Engineering Management Paper

Lee Stewart- 009414657
Sunday Bright Owolabi-201372422
Project Supervisor: Daan Goossens.
2016
Process Improvement in
Newfoundland Public
Library System:
Innovation, Lean and Knowledge Management
Perspective

i
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report investigated the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library System using lean,
innovation, and knowledge management perspectives. The problems discovered and addressed in
this report are (1) cataloguing and processing time (sometimes up to 6 months) causing delays in
books getting to library shelves; (2) interlibrary loans taking 7 - 10 business days causing
customer dissatisfaction; (3) inefficient utilization of library space management.
The analysis uncovered bottlenecks in the cataloguing and processing workflows at the
Stephenville facility. Library workflow mostly use batch processing where staff process a
quantity of books and put them on carts or shelves where they sit idle. The processes were
analyzed in relation to the five principles of lean management which are: (1) specifying what
creates value from the customer‘s perspective; (2) identifying all the steps along the process
chain; (3) make the identified processes flow; (4) make only what is pulled (needed) by the
customer, and (5) Strive for perfection by continually removing waste. Since library patrons
want to access new library material as soon as possible, every non- value added task would have
obvious consequences on value delivery ranging from longer waiting times, customer complaints
and process inefficiency. For example, cataloguer error-checking and transfer points between
cataloguing and processing are among the areas with the longest wait times. To resolve this, it is
recommended that cataloguers strive to prevent errors the first time and redesign workflows so
that they flow continuously.
For innovation, radio frequency identification (RFID) was investigated. Currently,
Newfoundland Public Libraries use barcode labels on library material. However, RFID offers
many advantages in terms of speeding up circulation, finding material, improving inventory
control, etc. The cost to implement RFID is significant, but the cost savings can be huge. For
example, the National Library Board in Singapore invested $50 million and saved $220 million.
With respect to space management, the layout of visited libraries was not user-friendly. Clutter in
librarians‘ offices was also observed. Using 5S (sort, straighten, standardize, shine, and sustain),
it is recommended that libraries implement simple strategies to improve space utilization. Simple
colour coding was discovered to be helpful in reducing unnecessary motion, searching and
unnecessary errors in library workflow activities. Virtual design through desk-less reference,
collaborative consultations was suggested for effective space management.
Meditated steps in the interlibrary loans were reviewed and patron-initiated online requests were
suggested, Co-operation from lender libraries was observed to be important in reducing
bottlenecks experienced in this process. Cataloguing activities were also elaborately reviewed
and appropriate lean management tools like flowcharts and value stream map were employed to
analyze and reduce waiting and cycle times.

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With respect to knowledge management, public libraries rely on their intranet which contains
their policies and procedures. Knowledge transfer is via their newsletter or the initiative of an
employee to send a group e-mail. There is a lot of tacit knowledge that is not being captured
effectively. It is recommended that the library promote a more knowledge sharing culture to
facilitate best practices among experienced and new librarians which will improve effectiveness
and efficiency.
Generally defining value from the customers‘ perspective, this research work reviewed salient
steps in the library process with a view to proffer useful strategies and recommendations to
ensure seamless and quality service delivery to libraries in the Newfoundland & Labrador
province.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... i
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1
Background................................................................................................................................. 1
NLPL Stakeholders................................................................................................................. 1
Funding ................................................................................................................................... 2
Circulation............................................................................................................................... 2
Interlibrary Loans.................................................................................................................... 3
Cataloguing............................................................................................................................. 4
Processing ............................................................................................................................... 5
Motivation................................................................................................................................... 5
Problem Statement...................................................................................................................... 6
Research Objectives.................................................................................................................... 7
Methodology............................................................................................................................... 7
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 7
RESEARCH FINDINGS................................................................................................................ 9
Trends in Public Library Services............................................................................................... 9
Future Roles of Public Libraries............................................................................................... 11
Future Outlook.......................................................................................................................... 12
Library Quality Improvement Matrix ....................................................................................... 13
Lean Management..................................................................................................................... 15
Lean Management Theory.................................................................................................... 15
Perception of Value-Library Users ....................................................................................... 16
Lean for Service Excellence ................................................................................................. 22
Culture of Change................................................................................................................. 22
Implementing Lean ............................................................................................................... 23
Lean Management Tools....................................................................................................... 25
Application of Lean tools to Library Process Improvement................................................. 28
Streamlining Processing Workflow ...................................................................................... 33

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Improving the Interlibrary Loans (ILL) Process................................................................... 35
Library Space Management .................................................................................................. 37
Knowledge Management .......................................................................................................... 38
Overview............................................................................................................................... 38
Knowledge Resource Organizational Policy ........................................................................ 40
Knowledge Management Information Technology Strategy................................................ 40
Knowledge Management Learning and Innovation Strategy ............................................... 41
Knowledge Management Beneficiaries Strategy.................................................................. 41
Knowledge Management and Social Media ......................................................................... 41
Knowledge Creation ............................................................................................................. 43
Knowledge Storage and Retrieval ........................................................................................ 43
Knowledge Transfer.............................................................................................................. 43
Knowledge Application for Improvement-NLPL................................................................. 44
Innovation ................................................................................................................................. 44
What is RFID? ...................................................................................................................... 44
RFID versus Bar Codes ........................................................................................................ 44
RFID Storage Capacity......................................................................................................... 45
Range of RFID tags .............................................................................................................. 45
Advantages of RFID ............................................................................................................. 45
RFID Project Criteria............................................................................................................ 45
Applications of RFID............................................................................................................ 46
Applications of RFID in Public Libraries............................................................................. 46
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 47
Recommendations......................................................................................................................... 49
References..................................................................................................................................... 51
Appendix....................................................................................................................................... 55

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Annual operating and capital budget (2004 - 2015)........................................................ 2
Figure 2: Items circulated from 2004-2015 .................................................................................... 3
Figure 3: Interlibrary loans from 2004-2015 .................................................................................. 3
Figure 4: Materials catalogued vs. materials received 2004-2015 ................................................. 4
Figure 5: Materials received vs. materials processed ..................................................................... 5
Figure 6: Hypothesized relationships (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 358) ................................... 17
Figure 7: LibQUAL+ 2004- Perceived service quality ................................................................ 18
Figure 8: Correlations between service quality items and perceived service value ..................... 19
Figure 9: Results (standardized solution) (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 361) .......................... 19
Figure 10: An example of a library flowchart .............................................................................. 25
Figure 11: A Library Cause and Effect (Fishbone) Diagram ....................................................... 26
Figure 12 : An example of a 5-Whys Model ................................................................................ 27
Figure 13; Pareto analysis of Newfoundland & Labrador Libraries............................................. 30
Figure 14: The Cataloguing process flowchart............................................................................. 32
Figure 15: Value Stream Mapping-Cataloguing process (Huber, 2011 p.175) (modified)........ 33
Figure 16: Library processing flowchart....................................................................................... 34
Figure 17: An example of a Color coding template...................................................................... 37
Figure 18: A traditional vs. desk-less reference desk ................................................................... 38
Figure 19: The strategic knowledge management system ............................................................ 39
Figure 20: The link between knowledge management strategies using BSC............................... 40
Figure 21: KM framework for social media use........................................................................... 42
Figure A: NLPL Board and library locations …………………...………………………………55
Figure B: 5S diagnostic checklist …………………....................…………………………….…56

1
INTRODUCTION
Background
The Provincial Information and Library Resources Board (PILRB) is a crown corporation of the
of the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Government, under authority of the Public
Libraries Act, to oversee the operation of the public library services in the province. It has
existed since 1935 (PILRB, 2015, p. 3). Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (NLPL)
has 95 public library locations throughout the province. Centralized functions (cataloguing and
processing) takes place in the NLPL‘s facility in Stephenville. Figure A. in the appendix shows
the structure of the board and library locations. These 95 locations are distributed as follows:
● 30 in Western Newfoundland and Labrador (6 in Labrador);
● 33 in Central Newfoundland;
● 29 in Eastern Newfoundland; and
● 3 in St. John‘s (PILRB, 2015, p. 3)
NLPL has three lines of business:
1. Information Access: includes access in print and electronic formats, make queries and/or
access library catalogues and databases housed in libraries, access in-house information,
public library computers, free wireless internet service, acquire assisted technology, emergent
technology and new technology (at designated sites), access major collections, online services
are available from within the library and from a computer at home or elsewhere.
2. Information Lending: includes print materials and, where available, materials in audio,
visual and/or digital format, use materials on site and, where available, can renew or reserve
materials from home computers using their library card access number, lend equipment such
as digital cameras, laptop computers, etc. (some sites only), borrow books by mail or receive
books via home reader services, obtain materials, through inter-library loans, from other
libraries within or outside the provincial public library system
3. Life-long Learning Programs: includes preschool story times, class visits, book clubs,
special presentations, computer training, etc. These programs are intended to help improve
literacy, promote culture, increase skills and knowledge or for simple enjoyment.
Occasionally, outreach programs are also provided (PILRB, 2015, p. 4-5).
NLPL Stakeholders
The PLIRB has several partnerships which include local volunteer library boards, Newfoundland
and Labrador English School District, Memorial University and College of the North Atlantic
and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Canada Post also supports
NLPL by providing a reduced postal rate for mailing of library materials from library-to-library
and library-to-end users (PILRB, 2015, p. 6-7).

