the notable reports panel strikes again: wapl 2017
TRANSCRIPT
The Notable Reports Panel Strikes Again!
Vickie Stangel, Director, Dodgeville Public Library
Kelly TerKeurst, Director, Dwight Foster Public Library
Gus Falkenberg, Technology and Design Director, Indianhead Federated
Library System
Cindy Fesemyer, Director, Columbus Public Library
starring
moderated bySara Gold and Andrea Coffin, Community Liaisons and Service Specialists, WiLS
WAPL 2016
Vickie Stangel, Director,Dodgeville Public Library
State of America’s Libraries 2016 (ALA): http://goo.gl/V0V8xo
2016 The State of America’s Libraries
• Libraries today are less about what they have for people and more about what they do for and with people.
• Library professionals promote opportunities for individuals and progress for communities.
• Libraries of all kinds add value in five key areas (the E’s of Libraries): education, employment, entrepreneurship, empowerment, and engagement.
• Libraries are advancing the legacy of reading and developing a digitally inclusive society.
Academic Libraries
• Academic libraries provide resources and services to support the learning, teaching, and research needs of students, faculty, and staff. • Surveys show that students and faculty
value academic libraries for their success in demonstrating research techniques, increasing student information literacy, and managing course reserves. • Academic libraries are finding creative
ways to encourage student success through technology spaces and digital scholarship centers.
School Libraries
Public Libraries• Why are Libraries Transforming?
As the need for such services as early childhood literacy, computer training, and workforce
development has grown, the vital role public libraries play in their communities has also
expanded.
Issues and Trends
•Children’s and Teen Services•Design Thinking•Digital Equity•Media Mentorship•Summer Learning
•Literacy•Libraries Transform•Community Engagement•Intellectual Freedom•Accreditation Standards
National Issues and Trends• Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)• Privacy in the Digital Age• Federal Library Funding• Calls to Action in Support of Libraries
Kelly TerKeurst, Director,Dwight Foster Public Library Libraries at the Crossroads (Pew): http://goo.gl/KL5a32
The Crossroads MomentShifting and Reshaping
What People Are Saying What People Are Doing
Compared to data from 2012, those with less education and household income, as
well as rural Americans, African-Americans and parents, have reported larger-than-average declines in library
use!
Libraries are important community institutions!
Offer us a range of new programs and services!
We like using mobile apps!
We want you available 24/7!
Two Big Questions……that are really about the same thing (keeping the library open)
What should happen to books? What should happen to buildings?
Who Uses The Library
Building• Women• College Graduates• 16 – 29 yr. olds• Low to Middle Income• Community Activists
And…the most frequent library visitors are Hispanics!
Website and/or Mobile Apps• Women• Parents• Young• College Graduates
But…46% of people surveyed did not know if their library had e-books!
Hispanics, women, parents of minor children and older adults are more likely to say closing a library would have a major impact on their community.
What People Do At The Library• Borrow Books
• well-off and well-educated
• Help from a Librarian• African Americans and lower-income
• Place to Sit, Read, Study• young, Hispanics and lower-income
• Use Computers and Internet Access• African Americans, Hispanics and lower-
income
What People Do At The Library
Use of librarian selected online resources has declined, as has using online database and searching the library catalog.
Public Wants 3 Things From Libraries• Advance Education – support local schools; early literacy programs; programs
that teach people a skill• An overwhelming majority of Americans see education as the foundation of the libraries’ mission.
• Serve Key Groups - veterans, job seekers, immigrants• 74% surveyed said libraries should definitely have programs or services for veterans and active military
personnel.• 59% surveyed said libraries should definitely have programs or services for immigrants and first-
generation Americans
• Improve Digital Literacy - libraries should embrace new technologies and help patrons use it• Unfortunately, even though people believe in the role of libraries in digital inclusion, relatively few
library users actually used the library for this purpose.
