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 are delighted to share insights from Jude Hayes, Manager of Consortia Sales at LexisNexis.
Tell us about your company’s background.
LexisNexis is a pioneer in the information technology industry. With the most comprehensive database of news, company and legal information, we help organizations find and analyze information for decision making. Corporations, non-profits, and higher education organizations alike can benefit from providing access to our research platforms to their employees and other constituents.
Why do you, personally, choose to work with libraries?
As a librarian myself, I love that through my work with LexisNexis and our consortia partners I can stay in touch with the industry that I started my career in. I really enjoy going on site to see first- hand how both students and librarians use all the services at their disposal. I continue to be impressed when I see so many students working in the library, and how the library has evolved to be, in many cases, the center of campus life. Libraries are now more than ever the place to study and learn, but also socialize and discover new technologies.
What do you like to know about the libraries you work with? What helps you better understand their needs?
Library needs are always changing—whether those are changes in resources, strategic direction, or the evolving needs of students. Understanding how the library measures success provides insight into what areas are the highest priority to address. In addition, understanding how library patrons are using the library resources and what challenges they have is essential.
What big ideas are being worked on at your company? What problems are being solved?
At LexisNexis, we are focused on helping our customers perform quality research in an efficient manner. We aim to build research products that help users access a wide variety of sources for thorough research, paired with technology tools to make the overall research experience more effective and efficient.
How can librarians become partners in product or training development?
Librarians are our partners in helping users have the best research experience with our solutions. With their recommendation, users will try new solutions. As such, librarians are also important influencers who provide valuable feedback on our products to help make them more user-friendly and valuable to users. We learn a great deal from our Librarian Advisory Board. We meet four times a year and look to them to help us validate ideas, give us product feedback, and in general offer their valuable input. In my view, there’s no better way to understand librarian needs than to ask daily practitioners. We’re grateful for their willingness to give their time and their viewpoint to help us improve our offerings.
Do you have anything else you’d like to share here?
LexisNexis is entering into an exciting new phase for academic research. We are prepping to launch our new research platform—Nexis Uni. Nexis Uni is built with—and for—millennial students. Exciting new capabilities including single search across all sources, post-search filters, personalized area of study pages and folders for saving and sharing documents are just the first of many that we plan to introduce as we revolutionize the way academic research is performed.
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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.