Can You Justify Why Your Library Shouldnt Be Scrapped

1
Can You Justify Why Your Library Shouldnt Be
Scrapped

• Steve Thornton
• Editor, PMM Journal

2
The Threat

• Libraries and Information Services are constantly
  under threat, whether that threat is apparent or
  not
• Regardless of reality, the perception of senior
  managers, spoken or otherwise is
• The Library is an overhead that contributes
  nothing to short-term profit, and it is all on
  the Internet now anyway.

3
The Facts

• Decisions for closure are often taken by senior
  managers long before any discussions take place
• Users opinions can rarely affect such decisions
• Some libraries actually do add no value
  whatsoever, and should have their throats cut

4
What You Have To Do

• Start preparing the case for survival now
• Review what you do and why do you add value?
• Gather the evidence
• Identify the key players and stakeholders
• Actively market how good you are and how you
  support the organisation now, and continuously
• Dont get lost in day-to-day doing

5
How Do You Add Value?

• Any activity, process/procedure/policy, input or
  output that directly or indirectly provides a
  benefit to a client/customer, as perceived by the
  client/customer perspective.

6
In The Case of Libraries

• Organising information into a structured and well
  thought out format
• Normalising information into consistent
  structures, regardless of form
• Efficient retrieval of information
• Sharing information between all interested
  parties
• Supporting the learning process that underpins
  all research and development
• Knowing what their users needs are

7
Gather The Evidence

• Evidence needs to be gathered methodically and
  regularly
• There are formal statistical sets and measures
  that may be useful
• Other techniques can be applied Balanced
  Scorecard, Critical Success Factors
• Others may be applicable but I hae me doots
  LibQUAL, eVALUED Toolkit, ICT EVALKIT
• Comments, praise, plaudits and accolades
• And ESPECIALLY anything quantifiable in monetary
  terms

8
Identify Your Stakeholders

• The Chief Executive and Board
• Your Champion / Big Boss
• Heads of Department
• the Finance Director
• the client community
• Your management
• Your staff

9
Sell Yourselves

• Hit the stakeholders regularly with what you have
  done
• Advertise the successes
• Update, update, update
• Convince the organisation of your information (
  knowledge) management skills and abilities
•  
• It may not save you, but you are at least in a
  much stronger position

10
Conclusion

• Dont hide your light under a bushel
•  
• Start work on an active defence strategy NOW!
•  
• If you sit back and wait to be slaughtered, you
  deserve everything you get