21st Century Library Strategic Plan – Organization

 
If you noticed in the Major Components of a Strategic Plan diagram, Goals begins the multiplicity and development of as many elements as you need to accomplish your Mission. Therefore, numbering becomes helpful in keeping track of what Goals and what Objectives go together, primarily because it is easier to make a matrix of Activities and Resources for Resource Allocation by simply using the numbers.

AND, (for you trainers in the profession) it also provides an easy way to accumulate topics to be included in your staff training program. That was the “relevant point” used in the Example in the Post of August 10 on “Activities”. In any Strategic Plan there will be numerous Activities that are related to training. By simply accumulating those Activities, the content of your training program is largely complete. Remember, if it doesn’t contribute to the Mission, the library shouldn’t be doing it. Often times the training program tends to take on a life of its own regardless of the Mission or Strategic Plan, which can drain limited resources.

The generally accepted organization of a Strategic Plan is similar to this template outlined below. Obviously, many Plans exclude the word Statement after Mission and Vision, and there are certainly more eloquent words that can be substituted to make your Strategic Plan as unique as your library. Just remember your audience! (And don’t hesitate to browse around to find a format that you really like and can adapt for your library.)

EXAMPLE:

IV. Goals –

Realizing that the Goals area is where you use the Forecast information to shape “realistic and achievable” Goals, they should include everything that you want to accomplish in order to be what you want to be. Forecast should be included in the Appendices section.

Goal #1 – Improve customer service. (Remember that 21st Century Libraries try to break the stereotype of libraries that once served “patrons”.)
Goal #2 – Effectively use volunteers. (In these times of shrinking resources, this is a highly realistic goal.)
Goal #X - (However many goals you reasonably need to achieve the Mission you have framed.)

V. Objectives –

Goal #1 – Improve customer service.
Objective #O1.1 – Open the doors to the library on time every day
Objective #O1.2 – Always greet every customer with a verbal greeting and ask if you may help them.
Objective #O1.3 – Regularly observe customers and offer assistance to any who appear to be lost, undecided or confused, without being intrusive.

Goal #2 – Effectively use volunteers.
Objective #O2.1 – Recruit undergraduate students from Xxxxx University to become volunteers in the Library.
Objective #O2.2 – Provide a 1 week training program for the volunteers that covers;
  a) library policies and procedures, and
  b) how to properly shelve materials.
Objective #O2.3 – Evaluate volunteers’ performance at least quarterly.
Objective #O2.4 – Conduct an annual appreciation event for all volunteers.

Goal #X –       .
Objective #OX.1 -
Objective #OX.2 -
Objective #OX.x –

(The public version of the Strategic Plan would normally end after the Objectives. It is generally unnecessary to publish for the public the library’s Activities, Measures and Outcomes. These are for internal use to determine how to and whether Objectives are achieved.)

Activities –

Goal #1 – Improve customer service.
Objective #O1.1 – Open the doors to the library on time every day.
  Activity #A1.1.1 – Schedule at least one employee with library opening authority to be on-duty prior to opening time every day.
  Activity #A1.1.2 – Develop opening procedures checklist to ensure the library is ready for customers everyday.
  Activity #A1.1.3 – Include opening procedures training in supervisory staff training program.

Goal #2 – Effectively use volunteers.
Objective #O1.2 – Always greet every customer with a verbal greeting and ask if you may help them.
  Activity #A1.2.1 – Include “Library Greeting” guidelines in employee handbook.
  Activity #A1.2.2 – Include “Library Greeting” training in staff training program.

Goal #X –       .
Objective #OX.x –
  Activity #AX.x.x –

VII. Measures and Outcomes –

GOAL #1 – Improve customer service.
Objective #O1.1 – Open the doors to the library on time every day.
  Activity #A1.1.1 – Schedule at least one employee with library opening authority to be on-duty prior to opening time every day.

Measure #M1.1.1.1 – Never fail to open the library on time. (I think everyone could agree that this Measure is in fact a Pass-Fail type of Measure, which is to say that they can be appropriate in some cases.)
  Outcome #OC1.1.1.1 – Never a customer complaint about the library not opening on time. (While quantifiable – equal to 100% – this would be the time to evaluate whether or not it is “achievable”, and at what cost. YET ANOTHER excellent reason to include Activities in the Strategic Plan, because you sometimes can not determine what the impact of an Objective will be until you get to the Measure & Outcome development stage, or even to the final Resource Allocation stage.)
Measure #M1.1.1.2 – Never a last minute scramble to find an employee to open the library on time.
  Outcome #OC1.1.1.2 – Never a customer complaint about the library not opening on time. (It is not uncommon to have Outcomes that are the same or very similar for similar Activities or Measures.)

Objective #O2.x –
  Activity #A2.x.1 –

  Activity #A2.x.2 –

VIII. Resource Allocation –
Resource Allocation has been accomplished in both broad category Allocation (Appendix B.), based on Operating Resources Required by category, Timeframe by recurring or non-recurring, and Resource Acquisition Strategy by existing or new source. A more detailed Resource Allocation (Appendix C.) was accomplished to identify specific budget line items of funds and/or manpower to determine whether adequate resources exist. (Charts work well to accommodate the large amounts of information from the Strategic Plan.)

[University of Illinois Foundation, January 6, 2006]

IX. Appendices –
Appendix A. – Forecast Statement
Appendix B. – Broad Category Resource Allocation Chart
Appendix C. – Detailed Resource Allocation Chart.
Appendix D. – Measures Collection Chart
Appendix E. – Outcomes Evaluation Matrix
(The Appendices section would include everything that is worth including but doesn’t fit within the structure of the Plan outline. This may include the Community Needs Assessment, Partnership relationships, Additional sources of funding, etc.)

IDEAL VS. REALISTIC

Ideally, a library’s Strategic Plan should not be encumbered by outside requirements, but realistically some states require libraries to be certified to receive state funding, and therefore require certain areas be address in their Strategic Plan in an effort to ensure that the library is meeting established levels of services to their community.

The Plan may be required to include such areas as:

A review of goals and objectives for the previous year
Goals and objectives for the next 3 years
A Technology component or a Technology Plan
Public Relations / Marketing Activities
Activities for the Board of Trustees to be active advocates for their library
Outreach to special/underserved populations
Provision for collection analysis
Plans for future growth
Plans for grant applications and expectations of grant use

Also, many communities have developed a community-wide Strategic Plan that encompasses all departments of the government, and therefore a library will probably need to incorporate elements of their community’s Plan that influences their own Plan – such as the Vision or Values. This is just one of those external factors with which every organization deals.

CONCLUSION:

There are as many styles and forms of a Strategic Plan as there are libraries. Finding one that works for you is important, because your Plan should be something that you will use, and that will benefit your library from the significant amount of work that went into developing it. Conducting Community Needs Assessment and Community Vision Workshops are monumental efforts which should be capitalized upon to make the best 21st Century library yours can become.

More to come…………………
Next up: Why Develop a Strategic Plan?