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Funding
The public library system receives the bulk of their funding from the Provincial Government as
an annual operating grant. Many municipalities provide direct and/or in-kind contributions. In-
kind contributions include such things such as free or low cost rent, snow clearing, and
maintenance. They are not included in the budget figures (PILRB, 2015, p. 5).
Figure 1: Annual operating and capital budget (2004 - 2015)
Source: Provincial Information and Library Resources Board. Annual Reports 2004-2015
Figure 1 shows the annual operating and capital budget from 2004 to 2015. The range was
between $9.35 million in 2004-5 and $12.70 million in 2010-11. In 2013-14, it dropped from
$12.40 million to $10.88 million (this is lower than the 2007-8 amount). The budget was
relatively flat from 2004 to 2007. It increased more dramatically from 2007 to 2011. It dropped
for the first time since 2004 in 2011. As just mentioned, it dropped much more significantly in
2013. This significant drop in funding presents challenges and constraints in terms of service
delivery.
Circulation
Figure 2 shows the number of items circulated at NLPL locations from 2004 to 2013. The annual
reports do not have circulation metrics for 2013-14 and 2014-15. The range is between 1,668,044
in 2004 and 1,510,202 in 2006. From the graph, it can be seen there was a sharp decline of items
circulated between 2004 and 2006. It rebounds between 2006 and 2010 where it reaches
$9,350,000
$9,390,000
$9,500,000
$10,900,000
$11,640,000
$12,100,000
$12,700,000
$12,300,000
$12,400,000
$10,879,504
$10,919,325
$-
$2,000,000
$4,000,000
$6,000,000
$8,000,000
$10,000,000
$12,000,000
$14,000,000
Budget
Year
NL Public Libraries Budget 2004-2015

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1,655,604. However, since 2010, circulations have declined every year, eventually dropping to
1,537,985 in 2013.
Figure 2: Items circulated from 2004-2015
Interlibrary Loans
Figure 3 shows the number of interlibrary loans from 2004 to 2014. As can be seen, interlibrary
loans increased from 2004 to 2011. There was a sharp increase in 2011 from 103,256 to 136,576
followed by a large drop in 2012 to 98,080. For the last three years it has been relatively flat.
Figure 3: Interlibrary loans from 2004-2015
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1400000
1450000
1500000
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2004-5 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
Items Circulated
Items Circulated
47586
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NumberofInterlibraryLoans
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NL Public Libraries Interlibrary Loans 2004-2015

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Cataloguing
Cataloguing is a process where information relating to library materials is entered into a database
according to standardized rules and practices. This facilitates the tracking and retrieval of
information on specific library materials. Not all materials received or processed are catalogued.
Figure 4: Materials catalogued vs. materials received 2004-2015
Figure 4 shows the number of items catalogues versus the number of items received from 2004
to 2015. As can be seen, from the graph, the number of items catalogued has been less than the
number of items received. This means there is a bottleneck in the system. In 2013, there was a
dramatic drop in items catalogued. It dropped from 45,306 to 21,667 or 56%. In consultation
with staff at the Stephenville facility, the reasons for the sharp decline was due to budget cuts in
2012-13 which resulted in the loss of a cataloguing position and reduced funding for library
materials that extended into 13-14, so this affected library material numbers and staffing. In
addition, the retirement of a senior cataloguer and extended sick leave of another were major
factors for the drop in cataloguing statistics for 2013. In 2014-15, the number of items
catalogued rose to 48,231 which seem like a significant increase, but they actually changed their
reporting procedures to include copies. This includes simply adding the extra copies to the
system. The reason for the change is that they want to know how many items get added to the
catalogue. Excluding copies, approximately 27,000 items were actually catalogued.
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2004-5 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
AmountofLibraryMaterial
Year
Material Catalogued vs. Material Received 2004-2015
Material Catalogued Material Received

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Processing
Figure 5: Materials received vs. materials processed
Figure 5 shows the material received and processed between 2004 and 2014. The first thing to
notice is that for most years, the number of items processed is more than the number of items
received which does not make sense. In consultation with a manager at the Stephenville facility,
it was discovered that at the end of every year, the shelves are not completely cleared for the next
year. Also some of what they process is not, in fact, received. The received items are those that
come from the vendor; however, we have many items for processing that are already copy
catalogued. These items are materials sent in from libraries that have been collected in the
library but were not purchased and cannot be processed at the local level. They also estimate that
the average backlog is about 6 months; however, there are no statistics on how much of a
backlog exists at any given time. The slow months of course would be at the beginning of the
fiscal year – April and May while they wait for the vendors to complete the first orders for the
year.
Motivation
The key motivation of this project is to apply engineering management principles to a real world
problem. The initial focus was directed to rural healthcare in Newfoundland and Labrador.
However, due to the difficulty in obtaining primary research, we decided to explore other
options. Lee, who works at the Computing Support Desk in the Queen Elizabeth II Library
Memorial University, identified some bottlenecks in library operations. Based on his
understanding of library processes, we decided to shift our focus to general library setting with a
view to proffer a solution to an existing problem or improve processes. In consultation with our
66457 67982
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2004-5 2005-6 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
AmountofLibraryMaterial
Year
Material Received vs. Material Processed 2004-2015
Material Processed Material Received

6
supervisor, a decision was made to broaden our scope to include the Newfoundland and
Labrador Public Libraries.
Libraries all over the world are familiar with these scenarios: expensive technology, demands for
more services, opportunities for better service, tight budgets, and competition with outside
providers to implement services once solely their own. In meeting these challenges and pursuing
these opportunities, libraries have looked to the fields of business, engineering and management
for tools and techniques, engaging the principles and practices of total quality management,
strategic planning, customer-directed service, and team-based management, to name a few
(Mitchell, 2007, p.1). Public libraries in Newfoundland and Labrador are no exception. These
challenges provide the motivation to determine whether the concepts and tools of lean,
knowledge management and innovation (as learned in the Engineering Management program)
can provide solutions to these problems. This project work is therefore borne out of a realization
of a unique opportunity to effect fundamental improvements both in workflow and in library
efficiency.
Problem Statement
The digital age has had its numerous impact on reading habits and library usage. The positive
effects of computers on library management and service delivery are worth noticing; however,
access to information has been elevated from physical resources (books, CDs, etc.) available
through libraries to e-books, online access and various forms of technology devices such as e-
readers, etc. and this has placed the library at a position where innovation becomes inevitable.
Likewise, the downturn in the Provincial economy has caused a reduction in library budget
allocations, hence government funding of public libraries are often insufficient to meet its
obligations.
These have necessitated public libraries to seek ways to create more values for customers despite
fewer resources, explore avenues of innovation to increase usage of library facilities in the wake
of technology and continuously seek ways to improve, retain and transfer knowledge within the
system. A review of few library processes around the province revealed some lapses and
shortcoming which gives room for improvement. The NPNL libraries therefore need to address t
service issues discovered in view of budget cuts:
● Cataloguing and processing time (sometimes up to 6 months) causing delays in books
getting to library shelves.
● Interlibrary loans taking 7 - 10 business days causing customer dissatisfaction.
● Inefficient utilization of library space.

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Research Objectives
The objectives of this project are to:
● Design processes and procedures to eliminate bottlenecks processing at Stephenville and
interlibrary loans
● Establish input and output benchmarks for current processes in materials acquisitions and
interlibrary loans
● Improve turnaround times from order of materials from publishers to getting them on the
shelves (cataloguing/processing)
● Maximize the use of innovation to improve access to information
● Minimize ―muda‖ (waste) in library operations by improving layout and optimize space
utilization
Methodology
Both primary and secondary research was used in this report. Primary research consisted of
consultation with managers at the Stephenville facility to determine the tasks in the cataloguing
and processing processes as well as provide context to anomalies in the cataloguing and
processing graphs generated from data in annual reports from 2004 to 2015. Librarians at various
public libraries around the Avalon Peninsula were also consulted to identify problem areas
affecting their library. Consultation instead of formal interviews were recommended by our
supervisor due to ethical policy issues on conducting primary research. Secondary research on
lean management, value, innovation, and knowledge management were obtained from journal
articles, books, and reports about public libraries in North America.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Public library administration is not a fertile research area in the academic community;
nevertheless, many articles reports and articles written about the subject by people in the industry
were obtained. With respect to library users, Zickuhr, Rainie, and Purcell, investigate the role
libraries play in people‘s lives, what people do at libraries, what technologies they use, and what
they want. They also offer an outlook on the future of public libraries. Roberts discusses several
trends in Canadian libraries and their impacts on libraries. He also offers an outlook on the future
of public libraries in 2017, 2020, and 2030.
With respect to quality, Riadh and Morales tested several hypotheses of perceived service quality
and perceived value against several variables. The Scottish Library and Information Council

