Product managed St. Louis Public Library’s electronic services (e.g. SaaS vendors, research databases, eBook collections) serving over 40K cardholders per year ($1M budget).
Core Responsibilities
vendor negotiation, budget management, tracking ROI, monitoring user feedback and retention, staff and public training, product implementation, and internal and external marketing
Opportunities
Several of the Library’s products were under-performing when I began in the position of Learning Technology Manager. The Library wanted to see a greater ROI, and as part of a strategic plan, they sought to offer additional products aimed at capturing new patrons. There were no ROI tracking standards in place and the budget was both expended and flat.
Solutions
-freed funds by discontinuing or renegotiating contracts of under-performing products (identified through usage data and interviews)
-reallocated saved funds to the expanding eBook market, along with purchasing a suite of lifetime learning products (e.g. Lynda.com, Gale Courses) aimed at capturing a growing audience of distance learners – branded as “Online Learning”
-collaborated with marketing team creating “Online Learning” brand, social media campaigns, press releases, and print and digital promo materials.
Successes
-reduced the electronic products budget by 30% through discontinuing or renegotiating under-performing products
-built two successful brands – Online Learning (e.g. Lynda.com, Career Online High School, Mango Languages) and Downloadables (eBooks, eAudiobooks, streaming movies).
-ROI and new user targets were met. Department budget was expanded to support purchase of additional “Online Learning” products and acquiring new streaming media platforms
