ATG Interviews Jane Burke Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Ex Libris, a ProQuest Company by Tom Gilson (Associate Editor, Against the Grain) <gilsont@cofc.edu> and Katina Strauch (Editor, Against the Grain) <kstrauch@comcast.net> ATG: Jane, over the years you have held a number of leadership positions in the information solutions industry, most recently with ProQuest. And now you’ve joined Ex Libris, a ProQuest Company. What prompted this recent change? JB: I really have had a lovely career — I am so lucky. When ProQuest acquired Ex Libris in 2015, Matti Shem Tov, then president of Ex Libris, asked me to join the Ex Libris team. I was thrilled to be asked. Since I have spent lots of time with library automation systems, including Voyager (now owned by Ex Libris), it felt like coming home. ATG: Currently you are Ex Libris’ VP for Strategic Initiatives. What are your responsibilities in this position? JB: I take on a variety of strategic projects, especially related to our current customers. I am very involved in what we call Customer Success, which is about helping customers get the most value possible from our solutions. Plus, I work with early customers for new services, such as our new resource sharing service, Rapido. I am also very involved in our discovery strategies. And I am a member of Ex Libris’ senior management team. ATG: Recently Ex Libris made some major news with the acquisition of Innovative Interfaces, a key vendor in the library systems space. Can you tell us who initiated the deal? How did it evolve and then come to fruition? JB: It was really a mutual set of discussions. There were discussions over several months. In the end, it made sense to come together and combine our complementary capabilities. Innovative has deep expertise in several areas, such as resource sharing. They are also well-positioned in public libraries, where Ex Libris does not compete. Ex Libris understands cloud-based library services platforms, and through the acquisition we plan to deliver this innovation to public libraries. I should mention that Innovative has struggled under private equity ownership. This transaction provides Innovative’s customers a long-term owner dedicated to the industry that will ensure continuity of their products. 48 Against the Grain / February 2020
ATG: With the Innovative deal in place and ready to close, who do you see as your competitors in the library systems space? Where does EBSCO’s open source alternative FOLIO fit into the competitive mix? JB: The Innovative deal actually closed on January 15. The library automation space is evolving. With requirements for such things as cloud, knowledgebases, and interoperability, companies need to do more to deliver real solutions to customers. 25 years ago, we built Voyager for less than $3 million. Today the needs are broader and there are definitely multiple strong competitors seeking to meet those evolving needs. OCLC WorldShare, Sirsi, Koha, and EBSCO’s FOLIO, among others are all viable choices. Each is different in certain ways. All of us need to foster choice because it helps the overall market. We benefit from competition — it keeps us creative and focused. But… there is another perspective on the competitive space. I don’t think libraries are about their collections — and certainly not their print collections — anymore. Today, it’s about services to their communities. It’s about how libraries use those collections and content expertise to serve their communities, either academic or public.
With that broader perspective, there is even broader competition. For example, in the research data management space, where Ex Libris has a service called Esploro, there are literally hundreds of competitors — most of whom don’t showcase the library. And in the public library space, I am fascinated with the new patron engagement platforms. ATG: In the research data management space that you just referenced, how is Esploro different from other competitors providing similar services? In what ways does it showcase the library that are unique from your competitors? JB: Research dollars are critical to institutions. There are many competitors in the research data management space. Nearly all of them are STEM oriented, and very few of them directly involve the library. At Ex Libris, we believe that the library can be a huge contributor to research data management. Our Esploro solution is built as a joint solution for research administration and the library, allowing the library to visibly add value to research across the institution. Esploro has unique functions to programmatically enrich metadata about research assets. Also, Esploro provides for research data from all types of disciplines, not just STEM. ATG: We are also curious as to which new patron engagement platforms in the public library space have caught your eye? Why do you find them fascinating? Do they have applications in the academic space? JB: Great question. Public libraries have taken on new roles in their communities, and they understand that they need to “market” themselves to their constituents. Patron engagement platforms are increasingly popular in public libraries as a method of doing that — showcasing various library programs and new services. There are several good partron engagement platforms being offered to public libraries. I believe academic libraries are a bit slower in adopting such marketing platforms. But they are increasingly being continued on page 49
<http://www.against-the-grain.com>
