Technology Planning for Public Libraries

1
Technology Planning for Public Libraries

• Internet Librarian Conference
• Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 130 to 430

• Danielle Shreve, Director, Perry Carnegie
  Library, OK
• Kay Hicks, Technology Coordinator, Barton County
  Library, MO
• Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator, Northeast
  Kansas Library System
• Anna Leavitt, TechAtlas Project Coordinator,
  WebJunction
• Jeff Hall, TechAtlas Technical Writer,
  WebJunction
• Christopher Jowaisas, Associate Program Officer,
  Bill Melinda Gates Foundation

2
Schedule Outline

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demos

3
Introductions

• Name
• Favorite book you have read in the past year
• Current role with Technology Planning in Public
  Libraries
• Your biggest Challenge in relation to your
  current role with Technology Planning

4
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

5
Technology Planning with TechAtlas

• Suite of web-based Technology Planning tools
• Organize a technology team and create a
  technology vision for you library
• Create and manage an inventory of your computer
  equipment and resources
• Assess your technology management practices,
  including networking, security, and staff
  technology skills
• Build a technology action plan
• Available to all libraries via WebJunction
  membership
• Is everyone familiar with TechAtlas?

6
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

7
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Essential Elements of a successful technology
  strategy
• Case Studies
• FBI Case Study (cj)
• NE Kansas Regional Library System (bh)
• Sacramento Public Library Case Study (al)
• Perry Carnegie Library (ds)
• Lessons Learned

8
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Essential Elements of a successful Technology
  Strategy
• Listen to what your patrons want they have
  great ideas.
• Involve Library Staff in the process they are
  on the front lines.
• Understand organizational culture staff support
  and capacity is critical for the success of new
  ideas.
• Establish Realistic Time frames - prioritize
  based on need - dont try to do everything at
  once.
• Watch peer libraries and other industries for
  ideas.

9
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Case Study FBI Virtual Case File project
• Ignored culture of organization
• Tried to impose technology solution
• CIO is creating a five-year strategic plan to
  guide IT development and spending.
• All of these serve to provide ownership and
  guideposts.
• FBI wasted
• Time
• Money
• Scrapped project!

10
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Case Study Northeast Kansas Regional Library
  System
• Created strategic plan spanning 3 years
• Created system plan for each year
• Committee meetings
• New Technologies Committee
• Technology Support Committee
• Time
• Set realistic timelines of goals to be achieved

11
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Case Study Sacramento Public Library
• Built Technology Plan through team planning
• Including frontline customer service staff
• New Focus
• Sacramentos solution
• Biggest Challenges
•  

12
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Case Study Perry Carnegie Library
• Includes Stakeholders in the strategy and
  planning process
• A Library Board Member
• Front Line Program Staff from Adult and
  Juvenile Services
• A Retired School Administrator
• A Technology Novice
• A Library User Who Is Excited About Technology
  and Knowledge
• How Team Operates
• - Meet every three months
• - Agenda is used for the meeting
• - All stakeholders are involved and no one feels
  left out of the loop
• - Library board is kept abreast of
  recommendations and decisions.
• - Progress is shared with staff members

13
Creating a Technology Strategy

• Lessons learned
• Listen to what your patrons want they have
  great ideas.
• Involve Library Staff in the process they are
  on the front lines.
• Understand culture of staff staff support is
  critical for success.
• Admit failure and learn from it.
• Good planning with a team can help you avoid
  mistakes.
• Create excitement!

14
Creating a Technology Strategy?

• Questions/Comments/Feedback on Creating a
  Technology Strategy?

15
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

16
Technology Needs Assessment

• Ideas for a successful Technology Needs
  Assessments
• Compare your libraries to others
• Case Studies
• Perry Carnegie Library (ds)
• Barton County Library (kh)
• Use of NCES (cj)

17
Technology Needs Assessment

• Ideas for a successful Technology Needs
  Assessments
• Talk to your patrons Identify patron needs
• Talk to your Staff
• Identify service needs
• Ensure services will be supported by staff
• Talk to your Technology Team
• Exposure to outside ideas and resources
• Talk to your peer libraries
• What unique services are they providing?
• Establish a baseline of where you are
• TechAtlas Assessments
• Compare your library to peer libraries

18
Technology Needs Assessment

• Case Study Perry Carnegie Library
• Assessments in TechAtlas
• TechAtlas has it all
• - Recommendations
• - Rational
• Example of an assessment that has helped?
• TechAtlas Demo (http//webjunction.techatlas.org)

19
Technology Needs Assessment

• Case Study Barton County Library
• Inventory in TechAtlas (TechSurveyor)
• Event Tracker
• Benefits
• Increases efficiency
• Increased Communication
• Allow to use time and resources to the best
• TechAtlas Demo (http//webjunction.techatlas.org)

20
Technology Needs Assessment

• Compare yourself to other libraries (cj)
• NCES Compare your library to others
• Public Access Computers
• How many staff
• Budget
• Look at other librarys technology plans
• Make sure to assess yourself against other
  libraries.
• Compared to my peer libraries
• How to justify providing new services

21
Technology Needs Assessment

• Questions/Comments/Feedback on Technology Needs
  Assessment?

