Email Updates RSS
Search
WiLS is a non-profit organization that facilitates collaborative projects and services to advance library service

Partner Interview with Jeff Brunner from WiLS

By IGI Global on Jan 28, 2015
Partner Interview With Jeff Brunner From WiLSJeff Brunner, Community Liason and Service Specialist from WiLS, recently took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to with IGI Global Director of Electronic Resources and Library Relations Kristen Stauffer, on what WiLS does, and what they offer libraries and publishers today. WiLS partnered with IGI Global late last year, to continue to "Expand Possibilities through Collaboration."


Tell us a little more about WiLS!

Jeff Bruner: WiLS is a non-profit membership organization that facilitates collaborative projects and services to save our members time and money and to advance library service, primarily in the state of Wisconsin. Most of our members are libraries, but we also work with cultural institutions, government agencies, and other non-profits to develop partnerships and projects.

WiLS is guided by the fairly simple belief that libraries, cultural institutions, and their partners make the world a better place. These organizations are committed to public service and the improvement of their communities. Every member of the WiLS staff sincerely believes in the missions of our member institutions and works tirelessly to support them.

We also deeply believe that we’re stronger together than we are apart. That’s why virtually every service that WiLS offers has some component of collaboration among members. Whether it’s managing a state-wide eBook buying pool, connecting members with skilled experts at their peer institutions or creating and maintaining consortial relationships with vendors and service providers, we know that our members can do more and be more when they work together. That’s why our tagline is “Expanding Possibilities through Collaboration.”

The WiLS team is small (seven full-time staff, and one half-time), but we’ve got great skills in project management, facilitation and strategic planning. We’ve all got backgrounds in libraries, cultural heritage institutions, publishing or some combination of those. We know our members and the environments where they work which makes us uniquely well-suited to finding ways for them to work together for mutual benefit.

What are some of the current benefits and events WiLS provides/facilitates for its members?

WiLS provides a variety of direct and collaborative services. The one that I know best is our Cooperative Purchasing program. This is the way in which our members can take advantage of the strong and long-standing partnerships that we’ve developed with vendors and service providers such as IGI Global. These partnerships usually allow for affordable access to valuable databases and other information products that members might not be able to afford on their own.

We see the Coop Purchasing service as a real value to our vendor partners as well. We enthusiastically promote their products to our members and work to set up demos, trials and other ways of exposing them to what they have to offer. I think that our vendor partners find that they make more sales in Wisconsin by partnering with WiLS than they would on their own. We want to see them succeed so that they can continue to offer the kinds of unique services that our members need.

But, Cooperative Purchasing isn’t the whole story. WiLS manages Recollection Wisconsin, a collaborative effort to bring together digital versions of Wisconsin history materials from participating libraries, archives, museums and historical societies across the state. We connect member institutions with local experts in programming, cataloging, fundraising, marketing and all sorts of other skill sets through our Experts Connection service. We’re great at facilitating collaborative projects from inception to completion; brining all parties together, developing a plan and ensuring that the project stays on track. There are too many other services to list here, but those are a few examples.

We also host events! We bring members together for a variety of conferences and meetings on topics such as interlibrary loan, technical services and our annual WiLSWorld innovation and technologies forum! We also host an annual series of six regional member meetings, where we travel around the state to meet with member institutions in order to share ideas and collaborate.

In your experience working with libraries, what are some of the biggest changes that you’ve seen taking place, or that members have shared with you?

I work most closely with our academic library partners and I can speak to several big changes happening in that environment, for sure. With the huge variety of information products and platforms to which academic libraries subscribe, it can be a daunting task for even a seasoned researcher to begin their library research, let alone for a newly enrolled freshman. Many of our Academic Library partners are implementing resource discovery services to ease the process of finding relevant materials for their students and faculty. This kind of implementation can necessitate sometimes broad changes in how a library manages (or at least describes) its resources and can be even more complex when several libraries decide to implement such a system together.

In a similar vein, many libraries are moving towards library services platforms (LSP) to supplement or replace their existing Integrated Library Systems (ILS). Products like WorldShare, Alma and Sierra have largely been built to more thoroughly meet the needs of a library that is rapidly increasing its digital holdings rather than print. The process of buying, activating and maintaining digital collections isn’t nearly as long-standing and established as those processes for print materials and a big draw of the LSPs is their ability to help manage that workflow. LSPs also (to a greater and lesser extent) take advantage of more recent advances in computer technologies such as cloud computing and software as a service.

As I mentioned, the shift from print to digital isn’t news, as it’s been going on for some time. I’m seeing more and more print journal and eBook subscriptions being cancelled or shifted to digital every year. This is obviously a driving factor of the two changes mentioned above, so it’s probably worth mentioning that this work is still ongoing and shows no sign of slowing down. The needs of student and faculty researchers are diverse and changing, but one fairly consistent element is a preference for instant, digital access to the library’s materials both on and off campus.

Finally (and also related) as more and more library resources are becoming digital, there’s simply less need for the kind of physical shelving space that a huge print collection requires. As libraries remove these stacks, they’re finding exciting and innovative ways to repurpose the space. Group study facilities, learning commons, meeting rooms and other collaborative spaces are the big winners here. There’s a widespread and growing strategy of keeping the library relevant by rebranding it as a destination for collaborative work and study.

