Back in 2021, we launched our inaugural Librarians Futures report which investigated areas of misalignment between the support and resources prioritized by libraries compared to the areas most appreciated by patrons through a largescale survey of librarians and their patrons.
To build a more detailed picture of this existing misalignment, we commissioned a student-led research project seeking to better understand student perspectives on the university experience, and more specifically, resource and reading lists for the classroom. This offered us great insight into the existing dissonance between Librarians and students, and was the central part of our second Librarian Futures Report titled The Knowledge Gap Between Librarians and Students.
In this blog post we’ll look at 9 key findings from the Librarian Futures Report Part Two:
When students were asked to identify how they find resources during their course, the most popular answer was “I Google stuff” with 63% of respondents. In contrast, far fewer students answered they either use their library website (35%) or building (27%) while searching for resources, and fewer still use them as their first port-of-call (10%, 6% respectively).
When looking for a reason for this, research has shown that this might be due to students reporting difficulty in using the discovery services provided by their library (Sharman & East, 2022, OpenAthens, 2023).
When students were asked to identify how their library supports their studies, only 34% of students reported that libraries help them find resources and only 24% of students reported that librarians taught them about resources.
This might be due to many students seeing the library as merely a building and a source of collections, with 50% of respondents considering the library’s role in supporting their studies as “providing access to academic resources,” and 46% saying that the library “provides access to textbooks”. Most worryingly, 5% believe the library has no role in supporting their studies.
When asked about their academic reading confidence levels, 32% of non-first-generation students reported they were “very confident” reading academic literature, significantly more than 21% of first-generation students. This trend continues as confidence levels decrease, with 37% of first-generation students identifying as “somewhat confident,” significantly more than 22% of non-first-generation students.
Interestingly, there also is a discrepancy in the confidence levels of student as perceived by students themselves in comparison to academic staff, with 41.8% of students rating their academic reading confidence positively while just 11.6% of staff rating student competency as positive.
When students were asked to identify who had helped them grow in key academic skills, just 25% of students reported that librarians in key areas, including:
The results are affected by the type of students, with more experienced and part-time students being more likely to report that librarians have helped them.
When asked if they have participated in additional academic training, 25% of student surveyed reported that they do not participate in additional training of any sort despite the training given.
The most popular form of training included 34% of students training in study skills, while 32% in writing skills and only 18% taking part in citation management and 12% in information literacy.
With the emergence and extreme popularity of large-language models like ChatGPT, which generate convincing (though often unreliable) text, this challenge is set to become even more crucial.
When students were asked to rate areas where they have most trouble when preparing an assignment, 40% answered that they found it very difficult or somewhat difficult to manage their time, 38% had difficulty keeping focused on a task, and most importantly 31% reported difficulty when trying to receive help when they needed it.
It is worth noting that these pain points shift when students gain more experience, with more prepared students reported that they found it easy significantly more than less prepared.
When it comes to areas where students demonstrated their confidence when writing an assignment and found it very easy or somewhat easy to complete these tasks, 57% chose making notes and annotating sources, 54% chose understanding the assignment, however only a slim majority (52%) reported that they found “finding relevant resources” easy.
When students were asked to identify their approach to learning, 57% of students identified themselves as independent learners.
A reason for this might be a lack of access or knowledge of how to use a collaboration software, with just 10% of respondents identifying a collaboration software as a tool they consider using for planning and preparing for assignments.
When students were asked how long they spent searching for a relevant resource, 25% answered they would spend 30-60 minutes looking for a resource, 12% 60-90 minutes and 17% 90 or more.
This becomes problematic considering that only 25% of students reported receiving help from librarians for accessing resources, and just 16% said librarians had helped them find good information.
The fact that students with disabilities are more likely to spend less time looking for resources highlights the importance of finding them in their workflow and streamlining the access to relevant high-quality information.
Additionally, students without disabilities reported that they are significantly more likely to go to the library building to find resources and are also more likely to see the library as a place to collaborate with other students.
