1. Know Thyself

2. What is a SWOT Analysis? trengths eaknesses pportunities hreats S W O T

4. INTERNAL EXTERNAL

5. POSITIVE ADVERSARIAL

7. What we’ve done • Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)

8. 10 Questions What do you brag about when you talk about your work? What are the three most critical issues facing our community today? Why are these issues important? If you could change anything about the way we serve the community, what would you change and why? What operational investments would significantly improve the impact we have on the community? What one thing would have the biggest impact? Looking to the future, what worries you the most? What makes you most hopeful? If all your dreams could come true, what would you wish for your work? For the library system as a whole? Who has a stake in the library’s success over the next three years? What we’ve done • Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)

9. 10 Questions What do you brag about when you talk about your work? What are the three most critical issues facing our community today? Why are these issues important? If you could change anything about the way we serve the community, what would you change and why? What operational investments would significantly improve the impact we have on the community? What one thing would have the biggest impact? Looking to the future, what worries you the most? What makes you most hopeful? If all your dreams could come true, what would you wish for your work? For the library system as a whole? Who has a stake in the library’s success over the next three years? Strengths Weaknesses What we’ve done • Customer Service • Staff • Our ties to the community • Staffing Levels • Budget • Database promotion • Promotion of early literacy • Time for 1-on-1 assistance • Lack of dedicated prog./study areas • Training • Outreach • Emergency preparedness • Weeding • Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL) • Access to & assistance with tech • Early literacy awareness • Job search assistance • Browsing copies of books • Outreach • Emergency preparedness • Violence/Crime • Poverty/Economic issues • Library becoming irrelevant? Opportunities Threats

10. What we’ve done • Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL) • Blue Springs City Theatre (Blue Springs, MO)

11. What we’ve done • Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL) • Blue Springs City Theatre (Blue Springs, MO)

12. Blue Springs City Theatre • Key Threat • Other theatre organizations have conflicting showtimes and weekends • We communicated and adjusted our show weekends to benefit everyone • This analysis helped the board receive a grant to assist in strategic planning

13. What we’ve done • Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL) • Blue Springs City Theatre (Blue Springs, MO) • Colbern Road Branch (MCPL)

14. When to call in SWOT • As part of strategic planning • used to create and set goals • Apart from strategic planning • used to accomplish goals • Annually • revisit

15. The SWOT Plan • Decide how to gather data • Survey • Focus Groups • Bulletin Board/White Board Brainstorming • Choose your SWOT Team

16. The SWOT Team • Staff • Board Members • Community • Patrons • Non-patrons AKA Stakeholders

17. The SWOT Plan • Decide how to gather data • Survey • Focus Groups • Bulletin Board/White Board Brainstorming • Choose your SWOT Team • Conduct it • gather and narrow results

18. SWOT Training

19. MLA Annual Conference

20. MLA Annual Conference • Networking • Education • Library-specific • Meeting Vendors • Fun/Social Events • Exchange of Ideas • Chance to travel and see other libraries • Location (if centrally located) • Rotation of location (reaches smaller libs) • Helps academics meet presentation requirements • Relatively Inexpensive • Committee Involvement • New technology • Hit or Miss Sessions • Location • Technology Issues • Unfamiliar to New Members • Scheduling events • Session conflicts • Content may not pertain to special or school libraries • Funding • Decline in speakers • Competing conferences • Membership • Attendance • Tracking can harm attendance/interest • Diversify Sessions (pertain to more libraries) • Use conference as a forum for national lib issues • Network with other associations • Solicit ideas from small/rural libraries • Reaching very small or rural libraries • Open-ended sessions (participation based) • Virtual sessions (broadcast/record) eliminate conflicts • Carpooling/bussing to conference (link on web?) • More scholarships • “Ask Dr. Librarian” session • More real-life xp panels • Regional mini-conferences

21. The SWOT Plan • Putting it to use • Match Strengths with Opportunities • Take a hard, close look at Weaknesses • Allay Threats • What can you do to improve? • What if you stop doing it? Is there another organization that fills that need? Is it even needed?

22. Conclusions • “Know Thyself” • You have to know where you are before you know where you’re going • Be deliberate about what we do and what we don’t do • SWOT Analyses can help determine your focus • This is the best session you will see all week

23. Questions?Now is the time to seek counsel from the oracle

24. References Hammerstein NYC. SWAT. Photo. Accessed 1 Oct 2014 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/strawdog316/8369913481/in/photolist-dKBZF8-fowQxE-dcfgXe-bdf6hc-fEwy6J-d56WRS-8mz2Q-ecMFMa-7zADpQ-dA3yoj-2qzEpa-6EcWx6-dcfpzS-9ReoN8-5c5Mk3-52rXrc-83un8g-iavncK-dkfC1x-5jC7Qs-ytjAS-ytjAL-5ZQjNS-djcWN8-Jqp8G-8gSZz-ytoCT-eZuxHQ-aEzXiP-ytoCP-eZicwk-618qgz-58ZEdJ-fBo5Uu-f18mk4-aWNJYx-trRMS-5WdVAw-e2bujL-6qCg3A-f1nGid-f6e7Ga-68STiJ-574iNa-2P3W7m-ELHp3-6M5H2j-4akWrd-7ELDsG-NXFyT Lake, N. (2012). The Strategic Planning Workbook (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: KoganPage Peterson, S. Temple of Apollo. Photo. Accessed 22 Sep 2014 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevepeterson433/14932287048/in/photolist-f5Qf6M-brgvXi-ntw5AR-anvKJm-eAnZM-oKvSGY-8utWmu-obSRkK-x1h2Q-oVrc7w-pgRsDb-4W4tnG-be2Zja-eT5h8E-8Y2fug-hpiR7m-7uvL6f-nAutY5-azArDc-5A9CzZ-bk6fXZ-anUV2Q-72J6Y5-poKhAL-79tTyP-eAo6p-eZKWkd-f3YBwt-5nK9io-jwwmNf-eAo36-p5UsKy-avtKBa-eAo9J-pgTntv-jwuN7J-jwsuWB-a2suyz-2tyAZD-64z7qs-fmd6tS-fmdaSm-CLUVv-hJsPCi-8Y5irQ-dTUdEF-aqa2Mh-3VnHWu-hVvX8q-7e9KUY

25. Contact Seth Moses Colbern Road Branch Manager Mid-Continent Public Library smoses@mymcpl.org Dan Brower Parkville Branch Manager Mid-Continent Public Library dbrower@mymcpl.org