Ringgold consultancy
- Team: work with organizations worldwide,
on local issues or those with global reach
- Impact: focus on service to publishers
and vendors serving libraries and information users
- Methodology: the quantitative and qualitative
gathering and analysis of information, to help organizations with strategic
and IT-based solutions for marketing, sales, and operations
- Ethics: accepting only projects that
will meet client needs, with staff qualified to perform
Ringgold project examples
- planning, purchase, and implementation of IT systems and services
- researching the needs and structures of a publisher's databases for
developing pricing models for eJournals and eBooks
- impact of e-journal business models on purchasing needs of libraries
- developing business plans for a database of grey literature (MAGIC2)
- preparation and impact analysis of business models for a publisher's
transition from print to electronic publishing
- advice, support, and set up of automatic indexing systems, indexing
strategy, and indexer training for a business information distribution
company
- advising on subject searching strategies for access over the Internet
Ringgold team qualification
- Helen L Henderson, Managing Director
of Information Power Ltd and VP Marketing & Strategy of Ringgold Inc,
has consulted for major primary and secondary publishing houses, advising
on strategic development of business models for pricing and packaging
of electronic publications of all types. This included managing focus
groups and working with editorial and production staff. She recently completed
the JISC study of new business models for electronic journals and managed
the SUNCAT scoping study. A recent major project was consulting for OCLC
on business plans for new services in metadata and registries. She is
currently producing working with publishers to audit their customer information
and a producing a publishers' collaborative database of standard identifiers
and demographics for this customer data. Previously, she handled publisher
relations in Europe for a major subscription agency, and helped design
their internet gateway and electronic document delivery product. Helen
has an extensive network of contacts throughout the world, from setting
up distributorship networks for her own library software company and working
with international organizations. She is currently the Joint Editor of
SERIALS, on the UK Serials Group committee and a Fellow of CILIP.
- Ralph M. Shoffner, DLS, Chairman and
CEO, Ringgold, Inc., is expert in the development of plans and controls
for new business programs. Dr. Shoffner's consulting has included program
review of the higher education libraries in the State of Idaho, design
of an InterLibrary Lending system for New York State, evaluation of library
operations for Simon Fraser University (Canada), plans for library automation
at King Fahd University, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and establishment of monograph
and serials replacement costs for the Allianz Group. Dr. Shoffner was
the chief architect for systems development at the Richard Abel Company,
an international bookseller to academic libraries. His doctorate is from
the University of California, Berkeley and he holds degrees in Industrial
Administration from MIT and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Shoffner has
published, is a member of the American Library Association, and is past
president of LITA.
- Chris Leamy, consulting since 1994, and
formerly advisor to CEC DG XIII-E to advise on the Libraries RTD Programme.
Assisted with the introduction of automated indexing techniques at DIALOG/MAID,
setting up procedures and advising on systems strategies. As Head of the
Tourism Division of England's Department of National Heritage, he developed
statistical reports and worked with funding of the British Tourist Authority,
developing government tourism policies. From 1982-1992, Chris was also
Head of the Library and Information Services Divisions, responsible for
library and information policy in the UK, including legislation and standards
development for the public library service in England, policy and funding
for the British Library, and UK participation in CEC library and information
action plans. Work included costings for public library services, legislative
amendments to the Public Library Act, and development of copyright legislation.
As Head of Corporate Planning for the British Library, he initiated numerous
projects (e.g., collection analysis, service costing methods). As Head
of the BLAISE Team, he planned and set up the British Library's online
information service with UKMARC and the MEDLARS databases, selecting retrieval
software and building a support staff. He was also responsible for the
Systems and Techniques Branch, to develop policy for grants and contracts
on library automation and management, including network options. He served
in various posts and was mainly responsible for the library automation
R&D programme for UK's participation in the European Community's information
programmes. He was a member of numerous Committees, including those of
the British Council, the Royal Society, OECD, and BSI. He has served as
Chairman of the Economic and Technical Aspects Group of CIDST (the major
IT group of the CEC) and Chair of EUSIDIC-European Association of Information
Services.
- Donald N. Chvatal, President and COO,
Ringgold, Inc., has been intimately involved with the supply chain from
information producer to library. He is a bookseller, a librarian, and
a consultant both to libraries and to companies selling automation and
information products. With two others, he founded Academic Book Center,
Inc., book seller to libraries, and served as President and Chief Executive
Officer of Industrial Investment Corporation, a public corporation owning
100% of Academic and 4 other book selling companies. He was an owner and
principal of International Scholarly Book Service Inc., providing marketing
and distribution services to small publishers. He has performed direct
sales to libraries of both books and library automation systems. His consulting
has included advice to libraries on their procurement procedures and advice
to vendors in setting up internet based marketing of books and in selling
automation products to the U. S. library market. He has an extensive network
of contacts throughout the information supply chain. He is a member of
the American Library Association and has written critical reviews of marketing
trends in library automation.
- Associates. Additional staff resources
are available, depending on the scope of project requirements.
