Digitization 101

San Francisco City Hall

I was speaking to a colleague last week about construction and maintenance that is occurring at Syracuse University. He noted that many people visit the campus when no one is around, and so the campus itself - the buildings and grounds - must be able to "speak" and tell a story. The more I've thought about that conversation, the more I realize that this is true for our digitization programs, our web sites, our brochures...in fact, everything.

Between 1998-2000, I worked on a small demonstration project, where we digitized material related to a group of suffragists in the Rochester, NY area. However, we did not include material from suffragists who had lived in Seneca Falls, NY, even though it was seemingly in the region. Why? Because the project sponsor (a consortium) did not have Seneca Falls in its region. We decided to (1) not directly address the absence of material from Seneca Falls and to (2) provide a description of the project's geographic location in a way that wasn't as informative as it could have been (especially to people outside of the U.S.). In essence, we created a web site that didn't say what people wanted to know and thus didn't truly speak for itself. It was a powerful lesson learned.


Today I find that we all still - intentionally or not - limit what our creations can say or explain on their own. We still do not fully describe what is or isn't available on a web site. We don't tell me how to contact us if they have  question. We put bad signage on our buildings and in our libraries. We figure that people will ask, but forget that people use our materials, sites and buildings (or campuses) when we're not available. (And what if they ask someone who doesn't know?) The inability for it - whatever it is - to provide information on its own could cause people to consider it not worthwhile, and to never come back. Informative descriptions and signage empowers people, and people like feeling empowered so they are more likely to come back.

Consider your project, your web site, your building, your neighborhood - whatever it is - and think about whether it conveys information that people need, even when there is no one around to answer a question. If it doesn't, then you have some work to do.

The National Agenda for Digital Stewardship annually integrates the perspective of dozens of experts and hundreds of institutions, convened through the Library of Congress, to provide funders and executive decision‐makers insight into emerging technological trends, gaps in digital stewardship capacity, and key areas for funding, research and development to ensure that today's valuable digital content remains accessible and comprehensible in the future, supporting a thriving economy, a robust democracy, and a rich cultural heritage.

Over the coming year the NDSA will work to promote the Agenda and explore educational and collaborative opportunities with all interested parties.

This is a very valuable concise survey and agenda for high priority areas of digital stewardship; it's also important because it reflects the wide consultation and breadth that characterizes the important leadership and coordinating work of the Alliance.

On Monday and Tuesday, I attended the Olin Innovation Lab, which was boutique CIO conference. In one of the session, Stephen Laster (Harvard Business School) led us in a discussion about an industry (academia) that may go through dramatic changes.  We talked about its current state, internal/external pressures, and more.  As the session wrapped up, we guessed what could trigger a dramatic change.  Our thoughts might be right and they give each of us something to use as we plan our futures.  Which leads me to this...

What would cause your efforts, project, program, or institution to fail?  What internal or external forces could cause it?  What weaknesses exist?  Yes, you are guessing and I hope your guesses are based both on knowledge (research) and honesty. 

Once you have a list of things that could cause a failure, make a second list of those things you can to do mitigate the failure OR survive it.  Go ahead...think creatively.

Take both lists to your colleagues and discuss them over coffee, in the hallway, and at lunch.  This will help you make both lists more robust and accurate.  Then sit down with your staff and have a serious conversation about how to implement those things that need to be done to mitigate whatever might cause a failure as well as those things that will help your project/program/institution/efforts to thrive...maybe even thrive better than it is now.

Yes...do this.  It could be the most important activity that you do this month (or even this year).

During the spring semester, I teach a class called "Planning, Marketing and Assessing Library Services."  This is a project-based class where students work in teams with a host librarian to create a project plan, marketing plan and assessment plan for a new library service.  There are numerous details that the students must include in the plans and I suspect that it is overwhelming at times.

