Managing document supply: a SAGA come true in Sweden

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe how SAGA, a system for managing the library operations associated with document supply, was successfully developed using a very informal project model.Design/methodology/approachThe project model and system architecture are described.FindingsInitially, SAGA was tailored for the needs of the medical library at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Subsequently, it has been implemented at other Swedish academic libraries. The system has features for automating the workflows associated with document supply for both loans and copies externally and internally. It integrates document requests from a diversity of ordering systems under a single interface. The methodology adopted when implementing the system suggests that an incremental approach sometimes has benefits over a more formal pre‐planned approach.Practical implicationsThe project model described may be applied to development projects at other libraries. The system architecture may be applied to other systems for managing document supply.Originality/valueThe SAGA approach relies on managing requests placed in different systems via a single interface rather than trying to direct customers to a single ordering system.