Planning to Plan?

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Planning to Plan?

• Montana State Library Training
• Valier Public Library

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What were going to talk about

• Benefits of strategic planning
• Elements and process of strategic planning
  including
• Community input
• Service assessment
• Positioning your library for a sustainable future
• Why are we here this evening?

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What is planning?

• Figuring out how to get from one place to another
• Where do we want to be in the future?
• Where are we now?
• How do we get there from here?
• Planning explains to the community what the
  library is doing

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What are the benefits to planning?

• Set priorities
• Make best use of resources
• Makes decision-making easier
• Keeps everyone on the same page
• Provides accountability
• The library will be better because of planning
• The library improves for the patron because of
  planning

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Elements of the Planning Process
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Input Community Check-in

• Gather existing information
• Census, statistics, published studies, existing
  plans
• Get input from everyone library staff and
  community members
• Ongoing dialog
• Interviews and surveys
• Focus groups
• Be transparent share what you learn!

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How does the community see itself?

• Some good questions to ask your community
  members
• Why do you/did you choose to live here?
• What makes this community a great place to live?
  What are its assets?
• What do you want for your kids future?
• Where do you see the community going?

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Leadership Opportunity

• Vision What does the library stand for?
• Mission What does the library do to make the
  vision happen?
• Statements should be
• About the patrons
• About the future
• Something for the library to accomplish
• Written in natural language

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Keep your values in mind

• Integrity
• Communication
• Respect
• Excellence

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What needs to be done?

• Use input, analysis and assessments to make
  decisions
• Community SWOT analysis
• Community services assessment
• Is someone already doing it?
• Library services assessment

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Library services assessment

• How many different people are using the library?
  What is it being used for?
• What programs and services are offered?
• Where is the highest demand for services,
  collections, technology, hours, resources,
  facilities? Where is the lowest demand?
• Where are the librarys strengths?

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Decision time

• Modify what you do and prioritize
• What will you
• Keep
• Change
• Grow or expand
• Discontinue

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Realigning the library for the future

• Preserve what needs to be preserved and move
  forward
• Remember to
• Stay aligned with communitys vision of where it
  wants to go
• Build on what youre good at
• Stick with your guiding principles

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Tasks and Activities

• This is the part of the plan where
• all players get to shine
• Specific goals and objectives can be identified
• For example
• Pick three important projects that the library
  needs to accomplish to achieve the mission and
  vision.

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Project Management

• For each project
• Set timeline
• Allocate resources
• List activities in support of goals
• Evaluate your progress
• Do you need
• New tools?
• New funding sources?
• New language for talking about what you do?

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The rest is easy
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Reality Check

• Assess sustainability
• Is what youre doing important?
• How will you keep doing it?
• Remember, its not about the library
• its about the community

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Back to square one
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Ready to Get Started?

• Meetings and Processes
• How many meetings?
• Planning for Results
• Things you can do right now and always!
• Service assessments
• Community input

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Questions?