The good news is that these students are learning in a safe environment how to plan.  Many people learn this skill on-the-job and often badly.  We all have times when we fail to plan...fail to understand what they key activities are...fail to recognize who should be involved...fail to articulate the deliverables...fail to create a complete budget...fail...to...well, you get the idea.  Failing sometimes has dire consequences.  We may need to backtrack, pull in more resources, spend money that we hadn't allocated, ask for an extension, etc.  Failing also means that we're stressed, as is the organization.  Failing is never pretty.

Over the years, I have been surprised by the projects that have failed to plan.  I once encountered a project team that was too busy to plan, yet couldn't get their project started because there wasn't agreement on what they needed to do.  I've also encountered projects that were grant funded and were the details provided to the grant - the plan - were part fictitious.  Success in those situations is harder...do-able...but harder.

If you have never planned a large project, do not despair. I know that you have actually informally planned things that have been successful. Now you need to learn a more formal, rigorous process for planning.  You can do that through workshops, college courses, or even becoming a certified project planner through the Project Management Institute.  You could also do reading on the subject.  However, reading isn't enough because you will tend to ignore that parts of project planning that you don't like (or that you don't realize are necessary).  Some sort of class will ensure that you are exposed to all of the elements of project management.

In the class that I teach, we use a variety of readings on project planning, creating marketing plans and creating assessment plans.  Below are two of the textbooks/workbooks that I use. One is on marketing and the other is on assessment.  Yes...those are two activities that all libraries should plan!  If you don't want get these books...look for others.  They're out there and they will help you be successful.

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Jay Park who lives and works in New Zealand.  Jay was interested in talking about how libraries select materials for digitization and wanted to talk by phone. One Aug. 24 we both got on Skype for our conversation and found that his Internet connection was stable that day. I offered to record my response to his question and then give him a link to the recording. Since it may be of interest to others, I'm placing it here also. It is 20 minutes in length and done without any notes, which makes it very "off the cuff" and informal.




If you want to download the audio, you can do so here. 

I am not sure where I ran across this report, but it seems like something others might be interested in.

This 64-page report is the output of a strategic planning project.  It "provides a framework for the NSW public library network to monitor trends and developments in society that will inevitably have an impact on our future services and customers."

Last year, Günter Waibel, Program Officer at OCLC Research, wrote a two-part series on collaboration:

• The Future is Collaborative Part I: Give The People What They Want
• The Future is Collaborative Part II: Early Exemplars

Waibel wrote:

...the 17,500 museums in the U.S. effectively divide what they have to offer over an equal number of institutional websites. To make matters worse, cultural content is not only silo’d into segregated sites, but further dispersed across 122,356 libraries and countless archives (I literally couldn’t find a count) across the U.S. All of them believe that they are at the center of their user’s universe – and none of them truly are.

I have written here before abiut the need for collaboration. Waibel's words serve as another reminder of their benefit.

If you haven't yet collaborated, what are you waiting for?

You may have already seen this report, which was published in June by Strategic Content Alliance/Ithaka S+R. "Funding for Sustainability: How Funders’ Practices Influence the Future of Digital Resources" provides information on current funding practices, including areas that can be improved in regards to defining and planning for post-grant sustainability.

Quoting the press release:

According to the report, which is based on interviews with representatives from more than 25 funding bodies in Europe and North America, funders engage in a rich range of planning activities to address different aspects of sustainability, including technical, content-based, access and discovery, and audience impact requirements. But, many funders only engage with their grantees at the beginning of the grant period and, all too often, funders and project leaders alike rely heavily on a university or other host institution as a back-up plan for long-term sustainability.

While the report is 60 pages in length, anyone who flips through it will see information that will draw him in, including questions to ask potential projects.  Those preparing to apply for a grant may find this useful in order to surface important questions/ideas in advance.

This blog post is based on the plenary session I gave at the 2011 New York Archives Conference (NYAC) and is not a transcript of my talk.  I must admit that taking a long view is starting to color many of the conversations that I am having.  If you have thoughts on this, please share them with me by commenting on this post.  Perhaps thoughts on your organization's long-term vision or on the strategy planning process that you are using?  Or how the long-term vision is impacting your work today?

