History is full of examples of people who took too narrow a view of a problem they faced. The French defensive Maginot Line along the border with Hitler’s Germany was bypassed when the German army swept through Belgium.

Another example: the 2000 Millennium exhibition was doomed to financial failure before it opened by the design of the Dome (in contrast to the Great Exhibition of 1851, guaranteed a profit before it opened, in part due to the cunning design of its central building – the Crystal Palace).

On a far more modest scale it is important to think in large enough wholes when considering library processes. An obvious example in a public library context is local demographics where an area with a large young immigrant population has needs and communication preferences that are different from an area of mostly older people.

There are more subtle traps though. For example, concerns about Interloan (ILL) processing have arisen on a number of occasions in Process Reviews that we have supported. ILLs are just one way of fulfilling a request from a borrower. This request might indeed be met by an ILL, but a suitable item might alternatively be found in the local catalogue, or specially purchased.

ILL processing should not therefore be thought of merely as a self-contained process. The wider context of borrower needs and acquisition handling need to be considered too. Even if you are not in a position to think big, at least you can think broad.