What Fort Atkinson & Dwight Foster Look Like
Our Community• Population – 12,482
• 88% White, 9% Hispanic
• Median Resident Age – 38
• 92% High School +
• 27% BA +
• 15% in poverty
• Median Household Income - $47,300
• Families, Group Homes, Elderly
Our Library • New building built with more space for
people not books
• Wifi upgrade
• Circulating seeds, knitting needles….
• Public Internet Use – 20,105
• Meeting Room Use – 2,341
• DVDs, Children’s Materials, Fiction
• Programs – 10,962 attendees
• Self Service Holds – coming soon
• Art Gallery
We are going through strategic planning to determine what our crossroad is and how to deal with it.
Gus Falkenberg, Technology and Design Director, Indianhead Federated Library SystemLibraries and Learning (Pew): http://goo.gl/e4egpw
Summary• Libraries are serving the educational needs of their communities• Library users think of themselves as lifelong learners• Users are often unaware of what learning-related programs libraries
offer
Response• Your library’s users want to use the library to pursue their goals• They can be divided into personal learners and professional learners
(and you need to understand the difference)• There’s room for growth
Application• Educate yourself on what resources are available• Educate yourself on what interests/problems your community has• Focus on learning a few resources really well• Use your points of contact to match the right resource with the right
person• Share your knowledge within the library• Adapt and revise
Cindy Fesemyer, Director, Columbus Public Library
Action Guide for Re-Envisioning Your Public Library (Aspen Institute): http://goo.gl/XyzLrT
The Aspen Institute’s
Action Guide forRe-Envisioning
Your Public Library
Internal Assessment• People
• Library staff• Community expertise
• Place• Library as community anchor• In your building(s)• Out in the community
• Platform• The stuff you do• The stuff to which you
provide access• First 6 sections provide a nice
analysis of what you currently do
Sample Exercise: Library as People• ACTivity: What are
some of the audiences at your library? Complete the audience map.
• Do exercises with various stakeholders• Staff• Trustees• Friends of the
Library
Internal Analysis: SOAR• Strengths
• What does the library do well now? • What are your assets, strengths and capabilities?
• Opportunities• Currently, how could your library make a
difference? • Innovate?• Contribute to the community?
• Aspirations• Hopes and dreams for future?• What do you want to be known for?
• Results• What do you most want to accomplish?• What does success look like?
External Assessment• Strategies for Success
• Align library with community goals• Provide access to content in all formats• Ensure long-term sustainability of public libraries• Cultivate leadership
• 15 Action Steps for Leaders• Define scope of programs and services• Partner with local organizations• Deploy existing resources in new way
• Community Leaders
• Public Dialog• Invite citizens and leaders (sample invitations)• Convene and facilitate aspirational discussion (sample
questions)
• Next Steps• Report results (sample press release)• Form a committee or work group
Happy Thoughts• Suggested uses for internal assessment tools (people,
place, platform, economic development, civic resource, literacy champion):• Before beginning a planning process to get people
thinking about what you do• Educational piece for trustees, staff• As an asset analysis
• Suggested uses for SOAR Exercise:• Replace SWOT with SOAR for a more positive
experience• Everything above
• Suggested uses for external assessment tools (success strategies, leadership actions steps, community leaders):• Align library goals with community goals• Pump up your own leadership goals• A great excuse for taking community leaders out to
coffee
Less Happy Thoughts• Public Dialog
• Check out the Harwood Institute’s Community Conversation tool: http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/libraries-transforming-communities• Ask same questions each time• Great tips on facilitating and note taking• How to theme
• Next Steps you won’t find in the Action Guide• Report back to people who participated in
conversations. Get grassrootsy!• Report back to find new partners or strengthen
existing partnerships• Start small• Build a bunch of small successes by starting with
visible, winnable projects (AKA low hanging fruit)
The Notable Reports Panel Struck Again!
Want to keep the conversation going? Join the Facebook Group.Notable Reports Panel: https://www.facebook.com/groups/908749452580518/
or contact today’s presenters:
Thank you!
WAPL 2016
Vickie Stangel: [email protected] Kelly TerKeurst: [email protected] Gus Falkenberg: [email protected]
Cindy Fesemyer: [email protected]