Download our Librarian Futures Part II report to discover more noteworthy insights regarding how academic libraries can be more deeply involved in the undergraduate learning journey.
Share your thoughts about the findings in the new Librarian Futures Part II report on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Librarian Futures Part Two: Towards a More Accessible Library May 24, 2023
Technology from Sage recently published the latest instalment in our Librarian Futures series of reports, “The Knowledge Gap Between Librarians and Students”. This report focuses primarily on exploring and elucidating a bidirectional knowledge gap that exists between academic librarians and student patrons, highlighting the discrepancy that librarians see the role of the library as more than just a building and a collection, whereas students are largely unaware of or unlikely to use the other services that libraries provide.
If you haven’t downloaded the new report yet, it’s available to download now.
As part of our research, we asked students whether they identified as having a physical or mental disability. Our research highlighted that many students who identify as disabled view the library very differently to students who did not identify as disabled. If the role of the library is to serve patrons, librarians have to ensure all patrons are served equally. Herein we will explore the differences we observed across our data, and make recommendations for how academic libraries might adjust their practices to support patrons who identify as disabled.
We asked students how easy or difficult they found certain aspects of preparing assignments. Across the following categories, students who identify as disabled reported having significantly more difficulty than non-disabled students:
This data suggests that students who identify as disabled are experiencing difficulties throughout the entire assignment process. To determine who students are looking to for help, we asked students who had helped them grow across a number of areas. Across the board librarians placed low on the list (below “me”, “my peers”, and “my teachers”), with no significant differences between those who identified as disabled and those who did not.
We then specifically asked students how the library supports their studies. In encouraging news for librarians, very few students reported that it simply did not. Our data did show however that students without a disability were significantly more likely to see the library as a place for collaboration with other students than students who identify as disabled are. Collaborative learning is a crucial skill for students to develop across their time at university, so it is concerning that students who identify as disabled have a different experience of collaboration within the library.
Later, when we asked students to identify where they go to find resources for their assignments and studies, students who do not identify as disabled identified the library building significantly more than students who identify as disabled did. This could indicate unaddressed issues surrounding access.
We also wanted to know how long students would continue searching for a relevant resource before moving on for a typical assignment. We found that students who identify as disabled were significantly more likely to spend 15 minutes or less searching before they moved on. Spending reduced amounts of time searching for resources might lead to students missing out on vital research that lends added context to their own work. Understanding why students who identify as disabled are less likely to spend longer looking for resources could help librarians address the issue.
Lastly, we sought to understand whether students were undertaking additional training to support their studies and, if so, how they discovered this. Though we found no significant differences between those who identify as disabled those who do not in whether they undertook such training, we did find that students who do not identify as disabled were significantly more likely to find out about such training from their fellow students, whereas students who identify as disabled are significantly more likely to find out from email communications.
In the first part of our Librarian Futures series, most librarians agreed that the mission of the academic librarian centred around who librarians serve. It is clear from our data however that not all groups are being served equally by the library. Our findings present an opportunity to inform the next steps academic libraries and librarians ought to take.
Our data provide useful starting points for librarians, but they cannot explain the reasons students who identify as disabled do not use the library as often as students who do not identify as disabled. Staff can hypothesise as to the reason, but to address any of these issues, libraries must start with their patrons. The voices of students who identify as disabled must be present and heard in any such conversations: ask students what they want and need and make efforts to meet these requirements. Librarians will then be able to implement targeted measures to address these. Librarians can use a variety of methods to collect student feedback, ensuring diverse perspectives are heard and considered. Librarians might consider running in-person focus groups, as well as online ones. Suggestion boxes or feedback forms will allow students to remain anonymous, potentially contributing to more honest feedback.
Our data clearly suggests that different groups of students have different challenges at university, and thus it’s clear that no one size fits all approach will be appropriate. Following listening exercises with students, librarians must tailor their approach to ensure specific student groups are being well served by the library.
