Virginia A. Walter - Böcker

Drawing on Hayes's previous work in Strategic Management for Academic Libraries, this professional reference addresses the unique circumstances and needs of public libraries and provides thorough guidance on how to manage change successfully in the community library environment. The volume provides a conceptual framework for strategic management, identifies its major concerns and relationships to the tactical and operational management of public libraries, discusses the particular problems and needs of community libraries, and details the assessment of the library's strategic position. The final section of the book offers extensive practical information for formulating and implementing strategic management in the public library setting.Public libraries must operate in a time of increasing change, both within the library community and throughout the larger social and economic environments in which the library must function. All community libraries, regardless of size, must prepare for the strategic changes that are occurring, such as the National Information Infrastructure and the onrush of electronic information. Planning for change is not enough. Change must be managed strategically, through the library's recognition of its needs and objectives in relationship to the shifting contexts in which it must operate.This professional reference is a comprehensive guide to the strategic management of change in community libraries. Drawing on Hayes's work in Strategic Management for Academic Libraries, this volume addresses the unique circumstances and needs of public libraries and provides thorough guidance on how to manage change successfully in the community library environment. The volume provides a conceptual framework for strategic management, identifies its major concerns and relationships to the tactical and operational management of public libraries, discusses the particular problems and needs of community libraries, and details the assessment of the library's strategic position. The final section of the book offers extensive practical information for formulating and implementing strategic management in the public library setting.

Planning and assessment are both crucial elements of a public library that functions efficiently and flexibly. So why are they often treated as separate processes? This concise book combines planning and evaluation in a holistic approach, helping public library managers and staff put library resources to work for the community. Based on a series of successful workshops, the authors present a workflow made up of manageable steps for integrating outcome-based planning and evaluation (OBPE) into the routine functions of the public library. Offering step by step guidance that's transparent and easy to follow, this book: introduces the concept of OBPE and explains how it can be a streamlined, effective method of getting library users' feedback; defines outcomes and shows why public libraries should use them to plan and evaluate services; shares methodologies for assessing community needs and interests, including key informant interviews, surveys, focus groups, and environmental scans; demonstrates how to use community assessment data to create outcome statements that not only guide the creation of new library services, but also provide targets for measuring the effectiveness of those services; offers techniques for designing services that directly serve the community while also achieving the outcomes the library has targeted; and provides tips for sharing the results with stakeholders and maximizing successful outcome-based programs to leverage the library's role in the community.Featuring plentiful examples of how to proceed through each phase of the OBPE model, this book boils down planning and evaluation into an approachable, easy to understand process for public librarians, library managers, and grant writers.

Changes in public libraries, the communities they serve, children’s lives, and educational research all demonstrate that traditional summer reading programs need to be reimagined. Working groups of librarians, in partnership with the California Library Association and the California State Library, have done just that, creating and implementing outcomes- and outreach-based summer reading programs that speak directly to diverse and changing communities. Drawing on case studies from several different libraries, this book shows how other libraries can transform their own summer programs. Offering a vision of change in action, the authorsbegin with an historical overview of summer programming in public libraries and a review of the research and conditions that have prompted recent changes in summer programs;discuss the principles, strategies, and evaluation framework that California librarians have created to transform their institutions;review a statewide campaign, Summer Matters, that is working to provide equitable summer learning opportunities for all children in California; andtake an in-depth look at Lunch at the Library, a public library summer meal project, which brings underserved families to the library while providing learning opportunities for children, volunteer opportunities for teens, and resources for adults.Public library staff and educators will feel inspired and empowered by the positive examples put forth in this book.

Outcome-based planning and evaluation (OBPE), with its straightforward approach built on a flexible framework, is the perfect model to enable youth services professionals to deliver effective services regardless of uncertainties. An outcome-based approach can help youth services stay grounded in producing desired outcomes with and for youth through responsive programs, services, and processes that can adapt to changing conditions. Clarifying the relationship between planning, program development, and evaluation, the five simple steps outlined in this book will help youth services staff conduct solid community assessments and integrate OBPE into their work. Inside its pages you will learna short history of OBPE and its evolution;why it is crucially important to involve youth in all stages of program development, with guidance on navigating challenges;how to think about planning as the need to react quickly, whether due to natural or human-made disasters, changing demographics, or economic swings;the five steps of OBPE, from gathering information about your community and determining the outcomes that will serve your community to crafting accurate outcome statements, developing an evaluation plan, and maximizing the results of successful outcome-based programs; how to visualize the steps needed to successfully plan, implement, and evaluate an outcome-based program, using the template included in the book;ways to share your data to let people know the library’s important role in the community; andadditional useful tools to bolster your work, including environmental scan forms and ideas for creating relevant family storytimes.

Assisted by social media and other digital tools, today's children and teens are energetic and active participants in a host of social causes, from climate change and gun control to voting rights and racial equity. Public libraries can facilitate their activism by providing trustworthy information and creating opportunities for young people to develop leadership and participation skills. A past president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), in this book Walter demonstrates how libraries can foster greater civic literacy and civic engagement in young patrons. Using a research-based approach that incorporates case studies and interviews with young people and librarians, she:offers a solid rationale for why libraries should get involved, discussing the ways in which youth activism can be supported by core values of librarianship;provides an overview of key areas of activism, such as environmental awareness, school safety, and immigration rights;highlights teen advisory boards and community service opportunities that provide outlets for teen leadership, also suggesting ways to extend these activities to younger children;includes real-world examples of programs and initiatives that can be adapted for a variety of institutions; andshares an extensive list of additional resources, spotlighting informative and inspirational books to share with young patrons that are also ideal for book talks and storytimes.This book shows how public libraries can facilitate democracy by empowering the passionate activism of today's children and teens.

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