What do we know about material handling in library? An empirical assessment in the Nordic region

Niloofar Jefroy and Fabio Sgarbossa

Digital Transformation and Society, 2024, vol. 4, issue 2, 172-195

Abstract: Purpose - Libraries, as a peaceful arena for promoting knowledge and culture, are often challenged by various means, which are mostly linked to the material handling. However, literature shorts fall in either recognizing how material handling comes under threat or evaluating the influence of promising solutions on the library’s performance. Thus, this study aims to present a comprehensive understanding of material handling in the library through the identification of characteristics, key performance indicators (KPIs) and challenges of this driving factor. Design/methodology/approach - This research benefits from a triangulation of qualitative methods, including systematic literature review, case study, in-depth semi-structured interview (SSI) and focus group meetings, to present a comprehensive understanding of material handling in the library. Findings - The initial findings highlight the characteristics, i.e. incremental inventory, no packaging, open access order, etc., and the KPIs of material handling in the library: flexibility, productivity, service quality and cost. In addition, the challenges that limit the libraries’ performance are discovered based on field observation through five Nordic libraries (Norway and Finland), which are further studied for discovering the potential remedies. Corollaries advise that material handling challenges in the library are potentially tackled through three pillars, known as Triple E’s: employee, equipment and environment. Originality/value - The performance of libraries is notably linked to the material handling processes and this agenda has received limited attention by academia. This study is among the initial research efforts in this context seeking to develop a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics, KPIs and challenges of material handling in the library and facilitate the improvement of library’s performance.

Keywords: Library; Library intralogistics; Library operations management; Material handling; Performance measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:dtspps:dts-05-2024-0076

DOI: 10.1108/DTS-05-2024-0076

Access Statistics for this article

Digital Transformation and Society is currently edited by Professor Robin Qiu

More articles in Digital Transformation and Society from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().