Here at Technology from Sage, we are well aware of the wealth of knowledge and experience that librarians bring with them, and with the academic library as our North Star we stand ready to work with librarians in addressing these challenges. However, given that relatively few students look to librarians for help around their assignments, much of the insight that librarians can offer is lost. By making efforts to raise their profile within their institution, librarians can expect students to approach them more readily.
Librarians might consider running workshops or making appearances at university learning and teaching events. Collaborating with academic staff to embed the library more effectively within the student journey could also be beneficial. Our data suggests that different approaches may be useful for different cohorts of students: the most effective way to reach students who identify as disabled is via email communications.
The data we presented in the latest Librarian Futures should be seen as the start of something, not the end. We have highlighted that those who identify as disabled and those who do not are not having the same university experience, though more work is required to fully understand the root causes behind this. Working in concert, academic libraries and library vendors can gain a better understanding of the challenges students who identify as disabled face, and how we can address these. Together, we can work towards a more accessible library.
Meet our North America Sales Director, Jessica Clemons April 21, 2023
At Technology from Sage our purpose is to support libraries in advancing teaching, learning and research. We can’t achieve this mission without the work of the talented team at Technology from Sage, so we’ve launched a series of posts for you to find out more about the team.
In this Meet the Team post, we’re joined by Jessica Clemons, the North America Sales Director at Technology from Sage. Read on to find out more about Jessica.
I began my career as a science librarian and thought I’d always be in libraries. I feel that is still true while working and serving libraries from the vendor side. I loved learning about all the different areas of librarianship, helping students, and engaging with faculty.
I’m leading the North American sales team to grow awareness of Technology from Sage and help customers deliver best in class, student-centered solutions. I get to talk to many different librarians about their strategic priorities, how they are providing value to their organization, and work with them to accelerate their vision.
So many things! I think I have some of the best colleagues who are talented, professional, and a lot of fun. We are strengthening and growing our partnerships with other vendors and that kind of collaboration is much needed. Most importantly, I am fortunate to be able to connect with so many different academic librarians who are working so hard to deliver the best services to their patrons, wherever they may be.
It seems like every year there is always a new “threat” to the academic library. Our solutions help librarians deliver on their core mission of access and engagement in modern ways, all while elevating the impact that the library can have.
Librarians are our focus and we want to help their work to be more impactful, engaging, and connected across the teaching and learning ecosystem. I’ve been connecting with many engaged and forward-thinking librarians who have the ability to see where they need to be in order to adapt to changing student and faculty needs.
Our solutions help librarians deliver on their core mission of access and engagement in modern ways, all while elevating the impact that the library can have.
There are so many examples to choose from here! In sales, it is usually when you hear a “yes” from a customer who wants to use our solutions to solve the problems they have and help their patrons. But realistically, my best day is any day where I’ve been able to help my colleagues, help customers, and take the time to be grateful for the opportunities that I have.
A Notepad, a coaster my daughter made for me and tinted lip balm.
In Love by Amy Bloom. I love her writing in fiction because it is filled with strong females living lives that are complicated and honest. In Love is a work of non-fiction that painfully and beautifully describes the loss of her husband to Alzheimer’s. I can’t get it out of my head or my heart.
I try and tune into my inner Yogi with a daily affirmation app. I like the variety and it helps to positively adjust my mindset and approach the day ahead with an open heart and a sense of joy.
I love this question because I’m a planner! I’ll want to take care of my growing menagerie of pets and farm animals, go for a hike or bike ride, make a treat with my kids, and play some games as a family. And perhaps I’d end the day with a gorgeous cocktail.
Working to advance higher education is where I find the most reward and I hope that I’ll always be able to do that. But, if I had to pick something else, I think it would be fun to be a brewmaster and make delicious craft beers for everyone to enjoy.
