Valuing School Libraries: Demonstrate Your Impact

1. The Highlands Regional Library Cooperative and the NJ State Library Presents: Valuing School Libraries: Demonstrate Your Impact Webinar Hosted by CJRLC, HRLC, INFOLINK and SJRLC February 4, 2010 Presented by Joanne P. Roukens, Executive Director, HRLC www.hrlc.org

2. Acknowledgements • Miriam Parkinson, School Librarian, Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Fair Lawn • Hilda Weisburg, retired library media specialist from Morristown High School and past president of NJASL HRLC 2010

3. Valuing Librariesis about showing you how valuable your library is and how you can communicate its impact to your administrators, faculty and parents.

4. Objectives You will be able to: • Define what is valuable to customers and funders/stakeholders • Execute a seven-part strategic process • Identify your library’s “Value Proposition” • Quantify your library’s value • Make your case HRLC 2010

5. WebJunction Materials from this workshop are in part based on the WebJunction “Demonstrating Impact” web documents. http://tinyurl.com/yga3gsq HRLC 2010

6. Valuing Libraries Toolkit www.hrlc.org/funding/valuinglibs.htm All the materials in the Valuing Libraries Toolkit are available at: HRLC 2010

7. Who Are Our Participants Today? • School Librarian • Public Librarian • Other HRLC 2010

8. Which type of school? • Elementary • Middle • High School HRLC 2010

9. Overview • Strategize • Quantify • Make the Case Three steps to demonstrating impact: HRLC 2010

10. Value and Vision • What is value? • "Value and Vision" by Eleanor Jo “Joey” Rodger, American Libraries, Nov. 1, 2002 • Ideas of value have changed • Moving target, constantly needs assessment • Usefulness, quality, availability, image HRLC 2010

11. Value and Vision • What it is not: • Historic, tradition, etc… is not valuable • Doesn’t correspond to staff ideas of importance • Is not about our professional values • Our personal sense of value - doesn’t matter much unless is matches that of our users. HRLC 2010

12. Value and Vision • Not enough money to go around • How do we create more value? • Doing wrong things well does not create value HRLC 2010

13. Value and Vision Strategic triangle • Publicly valuable • Politically and legally supported • Administratively and operationally feasible Publicly Valuable Political & Legal Support Feasible HRLC 2010

14. Value and Vision • Evaluate each service • Identify feasible enhancements • Listen and understand agendas • Recognize trends and realign Enhance Value: HRLC 2010

15. Demonstrating Impact Part 1: Strategizing

16. 7 Strategizing Steps • Assess your resources • Identify your target • Become a lobbyist • Identify what is important to funders • Identify what you do best • Determine how to articulate value • Find the connection HRLC 2010

17. Valuable to Your Students & Faculty • Getting along with others • Safety • Fast Internet access • Necessary resources • Up-to-date, working technology, and help HRLC 2010

18. Valuable to Your Students & Faculty • Place to make copies • Info on their needs and interests • Place to meet and socialize • Friendliness • Pleasant surrounding HRLC 2010

19. Valuable to Your Students & Faculty • Finding what the want when they want it • Time • One stop shopping for everything • On-demand training • Entertainment and recreation • Quality product, current info • Social meeting place HRLC 2010

20. Valuable to Your Students & Faculty • 24/7 services • To be listened to, have needs met • Pre-packaged information • Your research skills, your expertise, knowledge • Materials for diverse reading levels • Getting into a good college HRLC 2010

21. Valuable to Administrators, Parents and Funders • Controlling costs • Football fields • Safe place • Multipurpose meeting spot • Showplace • High test scores – funding, property values HRLC 2010

22. Valuable to Administrators, Parents and Funders • Getting into the right college • Statistics • Excellent teachers • Good test scores • Good community relationships • Literacy HRLC 2010

23. Valuable to Administrators, Parents and Funders • Return on investment • Happy parents • Appearance of library • Wowed by technology • Intellectual and cultural pursuits • Want you there HRLC 2010

24. Valuable to Administrators, Parents and Funders • Cooperative learning – partnerships • Support of district goals • Your expertise HRLC 2010

25. Valuable to Both • Safety, safe place • Meeting/socialize/showplace • Pleasant surroundings, appearance • Fast, up-to-date working technology • Getting into the right/good college • Necessary resources/district goals/test scores • Entertainment, recreation, intellectual, cultural pursuits HRLC 2010

26. Valuable to Both YOU – your expertise, help, knowledge HRLC 2010

27. Create a Value Proposition A value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services. The more specific your value proposition is, the better. HRLC 2010

28. The Value Proposition • An offer, not a demand • Not what you value • Only valuable perspective is the customer’s • Valuable in a competitive environment HRLC 2010

29. OR If you give me this (the money I am seeking), you will get that (specific benefits that come from library services). HRLC 2010

30. OR The promise that a library makes to its customers about what they can expect to receive in return for their time, their effort, their loyalty, and especially their dollars. HRLC 2010

31. What your library does well What your funders value Value Proposition HRLC 2010

32. The Value Proposition • Actionable by you and your organization • Credible and compelling to target audience Must fill two requirements: HRLC 2010

33. Niceville School Value Proposition When you use the library, you can count on a welcoming atmosphere where you can quickly find information for assignments, teaching, great books to read and computers to use for word processing, databases, websites and more. Assistance is always readily available. HRLC 2010

34. Demonstrating Impact Part 2: Quantifying

35. 7 Strategizing Steps • Assess your resources • Identify your target • Become a lobbyist • Identify what is important to funders • Identify what you do best • Determine how to articulate value • Find the connection HRLC 2010

36. Approaches to Quantifying • Traditional statistics • Outcome Based Evaluation - OBE • Return on investment - ROI • Anecdotal • Data from peers HRLC 2010

37. What You Are Going to Do! • Gather your statistics • Population • Total of last library budget • Last complete year’s circ/usage stats • Use price list from website and select • Open worksheet and fill in numbers HRLC 2010

38. What You Are Going to Do! • Divide total value figure by budget figure • Multiply by 100 to get ROI percentage HRLC 2010

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41. Example • Niceville School Library • Budget of $124,930 • Student population of 793 HRLC 2010

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43. Samples of Real ROI Results • Glen Rock Public Library – 580% • T. Jefferson School, Fair Lawn – 199% • South River Public Library – 275% • Burlington County Library – 490% • William Paterson University Library – 333% HRLC 2010

44. Demonstrating Impact Part 3: Make Your Case

45. Demonstrate Your Impact • Make your case • Pitch your story • Sell your value HRLC 2010

46. 7 Strategizing Steps • Assess your resources • Identify your target • Become a lobbyist • Identify what is important to funders • Identify what you do best • Determine how to articulate value • Find the connection HRLC 2010

47. Become a “Library Lobbyist” • Get out of the room • Mingle in your building • Go have lunch • Build personal connections • Make yourself visible HRLC 2010

48. Be a Building Leader • Collaborate with teachers • Participate in curriculum, grade level meetings • Join staff & tech committees • Build rapport with principal • Conduct professional development classes • Serveon curriculum writing committee HRLC 2010

49. Who Are Our Advocates? • Parents • Students • Faculty • School administrators • School board • Community at large HRLC 2010

50. NJASL Advocacy Wikihttp://njasladvocacy.pbworks.comMary K. Lewis, Editor • Information on relevant laws and regulations • List of steps to follow and people to contact • FAQs • Templates and examples • Testimonials • Links to additional resources HRLC 2010