Competency D

“Each graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program is able to…apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy.”

Introduction

Managing information organizations requires several different types of skills including planning, management of staff, marketing, and advocating for the organization. As librarians, we should be familiar with what each aspect entails so we can step into the role of manager when needed or help out with the different aspects of managing. Planning, marketing, managing staff, and advocacy are each very important organizational components and focusing on one or two to the detriment of the others will hurt the success of the entire organization.

Planning

Planning is function that many managers and other library employees must engage in if they want to make sure the goals of the organization will be met. It defines where the organization will be in the future and describes how the organization will get there (Moran, 2008). Strategic planning uses an organization’s mission, vision, and value statements to set the direction. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats analysis helps to think through specific issues that inform the strategic plan (Evans & Ward, 2007, chapter 8).

Mission, Vision, & Value Statements

A mission statement typically reflects an organization’s long-term strategy in terms of what needs to be accomplished and where the organization is headed. Matthews (2005, pp. 14) lists the aspects a library’s mission statement should include:

• “define what the library does and does not do,

• distinguish that organization from the competition, specify the library’s customers,

• identify the benefits from using the library,

• focus on the present,

• create a shared understanding of the purpose of the library,

• be brief, and

• be clearly written and employ no buzzwords “

An example mission statement for the organization I have worked with and volunteered for almost 3 years now, the Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration (VCARA) has a mission statement that follows these guidelines:

• Provide virtual space for faculty and students.

• Provide networking opportunities for students, faculty, and guests.

• Provide a common space to showcase the accomplishments of students.

• Encourage cooperation in the area of continuing professional development.

• Explore the development of a concerted campaign aimed at promoting the benefits and importance of record keeping from creation through permanent storage.

The vision statement is different from the mission statement in that clear actions can be seen from the targets and success criteria included in the vision statement. It focuses on what the library or information organization should and will do in the near term (2-5 years).  Matthews (2005, pp. 22) describes the attributes of a good vision statement:

• “invigorates and challenges,

• is an important ingredient for change,

• will positively affect the behaviors of staff members,

• is the standard against which all decisions are made, and

• will almost dictate the choice of performance measures that will be used to measure progress.”

For example, the public library district has a vision statement on the “About” page that says, “The  Library District is dynamic, responsive, and integral to the fabric of our community”.

The value statement encompasses the operating rules of the organization. They are deeply held beliefs and reflect the culture of the organization (Matthews, 2005). A good example value statement is the “UBC Library values:

• service excellence

• collaboration with campus and community partners

• stewardship of collections and institutional resources

• innovation, creativity and risk-taking

• an open, inclusive and respectful workplace

• leadership and individual growth throughout the organization

• intellectual freedom and pursuit of knowledge” (University of British Columbia, 2016).

SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Undertaking a SWOT analysis on the organization helps inform strategic planning.  Table 1, taken from the ALA page on SWOT analysis demonstrates the types of questions that may be asked during each phase of the SWOT analysis. 

Strengths and weaknesses can be thought of as inward focus and it should look at “staff skills, competencies, programs, service-community relations and fiscal base” (Evans & Ward, 2007, chapter 8). Each of these aspects can be either strengths or weaknesses and they can either help or hurt the achievement of the strategic plan.  Similarly, opportunities and threats, while considered outward looking, need to be considered in terms of how they might affect the accomplishment of the library plans. Things like emergent technologies, economic situation of the community in which the library is embedded, new products in the information marketplace that can be an opportunity or a threat to the library, and whether the political environment has changed and whether it will affect the library.

Table 1: SWOT Analysis taken from (American Library Association, 2016b).

 Goals & Objectives

A goal is an achievement that will help with the accomplishment of a strategy. They are typically mid-term to long term and should align with the organization’s mission, vision, and values statements. The best type of goals are SMARTER goals: specific, measureable, acceptable, realistic, time-frame, extending, and rewarding (Evans & Ward, 2007, chapter 8).  An example of a SMARTER goal would be:  “We will start up a new Minecraft Club for kids using 20 Minecraft licenses within two months by asking for funding, launching a social media marketing campaign and networking with local schools. This will allow us to give K-5 grade children who have no access to internet or computing equipment a chance to acquire basic computing skills in a way that they can get excited about.” This goal is very specific, we can measure it by the number of children who come to play Minecraft, and it should be acceptable as Minecraft is something that all children want to play. It is realistic since it is only 20 licenses and a license is currently around $20.00. The time frame is specified: two months. It is certainly extending for the program offerings using a well-known tool that gets kids excited about computers. Finally, it is rewarding for the staff to be able to give kids who wouldn’t normally have access to Minecraft an opportunity to play (and learn).

