Title
Library Automated Materials Handling System Request for Proposals
Description
Request approval for the City Manager, or his designee, to develop and issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for an Automated Materials Handling (AMH) system to be installed at Burton Barr Central Library.
Report
Summary
Customers return more than 600,000 books, DVDs and CDs to Burton Barr Central Library each year. Phoenix Public Library purchases an additional 200,000 new items annually that must be processed at Burton Barr and distributed across 16 library locations.
Installation of an AMH will greatly improve the efficiency of physical materials handling at Burton Barr and provide a better customer experience. Customers will be able to return materials to the library 24/7 and have them immediately removed from their account. The AMH will check materials into the Library's inventory system and sort them into bins for reshelving at Burton Barr or directly into shipping containers for those items that need to be transported to branch libraries. All new materials purchased will be routed through the AMH, saving the time that backoffice staff now spends manually distributing materials across the system. Branch libraries also will experience materials handling efficiencies because they will be able to check in an entire shipping container full of materials from Burton Barr with a single scan rather than having to check them in one at a time. Customers also will have access to returned materials faster because the AMH is expected to reduce the typical time-to-shelf for returned and requested items from an average of four days to one day.
The AMH is a proven way to increase Library efficiency. In 2013, an AMH was installed at Mesquite Library and within the first year of operation, staff reported that time-to-shelf decreased from an average of four days to four hours, with in-demand items getting to the shelf within one hour of being returned to the library. The Library Department was able to reallocate 1.5 FTE Page positions from the Mesquite materials handling staff to other library locations in need of assistance. Mesquite documented additional efficiencies in remaining shelving tasks because items can be handled in bulk rather than individually.
Library staff expects that customers who routinely check out the maximum number of materials allowed will appreciate the ability of the AMH to take the returned items off their account immediately, enabling them to check out more without needing special handling by staff to stay under checkout limits. Because both the internal and external book returns will feed directly into the AMH, customers will be able to return materials 24/7 and get immediate acknowledgement of the return.
Financial Impact
Initial plans are for Phoenix Public Library to develop and issue the Automated Materials Handling system RFP in July 2017. It is estimated that the AMH will be a one-time expenditure of approximately $650,000, with approximately $26,000 in annual maintenance, with the exact amounts to be determined by the outcome of the RFP. The source of funds is the Library's General Fund operating budget.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
This item was considered at the Parks, Arts, Education and Equality Subcommittee on April 26, 2017, and approved by a vote of 3-0.
Location
Primarily Burton Barr Central Library, 1121 N. Central Ave., as this is where AMH will be housed. Ultimately this will benefit Phoenix Public Library citywide.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Deanna Jonovich and the Phoenix Public Library Department.