Published by the State Library of
PART ONE: THE
SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
INTRODUCTION
Good
library marketing does not start with selling the library to the community or even
with having good library services. It starts with evaluation and planning. The
library staff and board must know the library and the community. To use the
jargon, they must scan the internal environment, the library, and the external
environment, the community.
All
planning, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, consists of four basic
parts:
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to go?
- How do we get there?
- How will we evaluate our success?
INTERNAL
SCAN: STUDYING THE LIBRARY
The
library board and staff should periodically review the current strengths and
weaknesses of the library. Every service and every area of the collection and
every area of the library should be included in this review. What assets does
the library have that can be built upon? Is there a handsome facility, a
friendly staff, a good genre fiction collection, a strong Friends group?
What
strengths does the library need to develop?
Is there a too-small video collection, poor signage, inadequate Internet
skills, an outdated reference collection, an invisible interlibrary loan
program, poor public relations?
The
director should periodically have an interview with every staff member,
including custodial staff, to determine what they need to do their job better.
They should not be told to limit their desires to what the library is in a
position to fund.
Rather,
the director should gain a full picture of staff needs. This also serves as a good
vehicle to discover and solve problems, though it should not replace staff
meetings and staff evaluation.
The
library director should also review the entire physical facility on a regular
(but unscheduled) basis.
Questions
that should be asked about the library include:
- Is
the library building friendly, welcoming and barrier free?
-
Does the library have an inviting reading area with comfortable furniture?
- Is
the library overcrowded?
- Is
the library making good use of the available space?
- Is
the library in good repair?
-
Are the grounds attractive?
- Is
the lighting soft but strong?
-
Are the restrooms clean?
- Is
the signage large and clear?
-
Are the staff members genuinely friendly?
It
is good practice for the library director to regularly ask library users or
board members to make the same site review. Even a good library staff can
become so familiar with a building that they miss a problem.
The
library board should also do a board evaluation at least once every two years
to make sure it is functioning as effectively as possible. There is a brief
guideline for this on page 48 of the
EXTERNAL
SCAN: STUDYING THE COMMUNITY
No
public library can offer excellent service unless the staff and board know the
community they serve. The library director and the library board should
annually review current information on the community’s demographic,
educational, political and economic trends. They should know:
- how the population is divided
- how good the schools are
- who the major employers are
- how the community is doing
economically.
They
should also be familiar with :
- the most active groups and
organizations
- the most active churches
- the most active civic
organizations.
They
should know:
- whether genealogy is a major
community interest
- whether the community has an
active local history association
- whether the community has an
active fine arts association
- what the major recreations are for
men, women and children
- how many children are
home-schooled
- how many residents commute to
other communities
- whether the community has
demonstrated local support for literacy
- the most outstanding needs of the
community.
In
fact, the list of relevant questions that can be asked about a small community
are almost endless and endlessly fascinating.
Every
library should gather some objective information about the community once a
year. For the library to depend on the opinions of the staff and board often
recycles outdated, limited or wrong information. Local government, chambers of
commerce, local schools and other agencies often have valuable community
information. The latest census supplies a great deal of information. Comparison
with similar and neighboring communities is also valuable.
A
small library rarely has a lot of money or time to spend on community analysis
and an elaborate procedure is not usually necessary. But if the director or
another
staff
member enjoys studying the community and likes to write, a community analysis
document can be of great benefit to the library. But such a project will be
largely
wasted effort unless it is an organic document, meaning one that is regularly
reviewed, updated and re-issued to the staff and board. Modern word processing
has made it possible for library planning documents to be more current and more
useful.
In a
small town, the library director should regularly take a thoughtful look at the
entire physical community. It is amazing how much information can be gathered
simply by looking at every commercial and residential neighborhood.
USING THE
INFORMATION
The
director and the board should set aside a reasonable amount of time once a year
to evaluate both the library and the community on the basis of the information that
has been gathered. The director may make a written or verbal report, or both.
The library’s objectives for the coming fiscal or calendar year should reflect
what has been learned and the budget preparation should reflect the library’s
current priorities.
Any
active and vital library will benefit from a half-day board retreat once a
year. A growing number of small libraries are making use of this very useful
planning tool. If the library is facing a truly major project, such as a
building program, a full day retreat may be justified. But a retreat should not
be scheduled unless there are issues that need serious discussion. The board
members will quickly become impatient if the retreat is a waste of their time.
A
board retreat is still covered by the Kansas Open Meetings Act. The retreat
should be announced, just as a regular board meeting is, but it should be
specified that it is a working meeting. Those who wish to discuss issues with
the board should be invited to a regular board meeting.
Important
issues to discuss at a retreat might include:
-
the needs of the facility
-
the need for a building or redecorating program
-
possibilities for more effective board function
-
improved relations with local government and community leaders
-
staff compensation and benefits
-
the need for increased tax support
-
possibilities for grant funding
- a
long-term program for community fundraising
-
the need for an endowment or foundation
-
special needs for staff training
-
coming needs in library technology
- special
needs in collection development
-
possible partnerships with community agencies and organizations
-
the need for practical advice from library consultants or other specialists
-
the evaluation of recent major projects or resolved problems.
Small
libraries do not always need extensive, written long-range plans. But it is
critical to have an effective planning process. A library will find it easier
to market programs that are wisely selected, effectively implemented and
thoughtfully evaluated.
USING THE
INFORMATION TO SELECT PRIORITIES
On
the basis of comprehensive and current
information, a small library staff and board need to consider what their top
priorities are and what top priorities they want to develop in the coming
fiscal periods. Most small libraries have a combination of the following
priorities:
-
staff development
-
building program and/or building maintenance
-
recreational print materials
-
recreational video and audio materials
-
print, video and electronic information with the skilled reference staff to use
it
-
resource sharing
-
community information
-
children’s services and programming
-
adult programming
-
lifeskills and hobbies
-
senior interests and eldercare
-
local history and genealogy.
The
board and staff of a small library also have to decide what the library will not
have as a priority. Small public libraries certainly choose not to be research
facilities but even something so obvious should be given some thought. How is
the library staff going to serve community residents who are pursuing research
on specific topics? These might include farmers, businessmen, clergymen,
teachers, professors, students and those with specialized interests. If the
library has an active and visible interlibrary loan program and the library
staff have good electronic searching skills, then the library is probably
offering a reasonable level of service for its size. If not, these areas need
to be strengthened.
Good
reference service, including effective access to electronic information,
effective interlibrary loan and effective use of system services is so basic to
modern library service that it must be considered a priority in every
There
will always be services that the library will have as lower priorities but these
should be the result of thoughtful planning.
For
example, in a small community that has several video outlets competing for
customers, the library may choose not to have an entertainment video
collection. That can be a legitimate decision but it must be a well-considered
one, since popular videos are usually a successful public library service.
In
an active community where the residents have many demands on their time, the
library may choose not to place an emphasis on adult programming. But again,
that must be a careful decision, since it eliminates a service that is usually
a major part of library public relations.
CONCLUSION
Before
a library can plan effective marketing, the staff and trustees have to consider
what they have to market. A business knows what its products are, whether these
are narrowly or widely defined. But businesses are also aware that they are
selling comfort, convenience, pleasure, status, beauty or fantasy.
A
library’s products include materials, information access and services. But they
also include friendliness, comfort, community and a wide variety of
life-enhancing pleasures. Most small libraries instinctively assign a high
value to these things. They should be integrated into a planning process. And
they should be part of an ongoing marketing campaign.