Minutes - Parkland Regional Library

6. Transport Best Practice
• Weight of bags – A concern was reported that some of the bags arriving at libraries are
weighing more than 20 pounds. Bags at PRL are weighed before leaving the building
so as not to exceed the 20 pound limit. PRL staff will talk to van drivers regarding the
practice of picking up bags and dropping at libraries later in the run to see if that is the
cause of the heavy bag problem. Scales could be purchased for vans to weigh bags
before taking them. PRL staff will follow up with this issue.
• DVDs in transit – Be sure to pack items that are traveling via van or courier in
sufficient bubble wrap. Removable Scotch tape can be used to tape slips directly on
covers without damaging them.
• Barcode label ALL items including Fast Adds.
• Some libraries barcode DVD cases but not the discs inside; some libraries label the
inside of the case instead of affixing a barcode on the outside of the case which causes
additional staff time because staff have to type in each barcode number instead of
scanning it. Please identify the outside of each case with the barcode and the library’s
name. Write the barcode and the library’s name on each disc, too (either with a discsafe
marker or a doughnut label). The library’s name is preferred to the national library
code to avoid confusion if the discs are sent out of system or get confused with a
patron’s personal collection.
• PRL has lots of bubble wrap. Attendees asked that when requests are sent via email for
supplies, a response is made by PRL so local library staff know the message was
received.
7. Opportunities available via videoconferencing – Lesley Winfield
• There are a lot of videoconferencing opportunities for training etc. If libraries do not
have a videoconferencing suite, there may be one available elsewhere in the
community.
• There are about 13 videoconferencing sites in the PRL region, only 1 is at a public
library.
• PRL has investigated setting up its own bridge. Pricing for hardware and bridge (for 6
libraries) could cost about $30,000, for all 50 libraries it would cost approximately
$150,000. Using other bridges is sometimes a problem because of scheduling.
• PRL will continue to seek opportunities for videoconferencing around the region
through the formation of partnerships.
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