Build relationships. For libraries, working with vendors is more than a transaction. We are cooperatively developing solutions for our communities. Seek to understand the vendor’s priorities (e.g. user experience, content, or integrations). Vendors also work with a number of libraries and may see trends before an individual library experiences them locally. Vendors can be your allies in anticipating change.

Understand what “No” really means. Many library vendors offer a suite of products. If a library is looking at one product and decides not to buy, think of it as a “No, this isn’t a good fit at this time.” Just like libraries, products evolve and change. The vendor may bring a new solution to the market. Building relationships with vendors, even if you aren’t a current customer, is beneficial. This helps you better understand the market and learn about new solutions that may be in the works. Also share feedback about your library made the decision they did. Is the user interface a concern? Is the content area not a good fit for your community’s needs? Were competitors offering a more affordable option? All this helps to build a relationship with this vendor and also helps the vendor better understand their market. Think of this as constructive criticism that helps build better options for libraries.

Take a collaborative approach. It can be easy to fall into adversarial roles when working with vendors.  Vendors and library staff are not in competition, they are not adversaries.  Falling into adversarial roles is counterproductive.   Take a different approach. Ask about their products and share issues at the top of your priority list. If you have a question about their product, ask it.

Money isn’t everything. It can be easy to focus on price quotes, but sometimes the lowest bid is more expensive in the long-term. When you have built relationships with the vendors, you can gain an understanding of what is included in the quote. Are there extra service fees? Talk to references for the vendor. This can help you understand what it is like to work with the vendor after a sale is made.

Listen and learn. Spend time in the exhibits at conferences. Attend free product webinars. Listen to vendors and learn about the products they offer. Conferences are a great way to quickly explore the library market. Often you can test out a product on the exhibits floor and talk to a knowledgeable representative who can answer your questions. This is a great place to discover new vendors and solutions. Approach visiting the exhibits floor as professional development where you are learning about the library market. Vendors dedicated to the library market possess significant expertise about the library field. Learn from them.

Positive negotiations: Negotiating pricing and terms of service can be uncomfortable, especially for library staff new to this role. It doesn’t need to be—instead, think of it as problem solving. When talking to a vendor about pricing, share what your concerns are. Perhaps a product is superior to the competition, but the pricing is double that the nearest other quote. Share that information with the vendor. This provides the vendor an opportunity to revise their quote if they would like. They may choose not to, and even if the negotiation isn’t successful, you have done your best to provide the best service to your community.

There is not a one-size-fits-all approach for vendor relations. Find what works for you and your library. In the end, remember that vendors are critical in providing excellent service to our communities.

The post Helping Vendors Help Us first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

BPL turned to Tableau, a software company that offers a family of interactive data visualization products focused on business intelligence.  According to Manager of Strategic Initiatives Diana Plunkett, the hardest part of getting started was finding where the data would come from.  “We started with our simplest metrics, the ones that were easiest for us to capture. Our data around circulation is pretty clearly defined and pretty clearly understood, so that’s where we started,” said Plunkett.

Although much of the data BPL tracks is common (door count, program attendance, circulation, etc.), the data visualization reports help staff members make sense of the data. I took a look at some of the sample charts that BPL created through Tableau and am impressed with the results.  It’s one thing to look at door count numbers by hour, but to see those numbers in an attractive graph makes a much bigger impact:  http://public.tableausoftware.com/profile/bpl.it#!/vizhome/ShopperTrakv4/DoorCountbyHour

Not only does the visualization make the data more accessible, BPL makes the data available to everyone who works at the library.  I believe this is the single greatest benefit of Tableau’s capabilities and the way BPL is using it.  Giving all staff access to the data creates transparency across the organization since everyone can see the factors that are part of making decisions, and all staff members feel like they can lend a hand in making those decisions.  When data lives only within the IT Department and the Executive Committee, libraries miss out on the input of those on the front lines.

“A lot of the data we are displaying in these visualizations is data that was captured before, but there wasn’t an easy mechanism for everyone in the organization to see the result of that captured data all in one place,” Plunkett said.  “We find that people are more effective in their reporting because they can see the results. It’s not just being reported and it goes into a black hole somewhere. The visualizations make it so that people who aren’t used to diving in and mucking with the data can easily take a look at what’s going on, and understand what actions they can take as a result of it.”

Now that BPL has curated a set of data in Tableau and staff members are on board with the resource, the organization is looking to pull from local data sources as well as its own data warehouse for more ad-hoc analysis.  Plunkett believes the ad-hoc aspect will encourage more staff members to share their own ideas for data analysis and create more collective brain power.  BPL also plans to share some of the data with patrons as a way to increase awareness of the library’s services.  The appealing visual narratives might also be useful in proving the library’s importance to politicians and other stakeholders.

Sources:

http://diginomica.com/2015/02/18/how-the-brooklyn-public-library-data-visualization-a-better-library-with-tableau/

http://www.tableau.com/learn/stories/brooklyn-public-library-saves-time-money-and-headcount-tableau

http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/big_data

The post Data Visualization for Public Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.