5 insights about the Lean Library and Springshare integration April 20, 2023Back in March, we were thrilled to sponsor and attend ACRL Conference 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the booth, Jessica Clemons (Director of Sales, Technology from Sage) and Talia Richards (Vice President of Marketing, Springshare) hosted a session on Springshare’s partnership with Lean Library and how libraries can integrate your LibGuides and LibChat right inside the patron’s workflow, without them ever having to navigate to the library’s website. Watch the session recording by clicking the button below or read on for a summary of the 5 key insights.
How can the library assist in lowering these stress levels for students? One of the ways this can be improved is by increasing access to resources at the point of need. Most notably, by removing barriers and making it easier for students to find key resources as and when they need them.
Data from our 2021 Librarian Futures Report reveals that 48% patrons begin their search for resources outside of the library. Also, it was found that the librarian is an underused resource and used the same amount as Wikipedia. However, patrons do want support from the library in their workflow.
We have a brand-new report out now titled Librarian Futures Part II which contrasts librarian and student perspectives on the undergraduate workflow.
In March 2023, there were 905,000 LibGuides in the community site created by 258,000 librarians at 5,900 institutions. How do we ensure that these LibGuides are being surfaced by patrons to reduce their stress and anxiety? How do we ensure that librarians are getting a return on their investment with creating LibGuides? This is where Lean Library comes in…
When patrons start searching for resources on Google or Google Scholar, Lean Library will deploy the relevant LibGuide at the point of need. For example, if a patron is searching for resources on Google Scholar, a LibGuide can be deployed which explains how to use Google Scholar for research, without the patron having to leave their workflow. LibGuides can be deployed on any academic resource or website online, such as, ChatGPT, so that when a patron lands on the ChatGPT website, a LibGuide can be deployed which details the library’s guidelines on using ChatGPT effectively and safely.
What if a student is searching for resources off campus and they have a question for their librarian? The Lean Library integration with LibChat means that a student can get support from their librarian without leaving their workflow. Springshare have now launched Chatbox “flows” which can be present on any webpage, whether it’s Wikipedia or Google Scholar. Chatbox “flows” guide users to answers before they talk to a librarian, making it easier for them to find self-help first. Plus, you can provide FAQs to common questions.
The role of the library in supporting patron reference management April 20, 2023Back in March we were delighted to present three sessions at ER&L Conference 2023 in Austin, Texas on how libraries can amplify their value on campus. In this blog, we round-up 5 key insights from one of our sessions, Right place, right reference: The role of the library in supporting patron reference management.
The session investigated issues around referencing that researchers face, and the role of the library in supporting them. It looked at practical institutional experiences of adopting different reference managers.
Read on for a summary of 5 key insights from the session or watch the session recording to see Daniel Horvath (Product Director, Technology from Sage), Barbara Renner (Liaison Librarian, University of Chapel Hill) and Christine Gomola (Reference & Research Librarian, UNC Highway Safety Research Center) discuss in full.
Libraries have had to adapt as services move to digital spaces and patrons adopt an “I want this now” mentality. This puts libraries and librarians in challenging situations relating to how they can best support their patrons in the post-pandemic and digital world.
In our latest report titled Librarian Futures Report Part II: The Knowledge Gap between Librarians and Students we found that 50% of students surveyed see the library’s role in supporting studies as “providing access to academic resources”. This shows the importance of finding new ways to equip libraries and librarians to support their patrons. You can download the report here.
Liaison librarians help users select which referencing tools to use for their research based on sets of criteria and systematic reviews. For example, mobile access, reduplication, identified notes, sending to Excel and many more. Researchers needs are different by project and not necessarily by type of user. These charts help librarians talk to each other across the different disciplines and choose where to put their funding.
UNC Highway Safety Research Center have added guidance on their webpage about Citing and Writing tools. Users can register for instructional support classes, for example, an introduction to Zotero or advanced uses of Sciwheel. Users can either attend in-person workshops for the induction training or watch it virtually via Zoom. The role of the librarian is to educate themselves on what their users need and advise users on which reference management tool is best suited for their projects.
Whether through supporting documentation, or virtual onboarding, librarians can outline the functionalities of each product, and advice students on which reference management tool best suits their projects.
