BPMN 2.0 in library quality management

Abstract

From time to time quality management becomes a topical issue in the life of libraries. In fact this job does not end once we have achieved the results aimed at. The „Qualified Library” title and the „Library Quality Award” are only milestones in this process. Since 2015 librarians at the University of Debrecen University and National Library have been working to reach such a milestone, and in the preparation phase they have used practices and supporting tools different from the earlier quality management practices of the library. The paper presents the application of the BPMN 2.0 (Business Process Model and Notation) business information technology standard in library quality management.

The application of BPMN was not unprecedented in the Library, it was first introduced in the Debrecen University Press, a business venture within the Library. The idea was further developed when the Workflow Team of the Library’s Quality Management Board decided to use the BPMN standard and the supporting IT tools to map and describe all the working processes of the library for the documentation of quality management. The utilization of these tools requires constant learning, training and a kind of algorithmic thinking on behalf of colleagues.

The paper highlights the practice of workflow management in the quality management of Hungarian libraries, and the application of BPMN in libraries (primarily at the University of Debrecen University and National Library). The activities of the Quality Management Board and the role of the Workflows Team in quality management are briefly described. The efforts of the team to make BPMN 2.0 widely accepted and known among colleagues are demonstrated. Finally, some examples of ready workflow models are presented in an attempt to illustrate the gains of business process modelling (BPMN) in a library environment.