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 Scott Gibbens, Head of Product (Talis) at Technology from Sage. Read on to find out more about Scott.
1. Tell us about joining Technology from Sage and your experience beforehand
I joined Technology from Sage last October. Prior to joining Technology from Sage, I worked at Kortext, product managing Analytics and then leading on their KeyLInks product. Before that I worked in University, College and NHS Libraries for 10 years. I also worked at a library ebook provider, before working for several years at Jisc Collections managing the Historical Text and Journal Archives service.
2. Can you tell us a bit about what you do at Technology from Sage?
My role essentially is ensuring that both Talis Aspire and Talis Elevate not only meet our customers needs, but give them new possibilities they may not have thought of. I work with people across Talis, including Customer Services, Sales, Developers and our Product Team. I also work closely with our partners such as OCLC and Ebsco to ensure all products work together.
Most importantly, I speak to our customers on a regular basis to make sure we are building enhancements they actually want and are fixing problems they may have.
3. What excites you most about your work at Technology from Sage?
I’ve been involved in Libraries for 30 years, working as both a Librarian (I did a post graduate library diploma in 1994/5) and also working for library suppliers. The great thing about Technology from Sage is the focus is on the Library, and I love to work with a great bunch of people who all have the same focus.
4. How have you been putting Technology from Sage’s strategy and values into action?
We work closely with libraries to ensure our product development helps them achieve their aims and gives lecturers and students access to resources via the service they use every day (such as the VLE). We ensure we are meeting accessibility guidelines to ensure anyone can access resources no matter their level of ability. We ensure our services connect to other services library subscribe to, so they can get best value out of their collections by signposting users (a recent example is our development to enable universities to connect Talis Aspire to their Discovery service).
5. What three things are always on your desk
My Phone, Mug of Tea (essential) and notepad for ideas/notes.
6. What’s the best book you’ve read recently and why?
I read quite a lot of fiction. Eye Contact by Fergus McNeill is a favourite of mine. The idea is fantastic, and the description of Bristol (my home city) is excellent.
7. Is there a quote or mantra that you live by? What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard?
I’m sure there is something I live by life by! When thinking about product management I always ask customers if they ever got trained how to use Amazon (no one has ever said yes yet!). My aim is to make the products I work with as easy to use as Amazon.
8. It’s your day off. What do you have planned?
Most likely it will involve walking the dogs and playing guitar (I’ve been learning for about 7 years now).
9. If you didn’t work at Technology from Sage or in your current role, what would you want to do?
I’d always fancied working as a park ranger in one of our national parks.