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I love gardening!  I grow flowers, herbs and a few vegetables.  I work in the yard - maintaining all of the plants - so they will look good this year and next.  The results please me and others.  (I do have the best looking yard on the street!)

Maintenance does take time and sometimes is hard, but I do it because it is necessary.  And I do it even though I spend part of June - when the yard is full of blooms - at the SLA Annual Conference.  Just because I don't get to enjoy the flowers all the time doesn't mean I'm not going to do the work to keep them looking beautiful. 

Do you know someone that owns a bonsai tree?  A bonsai tree will outlive its owner and should outlive several owners.  Anyone who owns a bonsai tree isn't just maintaining the tree so that it looks good today; the person wants the tree to look good for years to come and for the next owner. That person is thinking even longer-term than I am when I work on by garden!

Each of us - who works in a library, museum, archive or some other cultural heritage organization - does all we can to maintain our organization's resources.  We all work hard to keep the organization alive and sometimes that is not easy. 

Right now we are all focused short term...let's say the next 12 to 24 months.  What's going on?

• We worried about the economy and how it is impacting our budgets (and tightening them).
• Our staff members are stressed.  They may be stressed because some of them have been downsized.  They may be stressed because they are fearful that they will lose their jobs.  They may be stressed because they are doing more with less.
• We are worried about our competition, which includes other cultural institutions, stores, games, the Internet, etc.  We are all trying to figure out how to get our users/customers/members to pay attention to us and not to our competition.
• We need our users to not only pay attention to us, but to also be loyal.  We need them to be loyal - and do demonstrate their loyalty - in order to help us gain more funding and support. (It is likely that we're stressed because we don't know how to assess our impact on our users or the level of their loyalty.)
• We're also trying to change because we know that we can't do things the same way as we have in the past.  Change is never easy, yet change is necessary.

Yes, the short term - the next 24 months - has us stressed (panicked).  The good news is that stress can help us focus and get things done.

We aren't thinking too much about the long term...let's say the next 10 years.  However, we should be gathering information on what futurists and other think the next 10+ years will be like.  What technologies will we be using?  What services will people want?  What will the economic, business and regulatory environment be like?  And what will our living environment be like?  There are people who are thinking about these things and publishing their ideas.  Reading or listening to what they have to say can help us determine our own path and the things we need to focus on longer term.

By the way, we shouldn't just read the futurists that agree with our point of view.  We need to hear as many ideas as possible because neither will be completely accurate.  Sadly, we won't be able to judge their accuracy until the future arrives, so getting a broad picture of the future can help us consider the steps we need to take to make our version a reality.

However, let's not think about the next 10 years; let us consider the next 20 years.  20 years means that we're thinking about the next generation.  I would assume that none of us will be working for our current employer in 20 years, so this means we're thinking about what will be going on for our successor or our successor's successor. Yes, the view out that far is fuzzy, but any insight we can garner will help us set our compass. (By the way, stop and consider what you think your organization will be like in 20 years.  Can you conjure a vision?)

In my vision of the future, I see:

• Your organization still exists!  Yes, it may be quite different than what it is now, and that is okay.  (As I lay out the rest of my vision, you'll see why your organization still exists.)
• Your organization has built tight collaborations with other cultural and service institutions.  For example, your organization has recognized that the business across the street shares the same customers, so why not collaborate on programs, marketing, or perhaps just one event?  How about collaborating or partnering with a social service agency?  By 2031, your organization has decided to collaborate with everyone and that has made it stronger (and its reach greater).
• Your organization is co-located.  It has both a physical and a virtual presence, and there is no difference between the two.  None. Whatever I can do in the physical space, I can do in the virtual space. And virtual is the same no matter what device or technology is being used.  We won't be thinking about what we do on Facebook, on a smartphone or on some other tool.  We'll just be thinking about what we can do virtually.
• Your organization will deliver information and content to users wherever they are.  Users will be able to access information/content 24x7 from anywhere in the world. Everyone who accesses your information has access to it all.  

