valuing libraries: demonstrating the contributions libraries make to their communities a two-part...

Valuing Libraries: Demonstrating the Contributions Libraries Make to Their

CommunitiesA Two-part Workshop Sponsored By

Arizona State Library, Archives and Public RecordsOctober 31 & November 1, 2006

Presented By:

Joanne P. Roukens, Executive DirectorHighlands Regional Library Cooperative

Denville, NJwww.hrlc.org

The New Jersey State Library & the Highlands Regional Cooperative Library Funding and Resource Development Taskforce present:

HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2006

Special Acknowledgement

Special thanks are due to Donna Bachowski, formerly the director of the Edgewater Public Library (NJ) and now with the Orange County

Library System (FL).

Donna co-wrote and originally presented these workshops with me and none of this would have

happened without her hard work, insight enthusiasm and friendship.

Joanne P. Roukens


Acknowledgements

• HRLC Funding and Resource Development Taskforce

• New Jersey State Library, Norma Blake & Jeff Kesper

• Morris County Library, Sara Weissman

• INFOLINK, Cheryl O’Connor

• Neptune Public Library, Marian Bauman


Special Acknowledgement To:

www.webjunction.org & OCLC

&

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Today is about how you can demonstrate your library’s impact on your community.

Valuing Libraries – Part 1

Valuing Your Services


Valuing Libraries Toolkit

www.hrlc.org/funding/valuinglibs.htm

Copies of everything you need, plus PowerPoints and other documents for the Arizona workshop are at:

http://az.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=372


Overview

All materials for this workshop are based on

the WebJunction “Demonstrating Impact”

web documents

http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=1193


Overview

1. Strategize (today)

2. Quantify (today and homework)

3. Make the Case (tomorrow)

Three steps to demonstrating impact:


Objectives

After this program, you will be able to:

• Define what is valuable to customers and funders/stakeholders

• Execute a seven-part strategic process

• Identify your library’s “Value Proposition”

• Quantify your library’s value


Value and Vision• What is value?

– "Value and Vision" by Eleanor Jo “Joey” Rodger, American Libraries, Nov. 1, 2002

• Ideas of value have changed• Moving target, constantly needs

assessment• Usefulness, quality, availability, image


Value and Vision

• What it is not:

– Historic is not valuable– Doesn’t correspond to staff ideas of importance– Is not about our professional values


Value and Vision

• Not enough money to go around• How do we create more public value?• “Bridging the Value Gap: getting past

professional values to customer value in the public library,” by Gary Deane, Public Libraries, Sept/Oct 2003

• Doing wrong things well does not create value


Value and Vision

• Strategic triangle

1. Publicly valuable2. Politically and legally supported3. Administratively and operationally feasible

• Commit to reflection, listening and flexibility

Pub

licly

Val

uabl

e

Political &

Legal Support

Feasible


Value and Vision

• Evaluate each service

• Identify feasible enhancements

• Listen and understand agendas

• Recognize trends and realign

Enhance Value:


Exercise


Value and Vision Summary

• Identify was is and is not “value”

• Examine services using the Strategic Triangle

• Need to keep an eye on trends and realign

• List what is valuable to customers, funders/stakeholders

Demonstrating Impact

Step 1: Strategizing


Strategizing Steps

1. Assess your resources

2. Identify your target

3. Become a lobbyist

4. Identify what is important to funders

5. Identify what you do best

6. Determine how to articulate value

7. Find the connection



• All types and all sizes can do this

• Principles stay the same

• Fit your plans to your library



• Critical to success

• Understand your audience

• Express your value so it relates to them

• Relate value in real-world terms


3. Become a “Library Lobbyist”

• Get out there

• Build personal connections


4. What is important to funders?

• What is on the board’s mind?

• What is on the council’s mind?

• What do the constituents say?

• What economic trends are in your community?

• What are the hot-button issues?



• Clear mission statement

• Strategic plan

• Library audit – http://skyways.lib.ks.us/pathway/audit.html


6. Articulating Value

• Focus on what you offer and what your funders value

• Audience attention is limited, as is your time.

• Concise, easy to understand and substantiate

• http://www.infolink.org/services/other/roi.asp



• Connect the dots

• Simple and powerful

• Value Proposition


Value Proposition

• An offer to some entity in which they get more than they give up, as perceived by them, and in relationship to alternatives, including doing nothing.


