Reaping the harvest: end-user access and staff savings at the University of Auckland, New Zealand

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to continue the discussion on the implementation of an ISO-compliant interlibrary loan management system at the University of Auckland. The implementation now includes an end-user interface and this report aims to investigate the savings in staff time which had been anticipated from its introduction. Staff input into end-user requests is also reviewed. Design/methodology/approach - The approach takes the form of an analysis of six months of requesting statistics with a discussion on a number of related issues including mediating end-user requests. Findings - Measurable time has been saved from reducing data entry by interlibrary loans staff. Continuing staff input into requests is described and some solutions reviewed. Other savings in staff time are identified and some possible options for the future are discussed. Practical implications - The research undertaken should help other libraries identify some of the benefits and issues involved in patrons entering their requests directly into an ISO-compliant interlibrary loans management system. Originality/value - The report is believed to be the first attempt to quantify and/or describe the staff savings to be made from implementation of the VDX end-user interface, ZPortal.