What Library Leaders Prioritize Before Opening a Vendor Conversation: Survey Research | InfoGlobalData

These findings suggest that vendor outreach must address more than product features. For marketers using a Librarian Email List, the relevant question is whether an offer connects with a library's current priorities, constraints, governance requirements, and measurable outcomes. Recent survey research provides a useful framework for understanding what can determine whether a vendor message earns further attention.

What Are Library Leaders Prioritizing in 2026?

Library priorities are increasingly shaped by the need to maintain core services while adapting to technological and financial pressures.

Clarivate's 2026 Pulse of the Library survey gathered 1,876 responses from librarians worldwide, representing academic, public, and national libraries. The survey found that libraries continue to balance AI adoption with open science, open educational resources, funding pressures, research support, and changing user needs.

AI is an important part of that picture, but it is not the only priority.

Clarivate reported that 58% of respondents identified staff productivity as a primary objective for AI initiatives. At the same time, privacy and security, misinformation, and bias in AI outputs emerged as leading concerns.

For vendors, this means a first conversation is more likely to be relevant when the message connects technology to an identifiable operational or institutional objective.

A generic statement such as "our platform uses AI" provides little context. A stronger proposition explains what the technology could help a library accomplish and what governance, implementation, or staff requirements are involved.

Why Does Budget Pressure Matter Before a Vendor Conversation?

Budget is one of the most important filters affecting library purchasing discussions.

Ithaka S+R's 2025 U.S. Library Survey collected 483 completed responses from library deans and directors at four-year, not-for-profit postsecondary institutions. The survey found that most respondents identified insufficient financial resources as the primary constraint on making changes in their libraries.

The pressure is particularly visible in collections. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said their library was likely to cancel one or more journal packages in the next licensing cycle. Fifty-five percent reported a high expectation of cancellations in 2025, compared with 45% in 2022.

This environment changes how vendors should frame an initial outreach.

Library decision-makers may need to understand:

• What problem the product solves

• How implementation affects existing resources

• Whether it replaces or complements another system

• What staff time is required

• What measurable value it provides

• How pricing aligns with budget cycles

• Whether flexible purchasing or licensing options exist

A Librarian Email Database is therefore more useful when campaigns can be segmented around library type, role, institution, and other legitimate business attributes rather than treating every librarian as having identical purchasing authority.

Why Are Privacy and Data Practices Becoming Vendor Conversation Issues?

Privacy has moved beyond being a technical consideration for many library leaders.

Ithaka S+R found that 50% of U.S. academic library leaders expressed concern about third-party vendors or partners having access to individual-level library-user data in 2025. That compares with 40% in 2019 and 30% in 2022.

The survey does not establish that AI caused this increase, but Ithaka notes that heightened attention to privacy may be connected to emerging technologies, including AI.

For vendor marketers, the implication is practical: claims about data handling should be clear rather than buried in technical documentation.

An initial outreach message can establish the relevant principles without overwhelming the recipient:

• What data the product processes

• Whether individual-level data is involved

• What security controls are available

• How data is stored or shared

• What integrations are required

• Whether administrators retain meaningful control

A vendor that cannot explain these issues clearly may face additional friction before a product discussion progresses.

What Role Does Research Integrity Play in Vendor Evaluation?

Research integrity is another increasingly visible factor in library leadership decisions.

Ithaka S+R asked U.S. academic library leaders about priorities involving acquisitions and relationships with publishers and vendors. Thirty-eight percent rated working with publishers and vendors to safeguard research integrity as highly important. Thirty-seven percent gave that rating to acquisition methods that support an equitable publishing ecosystem, while 36% rated working with publishers and vendors to advance open access as highly important.

The percentages differ across institution types. For example, leaders at doctoral institutions were more likely than baccalaureate leaders to rate safeguarding research integrity and equitable acquisition approaches as highly important.

This matters because the same vendor proposition can have different relevance depending on institutional context.

A campaign targeting research-intensive universities may need to address research workflows, scholarly communication, data integrity, interoperability, or responsible AI use. A campaign aimed at smaller institutions may need to emphasize implementation simplicity, staff capacity, affordability, or ease of administration.

Segmentation can make those distinctions possible.

How Is AI Changing What Libraries Expect From Vendors?

AI is creating new opportunities, but current research shows that libraries are approaching implementation cautiously.