8
developed a public library quality improvement matrix which libraries can use to rate themselves
on seven dimensions of quality.
With respect to innovation, Newman discusses innovation in public libraries in the United States,
United Kingdom, Australia, Nordic countries, Singapore, and Canada. She also discusses trends
and future roles of several stakeholders (library, government, and private sector). With respect to
RFID, RFID Journal discusses what RFID is, how it works, what its advantages are, and other
technical aspects. Narver discusses reasons why libraries switch from barcode to RFID. Lyttle
and Walsh discuss several factors that should be evaluated before undertaking an RFID project.
With respect to knowledge management, Alhamoudi discusses knowledge management
strategies in the public sector with emphasis on the balanced scorecard. Teng and Hawamdeh
discuss knowledge management in a library setting. Forcier, Given, and Rathi discuss knowledge
management and social media by comparing an urban and a rural library. Sarrafzadeh discusses
implications of knowledge management for library and information professions. Alavi and
Leidner provide a comprehensive theoretical view of knowledge management.
Huber J.J (2011) in his book Lean library management identified the parallels between the
manufacturing industry and the library setting and also tries to replicate lean principles in library
operations. Comparing the library processes to a flowing river with dangerous twists and turns,
he provided eleven lean strategies to achieve a smooth-flowing river of processes. Beginning
from how libraries can embrace the business side of their endeavours, benchmark and measure
their performance against their digital competitors e.g. Amazon and Google. He also examined
the delivery service chains in terms of performance metrics, budgetary control, and the power of
Lean‘s ―Pull‖ demand philosophy against the traditional ―Push‖ philosophy.
In Mitchell‘s (2007) elaborate work on library workflow redesign, six academic library
improvement case studies were sufficiently analysed as below:
● Reference and Information Services Redesign at The Libraries of The Claremont Colleges,
● Cooperative Work Redesign in Library Technical Services at Denison University and
Kenyon College
● Increasing Productivity through Workflow Redesign at Smith College
● Managing Electronic Resources in the Tri-College Consortium
● Redesigning Services at The Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center
These libraries developed improvement projects were based on teamwork, lean application,
innovation and continuous improvement which yielded results in the processes.
In ―Lean thinking for business and finance‖, Behm discussed the benefits of thinking lean for
organizations and using the tools of lean for organizational development. Cameron K. Tuai in
―Implementing process improvement into electronic reserves, journal of interlibrary loans and

9
document delivery‘ focus extensively on process improvement initiative employed in electronic
reserves, and document delivery. Scott Bennett, in ―Choice for Learning‖ elaborated on how the
libraries can effectively utilize resources, keep up with innovations in library space management
and design. Weibel & Janke‘s ―Interlibrary loan practises handbook‖ discusses best practices in
the interlibrary loans processes and how to effectively minimise delays in customer satisfaction.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Trends in Public Library Services
There are several trends occurring in the public library industry. One of these trends is e-books.
Many bestselling books are becoming more popular as e-books as opposed to printed books.
Many people purchase books from online bookstores, many of which are located in the U.S. As a
result, Canadian publishers earn less revenue. To bolster the Canadian publishing industry,
libraries and publishers will need form a close partnership. One option is by allowing customers
to buy books through library websites and pick them up at local bookstores.
Private publishing is another emerging trend. Book equivalent of YouTube will compete with
publishers for readers. Schools and public libraries are starting to publish creative material to the
web and help find an audience. While library circulation will remain strong, books will account
for less than half of their circulation. Libraries will need to be vigilant to potential disruptive
technologies. For example, when downloaded music became popular, the music industry did not
establish its own digital network; they were too focused on trying to sell physical material
through stores. The music industry forgot to focus on the customer and allowed Apple to create
iTunes (Roberts, 2012, p. 7-8).
Another trend is technology and communication. Estimates suggest that there are more than
200,000,000 devices in the hands of North Americans. Also, Wi-Fi hotspots are becoming more
prevalent, even within public libraries. Therefore, it is important for public library boards to
understand how people use technology when seeking information, and libraries need to ensure
that their vision matches this situation (Roberts, 2012, p. 9-10).
A fourth trend is the shift from consumption to creation. Public libraries are shifting from a place
focused only on information that is consumed toward places where people gather, learn from
each other. The Fayetteville Free Library in New York has a Fab Lab featuring a 3D printer. The
District of Columbia Public Library has a recording studio in its Central Library. The Chicago
Public Library has a YouMedia Center. Many libraries in Europe have creation spaces. However,
the North American model for public computer use is based on the assumption that people are
using computers to only search for information (Roberts, 2012, p. 10-11).

10
Computers and individualization is another trend. Library computer areas are often designed to
resemble quiet reading rooms, but:
1. School boards and teachers stress group projects and collaborative work
2. Some computer applications have noisy, interactive elements
3. People do not always want to use computers while sitting in chairs and at the same kind of
desks as the people next to them. They want options.
4. The presence of Wi-Fi in libraries means that users can use all areas of the library (Roberts,
2012, p. 12)
The sixth trend is open data, Internet resource websites, and literacy. The Internet has become a
place where anyone can contribute their thoughts and opinions. The web has become more
customized where people are being sent information that their profile suggests they might like to
receive. Open data initiatives allow obtain and reinterpret information. Linked open data is the
next generation of open data. Linked open data assumes that data from many sources can be
pulled together to create new information. As a result, libraries could map user profiles to
collections and easily supply people with new articles on subjects of interest to them. Libraries
are an ideal location for community-based open data activity (Roberts, 2012, p. 13-4). With
respect to literacy, there is a movement to trans literacy which is the use of words combined with
images to convey ideas. As a result, library staff will have to be more tech-savvy and library
systems will have to work together more closely (Roberts, 2012, p. 15-6).
The seventh trend is the reduction of repetitive tasks. RFID and self-serve technologies has
eliminated circulation desks and streamlined the re-shelving of material. RFID enables libraries
to more easily check new material into the system and on the shelves faster. This will have an
impact on staffing which libraries will need to be cognizant of. For example, The Hamilton
Public Library worked with the union to curtail job losses by creating higher paid positions and
retraining employees. The result was that almost forty positions that required only a high school
education were eliminated while twenty-five new positions requiring higher education were
created. A 25,000 square foot branch has also been opened with no new staff. By moving to
RFID, the Hamilton Public Library achieved more efficient circulation which has resulted in an
increase in circulation from about 4,000,000 to 6,900,000 items per year. Staff size decreased
from 324 FTEs to 314 FTEs. Reference services have also become more repetitive. The number
and complexity of reference questions are decreasing. Several studies have identified this trend.
For example, reference books have moved on-line for anyone to search from home or office
(Roberts, 2012, p. 16-7).
The eight trend is the growing importance of consortia. As libraries rely more heavily on
technology, smaller libraries will not have the infrastructure or the staff to provide service. These
smaller libraries do not have the bargaining power to negotiate contracts for e-books or
downloadable videos or music without the assistance of consortia. The state of Ohio is an

11
example of a successful consortia known as OhioLink. It is a consortium of public libraries,
college libraries, and academic libraries. OhioLink uses a single integrated library system (ILS)
to bring almost fifty-millions items into a single catalogue. They also negotiate database licenses
and e-book contracts for their members. The main advantage of provincially linked libraries is
that license fees for e-books and on-line resources can be significantly reduced when an entire
province is covered by a license because:
1. Vendors are more aggressive when they know that losing a bid may mean that they receive
little or no business in the entire province.
2. Vendors can reduce their costs if they know that there is only one contract to be negotiated
3. Vendors can reduce their costs if they know that they do not have to block access to some
areas of a province or to some types of users (Roberts, 2012, p. 18-19).
The final trend is new alternatives for delivering books. One alternative is library vending
machines where users can insert their library card and select one or more books to check-out.
They can also be returned to the same vending machine. More sophisticated machines use RFID
such as LibDispenser. LibDispenser can hold more than a thousand items and allows collections
to be housed at third-party locations. Users can place holds and return books to the same
machine. The biggest advantage is they provide access to library material available 24/7.
Another alternative already mentioned is e-books. The biggest advantages of e-books are that
they reduce material handling costs, make material available 24/7, and eliminates interlibrary
loan costs (Roberts, 2012, p. 19-20).
Future Roles of Public Libraries
Public libraries will have future roles in the following areas:
Economic development: They will be a leader in community economic development. For small
and home-based businesses, they will support small business development. They will also
support the individual learning required for job readiness in a knowledge-based economy.
Cultural development: They will be an integral part of cultural development; fully integrated
into local cultural planning.
Literacies of the 21st century: They will help users parse through an avalanche of information
on the web to find auto-reactive, relevant information; to separate good and useless information.
Technology access and participation: They will provide the infrastructure and platform for
citizen-generated content and exchange in Web 2.0 or its successors.

