The Role of the Library in a Wired Society Compete or Withdraw: A Business Perspective

1. The Role of the Library in a Wired SocietyCompete or Withdraw: A Business Perspective PATRICK C. SOMMERS CEO, SIRSI CORPORATION September 24, 2004

2. Sixty-five million years ago, the Cretaceous Period ended • Known as “The Great Dying” • The term dinosaur - 1st introduced in 1841 by Sir Richard Owen in an address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science. • Over 300 types have been found • Theories on decline: • large meteorite crashed into the earth creating a giant cloud of dust that blocked out the sun • continental drift caused radical changes in temperatures and sea levels

3. Company at a crossroads • Today, Sirsi is in a strong position for the future • But three years ago, we were at a crossroads as a company • We asked ourselves an important question: What do we do to continue growing and moving forward as a company?

4. What would it take to move forward? • Critical to evolve and adapt • Position ourselves to be… • Responsive • Innovative • Competitive • Flexible • Circumspect • Otherwise, atrophy or decline would result

5. “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” -- Alan Kay, computer technology pioneer

6. Setting the course for Sirsi’s future • Required a clear vision • A well-defined and clearly understood mission that guides everything we do as a company • Vision naturally leads to Imperatives that define focused goals for the future • Imperatives are achieved by taking actionsand completingtasks “Sirsi’s vision” now guides us in every part of our enterprise … toward accomplishing our strategic goals for today and the future.

7. Sirsi’s Vision Statement “To bethe premier partner in providing advanced solutions that enable our customers to be leaders in expanding knowledge performance within their diverse community of users”

8. Libraries deal with same “business” challenges as companies like Sirsi • Operations • Organization • Resource allocation • Partnerships • Competition • Revenue • Vision • Branding

9. Local Library Faces Budget Cuts Librarians Retiring in Record Numbers NextGen Users Seek Different Access to Information Internet First Choice of 60% of Information Seekers More cities, campuses go wireless Local organizations partner to serve citizens Only 15-18% of public use libraries

10. Think strategically Pursue a vision Do new, exciting things Provide access to everyone while keeping the lights on and toilets working while being open and responsive to new ideas while working within your budget while making sense of the morass of information available Dichotomies of direction

11. Attract great talent Invest in leading technologies Protect children Be responsive to users Continue to invest in the physical library Dichotomies of direction while competing with new & better-funded alternatives while ensuring integration with other systems while protecting freedom of access to information while remaining focused and substantive while providing the latest in electronic access to information

12. Ah, for the good old days! • Running an organization used to be straightforward, if not easy. • But there’s more to do now and less time in which to get the job done To overcome these hurdles, to remain on the forefront, and to maintain relevance, libraries must be: Visionary, Innovative, Flexible, and Responsive.

13. Change has Considerable Psychological Impact • To the Fearful – it is threatening because it means things may get worse. • To the Hopeful – it is encouraging because things may get better. • To the Confident – it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

14. We’re excited about the future! The expanding role of libraries in the 21st century. It’s all founded upon a vision in which libraries are the FIRST places people go for the information, resources, and services needed for their jobs, educations, and passions. Libraries are the recognized leaders for how content – from any source – is organized and shared in their communities.

15. The power of libraries

17. Libraries’ roles • Collaboration – what does it mean today for Libraries • In communities • In Learning • In Knowledge Access

20. Lots to be excited about Challenges ahead + Ingenuity of leading libraries + Powerful technologies and expertise = Great opportunities for the future There are so many objectives we can achieve working together with a common vision.

21. Achieving objectives won’t be easy • But with a proactive vision, we can harness the power of today’s leading technologies and maximize the value of content available today to achieve great objectives • Namely, taking library services to new heights and expanding the role of your library in the community What’s the greatest challenge of all in undertaking these goals?

22. Embracing change “The future is no longer simply an extension of the past.”

23. Taking the proactive approach “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”-- Alan Kay, computer technology pioneer

25. Things Found Only in America • 1.Only in America......can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. • 2.Only in America......are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink. • 3.Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front. • 4.Only in America......do people order double cheese burgers, large fries, and a diet Coke. • 5.Only in America......do banks leave both doors to the vault open and then chain the pens to the counters.

26. Things Found Only in America • 6.Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage. • 7.Only in America......do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place. • 8.Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight. • 9.Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'. • 10.Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

27. A vision revisited -- Conclusion

28. The challenges are endless • Growing and remaining “competitive” • Limited resources – money & people • How to apply leading technologies • Efficiency of operations • Powerful vision for the future

29. Powerful vision for 21st-century libraries To be the first place children, parents, students, professionals, seniors, and all information seekers go for knowledge … To createa powerful brand for libraries as the recognized authority on quality information – no matter where it comes from

30. 10. Your reason for not staying in touch with family is that they do not have e-mail addresses. 9. You consider second-day air delivery painfully slow 8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 years of your life, is cause for panic & turning around to go get it. 7. Your grandmother asks you to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she can create a screen saver. 6. You chat several times a day with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven't spoken with your next-door neighbor yet this year. 5. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home. Signs that you live in 2004...

31. 4. Your daughter sells Girl Scout Cookies via her web site. 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three. 2. You call your son's beeper to let him know it's time to eat. He emails you back from his bedroom, "What's for dinner?" AND THE #1 Sign that you live in 2004 is: You just tried to enter your password on the microwave. Signs that you live in 2004...