Ithaka S+R found that academic library leaders most frequently reported using AI for discovery and access, at 40%, followed by research support services at 29% and internal data analysis at 26%. However, 24% said their library did not use AI tools for internal work or services.

Among libraries not using AI, the leading barriers included lower prioritization relative to other strategies at 50%, limited staff AI skills at 48%, insufficient time or staff capacity at 46%, and ethical or moral opposition to AI at 46%.

Clarivate's 2026 global research provides a complementary perspective. Among libraries evaluating or implementing AI, 72% had established a structured decision-making process, compared with 26% of the overall sample. Fifty-one percent of libraries actively implementing AI reported joint library and institutional IT governance.

These findings suggest that AI-related vendor outreach should address governance and implementation—not simply capability.

A vendor message that explains how a solution fits existing workflows, protects institutional data, supports staff training, and allows appropriate oversight can provide more useful information than a list of AI features.

What Does Library Technology Research Reveal About Vendor Expectations?

Library Technology Guides' 2025 Library Perceptions survey collected 2,531 responses and specifically examined libraries' perceptions of their core technology systems and associated vendors.

The survey emphasizes that libraries make substantial long-term investments in automation products, including implementation, annual support, maintenance, and related services. It also highlights the importance of first-hand experience from other libraries when organizations evaluate technology options.

This is significant for outreach because a vendor conversation does not happen in isolation.

Library leaders can consider:

• Peer experiences

• Product functionality

• Customer support

• Vendor stability

• Implementation requirements

• Migration implications

• Electronic-resource management

• Long-term technology direction

For marketers, that means an effective email should make it easy for a recipient to investigate the claim.

Instead of saying "industry-leading solution," provide a specific use case, relevant documentation, customer evidence, implementation information, or a clear explanation of the problem addressed.

Does the Right Contact Matter as Much as the Message?

Yes, because library purchasing decisions are not necessarily controlled by one universal job title.

Depending on the product, relevant stakeholders could include:

• University librarians

• Library directors

• Associate or assistant directors

• Systems librarians

• Electronic resources librarians

• Collection-development leaders

• Technical services leaders

• Digital scholarship leaders

• Public-library directors

• Technology or IT stakeholders

A Librarian Email List can help marketers establish an initial audience, but job title alone should not be treated as proof of purchasing authority.

For example, a systems librarian may be highly relevant to a technical integration discussion, while a library director may be more involved in strategic or budget decisions. A collection-development leader may be central to a content acquisition conversation.

The practical objective is to connect the right organizational role with the right problem.

That is more precise than sending the same vendor message to every contact associated with the library sector.

How Should Vendors Adapt Outreach to Library Priorities?

Research suggests that library-focused outreach should move from product-first messaging toward priority-first messaging.

Budget-Focused Message

Explain the operational problem, implementation requirements, pricing structure, or potential resource implications clearly.

Privacy-Focused Message

Address data governance, security, user-data handling, and administrative controls.

AI-focused Message

Explain the specific workflow being improved, the role of human oversight, governance options, and staff requirements.

Research-Focused Message

Connect the product to research support, scholarly communication, discovery, metadata, or research-integrity requirements where relevant.

Service-Focused Message

Explain how implementation, training, customer support, migration, and ongoing account management work.

This approach also gives a Librarian Email Database greater strategic value. Instead of using contact data simply to increase campaign volume, marketers can use segmentation to align each audience with a relevant conversation.

What Should Marketers Do Before Contacting Library Leaders?

1. Segment by Library Role and Type

Separate academic, public, national, and other library audiences where appropriate. Within those groups, distinguish leadership, technology, collections, research, and operational roles.

2. Lead With a Documented Problem

Use current research to understand what libraries are dealing with before describing the product.

Budget constraints, AI governance, research integrity, privacy, staff capacity, and technology modernization are not interchangeable concerns.

3. Make the Value Measurable

Whenever possible, explain what changes after implementation: reduced administrative work, improved discovery, simplified workflows, better reporting, stronger data governance, or another concrete outcome.

4. Prepare Evidence Before Sending

Library leaders may investigate vendor claims through peer experiences, product documentation, demonstrations, references, and independent research.

Make those resources easy to access.

5. Keep Contact Data Current

Outdated titles, institutions, or email addresses can undermine otherwise relevant outreach. Contact records should be periodically validated and segmented according to the campaign's actual audience definition.

How Can InfoGlobalData Support Library-Focused Outreach?