When reference management tools, such as Sciwheel or Zotero, enable users to save references directly from the web and save the links as citations – it’s just beautiful (according to Christine)!
Unveiling a new user-centered approach on the delivery of library services April 20, 2023Back in March we were delighted to present three sessions at ER&L Conference 2023 in Austin, Texas on how libraries can amplify their value on campus. In this blog, we share 5 key insights from our session, Unveiling a new user-centered approach on the delivery of library services: A case study from Bangor University Library.
The session explored Bangor University library’s vision and plan to increase student engagement with resource lists and embedding EzProxy into research workflows to support researcher impact. The talk was chaired by Jessica Clemons (Director of Sales, Technology from Sage), with speakers Anna Jones, MLIS (Senior Program Manager, Community Relations, OCLC) and Alan Thomas (Teaching and Learning Support Manager, Bangor University library).
You can watch the full session recording below or read on to get a summary of 5 key insights from how one library used digital services at multiple points of the patron workflow to increase library impact and engagement of library-subscribed resources.
Most students do not begin their search for resources on the library website. Our new report titled Librarian Futures report Part II: The Knowledge Gap between Librarians and Students found that 63% of patrons use Google to find resources compared to 35% using library websites. You can download the report here.
With the OCLC Worldshare Management Services (WMS) and Talis Aspire integration, students can more easily find resources that have been listed by their professors and faculty as they can be embedded in the discovery workflow. This also means that cataloguing workflows are integrated with the reading lists. It’s all supported by OCLC WorldCat data and makes it easier for library staff, too!
Wherever patrons are in the world, accessing the library anytime, anywhere, any place is one of Bangor University library’s key strategies. Patrons being able to easily access reading materials and resources that the library purchases or leases is vital.
Both staff and students go to Google or Google Scholar first rather than the library website or discovery, so Bangor University library must ensure their material is findable through this route. Bangor University library use Lean Library to take care of EZproxy and authentications and route patrons straight through to accessing library materials, even when they begin their search outside of the library on the open web.
Bangor University library have integrated Talis Aspire’s resource list management software with their Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that students are aware of which resources they should be prioritising. Students expect to be told what they have access to, so the reading lists present vetted and suitable material. If a professor is teaching statistics in psychology, the resource would also be available to students of biochemistry, therefore it would cross departments. Usage figures for the resources would go up and the cost per student would go down.
Back in March we were delighted to present three sessions at ER&L Conference 2023 in Austin, Texas on how libraries can amplify their value on campus.
Our session, Future-proofing access: Going where your patrons are, asked the question: How can university libraries ensure patrons receive library support at the ‘point of need’ and secure equity of access?
The talk was chaired by Daniel Horvath (Product Director, Technology from Sage), Talia Richards (Vice President of Marketing, Springshare) and Matthew Hawkes (Academic Librarian, The University of East Anglia).
The library can help reduce students’ stress levels by improving reach and access to LibGuides’ content. Most notably, by removing barriers and making it easier for students to find the information they need, as and when they need it.
With the Lean Library and LibChat integration, your Chatbox “flows” can be present on any webpage, whether it’s Wikipedia or Google Scholar, ensuring that patrons can have the support they need from their library at the point of need. Chatbox “flows” guide users to answers before they talk to a librarian, making it easier for them to find self-help first. Plus, you can provide FAQs to common questions.
With the Lean Library browser extension, patrons are told that they have access to an article or resource via their institution. All they need to do do is click “Get Access” and they’ll be taken to the full text article. If the library doesn’t have the article in their discovery, patrons can still request the article via Inter-Library Loan (ILL). It’s a one-stop-shop for the user – they don’t have to do any further searching. Lean Library makes patrons’ lives easier by injecting itself in the user journey when researching.
Rather than expecting users to come to the library webpages, locate the guide, read all about the resource they want and then go off and start searching, a pop-up can be deployed within the resource e.g. a video guide, which talks users through how to use it. They can access this guide at any time through the Lean Library menu. This means support can be surfaced directly into patron workflows, whether the patron is located on or off campus. Microsoft Forms and surveys can also be deployed, not just onboarding guides, to nudge students towards the right places.
