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Introduction
Getting Ready to Plan:
New Pathways to Planning is a tool customized for use by librarians in small and medium sized Kansas communities as they do strategic planning. It was created collaboratively by Martha Hale, and Patti Butcher, at that time, Library Development Coordinator for the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS). NEKLS offered a two session workshop to present this process and help librarians begin their strategic planning. Click here for details of these workshops.
The workbook, created by Martha and Patti for the NEKLS workshops, is the core of the New Pathways web site. Additonal material for the web site has been created by Martha, Patti and Cindi Hickey, who is also the web site designer. Please direct your questions about the New Pathways process or the web site to: Cindi Hickey.
The Process:
The New Pathways to Planning process is cyclical. The model which follows depicts the planning cycle and is blend of Roger C. Greer's Service Cycle (click here for information about this model) and Darlene Weingand's Marketing Audit Model.
Although the planning process is cyclical and continuous, it is dynamic and active. Don't let your planning process stagnate or grind to a halt. Allow between 3 to 6 months for a complete planning cycle. To help you stay on task, follow the chart below which suggests an estimated time frame for each phase of the planning cycle:
| Planning Phase |
|
Estimated Time to
completion |
|
| Gather data and information and develop a community profile.
Involve your community in the planning process. |
|
1 - 2 months |
|
| Determine user needs and
library service priorities.
Define objectives and set goals for the implementation of the service plan. |
|
1 - 2 months
(depending on the library board's schedule.) |
|
| Write the plan. |
|
1 month |
|
| Publicize the plan and
elicit public comment. |
|
1 month |
|
| Finalize the plan and
obtain board approval. |
|
1 month |
|
| Build community support
for the plan. |
|
Ongoing |
|
| Implement the plan. |
|
Ongoing; follow the goals
of the plan. |
|
| Review the plan and your
progress towards meeting the goals of the plan.
Refine and recreate your service. |
|
At least annually |
The worksheets and activities presented in the 5 modules of this web site will lead you through the planning cycle. The modules are:
Profiling the Community:
The activities proposed in this module of the Pathways process are based on the Community Analysis model proposed by Martha Hale and Roger Greer in "The Community Analysis Process". The worksheets provided in the Profiling module are linked to appropriate sections of this article, but we recommend that you read the entire article before beginning your community profile.
An excellent overview and history of community analysis is presented in Community Analysis For Libraries and Librarians created by Debra Van Tassel and Jo Haight Sarling. Special thanks to Debra and Jo for allowing us to provide access to their work through our web site. Section headings for Debra and Jo's web site include:
How do you define or describe your community? The community, for the purposes of this planning process, is generally the service area from which your patrons come. It is the geographic area within which the funding which supports your library is generated. Although your library may serve people who reside outside this closely defined area, it is the people who reside within your service area which you will include in your profile.
Another definition of community is "a place where residents interact and meet their everyday wants and needs." Your community may also be defined by geographic boundaries, such as rivers, major highways or school service centers. All of these factors will help you define and describe your community.
Planning is a Team Project.
Library planning isn't necessary if you are satisfied with the collection, programs and services you currently offer to your community. But, it you have to change or refine your library's collection, programs or services, you can create your plan in one of three ways:
- Via a planning process that strives to reflect your community's residents.
- To satisfy those political needs that are most powerful.
- As a reflection of the librarian's values, opinions and biases.
Community analysis and library planning are team projects. We recognize that small libraries may be one or two-person organizations. We recommend that you build your planning team by recruiting people from your community. Enlist the support and assistance of your library board. Other team members may be library volunteers or Friends of the Library. You might also want to consider seeking help from your city or township's governing body.
The team should include diverse perspectives while remaining a workable size. Five to ten members for a team is optimum. The time commitment will vary, but the planning process should not take longer than about six months. If the planning takes too long, it can lose momentum. The goal is to complete a plan! Remember, this is a cyclical process, and the process and the plan can be revised in the next cycle.
There will be opportunities for input from various groups during the planning process, so let all the community residents know that they are important even if they are not on the planning team. Focus groups can provide input from residents who are not on the team. You may also want to publish a draft plan and collect feedback in order to get more of the stakeholders involved.
Vision, Objectives & Goals:
Articulating a vision statement which details the library's specific objectives and goals will move the library's planning process forward. The vision for your library will emerge from the community profile that you build. The objectives and goals will be targeted toward the needs of the community discovered during the profiling process. The Vision module of the New Pathways web site offers you guidance and structure as you begin to prepare your written library plan.
Gathering the Stakeholders:
You may want to communicate your library's plan to your community, the library's stakeholders. The Gathering module will help you find ways to involve your community in the final preparation of the plan.
Putting the Plan in Motion:
When the planning is finished, it is time to put it in motion. Part of the implementation process should be evaluation. Evaluation will guide your next cycle of planning and will help you fine tune your plan as you go along. The Motion module will provide guidance and tips you can use as you implement your plan. It also will serve as a repository for "sample" plans submitted by libraries that have tried the process. Share your plan!
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