As I said, it is a fuzzy vision, but if that what 2031 will be like, what do you need to do now?

• Expand your definition of "patron".  We use several different words for those people that visit our institutions including users, customers, clients and members.   I like the word "owner".  If members have privileges then owners have responsibilities.  We want those people that use our services to understand that they are responsible for ensuring our funding and our access to resources.  It is a very different way of thinking and it can change the relationship between you and those people that come through your door.  How do you get them to see themselves as owners?  Start now - in small ways - to educate them about their role as owners in your institution.  Start to change your language, how you talk with them, the information that you give to them, and your expectations of them.  This will take a while to implement and to reap the rewards, so you'll need to be patient.
• You will also need to take the limits off of who your institution serves.  I know there are budget and funding implications in this, so it is not something you can do overnight.  However, start the conversation now about who your organization should be serving and be ready to think differently about the answer.
• Take the limits off of your definition of "virtual".  Don't think in terms Facebook, Twitter, web sites or whatever.  Think in terms of what you want to offer, and then work to offer the same features and functionality e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.  Again, this isn't going to occur overnight, but it is something you need to begin to discuss with whomever helps you with your technology needs.  Get them on-board and then work toward this goal. 
• Explore new and cutting edge way of delivering content.  Your user/member/owners will migrate to the new, cool tools and will expect you to be there too.  I know...technology changes, which means you'll need to change technologies likely more frequently than you're used to.  That's okay.  You don't need to be on the bleeding edge.  Be on the leading edge or really close to it.  If that scares you, then find someone to collaborate with.
• Enter into collaborative arrangements and find those that will last.  Collaborate with the business across the street and the agency across town. Collaborate on one-time events, on market efforts, on longer term projects, or whatever you can a collaborate for.  It's okay to start small.  Do one this summer and then don't wait too long to do another.  And keep doing them!

Most importantly...start n-o-w!  Take small steps, recognizing that each step will move your organization closer to being (remaining)  a vital and important organization in 20 years. Yes, every step you take will help your organization be sustainable and have a bright future.

Where will you be in 20 years? Wherever it is, see yourself reading the news about your old organization.  Yes, it still exists, although perhaps differently than it does today...and it is doing wonderfully!  As you read the news, you remember an idea you had in 2011.  It was a small idea...a little step forward...and look at what you started!

At the SLA Leadership Summit, I won one of the gift baskets (raffle) and it contained the audiobook version of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.  I didn't realize that I needed a "tune up" in terms of how I manage my list of things that require my attention, but evidently I did!  I've now listened to the book twice and will soon be handing it off to a friend who is looking forward to his own tune up.

So why mention the book here?  Because we all have things that need to get done, but we don't always consider what the next logical action is.  Our minds jump ahead to end result and not to the action that is required before we get to that step.  With that tidbit in mind, I've been asking my student teams to consider what is the next thing that must be done and then who will be responsible for it.  Yes, keep an eye on the big picture, but then recognize the steps that will get you there.  I won't know for a while if this focus of mine will help them, but my suspicion is that it will.

As you consider what is on your plate, especially in terms of your programs and projects, think about what must happen next...whether that is an email, phone call, research, etc.  Then check to see if there is something that needs to happen before it (there might be).  Word that next action using verbs...write, call, talk to...so you know what the action really is.  Amazingly, it will help.

The book, by the way, is much more than this, so it is worth reading or listening to so you can get your own tune up!

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FTC Disclaimer: Digitization 101 is an Amazon affiliate and receives a small commission if you purchase a product or service from an Digitization 101 Amazon link. (Trust me, I'm not getting rich off of Amazon.)

I received this in email a few weeks ago. In the preface, Dr Elisabeth Niggemann,Chair of the Europeana Foundation Board, said:

I commend this Strategic Plan as a clear-sighted assessment of the route Europeana must take in order to fulfil its potential.

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These are obviously things you don't want to do, yet many people do them when writing a grant.  A quick read...and worth reading!

