D. Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy
INTRODUCTION
Managing the school library entails “school librarians develop[ing] policies and processes, in collaboration with the school community and with approval by the school board, to uphold the values of information access, and user privacy” (Harlan, 2018, p. 75). School libraries, unlike public libraries, usually only have one information professional managing the entire library. This means that along with the day-to-day operating procedures, one person is ultimately responsible for collection development, short and long term planning, programming, maintaining and managing the budget, marketing the library, and advocating for the library. In this document I will discuss four aspects of managing a school library: planning, marketing, advocacy, and budget.
PLANNING
School libraries should have three different types of plans: short-term, long-term, and strategic planning. When devising any of these plans, the school library teacher must use the overall mission, goals, objectives, and vision of the school as well as the library's “a successful school program is part of and builds upon the dominant school climate while reinforcing its own unique role in it” (Spear, 2018, p. 507). Short-term planning generally involves incorporating the goals and mission into the day-to-day operation of the library, annual budget expenditures, collection development, and programming. Long-term planning involves concentrating on the directional goals of the program over multiple years, focusing on the functions of the school library. These goals include: collaboration, marketing, advocacy, professional development, and staffing. Strategic Planning, while similar to long-term planning, is more formal and involved.
The goal of a strategic plan is to critically look at what is and is not working in the library “strategic planning involves deciding which of the many programs and projects to embrace—or reject–in order to use limited resources most effectively to accomplish the organization’s goals” (Rosenblum, 2018, p. 233). Creating a strategic plan involves extensive pre-planning. Specifically, deciding who will be on the committee (for a school library it should be a combination of students, faculty, administration, stakeholders, and community members), when, where, and how often the committee will meet, and what the goals of the plan should be.
An effective strategic plan looks at every aspect of the program, including the library’s vision, mission, goals, values, policies, and procedures. This is accomplished by conducting a “needs assessment, including an environmental scan, and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis” (Rosenblum, 2018, p. 236). While both the SWOT analysis and the environmental scan look at how effective the library program is, SWOT looks at both internal and external factors, while the environmental scan focuses solely on external factors affecting the library. The strategic plan is a document meant to guide the library over the span of three to five years. It is important to note, however, that if the goals and objectives are not being met, the plan should be revisited “performance measures—especially measures of efficiency—are typically modified during the life span of a strategic plan. A good plan accommodates these changes without losing its spirit or vision” (Rosenblum, 2018, p. 236). The 21st century school library must be flexible; willing to change if it is determined one or more services are ineffective.
BUDGET
A school library, like all other school departments, is funded through the town or city the school is located in. Generally, either the principal or the school board decides which portion of the overall budget to allocate to each department. Depending on location, school library budgets can be vastly different. A school library situated in a wealthier district may have a budget of $200,000, not including staffing, while a district in a financially struggling community may have a budget as low as $2,000. Whatever the size of the budget, the library teacher’s focus should be on purchasing materials that would best serve the school community, aligning with local, state, and federal school library standards.
Once the budget is established, the school library teacher must configure the budget. This can be done by making a spreadsheet listing all of the library’s known expenses. The library teacher can then decide which resources and materials to purchase, and which programs to run based on the specific needs of the community.
The school librarian should look to the strategic plan for direction on budget disbursement “the plan provides guidance regarding how budget allocations can support strategic objectives and the types of expenses departments should plan for in the upcoming budget year in order to achieve those objectives” (Jones, 2018, p. 260). One way school librarians can stretch their budget is to collaborate and share resources with other departments in the school, other library teachers in the district, and the public library. The library teacher may also fundraise and apply for grants in order to supplement funds. However, it should be understood this is not guaranteed money, and cannot be relied on as a source of funding.
MARKETING
Many people do not understand the role of the school librarian, or even the school library itself. Thus, it is up to the library teacher to market the library in a way that highlights all of the areas the library can serve the school community “information organizations need to promote the resources and services that are available and to provide evidence that they add value to the communities served” (Alman, 2018, p. 339). Just as with the budget, the library teacher can look to the strategic plan for guidance “a solid marketing plan is built from the organization’s strategic plan using the established goals and objectives” (Alman, 2018, p. 339).
Marketing the school library requires the ability to communicate information about the library to various groups—students, faculty, administration, parents/caregivers, stakeholders, and the general community—in a variety of ways “marketing should be directed by a formal plan with information targeted to specific populations using multiple formats, informal encounters, and community input” (Alman, 2018, p. 339). As the “face” of the library, the school librarian must be mindful that all communication is perceived in a positive manner “negative perceptions can undermine the efforts of an otherwise flawless marketing and public relations campaign” (Alman, 2018, p. 339). This includes formal and informal interactions—whether face-to-face or virtual—internal and external memos, the functionality and visual acuity of the library website, and social media postings.