When patrons land on the external library webpage, they’ll receive a pop-up which links them to their digital library via a LibGuide. This enables patrons to hit the ground running and they can search library resources safe in the knowledge that they’re viewing everything. You can learn more about the Lean Library and Springshare integration here and how this partnership works to bring LibGuides and LibChat directly into patron works.
What winning the Technology from Sage Innovators Award has meant to librarians April 20, 2023We believe that the right technology can remove barriers to knowledge. That’s why, in 2022, we launched the Technology from Sage Innovators Award in partnership with Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER&L). The award commends examples of technological innovations in e-resources librarianship, especially in support of pedagogy and/or research workflows across campus. The winning innovation received a $2,000 prize to be used to advance future technological innovations and/or professional development.
In this blog, we share details on the winners for 2022 and 2023 and catch up with the people behind them on what winning the award meant to them, and their plans for the cash prize.
Authors: Lauren Puzier and Rebecca Nous from Albany State University of New York
Overview: This innovation enables web-users to proactively seek information when they encounter issues online. University at Albany used system statuses to leverage this to share changes to resources or services, and improve transparency and user experience.
Authors: Dr. Olga Koz and Dr. Ivan Jorrin-Abellan from Kennesaw State University
Overview: This innovation comprises the Hopscotch research design web-tool which aids novice researchers in the development of solid and well-informed research designs.
Dr. Jorrin-Abellan (IRML Founder): It’s been nine years since we developed the initial version of the Hopscotch model and almost four years (and a pandemic in between) since we launched the Interactive Research Methods Lab (IRML), intending to provide a transdisciplinary intersection that supports and promotes excellence in research learning and practice. The members of the Lab are thrilled about this prestigious award. We believe this recognition will help boost our efforts to democratize the teaching and learning of research methods to novice researchers.
Dr. Koz (Senior Research Support Librarian, IRML member): Winning the award culminated my eight years of efforts supporting research using novel models. I am embedded in research courses, serve as a member of research supporting committees, and now provide research lab-integrated services and resources at the point of need. The award challenges the prevailing view among academic librarians that research support for faculty, instruction for students, and curating and promoting resources are separate and distinct library services. I have already received an invitation to share this open innovation with other librarians.
Lauren Puzier (User Experience Librarian)and Rebecca Nous (Associate Librarian): Winning the Technology from Sage Innovators Award has been a significant achievement for us. It led to us being invited to discuss our project on a popular podcast hosted by Choice 360. Choice is a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). Lauren was interviewed by Bill Mickey, host of The Authority File: The LibVoices Podcast, in two episodes titled “Spotlighting Academic Library Innovation: University at Albany’s System Status Discovery” and “Spotlighting Academic Library Innovation: How to Build Partnerships, Make Time, and Build on Success.” The interview was a wonderful way to share information on the project and learn from other librarians who have developed engaging, collaborative projects.
The positive feedback encouraged us to build on our presentation by publishing a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning titled “System Statuses in academic libraries: Increasing transparency and improving the user experience” (2022). This article provides an in-depth look at how we incorporated system statuses into the discovery experience. We believe that sharing our experience through this article will help other academic libraries improve their user experience and increase transparency.
Dr. Jorrin-Abellan and Dr. Koz: We are still discussing our priorities, but our new endeavours will support the IRML, the collaborative virtual and physical space where our students, faculty, and practitioners design projects and research. The proposed projects include interactive components such as AI or rule-driven chatbots, the recommendation system assisting students in generating well-informed research designs, and literature reviews. We plan to use the award money to continue building a local content repository, disseminate our work, and enrich the partnership between librarians, researchers, and instructors.
