STAT Courier

Overview

All USG libraries use STAT Courier to deliver GIL Express items around the system. STAT Courier will stop at each delivery/pickup site every day Monday through Friday at approximately the same time each day - within a two hour window. Use STAT Courier to ship items between the University System of Georgia libraries only. STAT Courier cannot be used to ship items to university libraries outside of the USG. STAT Courier may be used to ship Interlibrary Loan items to PINES public libraries in Georgia.

Other delivery methods – such as the ARCHE van for those libraries in the Atlanta area – will continue as usual.

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Preparing Items for STAT Courier Pickup - Basic Information

1. Process all books according to standard GIL Express or ILL procedures.
2. Sort books by their pickup or return location – keeping GIL Express books separate from ILL books
3. Determine what size bag (or how many bags) will be needed for books going to each USG pickup location. Use only courier bags. STAT Courier will not deliver boxes or envelopes – unless they are placed in a courier bag
4. For GIL Express labels, use ONLY white paper. For ILL labels, use ONLY sky blue paper. Using different color labels for GIL Express and ILL is to assist in the sorting once the bags get to their destination delivery/pickup site. The courier will stop at only one place at each library and drop off the filled totes. Library staff is responsible for sorting the bags and delivering them to the appropriate department.
5. Insert a label for each bag. Fill the bags without placing strain on the seams and/or the zipper. Lock each bag with a security tag through the hole and the zipper in order to secure your items for shipment. Books being either lent or returned to the same delivery/pickup site can go in the same respective GIL Express bag OR ILL bag, but do not fill any bag with both GIL Express and ILL items.
6. The books do not need extra packaging inside the bags in most cases because all bags will be hand sorted and hand delivered. If there is concern about a particular item, extra packaging before putting the item inside the bag is appropriate.
7. Put the filled and labeled bags into the STAT Courier totes, filling the totes in such a way that books are not damaged, yet not using more totes than is necessary. Bags going to different delivery/pickup sites will go in the same tote. Make sure each tote's lid is securely fastened. Have the totes at the pickup site at least 1 hour before the driver is expected. Any items not packaged by this time must wait until the next day's pickup - this is policy between STAT Courier and USG to ensure that the driver can meet all GIL Express obligations each day.
8. There will be a STAT Courier logbook at each pickup location. The driver will date and time each pickup/delivery and record number of totes delivered and number of totes picked up. The STAT Courier driver will take all totes to a sorting location. The totes will be opened and the bags sorted. The bags won't be opened. The bags will then be put in totes according to destination – at this point, each tote will have only items going to same delivery/pickup site but can be both bags containing GIL Express books and bags containing ILL items. (STAT Courier is responsible for any labeling of the totes.) When totes are delivered to libraries, staff will open the totes and sort the bags by label color/GIL Express/ILL. STAT Courier will stop at each site whether there is something to deliver or not.

Additional Information

The STAT Courier totes are to be used only for delivering items via STAT Courier. Do not use the totes for any other reason. The same is true for the blue courier bags – use them only for STAT Courier shipments.

Totes and bags will be delivered to libraries as needed by STAT Courier. The driver will leave as many totes as are picked up each day. Totes are purchased and supplied by STAT Courier but the bags are supplied by USG. You may request additional bags via the Universal Borrowing listserv (see Communication section below for information about listserv.) There is a limited supply of bags, so bags will come from libraries with extras.

For ILL, items shipped could be microfilm, DVDs or videos, or anything other than a book. These items will sometimes need extra packaging before going into a bag. In most of this STAT Courier information only books are talked about being shipped because that is all GIL Express ships - but ILL folks will understand “books” to mean “items.”

Communication

For all EMERGENCY messages for STAT Courier including emergency closings or other urgent information, please call USG Help Desk at 888-875-3697 or 706-583-2001. For less urgent GIL Express/STAT issues, submit a HelpDesk ticket or send an email to: helpdesk@usg.edu. USG helpdesk staff will then create a ticket and you’ll receive an email, typically within 30 minutes (during normal business hours). Be sure to use your university or college name, not library name, in all communication as well as the STAT Courier USG delivery/pickup site codes. Other messages should be posted to the GIL Express listserv: G2FULFILLMENT@listserv.uga.edu.

Each library and pickup site has a unique list of days it will be closed. STAT Courier will pick up and deliver according to this list of closed dates. Please report any changes in your closing dates to GIL Express listserv - G2FULFILLMENT@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU or to Mary Poland (mwpoland@uga.edu). Be sure to use your university or college name, not library name, in all communication as well as the STAT Courier USG delivery/pickup site codes. For last-minute/emergency closings or changes in hours contact the USG Help Desk as noted above.

There are 2 listservs that GIL Express and ILL staff will want to be on so they see all messages important to them concerning STAT Courier. One is the FULFILLMENT listserv (G2FULFILLMENT), which is currently mostly GIL Express and circulation staff and anyone on the list can post. Posts about bags needed and the courier service on this listserv also apply to ILL staff.

The other listserv is for STAT Courier-related information only, GIL-Courier-L. GIL Express and ILL staff on this listserv will receive messages but cannot send messages. All messages on this listserv will come from STAT Courier or USG Help Desk. It's suggested that most staff who handle GIL Express or ILL, as well as supervisors and department heads, be on this listserv – there will seldom be messages, but messages received on this listserv will be important and often urgent. This is the listserv where libraries will be notified of any delays or problems with STAT Courier delivery.

Both listservs may be subscribed to by visiting LISTSERV.UGA.EDU or by contacting the USG Help Desk at helpdesk@usg.edu.

Handling Damaged or Missing Items

There is no tracking function included with the STAT Courier service. Individual USG libraries may choose to do some level of tracking on their own. For GIL Express, there is a “Lost in Transit” report that can be run – listing books that have been “in transit” for 14 days or more. Another choice would be to scan the routing slips and keep in a file sorted by day shipped. For ILL, both WorldCat Resource Sharing and ILLiad records include date “shipped” or “returned” which may be enough tracking or a note can be added to a record as needed.

STAT Courier will pay up to $100 for materials damaged in transit. If an item is damaged, you may file a claim with STAT Courier using the claim form.

If a book seems to be missing:

• Contact the intended location to make sure it is not there without being processed.
• Search your own collection
• Was the item mistakenly put in the wrong bag and sent to the wrong delivery/pickup site?
• For GIL Express, scanning the item should generate a route slip to get the book where it needs to go – meaning a few more days “in transit.”
• For ILL, contact the owning library and see where the item needs to go.
• If the item still cannot be located, send a message to the G2-Fulfillment listserv to ask other libraries to do a quick search if possible.

A claim form can be submitted to STAT for them to search their facilities but they will not reimburse for lost materials. It is helpful to be able to provide specific and detailed information pertaining to the missing material.

Submitting a claim:

1. Mail the completed form to:
Natasha Boekholt
President
STAT Courier Service, Inc.
16 Hawk Ridge Drive, Suite 130
Lake St. Louis, MO 63367
2. Send a copy of the form to Lucy Harrison, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Library Services and Executive Director of GALILEO. This copy can be scanned and sent or you can edit the Word document and email it to her as an attachment to Lucy.Harrison@USG.edu