Mary Molinaro, University of Kentucky. “Finding your niche: Leveraging limited resources to build a digital program.” Oh, this will be great. Resources are almost never sufficient in the humanities, as Mary herself mentions right at the beginning. :)
First, though, she demonstrates a VHS tape she found titled “Richard Simmons groovin’ in the house.” Go Readex! They know how to relax!
MM distinguishes between project and program: quit thinking about “digital initiatives” and “projects.” They imply temporary status. “Program” implies infrastructure and sustainability, which is advantageous even within the project, for morale and a better mentality.
Good news/bad news: we’re hopelessly lost, but we’re making good time (or rushing headlong into… something). There’s no set formula for building digital programs. Some of what MM will say isn’t news, but is good to remember as lessons from our non-digital past. MM will list general pointers for building a program, and then proceed to talk about her KY group’s experience with building a program, going point by point. That specific information is in parentheses below.
1. Look to the future. It’s easy to get into the daily routine with no end game in sight, particularly if you’re trying to distinguish yourself or your project. How do you find a new place where you can make a significant contribution, find your niche? Look to the future.
2. Look to the past, too. Where are your areas of strength? Where’ve you been successful in the past? Can you look at those things in a new way, that’ll turn them into assets for building a new program?
3. Assess your strengths (follows from previous point). Can you itemize the useful stuff you have that you can leverage – people, equipment, good will? (50 yrs of microfilming; 30 yrs of oral history; good relationship with partners in the state)
4. Acknowledge weaknesses. Priorities are always competing. How do you convince people that yours are the ones that ought to be supported? Also, work with the staff you have. Take note of their expertise (or not) and move forward from there. (high competition for resources; mired in activities they can’t easily jettison; ‘wring our hands’ mentality)
5. Seek opportunities. One thing can lead to another. It’s seldom that someone just comes to you and offers you $1M to move forward on your project. Be proactive about funding especially. (opportunity to coordinate state digital library, and hire a digital librarian; looked for, and found!, just the right grant)
6. Take opportunities that do come your way. (And/but:) Choose your projects strategically. (U of KY chose board of trustees minutes; yearbooks; student newspaper. not something the public is clamoring for, but when the project was finished the trustees were very, very impressed, and so looked favorably upon expanding the program for participation in the NDNP project mentioned in the previous post)
7. Beware mission drift. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. Without focus it’s really easy to fall away. (too easy to say yes to fund-generating proposals such as in 6 above)
8. Continually stretch. Generate more ideas than you can possibly realize, then pick out of them. This is better than looking for that One Perfect Idea, and pushes the upper bound higher. (MM’s group brainstormed regularly and had a whiteboard dedicated to the ideas generated and a list of needs! – could do this electronically, but this is visible to anyone walking in including potential donors, and this visibility is very important)
9. Take risks. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Give yourself permission to fail. If you wait until everything’s in place, you’ll never get anywhere. Have a clear understanding with your boss that not everything you do may be 100% successful, but as long as you’re advancing your program, it’s worth doing. (you can drive your car off that cliff, but once you do, you really limit your options; fear of risk can be paralyzing, but at some point you gotta let go of the what-ifs)
10. Network like crazy. Opportunities present themselves in the oddest of places. Tell your story widely. If you don’t, nobody will know what you’re doing. (have an elevator statement about your project, a spiel that you can give in the space of an elevator ride; and also, find places to tell your story)
11. Seek advice. Ask experts, get opinions, and you’ll begin to see consensus. Money spent on the right consultants can be money very well spent. You can also get a lot of advice for free. (call in experts; attend as many training opportunities as possible)
12. Fast-paced is better. This works for KY, anyway. Not talking frenzied here, but an aggressive pace with high expectations creates a self-perpetuating high-energy atmosphere. Likewise, a sluggish atmosphere self-perpetuates and bogs you down. (has melded MM’s group together and created an entrepreneurial environment)
13. Learn from failures. Pay attention, and try not to make mistakes more than once. In the long term failures can be as important as successes. (MM’s group is just not meant to scan state math tests. it’s a long story)
14. Leverage successes. Turn one success into another. Building a program is an iterative process; sometimes the steps are big, and other times they’re small. (they got really good at turning one success into another)
15. Celebrate success. Personal thanks can mean a lot to people. Thank them individually, in public, in a group. Market your group’s successes. (they’ve had celebratory dinners, written for the library newsletters, acknowledged individuals publicly, looked for ways to leverage staff’s successes into opportunities for them individually)
16. Money means a lot but it’s not everything. There are other ways to build infrastructure: space, equipment, goodwill, percentage of individuals’ time. (all of these things can be made a commitment on the part of the university when you’re applying for grants, and that might help not only with the work but with getting the grants in the first place)
17. Not everything you do will be meaningful, but make sure something is. “If you build it, they will come” does not always work. What will your resource help people do? Have an identified outcome for everything you do.