Do you see any particular purchasing trends among libraries?

Of course, I just spent four paragraphs about the shift from physical to digital resources, so I won’t harp on about that any further! One of the other trends that I’ve seen is academic libraries expanding their streaming media holdings in both audio and video. Whether its training videos, academic films, popular movies or streaming music, our members are seeing increasing demand. WiLS is working to expand our partnerships in those areas to help.

What do you see as challenges in the publishing industry landscape today among library members, publishers, vendors? And what are some ways you see the industry working toward conquering these challenges?

I think the biggest challenge isn’t new. Very few libraries have seen any sort of budgetary increase for several years, but the resources that they need to provide are becoming more expensive. Every library is looking for ways to do more with flat or less resources. This means a tightening of budgets pretty much everywhere and more competition between service providers and vendors. I think the industry would be best served by finding ways to keep prices low. I certainly think that working with consortia to offer group prices and package deals can really help. It can bring more libraries to the table and keep costs down for members. WiLS is always looking for ways to make new partnerships and strengthen existing ones for the benefit of both the members and the vendors that serve them.

Do you have any recommendations on the most effective ways publishers and vendors can work together with libraries?

In the environment of increasing costs and flat or lessened budgets, it’s more important than ever that vendors and publishers do what they can to make their products as easy to use and compatible with other systems as possible. As mentioned above, libraries are continually looking for ways to make their resources more discoverable and usable to their patrons. As they move to new discovery layers and LSPs, they’ll naturally think twice about resources that don’t easily integrate with those systems. Publishers and vendors would do well to know what the leading services are and work towards making sure that their products integrate well with them.

Thank you, Jeff, for taking the time to speak with us!


See also IGI Global Announces New Partnership with WiLS.

Browse for more posts in:
Knowledge ManagementLibrary and Information ScienceKnowledge DiscoveryKnowledge SocietyLibrary Information SystemsInterviewNewsletterNorth AmericaAuthor NewsResources for DistributorsResources for InstructorsResources for LibrariansResources for Researchers

No comments Comments

Log in or sign up to comment.
Be the first to comment!

More from IGI Global

Apr 23, 2024 Participate in the IGI Global Annual Academic Publishing Trends & Open Access Survey 2024
In its second year, the IGI Global Annual Academic Publishing Trends & Open Access Survey 2024 seeks to create a realistic outlook on problems faced by the academic community and their potential solutions.
IGI GlobalRead More
Resources for LibrariansResources for ResearchersOpen Access
Apr 18, 2024 Uniting Nations with Multinational Electronic Health Records to Stop Lassa Fever's Pandemic Threat!
The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a surge in Lassa fever cases in Nigeria, emphasizing the urgent need for containment measures.
IGI GlobalRead More
Medical, Healthcare, and Life SciencesHealthcare Information SystemsBooks & E-BooksResearch Trends
Apr 16, 2024 IGI Global Announces the 2024 Journal Reviewers Award Winners
IGI Global congratulates the winners of this year's Journal Reviewer Award
IGI GlobalRead More
JournalsAwards & RecognitionOpen Access
Apr 15, 2024 What Defines Authorship and Who Should Be Included in a Manuscript’s Byline?
For decades, academic publishing has been plagued with discrepancies surrounding authorship of scholarly research...
IGI GlobalRead More
Books & E-BooksAcquisitions
Apr 15, 2024 Doody’s Selects IGI Global Books for Special Topics List
Two IGI Global publications have been recognized by Doody's for their excellence and niche topic focus.
IGI GlobalRead More
Medical, Healthcare, and Life SciencesMedia and CommunicationsBooks & E-BooksAwards & Recognition
Apr 11, 2024 Technology is Making Disparities Worse
Digital Inclusion Week underscored the urgent need for a national digital equity plan in the US due to disparities in internet access and digital skills.
IGI GlobalRead More
Apr 8, 2024 Nearly 90% of IGI Global’s Frontlist Books Now Indexed in Scopus
The majority of IGI Global's books Frontlist is now indexed by Scopus. Learn what this prestigious recognition means for the publisher and the experts behind these books.
IGI GlobalRead More
Books & E-BooksAwards & RecognitionReviews & Indexing
Apr 4, 2024 Navigating Neglected Maintenance and Safety Risks of Flight Travel
A United Airlines Flight 837 bound for Tokyo from San Francisco could not take off due to a mechanical issue.
IGI GlobalRead More
Business and ManagementComputer Science and Information TechnologyScience & EngineeringHospitality, Travel & Tourism ManagementAerospace EngineeringBooks & E-BooksResearch Trends
Apr 3, 2024 Interview with a Global Guru in Education
Hear from Dr. Velliaris, who was voted as a Top 30 Global Guru in Education.
EducationBooks & E-BooksInterviewAuthor News
Apr 3, 2024 Introducing the New IGI Book Topic Brochures
IGI Global is excited to introduce a new initiative to provide detailed insights into various fascinating subjects. Our brochures offer a comprehensive overview of timely publications covering the latest research topics...
IGI GlobalRead More
EducationBusiness and ManagementComputer Science and Information TechnologySocial Sciences and HumanitiesBooks & E-Books
First Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  ... Next Last