12
Collaboration and networks: They will be an access point to a network of libraries and other
organizations that provide access to physical and digital information. The provinces and
territories will need to collaborate with the federal government. (Newman, 2008, p. 23)
Partnerships: They will reach users directly and indirectly through partners such as archives,
museums, galleries, the formal education system, educational media, and business and ethno-
cultural organizations. For example, Ontario‘s public libraries serve as a testbed for new
technologies such as adaptive technology for persons with disabilities (Newman, 2008, p. 23).
Another area of private sector partnership is in facility design and development. For example,
contractor helped cover some of the costs of the Ironwood Branch of the Richmond BC Public
Library. Also, in St. George, Ontario, a developer of a housing site donated a site for a new
library building. The public library of the future will increasingly look to private sector for
funding to help deliver new and existing services. Public libraries will be attractive to private
donors because of the high regard for libraries. (Newman 2008, p. 23-4)
Infrastructure and buildings: They will be free, public, exciting, and engaging gathering
places in both real and virtual space. People of all ages will share their own ideas and ideas
published in diverse media (text, graphics, sound and video recordings, etc.)
Children and youth: They will be a gateway to learning for preschool and school aged children.
For youth, they will be an inviting place with up-to-date technologies for learning and socializing
in both real and virtual space. Specific programs like Homework Help will strengthen their
impact on youth learning.
Environment: They will continue to be green spaces partnering with recycling agencies
(Newman, 2008, p. 19-21).
Future Outlook
What will libraries look like in 2022? By 2022 most library buildings will contain fewer books
and more group study/community meeting space. They will have larger Wi-Fi zones and a wider
variety of seating options for customers. They will have quiet zones and noisy areas. Most of the
book-oriented services will be automated. Creation or Discovery zones will be commonplace.
Library systems will have far more young adult customer. Staff will have the expertise to support
students who use technology as part of their educational experience. Sophisticated book vending
machines will be available in train stations, bus terminals, ferries, city halls, etc. Libraries will
adopted a culture of experimentation. Libraries will use sophisticated measurement tools to help
them assess the impact of policy decisions on customer behaviour. Libraries will make decisions
based on user feedback (Roberts, 2012, p. 24).

13
Library Quality Improvement Matrix
The Public Library Quality Improvement Matrix was created by the Scottish Library and
Information Council to assess quality in public libraries. It combines number counts with
satisfaction surveys. It has the following seven indicators of quality: (1) access to information,
(2) personal and community participation, (3) meeting readers‘ needs, (4) learners‘ experiences,
(5) ethos and values, (6) organization and use of resources and space, and (7) leadership
(Scottish Library and Information Council, 2007, p. 16).
There are six levels of performances
 Level 6: Excellent
 Level 5: Very good
 Level 3: Adequate
 Level 2: Weak
 Level 1: Unsatisfactory (Scottish Library and Information Council, 2007, p. 17-8)
It also has questions to ask for each indicator. For Access to Information:
 To what extent are the information needs of all met?
 How well does the service enable access to local and wider information networks?
 In what ways do the public library service support individuals and organisations to locate
and use information effectively? (Scottish Library and Information Council, 2007, p. 21)
For Personal and community participation:
 In what ways does the public library service engage in activities which contribute to the
Community Planning process?
 In what ways does library staff support the development of individuals and communities?
 What activities does the library facilitate?
 How well does the library encourage a sense of place and identity? (Scottish Library and
Information Council, 2007, p. 23)
For meeting readers‘ needs:
 How well does the public library service identify and meet the requirements of a broad range
of reading interests and abilities?
 In what ways does the public library service offer a range of reading choices and events?
 How well does the public library service aim to meet the needs of all readers? (Scottish
Library and Information Council, 2007, p. 25)
For learners‘ experiences:
 In which ways does the library environment promote learning?
 To what extent does staff encourage learning?
 In what ways are the needs of various learners addressed?

14
 What opportunities are there for progression through partnerships? (Scottish Library and
Information Council, 2007, p. 27)
For ethos and values:
 What are stakeholders‘ perceptions of the public library service?
 How well does the public library service demonstrate inclusion and opportunity for all?
 How well are individuals welcomed into the library? (Scottish Library and Information
Council, 2007, p. 29)
For organization and use of resources and space:
 In what ways do library management assess the quality of library buildings?
 How well are services marketed?
 How well do library management ensure that sufficient staff are in place to meet public
needs throughout the library network?
 In what way is funding secured, allocated and monitored by library management? (Scottish
Library and Information Council, 2007, p. 31)
For leadership:
 How well is the vision for the public library service communicated and realised?
 What procedures are used by library management to ensure that appropriate services are
delivered to citizens?
 How well do leaders empower and support staff to improve services and realise the vision?
 What new services or innovative projects have recently been introduced? (Scottish Library
and Information Council, 2007, p. 33)

15
Lean Management
Lean is a management philosophy that is focused on creating value when delivering a product or
service to customers while reducing unnecessary steps. Having its roots from the Toyota
Production system, it is a principle aimed at identifying and eliminating waste in a process
(Chiarini, 2013, p. 2). The Toyota company realized their delivery chain had too many delays
and too many obstacles to allow them build a low-cost, high quality products, they also realized
they were expending too much time, energy and resources trying to navigate the poorly designed
process (Huber, 2011, p.2).With the existing mass production method employed by their
competitors like Ford and other western manufactures where increased costs translated to
superior quality, Toyota knew that they could not afford it due to the problems above, they
needed to modify their cost structure and eliminate waste in their operations. With Lean
Management, they were able to lower costs, shortened lead times and provide quality products
and better customer services to their customers (Chiarini, 2013, p.3-4).
Lean Management Theory
Lean Management has its basic underlying principles which make it adaptable to both production
and service industry, since service organizations such as the library, in a general sense encounter
many of the challenges faced by manufacturers. It is based on simple day-to-day concepts of
waste identification, it also seeks to create the quickest and smoothest delivery path to the
customer, with the belief that the shorter the service delivery time, the lesser cost incurred. Lean
also assumes that the fewer errors and wasteful activities in a process, the better the product and
service rendered (Huber, 2011, p.3).
Womack & Jones (2003) outlines the five principles of the lean system as follows:
1. Specifying what creates value from the customers perspective
2. Identifying all the steps along the process chain
3. Make the identified processes flow
4. Make only what is pulled (needed) by the customer
5. Strive for perfection by continually removing wastes
He demonstrated the principles using case studies on how to apply lean thinking to any product
or service. The question then is ―How then can lean be implemented in a library setting?‖ In an
effort to answer this question, we need to define adequately three fundamental issues in the
library system
 Who are libraries customers and what values are important to these customers?
 What are the processes involved in delivering these values?
 What are the wastes/non-value added activities in the process that delays or inhibits superior
service delivery?

16
For many organizations, including the library, there exists numerous processes that are
interrelated and sometimes intertwined which in obvious cases often leads to complexities.
Workflow are usually made up of discrete steps that involves repetitive and often times
unnecessary actions, therefore by increasing the rapidity of operations and reducing the
unnecessary steps, libraries can respond to user demands to make materials available how, where
and when they need it.
Various researches and works have been done in different sections of the library system using
Lean that it is worth mentioning their impact and successes. It is however, worthy of note to add
that the term ―Lean Management‖ is usually more conveniently phrased as ―Continuous
Improvement‖ in most library projects (and even organizations) due to the misconception of staff
reduction, layoffs and merging of roles and responsibilities that lean management tend to create,
Hence most library projects carried out using continuous improvement are ―lean-driven‖ aimed
at reducing inefficiencies in processes.
University libraries across the world are popular with implementing lean management as a
response to financial challenges similar to and, in some cases, more dire than challenges facing
the Newfoundland Public Libraries. Through lean thinking programs, many universities have
experienced comprehensive process improvements and cost reductions. Some of the
improvements realized at some universities (without staff reductions) include:
 The University of Wisconsin which reduced timeframe of several research processes by
more than 80%
 The University of Iowa: Saved $500,000 in the first year of the initiative including a
reduction in annual mailing expenses of $100,000
 The University of Washington: Reduced process timeframe for grants and contracts by 90%
 The University of Notre Dame: Reduced hiring process by 66%
 The University of New Orleans: Reduced the average cycle time for personnel processes by
99% (Behm et al., 2010)
 Wichita State University‘s (WSU) Libraries and Department of Industrial Engineering
collaborated with the Boeing Company on an accelerated improvement workshop (AIW) to
improve processing time of direct-order library materials. Associated Kaizen and lean
management training was provided by Boeing over a 6-week period (Alexander & Williams,
2005).
Perception of Value-Library Users
The Provincial Information and Library Resources Board do not have any library user
satisfaction information. To determine what users value about public libraries, secondary
research was surveyed. Ladhari and Morales (2007) investigated what variables affect perceived
value. They used an instrument called LibQUAL+ (2004) which was administered to 439
Canadian public library users. What they discovered is that affect of service, library as place, and
information control significantly explain perceived value (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 352).

