Tracey,

I also have a library in my Records Department.  We order all books,
newspapers and periodicals.  This does save on duplication.  If the
material is for general use, it comes out of my budget.  If it is going to
be used/kept in a department or by a specific employee, it comes out of
their budget.  We have a practice in place that allows employees to order
books up to a certain dollar value without having a supervisor's approve.
Over that amount, they need to ask their supervisor to send us an e-mail
approving the purchase..

Having the library for general use materials saves a substantial amount of
money.  (We have some materials that cost a thousand dollars or more.)  All
books are entered into our RM software.  The material is indexed and label
according to where it will be kept (Library or department/office).  This
allows anyone in the company to search on a topic and find all of the
materials available.

This process was in place when I came to Dairyland, so I don't know what
approach was used to get people to follow this purchasing method.  We are
rather small, only about 500 employees total, so that may contribute to the
success we have with this.  But also, employees like being able to search
and find what we have and where it can be found.  That also plays a big
part in the success.

Be happy to answer any specific questions you might have, just contact me.

Janet Nelson

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Janet Nelson CRM
Manager Records
Dairyland Power Cooperative
3200 East Avenue South
PO Box 817
La Crosse WI 54602-0817

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608/787-1218

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