By Andrew K. Pace
American Libraries Columnist
andrew_pace@ncsu.edu
By Andrew K. Pace
American Libraries Columnist
andrew_pace@ncsu.edu
Head of Systems, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh.
Column for�April�2005
I lived in California when online and ATM banking were really getting popular. Wells Fargo was one of the first to offer online bill paying, back in the mid-’90s. They even had a special suite of banking services that encouraged online and ATM banking, and charged for teller services.
Today, I have a personal banker. His name is Eddie. I even see him in the grocery store. Running into Eddie and talking about financial services makes Raleigh feel like Mayberry, and though I still love online banking, I have to admit that I like having Eddie, too.
As library automation offerings, like bank services, become more and more of a commodity, vendors have begun to distinguish themselves with customer service. In fact, self-service, timely problem resolution, friendly customer support, and group discussion lists are playing as big a role in system decisions as functionality of the system itself. As Bill Schickling, president and CEO of GIS Information Systems,�put it,�“rather than spending so much time and money evaluating functionality of a system, we think libraries need to take a closer look at the company they are thinking of ‘marrying.’”
A closer look can reveal some differing philosophies leading toward a single goal—better service. Some companies have shied away from the expense or impersonal touch of automated phone systems, while other larger companies have shown conclusively that such systems improve timely resolution to problems. Almost all mid-to-large-sized vendors employ some sort of web portal for customer communication. “Endeavor dedicates extensive effort to our SupportWeb, the customer-facing website that is the first line of inquiry for many customer questions,”�said Dave Carlson, director of customer support for Endeavor. “Customers appreciate finding answers at their fingertips,” he added, “allowing our helpdesk to field more unique and individual questions.”
Managing the customer
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the term librarians are hearing more and more from their vendors. Nothing new under the sun in the rest of the corporate world, CRM is slightly more nascent in the library world. To some extent, choosing a service provider means choosing their CRM as well. The challenge, as VTLS�President and COO Carl Grant put it, is that it “requires the introduction of key technologies that provide automated, yet personalized and scalable customer services.” That’s a tall order from a profession that still demands high-touch, high-tech, and low cost.
Sirsi�undertook a major customer service restructuring to meet its new service goals. Reconfiguring its operation into teams, Sirsi went from 64% customer satisfaction to 91% in a single year. Sirsi is also attempting to combine personalization with self-service by employing the technology it has developed for customers. “At Sirsi, we are developing self-service technology through the use of Sirsi Rooms to customize the self-service experience and a commercial knowledgbase product,” said Mike Casale, vice president of client care.
EBSCO�also works to combine self-service with a personal touch. “The EBSCO CRM tool gives customer service representatives instantaneous access to a customer’s profile and case history,” noted EBSCO’s Rebecca Walden, “and EBSCO also provides personal, complimentary training by librarians on staff who show customers how to maximize our e-resource services.”
Connecting the dots
One might think of an integrated library system as an extremely sophisticated CRM. One wonders what library automation vendors might learn from their internal management systems that will inform their own software development. There is also the question of how companies will build accountability into their customer relationship systems and what trade-offs libraries have to consider in choosing an automation or online services provider.
“We believe that to be market leaders, companies must choose one of three different areas of discipline: innovation, customer intimacy, or best possible price,” said TLC’s Vice President Gary Kirk. “Choose one to lead the market, then be very, very good at the other two to be competitive.”
In a way, Schickling’s marriage metaphor is a good one. Compatibility is important, and sometimes even opposites attract. If there were a formula for making customer relationships perfect, there would probably be fewer vendors in the market (and, unfortunately, excellent customer service is rarely a factor that leads to market consolidation). Finding the right match for a library depends on how much—financially, technologically, and with human resources—vendors are willing to invest in that relationship.
Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, has selected Aleph 500, MetaLib/SFX, DigiTool, and Verde, replacing Sirs Mandarin.
Anderson County and Mason County public libraries in Kentucky; College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri; Lake Blackshear Regional Library in Americus, Georgia; Laurel-Jones County (Miss.) Library; Sampson County (N.C.) Public Library; Logansport-Cass County, Scott County, and Wabash Carnegie public libraries in Indiana.
Vubis continues its comeback in North America with upgrades of its ADVANCE and PLUS systems at public libraries in Harnett County, North Carolina, and Montclair, New Jersey, respectively.
The Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries has chosen Millennium INN-Reach for state-wide resource sharing. Eight South Carolina libraries—the University of South Carolina at Columbia, Clemson University, Aiken Technical College in Graniteville (migrating from Dynix NOTIS); South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, the Citadel in Charleston, the College of Charleston, Francis Marion University in Florence, and Florence-Darlington Technical (migrating from Sirsi systems)—made the switch to Millennium. The INN-Reach implementation will also incorporate holdings from six non-Innovative system libraries.
Orange (Calif.) Public Library selected Unicorn ILS, Single Search for federated searching, and Hyperion for digital asset management.
Lexington (Ky.) Public Library will be the first TLC library to implement the new�AquaBrowser OPAC.
University of California at Los Angeles has officially accepted its new integrated library system, Endeavor’s�Voyager. After several months of testing DRA’s now-defunct Taos system, UCLA chose a new path with Voyager. Implementation began in October 2003. Final acceptance, however, was contingent upon the system meeting specific performance levels while in full operation.
Ex Libris�has changed its management staff, capitalizing on the success of the Information Services Division (ISD) based in Boston. Oren Beit-Arie has been named chief strategy officer. Jenny Walker has been named vice president of marketing, encompassing all product management. Susan Stearns, director of operations for ISD, has been promoted to vice president of customer service for Ex Libris USA, following the December 2004 departure of Katrina Anderson, vice president of U.S. Aleph operations. Stearns, will manage implementation, training, and support teams for all Ex Libris products in North America.
WebFeat and Serials Solutions have entered a strategic partnership in which WebFeat will license its database connector technology to Serials Solutions for federated searching in its new Central Search product. Both companies have made news recently—the former with its controversial award of a federated search patent; the latter with its acquisition by ProQuest.
The Copyright Clearance Center and Innovative Interfaces have announced an interoperability agreement that will allow Innovative’s Millennium electronic course reserve system to connect directly to the CCC to request proper permissions for use.