Value of Libraries - Knowledge Cafe - How to lobby / communicate with non-stakeholder management

ISSUE:  How to lobby / communicate with non-stakeholder management

v  Develop champions / educate upwards about value, w?? Benefits, outputs etc.

v  Time cost / savings                

o   Efficient research

o   Cost difference between library & other staff

o   Cost saving of shared services

o   Examples of Saving & time saved

v  What meaningful stats should you keep / share

o   Make sure you demonstrate the value outside the library

§  Qualitative results outcomes

v  Be a knowledge base

o   Encourage sharing to avoid “reinventing the wheel”

v  Advocacy as part of Strategic Plan

o   Pre-plan for change in attitude

o   Network

o   Word of mouth

v  Communicate the positivity of being a library

o   Quality information

o   Training

o   Consistency

v  Marketing

o   Not just upwards

o   How can you help all user groups

Value of Libraries - Knowledge Cafe

And now what you have been waiting for ...

... Notes from the knowledge cafe!

Issues include:

·         How to lobby / communicate with non-stakeholder management

·         How to make ourselves visible – marketing &worth

·         Why we need to demonstrate our value

·         Demonstrating value to organisation / community

·         National approach to research into the value of librarians (all sectors)

·         Invisibility of librarian skillset

·         Library value versus it is all free on Google

Each topic has it’s own post so please feel free to add comments.

Thankyou to everyone who was an issue owner.

Value of Libraries - Addition Resources - Australia

To kick off the first of the additional resources here are a few Australian ones (not including the NSW and Victorian Reports of course):

ALIA’s information on Advocacy - http://www.alia.org.au/advocacy/

Our thoughts … This is a good starting place for the practical side of demonstrating the values of libraries.  Of particular interest are the links to the “Every member an advocate” kit and the ALIA Guide to Advocacy and Lobbying for Libraries and Information Organisations.

Capturing Business Intelligence Required for Targeted Marketing, Demonstrating Value, and Driving Process Improvement 2012 - Brian Cox & Margie Jantti

From the abstract ... ‘The University of Wollongong (UOW) has undertaken an innovative and collaborative research project to demonstrate the value that can be provided by academic libraries. The tool developed, the “Library Cube”, is a data warehouse linking student borrowing and use of electronic resources to students’ academic grades and demographic information ... Analysis enabled through the Cube has revealed a very strong relationship between library usage and students’ academic performance. This information will improve UOW Library’s ability to demonstrate value to clients and stakeholders. The Library Cube has also delivered some anticipated and unexpected findings on the relationship between social variables (such as gender, age, and citizenship) and library usage behaviors; and in doing so has also identified potential target audiences for Library promotions and engagement strategies.’

Our thoughts … An interesting approach which is also able to include evaluating the use of electronic resources.  It looks at how different client groups access and benefit from different resources.  There is also a brief section that discusses different ways to demonstrate worth and the implications section asks some important questions.

Best bang for the buck: the economic benefits of Sunshine Coast Libraries Queensland (published in 2008)

From the website ... ‘...Now is the time for library managers to be able to translate the value of the services they provide to the community into language able to be understood by politicians and others. To successfully compete for funds with other areas of council, library managers need to develop tools and documents demonstrating the economic benefits which libraries deliver to the community. While there is no international consensus on the most appropriate methodology to apply to calculating the value of libraries, this paper applies a model used in Southwestern Ohio, to the nine libraries of the Sunshine Coast Regional Council in Queensland. The result was a return of $5.45 per dollar invested.’

Our thoughts … This report examines how the Sunshine Coast Libraries demonstrate value in economic and qualitative terms and describe the problems around providing accurate quantitative data.  Another good starting point.

Value of Libraries Symposium

All right – here we have a link to the introduction slides from Roxanne ...

http://www.slideshare.net/roxannemissingham/value-of-libraries-symposium-intro-slides

... as well as the link to Go8 study ...

http://www.slideshare.net/roxannemissingham/value-of-libraries-anu-outsell-persentation

... and John Murrell’s presentation (including the presentation transcript)...

http://www.slideshare.net/roxannemissingham/murrell-value-of-libraries-canberra-31512

...and more to come!!

The first question ...

Hi everyone – we hope you enjoyed the Valuing Libraries Symposium J

After attending the symposium yesterday, and having had a little time to reflect, what do you think you will do next?

Me?  Well I’ll be doing some research looking at what advocacy resources are available - in particular which ones need to be created for my organisation.  And then having a long and interesting discussion with my supervisor J

Value of Libraries Symposium

Hi Everyone and Welcome to the Value of Libraries Symposium,

Over the next week, starting today, we will be posting questions to think about (and discuss), reviews of as well as links to additional information on this topic links.

And the links that you might want to look at today are ...

... from Roxanne Missingham and Helena Zobec - Go8 Outsell Presentation

http://www.slideshare.net/roxannemissingham/value-of-libraries-anu-outsell-persentation

... from Mylee Joseph,  – ‘Enriching Communities: The value of public libraries in New South Wales’

www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/publications/docs/enriching_communities.pdf

... from John Murrell – ‘Dollars, Sense and Public Libraries: The landmark study of the socio-economic value of Victorian public libraries’

http://www.plvn.net.au/sites/default/files/20110318%20SL_PublicReport_LoRes_FINAL_0.pdf
http://www.plvn.net.au/sites/default/files/DSPL_TechRep_pt1_FINAL_0.pdf
http://www.plvn.net.au/sites/default/files/DSPL_TechRep_pt2_FINAL_0.pdf

... from Kym Holden - Federal Librarians Are Trending and Are Future Ready!

http://futureready365.sla.org/12/27/federal-librarians-are-trending-and-are-future-ready/\

                    -  FLICC Competencies for Federal Librarians

http://www.loc.gov/flicc/publications/Lib_Compt/2011/2011Competencies.pdf

                    - ALIA Special Libraries Survey Report

http://www.alia.org.au/governance/committees/special.libraries/ALIA_SPECIAL_LIBRARIES_REPORT_FA.pdf

Our other speakers today include:

·         Professor Ian Chubb, AC, Chief Scientist

       ·         Vanessa Little

·         Rozanne Frost

·         Former Senator Dr John Tierney OAM

Thankyou and we hope you enjoy this event.

ALIA ACT & Symposium Organisers.

Valuing libraries symposium 31 May 2012

Value of Libraries Symposium
a full day workshop presented by ALIA ACTive and AGLIN

Date: Thursday 31 May 2012
Time: 9am to 4.30 pm
Venue: University House, Australian National University


Have you thought about what is the value proposition for your clients?

• In these times of financial restraint how can you position your library to deliver the services that really matter to your organisation?
• How can you be a part of your organisation that makes a difference and communicates your value?
• Do you want to survive?
• If you have been thinking about these issues this is the event for you.

This symposium will address the hot topic of understanding and aligning our library services to the values that can be provided to our clients and stakeholders.

Every organisation is facing financial challenges. Libraries need to focus on what they do that makes a difference, make changes to deliver that and communicate that they are doing that – including through evaluation, statistics. Isn’t not about what you did in the past or how big the collection is, it’s about what makes a difference!

Please find attached a flyer

Program

and registration form for the symposium.
Registration form