Lauren Puzier and Rebecca Nous: Thanks to the award’s prize money, Rebecca and I are furthering our professional development by traveling to various upcoming library conferences, such as the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago this summer, and other regional conferences in the Northeast, to share our work and hopefully inspire other librarians to implement similar innovative projects at their own libraries. Without this award, attending these conferences would have been difficult for us.
Overall, winning the Innovators Award has been a valuable experience for us professionally. We are grateful for the recognition and support from Sage and look forward to continuing innovating and improving the user experiences for library patrons.
Congratulations again to both the 2023 and 2022 winners of the Technology from Sage Innovators Award! Have you spotted any exciting technological innovations in librarianship or Higher Education? Give these innovations a shout out on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Technology from Sage Invests in Skilltype to Build Librarian Skills for the Future April 19, 2023
In March 2023, Technology from Sage announced that it had invested in Skilltype to build librarian skills for the future. Skilltype is a talent management platform codesigned with libraries to improve access to quality training resources in line with changing patron needs. Using a controlled vocabulary of information science competencies, interests, and trainings, Skilltype identifies and closes skill gaps across the library while simultaneously enabling librarians – regardless of their degree or job title – to manage their personal learning and career development.
Under the leadership of Tony Zanders, a committed advocate for librarians and their capacity to shape the campus and the community, Skilltype is now embedded in more than 150 libraries across five countries. The company recently announced a new round of seed financing to fuel its mission.
“We were interested in partnering with an organization that has a track record of thinking about new ways to manage the library as opposed to continuing to invest in legacy ways of doing things. Sage has a track record of investing in emerging technologies that will define the library of the future,” said Tony Zanders, Skilltype CEO. “This investment will enable us to expand our product offering to help libraries solve their recruitment challenges and fill vacancies using data – one of the top challenges facing libraries today. Ultimately, it will help us help libraries make more impact.”
With Technology from Sage’s investment, Martha Sedgwick, Vice President of Product Innovation at Sage, will join the Skilltype board. Sedgwick said:
“Our Technology from Sage division is investing in new solutions and emerging tech that amplify the power of the academic library and support librarians through a transformative decade for the library. The growth of open access, hybrid learning, and now emerging AI tools are bringing dramatic changes in the way patrons discover and engage with information. We believe the librarian’s role will be more important than ever before in helping universities and their patrons navigate these changes. This is why we are so excited by Tony’s aspirations for Skilltype. His team has built a very impressive solution that empowers librarians to continue to increase their value on campus. Our hope is that our support will increase Skilltype’s global impact.”
Zanders created Skilltype after observing challenges in how libraries developed skills to support today’s patrons. It started as a community of nine academic libraries researching how linked data could be used to better understand their organizations. Today, Skilltype’s controlled vocabulary leverages existing competency frameworks for the information professions, ultimately encouraging both individual and organizational growth:
“At Sage, we see librarians as playing a crucial role in supporting their Higher Education Institution’s goals of supporting research excellence and student success. We share those goals as core to our mission and work in partnership with libraries to help them deliver for their institutions.” explained Karen Phillips, Executive Vice President of Learning at Sage. “As an independent company, we take a long-term approach to investing in library success and are free to do so in ways that enhance equity and break from tradition to help expand the role of the librarian as patrons’ needs evolve.”
Technology from Sage shares Sage’s mission and believes that the right technology can remove barriers to knowledge. Lean Library, part of Technology from Sage, published their Librarian Futures report in 2021 exploring what the future holds for the librarian-patron relationship and focusing on how to prepare libraries for what’s coming next. Part II of this report will be published in April.
Meet our Managing Director, Matt Hayes April 14, 2023At Technology from Sage our purpose is to support libraries in advancing teaching, learning and research. We can’t achieve this mission without the work of the talented team at Technology from Sage, so we’ve launched a series of posts for you to find out more about the team.
In this Meet the Team post, we’re joined by Matt Hayes, Managing Director at Technology from Sage. Read on to find out more about Matt – including what excites him most about working at Technology from Sage, the success of Lean Library Futures at BETT 2022 and what separates Technology from Sage from other companies.
