Thrive rather than survive: Incorporate assessment into your library planning

Thrive rather than survive: Incorporate assessment into your library planning
By Kathy Brown, Director for Planning and Research, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, USA

The depth and extent of the current economic downturn have affected all of us in both our professional and personal lives. Strategic thinking and careful planning are absolutely critical when the focus is on surviving rather than thriving. To a certain extent, this is not a new scenario for libraries. We have always had to plan carefully. Even in the best of times, we’ve rarely experienced the luxury of having enough resources to match what we hoped to achieve with our services, collections and staff.

While retrenchment may be the order of the day, library planning has undergone another major change over the last decade. Funding agencies no longer take it on faith that libraries do good things with their allocations. Society in general is demanding accountability, and assessment is becoming an increasingly important component of library planning.

http://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/lcn/0703/lcn070303.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1. TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY 2. OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY 3. ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY

INTRODUCTION A feasibility study assesses the operational, technical and economic merits of the proposed project. The feasibility study is intended to be a preliminary review of the facts to see if it is worthy of proceeding to the analysis phase. From the systems analyst perspective, the feasibility analysis is the primary tool for recommending whether to proceed to the next phase or to discontinue the project. The feasibility study is a management-oriented activity. The objective of a feasibility study is to find out if an information system project can be done and to suggest possible alternative solutions. Projects are initiated for two broad reasons: 1.      Problems that lend themselves to systems solutions 2.      Opportunities for improving through: (a) upgrading systems (b) altering systems (c) installing new systems A feasibility study should provide management with enough information to decide: ·    ...
Read more

LIBRARY RESOURCES AND THEIR ROLE IN EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION Over the years, many libraries have supported education efforts by providing teaching resources, information and referral services. A more active approach has been taken by libraries offering educational classes or one-to-one tutoring programs. Many libraries have outreach programs designed to meet the needs of specific groups of people with limited educational skills. Library resource materials are distributed to the institutionalized, including those in prisons, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and group homes for the elderly and disabled. In addition, some libraries offer programs for groups at risk for education-related problems. Adolescents have been targeted because lack of education has been associated with other problems including crime, pregnancy, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, and school failure. After-school and summer educational programs have sought to encourage young people to become employable, contributing members of the community and gener...
Read more

LIBRARY RESOURCES AND THEIR ROLE IN EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION Over the years, many libraries have supported education efforts by providing teaching resources, information and referral services. A more active approach has been taken by libraries offering educational classes or one-to-one tutoring programs. Many libraries have outreach programs designed to meet the needs of specific groups of people with limited educational skills. Library resource materials are distributed to the institutionalized, including those in prisons, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and group homes for the elderly and disabled. In addition, some libraries offer programs for groups at risk for education-related problems. Adolescents have been targeted because lack of education has been associated with other problems including crime, pregnancy, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, and school failure. After-school and summer educational programs have sought to encourage young people to become employable, contributing members of the community and genera...
Read more