Updates Newsletter

I want to begin by thanking all of you who have been reporting whether or not your library has been visited by a NOW courier driver.  Things are, by no means, at anything approximating normal or an even acceptable level of service, but they ARE showing quantifiable improvements.  On Thursday, October 26, we were able to meet late in the business day with a NOW rep who detailed what they’ve done, where they stand, and what their plans are for this week.  We are now entering the third week of this recovery period, and I anticipate good things for this week.

You can get a sense of what has been happening from a reporting standpoint by checking out my tracking spreadsheet.  Please note that this spreadsheet is a working document, so columns are hidden and exposed as I need them.  If you have questions about any of these things, don’t hesitate to contact me.  I have several upcoming out-of-office days in the next two weeks but will respond to emails regularly.

In addition to the gradual but positive on-ramping of service by NOW, Evergreen Indiana member libraries also face the lifting of the pause on intersystem, transit-dependent holds.  This pause expires tomorrow night.  What does that mean for your library?

• You will begin to see holds for patrons of other libraries show up on your holds pull list.
• You CAN begin pulling those holds.

At the same time, I know that not all libraries have received enough, and in several cases, any service from the courier yet.  Many libraries are only just now building back up their supplies to package transits and are still unable to process materials to transit in a way that protects the materials from damage.  There have been talks of lifting the pause for only certain regions.  Unfortunately, as it stands, it is not possible to lift the pause only partially.  What does THAT mean for your library?

• Pull holds, as always, for your local patrons first.
• Determine the level of service your library is receiving along with the transit processing materials available to you.
  • Using these determinations, choose whether or not your library staff should pull items to fulfill intersystem, transit-dependent holds.
• In “normal times,” there is an expectation that items are pulled for holds as soon as possible and processed to transit.  These are, as you well know, not “normal times.”
• As you see improvements with the courier service, use those demonstrated improvements to guide how to transition from the “paused state” to “full holds service.”

Please know that we are continuing to work at our fullest capacity to bring this service back up to speed for you, your library, and your patrons.  Also, continue to report deliveries or lack of deliveries using the Infoexpress Delivery Report Form.  The more data you report, the more I’m able to compile and use to represent our membership throughout this process.