For organizations building library-sector campaigns, InfoGlobalData can provide structured contact-data resources that help marketers identify and segment librarian audiences.

The value of a Librarian Email List is not simply the number of contacts available. Its usefulness depends on whether marketers can identify relevant roles, institutions, geographic markets, and other campaign attributes while maintaining appropriate data-quality and compliance processes.

A practical workflow is to use contact data for audience discovery and segmentation, validate important records before major campaigns, and then combine the audience with research about current library priorities.

That keeps the database in its appropriate role: an audience-development resource rather than a substitute for market research.

Key Takeaways From Recent Library Survey Research

Recent research points to several considerations for vendors approaching library leaders:

• Budget matters. Ithaka S+R found that financial resources remain a primary constraint, while 78% of surveyed U.S. academic library leaders expected to cancel at least one journal package in the next licensing cycle.

• Privacy matters. Half of surveyed U.S. academic library leaders expressed concern about third-party access to individual-level user data.

• AI requires governance. Clarivate found that 51% of libraries actively implementing AI had joint library-and-IT governance, compared with 26% of the overall sample.

• Staff productivity is important. Clarivate's 2026 survey found 58% of respondents identified staff productivity as a primary AI objective.

• Research integrity remains part of vendor evaluation. Thirty-eight percent of Ithaka respondents rated working with publishers and vendors to safeguard research integrity as highly important.

• Peer evidence has value. Library Technology Guides' 2025 survey shows the importance of libraries' experiences with technology products and their supporting vendors.

Together, these findings suggest that library outreach should begin with the conditions under which libraries make decisions—not simply the features a vendor wants to promote.

Conclusion

Library leaders are evaluating vendors while managing simultaneous pressures around funding, staffing, technology, privacy, research integrity, and changing user expectations. Recent survey research shows that these factors influence the environment in which vendor conversations take place.

For marketers using a Librarian Email List, the practical lesson is to move beyond broad library-sector messaging. Segment contacts according to relevant roles and institutions, understand the problems facing those audiences, and make the first communication useful enough to justify further investigation.

A well-maintained Librarian Email Database can support that process by helping teams reach relevant professionals, but contact data works best when combined with current market intelligence and evidence-based messaging.

As libraries continue evaluating AI and other technologies, vendors that understand the decision context—and communicate clearly about value, governance, privacy, implementation, and support—will give prospective buyers more useful information at the beginning of the conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Do Library Leaders Prioritize When Evaluating Vendors?

Recent research points to several recurring considerations, including financial constraints, operational value, privacy, research integrity, staff capacity, technology governance, and alignment with institutional priorities. The relative importance varies by library type and institution.

Why Is Budget Important in Library Vendor Outreach?

Ithaka S+R's 2025 U.S. Library Survey found that most library leaders identified insufficient financial resources as their primary constraint on making changes. The same survey found that 78% expected to cancel one or more journal packages in the next licensing cycle.

How Important Is Privacy to Library Leaders?

Privacy is a significant consideration. Half of respondents in Ithaka S+R's 2025 survey expressed concern about third-party vendors or partners having access to individual-level library-user data, the highest share recorded in that survey's historical comparison.

Should Vendors Personalize Emails for Different Librarian Roles?

Role-based segmentation can make outreach more relevant when the role is genuinely connected to the problem being discussed. A systems librarian, collection-development leader, and library director may participate in different parts of a purchasing or evaluation process.

What Should a Vendor Email to Librarians Include?

A useful first email should explain the problem being addressed, why it may be relevant to the recipient's role or library, and what evidence or next step is available. Claims about privacy, AI, cost savings, integrations, or outcomes should be specific and supportable.

How Is AI Affecting Library Vendor Decisions?

AI is becoming increasingly relevant, but adoption remains uneven. Ithaka S+R found that 40% of surveyed U.S. academic library leaders reported using AI for discovery and access, while Clarivate's 2026 global survey found that governance and staff support were associated with deeper AI implementation.

Is a Librarian Email Database Enough to Build an Effective Campaign?

No. Contact data provides the audience foundation, but effective outreach also requires accurate segmentation, current market research, relevant messaging, data validation, and appropriate privacy and email-marketing practices.

How Can Vendors Make Their Library Outreach More Relevant?

Start with the library's likely priority rather than the product's feature set. Segment audiences by library type and professional role, provide evidence for the problem being addressed, explain implementation and governance considerations, and make it easy for recipients to investigate the claim.