I first joined Technology from Sage in 2020 as Managing Director of Lean Library. I came from Clarivate where I had been Director of Publons, the peer review platform, helping to lead Publons through its post-acquisition growth period. I loved my time at Publons, working with some amazing people and scaling reviewer recognition globally. A personal highlight was standing up a rapid Covid-19 preprint screening platform at the beginning of the pandemic, where we were able to mobilise the Publons reviewer community to rapidly screen emerging Covid research. The Lean Library opportunity came later that year and at just the right time, as we had just finished a 2-year growth acceleration period and had completed integrating the team into the core Clarivate business. I really admired the vision of Lean Library’s original founders, to bring the library into user workflows, and was excited at the potential to build out its promise, differentiating it from a generation of access broker tools into a more comprehensive solution for libraries.
My role expanded to Managing Director of Technology from Sage in early 2022, taking on responsibility for the Talis and Sciwheel businesses in addition to Lean Library. In my role as MD, I am ultimately responsible and accountable for all aspects of our strategy, long-term planning and day-to-day operations. I am lucky enough to have an amazing leadership team to support me in this, with talented directors for each of our key functions – from Technology to Sales.
I think it’s the challenge of being a minnow in a sea of whales! Having worked for the larger players like Clarivate and Springer Nature before, I am hyper aware of the scale and resources that these companies can bring to bear in our space. So my focus is often on what we can do that they can’t or won’t. This is where our ownership by Sage is so impactful. Their independent structure, not beholden to shareholders or short-term market changes, enables us to take a long-term view as a business. So our product strategy is able to really look ahead to where libraries might go in 5, 10 years’ time, and how our products can support them along the way. This is really exciting for me, as I love the new ideas and challenges this approach brings about. It means that we’re constantly looking to innovate, and that we can take risks.
(Sage’s) independent structure, not beholden to shareholders or short-term market changes, enables us to take a long-term view as a business. So our product strategy is able to really look ahead to where libraries might go in 5, 10 years’ time, and how our products can support them along the way.
I’m going to go with one of our internal values: ‘One Team’. We put this in place late last year as we started to bring each of the three businesses (Talis, Lean Library and Sciwheel) that make up Technology from Sage closer together. It’s really about saying that although we are a bunch of brilliantly different people, all with different histories and experiences, we are a single team. A team that supports each other, that achieves great things and has fun while doing it. That’s the kind of environment I personally always want to work in, and one I consider it my responsibility to help create. Playing my part in cultivating a happy team, that works well together, that can learn and progress, is one of the most rewarding parts of my role.
I think winning a BETT Award for Lean Library Futures last year. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work during the pandemic, and everyone involved put so much passion into achieving something we felt was truly ground-breaking. So it was awesome to have that recognised at BETT.
A takeaway coffee from Gail’s, my fancy new ergonomic mouse (writing up my PhD thesis has recently given me carpal tunnel!), and a huge bottle of water.
Circe by Madeline Miller. It’s so incredibly beautiful – please read it!
My hero has always been Bobby Kennedy and I love his Ripples of Hope speech: ‘Whenever someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope – which crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring can build a current to sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.’ I remember first hearing it in my mid-twenties and this, and many other RFK speeches, have quite literally directed my career and life. He inspired me to do my PhD in citizenship education and is always a reminder to focus on the impact my work has. In terms of the best advice I’ve ever received, I love aphorisms and a party trick is my obsession with memorising speeches and quotes, so there’s probably too many to select just one, but this popped into my head now: ‘Everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright it’s not the end.’
A long walk on Hampstead Heath with my wife and daughters, followed by lunch at the pub.
I’ve considered the NGO sector before and once had a dream to join UNESCO, so maybe something there or in K-12 education. I think whatever I did though it would still be in this broad knowledge sector we’re in. I love the intellectual challenge of business, the personal impact I can have leading people, and the societal benefits of sector I’m a part of. ‘Be kind, be useful’, basically. 😊
