Library automated material handling references

The below mentioned case stories are examples from our reference list and represent the library material handling systems and services we provide for libraries.

Queens Library

Automated Material Handling systems

Queens Library, with the highest circulation of any public library system in the US and over 60 branches, is implementing more than 100 Patron return units and sorting systems over the next few years. With public usage expected to increase and staff growth to remain unchanged, the addition of the AMH systems decreases the time it takes an item to return to shelf while allowing library staff to focus on its high-level of customer service.

Helsingør Main Library

Helsingør Hovedbibliotek - bogaflevering Automation of the new main library in Helsingør.

In the autumn of 2010, Helsingør Main Library moved to the new cultural center, the "Kulturværft". Lyngsoe delivered LibraryMate stations for returning library material along with a 39 destination sorting system with automatic stacking ErgoCart chutes, and direct sort to transport boxes for other librairies.

Hamburg Library

“All our patrons, from children to senior citizens, have welcomed the new technology. The careful, prior self-service estimate of 50% was exceeded already on the fi rst day and subsequently the daily self-service rate has been around 95%”, says Bernd Ingwersen, manager of IT and organization Hamburg Library.

Mr. Ingwersen continues, “For Hamburg Library, the technical modernization plays an important role in helping to attract patrons. It’s not a question of whether or not we should use the technology; it is the perspective in which we, through innovative use of technology and despite difficult economic conditions, are able to increase customer focus and provide new services”.

» Lesen Sie mehr über die automatische Sortieranlage in den Bücherhallen Hamburg

West Palm Beach Public Library

The West Palm Beach Public Library in Florida serves a diverse population of over 100,000 city residents and has about 91,309 registered borrowers, many of them from outside the city limits. In April 2009, the library moved from a 34,000 to an 85,000 square foot building. In the old building, the staff was circulating about 600,000 items a year. They knew moving to the new, expanded building would mean a dramatic increase in usage.

The new library building would have four floors instead of two, resulting in more service points to staff. According to Library Director Chris Murray, the challenge was how to cover more than twice as much square footage with basically the same number of staff. “The Lyngsoe system has allowed us to improve our patron service in an expanded building without the significant costs associated with adding staff. There’s no way we could manage 50 percent more circulation in a building 2.5 times larger than our old building without this technology.”

Durango Public Library

making the case to automate

What do you do when you have the money to build a new building but no funds to increase staff? This was the challenge facing the Durango Public Library (DPL) when they began planning a new library that would be three times larger than the one they were operating out of. According to Deb Denious, Durango Public Library Systems Analyst, the library knew the annual circulation would jump once the new building was open. However, in approving plans for the new library the City Council mandated they would not approve an increase in staff size commensurate with the increase in the size of the building. Staff had to look at ways to reallocate resources to maintain the same level of customer service. This led the library to look at the benefits of RFID and automated returns sorting systems to handle back room functions and free up valuable staff resources.

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh District Library Center eliminates sortation backlog for county-wide distribution system. Sorting and transferring 4.3 million items among 45 independent library systems in Allegheny County presented a challenge for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh/ Pittsburgh District Library Center. Manual sorting couldn’t keep up with the volume generated by 72 locations, each of whom marked their items differently. In 2008 the library began the search for an automated materials handling system.

Laramie Library

“Our public told us they wanted a library that would be a community center, a place for reading and exploration, a destination,” says County Librarian Lucie Osborn. “The new building gives us the space we need to deliver programs and services that offer something for everyone, from newborns to seniors.”

“We also wanted to improve lending service by getting returned items back onto shelves faster,” says assistant county librarian Carey Hartmann. “We looked into an RFID- (radio frequency identifi cation) based system for selfservice check-in and sortation. We wanted a system that was quiet, and we wanted it to be highly effi cient so our staff would have more time to interact with patrons.”

West Allis Public Library

West Allis Public Library case The West Allis Public Library enjoys heavy community support and has a high circulation for a library its size. According to Library Director Michael Koszalka, the challenge of managing materials efficiently goes far beyond coping with the day-today circulation of his library. “Our building is located in a very convenient area for the county. This means we are inundated with materials returned to us that belong to other libraries in the MCFLS.”

According to Koszalka, the sorting system creates huge efficiencies because it does what they were taking valuable staff time to do. It also eliminates repetitive stress injuries, which can be an issue when staff performs the same movements over and over, as their pages were doing. The Lyngsoe system has brought welcome changes to staff workflow and better service for patrons.

King County Library System Preston Sort Center

King County Library System needed a better way to manage the more than 85,000 items coming into and going out of the Preston Sort Center every day.

In 2005 the library issued an RFP and evaluated responses from six materials handling systems. KCLS had two goals: meet production challenges and enhance service to patrons with faster turnaround time and better management of reserves. They selected FKI Logistex (now Lyngsoe Systems) because of guaranteed speed and accuracy and experience handling large volumes of materials.