Challenge
The organization of all the documents was very old and poorly managed.
All the administration and cataloguing was paper based. There was valuable information such as book positions which were not noted down anywhere, only remembered by the library staff.
The staff was working on a continuous loan flow and could not be used for data entry.
The 10,000+ lawyers of the Bucharest Bar Association could not remotely search or reserve any book from the library.
To start the project, an open-source solution was chosen and OPTI had the responsability to adapt it, supplement it, implement it and explain it to the staff.
Solution
OPTI helped deliver a fully digitized library using a six-step flow.
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Investigation and analysis of the workflow as it was before.
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Installing an open-source library solution: PhpMyBibli by PMB Services France.
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Custom software designed by OPTI to extend the open-source solution as needed. For example the loan module was written from scratch.
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ERP integration for issuing permits, allowing access, sanctioning non-complying lawyers, etc
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Integration with the official website of the Bar Association to allow lawyers to search and reserve the books in advance.
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Assistance for transcribing books and staged deployment of the solution. The steps were: starting with the commonly-borrowed books, upgrading to the complete book repository, implementing the reader permits, launching the full loan module.
As a special note, the project took more than two years, to go through all the phases. OPTI still ensures support and maintenance of the solution for the client.