Katina Strauch◦ Assistant Dean for Technical Services and

Collection Development◦ Addlestone Library, College of Charleston

From an Unentrepreneur

Should you be an entrepreneur?

Test courtesy of Daniel Isenberg and

the Harvard Business Review

I don’t like being told what to do by people who are less capable than I am.

I like challenging myself. I like to win. I like being my own boss. I always look for new and better ways to do

things. I like to question conventional wisdom.

Answer Yes or No

• I like to get people together in order to get things done.

• People get excited by my ideas.• I am rarely satisfied or complacent.• I can’t sit still.• I can usually work my way out of a difficult

situation.• I would rather fail at my own thing than

succeed at someone else’s.

Answer Yes or No

• Whenever there is a problem I am ready to jump right in.

• I think that old dogs can learn – even invent – new tricks.

• Members of my family run their own businesses.

• I have friends who run their own businesses.• I worked after school and during vacations

when I was growing up.

Answer Yes or No

• I get an adrenaline rush from selling things.• I am exhilarated by achieving results.• I could have written a better test than

Isenberg and here is what I would change.

There are 20 questions. If you say Yes to 17 or more, it’s time for some soul searching!http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/should_you_be_an_entrepreneur.html

Answer Yes or No

• Stage One : ConvictionAcquisitions librarian, knew nothingColleagues Ralph Melnick, Cerise

Oberman, Sue Sommer-KresseAntiquarian Book Fair, no InternetA.B. Bookman’s Weekly used instead1979 – young, eager, enthusiastic

Stages of Entrepreneurship

• Second Stage: IdeaRare books conference Jake Chernofsky, Bob Barrows, Paul Koda, Karen Hitchcock-Mort,

Mike MarkwithMoved to in print books, had to learn how to

do what I was supposed to be doingBooks, not serials, there was already a

serials librarianIdea was a conglomeration of Practicality (P), Experience (E), and Whomever I could talk into coming (W) PEW

Stages of Entrepreneurship

Third Stage: ConceptPeople helped – Bill Schenck, Tom Leonhardt,

John Ryland, Mike Markwith, etc., etc.Names Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition

(main theme) New Subtheme every year for book and serials crowd

You can see changes in the profession by looking at the conference themes. 1980 – no theme

Stages of Entrepreneurship

• 1981 – no theme yet• 1982 – baby born, no conference• 80s – old problems, new solutions; external

influences on collection development; questioning assumptions; learning more than you ever wanted to know about finance

• 90s – is the medium the message; money talks; savage marketplace; learning from our mistakes

• 21st century – we need more for less; trends are a-changin’; things are seldom what they seem; all the world’s a serial; the tangled web we weave

Conference Themes

• 2010 – Anything Goes!• 2011 – Something’s Gotta Give!

Concepts (8)One: No exhibits. Talk about ISSUES not PRODUCTS.Two: No concurrent sessions.Three: Vendors, publishers and librarians together as equals and colleagues. No hierarchies.Four: Be open to all even the little guys and girls.

http://www.katina.info/conference/archives

• Five: No support from an official organization.

• Six: Listen to all attendees and encourage them to implement their ideas.

• Sidebar – The Charleston Conference is a Conference of other people’s ideas!

Some of them: (in random order)Michael Poupore (Hotel and local arrangements)

Concepts continued

• Leah Hinds (webmaster and general helper)• Regina Semko (registrar and local

arrangements)• Judy Webster, Rosann Bazirjian, Beth

Bernhardt (directors of the program committee)• The Conference Program committee• Dorinda Harmon, Gayle Karolczyk, Stephen

Parker, et al (hotel and other local arrangements)

• Chet Willis and John Williams (computers, media, extra effects)

Concepts/People

• Shirley Davidson (conference historian and memory bank)

• Mike Markwith (attendee at very first conference and many others) (helped select and give out gifts at early conferences)

• Sandy Paul (talked and danced and generally had fun even if it was about standards

• Lyman Newlin (the conscience of the Conference)