17
Affect of service focuses on how well users are served and treated by library staff. Information
Control is concerned with the ability to navigate the information universe. It considers how well
the collections; both, print and electronic, support learning, teaching and research; and how easy
it is to locate and access the needed materials. Library-as-place focuses on how well a library
meets the individual needs of users who look for a place to do research and study (Ladhari &
Morales, 2007, p. 355-6).
The authors tested to determine if the relationship variables are correlated:
H1a. Perceptions of affect of service have positive impact on perceived service value.
H1b. Perceptions of information control have positive impact on perceived service value.
H1b. Perceptions of library as place have positive impact on perceived service value.
H2a. There exists a positive relationship between affect of service and information control.
H2b. There exists a positive relationship between information control and library as place.
H2c. There exists a positive relationship between affect of service and library as place.
H3. Perceptions of higher service value have positive impact on positive word-of-mouth
communications (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 357).
Figure 6: Hypothesized relationships (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 358)
The LibQUAL+ 2004 instrument was used to measure these three dimensions: affect of service
(nine items), information control (eight items), and library as place (five items). (Ladhari &
Morales, 2007, p. 358)

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Figure 7: LibQUAL+ 2004- Perceived service quality
Figure 9 lists the correlations between individual service quality items and perceived service
value. All correlations are significant at the 0.01 level. Results reveal that the items representing
the dimensions ―library as place‖ are highly correlated with perceived service value. The item
―the library has spaces that inspire study and learning‖ is the one having the highest correlation
with perceived service value. The correlation between affect of service and information control is
positive and significant (0.613, < 0.01). The correlation between information control and
library as place is also positive and significant (0.614, < 0.01). Finally, the correlation between
affect of service and library as place is positive and significant (0.353, < 0.01). These results
support H2a, H2b, and H2c. H3 proposes that perceived service value impacts positively on
positive word-of-mouth intentions. This hypothesis is supported (0.736, < 0.01). Results show
that 54.1 percent of word-of-mouth intentions are explained by perceived service value. (Ladhari
& Morales, 2007, p. 360-2)

19
Figure 8: Correlations between service quality items and perceived service value
Figure 9: Results (standardized solution) (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 361)
In this context, directors of libraries must understand users‘ needs, plan service provision,
promote the available services, and deliver them efficiently and effectively. Their use of
relationship marketing is an essential tool in ensuring that the services they provide meet the
needs of library users. (Ladhari & Morales, 2007, p. 363)
In 2012, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of the general U.S. population regarding
library usages and habits along many different dimensions (gender, education, race, age, income,
etc.) They examined what people want from their libraries. They asked survey respondents about
a variety of services that public libraries often provide to the public, and asked them how
important, if at all, they think it is for public libraries to provide each to the community. The
survey size was 2,252 people 16 or older. The survey was conducted by telephone between

20
October15-November10, 2012. Margin of error was +/- 2.3 percentage points for the total
sample.
With respect to what people think is important for libraries to offer:
● 80% want librarians to help find information
● 80% want to borrow books
● 77% want free access to computers and the internet
● 76% want quiet study spaces for adults and children
● 74% want programs and classes for children and teens
● 73% want research resources such as free databases
● 67% want job/career resources
● 63% want free events/activities such as classes and cultural events
● 49% want free public meeting spaces (Zickuhr, Rainie, & Purcell, 2013, p. 40)
With respect to services and programs libraries should and should not implement:
● 85% said libraries should coordinate more with local schools
● 82% said libraries should have free literacy programs
● 61% said libraries should have separate spaces for different services
● 59% said libraries should have more comfortable spaces
● 53% said libraries should offer more e-books
● 47% said libraries should offer more interactive learning experiences
● 43% said libraries should help users digitize material
● 42% said libraries should move most library services online
● 41% said libraries should make most services automated
● 20% said libraries should move some books/stacks out of public locations (Zickuhr et. al.,
2013, p. 48)
With respect to how likely they would be to use various library services:
● 37% would use an online research service (―ask a librarian‖)
● 35% would use a cell phone app to use/view library services
● 35% would use a program to try out new technology devices/apps
● 34% would use a cell phone GPS app that helps locate material inside library
● 33% would use library kiosks in community to check-out books, movies
● 29% would like personalized accounts that give book recommendations
● 28% would like classes on how to download library e-books
● 26% would like e-book readers loaded with books you want to read
● 26% would like a digital media lab to create/upload new content like movies or e-books
● 23% would like instruction on how to use e-book reading devices (Zickuhr et. al., 2013, p.
57)

21
When library staff were asked about library strengths, several themes emerged:
● The libraries‘ role as a community center, and their connection to patrons and other local
institutions
● Providing access to books and information in every form
● Literacy efforts that help people find and use that information on their own; this included not
only early childhood literacy efforts and reading programs for children and teens, but also
helping patrons learn how to use computers, e-readers, and other devices
When library staff were asked what libraries guiding principles should be, some of the responses
were:
● To offer knowledge and information to the community
● Educating the public to survive in today's world
● Libraries should be the social hub of the community
● The disseminator of reference materials, reading materials and the provider of computer
access to the general public
● To meet the communities‘ needs for information, acculturation, literacy and personal
contact.
● A community gathering place
● When library staff was asked about things that should change, the following ideas were put
forth:
● Many spoke of a need to be more flexible, to adapt to new technologies and open the library
to more activities. Others felt that some libraries were chasing new technology trends and
programming at the expense of their core competencies.
● Move from being an archival public library toward instant services.
● We are at a crossroads in our area where we are dealing with an older generation who
doesn't mind change as long as they can still check out the books they want and the new
generation who wants and needs updates which we cannot afford.
● As our population ages, focus of special services to seniors—hearing devices, viewing
devices, help services like carrying books to their cars, grabbers to get books off shelves,
computer classes directed to seniors, programming specific to seniors, have walkers and
wheelchairs available.
● I am concerned about the constant demand to ‗keep up with technology‘ when information is
where I place my emphasis. There will always be another device, another way to access the
information, and I am now in a position where I am like a salesman, not a librarian.
● Stop trying to be all things to all people. Find out what communities want from us and
provide that service.
● Making libraries more accessible and welcoming to more members of the community
● Public libraries should partner more with other organizations and go out into the community
to engage with new audiences.

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Lean for Service Excellence
It is however pertinent to state that Lean management thrives on the recognition that service
excellence is key to customer retention. Libraries should recognise that their competitors have
gone beyond traditional bookstores or rental services to highly digitalised services as mentioned
earlier on. While libraries are mostly not-for-profit businesses, they must work within their
allocated funds to provide the goods and services demanded by their customers, and if
circulation keeps depleting over time, the consequences are the same as profit-oriented
companies; staff get sacked, management gets replaced, bonuses gets forfeited and funding
bodies (government in most cases) become hesitant. Hence, librarians needs to have a bigger
picture view in terms of service performance, this will enable them to embrace changes that are
associated with lean management. Therefore before every lean transformation project, it must be
taken that the Library is a complex business environment and librarians must respond
aggressively to improve service to reduce costs (Huber, 2011, p.7-10).
Culture of Change
Most organizations including public libraries are characterised by repetitive tasks performed
every day, often segmented in terms of skill level and pay grade, with people tied to their job
descriptions for several years. The vast amount of experience gained doing these routine jobs can
be a force against new ideas.
A fundamental part of success of Lean or any other improvement principle rests on how the
organization embraces change that comes with it. Huber recommended some steps in his
methodology for library management to create, manage, and guide a culture towards change. A
few important ones are listed below:
● Understanding and embracing the organizational purpose: This can be reflected through
vision and mission statements that emphasise customer service delivery. For example, the
New York Public Library states, ―The mission of the New York Public Library is to inspire
lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities. To deliver on this
promise, we rely on three great resources–our staff, our collections, and our physical and
virtual spaces–as well as our core values.‖
The Tulsa City County Library seeks to ―provide service that is high in quality and timeliness
while promoting the joy of reading, research, literacy, and access to information for people of all
ages….‖(Huber, 2011, p.19-20). Mission statements can be an effective way to communicate to
employees, suppliers and the community the commitment of a library to change, service delivery
and continuous improvement.
 Practise a top-down and bottom-up driven management style: Management must be fully
committed to the change effort, by using top-down management style, decisions and
directives are made, while the bottom-up style encourages self-directed work teams. This

