A Point to Share: Streamlining Access Services Workflow Through Online Collaboration, Communication, and Storage with Microsoft SharePoint

Abstract

This article explains how the document management team (circulation and interlibrary loan) at the University of Maryland University College implemented Microsoft's SharePoint product to create a central hub for online collaboration, communication, and storage. Enhancing the team's efficiency, organization, and cooperation was the primary goal. Although the group is already highly effective, it is always interested in making further improvements. Document Management consists of three technicians and two professionals, and this small staff is responsible for providing services to 86,000 students plus faculty and staff at a distance education-focused institution. The team's previously adopted tools to improve internal operations had been adequate but not optimal. Also, a long-standing and overarching concern about the potential loss of some or all of the document management knowledge base existed. These reasons prompted the team to carefully examine SharePoint as a prospective tool. It was hoped that this early scrutiny would prove beneficial in the long run by avoiding a repeat of earlier technology implementations’ shortcomings. The group quickly realized the software would not be a cure-all but felt the prospects were good that it would be useful and dependable. SharePoint was fully implemented with great success because of the team's careful consideration of collaboration, communication, and storage needs.

KEYWORDS:

• access services
• collaboration
• communication
• academic library
• intranet
• SharePoint
• software
• storage