About Andrew K. Pace
Gearing Up
Posted On Jan 10 2007Seattle will be my 6th ALA conference as an American Libraries columnist, and my 2nd since the summer 2006 launch of Hectic Pace. It’s part of my duty to cover the exhibit floor for the magazine, and here I will admit it for the first time–it is my favorite part of the job. There’s something one cannot get from press releases, phone calls, e-mails, and webinars. This is not to say that one can get a whole lot more from a scripted demo by someone who has worked for a company for 2 weeks, but there’s something about walking the …
SirsiDynix Finds a New Investor
Posted On Dec 28 2006In a somewhat surprising announcement, SirsiDynix announced late last week that it had a “new investment partner,” Vista Equity. Details were scant but a formal (and only slightly more detailed) press release (pdf) was issued yesterday. Vista is a private equity firm with over $1 billion in capital, primarily in the software and technology sectors. SirsiDynix, of course, is one of the biggest players in the market, with nearly 4,000 clients. Sirsi and Dynix merged only 18 months ago to create the largest company in the library automation sector. “We are long-term investors in technology companies that are committed to …
The Grump Who Stole Libraries
Posted On Dec 22 2006Every librarian Down in Dew-ey-ville liked computers a lot… But the Grump Who lived just north of Dew-ey-ville, Did NOT! The grump hated computers! The whole campus network. Now please don’t ask why. He could be quite a big jerk. It could be his own system wasn’t running just right. It could be, perhaps, that his earbuds were too tight. But I think that the most most likely reason of all May have been that his library was two sizes too small. But, Whatever the reason, His buds or his OPAC, He stood there on ALA-eve, hating those in the …