In the spirit of learning and collaboration, we have launched a Quria Library Directors’ Forum. Library Directors in the Quria Community are invited to join the community and partake in discussions about strategies and trends in the sector. The forum will also provide a place to share experiences using Quria, collaborate on strategic product development, and receive product updates from Axiell.
To learn more about the forum, we asked Ann Melaerts, VP Strategic Initiatives and responsible for the initiative, to tell us more.
What is the Quria Library Directors’ Forum?
The Quria Library Directors’ Forum is a place for library directors in the Quria community to connect and exchange ideas. We want to create a forum which people genuinely want to be a part of.
The first event was a pre-meeting on December 15, 2020. What is your impression from that meeting?
This pre-meeting with the Directors of the libraries that are using Quria or that have signed a contract to migrate to Quria was very promising. The meeting took place on Microsoft Teams and we were pleased to have more than ¾ of the people invited attending. We presented the purpose of this forum, a Quria update, two customers presented their project, and we had some room for an open discussion. This pre-meeting was also to help to set up the content of the next meetings taking into account the wishes of the attendants. We received very positive feedback after the meeting and the customers expressed their satisfaction about this initiative.
Who can participate in the forum?
People invited are the library Directors. The purpose is to discuss the long-term strategy. It’s a forum for ‘big thoughts’, a forum where decisions can be taken, where the future may be designed and with an accent put on international trends and formats.
What is the next step?
The next step is the first meeting which will take place on April 27th. A step further will be placed. Our objective is to give updates on Axiell’s products and strategy and on international trends and formats, to share customers’ testimonials and to invite external keynote speaker(s). I would like to keep some space for discussions and debate as I believe we can learn a lot from these exchanges.
What are the long-term plans for the Quria Library Directors’ Forum?
We are planning to organise two meetings per year. We must do it digitally currently, but we want to have in-person meetings when it is possible. We will then probably have meetings by country and/or with the entire forum. We are also thinking about organising round tables about specific topics. When the community grows it will make lots of sense to have specific points treated in smaller groups to emphasize more on the needs and wishes from the attendants. At some point we will also open the access to people interested but not (yet!) customers.
Tell us about your role at Axiell?
I have been responsible for the Public Library business area for about three years. Having a role of VP Strategic Initiatives at Axiell gives me the opportunity to be involved in the Archives and Museums’ area as well. The company is evolving very fast and we are unique in our ability to offer a platform to the cultural and educational world -Libraries, museums, archives, schools; and to answer to the needs of the whole cultural sector.
Quria is a solution developed from scratch: this is also quite unique in this business and having an orchestration role related to this fantastic product is highly exciting. The Quria Library Directors’ Forum is one of my new role’s scope and this function being new in the company it will certainly continue to evolve in the future. There are lots of strategic initiatives we want to put in place, and I see this a great opportunity as well as an exciting challenge.
