At WiLS, we want to bring valuable information to our library partners, including information about the missions and big ideas of the vendors they may already do business with. Each month, WiLS interviews a vendor partner in order to bridge the gap and open the door to valuable collaborations. This month, we share insights from David Brooks, District Manager of Gale / Cengage Learning.
Tell us about your company’s background.
Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights – where, when, and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Gale products are used by students, instructors, and researchers across the country and the world. In fact, 71 percent of U.S. schools1 and 98 percent of the top 120 U.S. universities2 have access to Gale resources. We know our resources help students build the skills and confidence to be successful later on in their education. In a study, we conducted with Project Tomorrow, nearly 70 percent of 12th graders said that one of the key benefits to using Gale resources is developing skills to be successful in college. This is the kind of feedback that drives us.
1When considering access to Gale’s resources through direct purchase, state-wide, and district subscriptions for the benefit of their students, as of September 20, 2016.
2Based on U.S. News and World Report “Best Colleges Rankings,” as of June 15, 2016.
Why do you, personally, choose to work with libraries?
For me, becoming a member of the library community was a serendipitous occurrence. Several years removed from college, I was seeking new opportunities and came across an ad for an educational sales position, which ultimately allowed me the opportunity to service K-12 schools. The opportunity allowed me to personally witness the benefits of how dedicated library personnel, accompanied with student access to an array of print, digital, and audio-visual content can truly empower and change the trajectory of students, regardless of their environment.
Twenty years later, I truly enjoy being a part of a community that makes a positive difference in our society. As with any industry, change is inevitable. Being a part of an industry that creates life-long learners is a pleasure.
What do you like to know about the libraries you work with? What helps you better understand their needs?
I know that libraries are facing a myriad of changes related to how best to serve students and their colleagues in and outside the classroom. Librarians are continually aspiring to collaborate with various library stakeholders to drive usage and awareness of resources. The primary goal is to improve student achievement and engagement. 21st Century learners are expecting curriculum-aligned resources to seamlessly integrate with how they conduct research.
I gain greater insight into to the needs of librarians by asking pertinent open-ended questions that allow them to freely discuss their goals and challenges. Upon clearly understanding, I’m able to offer solutions that will best meet their respective needs.
What big ideas are you working on? What problems are being solved?
As a committed partner to school libraries, Gale is focused on building features and products that follow the trends in education. Recently, we have concentrated on interoperability with other technologies and services, making certain our solutions are compatible and accessible with Google and Microsoft first, and we will continue supporting this trend with forthcoming integrations with Clever and Classlink, as well as highly-used Learning Management Systems such as Canvas, Moodle, Schoology, and others.
As the curriculum evolves, and more schools move to digital content first, we are exploring building smaller products correlated to the curriculum and supported with classroom tools to facilitate use on daily basis. Products like Smithsonian Primary Sources in U.S. History, or Gale Interactive: Science are focused on providing a concentrated vault of content that is easily integrated into a lesson plan, and is supported with tools like Readspeaker, Translate, and Highlights & Notes to support future ready skill building. We aim to provide not only the content needed to support digital learning, but also the pedagogy in an effort to streamline educators’ workflows, allowing for more time teaching rather than hunting and planning.
How can librarians become partners in your program development?
Gale makes a concerted effort of partnering with current and prospective customers to ensure products best meet their current and expected needs. Gale actively elicits feedback from customers throughout the partnership, as needs and product enhancements evolve. Gale also works with focus groups consisting of librarians prior to creating and releasing new products to best serve a market niche. Professional development training is an integral component of our partnerships. Gale collaboratively works with librarians regarding how best to administer training that will be most impactful for their colleagues.
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This interview is part of a series of interviews with both WiLS library and vendor partners. Your feedback is appreciated. If you have any to offer on this article, or suggestions for upcoming interviews, contact Andrea Coffin at acoffin@wils.org.