Guest Lecturer for CUA LIS students, September 2014

1. Life as Vendor in the
Library and Information World
Or, how the “dark side” isn’t actually so “dark” after all
Richard Huffine
Senior Director for the U.S. Federal Government Market
ProQuest

2. The Library World Today
O You know the types:
O Academic
O School
O Public
O Special
O Each type has its own set of challenges, brought on by
technology and the way we interact with information in our
daily lives
O I consider each type a “walled garden” where the
differences often define their view of each other.
O Your skills and training can transfer though…and that goes
for joining a vendor as well.

3. The Information World Today
O Libraries exist in a larger ecosystem…as much as
libraries are changing, the information world is changing
even faster.
O Other aspects of the information world:
O Business to Business (B2B)
O Business to Consumer (B2C)
O Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
O Self publishing, social media, makerspaces… all of these
are components of the information space that did not exist
15 years ago.
O Where libraries fit…and the role you will play in your
careers is still unclear.
O The same is true for vendors that sell exclusively into
libraries.
O As much as you want to revile library vendors, they are
critical partners in your future success!

4. The Vendor Landscape
O There used to be some distinct categories of vendors:
O Booksellers
O Journal Publishers
O “Jobbers” – subscription and approval agents
O Database Vendors
O Technology Vendors
O Software Vendors
O OCLC – cataloging and ILL
O Today, all of these things are combined and all of these
things – content, technology, and services are often
intermixed or combined.
O Vendors have consolidated both horizontally and
vertically.
O Libraries now have different choices about what they own,
and manage or what they want to lease, access or broker
for their users,

5. The Starting Point
O Everyone starts with what they have in place today
O What their users expect from them
O What they already have configured, purchased, and
implemented
O You need to understand what you have, what your
users value, and what you can sustain
O The next step is to assess their value and determine
whether there is support for changing
O Also decide if it went away, would anyone notice?
O Many libraries use usage data and feedback to
calculate or estimate a return on investment (ROI)
O That should factor in cost, time to manage, and time
saved by users
O Once you have an understanding of what you have
and what value it offers, then you have to prioritize

6. Prioritization
O Library Budgets are very fluid...but many of the
components in a library creep up in cost every year.
Salaries, benefits, subscription prices, etc. all go up almost
every year.
O There are also new ways to spend your money every
year…new services, new materials, new programming,
etc.
O You have to decide how valuable it is to maintain what you
have versus investing in new things to engage your users
and support the mission of your organization.
O Invariably, things will have to go and new things will come
along. Even if you don’t do anything, services will end,
journals will cease publication, and staff will leave.
O Every good leader has a short list of what can go and what
would be great to add…just in case the budget changes.

7. Market Research
O It is the job of the purchaser to always do their
homework before negotiating a purchase.
O A lot of information may be anecdotal… There are
very few price lists available today, but you can:
O Read the literature the companies provide
O Have a trial of products
O Read reviews
O Consult with other libraries using the product
O Ask questions
O Ask for quotes
O Once you think you know what you want, then you
can start the process of purchasing it.

8. Skills You Need
O Assessment
O Evaluate your collections and services and assess their
value to your patrons.
O Assess the impact of dropping a service or switching to an
alternative provider.
O Analysis
O Take usage and cost data and determine if the service is
worth the cost.
O Conduct a “bake off” with alternative providers.
O Communication
O Articulate requirements to procurement and vendors
O Inform users if changes are coming and why
O Negotiation
O State your case for reviewing the terms and finding the
right deal for both you, your users, and the vendor

9. Procurement
O In many organizations, there are a lot of steps
involved with buying anything. You have to:
O Make sure you have the money
O Justify the requirement
O Ensure the product is accessible
O Seek competitive offers
O Consider small and disadvantaged businesses
O Document the considerations of alternatives
O Document the reasons if sole source
O Ensure it will work with your IT infrastructure
O For large purchases, you are rarely the person that
actually buys what you need. There is a contracting
officer or procurement manager that will buy it.

10. Negotiations
O Until the purchase is done, you can always negotiate on
price, terms, and renewals.
O Even the most stringent seller has some amount of “wiggle
room” to address concerns and close the deal.
O For some products, you can even go through an auction–
type process.
O Even a “best price” can have terms or conditions that can
be negotiated before the deal is closed.
O Your best opportunity will come if you are willing to walk
away. Always know what you’ll do if you cannot come to an
agreement.
O Always know that the salespeople are looking to build a
relationship that will last…they never want to have a
purchase become adversarial.

11. Good Vendor Relationships
O Start with mutual respect
O Learn from one another
O You share with them why you need their product
O They share with you how others use the product and what is
coming in the future for that product
O Share
O If you have questions about functionality, compatibility, etc., ask
for information.
O If usage is trending down, share your analysis.
O If usage is going up or if you have comments from your users, tell
them what is working and what is not.
O Communicate
O Take their calls, ask them to visit, and invite them to train your
users.
O If you see changes coming, let them know early that their product
is on the list…they may be able to help you save it.

12. Librarians Under the Hood
O Many library-focused products have librarians on staff,
making the product work and developing new features.
O Librarians are also hired to provide:
O Product management
O Editorial control
O Content selection
O Training and consulting
O Implementation and maintenance
O Customer service and support
O Strategic planning and market analysis

13. Customer Feedback
O Vendors of all types are always listening to their
customers to make sure the product is valued and
performs expected.
O In the information space, it is often hard to know how
information will be used
O There are also all kinds of different was to approach
information products and services.
O Good products become ubiquitous and people don’t need
any specialized training to use them.
O But the best products have layers of capabilities beyond
the easy mode that let users get very specific and be very
precise.
O All usage of information products today, though, can be
aggregated, analyzed, and can drive innovation over
time.

14. Customer Feedback
O Good companies combine analytics with anecdotal
input from:
O Focus groups
O Advisory Councils
O Help Desk calls
O Published reviews
O Tweets and blog posts
O Customer visits
O All of this feedback contributes to developing product
road maps that project how a product will evolve and
change in the near- and long-term to meet customer
requirements.

15. Skills You Need as a Vendor
O Project Management
O Coordination of multiple aspects across time,
budget, and priorities in order to reach a projected
result on time, on budget and ahead of schedule
O Analysis
O Collection and review of critical data inputs to
identify trends, recommend actions, and
demonstrate results
O Presentation
O Organization on information and formulating a
compelling argument in support of business
objectives
O Attention to Detail

16. Skills You Need as a Vendor
O Knowledge of the Market
O Beyond just the job you performed, know how
the market as a whole works, both buyers and
sellers
O Professional Network
O Who are the Movers & Shakers; What they care
about and how they make decisions
O Experience in the Field
O Demonstrate proficiency and willingness to lead
O Leadership in the Field
O Leadership at work but also in the profession as
a whole. Contribute to the dialogue

17. Recommendations
Recommended Reading:
O Buying and Selling Information: A Guide for Information Professionals
and Salespeople to Build Mutual Success
by Michael L. Gruenberg (March 2014) ISBN 978-1573874786
http://books.infotoday.com/books/Buying-and-Selling-Information.shtml
O Business Case for Information Services: EPA's Regional Libraries and
Centers
by Richard Huffine (January 2004)
http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=P1001SBK.TXT
Get Involved:
O American Library Association (ALA)
O Special Libraries Association (SLA)
O Society of American Archivists (SAA)
O District of Columbia Library Association (DCLA)
O Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM)
O Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)

18. Questions? Feedback?
Richard Huffine
richardhuffine@yahoo.com
richard.huffine@proquest.com