FINAL Script for Strategic Planning and Project Management

Strategic Planning and Project Management

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Welcome to Library Directors 101, brought to you by COSLA, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, an independent organization of the chief officers of state and territorial agencies designated as the state library administrative agency and responsible for statewide library development. COSLA's CE (Continuing Education) Connector project is supported through funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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There are four videos in this series. In this session on Planning, we discuss how strategic planning and project management are necessary for a successfully run library.

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This webinar will enable the learner to:

ü List the essential steps involved in a strategic planning

ü Identify the benefits of strategic planning

ü Understand tools for successful project management

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Introduction

Strategic planning is a deliberate effort to assess, engage, and address the needs of your community. Every library must have a strategic plan. Your first step is to discover if your library has one. If it does, read it and ask questions of your library board or other leaders to find out how it was developed, implemented, updated, and whether there has been an evaluation of the plan to discover the gaps between what services the library provides and what the community most needs.

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Project management can be viewed as the implementation phase of the strategic plan. It is the nuts and bolts of planning for and implementing activities which will fulfill the vision of the strategic plan.

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As a public library director, you will be using both of these planning strategies. Planning and implementation are ongoing processes. They require flexibility, adaptability, and a willingness to take risks. The important idea to focus on is “what is the community need and how can the library help address that need.” Remember, the library should also be working with other partners to strengthen and build the community. Explore the resources included with this session to learn more.

Several of the quotes and definitions we’ll be giving you in this webinar come from the business world. They relate very closely to the type of planning libraries are doing in the 21st century, especially as libraries try to anticipate users’ needs and maintain relevance in the community.

Let’s jump right into our discussion of strategic planning with a definition from the Business Dictionary.

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PART ONE: THE STRATEGIC PLAN

1. What is Strategic Planning?

According to BusinessDictionary.com, strategic planning is “a systematic process of envisioning a desired future, and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them. Strategic planning begins with the desired-end and works backward to the current status.” [http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/strategic-planning.html]

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The WebJunction Competency Index for the Library Field defines strategic planning as “the collaborative and deliberate planning to ensure that library services are responsive to community needs.” WebJunction also lists three main components of successful strategic planning, in which the power(s)-that-be:

· Designs and implements an ongoing strategic planning process for the library

· Performs ongoing evaluation to gauge the success of the strategic plan

· Collaborates with IT to create and implement an ongoing technology planning process that integrates with the strategic plan

Note the WebJunction definition assumes technology will be a part of your strategic plan. As your library users become more and more “digital natives,” it is imperative that your library meets their technological needs.

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2. Why is Strategic Planning Important?

Strategic planning helps to unify your staff around a common goal of quality library service, and in so doing, frees individual staff members to create programs and initiatives that help the library reach that goal.

According to PLA’s Strategic Planning for Results, “In libraries that do not have current strategic plans . . . There are no clear priorities and no agreed-upon measures of success. In the absence of agreed-upon priorities, staff compete for available resources, rather than collaborating to provide services” (Nelson, par. 2, p. 4).

Strategic planning puts your staff on the same page and gives them a common idea of how success will be measured. It also involves developing vision, mission and outside-of-the-box thinking.

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Strategic planning enables the library director to:

· Document community needs for library services and programs

· Create a blueprint for meeting those needs

· Communicate needs to budget authorities

· Meet state or federal requirements

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3. Defining the Strategic Planning Process

Step 1. Review the trends in library services and assess the needs of the community

Before you start planning, you should be aware of what is going on in the library world and of where your library fits into that picture. Current library trends include: the transition from physical to virtual library resources, changing the library’s focus from individual users to the fostering of a library community, moving from the tradition of housing collections to building a supportive environment for creation, and viewing the library not only as a portal to the world but also as a community archive.

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In order for libraries to remain relevant and vibrant in the 21st century, their leaders need to evaluate the library experience, embrace new information technologies, experiment with creative spaces, and preserve the community’s memories.

Consider the following questions when evaluating current library services.

· What are your services and resources?

· What do you do really well and what do you need to improve upon?

· What are you doing only because you’ve always done it?

· Where does your library fit in the ALA Standards and Guidelines?

· Who makes up your community? Are these people in the library? If not, why?

· What are your community strengths and weakness that relate to your library’s vision?

There are many different vision statements, mission statements, and core values to chart the course for your library. The most important thing is the message; the format is secondary. We hope these suggestions will be a good starting point and that the examples will provide inspiration.

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Step 2. Define the Desired Vision

After understanding your library’s current environment and impact, you can begin to formulate a plan for where you want your library system to be.

A vision statement will help you communicate your library’s goals to staff, the board and the community in a single sentence or a few concise paragraphs. It may take a few days or weeks to create a well-thought-out statement; however, the result will be a tool that helps inspire strategic decision making for the library. The vision will:

· Reflect the core values of the library

· Reflect the qualities that make the library unique

· Communicate what the library stands for, where it’s going and why

· Strike a chord in people

· Communicate the future goal as already achieved

SLIDE 14Here is a vision statement from the Villa Park Public Library in Illinois:

Villa Park Public Library Vision Statement

The Library will provide and promote a diverse assortment of cultural, educational, and recreational services to a continually changing community. The Library will have a facility to accommodate these services as well as expanding collections and evolving technologies.

