still tweaking them. The routes look great on paper but we know that sometimes doesn’t translate completely into practice.  While we are trying to accommodate requests, there are times we simply cannot switch the routes – but that does not mean that we won’t be able to change in the future. If the delivery time for your library could be better, please let your hub manager, or me, Susan, know.  We are keeping a file of requests and will do our best to accommodate those libraries if possible.

3. This functional 5 day a week service – how does that work?

1.  LASA created our routes with the goal of providing functional 5 day a week service.  Changing the routes is the first step.  Next, comes how to notify delivery when you, the library, has something for pickup.  Traci Edwards, has created notifications to alert delivery staff when a library has scanned in an item for pickup.  For non-SHARE libraries, we are working on a general email for you to alert delivery staff when you need a pick up.  If delivery has something, we will deliver whether it is your “day” of service or not.  More information will be coming in the next couple of weeks.

4.  I heard something about libraries pre-sorting the items.  Do I have to do this and how?

1.  In a couple of weeks, we will be asking for volunteers to do “pre-sorting”.  What that means is we would give your library, depending on what you prefer, 4 tubs and/or bags. They would be labeled ZED (Edwardsville), ZCA (Carbondale), ZCH (Champaign) and ILDS.  You would simply place the item (for SHARE members, the 3 letter hub code is on the label) in the correct hub container for where the library is located.  Volumes have increased exponentially and this will greatly cut down on the sorting time needed to process items and allow the items between our hubs to move more quickly.

5.  The routes on the website are not updated.

1.  We are still tweaking the routes. Please ask your hub manager for a current list. We will notify you once the routes have been updated on the website.  

If you have any other questions/comments, please do not hesitate to share them with your hub manager or myself, Susan Palmer.  We are moving towards the goal of better service for you, our member library.  We value your input.  Thank you for partnering with us to achieve this goal!

Susan Palmer
Operations Director
Illinois Heartland Library System
6725 Goshen Road
Edwardsville, Illinois 62025
618/656-3216 ext. 409
spalmer@illinoisheartland.org

New Customer Ticketing Software has arrived!

IHLS delivery staff have been testing our new customer ticketing software and are now at the stage where we feel we can release it to everyone.  We ask that you please be patient! We are confident that any “bugs” will be worked out, as our members begin to utilize the software.

The customer ticketing software is a help desk for delivery and we hope it will be quite useful. For instance, you are needing to let us know that your parking lot is being paved and our driver needs to park somewhere else. Simply open up your library’s email and send an email to ihlsdelivery@illinoisheartland.org , in the subject field; put the name of your library and then simply state your message to delivery staff in the body of the message. Be sure to use your address associated with your L2 (librarylearning.info) account. If you accidentally send it from an “unrecognized” email address, the system will route it to delivery staff.

On our end your email is routed to your hub’s delivery manager who will respond directly to your message. Please note once your email is sent nothing can be deleted from this system. There will always be a record of your request and our interaction with you.

The software allows us to track “types” of emails. Perhaps members are experiencing a large number of damaged items, we can track by location and modify our internal processes. Or maybe we see a pattern that the damaged items seem only to come from one location. Again, that helps us address the problem.

You may also send an email praising something a driver has done or particularly a good service that was given. Just shoot us an email!

Do not hesitate to contact your delivery hub manager or Susan Palmer, Operations Director with any questions or concerns.

Delivery not running. Hub closed. Routes canceled. Are these things you wish you knew? We now have an easy way to find out. Text alerts!

To sign up for the service, you simply need to send a text to 84483 with one of the following keywords:

• Champaign (for the Champaign hub notifications)
• Carbondale (for the Carbondale hub notifications)
• Edwardsville (for the Edwardsville hub notifications)

If we have a system wide notification, we will send it out to all of the hub locations. Alternatively, you may simply open your browser and go to www.rainedout.net. Once there, search for our organization (Illinois Heartland Library System) and then you are able to sign up. You may sign up for text alerts and/or email alerts.

That’s it! We promise not to inundate you with frivolous texts, just closings/delays. We are hoping to use this to keep you informed along with, of course, posting closings/delays on the website. There are just times that getting to the website is not convenient.

There is no cost to sign up, and regular service provider message rates apply.

Feel free to contact us with any questions/comments/woo woos!