A few weeks ago, I heard Tom Kelley, author and general manager of IDEO, speak about innovation.  In his book, The Ten Faces of Innovation, Kelley talks about several roles we can have in our organizations that will promote innovation and one of them is the anthropologist.  As I have continued to think about the roles, this role sticks out as being one that we all say we should do, but don't.

The anthropologist seeks out ah-ha moments through several techniques including seeing what is happening around them with fresh eyes.  The anthropologist is continually engaged in fieldwork.  The person is always looking at the situation, picking up clues, and then trying to make sense of them all.  The anthropologist -- much like those forensic crime scene investigators on CSI -- lets the clues and information speak.  The person doesn't begin with assumptions.

Last week, one of the professors in the iSchool sent his class to the library to gather information, to learn by being there, and to observe and ask questions.  One of the students remarked afterward that it was interesting (and fun) to learn about user needs that way. While this was a short exercise, she could see the benefits.

Kelley wrote (p. 25):

Picking up on the smallest nuances of your customer can offer tremendous opportunities.

With that in mind, when was the last time you:

• Observed users in your reading room (or exhibit space) to see how they used your organization's materials?
• Watched researchers as they studied items in your collection?
• Asked people what they were looking for and why?  And that not the "why" that they first say, but the real reason why.  (Sometimes those are different.)
• Studied what lead users from one piece of material to another?  Why is the person who looked at this now suddenly interested in that?
• Noticed what people used (or wanted to use) while looking at your collection?
• Asked -- without judgment -- what people needed or desired?
• Looked at the foot traffic and thought about what that could tell you?

Yes, those are all things that you can do in a physical space.  However, think about what the information could tell you and how that might help with your virtual space.

• How might this information influence how you select items to be digitized?
• What online tools might you develop that you mirrors tools people need (or want) when they use the physical items?
• How could you make relationships between the items online that will help people move from one to the other in a similar way to what they do in the reading room?
• How might you design your homepage differently if you knew better what people wanted?

Historically, many digitization programs have made assumptions about what their users want and need.  Often times that rushing is due to funding constraints.  They have received funding to "do" and not to gather information through observing and asking questions.  Programs hope that they have made the correct assumptions or that they can learn from what they have done, and then do it better the next time.  Unfortunately, some programs don't stop to do the information gathering that they need.  Instead -- if funding allows -- they rush from project to project and hope that they are delivering what users wants.

Yes, being an anthropologist takes time.  Kelley notes that people at IDEO are trained to do this work, but that anyone can be an amateur anthropologist.  His book and talk provide examples of people who used this technique without a lot of formal training and were still able to learn valuable information about their users.

Does this sound like something that would benefit you?  Go ahead -- give it a try!

Received via email. This should be of interest to many people.

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The Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) has just released a new planning document, "DIGITIZATION ACTIVITIES - Project Planning and Management Outline".

The aim of this document is to define activities relating to the digitization of original cultural materials, and to outline general steps for planning and management of this process. The activities described in this document address library/archival issues, imaging and conversion work, and IT infrastructure issues in particular, and were identified using project management outlines from several organizations with significant experience working with cultural materials. This document defines "digitization" as a complete process, and covers all project components from content selection = through delivery of digitized objects into a repository environment.

You can access the document from the FADGI homepage - http://digitizationguidelines.gov or, go directly to the document page at:
http://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/stillimages/documents/Planning.html

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Technorati tag: Planning

I was asked recently about how people are assessing user needs before beginning a digitization program. As I researched information for my answer, I found these links which I thought I would pass along to you.

