Conducting needs and assets assessment for outreach in your community is a necessary step in developing an effective community outreach plan. Having ideas for how to improve community outreach is great, but how can we know exactly what our community’s needs are?

Successful Community Outreach: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians by Robert S. Martin, Barbara Blake, and Yunfei Du contains stellar community outreach plans help libraries build the strong partnerships that undergird these critical ties.

Outreach programs or services are designed to connect, educate, and serve nontraditional or underserved communities and populations. Bear in mind that community outreach can be focused on bringing new users into the library to provide services and resources that they need. But it can also be designed to take the library out into the community, working with other community organizations, to create and demonstrate value to the community. Underserved and unserved segments of the community can benefit from both types of outreach. Going out into the community can sometimes be a more effective way to raise awareness of the library, generate new users, and demonstrate public value. If you are considering adding a new service or program, then you need to assess if there is a need for it and, if so, the level of that need. If you are reviewing an established service or program, then you need to evaluate what users think of that service or program and how it is being provided or delivered.

Together the needs and assets assessment will help you find answers to questions such as:

1. Are there groups in the community we are not reaching? If so, what groups?

2. Is the library the right organization to address the needs of this group? If so, does the library currently offer programs that could benefit this target group? If so, what are they?

3. To what extent are these programs or services successful with the target group? If these programs and services are not being used by the target group, why?

4. Are there new services or programs that might better meet the needs of the target group? If so, what are they?

5. Is there a way to make the library and its services more useful to the target group through community partnerships? If so, what organizations and programs in the community might the library consider as partners?

6. What expectations does the target group have of the library? How can the library meet those expectations?

7. Are there additional materials or information the library and/or its partners could provide to better fill the need of the target group?

8. Do staffing patterns or library hours need to be adjusted to meet the needs of the target group?

- Excerpted from Successful Community Outreach: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, pp. 35-36. © 2011 by Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Academic archives are going through dramatic changes, and it is important for archivists and other LIS professionals to stay on top of new trends and practices. Written by expert archivist Aaron D. Purcell, Academic Archives offers all the guidance readers need to start and maintain these important collections. From the press release:

In today’s world, academic archives serve multiple roles, encompassing records management programs, special collections
departments, and other archival repositories. Because of these nontraditional functions, modern academic archivists require different sets of skills and training from those of their predecessors. Academic Archives: Managing the Next Generation of College and University Archives, Records, and Special Collections, to be published on February 29, 2012 by Neal-Schuman Publishers, offers valuable guidance for archivists of all levels, helping them start or manage archives and remain current on new and future trends.

Click here to find out more about this and other titles in Neal-Schuman’s press release database.

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More than one librarian has had to take over a library’s book discussion group on top of a thousand other duties. If you are pressed for time, it can be hard to plan and execute a good book discussion meeting. The resources listed below tell you where to find ready-made questions for book discussion groups on the internet so that you can be prepared for your next book discussion group.

Today’s How-To-Do-It Tip comes from Running Book Discussion Groups: A How-To-Do-It Manual by Lauren Zina John.

Ready-Made Questions
There are a number of sources for read-made questions that can be used in book discussions. Commercial and academic book publishers, bookstores, libraries, online book clubs, and even fee-based discussion group consultants are now posting free lists of discussion questions on the Internet. Some publishers, especially paperback publishers, insert discussion questions at the back of their books. Literature professors often post their class questions and syllabi on the Internet.

