Team Project
Timeline: August - December 2021
Our goal:
Identify tools and practices to simplify the library's room reservation system and make it more accessible to patrons and staff members.
Overview
The BRCL Room Reservation System project aims to solve the existing problems of the room booking system at the Big Rapids Community Library (BRCL) in Big Rapids, Michigan.
Conducting six interviews with the library staffs to understand the current manual room reservation system and its problem related to overlapping bookings and so on, I and the other members of UMdeSIgners team have developed a brand-new room reservation system that allows applicants to submit a room booking based on available date and time on the calendar, and also to keep track of the status of the booking with just a few simple clicks.
Currently, the BRCL uses a manual room reservation system. Applicants who would like to reserve a literacy or community room have to come in person, call or email the library to have an application form filled out with name, phone number, email, reason to reserve a room, desired date and time, and other special requirements for the library.
The forms will then be stored in a binder arranged by the desired date and time as response priority level. Usually, the applicants have to apply 3-6 months prior to their event date for the community room, and 1-2 weeks for the literacy room since the library staff need time to decide to approve or reject the application and also plan to prepare for the special requirements and notify the applicants via email. This system has been witnessed with several issues: delay in reservation requests, overlapped bookings on the same date or same time due to human mistakes, etc.
Therefore, the team and I believe that the system should be re-evaluated to be online, non-overlapped time selection and provide more transparency to the applicants regarding their application status.
BRAINSTORM｜Affinity Map
Once the interview process was finished, we built an affinity wall using our notes from the interview. This helped us to identify trends based on the data we collected and understand the root of the issue.
We discovered that the room reservation system was very decentralized and contained some redundant processes, which sparked confusion among library staff and library patrons which resulted in double bookings.
Recommendations
For the final part of our project, we used our findings to inform our recommendations
for the library on a new and improved room reservation system. We evaluated
solutions based on the following priorities:
These criteria informed the following recommendations which we summarized in a final report for the library:
1. Cost-effective
2. Easy for all staff members to learn and use
3. Easy for less tech-savvy patrons to access and use
4. Centralized
5. Easy to integrate with the library programming calendar
6. Customizable to align with reservation policies
7. Eliminates scheduling conflicts
Recommendation 1:
End use of paper forms and allow patrons to complete reservations online
The traditional room reservation system required staff members to maintain a scheduling binder with paper forms that could only be filled out in person.
This made the process more time-consuming for users, created confusion with the addition of a digital system, and also made it easier to lose room reservation forms. We recommended that the library discard this system and instead migrate to a fully online process. For patrons who are less tech-savvy, the front desk can provide support for them and assist them in filling out the application form.
Recommendation 2:
Create a training manual on the new room reservation system to give to new staff members
Since many of the staff members were unfamiliar with the room reservation system, we suggested that the library create a training manual or short video as a reference guide. Staff members could refer to the manual if they had a question, eliminating the need to ask another staff member for help. This training will expand the number of staff members who know how to use the room reservation system and approve requests, diminishing the burden on the employee who previously served as the sole scheduler.
Recommendation 3:
Review and update the reservation policies
In our interviews, several staff members expressed concerns with the current reservation policies and requested that they be reviewed. We recommended that the library collaboratively reassess their policies to ensure that each one is necessary.
Additionally, these policies should be communicated to patrons in a manner that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.
RESERVATION SYSTEM REDESIGN
- A BETTER SOLUTION
Based on the recommendations above I also redesigned the reservation page
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