Planning, Management, Marketing, & Advocacy

STATEMENT OF COMPETENCY

Strategic planning, management, marketing, and advocacy present an interconnected set of responsibilities which, when applied effectively and in sync with one another, serve to unite personnel, stakeholders, patrons, and political players around a given library’s mission, services, and value.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a process by which library administrators and staff establish their institution’s mission and purpose, define their users’ demands and information needs, determine their capacity to meet certain goals with limited resources, and establish means by which to implement resulting objectives, as well as criteria by which to assess outcomes (Hoffman, 2017; Rosenblum, 2022). Hoffman (2017) identifies common themes addressed by academic libraries’ strategic planning processes, including “shrinking institutional budgets and rising costs, complex accreditation standards, rapidly evolving technology, and public demand for accountability” (p. 36). Such plans are often developed collaboratively—between personnel of multiple ranks—in order to solidify mutual understanding between administration and staff, and to build motivation to realize institutional objectives and goals (Miller, 2018, pp. 7-8). 

The resulting document which reflects this process—known as a strategic plan—serves to standardize and communicate the institution’s responses to internal and external circumstances, to allow management a means by which to evaluate objectives against performance, and to inform marketing and advocacy efforts (Hoffman, 2017; Miller, 2018; Rosenblum, 2022). Strategic planning is an iterative process; Rosenblum (2018) finds that within academic libraries, strategic plans are, on average, revisited and rewritten every three to five years (p. 257).

Management

With the help of an effective strategic plan—which accurately reflects a library’s internal and external circumstances and demonstrates buy-in from all segments of its workforce— administrative and/or managerial staff should theoretically be well positioned to oversee and delegate the execution of the library’s stated objectives, as well as continually assessing performance. Hoffman (2017) notes common managerial responsibilities within academic libraries, which include the hiring, oversight, and firing of personnel, adjustment of salaries, scheduling of staffing for specific service areas (e.g., the circulation or reference desks), operational decisions, campus outreach, promotion of services and materials, comparative assessment of services, management of budgets, and supplementary fundraising efforts, (p. 33). Jones (2022) points to strategic planning as an important precursor of budgetary decisions, given the importance of understanding the nature of individual expenditures within greater institutional context (pp. 298-300). The author cites salaries and benefits, collection development decisions, personnel training, and operational expenses as common budgetary considerations, (p. 300) and suggests that formal audits of existing budgets can reveal opportunities for better utilization of limited personnel and funding (p. 302). 

In considering managerial duties which extend beyond institutional maintenance, Mackenzie-Ruppel, et al. (2022) crucially identify the importance of fostering an “organizational culture” which demonstrably values the dignity and social fulfillment of all personnel (p. 312). Competent treatment of employees from historically marginalized backgrounds, adherence to standards for addressing instances of workplace harassment, advocacy and subsidization of professional development opportunities, and respect for the importance of a healthy work-life balance, are just a few examples of managerial values which can shape a responsible, inclusive organizational culture.

Marketing

Despite widespread efforts among academic libraries to retool their collections and services according to shifting user needs in the information age—for example, investing in database subscriptions, offering virtual reference services, publishing comprehensive research guides, and expanding instructional material regarding critical information literacy—users remain largely unaware of these advances, maintaining stereotypical conceptions of libraries as little more than book repositories (Garoufallou, et al., 2013, pp. 317-318). Additionally, the on-demand appeal of consumer search engines and social media has profoundly democratized the process of fulfilling information needs, thus eroding the library’s age-old reputation as a leading arbiter of information and knowledge (Iwu-James, et al., 2020, p. 152). 

Marketing presents a potential solution to these problems, by which libraries can determine user needs and demands, and develop and promote services accordingly (Bakkalbasi, 2017, p. 219). Given the importance of needs assessments within the strategic planning process, a well-developed strategic plan can supply library marketing campaigns with much-needed information regarding user demographics, behaviors, preferences, and needs, which can lead to the implementation of materials and services that users are likely to want, and use. Garoufallou, et al. (2013) find that successful marketing campaigns engage in “determining what to promote, defining the target audience, choosing the type of outreach and evaluating the program” (p. 320). Potential channels for the promotion of resulting materials and services include social media applications, notifications via course management systems, embedded librarians and professors, campus emails and newsletters, and leafletting in campus areas (Iwu-James, et al., 2020, p. 158).

