A large percentage of our consulting requests come from libraries of all types and sizes interested in streamlining the acquisitions process within their organizations with the goal of spending the bulk of their money on the material itself, not on the process of acquiring it. While there is little variation in the process of checking in and out materials, the acquisitions process can vary dramatically from one situation to another due to the structure and guidelines of the library’s campus or corporate or governmental accounting office. Typically, a two-day onsite visit is scheduled following this structure:

Day 1 – Morning Session

Acquisitions, selection, and cataloging staff will orient the consultant to the current processes, focusing on areas where change is most needed.

Day1 – Afternoon Session

The consultant will give an overview of acquisitions, selection lists, 9XX ordering, and EDI as it relates to the discussion from the morning session.

Day 2 – Morning Session

The consultant and staff will discuss the options offered in Unicorn and narrow down potential workflows and departmental division of labor based on established responsibilities.

Day 2 – Afternoon Session

The consultant will review the policies supporting the workflows. Useful reports, including the development of specifications for third-party financial management integration, will also be addressed. 

Following this visit, the library will receive a Findings Document covering

A.     An initial analysis of the processes/needs of the library

B.      Proposed workflows for all departments involved, including recommendations for properties settings to streamline the workflow for specific staff and/or tasks

C.     An outline of the policies needed to support workflow and reports

D.     An overview of the reports most likely to be needed by the library

Libraries can further streamline by sharing information between Unicorn acquisitions and their enterprise solutions or mid-range business software such as Great Plains, Oracle/PeopleSoft/JD Edwards, SAP, or Peachtree Accounting. Your library’s API-trained staff or Sirsi Consultants can create automated routines to transfer invoice, fund, and vendor data between these systems.

Libraries interested in contracting with Sirsi to write the interface should send the following information to their Sirsi client account manager:

1.      Full name and version of the financial management software

2.      Detailed specifications describing the interaction points in the acquisitions workflow process

3.      Data fields to be transferred from Unicorn to the financial software

4.      Data fields to be transferred from the financial software to Unicorn

For complex situations, consulting services are available to work with libraries and/or their financial services vendor to assist with the generation of these specifications.