In a digital era, the local public library might seem like a passé, irrelevant relic of yesteryear.
Kelly Hiser, CEO and co-founder of Madison-based tech startup company Rabble, begs to differ.
“Public libraries are actually in this intensely vibrant period,” said Hiser, who earned a doctorate in musicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rabble, she said, was founded on the premise that arts and humanities can work in tandem toward a greater public good.
Hiser founded Rabble in 2014 with co-founder Preston Austin, who serves as the company’s technical architect.
The overarching philosophy behind Rabble is displayed through its marquee product, MUSICat, which is an open source platform linking public libraries with digital music publishers.
Rabble touts MUSICat as a new, innovative way of sharing local content online. Patrons of a subscribing library’s service are not held to the traditional constraints of holds, returns or borrowing limits that come with taking out a physical item from a library’s collection.
Although comparisons are inevitable, Hiser said MUSICat is different from such services as Spotify because of the principles guiding the product.
Hiser said the software developed for MUSICat is designed to support local creative communities, support artists, protect user privacy and bring 21st Century tools into librarians’ hands.
As of early 2018, Rabble has forged partnerships with seven large library systems in disparate cities and counties in the U.S. and Canada — and more are expected to go online as this year unfolds.
“We have several pretty exciting cities joining us,” Hiser said. “We’re gaining some real traction this year, and we like where we’re heading.”
Hiser declined to name the additional library systems joining MUSICat since formal announcements have yet to be made. However, she said contracts with three libraries have been signed, and the new partners are expected to go online this summer or fall.
In addition to the company’s home base in Madison, libraries currently participating in the service are located in Edmonton (Alberta), Hennepin County (Minnesota), Multnomah County (Oregon), Nashville, Salt Lake City and Seattle.
While there is a base platform for MUSICat, the service also is highly customizable, Hiser said, in a nod to the unique characteristics from one community to the next. Each library holds its own licensing rights, which determines the breadth and depth of the music library available to patrons.
In keeping with this philosophy, Rabble has designed MUSICat in such a way that libraries can market the service with their own individual branding.
In Nashville, for instance, the digital product is known as Boom Box. Users in Madison, meanwhile, subscribe to the Yahara Music Library.
While libraries ultimately hold the keys to the decision-making of how the service is carried out, Hiser said Rabble’s team in Madison also is available to help with back-end support.
“We work very closely with the libraries who use our platform,” Hiser said.
As 2018 progresses, Hiser and her team also anticipate taking the service even wider as a new off-shot product, MUSICat Chorus, is introduced to the digital marketplace for libraries in rural communities and small towns.
The smaller-scale product is in the midst of a Beta launch, and Hiser said Rabble is seeking 20 partner libraries for MUSICat Chorus in anticipation of a fall unveiling. A two-month discount is offered to the would-be partners as an incentive.
The boundless potential of MUSICat and MUSICat Chorus is music to Hiser’s ears — and, she hopes, eventually to listeners all across the globe.
“Talent knows no geographical bounds,” Hiser said. “We can’t wait to hear the collections that thousands of amazing libraries serving smaller communities around the world put together.”
