A key aspect of my role within Rutgers University Libraries is the centralized coordination of fulfillment activities across the library system. In this context, “fulfillment” encompasses the processes that ensure users receive the materials or services they request. I also serve as chair of the Fulfillment Working Group, represent fulfillment on the Library Services Platform Management Team, and contribute to additional strategic initiatives.
In 2023, I was invited to collaborate with a small team to assess market solutions for pickup lockers compatible with Alma. Our evaluation involved conducting interviews with peer institutions and locker vendors to collect technical specifications, pricing details, and user feedback. Based on our research, we recommended piloting LuxerOne pickup lockers—a proposal that received full support from Libraries Leadership. Following this endorsement, I was appointed to lead the project and partnered with the Fulfillment Working Group, recognizing their critical role in driving the initiative forward. And so, the journey began!
In early 2024, we began Phase I of a three-phase locker implementation plan. Mabel Smith Douglass Library (Rutgers University–New Brunswick) and Paul Robeson Library (Rutgers University–Camden) were selected as pilot locations. This project introduced me to university departments I had rarely interacted with before, including Institutional Planning and Operations, Facilities, Office of Information Technology, University Communications and Marketing, and University Procurement Services, along with numerous external contractors and vendors. The project involved many complex components, ranging from electrical and ethernet upgrades to site preparation, system integration, configuration, workflow development, and assessment. Each installation also required extensive collaboration with the vendor and its subcontractors to ensure successful execution.
As a team, different Rutgers University Libraries units also brought their expertise to the table, including the Business Office, Library IT Services, Library Applications and Development, and Access Services. The team leads at Robeson and Douglass Libraries, Ann Marie Latini and Andy Martinez, were instrumental throughout all three phases, assisting with workflow development, creating training documentation, and becoming our resident experts for the later phases.
A Phased Approach to Success
Phase I officially went live in June 2024. By the start of the fall semester, the lockers were in full swing, with patrons picking up their materials in less than three days on average.
Phase II brought lockers to Newark, with lockers at the Dana Library (Rutgers University–Newark) and the George F. Smith Library (Rutgers Health) both becoming operational in February 2025.
Phase III introduced lockers to five more locations across Rutgers–New Brunswick: Archibald S. Alexander Library and Art Library on the College Avenue campus, James Dickson Carr Library on Livingston campus, and the Library of Science and Medicine and Mathematical Sciences and Physics Library on Busch campus. All five of these locations were up and running by September 2, 2025.
These shiny red lockers are now located outside the front entrance of nine libraries. The placement ensures patrons can easily pick up their materials at any time, on any day, as the lockers are fully accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To date, over 1,500 different patrons have used lockers to pick up library materials. Staff have made over 5,000 deliveries to the lockers, and on average, 14 percent of items are picked up outside of library operating hours.
The work does not stop here. We continue to fine-tune our processes, evaluate patron needs, and identify ways to optimize this service to better serve our community.