Objectives are the smaller unit of activity that supports strategies and goals. It is a list of the actions that must be completed in order to meet the goals. For example, in the Minecraft goal above, objectives may be things like, “Visit 4 local elementary schools to talk about the new program” or “Post to Facebook, Twitter, and Library Blog” once a week starting 1 month before the launch of the program.” Objectives are the basis for everyday activities.

Action Planning

Procedures help with determining the actions that need to occur in the organization. “They provide a chronological sequence of events that staff use to carry out the activities necessary to achieve a specific policy, objective, or outcome” (Evans & Ward, 2007, chapter 8). While it is not really advisable to create a procedure for every activity, in a library, it makes sense to have some procedures in place for things like consistency and training of new staff members.

A great deal of time and effort may go into strategic planning, but if the people who will be implementing the strategy don’t understand it, successful execution will not occur. Similarly, if there is no incentive to implementation, there is no linkage of budget to strategy, and/or management doesn’t put a lot of effort into strategic planning, the strategy will surely fail. It is strongly suggested that possible roadblocks be identified and action plans addressing potential fail points be created.

Needs Assessments

Part of planning requires that staffing needs be looked at. Beginning with the current staff, the assessment attempts to identify staffing needs for the future. Does the strategy call for an increase in programming that the current staff can’t completely cover? In addition, the experience, skill sets, and advancement potential of the existing staff should be compared with future needs. Finally, the potential loss of staff due to retirement, transfers, terminations, or budget cuts should also be considered (Evans & Ward, 2007, chapter 15).

In information organizations, like libraries, strategic planning is an important part of maintaining a smooth functioning organization. It should be mentioned, however, that there are those that do not believe that strategic planning works as planned. Mintzberg (2009) believes that strategy should be “crafted” from the bottom up. It’s the people in the “trenches” who know what strategies work and which ones don’t work. The best strategies come by “letting a thousand strategic flowers bloom in their organizations, and an insightful style, to detect the patterns of success in these gardens of strategic flowers, rather than a cerebral style that favors analytical techniques to develop strategies in a hothouse” (Mintzberg, 2009, pp. 163). From my own experience with setting goals aligned to company strategies that have very little meaning to my specific duties, I would tend to agree with Mintzberg…at least as it applies to very large corporations.

Management

As librarians, it is important to develop management skills.  Managers, in a position of authority, are responsible for hiring and directing staff, managing resources, and making sure everyone is working towards accomplishing the organization’s goals. Tasks like maintaining the organization’s budget, staffing, measuring performance, and problem solving all fall within the responsibility of the manager (Golden, 2015).

Understanding and managing budgets means the manager must know how to allocate money according to a plan (the budget) and track expenses over time. While the manager doesn’t need to be an accountant, it is important to understand both the debit and credit side of budgets, meaning revenue (income) as well as expenses in order to balance the budget (Jones, 2015).  The budget is usually created on an annual basis and is usually part of the strategic planning process.

Another responsibility that managers assume is the managing of personnel. In addition to identifying staffing needs, managers need to deal with a diverse set of employee motivation and experience levels (Mabbott, 2015). Motivating people and managing effectively them is essential for keeping operations running smoothly. According to Daniel Pink (2009) there are two ways in which people are motivated: extrinsically or from external motivators like rewards and intrinsically or from internal motivators like satisfaction from whatever activity is being done. What Pink has shown is that people who are intrinsically motivated actually do a better job and as managers we should try and help those we manage move from being extrinsically motivated to being motivated intrinsically. As managers and astute observers of human behavior, we may be able to foster creativity amongst the staff in order to increase intrinsic motivation and thus improve staff effectiveness. For example, Tom Kelley (2005) identified 10 types of innovators, like the Anthropologist who are able to look at problems with an open mind or the Caregiver who takes the time to understand each individual customer.  Being aware of the way people prefer to work helps the manager figure out the role they will perform best in.