• Assessment of End-User Needs in IMLS-Funded Digitization Projects, http://www.imls.gov/pdf/userneedsassessment.pdf
• Evaluation and Assessment Bibliography, http://www.uni.edu/neuhaus/digitalbibeval.html
• Library Assessment (Executive Summary), http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec303web.pdf
• Library Assessment Conference: Building Effective, Sustainable, Practical Assessment, http://www.libraryassessment.org/ -- includes links to proceedings of past conferences
• The People in Digital Libraries: Multifaceted Approaches to Assessing Needs and Impact, http://ils.unc.edu/~march/revision.pdf
• Toolkit for the Impact of Digitised Scholarly Resources (TIDSR), http://microsites.oii.ox.ac.uk/tidsr/welcome
• Surveys: A Bibliography, http://www.aallnet.org/sis/allsis/Toolkit/surveys_bib.pdf
  

By the way, most of the assessment I've seen, in order to justify a digitization program and help with material selection, has been done by (1) surveying users or (2) looking at usage trends. What have you done?

In 2006, I wrote this seven-part series that talked through a proposal for a mythical digitization program focused on Harrisburg, PA. Now three years later, I'm sure that there are sections that I would now write differently and maybe some day I'll rewrite the series (or write a new one). For now, this give you an additional peek into the area that need to be considered when embarking on a digitization program.

• part 1 -- Introduction
• part 2 -- Material selection & products to be created
• part 3 -- Obstacles & copyright
• part 4 -- Digitization, standards & guidelines
  
• part 5 -- Content management & metadata
• part 6 -- Preservation
• part 7 -- Marketing
  

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Technorati tags: Digitization, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Gregg Tripoli, executive director of the Onondaga Historical Association Museum & Research Center. Before the meeting that we were both attending, our conversation rambled and at one point we talked about homes. Yankees baseball player, Derek Jeter, is building a 31,000 square-foot home in Tampa, FL. I suspect that most homes in my neighborhood are around 1,200 sq. ft. Gregg spoke of a home that has 2,800 sq. ft. that he is acquainted with. Each home required a different number of people to maintain it. That conversation laid the groundwork for a great analogy later in the day.

Digitization programs come in different sizes.

Some organizations conceive of small programs whose long-term maintenance can be done in-house by a few people. This is like the owners of a 1,200 sq. ft. house who can do the upkeep themselves.

Some organizations conceive of programs that will require a group of people who can handle different chores on an as-needed basis. Some large homes, especially vacation homes, operate on this principle. Everything is maintained as long as each person does his/her job. If the people are doing this as "side jobs" or as volunteers, there could eventually be problems when people get tired of doing their chores.

Then there are large programs that require a team that works constantly to keep things going. This is like Derek Jeter's home. With 31,000 sq. ft., staff will have to be available all the time to ensure that nothing goes wrong. So too the large scale digitization programs and large digital library programs that are becoming more the norm.

Unfortunately, some large programs think that they don't need many resources to maintain their efforts. They want the owner to maintain a 31,000 sq. ft. house by himself. That just doesn't work.

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Technorati tag: Planning

I've been hearing from people whose ears are to the ground and who are raising concerns about some digitization providers. If you are making a huge investment, then you want to know that company is going to be around for a number of years. (You might want the company to be around for the length of your project or for the length of the warranty, for example.) The question becomes do you know how your service or hardware provider is really doing? Here are some suggestions:

• Ask for references and then talk to the people/organizations that are on the list. Ask them about the company, its products and services, changes it has seen in the company, etc. (Have there been a lot of personnel changes?) Be sure to ask if they know of any other customers and then talk to them. How many reference do you need to check? I don't want to create a rule, but start with three that the company has given you and then see if you can talk to three who are not on the list. Perhaps you can even find organizations who used to use that vendor and have switched to someone else. (And why did they switch?)
• Check the news for any tidbits about the company. The key here is to check the news media in that company's geographic location. Check using any news databases that you have access to as well as news sites on the Internet. The local business journal may have written stories on the company, so be sure to check that source. In general, check for stories from the last 1-2 years.
• Consider contacting the reporter who wrote a story about the company and asking if they have any additional (more current) information. Do they have an idea of how the company is really doing?
  
