Long-Range Planning for Libraries

Overview

Long-range (or strategic) planning is a cyclical process and involves a dynamic examination of a library's programs and services. Led by the Board of Trustees, long-range planning should involve the Director, library staff, and community stakeholders. It evaluates both the library's strengths and areas of opportunity compared to the needs of the library's service area. Strategic planning is based on the premise that change is necessary to survive and thrive in the future.

In order to be in compliance with the Minimum Standards for New York Public Libraries, every library is required to have a written long-range plan of service, developed by the board and staff, and posted to the library website. (Education Department Regulations (8 NYCRR) §90.2)

Why Long-Range Planning Matters

A library's long-range plan is a formal document that:

• Provides information about the community and library to use in decision-making
• Clarifies for board, staff, and community the role of the library
• Evaluates the usefulness and quality of specific services and activities
• Assists in preparing for change, including dropping old services or adding new ones
• Establishes priorities for the allocation of resources
• Documents the need for sustainable funding

Though planning is required by the state, it is also genuinely useful. A good plan informs decisions at board and committee meetings about budgeting, personnel, capital improvements, services, and community involvement.

Plan Components

Every long-range plan shares the same general components:

• Vision: A short, carefully crafted statement that describes the ideal impact the library's services will have on the community.
• Mission: A short statement that tells the community why the library exists and how it will achieve its goals. The mission should guide all policies, procedures, and especially the long-range plan.
• Core Values: Guiding principles that drive the library's vision and mission.
• Goals: Broad statements of intent that support the mission and respond to community aspirations as discovered through the community input phase. Goals are measurable to the extent that they provide targets to strive toward.
• Objectives: Specific, measurable tasks or projects in support of a goal, usually stated in terms of outcomes.
• Strategies: How the library will achieve its goals and objectives.
• Tactics or Action Steps: Operational planning that focuses on improving what the library already does, with attention to the allocation of resources.

Plans are typically 3 to 5 years in scope.

Planning Process

Pre-Planning

• Appoint a Long-Range Planning Committee of 3 to 5 members, including the Director
• Set a timeline with clear start and end dates
• Schedule regular committee meetings

Step 1: Develop a Board Vision

• Hold a special meeting or retreat to discuss the trustees' hopes, priorities, and concerns for the future of the library
• Begin with the library's mission as the foundation
• Reflect on the library's major successes and significant events that have shaped the institution
• Forecast 3, 5, and 7 years out

Step 2: Assessment

• Inventory the library's existing collections, programs, and services
• Identify usage trends through library data, including:
  • Physical item circulation
  • Electronic circulation and downloads
  • Door counts
  • Library card registrations
  • Program attendance
  • Computer use and WiFi sessions
  • Reference questions
  • Outreach visits
  • Meeting room reservations
  • Social media engagement
• Compare the library to others with similar budgets and service areas
• Perform an environmental scan, including:
  • Census data: population and demographics
  • Local tax history, including recent successes or failures of tax-based initiatives
  • Other community organizations and services that offer similar programs

Step 3: Gather Input from the Community

The community input phase is outward-looking. It asks the community what their aspirations and priorities are, not what they want from the library specifically.

Gather input from:

• Library staff
• Library users
• Non-library users
• Local business owners
• Local educators and school district employees
• Local government representatives
• Members of other key community groups

Use a variety of data-gathering methods:

• Surveys and questionnaires (paper-based or electronic)
• Community focus groups reach beyond regular library users to gather input from a diverse cross-section of the community. Sample questions include:
  • What kind of community do you want to live in?
  • Why is that important to you?
  • What changes would you like to see in your community?
• Staff focus groups surface internal perspective. Sample questions include:
  • What is one thing your library did well in the past 12 months?
  • What is one thing your library did poorly in the past 12 months?
  • If tomorrow were your first day as director, what would be your first priority?
• One-on-one interviews allow deeper conversations with community stakeholders. Sample questions include:
  • What challenges will your organization face in the next 2 to 3 years?
  • What major decisions will you need to make in the next 2 to 3 years?
  • What goals or aspirations would you like to see come to fruition over the next 2 to 3 years?

Step 4: Analyze What You Have Learned

Identify the library's:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

Step 5: Assess the Library's Capacity

Consider how the library can move forward in these areas:

• Personnel
• Finance
• Facility
• Policy
• Partnerships
• Governance
• Marketing and Public Relations
• Measurement and Evaluation

Evaluation

Evaluation is a measurement of activities that have already occurred. It provides a foundation for moving forward. Objective measurement, supplemented by anecdotal information, helps the board determine whether goals are being met. It is important to identify the right measurements upfront. Measuring things that do not matter wastes time and muddies the picture.

Library circulation is a traditional measure of use, but it tells only part of the story. Additional metrics might include:

• Library visits
• Event attendance
• Wi-Fi usage
• Number of active library card holders
• In-house use of materials
• Internet and database use
• Social media engagement

Outcomes describe the changes, benefits, or effects that happen as a result of the library's work. The Public Library Association's Project Outcome provides easy-to-administer tools for outcome-based evaluation.

Pulling It All Together

• Select 3 to 5 priorities to serve as the goals in your long-range plan
• Use a simple template to begin mapping out the plan
• Present a draft to the full board for discussion
• Approve the revised plan at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees

OWWL is glad to review draft plans before board approval.

Training: Long-Range Planning Cohort

OWWL offers Long-Range Planning Cohort trainings through Niche Academy for both directors and trustees. These courses walk participants through the planning process and are designed to be completed alongside an active planning project.

• Directors: Long-Range Planning Cohort on Director Academy
• Trustees: Long-Range Planning Cohort on Trustee Academy

Additional Resources

• Handbook for Library Trustees of New York State
• Helpful Information for Meeting Minimum Public Library Standards
• New York State Public Library Statistics
• Project Outcome (Public Library Association)
• Sustainable Libraries Initiative: Strategic Planning
• ALA: Libraries Transforming Communities
• IMLS: Outcome-Based Evaluation Basics
• A Library Board's Practical Guide to Successful Planning (ALA)
• Helping All Trustees Succeed (Mini Webinar Series)
• Webinar: The Role of Trustees in Planning