Top 7 Strategic Plan Goals for Public Libraries

Stephen Abram, MLSEducation Institute WebinarFeb. 28, 2013

Every Day in every way libraries are throwing pebbles

It’s simple really, shift happens, gedoverit

• Users & Communities will continue to be diverse in the extreme• Expectations around timeliness will increase• We will have a foot in both camps for many, many years to come: digital

and physical• Content will (is already) be dominated by non-text (gamification, 3D,

visual, music, video, audio, etc.)• Search will explode with options and one-step, one box search is for

dummies• The single purpose anchored device is dead as a target environment• Devices will focus on social, collaboration, sharing, multimedia, creation

and successful library strategies will align with that• Librarians will need to focus primarily on professional service(s) and

strategic alignment (reduced roles in organizing knowledge and step&fetchit politeness) . . . Service Professionals NOT Servants

• E-Learning, collections and metadata will go to the cloud massively

Library MegatrendsIt doesn’t take a genius to see librarian skills and competencies applied to the trends and issues in library communities in very strategic ways.

Public Libraries

• Recommendations (Bibliocommons, LibraryThing for Libraries / Book Psychic) • Community Glue• Economic Impact and VALUE studies• Programs on steroids aligned with collections and space• Bi-directional Partnerships• Education and Learning – REALLY committing to learning and credits / diplomas / certificates• A volatile supplier space• Renewed advocacy moves to Influencing and selling

Consortia

• Consortia• CRKN, OCUL, TAL, CULC, Readers First, etc.• Dealing with the small town mindset• OCLC Linked Data, RDA and global metadata strategies• DPLA• Library Renewal• EveryLibrary Advocacy PAC• 3M e-books (CALIFA / Douglas County initiatives)• Dark literature, orphan works, etc.• Cloud initiatives

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/11/ratcat.jpg

Deer in headlamps slide here.

http://weibel-lines.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/10/26/photo.jpg

Libraries core skill is not delivering information

Libraries improve the quality of the question

and the user experience

Libraries are about learning and building communities

Libraries Have Seasons

Librarian Magic

SmellyYellowLiquid

OrSex

Appeal?

The Complex Value Proposition

•What are your goals?

•What are their goals?

•Is there a difference?

What are the goals?

NounsBooks, eBooksMagazinesWebsitesBuildings, BranchesRoomsDesksProgramsNouns can be warehoused and ‘cut’

VerbsServeAnswerEngageLinkEntertainTell a storyDoAction verbs imply dynamism and impact

Are you locked into an old library mindset?

A Verb . . . an Experience, enlivened for an audience

A Noun . . . A foundation but not sufficient with professional animation

Retail Sales Down?

Teen Reading Down?

Titles Down?

Circulation Down?

Reading Down?

NO

NO

NO

NO

NO

Focus on the REAL IssuesNot BOOKS! The experience

Grocery Stores

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Cookbooks, Chefs . . .

Meals

So What Should Your Public Library Priorities Be?

1. Community Focus?Or Engagement?Up Your Game• Know your local community demographics• Focus on needs assessment and social assessments• Prioritize: Love all, Serve all, Save the World means nothing

gets done• Priorities are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable,

Relevant, & Time bound• Look for partnerships that add value

AmazonChapters/IndigoBarnes & NobleBN BookBrowser

BordersSuggestica

Inside a Dog (teens)MySpace BooksBooks We Like

OCLC's FictionFinderAll ConsumingLibraryThingNext Favorite

StoryCodeRating Zone

Hypatia and AlexLitWhichBook.netAllReaders.comReader's Robot

gnooks

2. Programs --- More, more, moreUp Your Game• Align with Collections – every collection must be justified by

programs• Force strategic investment budgeting• Look for partnerships that add value• Don’t go it alone. Focus on large scale sustainable programs• Connect to the longer process not just events• Virtual and in-person• In the Library and reaching out with partners

What are the real issues?

• Craft versus Industrial Strength• Personal service only when there’s impact• Pilot, Project, Initiative versus Portfolio Strategy• Hand-knitted prototypes versus Production• e.g. Information Literacy initiatives• Discovery versus Search versus Deep Search• eLearning units and program dissemination • Citation and information ethics• Content and repository archipelagos

• Strategic Analytics• Value & Impact Measures• Behaviours, Satisfaction• Economic and strategic alignment

3. Experience PortalsThe Virtual ‘Branch’Up Your Game• Align with Collections – But add virtual experiences• Look for partnerships that add value• Ensure the program delivery person is embedded including

librarians• What are your top 20 question domains? Start there.• Don’t go it alone. Build scalability and sustainability.• Look for replicability – every neighbourhood

The new bibliography and

collection development

Ask Us, KNOWLEDGE

PORTALSKNOWLEDGE,

LEARNING,INFORMATION &

RESEARCHCOMMONS

4. Learning StrategiesUp Your Game• Start offering diplomas and certificates• Look for partnerships that add value• Offer real educational opportunities not just adjacencies• What does your community need for economic advantage?• What courses to you offer or recommend? (TED, Khan

Academy, etc.)

5. Get real about homeworkUp Your Game• Understand the new Common Curriculum (esp. 6-8 and 9-12)• Understand Pedagogy in the context of student experiences

and educational goals• Understand human development from early years through

teens• Connect across developmental stages, link • Consider partnerships to put teachers in the library• Consider coaches and tutoring partnerships

6. Take Branding to the Next LevelUp Your Game• The strong ‘library’ brand – adding dimension• Personal branding – Who are your stars? Promote them.• Program branding• Take risks for attention (AIDA)• Embed your brand beyond the library walls and virtually

7. Collections AlignmentUp Your Game• Grow collections investments in strategic areas (for example

economic impact, jobs, early years, hobbies, political alignment, homework, …)

• Develop hybrid strategies that are consistent for digital and print and programs

• Be obsessive about recommendations and advice• Integrate virtual and physical - hybridize

8. Uncomfortable Bonus: SacrificeUp Your Game• Dog, Star, Cow, Problem Child/?• Reduce investment in successes• Increase investment• Look at TCO• Look at all costs incurred and not just hard costs• Review opportunity costs in soft costs

Being More Open to Comment

Being More Open to Criticism and Feedback

Being More Open to Recommendations

Support Aspiration

Be Creative and Attract

Being More Open to Change

The Library as Sandbox

‘New’ Library CulturesSupport Your Team

Being More Open Experimentation, Pilots and Innovation

Being More Flexible

Being More Open to Risk

Being Open to a Mosaic of Solutions

Being Open to Ambiguity

BeMoreOpen to SocialTechnologiesand UnintendedConsequences

Being Comfortable with Speed

Being Open to New Ideas

Letting Go of Control

Remove the Borders Inside Libraries

Be the Change We Want to See

Remove the Borders In the Library Community

Be the Change We Want to See.

Remove theBorders Between

Libraries and Users

Be the Change We Want to See.

Be Inspirational

Know What Makes Us Different

Finding Our Voice and Using It

Tell Your Story: Until lions learn to write their own story,

the story will always be from the perspective of the hunter not the hunted.

The power of answers

Honest to G*d – Let’s Encourage Some Fun!

Stephen Abram, MLS, FSLAConsultant, Dysart & Jones/Lighthouse Partners

Cel: 416-669-4855stephen.abram@gmail.comStephen’s Lighthouse Blog

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