Background and Opportunity
Library Lever views the adoption of CloudSource OA as mission critical to the health and sustainability of all Academic Libraries and is prepared to invest time and resources to drive that outcome.
Benefits of Working with Library Lever
The Library Lever Team shares a long history of success serving libraries throughout their careers in consortia, academic publishing, and both academic and public libraries. The Library Lever Team has partnered with 100+ econtent providers and has educated thousands of librarians, faculty and students, both domestic and abroad, on thousands of library products and services. Having supported hundreds of Academic Libraries in the Northeast for decades, the Library Lever Team maintains long standing consultative relationships with librarians and faculty at these institutions.
The current volatility in the consortia landscape has strengthened these bonds, driving libraries to engage with Library Lever as their trusted source for industry trends, product solutions, community and education.
As such, Library Lever is uniquely positioned to embed CloudSource OA in Academic Libraries throughout the Northeast.
About the Library Lever Team
We are a team of passionate industry professionals on a mission to create a world in which libraries and publishers work together towards the same goals: A world where all learners are provided equal opportunity to thrive through access to authoritative content and modern technologies. A world where decisions are driven by data, and success is measured by impact.
Robert Karen
Robert Karen has worked in the Publishing Industry for 24 years, and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Library Lever. Robert is responsible for discovering emerging business models that focus on data driven outcomes.
As part of the Publishing Industry, Robert has worked diligently helping publishers and libraries achieve value. Robert leads a team focused on the continued success of libraries and committed to improving the procurement experience.
Prior to his role at Library Lever, Robert held different leadership positions at the WALDO consortium including the Director of Member Services, where he was responsible for their thriving membership, and Director of Procurement Services, growing total sales to over $500 million in his 20 year career.
He lives in Westchester County, NY with his wife Michele and two children Jolie and Noah. When Robert isn’t working hard at Library Lever, you’ll find him playing golf, on a drive with his bernedoodles, and enjoying live music. Robert holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado @ Boulder.
Heather Dray
As CCO, Heather is dedicated to realizing Library Lever’s mission of building sustainable library collections through best-in-class programs and solutions designed to ensure success for libraries of all sizes and complexities.
Mesmerized by the magic of books as a child, teenage Heather realized her true calling while working the Business Periodicals desk at the main branch of Broward County (Florida) Public Library. The first time she helped a patron locate articles for his literature review she was hooked! Driven by this passion to help others, Heather embarked upon an exciting career in libraries and academic publishing that has taken her on travels near and far.
Heather has served in leadership roles as Director of Educational Services at SOLINET/LYRASIS and most recently as Associated Director of Library Relations and Faculty Outreach at SAGE Publishing. In these roles, Heather built dynamic teams of librarians who delivered educational programs designed to empower and delight library staff, faculty and students throughout the US, Canada and Australia. Heather describes her time serving as Director of Library and Information Resources at American InterContinental University Atlanta as a personal highpoint in her career. Her work with the ambitious and creative students at AIU Atlanta was incredibly inspiring, joyful and deeply rewarding.
Heather is a proud Atlantan, sometime artist and fulltime mom to her rescuers, pocket-Pitbull Izabel “Izzy” Louise and Heinz 57 Dashiell “Dash” Hammett. Heather spends her free time enjoying live theater and music, painting and writing, “sampling” wine with family and friends, obsessively streaming true crime podcasts, and researching all things Roman and Viking. As Izzy & Dash allow, of course.
Heather Teysko
Heather Teysko is the head of Engagement at Library Lever, and she also produces and hosts the Common Stacks Podcast. She has been a leader in the library field for 20 years, in particular in technology and eBooks, having been the Assistant Director: Innovation and Development at the Califa Group, California’s largest library consortium, where she led the project to create enki, the first statewide shared eBook collection built on a platform owned by the consortium with content purchased directly from publishers rather than through a vendor. She also worked on The Palace Project, the open source eBook project built by LYRASIS.
Additionally, she is passionate about history, telling stories of Tudor England since 2009 with the Renaissance English History Podcast, and building a community of over 50,000 followers around her show. She teaches podcast classes for library training organizations such as ALA, and has been a speaker on podcasting for libraries at the California Library Association annual conference. She has also been a speaker at various podcasting conferences such as Intelligent Speech and Harvard University's Sound Education.
Sample Goals that Library Lever can Deliver for CloudsourceOA
∙Increase Academic Sales and accelerate the sales cycle through targeted outreach and engagement strategies focused on Academic Groups in the Northeast region, defined here as NY, NJ, PA, RI, VT, CT, ME, MA & NH.
∙Reimagine and reposition the CloudSource OA brand via aggressive social media campaigns and creative marketing collateral creation to ensure it is immediately recognizable, and that its value resonates with the Academic market, clearly establishing
CloudSource OA as the premier OA Management Platform for Academic Libraries.
∙Build and grow a vibrant CloudSource OA Community via strategic engagement, outreach and education designed to cultivate an environment of OA Activism to influence new sales, drive renewals and retention, and surface product champions within the Academic Library community.
Library Lever is already successfully promoting CloudSource OA
Our Podcast on CloudSource OA has been downloaded over 400 times, and we created a landing page with offer information for
Library Lever Members.
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I had the privilege of working with Rob for a number of years and highly recommend him for any business wanting to grow sales. The team behind Library Lever is inspiring and we can't wait to see what they have in store. We're looking forward to watching the growth and development of this company.
BRIAN EDWARDS//
Director of Educational Streaming| Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.
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I’ve enjoyed working with Rob and his team over many years. He helps connect our team to libraries and serves his librarians with close attention and care. We look forward to seeing his new venture blossom, as we bring new projects and collections forward. He’s a champion for libraries and for publishers, and he’s dedicated to bringing them together with full communication.
Eileen Lawrence// VP of Sales and Chief Inspiration Officer | Coherent Digital
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Rob is a strong leader with a clear vision for where he wants Library Lever to go. What they're doing will make a huge impact on libraries and I can't wait to see what's next.
William Shannon Hein// Executive Vice President
William S. Hein & Company