An Operations Research Approach to a Chemistry Library Relocation
Veronica Calderhead · Science & Technology Libraries · 1997
The relocation and integration of a branch library for Chemistry into a general purpose academic library requires an appraoch more flexible than a simple "count and measure" project. This relocation has both known and unknown variables. There were many different user groups, library personnel, contractors, and systems. There were also unknown values that had to be determined and integrated into the implementation of the move. We approached this move from an operations research perspective. The comprehensiveness of an operations research plan allowed the physical move to take under ten days. Operations research methods gave us both the flexibility and structure required to execute this relocation. The methodology was used in both the planning and implementation phases, thus allowing the project to start while modifications were still being made. It is a model of synchronization in a multi-variable project.