ADVOCACY
School librarians must advocate for the library on a constant and consistent basis. According to Stenstrom (2018), information professional’s ability to advocate for the profession while demonstrating the value that information organizations provide their communities is one of the most important skills needed” (p. 343). Unlike a math, physical education, or social studies teacher, library teachers must educate the school community on what resources the library offers, what services are provided, and why they are instrumental to students’ success “the school librarian may not be viewed as an educator and thus, equal, to her fellow teachers. If that school librarian is not “load-bearing” that is, does not spell other teachers’ for their planning time, she is especially vulnerable” (Spear, 2018, p. 514). The library teacher must be able to prove their worth to other faculty in the school, administration, stakeholders, students, parents/caregivers, and the entire tax-paying community. As with marketing, advocacy requires the school librarian to competently and effectively communicate information about the library to various audiences.
If the library teacher is unable to advocate for their profession, they may find their budget cut, or they may find they are asked to perform non-library related tasks. This could include substituting for classroom teachers or being pulled out of the library to help in other areas of the school. They may also discover that the library is used as an alternative meeting or testing space, with little to no warning or consideration of the library’s schedule. It is therefore crucial for the library teacher to form good relationships with administration and other stakeholders “the most important factor a leader must consider when trying to make a positive impact on a decision maker is interpersonal influence” (Stenstrom, 2018, p. 347). The school librarian can achieve this through regular and effective communication targeted at the school community, serving on the leadership team, and documenting measurable, objective outcomes on all services.
EVIDENCE
Info 233 - School Library Media Centers - Budget Proposal
For this assignment, we were required to write a budget proposal for a school library, relating each budget request to California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) priorities. The project required a partnership, however, we each submitted our own proposal. The partnership consisted of each of us commenting and making suggestions on each other’s proposal. This assignment gave me the opportunity to delve deeper into the world of library budgets, understanding what types of supplies and materials are needed for the library to operate, and the need to spread funding out over the fiscal year. I also learned the importance of using state standards and program outcome data in order to justify each expenditure to administrators and the school committee.
Info 204 - Information Professions - Strategic Plan Comparison - AV Component
In Info 204 we were required to compare and contrast the strategic plans of two libraries, one of which needed to be an international library. The goal of the project was to study two libraries, looking critically at their strategic plans and how they were developed. Compiling and analyzing data on the two libraries helped me better understand the various components involved in managing a library. While each library differs based on geographical location, budget, and the particular needs of the community they serve, they all have similar goals, missions, and values. Before completing this assignment, I had gone through the strategic plan process a couple of times with the public library I worked at. This exercise reinforced how integral it is for a library to complete this process every three to five years in order to determine whether the services a library is providing are fulfilling the needs of the community. I also learned the importance of using both quantitative and qualitative data in the library in order to better understand what is working well and what needs to be changed.
My group and I chose to study Thomas Crane Public Library (TCPL) in Quincy, MA and Vancouver Public Library in Vancouver, Canada. I was responsible for keeping the minutes, finding our US based library, writing the executive summary, a good portion of the Thomas Crane section, and also contributed to the Vancouver segment. I also wrote the TCPL piece of the mission, vision, and values statement, as well as the goals and objectives portion. We each independently and collectively edited both the written and audiovisual document.
Info 204 - Information Professions - Week 5 Discussion Post
This discussion post entry was based on the reading several chapters in Information Services Today: Chapter 22 - Managing Personnel, 27 - Communication, Marketing, and Outreach Strategies, & 28 - Advocacy. In this discussion post I discuss the importance of marketing and outreach, advocacy, and the hiring and managing of personnel. Through the chapter readings and composing the discussion post, I learned how integral effective communication is in every aspect of library management. I also believe I gained a clear understanding that building relationships with administration and stakeholders is a crucial component for school librarians to advocate for library services and programs. I also learned the importance of knowing and understanding all facets of the library’s inner workings in order to plan how the information professional will market and advocate for the library. Although I did not really discuss personnel in the explication of this competency, composing this discussion post showed me how important it is to attract and hire the correct person that will be beneficial to the library.
CONCLUSION
As someone who has worked in libraries for over twenty years, I understand the importance of acquiring skills in the area of library management. I recognize that going through the process of creating and implementing a strategic plan every three to five years is crucial for effective management of the library. I also realize that the mission, values, goals, and objectives of the library all stem from the strategic plan, as do programming, policies, and procedures. Therefore, as a school librarian, I will look to the strategic plan for guidance and support in all areas of library operations. I further understand that being able to market and advocate for the library, balance the budget, and manage the daily operations, including staffing issues are also integral components of being an effectual school librarian. I believe that due to my professional experience and my coursework at SJSU I have a clear understanding of the steps and proficiency needed to manage a school library.
References
Alman, S. W. (2018). Communication, marketing, and outreach strategies. In S. K. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 331-342). Rowman & Littlefield.
Harlan, M. A. (2018). Literacy and media centers: School libraries. In S. K. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 71-80). Rowman & Littlefield.
Jones, S. F. (2018). Managing budgets. In S. K. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 256-265). Rowman & Littlefield.
Rosenblum, L. (2018). Strategic planning. In S. K. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 231-245). Rowman & Littlefield.
Spear, M. J. (2018). Reflections on managing a school library. Journal of Library Administration, 58(5), 503-518. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2018.1468672
Stenstrom, C. (2018). Advocacy. In S. K. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 343-354). Rowman & Littlefield.