Finally, the environment in which employees work is a factor in the effectiveness of the staff. Managers who understand what constitutes a welcoming and encouraging environment and who strives to address employee engagement will have a group of dedicated workers. Wagner and Harter (2006) have elucidated 12 elements which, if followed, help to keep employees engaged in their positions. These 12 elements have emerged from 1 million employee interviews gathered by Gallup. They include:

1. I know what is expected of me at work.

2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.

3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.

7. At work, my opinions seem to count.

8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

10. I have a best friend at work.

11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Marketing

Marketing may be one of those aspects of librarianship we dislike the most. It may feel like marketing is inconsistent with the idea of providing a public service because of the commercial feel to marketing. But in reality, as library managers, we need to craft our marketing messages so we can compete with all the other messages coming from commercial interests. Consumers are bombarded with messages on social media, on internet music services, on radio, TV, and even digital billboards. How do we get the message out about the services the library provides? We have to market in much the same way as everyone else.

Obviously, libraries have figured out how to use social media networks to not only inform patrons but also to get the patrons involved in helping with marketing for the library. The website for my library district has the following social network access points: Facebook, Twitter, a blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr, flickr, and YouTube. With a presence on each of these ten different social networking sites, our library can meet the patrons where they normally live. For example, I use LinkedIn and Google+ for professional connections and Facebook and Pinterest for more personal/friends/family connections. It makes more sense for me, as a librarian, to follow the Poudre River Public Library District (and interact with) through G+ or LinkedIn because for me, it is a professional relationship. For other, perhaps for parents with small children, Facebook or Pinterest may be more appropriate for information and interaction on a more personal basis.  

Once the decision to build an on-line presence is made, the library must put into place policies and procedures on how to update content, interact with patrons, deal with complaints. It is very important to “Listen First” and “Never Stop Listening” (Kerpen, 2011).  The whole point of setting up a social networking site is two-way communication and it is a great mechanism for getting feedback from patrons as well as a way to let them know about what is happening at the library.

Using on-line content for marketing should be a high priority for libraries. While many patrons will still be coming to the library to use computer equipment because they do not have access to it anywhere else, many patrons will have internet access and the library’s website will be the first thing a patron will look at before coming into the library. The content there should be engaging as well as helpful. Creating “brand awareness” by pushing marketing messages on consumers does not work very well anymore. Unless patrons ask specifically for email with marketing messages, letting patrons pull the messages themselves (off Facebook, Twitter, etc.) makes much more sense. The way people search and interact with information has changed: they read blogs, google about their interests, and most importantly, ask questions and post responses to friends on social media. Finally, everyone is a content creator and publisher and allowing our patrons to have a “voice” helps us to provide better service as well as let others know we are responsive to their needs (Handley and Chapman, 2011, chapter 1).

Marketing for libraries is much more about crafting messages that advocate for the library in terms of the key values the library brings to the community in which it is embedded (Koontz, 2008). It is important to use marketing to convey that services and products are based on patron needs and wants and that patron satisfaction is the goal. As librarians, our efforts for marketing are not about making a profit but about letting the community know what we have to offer that is of interest to them.

Advocacy

The definition of advocacy is the “act or process of supporting a cause or proposal: the act or process of advocating something” (Merrian-Webster.2016). As librarians we need to be advocating for ourselves, our organizations, as well as for libraries in general. Fortunately, the American Library Association has many resources that librarians can use for advocacy (American Library Association, 2016a). There are tools for advocacy at different types of libraries, like school libraries and academic libraries. The “ilovelibraries” is an advocacy initiative designed to inform about what is going on in public libraries around the country including raising awareness of the value of libraries and librarians. Another ALA initiative that advocates for libraries is called The Libraries Transform Campaign which is “Designed to increase public awareness of the value, impact and services provided by libraries and library professionals, the Libraries Transform campaign will ensure there is one clear, energetic voice for our profession. Showcasing the transformative nature of today’s libraries and elevating the critical role libraries play in the digital age” advocacy “(American Library Association, 2016c).

