7+ Library Strategic Plan Templates – PDF
Hogwarts has it that Hermione Granger has one sacred rule for fact-checking: When in doubt, go to the library. Today, we have the luxury to check and verify information on the internet in just a matter of seconds. One keyword is all it takes because Google is everyone’s best friend. Or so the rest of us thought. You may also see school strategic plan templates.
Google is definitely not foolproof, but with the ease to which we can find information on the internet and even check archives and open other related works about questions we seek answers for, are libraries still a thing? You may also see IT strategy plan templates.
University Library Strategic Plan Sample
University Strategic Plan Sample
Library Strategic Plan Example
Amid technology, Google, electronic and audio books, and contrary to what your family and friends may be telling you, libraries are still very much alive, kicking and are still serving their purpose as a beacon of light for when everything and everyone around you seem to be bereft of the kind of knowledge you need, or just knowledge and truth in general. Unfortunately, the Pew Research Center recently reported that a quarter of American adults haven’t picked up, much less read a book in part for the past few years. You may also see HR strategic plans.
Libraries Are Still A Thing
The Library of Congress is located in the nation’s capital and it is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. It is also the de facto national library of the country and the largest library in the world but you can bet your paycheck that many people, especially young adults, don’t even know about its cultural significance or even care about how important it is to the government since it officially serves as the research library of the United States Congress. You may also see church strategic plans.
It certainly looks like we need to make America informed again before we try to continue making it great. On top of that, the country is in turmoil with gun violence and issues about racism seemingly have a habit of always coming back despite what this country had fought for in the 60’s. What does the library have to do with this? You may also see personal strategic plans.
Everything
Libraries play a big part in strengthening and in some cases, even empowering communities and critical thinking, as well as literacy, are part of that. Public libraries exist in urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods, and they’re naturally a part of their community’s history. Perhaps you haven’t realized or simply wasn’t paying enough attention to your town or city’s library. You may also see strategic sales plans.
That the librarian is everybody’s go-to person for a reference book they need. That he or she may have been there for many years and knows what kind of book or information everybody needs. That she’s doing well beyond just lending books but also serving her community well by making sure people get the right information from the correct reference and suggest further readings. You may also see school strategic plan templates.
Libraries and the future
What will become of our librarians? It makes one wonder what’s in store for libraries and the communities it stands to serve, because of all the social unrest that’s going on not only in the country but in other parts of the world. How can libraries respond to the crisis and survive the modern times trying to turn everything into something digital? You may also see free strategic plan templates.
Will we finally see books on rundown shelves of old libraries and homes finally being completely replaced by their electronic versions? That’s going to be really tough to accept because libraries have always existed with the community even before the first library classification system of the Han Dynasty. You may also see strategic plan templates in PDF.
Library of Congress Strategic Plan
Library Board Strategic Planning
Public Library Strategic Plan
Operation “Save the Library”
Thankfully though, we haven’t reached the point where we’ll start on a mission or something like “Operation Save The Library,” although you can argue it’s what we need if we want our libraries to continue serving the community just like it used to-filled with people eagerly looking for titles or archives for some research they’re working on, for a stranger curious enough to know the history of the town, for the child whose happiness banks on the books he or she gets to read on his one free hour each day before going home. Libraries can and will more than survive if the board behind it adopts strategies and the kind of planning tangible enough not to build up dust along with forgotten books of old, in the restricted section. You may also see strategic life plan templates.
Many communities, including the academe, have already adopted strategic planning as a key process not only to prepare the library for a successful future, but also to equip librarians with the skills, knowledge, training, and education to serve as specialists of community health and encourage a culture of health. You may also see hospital strategic plans.
For example, the University of Pennsylvania has worked in partnership with local libraries in Philadelphia to address issues surrounding population health, including mental health. In 2015, according to university researchers, there was almost 10 percent of the libraries’ 5.8 million visitors who took advantage of the libraries’ assistance for access to resources in areas such as mental health, youth leadership, trauma, and nutrition. You may also see training strategic plans.
Importance of Library Strategic Planning
The board can make use of a well-developed strategic plan template for the library to qualify for grants that would make such programs possible and provide a more adequate service to the community. These opportunities are open if the management or people in charge would be able to put strategies in place which would be good for a period of 3-5 years and not be drafted, agreed upon only to be forgotten with nothing implemented and everything just remaining to be plans and no action to show for it. You may also see non-profit strategic plan templates.
Planning is important for these three different reasons:
1. Strategic planning gives your library a great chance to make the greatest possible impact on the community by establishing a mission, vision, and objectives to serve as a guide for the present and future activities. You may also see restaurant strategic plan samples.
2. No two communities are the same, therefore there can’t be a uniformed strategy for all public and university libraries in the country. Strategic planning then allows the library to tailor its services to what the community-specific needs. You may also see museum strategic plan templates.
3. Strategic planning builds and develops committed and enthusiastic individuals for your library which would always champion its needs.
Writing the Strategic Plan
A good place to start when developing your strategic plan is to read a copy of the council or the board’s current planning documents and familiarize yourself with the Operational Plans indicated. After which you can get in touch with a member of the council or anyone responsible for coordinating the planning process since he or she would be the one to advise or tell you about the stakeholders that should be involved in the strategic planning process. In the event that the library has not yet been part of the city council’s or the institution’s planning process, this is a good opportunity to start and discuss its involvement.
The library strategic plan should always be related to the library’s core services or what the people in the community have always known it for when it comes to access and assistance. The planning should also consider influences which the environment outside the library or the institution may have over the library. For example, if the growth rate in the community is looking to increase during the period of the planning process, plans should also reflect this and not just ignore it.
Planning preparations should also come with consultation with all parties involved, especially all library staff across all areas of library services. These people are the ones facing the stakeholders and the people in the community on a regular basis, which makes their input to the planning process extremely important if only to justify and take ownership of the strategies which would be planned and discussed. Furthermore, the planning of strategies will have much better results if the stakeholders are within the community are involved in developing the plan.
Most likely, you would have the council with the councilors, the staff and external stakeholders like a representative of regular users or visitors of the library which are also taxpayers, including business and non-profit organization groups. These people and more would have to be engaged throughout your planning process to make sure that appropriate strategies would be put in place. You may also see health & safety strategic plans.
CUL Strategic Plan Example
Sample Library Strategic Plan
A sample strategic plan for the library serves as a road map for the journey of a community seeking for success, especially in the social sense. You shouldn’t look at it as a rigid policy because it’s not. Strategic planning should be an opportunity for you and your community to identify the strengths and unseen potential of your library, be it the reference materials gathering dust that can use some cleaning, the funds available to upgrade its tools and help users gain access to information they can’t seem to find anywhere else or a makeover of the shelves.
Whatever it is, strategic planning can help create a community-focused action plan not only for the library to remain relevant but also to serve as a strong tool for social action and change by providing individuals the information and books that would develop their way of thinking in the search for knowledge and truth.