By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
Bob Engen of Caledonia and Karen Folstad of Spring Grove announced last week that E.F. Library Services, LLC of Spring Grove has acquired the assets of Savia Library Services, which has offices in downtown Caledonia and Topeka, Kan. According to a press release issued by Engen and Folstad, the 11 Caledonia employees, and the four in Topeka will retain their current positions.
“The library service business has been pretty stable. But the parent company (Follett Library Resources of McHenry, Ill.) that had acquired the library and bindery services (from what was originally Winnebago Software) decided the profit margins were too small. So they were either going to sell that portion of the business or shut it down,” Engen explained last Thursday.
“Karen and I felt the library division was still offering viable services, has good employees, and decided to purchase Savia Library Services.”
The software company, which was originally known as Winnebago Software, has seen many changes during the past 20-some years, according to Engen. Engen went to work for Winnebago Software in 1985 as a computer programer. He worked as a technical coordinator, in the sales department, was promoted to vice president, president, and CEO of the company. When Engen joined Winnebago Software, there were five employees. By 1997, when Engen left, there were 400 persons working with the Caledonia-based company.
Folstad was hired in 1988 to work in the data conversion division on Winnebago Software. She later headed up the library service department.
When asked, in layman’s terms, what library services actually are, Engen chuckled and replied, “I have been asked that question many times.
“When a library buys a book from a publishing company, they want more than just the physical book for their patrons to read,” Engen explained. “There is a lot of information they want to put into their system about the book. Things like the sub heading, title, author, notations, and subject matter. Somehow, all of this information has to be accessed in an easy, fast way.”
A software program was developed to provide this information, along with producing a bar code so that when books were sent out, the publishing company knew how many books were sold, and where they were sold.
“Every time a book was sold, the software would process the U.S. Mark Record,” Engen continued. “We didn’t physically handle the books, but helped provide all the data for the books. It was a niche, and one that was quite successful.”
During the past decade, Winnebago Software has gone through many changes, had various names, and owners. Names such as Sagebrush, Tandem, and Savia all replaced the original name. But, according to Engen, most folks in the business still referred to the software, and the company that produced it, as Winnebago.
Folstad remained in the library services division up until two years ago, when she and Engen created EF Library Services LLC in Spring Grove. They now employ three people in Spring Grove, and plan to keep both facilities open in Houston County, plus the Topeka location.
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