• When checking for news, check for the company's name, product names, and its top executives. Check for stories from the last 1-2 years.
• Organizations in the U.S. such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Chamber of Commerce may be of some help. However, the BBB only knows about those companies that have registered with them and who have received complaints. The Chamber generally only knows about its members and may not want to tell you if a member is in trouble.
• The local court (city/town or county) should have records of any judgments against the company (if indeed any have occurred).
  
• If the company is in your geographic region, then stop by and look at the facility. Make an unannounced visit! I would also advocate talking to other businesses in the area and asking what they know. (Fast food joints and coffee shops might know more then you think.)
• A private company does not have to release its financial statements. Any financials they tell you have not been independently audited like those for public companies. Therefore, don't take as being completely true any financials you are given (e.g., sales figures or growth rate).
• Don't immediately dismiss any rumors that you hear. I learned many years ago that 80% of rumors are true. Now that could mean that 80% of all rumors are true or that 80% of any rumor is true! Keep track of rumors and then see if the information can be verified. Do not base your decisions solely on rumors.
• If the vendor is not in your geographic region, or if information is being published in a language that is not your own, consider working through your colleagues in that region for help. These are people that you know through your professional associations, conferences, etc. While they may not be able to dedicate a lot of time to your efforts, they may be able to gather a few pieces of information for you.
• Talking to former employees (if you happen to stumble across any) can be useful, but keep in mind that they may have an ax to grind. Therefore, be ready look for information that supports or refutes their claims.
• You might want to post questions on appropriate email discussion lists or social networking sites asking for information. This may surface rumors and facts, and it will be important to be able to tell the difference and do some additional research, if warranted.
  

I can hear you saying that you don't want to do this research and that it would take too much time. If you are not establishing a long-term relationship with the vendor, then this may be overkill. If you are expecting no long-term support from the vendor, then this is not needed. However, if you are working on a project that requires your vendor to be around (and healthy) for a long time, then spending time to investigate the vendor is warranted.

While this type of research won't take a long time, it may be a more time that you have available, therefore, consider using a library science student to help with it. Given the economy, you might have the student compile information on all of your vendors in an effort to discern if any are in vulnerable positions. Not only would this be worthwhile information for you, but it would be a great project for a student.

If you find information that you want to discuss with the vendor, please do so. Hearing the company's perspective is important, but remember that it is one piece of complete the story.

Finally, a company (vendor) should not dissuade you from doing this research. A company that is in good standing and that has nothing to hide will want you to know how good they are. A company that is on shaky ground may encourage you to forego any check of their background. If the company seems to protest too much, that may be a clue.

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Technorati tags: Digitization, Planning

or...Take the Mystery Out of Speaking/Training Opportunities

This is a topic that comes up among trainers and presenters occasionally. When it does, a lot of good information is exchanged and sometimes that information goes someplace useful (see additional resources below). In February, I had someone tell me that he was new at hiring trainers and he asked for advice. That got me thinking about all of the things that could be said. Over the last several weeks, I've asked others for their input (through FriendFeed and the podcast T is for Training). What follows is the wisdom from a large group of people who have been through it all and lived to tell the stories. I offer this not as "you must do", but rather as "please consider".

By the way, did you notice in the photo above that the laptop is sitting on a cardboard box that must be a make-shift podium?

Advice to conference/training/event organizers:

Before the event: This may seem daunting, but as you read it, I hope you'll see that this is just the basis for a good conversation (or email) about what you want. Much of the advice below translates into "be as transparent as possible".

• When you contact a speaker/trainer, tell the person exactly what you need, possible dates, locations, etc. Don't just say "can you speak?"
• Discuss who the audience will be, what they know, their expectations, etc. Remember to include information on the number of people expected.
  
• Talk about what information you want conveyed, especially if you are looking for a specific viewpoint.
• Tell the speaker/trainer what the facility is like and what technology (PC or Mac) will be available for the person to use. Since everyone had a camera (your cell phone), consider taking photos of the facility (from different angles) and sending them to the presenter. If there is something unusual about the facility, let the person know. For example, must the person stand at a podium? Will someone else have to advance the person's slides?
  
