Frequently Asked Questions

18 years in library technology. I've trained frontline staff at multiple large systems, managed multi-million dollar implementations, ran a library's IT operations, and sat in vendor meetings where pricing decisions were made. I've seen what works, what doesn't, and what vendors do when they think no one's watching.

Most contract reviewers have never been on both sides of the negotiation. I have. I know the pricing tactics vendors use, the escape clauses they hide in appendices, and the compliance traps that blow up 3 years in. I review contracts for the realities of library operations, not just legal language.

AI governance isn't about blocking technology. It's about figuring out where AI actually helps your library and where it's just a vendor upsell. I help you write policies your staff can actually follow -- not 40-page documents that live in a drawer. Who's accountable when something breaks? What data are you exposing? What happens when the vendor changes the model? Those are the questions I make you answer before you buy anything.

Seriously. I don't store your contracts, data, or strategy docs. Consultations are confidential. I don't use your library's situation as case studies or articles without explicit permission. If something is sensitive, it stays that way.

Yes. I help you build the business case, not the wishlist. We figure out what this thing will actually cost you over five years -- migration, training, the staff time nobody budgets for, the price hike in year three -- and put that in front of your board in language they'll act on. I've written these budgets. I know what gets funded and what gets tabled.

This is actually where I focus a lot. Small libraries get squeezed hardest by vendors. You don't have a legal team, you don't have IT backup, and when a system fails, it's a crisis. I help you navigate vendor relationships with realistic constraints and build tech stacks that don't require a full team to run.

I read contracts -- a lot of them. I follow security incidents when they happen. I talk to the library IT people who are actually fighting fires, not just the ones presenting at conferences. When a vendor quietly changes their data retention policy or a state passes a new privacy law, I usually know about it before it hits your inbox. This isn't consulting based on theory, it's based on what's actually breaking systems right now.

Yes. I can sit in the room with you or prep you before you walk in. I know the pricing games, I know when a "final offer" isn't final, and I know which contract terms vendors will bend on if you push. I've been on the vendor side of that table. I know what they're calculating while you're talking.

Remote by default -- calls, email, shared docs. I also do in-person if geography makes sense. For consortiums, I do workshops: contract review, AI governance, vendor relationships, security basics. Tell me what you're dealing with and I'll tell you what actually makes sense for your situation instead of selling you a package.

It depends on what you need. A contract review is a different animal from six months of governance strategy. I know you're working with a library budget, not a Fortune 500 budget. Tell me what you're dealing with and I'll be straight about what it costs. No discovery calls that are really sales pitches.

Absolutely. The articles, checklists, and guides here are made to be used. Share them with your team, your board, your consortium. Adapt them to your context. That's the whole point. If you need help tailoring something specific for your library, that's consulting work, let's talk.

Send me a message with what you're dealing with. Doesn't have to be polished -- "my vendor contract is up in 90 days and I don't know what half of it means" is a perfectly good starting point. I'll tell you if I can help and what that looks like. If it's something you can handle yourself, I'll point you to the right resource instead of selling you a project.

Yes. I've watched vendor extraction destroy library capacity. I don't pretend to be neutral about that. But I'm not anti-vendor. I'm pro-library. If a vendor serves your actual needs and the contract is fair, I'll say so. I just won't pretend extraction is anything other than what it is.

Here's the honest version: Most consultants won't tell you the truth about vendor relationships because they have financial incentives not to. I don't. That frees me to call a predatory contract predatory and a good partnership a good partnership based on what's actually happening, not what looks good to say.

If you want someone who'll validate whatever you're doing, this probably isn't it. If you want someone who'll tell you the truth even when it's uncomfortable, that's what you get.