This study examines business process modelling for academic libraries. Background: Pressures on commercial organisations to be more efficient and effective in their information management have led to interest in the modelling of business processes, to help ensure that information systems – manual and computerised – genuinely support effective operations. Academic libraries have seen huge changes with the growth of the Internet and easier access to information, but examination of library functions and activities, in terms of process architecture has been limited. Aims and objectives: This research investigates academic library processes using a business process modelling method called Riva. The university libraries selected are four cases from two contrasting sites: Jordan and the UK. Methods: The literature review covered academic libraries and their history, the concept of role, operational research and business process modelling. Interviews with library staff (n = 47) were conducted, to learn about library processes. After analysing the information gathered, with consultation of documents, a Process Architecture Diagram and a set of Role Activity Diagrams for selected functions were derived. Results: Models of RADs were provided, demonstrating the processes selected. A comparison between the two sites in terms of application of these processes along with their associated challenges was also provided. Improvements could be extracted from the process models, as they pinpointed some inefficiencies and also helped to raise questions about procedures through comparisons. Conclusions: It seems fair to conclude that the modelling technique used was feasible, as it was able to visualize processes within academic libraries and provide a basis for improvement and management by supporting the analysis of process performance and behaviour. A limitation to this method is that library managers might need to learn new techniques
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:582668 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Tbaishat, Dina Mansour |
| Contributors | Urquhart, Christine ; Preston, Hugh |
| Publisher | Aberystwyth University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/2160/78c9d144-04d9-45ec-b571-8d68cee56398 |
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