• While you may have wonderful technology, some presenters like to bring their own laptops. When you talk about technology, you might want to ask about this. Will the person be able to use wifi or some other network connection?
  
• If you are bringing someone in to be on a panel, be sure to mention who else will be on the panel (or who you hope will be on the panel). By the way, panels can have very different formats, so define what you mean by "panel".
• Be upfront about what you can and cannot pay for.
  
• If you expect the person to speak without receiving an honorarium or any money to cover travel, say that.
• If you can offer an honorarium, don't just say that but also say how much the honorarium is. If the person needs to cover any travel costs, knowing upfront what the honorarium is will be important.
• If you are going to offer the person a gift (and not an honorarium), please tell them that they will receive a non-monetary gift. (Wouldn't a monetary gift be an honorarium?)
• If you are going to pay the person (honorarium or professional fee) and cover some of the travel costs, tell the speaker/trainer which travel costs can be covered. If there is a limit to how much can be covered (in a dollar amount), make that known.
  
• If you expect the person to pay a conference registration fee in order to present at a conference, state that.
• If travel is involved, tell the speaker/trainer if you will be making the travel arrangements or if you expect the speaker to make his/her own arrangements.
  
• Mention your cancellation policy. If the speaker/trainer has made flight arrangements, for example, and you need to cancel the event, will you cover the cancel/change fee charged by the airline?
• If you want handouts, discuss the format, deadline, etc. Can the handout be a file on the Internet for people to access at their convenience and not paper?
  

While it is possible to do all of the negotiation and hiring via email, fax, and snail mail, a phone conversation can be helpful, so don't shy away from arranging a phone call.

Do you require a contract? Some do, some don't. An agreement of some sort provides information for you and the speaker/trainer. It is something that you both can point to and see what was agreed. (I highly advocate for some sort of paperwork.)

Close to the event: 1-2 weeks before the event, consider touching base with the presenter/trainer via email to ensure that everything is on track. (It can be a brief email.) This not only provides some assurance to you, it tells the presenter/trainer that you remember that the person is coming.

In the email, state any last minute information that would be of use the the speaker/trainer, such as the number of people registered for the event or the name/phone number of someone in your office to contact in case of emergency.

By the way, this is a great time to double-check how the person is getting to the event. Does the person need to be picked up from a hotel? While it may be a bit inconvenient to arrange to have someone picked up, it can help with costs and provide a bit of hospitality.

If the event is a conference, you may want to invite the speaker/trainer to participate in some of the other conference activities. If so, make sure that the person knows where the activities are taking place. Considering meeting the person and ensuring that they can get to whatever (yes, a bit more hospitality). It is also a chance for you to talk about the presentation, audience, etc., and introduce the speaker to other attendees.

If the event has multiple presenters and/or a moderator, make sure that everyone has each other's email address so they can contact each other, if they want. An easy way of doing this is to copy all of them on your touching base email.

Day of the event:

• Acclimate the speaker/trainer to your facility.
• Stay available while the person gets setup and be ready to troubleshoot any problems.
• Talk again (briefly) about your expectations for the event. This is a great time to refresh everyone's memory about handling Q&A, breaks, lunch, etc.
• If you are not going to be in the room during the event, be sure to tell the speaker/presenter how to find you, in case the person needs help.
  

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Technorati tags: Conference, Training, Event, Planning

Have you run into an organization that is attempting too many digitization projects/programs at the same time? Perhaps making individual decisions for each project and not stopping to make global decisions?

Yeah...we've all heard of one organization like this.

The solution? Somehow get the organization to stop and plan. Maybe the solution isn't to scream "we must plan", but to ask questions about resource allocations that might get the organization to consider those things that would go into a plan. Even a few hours spent talking about goals, objectives, tasks, resources, etc. can be worthwhile and ensure that the organization makes good decisions about what it is trying to do. The resultant documentation doesn't have to be formal, but it should be written down and agreed to.

Yes, plans can change. And if the plan is in writing, it is easier to know (and document) what is changing.

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Technorati tag: Planning