The Library will provide well-compensated, educated, and motivated staff members who aspire to the highest level of customer service and ethical standards. To fulfill the Library’s mission, the Library will also develop strong relationships with community volunteers and organizations.

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Here is a very forward-thinking vision statement from the University of Chicago Library:

Library Vision

As a center of intense intellectual inquiry, the University of Chicago Library shares with the University the aspiration to be the most dynamic learning environment in the world.

In this desired future, the Library ensures that its collections remain forward-looking, diverse in breadth and form, open to browsing, and of world-renowned quality. Through promotion, the Library makes people aware of the resources available to them, and through innovation, it makes access to these resources easier. The Library’s creation of an integrated, seamless web of information further streamlines access. To serve future users, the Library preserves information across all formats and ensures effective storage and delivery systems. The Library’s physical and virtual spaces respond to the changing habits of its users to enrich the campus experience and to multiply the ways in which people can pursue inquiry. The Library’s collaboration with expanding circles of partners yields unified access, broadening knowledge, and enhanced services.

The Library continues to embrace change and align itself to thrive on diversity, to support professional growth and opportunity, and to reward flexibility and innovation.

This statement was written in 2004. Note that even though 11 years have passed since then, the vision statement is broad enough that it is still relevant.

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Step 3. Develop the Mission

The mission will state the purpose of the library, its reason for existing, the core purpose and focus that will remain unchanged over time.

Mission statements serve as filters to separate what is important from what is not, clearly state who will be served and how, and communicate a sense of direction.

The mission statement will guide the actions of the library, define its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. Some library systems combine their mission statements with their goals or include their steps to achieving their goals within the mission statement. Make your mission statement easily accessible to your staff so that they can read and use it.

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Let’s look at this sample mission statement:

Yourtown residents will have access to innovative library services, delivered in an efficient and effective manner, that will

· Assist everyone to continue to grow and learn throughout their lives

· Provide the materials, program, & services needed to meet their recreational needs

· Develop their ability to find & use information in a variety of formats

· Provide the information services needed to answer their questions

· Enable people to explore their personal heritage

http://www.nypl.org/help/about-nypl/mission NYPL’s mission statement

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Step 4. Identify the Service Goals, Strategies and Activities

This part of your plan helps direct and motivate your staff to complete specific activities that fulfil the vision and mission of your library.

A goal is the outcome an identified target group will receive as a result of your program or service. Note that the focus should always be on the community members—the people you serve NOT the library), for example: Foster a love of reading in children

A strategy is how the library will implement the goal, e.g. Summer reading programs, Pre-school story times, Infant Lap-sit programs…

Activities are specific actions taken to achieve the objectives and goals, e.g. Contact schools, get SRP manual, get craft supplies, find speakers, find sponsors for prizes…

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Step 5. The Process

Now that we have reviewed the elements of the Strategic Plan, here is a recommended process for developing the plan.

1. Involve your staff through exercises such as S.W.O.T. (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat Assessment) where there is open and honest communication about the current state of the library.

2. Identify some key areas that need to be developed as well as opportunities that the library needs to take advantage of.

3. Write the plan, make sure to have others review and edit for constructive criticism.

4. Present to your Board or City Council for approval.

5. Implement the plan using goals, strategies, and activities.

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Tools for Strategic Planning

Here are some tools that might be helpful in your strategic planning process

· Annual calendar from your library, as well as past calendars to help you get a feel for what your library’s normal cycles are.

· E-Rate manual/information (you can get a lot of info from http://www.usac.org/default.aspx)

· Your state’s LSTA manual (along with this helpful video on grant applications: http://www.shapingoutcomes.org/)

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Planning can help you manage the following issues that may be critical in your role as library director.

· Deadlines

o E-Rate

o LSTA Grants

o Annual Statistical Report

o Collaborative Summer Library Program ordering (for children’s librarians)

· Board meetings

o Information you are expected to provide

o Decisions that require board approval (such as acquisitions and new hires)

o Building your schedule around these meetings

· Financial issues

o Budget request due dates

o Budget items due to board

o Library audit

· Legislative Season

o State library association events

o Asking for money/etc. from your legislators, following bills, writing letters, sending in quotes from staff and patrons

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PART TWO: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management is a part of daily life, whether you are working on plans that are a part of your strategic plan, developing library events, or implementing library programming.

1. What is Project Management?

Project management is the process of managingpeople, resources and time. Good communication is essential throughout the project life cycle. The Webjunction Compentency Index for the Library Field 2014 lists three main components of successful project management, in which the project leader:

· Employs sound project management principles and procedures in the planning and implementation of programs and services.

· Leads work teams with clear direction and effective communication.

· Monitors and evaluates projects and adapts as needed.

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2. Tips and Tools for Successful Project Management

Communication, team building, planning, collaboration, and evaluation are all essential for successful project management.
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You need to communicate with your team, clarify and check for understanding, and follow-up to ensure project goals are met.

Tips:

· Make a point to communicate with each team member on a regular basis in a respectful manner.

· Listen to your team’s ideas and together evaluate the value of each idea. Never discredit any idea. Get your team into the habit of measuring ideas against the goal/mission of the library.