Home and Business Fax Policy for HCL

Hennepin County Library will fax information to patrons in their homes or businesses. Patrons using the service will be asked for a voluntary contribution to pay for this service. The Ikon Copy Center at Southdale will also fax to patrons' homes and businesses and will charge patrons directly.

Rationale: Adding this service to existing services will enhance the Library Systems value in the community, and advance the Library's stated mission.

  • Faxing is another method by which we can meet the needs of the public. To enhance customer service, the Library's goal is to make information as accessible as possible. We are experiencing a constantly changing and growing clientele, and we are aware that not every patron can be served in the same way. We already understand the need for in-person service, telephone service, and dial-in access to the catalog. We make the Internet available to the public to further expand their information resources. By offering faxing service to homes and offices, the Library is providing an additional method of service delivery.
  • Faxing recognizes and responds to the reality that a segment of the libraries' patrons are not always able to visit the library during scheduled open hours, but are still in need of information and information staff assistance. Library Staff are constantly looking for ways to increase and improve services to meet patron need.
  • Faxing supports the recognition that Hennepin County Library is a leader in embracing new information technologies and delivery of service, provides some of the finest library service in the country, and continues to find new ways to answer the needs of the Library System's patrons and to promote the Library as a contemporary, necessary, and valued resource in the community.

    RECOMMENDATION:

  • Faxing service from HCL agencies to homes and businesses, based on proposed policy, be offered for a six-month trial period.

    PROPOSED PROCEDURES:

    FAXING FROM AN AGENCY -- PROCEDURES:

  • When patrons request material that is available in an agency be faxed to a business or home location, the information will be faxed from that agency.
  • Each agency will decide which staff will do the faxing (reference staff, support staff, or volunteers).
  • An invoice/cover sheet (HCL form) will be sent with each fax.
  • The invoice will specify that all payments must be mailed to the HCL Accounting Office. During the trial period, Accounting will not track or bill patrons who have not paid.
  • There will be no charge for the invoice/cover sheet.
  • Tax forms will not be faxed from the agencies; patron will be referred to SdIS.
  • No faxes will be sent long distance from the agencies; patron will be referred to SdIS.
  • Agency staff will inform patron of approximate time needed to fax.
  • Agency will retain invoice/cover sheet during the trial period.

    FAXING FROM AN AGENCY - CHARGES:

  • Proposed charge to patrons is $2.00 per page for faxing from an agency.
  • Based on the average salaries of a mid-range librarian and a newly hired PSA, the average hourly staff cost is $12.70. Based on data from MELSA Libraries, the average fax is three pages. Time estimate, to send a fax, is fifteen minutes for an estimated cost of $3.17. At $2.00 per page, the charge would be $6.00, providing a return of nearly double the Library's cost, resulting in revenue for the Library.

    FAXING FROM IKON COPY CENTER -- PROCEDURES:

  • For materials held only at Sd, agency staff will refer patrons to SdIS. The material will then be given to the Ikon Copy Center and will be faxed and patrons will be charged from Ikon.
  • Ikon will fax tax forms to patrons if the form is brought to Ikon.

    FAXING FROM IKON COPY CENTER - CHARGES:

    The following are the current prices and conditions set by Ikon:
    Photocopy and Fax:
    Rush (within an hour): $2.91 per page (plus tax)
    Within four hours: $1.92 per page (plus tax)
    By end of day: $1.16 per page (plus tax)
    Long distance: Add $1.00 per page (plus tax)

    Fax Only (when original is a single page which can be run through machine):
    Rush (within an hour): $2.75 per page (plus tax)
    Within four hours: $1.76 per page (plus tax)
    By end of day: $1.00 per page (plus tax)
    Long distance: Add $1.00 per page (plus tax)

    Ikon does not publicize the service nor do HCL staff formally know the service is being offered through Ikon. Presently they are averaging three faxes per week.

    ANTICIPATED USE:

  • Based on demand at other MELSA libraries, Southdale could expect approximately 12 requests for faxes in a week. Since the actual faxing would occur through Ikon, this would not have a large impact on staffing at Southdale. Agencies, when polled earlier this year, estimated the requests for faxing to be about 1-2 per week. Using HCL's poll and MELSA libraries' data, the group is projecting that agencies could expect to fill 1-2 requests per week.

    REVENUE:

  • Supposition: 1-2 faxes per agency per week with a charge of $2.00 per 3-page document, the annual gross income from faxing would be between $8,000 and $16,000 with the annual net income from faxing between $4,000 and $8,000.

    MARKETING PLAN:

  • Because this is initially a trial period, with no additional staffing component, the group does not propose a formal, publicity-focused marketing plan. If patrons request the service they will be accommodated according to the approved guidelines. We anticipate that some word-of-mouth publicity will occur.

  • This word-of-mouth only publicity is consistent with practices at other MELSA libraries. It also allows HCL to provide a reasonable customer service level within the realities of time and staffing.

    PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION:

  • At the end of the trial period, the fax policy group will meet to evaluate the ability of HCL to offer this service. Factors examined during evaluation will include: use, revenue, staff time, and expressed concerns.
  • During the six-month trial period, the invoice/cover sheet will be kept, at the initiating agency, in order to more accurately assess use.
  • The real-time impact on staff workflow will be evaluated at the end of the trial period.
  • Fax equipment will be evaluated at the end of the trial period.

    RESEARCH AND FINDINGS:
    System Agency to agency Business and Homes Copy Center Charge # per week
    ACL Yes Yes No No charge 1/week
    CCL Yes Yes No No charge 1/week
    DCL Yes Yes No No charge 1/week
    MPL Yes Through copy center Yes $7.00 first ten pages.
    .25 each addtl. page     		NA
    SPPL Yes Yes No $2.00/page
    $2.50/page long distance    		6/week
    RCL Yes Yes No No charge 8/week