Why Keyll Darree Library Chose PSP’s eRLS RFID Stock Control System
We caught up with Stacey the Senior Library Assistant at the Keyll Darree Health and Social Care Higher Education Centre on the Isle of Man to see how our new eRLS RFID stock control system had bedded in following its installation in December 2022. Here’s what she had to say about her experience working with the PSP team for this library system upgrade.
Did you switch or upgrade your library security system from a previous supplier?
No, we have always used PSP.
What was the reason for the switch/upgrade to eRLS RFID?
After a service-wide upgrade, our security system (which was very elderly!) was aged out so we had to update our security system and self-service machine.
How does this stock control solution make managing your library easier/more efficient?
PSP’s solutions are helpful in a number of ways, but the most obvious example is the way it reduced the time taken to complete our stock take. Usually, this process requires staff to take every book off the shelf, wheel it to the front desk, scan it into the stock take, and then return the books to the shelf (in the correct order). This usually took around a month and would have a high risk of “book avalanches” as our trolleys are older and unstable when fully loaded.
After PSP helped us upgrade and rented the handheld scanner to us, the bulk of the stocktake took a day. We then had three more days of intermittent checks by staff to catch books we had missed. It minimised disruption to our library users and saved a lot of labour for staff which freed us up for other tasks.
As well as this, our library users love the new self-service machine and find it easier to use than our old one. This means that staff spend less time helping people who experience problems when trying to issue or return resources. It has also helped library users who access the service out of hours. They are now able to return books from their account (not possible previously) and issue more instead of having to wait for staff to help them.
“PSP’s solutions are helpful in a number of ways. Our library users love the new self-service machine and find it easier to use than our old one. It makes life easier for out-of-hours users and is more accessible for people with limited mobility, dexterity issues or visual impairments. The PSP team were fantastic from start to finish, going above and beyond and taking the time to explain products clearly.”
Stacey Astill, Keyll Darree
Do you have a favourite feature or something in particular that makes your life easier?
The self-service machine is my favourite feature. It makes life easier for our out-of-hours users as it is much more intuitive than our previous solution. I love that this makes the process of issuing out of hours less daunting. People are also usually very pleased when we show them the self-service machine. They love not having to open the book to scan. Because of this, the self-service kiosk is now more accessible for people with limited mobility or dexterity issues. The large screen is also helpful for people with visual impairment.
Have you had any feedback from library users?
Our library users have been generally positive about the updated system. They’re always most impressed when they use the self-service machine and ask about how the system works.
How did you find working with the PSP team?
The team were all fantastic from start to finish. Every single person we dealt with was lovely and made us feel like we were heard and our service was important. We felt like everyone went above and beyond, taking the time to explain products clearly, answering all of our questions (no matter how daft), and reorganising invoices when funding was split between our service and another area of the organisation.
Tech support has been fantastic and we know that the PSP team want to ensure that everything is fully functional and working effectively for us. They even swapped out some equipment to better suit our service when there was an issue with an overpowerful scanner. We appreciate all of their help.
Would you recommend eRLS RFID and PSP to other library teams?
We already do! Thank you so much for everything you have done for us – we always feel valued by PSP and appreciate your friendly and professional approach.
Find out more about our eRLS RFID solution and book a FREE, no-obligation consultation today!