Self-issue reservation/Hold summary of replies

My thanks to everyone who took the time and trouble to reply to my query 
about Self-issue reservation.  In all I had 6 responses from universities and 
higher education colleges. 
I asked three specific questions and here is a summary of the findings:

i) How well does the systems work?

·	All the institutions stated that the system works very well. The items 
are issued via self service machine.
·	The benefits cited was that users can come and collect their 
reservations at any time that the library is open even when the desk is 
unmanned. 
·	All had no problems with items going missing than when was kept 
behind the counter. 
·	One institution conducted a survey on the reservation collection slips 
and the result was hugely positive from our users - users appreciated not 
having to queue at the des.
·	The system supports self-issue service.

ii) What are the problems with having holds/reservations on open shelves?

·	Most institution thought that the problems would be people hiding 
stuff (the system is built on trust) or users not being able to find their material 
but in reality this turned out not to be the case. They found that most users 
respected the reservation system and if they do try to get books off the shelf 
they are defeated by the fact that the item will only issue to the user who 
holds the reservation.   
·	One of the biggest problems institutions had was in anonymising the 
books to comply with Data protection Act.   Most got round this by filling the 
collection by Student ID numbers and some institutions covers books with plain 
paper to conceal
·	In terms of staff time taken to complete the process reservations, 
the majority of the institution stated that the time remained the same as there 
is only a change of location in placing the item on a different shelf in the 
process. 
 
iii) Where the collection is located-near the issue desk, in secure area?
·	2 institutions have the collection at the start of the main book 
sequence.
·	2 have the collection near the self-issue machine and the library 
helpdesk.
·	2 have the collection in a secure area but moved them out in the 
open access area.

HE institutions are operating self issue reservation services are:

Bedford 
Leicester 
De Monfort 
Northampton
Oxford Brookes
Plymouth
Sussex
East Anglia, 
Anglia Ruskin
Warwick 
Worcester