Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/517932
2 Gale IMPACT SPRING/SUMMER 2015 Throughout your career you've had the opportunity to cross several different fields. How do you feel that diverse experience helps you identify ways Gale can support its public library partners? I've seen a lot of challenges, changes, and reinvention in the information and publishing industries, including the library space. The knowledge economy is constantly evolving. Add flat or declining budgets with increased library usage and demand for a wider variety of formats and services, and you create even greater necessity for innovation and transformation. The keys to growth are a solid strategy, a good support system, development of a brand story that really resonates with the intended audience, and the right partners to help along the way. You mentioned the importance of libraries building a better brand. This is a growing theme, and many libraries are looking for resources to support their efforts in this area. What are your insights for those just getting started? I have a nontraditional background for the publishing world. The first half of my career was at Procter & Gamble, marketing health care products to doctors. I learned the importance of understanding the consumer through deep research into their motivation and decision-making process. Pew studies reveal that 91% of Americans say public libraries are important to their communities but 80% of Americans don't know what their library has to offer. Libraries have great brand awareness, but need to focus on developing better associations with that brand. Analyzing consumer data is really the first step, and is how many organizations have succeeded in moving beyond awareness to develop a brand story that resonates. When you're able to tailor your programs, content, services, and outreach to the demographics, lifestyle, and interests of your users, they will associate your library with helping them succeed in school, work, and life. How does Gale keep up with changes in the market—not only in public library services but in technology and consumer behavior? Understanding customers and end-users is at the core of everything we do. Gale employs a persona-driven product development and marketing model—using customer feedback, user experience testing, and usage data to ensure we're delivering resources that solve real problems and drive outcomes. One application of this is our adoption of a mobile-first product strategy. The experience on our most-used resources is now optimized regardless of screen size or device. Libraries serve incredibly diverse learning communities, and our resources need to be accessible to all users where, when, and how they need them. We've also expanded the online learning programs we offer to libraries as they gain momentum as educational institutions, ensuring our partners can help patrons of all ages achieve their educational goals. Finally, we've developed a new type of support service, Analytics On Demand, to enable a data-driven approach to decision-making in public libraries. This tool helps librarians understand their library users (and non-users) so they can make better decisions and measure the impact of those decisions. I will support Gale's expansion in all of these areas as the needs of libraries and their users continue to evolve. An interview with Gale's leader, Paul Gazzolo Paul Gazzolo joined Gale, part of Cengage Learning, as senior vice president and general manager in November 2014. He leads Gale's strategy, product development, sales, and marketing teams. A veteran of the research space, Gazzolo came from Wolters Kluwer CCH Tax & Accounting, and before that served as president of World Book where he led the transition from print to digital. He also worked at LexisNexis Group in marketing and communications and eventually led as chief operating officer.