The Galecia Group, 2000–2026
For 26 years, Galecia helped public libraries plan, buy and run the technology that moves their collections: automated materials handling, RFID, delivery and the workflows around them, plus the websites and data tools that serve their communities.
Lori Bowen Ayre founded the firm in 2000 and retired from consulting in 2026. Her partner, Jim Craner, continues to provide AI consulting and training for libraries at PLAID3. This site keeps the record of the work: 92 client projects, 13 publications, 61 presentations and 315 blog posts.
- Fulfillment: The Future of Library Delivery
- Library Delivery 2.0
- Using Webcasting for Public Programs
- Introduction to RFID
- RFID in Context - Libraries Won't be Walmarts
- RFID: Time To Jump Yet?
- Library Association Website Redesign and Technology Refresh
- Library Consortium Website Redesign
- Library Website Redesign
- Website Migration and Redevelopment
- Resource Sharing & Library Delivery Services
- Delivery 2.0: By Any Means Necessary
- Library Automated Materials Handling and RFID Consultation
- Library Materials Handling and Delivery Consultation
- Think Fulfillment: Planning For Your Users' Future Delivery Needs Today
- Transforming Your Library With Technology - ALA Presentation
- The Extensible Library: Library 2.0 and Patron 2.0: The Public Library Perspective
- The Synaptic Library
- Privacy Issues: RFID, Patron Holds, RSS Feeds, Personalized Reading Lists, Etc.
- Law Library Public Access Computing Consultation
- Statewide Library Project Website Development
- Library Consortium Resource-Sharing and Delivery Consultation
- Library Delivery 2.0: Delivering Library Materials in the Age of NetFlix
- Library Public Access Computing Evaluation
- Cost-Benefit Analysis of Library Sorters
- Library Materials Handling and RFID Analysis
- Statewide Library Delivery and Sort Consultation
- Library Service Organization Technology Consultations
- Library System Software Requirements and Specifications Development
- State Library Grant Implementation - Gates Foundation Public Access Computer Hardware Upgrade Program
- Why Libraries Should be Considering Open Source
- Library Consortium Delivery Service Consultation
- Library Consortium Delivery Service Consultation
- Library Consortium Home Delivery Pilot
- Label-Less Library Logistics: Implementing Labor-Saving Practices in Massachusetts' High-Volume Resource Sharing System
- Library Automated Materials Handling and RFID Consultation
- Statewide Library Delivery Automated Materials Handling Consultation and Procurement
- Facilitation of Library Tech Summit
- ILS Marketplace - What's Up?
- Library Consortium Website Development and Service Development Consultation
- Library Technology Consultation (Windows, SaaS, Linux and Virtual Servers)
- Open Source - Open Libraries Update
- State Library Project Website Development, Hosting and Support
- The Ladies That Changed The World
- The Open Source ILS: Why So Many Are Choosing Koha or Evergreen and How To Include Them in Your Next Procurement
- White Paper: Why Sharing a Library System Makes Sense
- Materials Handling Automation to Reduce Operating Costs
- Statewide Library Delivery Analysis and Recommendations
- Top Tech Trends in Materials Handling
- Top Tech Trends in Materials Handling (Back in Circulation Conference)
- Holding Your Vendor's Feet to the Fire
- Open Source and RFID Update
- RFID and the Metric Systems: Lessons to be Learned
- RFID in Libraries: A Step Toward Interoperability
- Application Development
- Library Collaboration - Califa E-Books Project
- Library Consortium Open Source Library System Evaluation and Selection
- Library Consortium Shared Library System Procurement
- Open Source Consultation and IMLS Grant Development and Implementation
- Open Source Resource-Sharing in California
- Statewide Library Virtual Catalog System Procurement
- Library Materials Handling Evaluation Related to Branch Remodels
- Library RFID and Materials Handling Consultation
- RFID: What is it? Where is it going? Is it right for your library?
- State-of-the-Art Solutions and the Future of Delivery
- RFP Development – Iterative, Collaborative and Empowering
- Finding Library Solutions in Adjacent Industries
- LCF – Collaborating Internationally to Leap Forward
- Library RFID Procurement
- RFID, GPS, and 3G - Radio Wave Technologies and Privacy
- Library Collaboration - Open Source - Open Libraries Project
- Whose Job is it Anyway?
