How to handle library news

I have observed quite a few situations where a library issue became news in the community.  I have drawn the following conclusions:

• The media, and the public in general, rarely comprehend the full, nuanced picture.  This is not surprising - they don't have as much information as an insider.  Every time I've been familiar with an issue that became newsworthy, I have seen errors in the publicly circulated information.
• The media and other shapers of public opinion will run with whatever story they can get.
• Given the above points, it is critical for the library to be in front of the story, communicating with the media and others and shaping the story.
• The library's story should always be positive.  Even if the story seems negative, the library needs to spin it in a positive way.  For example, a funding cut can be framed in terms of all the great things the library wants to do with that money.
• Saying nothing is not as safe as it seems.  It might seem prudent to avoid a public statement that could be criticized, but other people will say plenty and their version of events will become the truth.  And it will happen quickly.  You don't have much time.

Rising to the Challenge: Re-envisioning Public Libraries

Another planning-methodology-cum-call-for-change:

This is a report/initiative by the Aspen Institute.  It posits that we are in a time of change which requires expanded access to education, learning opportunities and social connections, and which represents an opportunity for public libraries "with their unique stature as trusted community hubs and repositories of knowledge and information."

"The process of re-envisioning public libraries to maximize their impact reflects:

• Principles that have always been at the center of the public library's mission - equity, access, opportunity, openness and participation
• The library's capacity to drive opportunity and success in today's knowledge-based society
• An emerging model of networked libraries that promote economies of scale and broadens the library's resource reach while preserving its local presence
• The library's fundamental people, place and platform assets."

People, place and platform - that's a good summary of what a public library is!

Their strategies for success:

• Align library services in support of community goals (YES)
• Provide access to content in all formats (which seems to mean econtent to them but which I think speaks to print disabled content too)
• Ensure the long term sustainability of public libraries 
• Cultivate leadership

Their publications include an Action Guide for libraries and a Facilitator's Guide for facilitators who will use the report as the framework for community engagement and strategic planning.

Get outside the lines

"Libraries are dynamic centers for engagement that help everyone in your local community be their best. To shift perceptions, we need to demonstrate how the library is more relevant than ever before.
Let’s not just tell people how libraries have changed; let’s show them.
Outside the Lines is a weeklong celebration demonstrating the creativity and innovation happening in libraries. Whether your organization is large or small, a school library or a public library, you can participate by hosting at least one event or campaign that:

1. Gets people thinking – and talking – about libraries in a different way.
2. Showcases the library out in the community as well as in the library.
3. Highlights how your library is relevant to people’s lives.
4. Represents your local community.
5. Is active versus passive – gets people engaged.
6. Is extraordinary and unexpected.
7. Most importantly, is fun!"

That is lifted verbatim from www.getoutsidethelines.org - now I will find it again if I go looking for it

Outcome Measurements: Practical Considerations

(Notes from a session delivered by Rebecca Jones of Brampton Library.  These are notes I am mostly recording for my personal recollection, they might not be coherent to others.)

• Key questions:  What?  So what?  Now what?
• It is good for outsiders to look at your data - they might bring a different perspective - this is a great role for the board
• You need to understand the perspectives of others if you want to convince / influence them
• Libraries don't tend to have a culture of assessment
• most measures convey past performance
• Our measures don't align with interests of decision-makers (perspective)
• Many partnerships do not include outcome goals or joint measures

"Good to Great" (recommended book)

• Identifying and illustrating value depends on conversations with your stakeholders
• The first conversation shouldn't be the one where success is presented
• More isn't necessarily better - more can cloud the issue and the message

Successful organizations:

• Clarity of purpose
• Understand the external community they work in
• Use performance measure that fit the culture

Surveys are good for evaluating / measuring outcomes and impacts [different from the way we usually think of them in AB - here they are often used as a general needs assessment/service planning, but she's saying they are good for backward-looking, targeted evaluation of a specific service)

• Ask councillors, etc.: what constitutes personal success for them?  "What would a successful term look like for you?"
• If you can meet emotional / value needs (as opposed to the merely practical...)

Seven measurement areas [I think this is from ALA's Project Outcome]:

• Civic / community engagement
• Digital inclusion
• Early childhood literacy
• Economic development
• Education / lifelong learning
• Job skills
• Summer reading

United Airlines and the institutional trap

United Airlines recently lost most of a billion dollars in stock value after a bloodied customer was dragged off an airplane.  The incident was bad but the tone-deaf response from the CEO was worse.  What was he thinking when he defended the indefensible?

This is the institutional trap.  It captures experts and professionals by turning their knowledge against them.  They know everything about the inner workings of their institutions, but they come to believe that the belly of the beast is the entire world.  Their analytical toolkit is a box they can't escape.

What to do with data

After I do a community needs assessment meeting, I generally hand a pile of flip chart pages to the hosting library, offer a ten minute verbal debrief, get in my car and drive away.  What is that library supposed to do with that data after I am gone?

I suggest the following simple steps to hammer raw data into insights and conclusions:

First, just look at the data.  Work all the way through it.  Read every page, try to understand the format and what is being said.

Second, think about what it means.  Any initial impressions?  Anything jump out at you?  Any patterns?

Third, crunch the data.  Count repetitions, tally up yeas and nays.  Try making some bar charts or pie charts out of the data.

Fourth, think about it some more.  Identity themes and give them descriptive names.  Try to collapse categories.  Look for the bigger deeper story.

Finally, come to some conclusions.  Decide what it all means, pick what is important.

This is boiled down from other stuff.  I will try to attach some citations which I would like to keep track of.

A new model for library service planning

I have been doing library service planning for a while now, mostly following PLA's Strategic Planning for Results methodology.  It's a good process for many situations:

• It's prescriptive: it tells you what to do every step of the way. 
• It's complete: everything plotted out to the last detail, and things like meeting agendas and worksheets are included.
• It's community focused: it starts with community needs and picks library service in response to those needs.  Also, it empowers the community to define those community needs and pick the library service responses themselves.
• It includes outcome oriented descriptions of library services (Library Service Responses).

Like anything, though, SP4R has its limitations:

• Prescriptive isn't always good.  Sometimes you want to customize.
• It includes only one way to do community needs assessment (public meetings).
• Those damn Service Responses!  I half love them and half hate them.  They are an inspirational summary of all the things libraries can do for people - but they are text heavy, they categorize services in an odd way sometimes and they give core and niche services on the same weight.

My answer is to move away from this prescriptive process towards a toolkit and set of principles. I will be presenting this at the Alberta Library Conference this spring.