by Laura Dushkes, Pacific Northwest Chapter, Solo Librarians Division

In your graduate work, you learned how to catalog and conduct a reference interview; you learned about databases and collection development. And, you brought with you all the experience from your previous work life.  Now you have a job. Of course you’ll do a good and conscientious one, but that’s not enough. You must continuously prove your value.

But they hired me! They must know my value! They have a library, so they must know the value! Or, They hired me to start an information center, so they must know the value of that!

True, but you’re working for a business. Whether for-profit or not-for-profit, your company has a mission other than getting books and information in the hands of citizens.  Your library’s mission is the mission of the organization.  If you don’t show that your work adds to this mission, you might be seen as expendable. You can go a long way to preventing that. It’s a three-step process:

1. Track itTake a “snap shot” of your library. Pick data that make sense for your setting. Such data might include:How many books/journals does your library hold?
   How many people use your services (pick a period of time)?
   How many questions did you respond to? (pick a period of time)?
   How many hours is the library staffed?
   How many square feet does the library use?
2. Better itLook at this information and see where you can improveCan you move from check out cards to electronic check out?
   Can you create a presence on the intranet to show your new holdings?
   Can you start a blog with items of interest to a work group?
   Can you attend staff meetings and introduce yourself and your services?
   Can you weed to create needed space?
   Can you work with another department that needs help with research or organizing their work?
   Can you digitize copyright-held materials to make widely available?
3. Communicate itNow you have a “before” and an “after.”  Everything you did to improve your library – processes, materials, relationships – can be demonstrated in numbers or statements. Don’t just say what you did. State the benefit.I created an intranet pageso that our satellite offices can get the same new information as our main office.
   The catalog was paper; I created a digital catalog, making it accessible to everyone.
   Last year 40 books were checked out. This year the library circulated 350, increasing the use of already-purchased materials.
   I helped marketing do the research for a proposal that won a $1 million account.

Bring this to the attention of your boss or board in the way they like to get information (even if it means a PowerPoint!). They will quickly see you as more than “overhead.” They will see you as a vitally important part of the organization.

Laura Dushkes is the solo librarian for NBBJ, the 3rd largest architectural firm in the U.S. and 10^th largest in the world, with six offices in the US, as well as offices in the UK and China. She also teaches Special Librarianship at the University of Washington’s iSchool. She has an MA in History as well as her MLIS from the University of Washington.

by Lisa Zwickey, Wisconsin Chapter, Transportation, Business & Finance, Leadership & Management Divisions

Future Ready Toolkit

This post is from SLA’s new Future Ready Toolkit. The Toolkit was constructed by SLA members who have drawn upon substantial professional experience and alignment research to help you hone your skills in a way that is relevant and global. The toolkit is collaboration, alignment, adaptation, and community put into action.

Overview

Ask yourself where – and what – you want your library to be 5, 10, 20 years from now. If you’re coming up blank, it’s time to write a vision statement. And to ensure you get to that visionary spot, write yourself a mission statement while you’re at it.

Definitions

Vision statement – Defines the desired or intended future state of an organization or enterprise in terms of its fundamental and/or strategic direction. (Wikipedia)

Mission statement – Defines the fundamental purpose of an organization or enterprise, succinctly describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its vision. (Wikipedia)

Key Elements and Ideas

A vision statement is intended to portray where you want your organization to be in the future – it is your inspiration and the frame of reference for all your strategic planning. As a special library, your vision may be to be the main resource for empowering your fellow employees to make decisions to keep the company innovative and profitable.

Questions to ask yourself when composing a vision statement are:

• What do we do today? (We empower.)
• For whom do we do it? (Fellow employees and, ultimately, our customers.)
• What is the benefit? (Innovation and profitability.)

Be realistic, positive and align your statement with organizational values and culture.

The mission statement spells out how you will accomplish that vision. It briefly sets out how the information is collected and provided, what methods are best suited to your company’s needs (keeping in mind future technologies), and how the information may be used. For example, to empower employees to make decisions to keep the company innovative and profitable, the library will proactively provide information and analysis using current and reliable resources, value-added service and compatible and useful technologies. You may also want to mention that the library staff is committed to examining new and innovation methods of information delivery in order to provide superior customer service.

Questions to ask yourself when composing a mission statement are:

• What do we want going forward? (To be the main informational and analytical resource in the company.)
• When do we want to do it? (Proactively)
• How do we want to do it? (By using current and reliable resources, value-added service, compatible and useful technologies, and superior customer service.)

Be broad enough to allow for creative, and especially, in our field, technological growth. Write a statement that will distinguish your library from your company’s other departments and make sure it serves as a framework to evaluate current activities.

Resources

Libraries, Mission and Marketing: Writing Mission Statements That Work, by Linda K. Wallace. Chicago: ALA, 2003. 82p. $27, ALA members $24.30 (ISBN 0-83890-867-5) LC 2003-15471.

Scorecards for Results: A Guide for Developing a Library Balanced Scorecard, by Joseph R. Matthews. Westport CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008. 112 p. $45 (ISBN-10: 1591586984, ISBN-13: 978-1591586982)

“Do You Know What Your Mission Is?” by Janet L. Balas; Computers in Libraries, Feb. 1, 2007.  Word Count: 2115

“Fine-tuning Your Mission: Your Mission Statement Can Put You Right on Top of Your Market – Or Make You Irrelevant,” by Robert A. Sevier; University Business, June 1, 2003. Word Count: 2010

“Solutions: Mission Not Impossible,” by Russell J. White; Credit Union Management, Jan. 3, 2002. Word Count: 1109

Lisa joined J.J. Keller’s Research and Technical Library in 1991 and works with all areas of the company in the areas of business and statistical research, marketing, product development and strategic planning. Lisa has a degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a news reporter for a daily newspaper for six years before earning her master’s degree in Library and Information Science, also from UW-Madison. She has been a member of SLA since 1995.