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Introducing the Express Shelf!

by eli

Popular items can be hard to find on the shelves at the library. Once there's a queue for a title, it won't hit the shelf until all the requests have been filled! So that's why, over the years, AADL has tried different approaches to have a few copies of highly popular items on the shelf, even when there's a queue. We've called these extra copies of popular or classic items a Browsing Collection, Zoom Lends, or Up for Grabs, and now we're combining the best features of all these into a simple new approach called The Express Shelf!

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You'll find Express Shelf items at all AADL locations, and they won't be pulled to fill outstanding requests. By popular demand, we've simplified the checkout periods for the new Express Shelf:

All Express Shelf Videos (DVD and Bluray) check out for 1 week.

All Express Shelf Books check out for 2 weeks.

To keep them coming back quickly and on to the next user, Express Shelf items can't be renewed or requested, and are all first-come, first-served. There's no fee to borrow them and no limits on how many you can check out at once. Ask at the desk if you're not sure where to find them, and enjoy skipping the line on popular items. We hope you'll enjoy the Express Shelf, and all of the other shelves too!

Comments

Submitted by kelseyz on Fri, 05/19/2017 - 8:22am

Love the extended book time (though I think a week and a half would be more fair), but already missing the name Up for Grabs. Really encapsulated what the program is more than this Express Shelf thing.

Submitted by eli Staff on Fri, 05/19/2017 - 8:30am

Thanks, PK and Kelsey! We liked Up for Grabs too... but we heard many, many times from patrons who thought it meant that the items were free to take and keep without checkout! A big part of the name change was to dispel this perception that kept coming up.

Submitted by Gryon on Fri, 05/19/2017 - 12:47pm

This is only very tangentially related, but you know what would be cool, and I think fairly easy to implement? For items you have requested, but where they are all checked out and you are in line, it would be good to have an estimate of when that book/dvd/etc. will be available. I think the algorithm would be simple, something like figuring out you are 70th in line, there are 10 copies of this DVD circulating, average holdshelf + checkout time for this title is 6 days, so the 69 people before you will have the dvd for 414 days, divided by the 10 copies, "We estimate your request will be available in 41 days, on June 29th." It'd be great to have an idea, with the understanding that it is just an estimate, and as the date gets closer, the estimate will become better.

Submitted by bchagan on Fri, 05/19/2017 - 4:19pm

what kind of idiot would assume that something is available to just walk out the door with for no reason?

Submitted by sivana on Sun, 05/21/2017 - 11:06am

I agree with the comment about how it would be helpful to have an estimate of when a requested item will become available. One thing that is frustrating is when I have several hold requests and multiple books come in within a few days of each other! There is no way I can read them all in four weeks. So, more info about the likely waiting time would be helpful. It would also be great if it were possible to defer a hold --- have the book go to the next person in line, then go to you -- so you could get through the other books first (currently, I think the only way to do that is to go to the very end of the waiting list).

Submitted by Victoria Booker on Sun, 05/21/2017 - 9:20pm

You can ask a library staff person to move you down the request line a few spots if you are not ready for an item that might be available sooner than you'd like.

Submitted by Caro on Mon, 05/22/2017 - 3:13am

I also would value an estimate -- especially on the art prints (which might be the easiest item to start with as there is usually only one copy).

Submitted by eli Staff on Mon, 05/22/2017 - 8:49am

Thanks for the feedback, all! We've looked at estimates in the past, and in our testing it was not likely to produce an estimate that was accurate enough to be useful, especially for titles with a small number of copies. The biggest determinant of your wait time is how long previous patrons keep the item, and that is just not predictable at all! However, we will take a new look at this after we launch our new website late this year. Included in the new website will be the frozen request feature you' ve all been waiting for, where you can much better control how many items you have out at a time, keep all your requests from coming in at once, freeze all your requests while you're on vacation, and many other useful features. Stay tuned for that, and thanks for using your library!

Submitted by SuzanneT on Mon, 05/22/2017 - 4:47pm

It's nice to know that my fellow readers are able to borrow a book for a week or two, knowing that it'll have to be returned promptly. But I must admit that "urgency" doesn't enter into my reading "schedule" (not that I have one). I'll read it when I get to it. . . . or when it gets to me. ;-)

Submitted by rgz on Fri, 05/26/2017 - 8:33am

Welcomed improvements, particularly in reducing the categories; but, the lending periods are too generous. If I'm at a point of not being able to wait my turn for an item, I should be ready to view an item in a few days, and read in 7-10. Otherwise, I can just continue to be patient along with my friends and neighbors.

Thank you, AADL, for all the wonderful resources you build and manage, and the truly excellent services you provide.

Submitted by Susan Paris on Fri, 05/26/2017 - 9:45pm

For the people who want better estimates for their reserved books: Click on the title of the book you have reserved in your account which brings up a page where you can then click on "Show copies available." This link shows you when the books were checked out and also when they due back or still on the hold shelf for someone. I find it fairly easy to estimate when I will be next in line for that book. Even when I have been, for example, 60 out of 80 I multiply the number of books available times 4 weeks, then check the dates due and I have come pretty close with my estimates. Most people don't keep a book for 4 weeks, unless maybe more than one person in their family is reading it.

Also, thanks for the tip that if I have several reserved books available I can slip one down a couple of slots. And, thank you extending the Express Shelf to two weeks!
I love the AADL!

Submitted by Ruth Duey on Sat, 05/27/2017 - 5:43am

I will love the "freeze requests" as some books seem to hit all at once. I know I can suspend a hold on my MEL (Kindle) library books! Awesome feature. There have been books I returned unread as I cannot get to them much as I love to read.

Submitted by sara.samuel on Fri, 06/02/2017 - 11:18am

Thanks for this and thanks for letting us know about the upcoming "frozen request" feature that will be on the new website. I recently started using the "suspend hold" feature on Overdrive which is fantastic and was thinking it would be useful for physical items, too. Looking forward to it!

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