Although you’ll find more material on current best-sellers and well-studied classics, the Web can yield plentiful material on more obscure books too. Here are some resources for finding good book group questions online, starting with the easiest (and cheapest) places to find ready-made questions. (…)

• Google (www.google.com). A Google search is a “quick and dirty” way to find book group questions. Simlpy combine the title of your book with the phrase “book group” or “book discussion.” A Google search for “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “book discussion” (conducted in March 2005) yielded questions from sites including the Random House Reader’s Guide, The Multnomah County Library Homework Center, and the State of Vermont Department of Libraries, which also offered a book discussion kit.
•Amazon (www.amazon.com). Some of the publishers that sell books on Amazon provide reader’s guides and questions. To find discussion questions when they are included, search for the book by title and click on the title to get more information. At this point, a book information box will appear in the left-hand column. Generally, the box includes links to customer and editorial reviews, but if the publisher has also provided reading group guides and questions, you’ll find them here.
• The Book Report Network (www.tbrnetwork.com). This site is a portal that links to a growing number of Web sites that provide author interviews, reviews, and commentary — along with interactive elements such as polls, message boards, questions, and contests. The Book Report Network was founded in 1996 and is physically based in New York City. One of the sites that it links to, ReadingGroupGuides.com, enables readers to search for guides that include discussion questions. Another Web site, AuthorYellowPages.com, is a searchable directory of author Web sites. Many of these author Web sites also provide links to discussion questions.

 

Figure 6.1

•The Internet Public Library Online Criticism Collection (www.ipl.org). The Internet Public Library was an online references service founded in 1995 as part of a graduate seminar at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Today the University of Michigan continues to support this site with funding from Sun Microsystems and Intel. The FAQ for the site describes it as “the first public library of and for the Internet community.” Among the many wonderful reference services offered here, you will find many resources for group leaders. The full text of many literary works is available here, including the complete works of Shakespeare, Aesop’s Fables, classic mythology, and American short stories and novels by writers including Mark Twain, Luisa May Alcott, and Willa Cather. The Online Literary Criticism Collection (www.ipl.org/div/litcrit) contains critical and biographical Web sites about authors and their works that can be browsed by author, title, nationality, and literary period. The collection links readers to criticism of American, Canadian, European, Latin American, and Asian literature, in some cases going as far back as medieval and ancient times. Because this section is not updated regularly, it is a better source for classics and well-reviewed books that are at least ten years old rather than bestsellers. I have personally used the site to find comprehensive information on authors including Truman Capote, Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, and Alice Munro. This is also a good place to find links to published interviews with contemporary authors. Figure 6.1 shows the portal pages for the online Literary Criticism Collection.
• SparkNotes (www.sparknotes.com). The “Literature Study Guides” section of this Web site, which includes guides to both contemporary and classic literature, is prepared by literature students but appreciated by a far wider audience. A question from the SparkNotes guide to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets asks,”What do the origins and parts of the names reveal about the characters? Consider the names of Lucius Malfoy, Albus Dumbledore, and Voledemort?” Here’s a question from the SparkNotes guide to Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita: “How does Humpert change over the course of the novel? How does his attitude toward Lolita change (if it changes), and what is Humpert’s attitude about Lolita and the whole affair when he writes this manuscript in his jail cell?

-Excerpted from  Running Book Discussion Groups: A How-To-Do-It Manual, pp. 85-89. © 2008 by Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Read more of Lauren John’s writing on her book discussion blog!

Remember, there is a practical, new How-To-Do-It Tip from Neal-Schuman’s acclaimed How-To-Do-It Manuals® every two weeks. Make sure you never miss an update by subscribing to our blog feed or signing up for email delivery.

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Many libraries are exploring open source solutions for their technological needs. Nicole Engard educates librarians about open source software as the Director of Open Source Education at ByWater Solutions. In addition, Nicole has been published in several library journals and keeps the library community up to date on web technologies via her website What I Learned Today… Here, Nicole shares with us a little bit about her book, Practical Open Source Software for Libraries.

 •  What will readers discover in Practical Open Source Software for Libraries?

 

I hope that in reading Practical Open Source Software for Libraries librarians will learn that open source is about so much more than cost savings and code.  In addition to the theoretical lessons in the book though, they will walk away knowing about at least one new open source tool (hopefully many more) that they can use to provide better services in their libraries today.

•  What do you consider the biggest challenge that you address in your book?

