R2IT Project Background and Charge

R2IT Team Reports

Reports from R2 Consulting

Project Team:

  • Jennifer Banks
  • Charlene Follett
  • Millicent Gaskell
  • Rebecca Lubas
  • Marlene Manoff
  • Kim Maxwell
  • Maria Rodrigues
r2-group@mit.edu

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Last updated April 25, 2007.
Questions about this page?
Contact caschw[at]mit.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIT Libraries

R2 Implementation Team (R2IT)

Background

The June 2006 report from R2 Consulting, Print Workflows: MIT Libraries Observations and Recommendations, provided recommendations on how to change workflows for handling print materials to reduce staff effort. Further, they identified other work practices that would benefit from more analysis. R2’s recommendations were based on their interviews at MIT as well as their knowledge of profession-wide best practices. While some of their recommendations were strategic and/or organizational in scope, this project’s priorities are the operational recommendations related to print workflows. A process for reviewing the strategic and organizational recommendations will be developed by Steering Committee in the future.

Charge

  1. Reduce the incoming volume of print journals and serials.
    • Implement e-only for the titles received in dual format when a trusted digital archive, e.g. Portico, exists. 
      1. Develop an aggressive yet realistic timeline for implementation.
      2. Define criteria for maintaining dual formats.
  2. Reduce and make more efficient the maintenance steps for all printed materials.
    • Define criteria for titles that will not be bound, both serials and monographs.
    • Stop check-in and routine claiming of all serial titles that meet the criteria defined in 2.a.
    • Reduce efforts to locate missing journal issues – bind incomplete.
    • Develop binding policies for titles with electronic equivalents to reduce staff effort.
    • Expand local record maintenance authority and holdings maintenance in processing.
    • Review and eliminate non-critical labels, stamps, marks.
    • Adopt barcode placement on front cover, top left corner.
    • Determine if check-in of YBP monographs in local units can be eliminated.
  3. Adopt additional changes for monographs workflow by making more vigorous use of approval plans, refining the GOBI workflow, reducing special locations, and setting quantitative parameters for storage decisions.
    • Improve/Expand the use of the YBP plan.  Determine impact of eliminating approval returns.
    • Eliminate receipt of paper slips from YBP.
    • With the goal of reducing their number, review the number of special locations currently in use and develop criteria for approving them.
      1. Recommend new workflow to eliminate pre-cats.
    • Adopt rules-based management for print monograph storage/disposal that reflects the needs of different subject disciplines.
  4. Identify the changes in the above categories that will require communication to the affected user communities.