- The Golden Ratio and Community
- Leaning Your Library's Material Handling Workflows
- Library Materials Handling Consultation
- Library Materials Handling Evaluation
- Library RFID, AMH, and Patron Experience Consultation
- The Skinny on RFID and Automated Materials Handling in Libraries
- Top Trends and Libraries - 2015 is our Year
- Using Technology to Increase Community Engagement
- Keys to Self Service Success
- Library Collaboration - Free E-Books Project
- Library Integrated Library System Procurement
- Radicalize Your Catalog with Ebooks Your Patrons Can Keep Forever
- Software Development - Library Conference Crowdsourcing Platform
- Library Consortium Resource-Sharing Software Consultation
- On Creating a Public Library Consortium
- Optimizing Materials Handling on the Cheap: How to Lean your Workflow
- Library Automated Materials Handling (AMH) Consultation
- Library Materials Handling Consultation and RFID/AMH Procurement
- Library Materials Handling, RFID, and AMH Consultation
- Library RFID and Materials Handling Consultation and Procurement
- Core Working Group Member, 2015 NISO Privacy Principles
- MARC Isn't Dying Fast Enough
- Liberated From the Circulation Desk - Now What?
- Location, Location, Location - Putting Your Library On the Map
- Next Generation Library System Procurement
- Software Development - Bookpoints - Summer Reading Program Development Platform
- Do More With More
- Library Consortium Central Sorter Automated Materials Handing System Consultation
- Library Consortium RFID and Automated Materials Handling Consultation
- Library RFID and Self-Service Consultation
- From Transact to Transform: Seizing the Opportunity of an RFID Implementation
- The Impact of Information Technology on Public Libraries
- Where Does This Book Belong? Let the Patron Decide.
- Everyone Deserves a Badge!
- Website Development - Chicago Ancestors - Online Historical Resource Mapping
- Who's Out There? The Power of Spatial Data
- The Holy Grail of Library Automation: The Shared Library System
- Library Automated Materials Handling (AMH) and RFID Consultation
- Library Automated Materials Handling (AMH) Consultation
- Library Automated Materials Handling and RFID Consultation and Procurement
- Library Automated Materials Handling Consultation and Procurement
- Library Consortium Feasibility Analysis and Procurement for Central Automated Materials Handling
- Leveraging Our Trust: Taking Action in Support of our Democracy
- Protecting Patron Privacy: Vendors, Libraries, and Patrons Each Have a Role to Play
- Library Consortium Environmental and Organizational Assessment and Strategic Planning Consultation
- Library Consortium Environmental and Organizational Assessment and Strategic Planning Consultation
- Library IT Technology Plan
- Software Development for Library Service Organization Consult (Website, CRM, and Event Management)
- Website Development - Atlas of Historical County Borders
- You Can't Be Serious
- Library Materials Handling Consultation, Team Building and Leadership Development Workshops
- Library Materials Handling Strategy Analysis
- Algorithms: Avoiding the Implementation of Institutional Biases
- What we can learn from Wikipedia; Why we should jump on board
- "Faith in the City" Digital Mapping Project
- Library Resource-Sharing and Physical Delivery Consultation
- Palo Alto Automated Materials Handling and Self-Check Consultation for Palo Alto City Library
- Re-envisioning Materials Handling at Multnomah County Library
- RFID and AMH Consultation with Regina Public Library (Saskatechewan)
- Santa Clara County Library District Automated Materials Handling Replacement Project
- Seattle Public Library Automated Materials Handling Consultation
- Bookpoints - Library Summer Reading Program
Every project, publication and presentation, shelved by year. Thick spines are client projects; thin ones are publications and talks.
- Materials handling 54
- RFID & self-service 22
- Workflow & delivery 22
- Systems, web & data 54
- Other 14
LibraryCall is still running
Galecia launched LibraryCall during the pandemic to reach patrons without broadband. It continues as its own service, running Dial-A-Story lines, storytime by phone and community information hotlines for libraries.
What Lori worked on
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Automated materials handling
Sorters, conveyors and the back rooms around them: needs assessments, specifications, procurement and cost-benefit analysis for library systems large and small.
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RFID and self-service
Tag standards, vendor selection and conversion planning, with an eye on patron privacy. The RFID primer covers the basics.
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Workflow and delivery
How materials move between branches and consortia: delivery studies, staffing scenarios and leaner processes, with or without new technology.
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Systems, web and data
Open-source library systems, websites, data tools and civic technology. Jim Craner led this work from 2010 on.
AI training at PLAID3
Jim Craner, Lori's partner at Galecia, consults and trains public libraries on AI: custom workshops, a privacy-first AI literacy platform for patrons, and free webinars.
The Galecia Group archive
- Projects
- 92 client engagements, 2001–2025, many with reports and files.
- Publications
- 13 articles and reports, 2015–2021, on privacy, materials handling, open source and civic tech.
- Presentations
- 61 conference talks and webinars, 2004–2018, most with slides.
- Blog
- 315 posts, 2003–2024, kept as they were written.