The Value Proposition

• An offer, not a demand

• Not what you value

• Only valuable perspective is the customer’s

• Valuable in a competitive environment


OR

If you give me this (the money I am seeking),

you will get that (specific benefits that come from

library services).


OR

The promise that a library makes to its

customers about what they can expect

to receive in return for their time,

their effort, their loyalty, and especially their dollars.


Value Proposition

What your library does well

What your funders value


The Value Proposition

• Actionable by you and your organization

• Credible and compelling to target audience

Must fill two requirements:


Exercise


Example

Services the Acme Cleaners do best:


ExampleYou, the customer, need:


Acme Cleaners’ Value Proposition


Summary



3. Become a lobbyist

4. Identify what is important to funders


6. Determine how to articulate value


Demonstrating Impact

Step 2: Quantifying


Demonstrating Impact: Quantifying

• Translate intangible benefits into hard numbers

• What are our intangible benefits?


Approaches to Quantifying

1. Traditional statistics

2. Outcome Based Evaluation - OBE

3. Return on investment - ROI

4. Anecdotal

5. Data from peers


1. Traditional Statistics

• Circulation figures, patron visits, collection size, reference transactions, program attendance

– Pro: Demonstrate base level of service

– Con: Doesn’t speak powerfully to funders


2. Outcome Based Evaluation

• Shows results as determined by previously set categories

– Pro: Specific, powerful, becoming more prevalent

– Con: Can be an involved process


3. Return On Investment

• Common in the for-profit sector• Shows value of services

– Pro: Clear, accurate statement of fund use and resulting benefits

– Con: Difficult to quantify benefits from non-priced goods and services


4. Anecdotal

• Humanizes your services

– Pro: Powerful communication tool

– Con: Lacks hard evidence


5. Data From Peers

• Comparison of your services and statistics to libraries with similar service profiles

– Pro: Fairly easy to complete

– Con: Can backfire – all politics are local


Bottom Line

• Best and most powerful arguments will come from information about the realities of your own community and your own library.


What Data Do You Need?

• Based on your strategy and your locality

• Need enough to establish the library value to your funders


Data Collection

• Easiest: repackaging existing data

• More difficult: compiling, analyzing raw data

• Most difficult: collecting fresh data

We are going to do it the easy way!


What You Are Going to Do!

1. Gather your statistics - Population- Total of last fiscal year budget- Last year’s circ/usage stats

2. Use price list and select3. Open worksheet and fill in numbers


What You Are Going to Do!

1. Divide total value figure by budget figure

2. Multiply by 100 to get ROI percentage


How Easy!

• Niceville Public Library

• Budget of $458,000

• Population 9,358


Review

• Value – what is it and how do we enhance it

• 7 steps to strategizing

• Value Proposition

• Quantify benefits


ACTION!

1. Gather your statistics2. Access the Excel spreadsheet template3. Fill in your figures4. Add short description or narrative, if you

wish5. Polish, if you wish6. Bring “Value of Services” documents to

next session


Valuing Libraries Toolkit

www.hrlc.org/funding/valuinglibs.htm

Copies of everything you need, plus PowerPoints and other documents for the Arizona workshop are at:

http://az.webjunction.org/do/Navigation?category=372

QUESTIONS?


Next Time - ”Making Your Case”

• Tell your story effectively

• Deliver a one or three minute speech

• Write an impact letter

• Make a ten-minute presentation


Conclusion

Strategy

+ quantify

= Impact


Valuing Libraries Contact Info:

• Joanne P. Roukens, Executive DirectorJoanne P. Roukens, Executive Director

Highlands Regional Library CooperativeHighlands Regional Library Cooperative

973-664-1776973-664-1776

[email protected]@hrlc.org


The Highlands Regional Library Cooperative (HRLC) is a proud member of the New Jersey Library Network. The Cooperative and its services

are made possible in whole or part by funding to the New Jersey Library Network from the NJ State Legislature and the New Jersey State Library,

an Affiliate of Thomas Edison State College.

This workshop was made possible by a funding partnership between the New Jersey State Library and HRLC.

Norma Blake, New Jersey State Librarian

Joanne P. Roukens, Executive Director, HRLC

valuing libraries: demonstrating the contributions libraries make to their communities a two-part...

Documents

arizona state library

acknowledgements hrlc

librarys value slide

roukens slide

image slide

services slide

edgewater public library

orange county library