 As with all technologies, there are many preconceived notions about open source software that libraries have.  These notions are often fueled by fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) and not in fact accurate.  In the book I try to dispel these myths and educate librarians about what open source really is and what it really means to use open source software in our libraries.

•  What is the biggest advantage of libraries adopting open source software?

Freedom!  When choosing open source software for your library you’re choosing to be in control and have the freedom over the direction the software takes.  Many people choose open source because it can often offer cost-savings, but the real power and value in open source is the freedom to use, distribute, alter, and study the software for any purpose.

•  Who should read your book?

I’d of course love if everyone read the book.  Barring that the book is geared toward those who make software decisions in the library. This does not limit the audience to administrators and systems librarians, but to those who evaluate software both for the library staff and the patrons they serve.  The book will also interest those looking to learn more about open source in general and find alternate software applications for their home computers.

Learn more about Nicole’s book on its Web page, and don’t forgot to check out her website for more information about open source software.

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If you are looking for ways to support and extend the professional growth you experience at ALA Midwinter 2012, stop by Neal-Schuman Publisher’s booth 1905. Neal-Schuman publishes resources for information professionals that take them from the nuts and bolts of librarianship to the edge of technology.

Plus take advantage of a 20% conference discount on all orders placed at the conference.

See you in Dallas!

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Action plans are the blueprints for getting things done in your library. Don’t miss these important reminders when you’re writing yours.

This week’s how-to-do-it tip comes from Creating Your Library’s Business Plan: A How-To-Do-It Manual with Samples on CD-ROM by Joy HP Harriman. It’s full of templates, worksheets, case studies, and samples from a wide variety of libraries, big and small, to help you create your business plan quickly and efficiently, saving you time, money, and frustration.

Action plans name the specific work done to achieve the strategies and reach your objectives. Each action plan is a small event contributing to the growth of the service. Each plan statement directly relates to an objective and a strategy by describing a specific task with a deadline….

Putting together an action plan of the main activities necessary to achieve the objectives and strategies of your business plan requires a great deal of communication. Make sure all stakeholders understand the reasons for change by providing as much information as possible and keeping the dialogue moving. Communication will always have to be tailored to the interests and understanding of the listener. Not every staff person comes to the table with the same background, experiences, or emotional awareness. Those factors must be taken into account and used to adapt messages.

Include information in the action plan about participation or support by leaders, strategic alliances, or partnering. This can be a strong signal of the library’s significance and potential for success to anyone reading the business plan. If the plan is being used to apply for support, a grant, or funding, then explain how much support or money or is needed, how it will be used, or how you plan to meet the requirements.  Core elements to include in your action plans:

• If possible, each plan will have a stated impact
• Each plan is directly related to a strategy; the strategy is related to an objective
• As much as possible each plan has an identified budget; clarify how much support or money is needed for this project and how it will be used
• List each step in the action plan
• Each step is prioritized, specific, measurable (metrics or milestones), doable, and timed
• The individual responsible has direct involvement in creating the plan and has access to necessary resources
• Results are assessed at timed stages and according to budget
• Supervisors are aware of the timeline for which they need to support the work by either rewarding staff for completing them or correcting if necessary
• Timelines and specific steps are clearly communicated
• Allowances and contingency plans are built in
• Flexibility is a quality to be understood by all involved in the process
• The individual responsible is provided with adequate tools, knowledge, and training to complete the job
• Individual performance follow-up is conducted at frequent intervals to determine if the plans are moving on course or if coaching is required or if the objective, goal, or plan requires shifting

- Excerpted from Creating Your Library’s Business Plan: A How-To-Do-It Manual with Samples on CD-ROM, pp. 135-137. © 2008 by Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Remember, there is a practical, new How-To-Do-It Tip from Neal-Schuman’s acclaimed How-To-Do-It Manuals® every two weeks. Make sure you never miss an update by subscribing to our blog feed or signing up for email delivery.

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