Stacking requests functionality for scanning items
We will occasionally receive multiple digitization requests from the same item from the same school or from different schools. The issue is that Alma only writes one request to the pick from shelf at a time. This would work for physical requests, but for digital scan requests, its not the most efficient workflow.
For example we receive two requests, one for chapter 2 and one for chapter 3 - whether they go to the same or different schools is not relevant.
The current workflow is:
a. request writes to pick from shelf
b. staff retrieves item from the shelf
c. staff takes it over to ILL for scanning
d. staff come in and scan the pages needed for the request
e. upload the file and delivery the request
f. item is then returned to the library
g. item waits on a cart to be reshelved with the other 100s to 1000s of items.
.. It is at that point the second item is written to the pick from shelf, the process would need to repeat itself. Due the time it takes to locate, retrieve, and reshelve items. To process each request, it takes 7 steps and for 4 of these it is a total of 28 steps that must be done linearly. In this case its those last two steps that held up the requests also timed with the weekend, made it so the 2nd-4th requests aged out of the system by Monday.
A better workflow would be if the 2-4 requests would write to the pick from shelf but perhaps collate them with the first request. This way the requests would be made apparent to staff right away through the retrieval process so only 2 of the 7 steps need to be repeated.
a. All requests for this title or journal volume write to the pick from shelf together with first request and then collated requests.
b. staff retrieves item from the shelf
c. staff takes it over to ILL for scanning
d. staff come in and scan the pages needed for the 1st - request, 2nd, 3rd and 4th requests
e. upload the file and delivery all the requests
f. item is then returned to the library
g. item waits on a cart to be reshelved with the other 100s to 1000s of items.