23
motivates employees to develop ideas without fear. In manufacturing, one of the salient
parts of lean successes is the ability of floor workers to halt production when a variation is
discovered in a process.
 Practice process change ownership: Everyone involved must be active participants in
developing the change.
 Initiate projects to drive change: Using a project approach to facilitate change. This gives
critical ownership to team members.
 Develop gap driven performance metrics: Performance metrics is a vital key in
implementing change, there should be appropriate data collection system to establish
milestones in the transformation journey. Measurement facilitates recognition of gaps,
benchmarks and success factors in the process.
 Drive change through cross-functional teams
 Develop and share results
 Celebrate current and past accomplishments (Huber, 2011, p.21-31).
The key success factors can be generalized as: (1) commitment from management; (2) energy,
fortitude, enthusiasm, and will; (3) provincial support; (4) time; and (5) funds.
Lean places a high value on people and their contributions. Collaboration between individuals
and teams at every organizational level is an important component of any lean strategy (Kress,
2008). Workers in a lean system have greater responsibility for quality than workers in
traditional systems, and they are expected to be involved in problem solving and continuous
improvement. Lean system workers receive extensive training in statistical process control,
quality improvement, and problem solving. Of interest are problems that interrupt, or have the
potential to interrupt, the smooth flow of work through the system. When such problems surface,
it becomes important to resolve them quickly. This may entail increasing inventory levels
temporarily while the problem is investigated, but the intent of problem solving is to eliminate
the problem, or at least greatly reduce the chances of it recurring (Stevenson, 2012, p.632).
For example, in the ACA Libraries Improvement project, they had a workshop that focused on
library processes. Participants (librarians) made lists of library processes, identified the
customers for these processes, and discussed the importance of measuring activities and of
selecting the best methods for taking these measurements. As a part of the workshop evaluation,
participants were asked to identify specific library processes that they wanted to improve when
they returned home. The top five responses were technical services, student utilization, book
processing, acquisitions and ordering, and cataloguing (Mitchell, 2007, p 10).
Implementing Lean
Most lean projects are borne out of the desire of library management involved to embrace and
implement change in their process, either through change in management, dwindling resources /
budget, or customer complaints, whichever way it happens, value is often created with lesser

24
resources to more efficiency and customer satisfaction. To achieve quantifiable results, every
form of feedback system may be employed to establish true value in the system. No matter how
long or how well laid out a process is, it is full of waste if it does not add value to customer
satisfaction and service delivery. Therefore, implementing lean starts from identification of non-
value added steps (waste) in the processes.
1. Inventory—beyond minimal quantities, an idle resource, takes up floor space, and adds
to costs.
2. Overproduction—involves excessive use of resources.
3. Waiting time—this is generalized as any cause of delays (e.g. delayed shipments, long setup
time, absences and improper scheduling). Tardiness of personnel also contributes to waiting
time.
4. Excess motion—excessive walking, excessive moving caused by poor workplace layout,
awkward positioning of equipment and supplies, resulting in ergonomics problems and
wasted time in searching.
5. Processing waste—According to Borror (2009),‖Excess processing is often difficult to
recognise. Sometimes the entire steps of a value-chain are non-value added‖. There are steps
in processes that do not add value to the customer. They are often chores or duties that have
been embedded in the system over the years encouraging unnecessary steps, scrap or errors.
6. Inefficient work methods—excessive bending, inappropriate lifting-reduce productivity,
increase scrap or errors, increase work-in-process inventory.
7. Product defects—these are non-value added often caused by poor equipment maintenance,
poor training, and work instructions; hence, they require rework costs and possible lost
patronage due to customer dissatisfaction.
In applying lean, a fundamental step to achieving desired success is defining the problem, this is
important so as to track improvement and measure performance. This process is fundamental to
kick-starting lean strategies. As simple as it may seem, it can also be the most difficult part of an
improvement process in that most organizations are often faced with myriads of issues that it
becomes difficult to establish or prioritise one over another. Also, departments and units may be
tempted to think their issues demand more attention than others forgetting the common goal of
the organization. This often negates the organisational purpose thereby inducing undue
competitiveness within units of the same organization.
In defining the problem, one of the first steps is to define each of the delivery service chain paths
to the customer. For each of these chains, specific performance measures are needed to tell how
each one is performing. Delivery performance metrics are therefore defined along these paths.
The importance of defining the problems with performance metrics cannot be overemphasized as
it gives milestones to the improvement process. Taking for example, the difference between a
library director stating, ―We are taking a long time to get new books to shelves, I would ask
everyone to try to get more books out each day‖....and... ―I discovered that it takes us fifteen
working days on average to get a new book from the dock to the shelf, this is slowing down our

25
performance. Can we work on getting new books out on shelf same day or the next day we
receive them?‖ Both scenarios state the same problem, but the latter has a performance gap and
target.
Lean Management Tools
Several lean tools are used in lean management, most of them for root-cause analysis, some of
which are explained below:
Flowchart
The purpose of a flowchart is to provide graphic representation of the elements, components, or
tasks associated with a process. It is useful for illustration and documentation purposes. The
advantage of flowcharting is that it allows complex process to be understood by anyone without
providing unnecessary and sometime confusing details of the process.
Elements of Flowcharts
Flowcharts must specify a start and an end point, and it must specify major tasks/steps and
decision points. It must define the sequence of events and it has several unique standardized
primary symbols which are universally employed in process mapping. An example is given
below.
Figure 10: An example of a library flowchart
Value Stream Mapping
A value stream map (VSM) is a specific tool in Lean used to evaluate all the processes within a
workflow that are currently required to bring a product and/or service from customer request to
delivery (Novak,2015, p. 2). Value stream mapping is similar to a flowchart but includes
additional information about various activities that occur at each step of the process. It is an
efficient way of illustrating the before-and-after situation analysis of a process so as to identify
opportunities for improvement and track performance. It is often divided into two categories:
i. Current state-mapping: provides information about the process as it is currently defined.

26
ii. Future or end state-mapping: provides information about the process as it could look once
redefined.
Pareto Diagram
Pareto diagrams or charts are used to identify and separate those vital few areas that account for
the largest frequency of errors or problems from the trivial many. It depicts the 80/20 rule
originally postulated by the Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto to explain economic phenomena.
The 80/20 rule allows users to identify and focus on the approximately 20 percent of factors that
accounts for 80 percent of potential problems.
Cause and Effect (Ishikawa) diagram
The purpose of a cause and effect diagrams, also known as ―Fishbone‖ or ―Ishikawa‖ diagrams,
are used in problem solving and root cause analysis situations to identify factors or causes to a
problem or opportunity. It is highly effective for analyzing a priority problem usually after a
Pareto ranking. The problem selected for analysis is documented by a keyword description and
its major causes are linked to it with lines resembling bones of a fish skeleton (hence the name
fishbone). Major causes are generally described as they relate to people, hardware/equipment,
operating environment, methods and materials. Teams are formed to brainstorm possible causes
or opportunities (Borror, 2008, p.279).
5 Whys
An important component of lean is the concept of asking questions.5 whys is a technique to help
you get past the symptoms of a problem, and to find its root causes. It is simply asking the
question. ―Why?‖ several times. The number ―5‖ being a ―rule of thumb‖, the actual number
depends on the complexity of the problem. Quality professionals believe that asking questions
about a situation will always reveal a deeper insight into the cause of the problem (Borror, 2008,
p.281).
Figure 11: A Library Cause and Effect (Fishbone) Diagram

27
Figure 12 : An example of a 5-Whys Model
5S
Lean emphasises visualization through 5S. The ability to stand in the middle of a process and see
the position of everything is the strength of this concept. Its simplicity makes it practicable in
every facet of process improvement. The 5S methodology is a very good philosophy that goes
beyond just making the workplace clean. It is defined as:
Sort (Seiri): Sort out the needed and not needed in the area. Anything that is not needed at the
workplace is removed to be stored, disposed or destroyed.
Straighten (Seiton): Arranged items are set in order that is needed so that they are ready and easy
to use. Clearly identify the location for all items so that anyone can find them and return them
once the task is completed.
Shine (Seiso): Clean the workplace and equipment on a regular basis in order to maintain
standards and identify defects. It also sets the standards that should be there daily.

28
Standardize (Seiketsu): Repeating the first three steps of 5S on a frequent basis and conform the
condition of the working place using standard procedures.
Sustain (Shitsuke): Rules have to be maintained, standardized and improved continuously every
day (Maidhili et al, 2014).
Benefits of 5S for any organization like public libraries include:
 Give standards and discipline to the employees
 Space reduction (main advantage)
 Clean and pleasant work environment–health and safety
 Production or services increases due to flow management while quality improves as
abnormalities are identified and rectified
An example of a 5S workplace scan checklist is shown in Figure B in the appendix:
Application of Lean tools to Library Process Improvement
In the Wichita State University (WSU) Libraries project carried out in conjunction with Boeing
and the Wichita State University Industrial Engineering Department tagged ―Accelerated
Improvement Workshop (AIW)‖ in the Libraries‘ Technical Services Department. The library
team focused on improving processing time of direct-order library materials, based on the
premise that developing operations techniques that swiftly place newly arriving materials into the
hands of patrons increase circulation. Likewise, in the process improvement project at the
University of Notre Dame, Cameron explained how the library started off with value
identification and specification using Lean Thinking (Cameron, 2006). Lean Thinking breaks
activities into three types:
1. Activities that create value
2. Activities that are necessary but do not create value
3. Activities that create no value
If a simple value statement for the Electronic reserves unit was ―To make reserves materials
available to the university community‖ then:
1. The scanning of articles into the reserves module creates value because it makes materials
available to the university community.
2. The transportation of materials up to the photocopying center, while necessary, does not
create value. Therefore, it should be minimized, if not eliminated.
For example, batching is a common occurrence in library process. Customer hold requests are
batched to optimise the paging process. Books are batched during check-in and again during
shelving. Though it makes sense as the arguments are for labour efficiency, which lean is all
about, but it is only effective after the process itself has been streamlined, with batch sizes and
lead times reduced. In observing the case study at Notre Dame University Library, Cameron
stated, ―The rationale behind a batch and queue system can be explained from both the individual

