Valuing Libraries: Demonstrating Your Library’s Impact on Your Community

1. The New Jersey State Library & the Highlands Regional Library Cooperative present: Valuing Libraries: Demonstrating Your Library’s Impact on Your Community Association of Jewish Libraries – New York Metropolitan Area November 8, 2007 Presented by Joanne P. Roukens, Highlands Regional Library Cooperative www.hrlc.org

2. Today is about showing you how valuable your library is and how you can communicate its impact to your school, synagogue or community center

3. Objectives After this program, 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

4. Overview All materials for this workshop are based on the WebJunction “Demonstrating Impact” web documents http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=1193 HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

5. Overview • Strategize • Quantify • Make the Case Three steps to demonstrating impact: HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

6. 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

7. Value and Vision • What it is not: • Historic, tradition, etc… is not always valuable • Doesn’t correspond to staff ideas of importance • Is not about our professional values HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

8. Value and Vision • Not enough money to go around • How do we create more value? • Doing wrong things well does not create value HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

9. Value and Vision Publicly Valuable • Strategic triangle • Publicly valuable • Politically and legally supported • Administratively and operationally feasible • Commit to reflection, listening and flexibility Political & Legal Support Feasible HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

10. Value and Vision • Evaluate each service • Identify feasible enhancements • Listen and understand agendas • Recognize trends and realign Enhance Value: HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

11. Valuable to Your Customers HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

12. Valuable to Administrators and Funders HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

13. Value and Vision Summary • Identify was is and is not “value” • Examine services using the Strategic Triangle • Need to keep an eye on trends and realign • List what is valuable to customers, funders/stakeholders HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

14. Demonstrating Impact Part 1: Strategizing

15. 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

16. 1. Assess your resources • All types and all sizes can do this • Principles stay the same • Fit your plans to your library HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

17. 2. Identify your target • Critical to success • Understand your audience • Express your value so it relates to them • Relate value in real-world terms HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

18. 3. Become a “Library Lobbyist” • Get out of the room • Mingle in your building • Go have lunch • Build personal connections • Make yourself visible HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

19. 4. What is important to funders • What is on the school board’s mind? • Clergy, staff, trustees? • Administrators? • What economic trends are effecting your customers/funders? • What are the hot-button issues? HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

20. 5. Identify what you do best • Clear mission statement • Strategic plan HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

21. 6. Articulating Value • Focus on what you offer, what your funders value • Audience attention is limited, as is your time. • Concise, easy to understand and substantiate HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

22. 7. Find the connection • Connect the dots • Simple and powerful • Value Proposition HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

23. 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

24. OR If you give me this (the money I am seeking), you will get that (specific benefits that come from library services). HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

25. What your library does well What your funders value Value Proposition HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

26. The Value Proposition • Actionable by you and your organization • Credible and compelling to target audience Must fill two requirements: HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

27. Create Your Own Value Proposition!

28. Value Proposition - Example What the Acme Cleaners does best: HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

29. Value Proposition - Example You, the Acme customer, need: HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

30. Acme Cleaners’ Value Proposition HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

31. 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

32. Demonstrating Impact Part 2: Quantifying

33. 1. Traditional Statistics • Circulation figures, patron visits, collection size, reference transactions, program attendance • Pro: Demonstrate base level of service • Con: Doesn’t speak powerfully to funders HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

34. 2. Outcome Based Evaluation • Shows results as determined by previously set categories • Pro: Specific, powerful, becoming more prevalent • Con: Can be an involved process HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

35. 3. Return On Investment • Common in the for-profit sector • Shows value of services • Pro: Clear, accurate statement of fund use and resulting benefits • Con: Difficult to quantify benefits from non-priced goods and services HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

36. 4. Anecdotal • Humanizes your services • Pro: Powerful communication tool • Con: Lacks hard evidence HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

37. 5. Data From Peers • Comparison of your services and statistics to libraries with similar service profiles • Pro: Fairly easy to complete • Con: Can backfire – all politics are local HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

38. Bottom Line • Best and most powerful arguments will come from information about the realities of your own community and your own library. HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

39. What Data Do You Need? • Based on your strategy and your locality • Need enough to establish the library value to your funders HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

40. Data Collection • Easiest: repackaging existing data • More difficult: compiling, analyzing raw data • Most difficult: collecting fresh data We are going to do it the easy way! HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

41. What You Are Going to Do! • Gather your statistics • Total of last fiscal year budget • Last year’s circ/usage stats • Use price list from website and select • Open worksheet and fill in numbers HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

42. What You Are Going to Do! • Divide total value figure by budget figure • Multiply by 100 to get ROI percentage HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

43. How Easy! • Niceville School Library • Budget of $124,930 • Student population of 793 HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

44. HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

45. 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

46. Demonstrating Impact Part 3: Make Your Case

47. Demonstrate Your Impact • Make your case • Pitch your story • Sell your value HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

48. 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 Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

49. Construct Your Argument • “Value of Services” document • Mission, vision statements, Strategic plan(s) • Budget • Business plans HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007

50. Business Plans • Kenosha (WI) Public Library http://www.kenosha.lib.wi.us/publications/BusinessPlans.html • Oakville (ON) Public Library http://www.opl.on.ca/BP_05_v9_OPLB_Summary.pdf HRLC Funding & Resource Development Taskforce & the New Jersey State Library, 2007