Some library users have expressed concern about the new booking out system we have introduced. I would like to explain the research and thought behind this and assure library customers that this has been done with the aim of providing an improved service to them.

We no longer stamp the return date directly on to labels on items. Instead customers are given a printed receipt which contains full details of the items they have borrowed, together with the date on which they are due for return.

Reaction to the new system has been mixed. Some customers are delighted with it, most particularly mums with children, as they have details of all their families' loans together, rather than having to hunt for the books in bedrooms and behind sofas. The majority of library users appreciate an overall quicker process.

Book stamping is an old, traditional activity associated with librarians. However although each action of opening a book and stamping it then closing it again takes around five seconds, when you multiply that by the 3.6 million items we loan each year, you have 5,000 hours of staff time, plus the time spent inking stamps, changing dates, etc. For this reason we have decided, following the example of many library services, to take advantage of improvements in on-line technology, and to provide a more comprehensive record for our borrowers.

We will reinvest the time saved in assisting our customers in finding the books, information or other services they require.
Receipt printing will also enable us to return items to their home library more quickly so they can be back on the shelves ready for the next customer.

Some people are concerned about the waste of paper. Although we are issuing receipt slips this is balanced by reductions in paper consumption elsewhere, including date labels, request cards , and other in-house stationery that customers will not normally encounter.
The system was chosen by a consortium of six local authorities following an exhaustive tendering process involving experienced staff who have all worked on the front line, with service quality the primary consideration as well as value for money.

I am confident that, together with the many other new features of the system, it will improve the service to our customers.
Date stamping has already been discontinued by a number of library authorities.

Clearly date stamping is incompatible with self-service, which is very much the future of book lending. If customers do lose receipts they can find out the return date either on-line, by phone, or by calling in at the library.
This is not a system designed to get additional income from fines. Staff will of course make allowances as the system beds in and customers get used to it, but in the long term the onus is on the customers not to lose their receipts.

Essex experienced the same concerns when they discontinued date stamping. People are now used to it and appreciate the extra time staff have to spend with them.

Cllr Margaret Dewar
Community Services
Bucks County Council

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