29
activity level and the process level. Turning first to the activity level, batch and queuing is
primarily used to save time in set-ups. For example, in electronic reserves, the retrieving of print
materials was organized into a batch and queue system. Materials that required retrieval from the
stacks were queued up into batches that were retrieved twice daily. The efficiency was that for
every book batched into the queue one less trip was required to retrieve material. At the process
level, batch and queuing is used to take advantage of the efficiencies inherent in job
specialization. An example of this from electronic reserves was that one employee was trained to
do the initial processing while another was trained to do scanning and mounting‖ (Cameron,
2006).
While the batch and queue system is an efficient method under certain circumstances, Womack,
in discussing flow, states the need to fight departmentalized, batch thinking because tasks can
almost always be accomplished much more efficiently and accurately when the product is
worked on continuously from raw material to finished goods (Womack, 2003, p. 22). Womack
further said, ―The most basic problem is that flow thinking is counterintuitive; it seems obvious
to most people that work should be organized by departments in batches‖ (Womack, 2003, p.
23).
Huber also narrated in his book that during one of the cross functional meetings he held in a
library, they were discussing ways to improve the receiving and linking process. A team member
asked whether they could stop putting books on the lower shelf of the book cart because the
books were difficult to reach. She felt that productivity would improve if they did not have to
bend over constantly. This was a non-value adding activity and also an ergonomic safety issue
(Huber, 2011, p.84).
Part of the research included trips to 10 Newfoundland & Labrador libraries. The Pareto diagram
below represents the responses of librarians to the issues in their libraries. It was decided to
ignore funding as it is outside the scope of this project.

30
Figure 13; Pareto analysis of Newfoundland & Labrador Libraries
Streamlining the Cataloguing Process
As explained above, cataloguing is a very crucial step in library operations. It is often the
bedrock of inventory management in libraries. To begin with, analyzing the process in a
flowchart, as in the diagram below, helps us to observe the sequential order of steps with a view
to evaluate the value added to the process while the value stream map enables us to answer the
following questions:
 Is there a standard time for cataloguing process?
 How long does the process take?
Reviewing tasks with a value mindset is key to effective time saving in a lean project. Below is
the cataloguing process description provided by NLPL:
At Stephenville, Integrated Library System Horizon is used for all cataloguing. They also
subscribe to the cataloguing utility Bookware. The steps in the cataloguing process occur as
follows:
 Search Horizon to see if a bibliographic (bib) record exists for the item.
o If yes, add the item to the existing record.
o If no, search Bookwhere for a record, download it, and edit it.
NoofLibraries
Pressing Issues

31
 If bib record cannot be found, a new record must be created. This involves formatting
according to Marc standards, determining call numbers according to the Dewey decimal
system and subject headings according to Library of Congress Authorities.
 Call numbers are written on a work slip for the typist.
 Place item on a cart.
 The next morning, the items are rechecked for accuracy, put in the status ‗p‘ = processing,
and placed on the typing shelves for the processors. There is a designated shelf for rush
items (items that libraries have requests for) as these have to be processed that day, if
possible.
The cataloguing supervisor runs Recall and SQL reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, to
check for errors and inconsistencies, change statuses for non-automated libraries and to delete
items and bib records as necessary.
Note: Cataloguers also catalog items that do not physically come through Technical Services and
do not need processing. E-books are catalogued from information received on Excel spreadsheets
sent directly from the Book Selectors who do the ordering. Also if libraries have donated items,
or items that are purchased locally by their library boards, they fill out and send Cataloguing by
Mail forms. Cataloguers will create the records and the processing is done at the local library.
Based upon the description above, a flowchart was developed.
In the flowchart below (Fig.15), it was easy to identify five non-value adding activities. The 5
whys were used to determine the root causes of bottlenecks in the process. The steps of ―recheck
record for accuracy‖ to ―fix record‖ are non-value added tasks. An alternative option might
involve creating a system of instant error detection (poka yoke) to enable doing it right the first
time at point of manual creation. Also, placing item on cart and waiting are identified as non-
value adding to the process. The cataloguer can directly write the slip number and proceed
directly to changing the status. However, it requires an understanding of the process value
mapping to identify the value gap and bottlenecks present.

32
Figure 14: The Cataloguing process flowchart
In cataloguing a book, cataloguers often must enter the dimensions of a book into the books item
record using a ruler to measure the book. A poke-yoke session might suggest a 90o
ruler painted
on top of the desk. This improves accuracy as well as the productivity of the process. (Huber,
2011 p. 182)
An example of a Value Map analysis for a section of the cataloguing process is shown below.
The cycle time and time expended are calculated to identify bottlenecks in the process. The
improvements in overall turnaround time can continue by reducing the time of each step in the
process. After a review of the process, a Lean Process Improvement (LPI) decision is made, time

33
saved and process eliminated or merged are identified and recorded for continuous monitoring
and improvement.
Figure 15: Value Stream Mapping-Cataloguing process (Huber, 2011 p.175) (modified)
Streamlining Processing Workflow
Like cataloguing, processing takes place at the Stephenville facility. Processing includes
stamping, repairing, covering and labeling of library materials. The processing steps are as
follows:
 Unpack items from boxes
 Attach barcodes to items
 Check items against the purchase orders
 Scan items into the system with a status ‗n‘ = newly acquired.
 Prints allocation codes (library locations) on the books, according to what is in the order
record in Horizon,

34
 Attach work slips to items and places them on the shelves for the cataloguers. Shelves are
organized according to categories (see previous section).
 Rush items (priority) items are given directly to cataloguers.
 Once cataloguing is complete, the typing of spine labels (and cards and pockets for non-
automated libraries) is performed. These items are attached to the book/DVD/CD with a
paper clip and put on the designated shelves for completed items.
 Another processor will then retrieve the items, stamp them with the Provincial Library
stamp, attach the spine labels and pockets, add any required stickers (for particular
collections), and put dust jacket (plastic) covers on any books that have paper covers.
 At the end of each day, the completed items are again scanned into Horizon and given the
status ‗ma2‘ = mailed out.
 That afternoon or the following morning, the ‗ma2‘ items are taken to the mailroom where
there is a shelf for each library location. They are then mailed out as soon as possible.
The following flowchart shows these process steps.
Figure 16: Library processing flowchart
The flowchart diagram above gives a first glance about the bottlenecks in the processing
workflow. A total of five waiting times present obviously raise questions from a value

35
perspective. Continuous flow implies no waiting times in this process and library management
should be concerned about the root cause of these bottlenecks.
Effective use of lean tools as discussed earlier can be applied to this process to reduce waiting
times and excess motion.
Improving the Interlibrary Loans (ILL) Process
Users‘ expectations of interlibrary loan services have been shaped by their experiences with
search engines that provide uncomplicated interfaces and immediate full-text delivery. Libraries
must not only allow for discovery of materials but must also meet users‘ expectations that mirror
their experiences in these online environments. The continual challenge for libraries is to provide
ever-faster delivery times, both through innovative services and by taking advantage of
technological advances. Even though delivery times continue to decrease, the user satisfaction
gap that exists between immediate electronic content delivery upon discovery and waiting to
receive materials from interlibrary loan remains.
To determine whether an interlibrary loan process has been beneficial to the patron in terms of
quality of service, the following factors must be considered:
● timeliness of the service;
● fill-rate;
● quality and completeness of the material received;
● interaction with ILL staff;
● ease of ordering and remote ordering;
● price of the service;
● convenience (Porat, 2001, p. 108)
The goal of improved interlibrary loans is therefore to achieve;
● Customer identification through registration to ensure successful delivery of materials,
elimination of repetitive input of customer information, and prevention of unauthorized use.
● Customer initiated requests submitted through online forms coupled with customer
interaction to allow altering a request after submission, renewing a request, and tracking the
progress of a request.
● Tracking and reporting of requests at every stage and elimination of all paper records and
manual record keeping.
Fill Rate
Fill rate is the ratio of requests filled to the number of requests submitted, commonly expressed
as a percentage, and represents how successful a library is at filling submitted requests of both
borrowing and lending activities. An example of how to calculate a fill rate follows:
Calculating a Fill Rate:

