Proposal Title
Presentation Type
Presentation (20 minutes)
Presentation Theme
Reflect community values and needs
Start Date
11-8-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
11-8-2015 11:00 AM
Description
Re-Thinking Community Needs Assessment to Drive Value
Lanell White, MSI
The information environment has continually changed over the past several years. Libraries face many challenges: changes in mission and strategy, restructuring, stagnant budgets, shrinking teams, increased scope of responsibility, and pressures to transform information delivery. At the same time, end users have grown to expect ubiquitous access to content across a variety of devices, with tools for learning, analytics, visualization, and productivity seamlessly integrated.
Now more than ever, it is critical to have a fact-based understanding of community needs so that the library can successfully deliver information products and services into the community that support its growth, and reflect its values and goals. Getting in touch with the needs of the community requires a shift in thinking – moving beyond anecdotal stories or proxies for assessment and adopting a more formalized, objective approach in effective decision-making.
In essence, managing a library is like managing a business that exists within a larger business. Accordingly, the library function adheres to the same tenets critical to any successful business: understanding market and client needs, adjusting tactics to external factors, continually revisiting the strategic plan, altering services and library offerings along with distribution tactics, and evaluating return on investment — it makes no difference whether customers are external or internal.
In the end, to effectively serve the community and generate value and game-changing outcomes from strategic initiatives, librarians must thoroughly and objectively understand the needs, habits, and preferences of the markets they hope to serve. Delivering the ideal set of information products and services does not happen magically –– it requires in-depth planning, and preparation as well as continual monitoring.
The presentation will:
- Identify key trends shaping the information industry, including the library and information management environment that serve as a backdrop as libraries assess their 2015 plans.
- Cover fundamental best practices for librarians starting or revising needs assessment programs, including ways to: conduct and measure needs assessment in strategic intervals; focus on outcomes that matter to target client groups; and communicate hard-hitting recommendations to leadership and stakeholders.
- Lastly, attendees will also learn how to leverage Outsell’s Information Product Development Life Cycle (IPDL) – a framework for discovering and addressing end-user needs in the context of library services, products, and decision-making.
Included in
Re-Thinking Community Needs Assessment to Drive Value
Re-Thinking Community Needs Assessment to Drive Value
Lanell White, MSI
The information environment has continually changed over the past several years. Libraries face many challenges: changes in mission and strategy, restructuring, stagnant budgets, shrinking teams, increased scope of responsibility, and pressures to transform information delivery. At the same time, end users have grown to expect ubiquitous access to content across a variety of devices, with tools for learning, analytics, visualization, and productivity seamlessly integrated.
Now more than ever, it is critical to have a fact-based understanding of community needs so that the library can successfully deliver information products and services into the community that support its growth, and reflect its values and goals. Getting in touch with the needs of the community requires a shift in thinking – moving beyond anecdotal stories or proxies for assessment and adopting a more formalized, objective approach in effective decision-making.
In essence, managing a library is like managing a business that exists within a larger business. Accordingly, the library function adheres to the same tenets critical to any successful business: understanding market and client needs, adjusting tactics to external factors, continually revisiting the strategic plan, altering services and library offerings along with distribution tactics, and evaluating return on investment — it makes no difference whether customers are external or internal.
In the end, to effectively serve the community and generate value and game-changing outcomes from strategic initiatives, librarians must thoroughly and objectively understand the needs, habits, and preferences of the markets they hope to serve. Delivering the ideal set of information products and services does not happen magically –– it requires in-depth planning, and preparation as well as continual monitoring.
The presentation will:
- Identify key trends shaping the information industry, including the library and information management environment that serve as a backdrop as libraries assess their 2015 plans.
- Cover fundamental best practices for librarians starting or revising needs assessment programs, including ways to: conduct and measure needs assessment in strategic intervals; focus on outcomes that matter to target client groups; and communicate hard-hitting recommendations to leadership and stakeholders.
- Lastly, attendees will also learn how to leverage Outsell’s Information Product Development Life Cycle (IPDL) – a framework for discovering and addressing end-user needs in the context of library services, products, and decision-making.
Comments
As Sr. Market Analyst with Outsell's Information Management practice, Lanell James helps lead Outsell’s research serving global information sourcing professionals working in corporate, academic, government agencies, and other specialty settings. She provides analytic coverage of library technologies, vendor portfolio management, and best practices germane to the library and information management function. Her responsibilities include: writing research reports and Insights on library technologies and best practices, serving clients through Analyst Access, and participating in custom research for libraries such as library user needs assessment and library service and functional assessments.
Lanell holds a Master's degree from the University of Michigan in Information Science with specializations in Information Economics, Management, and Policy as well as Archives and Records Management. She also earned a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in African American History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Lanell also maintains Pragmatic Marketing Certification (PMC) in Product Management.
https://www.outsellinc.com/about_us/team/Lanell_James