25 California Buildings News • September/October 2015
Architectural Librarians… Important To Both Design Product Reps and A&D Firms Q&A with Mark G. Maloy, Architectural Librarian Can you describe the function of a ‘librarian” in an architectural firm? The many ways we can function depends on the firm respecting what we are capable of. Given the layers of requirements now necessary to meet stringent codes and “green” ratings, our assistance at many levels of design is needed more than ever. Sadly, many firms no longer appreciate the A&D (architecture and design) Librarian’s role believing, “It’s all on the Internet” and easy to find. It isn’t. They cost cut doing away with resource collections and Librarians. It can cost them more in the end. Our most important function is to get accurate information fast! A&D librarians can be uniquely qualified to know where to go in the ever-changing ways information is stored and sourced. Whether it is on a bookshelf or in the cluttered Internet, we help focus through all the nonsense to the right answers. Vital functions I have provided daily over the years have been in-house resource collections coordinator, inventory manager and housekeeper. I perform product information sourcing, codes and standards work, offer license/accreditation maintenance options with educational opportunities as well as project archival custodian chores. Then there is the constant function of being a critical liaison between manufacturer and designer. Not one day has passed in my 26 years doing this when I haven’t been asked, “Who is the rep for…?” What sort of education or training is needed for your job? Library Science degrees are not necessarily required. Familiarity with design and construction processes is helpful. Any number of degrees and work experiences can be molded into making an A&D Librarian. It’s more about approach and attitude. The best candidates are adept at all types of research, have solid organizational skills and practice careful listening. Precise communication is vital! You need to be friendly, willing and able to provide help in situations that can involve ominous deadlines and challenging personalities. What is the best way for companies to make their products or services known to an architectural firm? Wherever possible, they need to provide a local representative. Internet connectivity options are critical, but will never totally replace face time with a reliable rep.
How do you prefer receiving information from vendors? Print? Digital? Both? I prefer websites and local reps over e-mail or hardcopy advertising blasts. Information once provided in product binders or brochures must be easily accessible online. Now that manufacturers don’t have to spend the money to maintain countless catalogs and cut sheets, they can apply the savings to better websites. These should be intuitive, always current with features needed for Revit and other design software. Simple and reliable sample ordering help is a must. Perhaps with the money companies save getting off paper and going digital they might hire more reps. Oh, and expand their marketing food budgets for the lunches and snack treats so vital in cementing good relationships with the vendors and designers! What are major vendor turn-offs for librarians? A&D Firms have thousands of manufacturers beating on their doors and computer screens; they need someone to help with the deluge. Librarians function as a filter, gatekeeper and firewall for designers. I have the greatest respect for sales reps; they have one of the toughest roles to play in the linkage from the manufacturer to the final specification and installation process. They routinely perform design deadline miracles getting information and providing complex sampling demands that often don’t mean a sale. However, some tenacious reps walk this tight rope like it is a six-lane highway wondering why they don’t get the instant attention they seek. Cold call walk-in and unscheduled “update” visits are annoying. Requests for design staff lists and last-minute pleas to gather key design staff to meet folks in town from the home office are irritating. Reps who don’t understand that, “don’t call us, we will call you” means let us do our work first, don’t stalk us. Do you show preference for established companies or do you also give firms with new products a chance? Proven quality, pricing and service does go to the head of line. New manufacturers and products cannot be ignored, and I always welcome introducing them to the right audience.
Maloy is an architectural librarian with 26 years of experience working for HOK and MBH Architects