36
Turnaround time should be measured from the time the user makes the request to the time the
material is made available to him/her. Every transaction consists of several steps, just as in the
value mapping diagram above, the improvements in overall turnaround time can continue by
reducing the time of each step in the process. By looking at a model of steps in requesting or
borrowing, we can fashion out some of the ways time can be reduced (Weibel et. al, (2011) p.77-
78).
Steps in the Borrowing Process
1. Patron makes request to ILL through a library
2. Borrowing reviews request and places request to potential lender
3. Lending library receives and reviews request, may say no or continue to process
4. Lending library processes and ships material
5. Borrowing library receives material
6. Borrowing library makes material available to patron
For step 1, web-based request forms can reduce to almost zero the time between the patron
initiating the request and the borrowing unit receiving the request.
For step 2, a solution to this step is to reduce staff mediation by moving as much mediated ILL
traffic as possible to user-initiated services. A profile of rules that determine the criteria by which
a request will be automatically sent directly to a potential lending library may be sent online.
This can be automated directly to lender library with a notification to patron home library for
reference purposes. We can expect a reduction in overall turnaround time, even taking into
account that lenders may not be working or shipping on weekends. An improved turnaround time
may also result from suggesting mail routes and distances to patrons through Google Maps to
enable them make decisions for books that are available in multiple locations.
For steps 3 and 4, the burden to reduce turnaround time rests on the lender. One simple technique
that can reduce turnaround time and improve the service provided to borrowing libraries is to
download requests more frequently. Printing address labels from a database in an ILL
management or shipping system and using couriers reduce the time spent processing material for
shipping (Weibel et. al, 2011, p.81).
As more requests are made for journal articles that can be filled from online
resources, less time is required to pull, scan, and reshelve paper journals. The future of ILL is
rich with possible resolution of data and service options that support mutual goals and strategies.
For example, the future authors of digital projects will require a hybrid of supporting services
that foster long-term relationships with authors, researchers, communities, projects, and the like,
and patrons should have varieties of options including:
 Picking the book up at the desk to read it

37
 Receiving the book at home to read it
 Accessing the book via laptop as a PDF, a WAV, or an MP3 or via a portable reader of his
or her choice
 Sharing the book on course reserves, in group projects or reading groups, with librarians or
instructors for discussion, or in social online collaboration tools
 Integrating the book into adaptive learning software, bibliographic software, or a course
management system (Weibel et. al, (2011)
Library Space Management
Space management is an important factor in library process improvement. Most libraries struggle
with lack of space and the few with ample space find it space utilization difficult. The 5S tool as
explained in the Lean Management tools section helps librarians to optimize available spaces in
their facility. Space management and cleanliness and other continual improvements are achieved
by upholding and showing respect for the workplace every day.
5S and Visual Workspace Management
 Color Coding: At a basic level, 5S color coding can help departments organize workplace,
tools and resources. Consider a common stapler; there may be a few in use at any given
time. So how do you know which stapler belongs to the cataloguing unit and which belongs
to reference desk? By color coding, everyone knows the purple stapler belongs to the
cataloguing. If for some reason the purple stapler winds up at the reference desk, there‘s no
need to point fingers. You know where to return it. No questions asked. Everyone gets back
to work. Shadow-boards as used in engineering workshops can be replicated in the library
workspace. The big shadow of a missing item is a clear visual cue to find the item and see
where it belongs. Work area color coding is also an effective tool for space management, in
addition to safety benefits.
Figure 17: An example of a Color coding template
 Virtual Workspace Design: Researches have further suggested a paradigm shift from the
traditional setting to a virtual space design; hence, libraries should be prepared to
incorporate the 5S methodology into space design. Steven Foote, an architect who has
designed a number of libraries for liberal arts colleges commented from an architect‘s
perspective, ―...relating to the rapidly growing requirements for collaborative learning space,
as we trace the history of how to accommodate readers in libraries, we are struck by the new

38
paradigms that apply....It is apparent that changes are upon us and that the old programmatic
models are no longer adequate‖ (Foote, 2008, p 11).
These recent ideas in library space design emphasizes collaborative work between patrons-
patrons and patron-librarians, thereby removing visual and physical barriers, encouraging a sense
among readers that they ‗‗own‘‘ the library space they use, and also promote knowledge sharing
as against knowledge transfer between librarians-patrons. Scott Bennett in his work, The Choice
for Learning, proposed a desk-less reference space design as against the traditional large-sized
reference desk (Bennett, 2006, p.11). Generally, it is critical that libraries incorporate Lean
concepts even before design is approved to enhance customer, staff, material and process flow.
Figure 18: A traditional vs. desk-less reference desk
Knowledge Management
Overview
Knowledge management is the strategic application of integrated managerial strategy, which
combines explicit and tacit knowledge with organisational process to create, store, share, and
apply knowledge assets from internal and external sources. To be successful, there must be a fit
between an organization's strategy, its structure and culture (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 858-9).
In non-profit organizations, knowledge management can be used to improve communication
between top management and employees to improve work processes, to instil a culture of sharing
and to promote and implement a performance-based reward system for its employees. The
desired outcomes are:
 To enhance customer satisfaction
 To attract and retain new customers
 To increase public faith in the organization
 To justify the spending of funds provided by the government (Teng & Hawamdeh, 2002, p.
188).

39
Reasons for implementing knowledge management include:
 Recruiting the best people for the job
 Exposing professionals to the complexity of real problems
 Retrain professionals to react fast in problem-solving situations
 Developing people with vision and the drive to keep improving
 Overcome professionals‘ reluctance to share information (Teng & Hawamdeh, 2002, p. 189)
Knowledge management success factors include:
 A supportive culture
 Appropriate technology
 Support systems and infrastructure to handle knowledge sharing and transfer
 Methods to evaluate the value of knowledge management (Teng & Hawamdeh, 2002, p.
190-1)
Figure 19: The strategic knowledge management system
The figure above outlines the strategic knowledge management process. Strategic knowledge
management (centre circle) is derived from strategic management (top circle). Strategic
management develops the vision and objectives of the organization. The overarching goal of
strategic knowledge management is to ensure that the organization‘s knowledge assets meet the
vision and objectives. A key component of strategic knowledge management is identifying and
managing the gaps between internal knowledge and external knowledge. The knowledge audit is
fundamental to this stage. It identifies what knowledge exists, what knowledge is missing, and
who creates it. The strategic plan (bottom circle) uses the results of strategic knowledge
management to help determine the organizations‘ strategic course vis-à-vis customers and
competitors. The strategic plan also provides feedback (right circle) into both the strategic
management and knowledge management plans. This means that the knowledge management

40
strategy must be closely linked (left circle) to the overall business strategy (Alhamoudi, 2015, p.
861-2).
The balanced scorecard (BSC) gives corporate management a structured approach to measuring
and managing business performance in four key areas, namely customers, financials, internal
processes, and organisational learning and improvement (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 859). The
following are challenges related to implementing BSC in the public sector:
 Backing from top management
 Employee engagement
 Communication (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 860-1)
The following figure and description below outline the link between knowledge management
strategies using balanced scorecard.
Figure 20: The link between knowledge management strategies using BSC
Knowledge Resource Organizational Policy
Knowledge resource organizational policy is focused on people, structures, and codifying
organisational knowledge for storage in repositories. (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 865).
Knowledge Management Information Technology Strategy
Knowledge management information technology strategy emphasizes using information
technology for sharing knowledge between employees (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 865).

41
Knowledge Management Learning and Innovation Strategy
Knowledge management learning and innovation strategy focuses on organizational learning that
occurs through two-way interaction between individuals, groups and organisations in a climate
of learning that encourage employees to learn and develop in ways of producing and sharing
knowledge (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 865).
Knowledge Management Beneficiaries Strategy
Knowledge management beneficiaries‘ strategy emphasizes the external knowledge resources
that give the organisation a competitive edge derived from external knowledge, typically
focusing on customer-related knowledge (Alhamoudi, 2015, p. 866)
Knowledge Management and Social Media
Technology makes it easy to collaborate, reduces both temporal and spatial barriers in transfer of
knowledge, and improves the different aspects of knowledge management such as organizations,
storage, archiving, and retrieval (Forcier & Rathi, 2013, p. 1-2). Many Canadian libraries are
using Twitter and Facebook to reach library patrons. For example, one library in Alberta
recorded 8 million hits on social media in one year. It also uses Pinterest and YouTube for
marketing.
For libraries, a knowledge management system can be very beneficial such as locating answers
to FAQs quickly, improving decisions about reference sources for specific queries, improving
collections, and enhancing patron access to information. Users can add book reviews on wikis
and blogs of organizational websites, they can contribute to growing virtual local history
collections of scanned documents and images. (Forcier & Rathi, 2013, p. 2)
Blogs provide an environment for tacit-to-tacit as well as individual-to-individual knowledge
sharing. Libraries use blogs for internal and external purposes. External use included
communication events/news, sharing new resources, marketing, and other tasks, while the
internal use included general communication, article sharing, and citation management. Wikis
can be utilized in the information acquisition stage, information organization and storage and
information distribution stage of the information management cycle and thus facilitate the
knowledge sharing process. Social media are being used in areas like marketing, customer
service, and community engagement. (Forcier & Rathi, 2013, p. 3)
The figure below depicts a cycle of knowledge that flows around the organization, generated
internally through interactions and shared among staff, then directed externally. New knowledge
is generated from the public, in the form of customer interactions that provide feedback for the

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