Case Study

Cost-Effective Technology Solution at University of Southern Mississippi

When Carole Kiehl began her job as Dean of University Libraries in 2008, the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) libraries were in the midst of an economic crisis. Staff at all four of the University’s libraries had almost entirely stopped buying books and were searching for additional areas of spending to cut. During this tumultuous time, having the proper information to make financial decisions was essential. However, every time Kiehl needed a report from their system about collections or spending, the process was very labor intensive.

Kiehl knew that the University’s libraries needed a more robust ILS, but didn’t think a change was possible during such a fiscally challenging period. At previous jobs with the University of California Irvine and Old Dominion University in Virginia, Kiehl had worked with Millennium systems and enjoyed it. “I liked Millennium, but assumed it was beyond our financial means because we knew it was known as the ‘the Cadillac of ILSs.’ I assumed there was no way we could change our ILS—I didn’t think it was an option. I went to the ALA conference in 2009 and was hovering around the Innovative exhibit booth, reminiscing and sniffing the air.”

“It was serendipity,” says Innovative Sales Representative Stephen Strohl. He saw Kiehl, who said she missed Millennium. After hearing about Kiehl’s situation, Strohl offered Kiehl an economical solution to USM’s ILS troubles. She was surprised to learn that Innovative’s flexibility could make the implementation of Millennium at USM a reality.

Says Kiehl of the implementation process: “The Innovative team supported us really well on all the detailed work involved in data migration, so the actual transition to WebPAC Pro and Millennium was seamless. It is now possible for me to get detailed reports in real time.”

Once the system was up and running, Kiehl wanted “to utilize the new system to its maximum potential, not just replicate the old system. The catalogers adapted to Millennium quickly and loved the ability to run reports in Create Lists, and to make global changes. We want Millennium to do almost everything and keep things coordinated across departments and libraries.”

And as the Library Dean, in tight economic times, Kiehl now has the immediate access to the mission-critical information she needs. “Other systems required the intervention of technical staff to get any reports at all,” she says. “Now I can get what I need from Web Management Reports. The ILS is like the air we breathe and it needs to work well across the board. Millennium does that.”