As managers, we are in a good position to advocate for our organization. By keeping informed about the latest tools available to us and using them in our organizations, we are helping to keep libraries relevant within our own communities. By making sure our budgets include funds for advocacy and implementing local campaigns, we are using our position to advocate for the library. If we are called on by the stakeholders to justify our budget requests for advocacy, we are able to show how advocacy helps everyone associated with the organization, including the patrons we serve.

Librarians need to understand and have experience with managerial skills, especially planning, people management, marketing of services and products, and advocating for the library. Each aspect works together for the success of the entire organization. Without happy staff, patrons will not find the environment inviting and they will not come back. Without a marketing effort, people will not know what they are missing at the library. Without planning, running the institution becomes an exercise in reactionary processes in an underfunded organization, rather than using a pro-active approach, especially in response to unforeseen challenges. Finally, when we don’t advocate for the library, the stakeholders may not understand the key values we, the librarians, and the organization bring to the table.

Coursework & Work Experience

During my MLIS, I have taken several courses that helped prepare me for this competency. In INFO-204, I learned about managing, marketing, advocating, and planning. I am including my Philosophy of Management as evidence to my beliefs on managing people after finishing several assignments and participating in group activities. In INFO-282, Grant writing, I learned about budgeting, planning, needs assessments, and advocacy. I am including the grant I wrote (which was subsequently funded), the identification of goals and objectives, and the advocacy for girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) which was a large part of this grant proposal. INFO-294, the internship I did allowed me to work on my marketing skills for the Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration (VCARA). I am including a small sample of the types of marketing I did for the 6th Annual VCARA conference held last May.   Finally, I have had a few opportunities to manage people at my work as the supervisor interns that have worked in my research lab.

Evidence

The first piece of evidence I am including is titled “Vans_Philosophy of Management_Submitted.doc” and can be found on the evidence page. This paper was written for an assign for INFO-204. In this paper, I discuss my beliefs for management of people. I talk about the fact that I prefer a team-approach to management and collaboration. I believe that every person is different and that there is no universal approach to handling people. I am hyper-aware of diversity issues (especially when discrimination is an issue) and I am honest in stating that I believe there are situations where it is impossible to be completely neutral. I talk about the importance of culture and ethics. My definition of Organizational Management is (still) the ability, through teamwork, to get people focused on an organization's mission and to achieve its objectives.

The next evidence I’m submitting is some marketing materials and strategies I created for a group in Second Life. During the internship, I consolidated and created a social networking strategy. The “Network_Strategy_May_2015_2.docx” found on the evidence page contains this strategy. This document contains the objectives I wrote for the strategy, it describes all the social networking accounts used for marketing purposes, it has specific metrics for determining the effectiveness of the marketing strategy, it contains the publishing schedule for each social networking account, and it contains the user manual for each account. This document is still in use by the organization and helps to on-board new students and volunteers for publicizing events and activities. The “Traveling_Exhibit_Policy_PF_V3.docx” document, also on the evidence page, is an example of policy making for a specific venue, in this case a Traveling Exhibit building on the virtual island. This evidence shows my ability to craft policy, which is another important skill for managers in information organizations.  

Aside from actually posting to the various social networking sites, I created several pieces of promotional materials that were used for marketing. Here I focus on our annual conference, which was held last April. Figure 1 is a poster I created using Photoshop to advertise the keynote speaker once we had the commitment from the speakers. We used this advertisement in-world for several months prior to the event.

Figure 1: 6th Annual VCARA Conference Announcement Poster

When the conference got closer and the schedule was set, I again used Photoshop to create two additional posters for use in-world, as well as on the blog and other social media outlets. Figures 3 and 4 are the posters, one for the keynote speakers and one for the mini-presentations which followed the keynote speakers.

Figures 2 & 3: 6th Annual VCARA Conference Announcement Poster – Keynotes & Mini-Presentations

The next evidence I’m providing is called “Discussion Unit_4.docx”, which is on the evidence page.  This is a discussion I posted for my INFO-282, Grant Writing course where we were required to generate “SMART” (Specific, Measureable, Acceptable, Realistic, & TimeFrame) goals for our client. Based on the actual goals and objectives from the school’s (Lopez Elementary School in Fort Collins, CO) improvement plan, I posted this as part of the discussion on goals and I believe this evidence shows my ability to elucidate SMART goals and objectives, an important skill needed by librarians.