Concepts/People

• David Nicholas (Charleston Research Observatory)

• Outcry from conference attendees (Saturday sessions)

• Leah Hinds (Fast Tech Talks)• Outcry from Conference attendees

(Beastly breakfasts)• Pam Cenzer and Susan Campbell

(Mentors)• Dorinda Harmon (Lively Lunches)• Audrey Powers (DineArounds)

Concepts/People

Seven: Develop a Conference PersonalityBe Quirky, have a sense of humor, be

flexible, mix things up, be unpredictable, be cutting edge, let people dress the way they feel most comfortable, never use the word NO!, adapt, change, keep moving, add last minute hot topics/ideas even if you drive the Conference program director crazy (this is especially important), beware of fads

Concepts contd

Against the Grain, linking publishers, vendors, and librarians – keep people in touch throughout the year. Build momentum.Begun 1989 (lucky year) Hurricane Hugo! Wanted it to be ten pages, mimeographedNo advertisementsFirst layouts done by Steve Johnson (Clemson)

Concept Eight

• Fourth Stage: Venture

Charleston Conference and Against the Grain are LLCs, limited liability companies. Staff are all part timers on hourly salaries. Have regular full time jobs. Many volunteers like Beth Bernhardt!

Stages of Entrepreneurship

• Fifth Stage: Business• Hope to keep up for a long time.• I started out with nothing and have most of it

left.

Some Mistakes to avoid

• Leaving speakers off the program when you told them they were on the program!

• Closing the men’s bathrooms for women!• Fighting with onsite partners.• Fighting with hotels.

Stages of Entrepreneurship

Turning down $60 a night rooms at Charleston Place!

Cutting off speakers who talked too long. Begging same speakers for their papers for

the Proceedings. Not keeping enough of an archive! Beth?

Mistakes to Avoid

• Gave Knut Dorn a cactus and other outrageous favors to speakers

• Threw Charleston Chews to the publishers in the audience.

• Mary Fugle annouced that Jolanda van Hagen wanted to speak at the Conference

• Colletts told Against the Grain that they would come to the conference and straighten out arguments with customers but they didn’t!

Random Memories

• Last minute got call from keynote speaker that he/she couldn’t come on my work voice mail when I had the week off!

• Speakers insisting on taking the red eye and arriving at the last minute.

• Keynote speaker who only praised his/her company

• Becky Lenzini fell off the stage at the Dock Street Theater but didn’t skip a beat!

Random Memories contd

-First year of the Conference when I was trying to get at least 20 attendees was devastated to have someone cancel because he had mistakenly thought the meeting was in West Virginia! -Hurricane Hugo -- 1989 – Charleston was devastated. Walked down to the Mills House Hotel (which was hosting the Conference) because I couldn’t drive there. Charleston was horrible. Ground zero. Didn’t know if Conference would happen or not.

Random Memories

• Stage Six: Sustainable Business

Recommend Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras. New York: HarperBusiness Essentials, c2002. Very helpful.Building the vision, framework, core ideology.

Stages of Entrepreneurship

2005 – Theme “Things are Seldom What They Seem”◦ 2 hotels ◦ 88 Presentations

2010 – “Anything Goes”◦ 3 hotels and Addlestone Library◦ 157 Presentations

Changes in the past 5 years

2005 2010

Changes in Acquisitions Repurposing of jobs in Acquisitions

Open Access effect on publishing Open Access is growing, journals, e-books, textbooks

Google Library Print Programs Google Book Settlement

ILL Purchase on-demand Patron Driven Acquisitions

Print vs Electronic Electronic is more accepted

Pay Per View Pay Per View

Usage Stats Counter and Sushi

Topics from 2005 vs 2010

• Katina Strauch• Assistant Dean for Technical Services and

Collection Development• Addlestone Library, College of Charleston

www.cofc.edu/library• Editor, Against the Grain• www.against-the-grain.com/• Founder, Charleston Conference• www.katina.info/conference

Thank you!