Advocacy

Advocacy is the mechanism by which libraries and librarians demonstrate their value, and continued relevance, to legislators, university administrators, voters, users, and anyone else with a hand in deciding the library’s political fate. Sweeney (2022) notes that many community members, regardless of political affiliation, regard libraries as “a ‘nice to have’ and not a ‘need to have’,” (p. 391) and as such, are easily persuaded to defund library budgets, particularly in times of austerity. Considering this harsh reality, librarians must continually forge social connections with users and university stakeholders, with the objective of amassing a coalition of people willing to defend the library from financial and political threats (p. 391). 

Advocacy overlaps considerably with both marketing and strategic planning, as all three processes involve securing continued user interest in, and involvement with, the library’s mission and services. A library which is able to effectively define its mission and key objectives, determine its users’ needs, market user-driven solutions, and continually assess its ability to fulfill all these criteria, is likely to possess the community support necessary to wage successful advocacy efforts.

COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT

My competency in this area emerged in INFO 204 (Information Professions), during which I generated a SWOT analysis, a budget proposal, and a proposal for the overhaul of a theoretical public library’s space and services, among other practical applications of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy theory. INFO 230 (Issues in Academic Libraries) honed my understanding of this aspect of librarianship, and within an academic setting, which corresponds with my chosen pathway. In my capacity as a research and instruction intern at Portland State University Library for INFO 294 (Professional Experience: Internships), I was given the valuable opportunity to produce video content, which was determined by my supervisor to effectively reflect the library’s marketing objectives.

CONCLUSION

Strategic planning, management, marketing, and advocacy are distinct—yet overlapping—elements of an iterative process, by which libraries define their missions, assess user needs and institutional circumstances against communal conditions, develop objectives and budgets in response to findings and goals, generate criteria for the continual assessment of performance, promote services and materials to a given user base, and advocate for the value and relevance of their institution in the face of financial and political challenges. By continually applying these principles, and demonstrating an understanding of their importance, libraries can hope to make effective, efficient use of their limited budgetary resources and personnel, meet the ever-shifting demands of users, remain competitive in a saturated information market, and ensure their reputation as crucial fixtures within the communities they serve.

REFERENCES

Bakkalbasi, N. (2017). Assessment and evaluation, promotion, and marketing of academic library services. In T. Gilman (Ed.), Academic librarianship today (pp. 211-220). Rowman & Littlefield.

Garoufallou, E., Siatri, R., Zafeiriou, G., & Balampanidou, E. (2013). The use of marketing concepts in library services: A literature review. Library Review, 62(4/5), 312-334. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-06-2012-0061

Hoffman, S. (2017). Organization, administration, management, and planning. In T. Gilman (Ed.), Academic librarianship today (pp. 29-46). Rowman & Littlefield.

Iwu-James, J., Haliso, Y., & Ifijeh, G. (2020). Leveraging competitive intelligence for successful marketing of academic library services. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 26(1), 151-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2019.1632215

Jones, S. F. (2022). Managing budgets. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp. 295-304). Rowman & Littlefield.

Jordan-Makely, C. (2019). Libraries as bureaucracies: A SWOT analysis. Library Management, 40(5), 294-304. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-03-2018-0019

Mackenzie-Ruppel, M. L., Haller, B., & Goch, R. (2022). Managing human resources. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp. 305-321). Rowman & Littlefield.

Miller, L. N. (2018). What is helpful (and not) in the strategic planning practice? An exploratory survey and literature review. Library Leadership & Management, 32(3), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.5860/llm.v32i3.7267 

Rosenblum, L. G. (2022). Strategic planning. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp. 255-270). Rowman & Littlefield.

Sweeney, P. P. C. (2022). Advocacy. In S. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp. 388-396). Rowman & Littlefield.