The final evidence titled “Grant Proposal_for_SPIE_2.doc” on the evidence page is the grant proposal I wrote. The application itself was a PDF form which I filled out based upon this document.  The grant project was “An innovative approach to teaching children about caring and participating in the community and, at the same time, gain exposure to important STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) concepts”, which can be seen on page 5 of the document. This evidence shows my ability to advocate for children, specifically for funds to help expose them to STEM concepts at an early age. Pages 9-11 show that I am able to use research and statistics to support my arguments. On page 14 of this same document I develop a budget for the use of the grant monies. This small example shows I understand how to put together a budget.

Conclusions

Managing people, marketing library services and events, planning, and advocating for your library, librarians, and even the patrons, are important skills that information professionals need to have because the viability of the organization depends on them. I believe my approach, or philosophy to management, being teamwork-oriented prepares me for being a leader in whatever organization I may end up in. I think my grasp of marketing, including the ability to develop an organization-wide strategy will be an asset for any organization I join, but especially those who have not completely embraced the digital age. And, while I do not have a great deal of experience in strategic planning, I do have the yearly goals and objectives exercise that I must participate in for my research position. Because we are required to align our goals and objectives to that of the research lab, which in turn aligns its goals with that of the entire company, I believe that I have a good understanding of what is required for strategic planning.

References

American Library Association. (2016a). Advocacy, Legislation & Issues. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/home, Accessed March 28, 2016.

American Library Association. (2016b). SWOT analysis: Your library’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/swot-analysis-your-librarys-strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-and-threats, Accessed March 24, 2016.

American Library Association. (2016c). Libraries Transform. Retrieved from: http://www.ilovelibraries.org/librariestransform/, Accessed March 28, 2016.

Evans, G.E. and Ward, P.L. (2007). Management basics for information professionals, 2nd edition. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. New York, NY.

Golden, J. (2015). Management skills. In: Information services today: An introduction, Hirsh, S., editor. Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham, MD.

Handley, A. and Chapman, C.C. (2011). Content rules: How to create killer blogs, podcasts, videos, ebooks, webinars (and more) that engage customers and ignite your business. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ.

Jones, S.F. (2015). Managing budgets. . In: Information services today: An introduction, Hirsh, S., editor. Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham, MD.

Kelley, T. (2005). The ten faces of innovation. Doubleday. New York, NY.

Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY.

Koontz, C. (2008). Marketing—the driving force of your library. In: The Portable MLIS: Insights from the experts, Haycock, K. and Sheldon, B.E., eds. Libraries Unlimited. Westport, CT.

Mabbott, C. (2015). Managing personnel. . In: Information services today: An introduction, Hirsh, S., editor. Rowman & Littlefield. Lanham, MD.

Matthews, J.R. (2005). Strategic planning and management for library managers. Libraries Unlimited. Westport, CT.

Merrian-Webster.  (2016) Advocacy. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/advocacy, Accessed March 28, 2016.

Mintzberg, H. (2009). Managing. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco, CA.

Moran, B.B. (2008). Management: An essential skill for today’s librarians.  In: The Portable MLIS: Insights from the experts, Haycock, K. and Sheldon, B.E., eds. Libraries Unlimited. Westport, CT.

Pink, D.H. (2009). Drive. Riverhead Books. New York, NY.

Rubin, R.E. (2010). Foundations of library and information science, 3rd edition. Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. New York, NY.

Sheldon, B.E. (2008). Another look at leadership. In: The Portable MLIS: Insights from the experts, Haycock, K. and Sheldon, B.E., eds. Libraries Unlimited. Westport, CT.

University of British Columbia. (2016). The UCB library strategic plan: 2015-2017. Retrieved from  http://about.library.ubc.ca/strategic-plan/, Accessed March 24, 2016.

Wagner, R. and Harter, J.K. (2006). 12: The elements of great managing. Gallup Press, New York, NY.