22
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

23
Professional Development

• Ideas for Professional Development
• Tools for identifying professional development
  areas of opportunities
• Resources for Professional Development

24
Professional Development

• Ideas for a Successful Professional Development
  Plan
• Survey Staff
• What do they want
• What do they need
• Identify individual skills
• Identify your experts to fill in the gaps
• Technology Training as informal process.
• By talking about specific goals and objectives.
• Creating a culture of inclusion.
• Conquer lack of communication between IT and
  front line staff.

25
Professional Development

• Online Resources for Professional Development
• SurveyMonkey online survey tool
• Zoomerang online survey tool
• TechAtlas Staff Skills Survey
• Perry Carnegie Library
• Questionnaire e-mailed to staff.
• Answers are stored and a chart of staff skills is
  created.
• This can save you time, money, and frustration.
• Able assign tasks to those most able to
  accomplish them.
• Barton County Library
• WebJunction
• State Library
• Internet search for tutorials

26
Professional Development

• Resources for Professional Development (ds)
• Association Memberships (ex. ALA, PLA)
• Professional Journals
• State Libraries
• Encourage Leaders to offer workshops on newer
  technologies and applications
• WebJunction
• Learning from others who have succeeded, and can
  demonstrate their strengths and share their
  stories is motivating.
• Rural Library Matrix
• Encouraging Staff to explore and take online
  courses (kh)

27
Professional Development

• Questions/Comments/Feedback on Professional
  Development?

28
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

29
Budgeting and Funding

• Budgeting saves time and money
• Case Studies

30
Budgeting and Funding

• Proper budgeting and planning saves time and
  money
• Lower, foreseen costs happier funders/budget
  office
• Needs assessment will inform budgeting and
  funding decisions
• Technology plan, including inventory, allows you
  to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
  
• Ex Come in Monday and theres a note on your PC
  from director need cut your budget by 10
• Would you be able to do that and by having a plan
  and an inventory of your equipment and everything
  prioritized

31
Budgeting and Funding

• Case Study Barton County Library
• Prove you have a way to manage your technology
• Has a way to track issues with computers
• Ability to track age of machines
• Print inventory for tech plan and grant
  applications
• Example Gas prices
• Encourages cutting down travel and training
  budget
• Prioritizing Event Tracker

32
Budgeting and Funding

• Resources
• WebJunction.org -gt Buying and Funding
• General Purchasing Advice
• Funding
• Discounts and Donations TechSoup Stock for
  Libraries
• Ten Tips for Funding Technology found on TechSoup
• Grants for Libraries A How-To-Do-It Manual and
  CD-ROM for Librarians - By Gerding and MacKellar
• Tocker Family Foundation Best Practices

33
Buying and Funding

• Questions/Comments/Feedback on Buying and Funding?

34
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating Your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

35
Evaluating Your Technology Plan

• Ideas for Evaluating your Technology Plan
• Schedule review sessions
• Know where your plan lives
• Establish measurable inputs and outputs
• Many funders are interested in funding technology
  projects

36
Evaluating Your Technology Plan

• Questions/Comments/Feedback on Evaluating Your
  Technology Plan?

37
Schedule

• Introductions
• Technology Planning with TechAtlas
• Creating a Technology Strategy
• Technology Needs Assessment
• Professional Development
• Budgeting and Funding
• Evaluating your Technology Plan
• TechAtlas Demo

38
TechAtlas Demo

• TechAtlas available to all libraries through
  WebJunction
• http//webjunction.techatlas.org
• Steps on setting up a new account
• Features coming in January
• Highlights
• E-rate friendly plan included
• New Budgeting tools
• Feedback needed
• Additional tools / modules?

39
Technology Planning in Public Libraries

• Questions?
• Contact Info
• Danielle Shreve - drshreve_at_perry.lib.ok.us
• Kay Hicks - khicks_at_real.more.net
• Brenda Hough - bhough_at_nekls.org
• Christopher Jowaisas cj_at_gatesfoundation.org
• Anna Leavitt leavitta_at_oclc.org
• Jeff Hall hallje_at_oclc.org

40
Resources

• Creating a Technology Strategy
• FBI article
• Sacramento Public Library
• Technology Needs Assessment
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Professional Development
• TechAtlas Staff Skills Survey
• Zoomerang.com
• SurveyMonkey .com
• Budgeting and Funding
• WebJunction.org -gt Buying and Funding
• Ten Tips for Funding Technology found on TechSoup
• Book Grants for Libraries A How-To-Do-It Manual
  and CD-ROM for Librarians - By Stephanie R.
  Gerding and Pamela H. MacKellar
• Tocker Family Foundation Best Practices (see
  handout)