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Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2004
From: Mary Page (Rutgers Univ.) <mspage_at_rci.rutgers.edu>
Subject: Charleston Conference Juried Product Development Forums
The Charleston Conference is trying a new concept: Juried
Product Development Forums as a way for librarians to give
our input to publishers, aggregators, and vendors about the
products we buy. For many years, we have been asked
informally or through focus groups for feedback on new and
existing products. We thought the Charleston Conference
could expand the conversation and create an opportunity for
those attending to contribute to the development of services
that we want to buy.
The process for the Juried Product Development Forums will be
more structured than the regular Charleston Conference
basically because we have a limited number of rooms (8-10
depending on size of groups). The Forums themselves are
designed to provide for a more structured conversation than
the usual casual Charleston atmosphere.
We hope that you will participate in the Forums and give us
your ideas. We want to know about your experience with this
new process when you have issues, problems, complaints, or
even good words to share!
Thank all of you for participating in the Charleston
Conference and I look forward to hearing from you about our
new Juried Product Development Forums.
All the very best,
Katina Strauch
<kstrauch_at_comcast.net>
--------------
Charleston Conference 2004
Juried Product Development Forums
Goal
The Charleston Conference creates an opportunity for a dialog
among publishers, vendors and librarians on industry issues.
In keeping with this approach, Juried Product Development
Forums were created for
. publishers and vendors to gather market input from
librarians on the
development of a particular product or service
. for librarians to discuss market issues with publishers
and vendors
invited to participate in a Forum.
Focused on product development, the Forums can provide
insights to answer a company's internal questions and ongoing
debates about product offerings, pricing, delivery options,
and the like.
The Forums for the 2004 Charleston Conference will be at the
conclusion of the concurrent sessions on the first day of the
conference: Thursday, November 4th, 5:15 -6:30 pm.
The Vendor Showcase held on Wednesday afternoon November 3rd
is the ideal setting for companies that wish to have sales
related conversations. The Juried Product Development Forums
are not an opportunity to promote or sell products.
Publishers and vendors
The Charleston Conference is an ideal venue for an extended
conversation with librarians about the development of a
selected product or service.
Publishers and vendors can obtain market feedback on:
. new business models
. pricing strategies
. features and functionality
This information can produce customer-oriented products for
libraries resulting in a shorter sales cycle.
Space available for the Forums is limited and a selection
committee will evaluate applications to participate.
The application form is part of this document and is also
available on the Charleston Conference website.
www.katina.info/conference/ .
Application Schedule
. July 15th Deadline for application form
. August 16th Notification of all applicants
. October 1st Payment required to confirm participation.
Cost $1200 upon acceptance. If required, AV is
available for a fee.
Application process
Announcement of the Forums will be distributed in May,
allowing time during ALA to publicize the Forums prior to the
application deadline on July 15th.
Librarians may also nominate companies especially if there
are industry issues to be discussed with the market.
Applications are expected from all companies interested in
participating.
Any publisher or vendor may submit an application.
Preference will be given to those:
. who have an innovative concept to test with the market
. who have a product in development and are seeking
guidance on its functionality or pricing
. who have generated discussion in the market due to pricing,
licensing, distribution or service issues
. who are new and seeking customer feedback on the best
approach to the market.
Librarians value the Charleston Conference as a meeting where
they can address industry issues. The Forums are an
extension of the dialog between librarians and vendors
focused on a specific product or service. Attendees will
arrive expecting to discuss a product or service as if they
were in a focus group or on an advisory board.
Successful Forums will be a dialog with the audience
providing for their feedback on a product or service.
Guidelines for successful Forums suggest that companies:
. Allow at least half the allotted time for discussion.
. Involve product development staff.
. Distribute literature related to the product under
discussion only.
. Avoid powerpoint presentations if possible as they limit dialog.
. Refrain from handing out giveaways, toys, "stuff".
Evaluation forms for each of the Juried Product Development
Forums will solicit feedback from participating publishers or
vendors and librarians. A representative of each
participating company can pick up copies of their evaluations
on Friday afternoon, November 5th. Evaluation forms will be
reviewed by the selection committee and considered in future
selections.
Attendees
The Forum sessions are intended for library staff and will be
closed to other publishers and vendors.
Attendees will be pre-registered and each session will be
screened by "monitors".
Charleston Conference will encourage all attendees to
participate through:
o Email invitations to preregistered attendees
o Via the conference website
o During the conference.
Publishers & vendors may invite their customers to sign up
for this event.
Distributors, consultants or individuals from other companies
will be admitted if the participating publisher or vendor has
added their name to the list of attendees for their session.
Rooms vary in size and will be assigned based on response
from attendees unless the publisher or vendor limits the
number of participants. Forum attendees are expected notify
the registration desk if their plans change and to stay for
the entire session.
Charleston Conference
Juried Product Development Forums
Publisher and Vendor Application Form
DEADLINE: July 15th, 2004
Company Name:
Address:
Contact:
Title:
Email:
Phone: Fax:
Why do you want this slot? What customer interactions or
internal questions prompt you to request this slot? Why
should the committee select your application?
How will the session be structured? Describe how the session
will be developed (demo, handouts, focus group format) to
accomplish your objectives? (Powerpoints should be carefully
considered as they create a one-way presentation instead of a
two way dialog - consider handouts and allow time for discussion.)
Which staff will lead this session?
Name
Title
Name
Title
Name
Title
Abstract - limit to 50 words. The abstract will appear in
the list of Forums from which librarians chose to attend.
Abstracts should describe the session and set expectations
for participants. Promotional content is likely to be edited.
Guidelines:
Successful presentations will be a dialog with the audience
providing for their feedback on a product or service.
. Allow at least half the allotted time for discussion.
. Involve product development staff.
. Distribute literature related to the product under
discussion only.
. Avoid powerpoint presentations if possible as they limit dialog.
. Refrain from handing out giveaways, toys, "stuff".
SEND TO: Regina Semko at SemkoR_at_cofc.edu Ms. Semko is
the conduit for all communications between applicants and the selection
committee. The membership of the selection committee will not be made
public. Applicants are asked to respect Ms. Semko's neutral role in
this
process.
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Received on Wed Jun 02 2004 - 10:23:21 UTC