RedLink tries to address data-related pain points for librarians and publishers.
Like every familiar twinge and ache, we often don’t realize how good it can feel to have the pain point removed. It’s like the old joke – the best part of hitting your head against the wall is how good it feels when you stop.
This was captured beautifully in the following story, as told by a consortia administrator who was in touch with us last year. The story is called “Walter’s spreadsheet,” and it’s a story we’ve heard in one form or another multiple times here at RedLink. In fact, it’s part of what inspired our Library Dashboard product:
Many libraries have what you could call “Walter’s spreadsheet.” Every month, to help with collections decisions and answer administration questions, the staff have to update a document known as “Walter’s spreadsheet.” Walter left years ago, but the name stuck, and the spreadsheet hasn’t changed since he departed more than a decade ago — except for the new data, which junior staff enter by hand every month in an arduous process that requires them to log into numerous systems, transcribe data from one screen to another, and update charts to recognize the new cells they’ve filled in. Once done, the Head of Collections has to review it all, invariably finding errors that require rework. By the time they finish, another month has passed, and they start all over again. No wonder Walter left.
Hearing the stories about various versions of “Walter’s spreadsheet” led RedLink to find a solution with our Library Dashboard.
There are other pain points, too. One of the big ones is updating IP addresses and other credentials. RedLink Network is a free, community-based service that we’ve developed to address this pain point.
Here’s to a more painless 2017. We’re here to help. Please contact us, and let’s put “Walter’s spreadsheet” behind us!