Thank you for your engagement, your honest questions and concerns, and the largely positive feedback we have received regarding the potential Automated Materials Handling System (AMHS). We understand that uncertainties can swirl around new projects, and the AMHS initiative is no exception. To clear the air, we've compiled some key facts about what to expect if the IHLS Board votes in favor of the AMHS purchase. Each fact is linked for a deeper dive, so you can explore the details at your own pace.
IHLS members will not pay for any part of the AMHS purchase, implementation, or upkeep.
IHLS has sufficient savings to fund the AMHS purchase and implement this project. IHLS members do not pay to belong to the system or to receive delivery; there are no IHLS dues or IHLS membership fees. This is required by law in Illinois statute 75 ILCS 10 Illinois Library System Act, which funds IHLS delivery. No portion of the SHARE membership fees collected is allocated to IHLS delivery.
SHARE membership fees will never be affected by the AMHS.
IHLS-SHARE members (IHLS members who also belong to the SHARE consortium) pay SHARE membership fees for the Polaris software and SHARE training and support, but the AMHS will not affect those. The recent SHARE fee increase was due to a rise in costs after five years without a change. In the future, the SHARE Finance & Policy Committee will look at smaller, more incremental increases based on member feedback.
Only SHARE member items that circulate through IHLS delivery will need outside barcodes.
No library’s entire collection circulates through IHLS delivery. There are many reasons why—like most libraries stocking the same Colleen Hoover book or your library’s collection being tailored to your community’s needs. Whatever the reason, our sorters don’t touch most of your items. In fact, of the 8 million items in the SHARE collection in 2023, only 800,000 unique items traveled through IHLS delivery that year—that's only 10%! This is why we suggest that only barcodes on items that circulate through our hubs be duplicated.
Also, with the AMHS barcodes can be anywhere on the outside, but IHLS recommends the front upper left. So, if your library’s items already have barcodes on the outside or if you use RFID for circulation, you will not need to move or duplicate them.
Also, with the AMHS barcodes can be anywhere on the outside, but IHLS recommends the front upper left. So, if your library’s items already have barcodes on the outside or if you use RFID for circulation, you will not need to move or duplicate them.
If your library’s items have barcodes on the inside, you do not need to remove them; duplicated barcodes added to the outside will suffice. IHLS will help with barcode duplication in any of three ways:
- (Free Supplies and Labor!) For those who need help to complete the barcode duplication at their library, we will do the duplication for you at our hubs. This will occur as those items with inside barcodes pass through an IHLS hub for delivery. Our duplicators will use a thermal transfer process with a resin ribbon so the duplicates will not fade. We will use barcodes with aggressive adhesive and polypropylene materials so that labels will not separate or tear. This means the work will not need to be repeated in the future, and label protectors will not be required.
- (Free Supplies!) For those who prefer to duplicate their barcodes themselves, we are purchasing barcode duplicators and barcodes SHARE member libraries may reserve and use for free. We will also provide the necessary barcode resin ribbon for libraries to use at no cost. These duplicators will use a thermal transfer process with a resin ribbon, so duplicates will not fade. We will provide barcodes with aggressive adhesive and polypropylene materials so that labels will not separate or tear. This means the work will not need to be repeated in the future, and label protectors will not be required.
- Standard loan periods were discussed for the duplicator kits, not for any of the materials in the SHARE database.
- Additional details about borrowing duplicator kits will be determined once the IHLS Board has made a decision.
- (Discounted Supplies!) For those who want to purchase their own duplicator systems or additional barcodes, IHLS will include member pricing in our request for proposals for the duplicator printers and barcode labels. This means that members who elect to purchase their own supplies will have access to IHLS’s pricing (like a group discount).
The costly high turnover rate among IHLS sorters is typical of entry-level jobs.
Most IHLS sorter positions are filled by those entering the job market, college students, and applicants open to working a limited amount of part-time hours. This year, we saw an increase in turnover due to college students’ schedule changes, employees retiring, and those moving on to better career opportunities. All positions at IHLS have been benchmarked for the pay range comparable to current nonprofit and governmental jobs. The pay rate for sorters (and all positions at IHLS) is based on the job duties performed, and we use a leading nonbiased outside vendor to provide the pay ranges for all of our positions here at IHLS to provide fair and equitable pay.
IHLS had a General Fund balance of $6.1 million, as of April 30, 2024. This balance primarily consists of the current fiscal year’s grant income plus savings accumulated over the years. These savings will enable IHLS to fund this special capital improvement project.
Switching to AMHS sorting will reduce the sorting personnel budget by half.
The memo presented to the IHLS Board provides additional information on how automated sorting with an AMHS would reduce the number of sorting hours compared to current manual sorting practices. The budget for sorting hours is determined by the number of materials sent through delivery. Implementing an AMHS, which can sort materials faster than the manual process, would decrease the sorting budget. The AMHS has been proposed as a solution to minimize the impact of delivery on the General Fund budget and free up funds for other member services.
IHLS will continue to reimburse libraries for items damaged in the delivery process.
Currently, IHLS reimburses libraries for materials damaged in the delivery process. This will not change with an AMHS. All AMHS users surveyed have reported that it is rare to see an item damaged by the machine. Additionally, there will be an IHLS protocol for our sorters to send books through the AMHS first and then audiovisual items. This will ensure that these more fragile items remain on top of the bins, helping to reduce the risk of damage.
IHLS stands to uniquely benefit from an AMHS thanks to the SHARE consortium’s common ILS (Polaris).
Other library systems that researched an AMHS would not see a return on investment because they sort for multiple consortia using various Integrated Library Systems (ILSes). An AMHS would require different sorting configurations for each Integrated Library System (ILS). On top of that, each consortium’s sorting configuration could only be started once all deliveries were back at the hubs. Thus, their automated sorting process would be far more complex than manual sorting. Conversely, an AMHS will work with IHLS because 97% of materials sorted at our hubs are from one consortium (SHARE) that uses one ILS. This means that only one sorting configuration would be required, and sorting can begin as soon as the first route returns to the hub.
Without a change to our delivery process, wait times are on track to keep rising with delivery volume.
Our surveys indicate that many libraries are still satisfied with delivery timelines, but we are receiving more complaints about long patron wait times. These delays are clearly linked to rises in delivery volume. Our circulation has increased approximately 30% over last year, but historical increases have averaged 7% per year. There is no reason to expect the rising trend to stop, meaning we can expect wait times to rise with delivery volume to a point where our sorters can no longer keep up. Without a significant change in our process (like the AMHS), all member libraries will soon feel the burden. In fact, we expect patron hold times to double by FY2035 if we do not implement an AMHS.
Switching to outside barcodes will provide many benefits:
- Reduced repetitive motion injuries. These injuries are more likely to occur when you look through multiple locations to find the barcode.
- Ease of scanning. All circulation staff will benefit because barcodes will be in a uniform location.
- Inventory management. A consistent barcode location, such as on the front left of the cover, is conducive to efficient inventory management. It allows library staff to quickly locate and scan the barcode during tasks such as checking books in and out, conducting inventory audits, and tracking the movement of books within the library.
- One-time placement. It is easier to place a barcode on an outgoing item once than to replace the delivery slip for each shipment.
Want to learn more about the potential Automated Material Handling System and why we're looking at automated sorting? Visit our AMHS Project page for more details.
