Strategic Planning Case Studies

GEORGIA STATE LIBRARY The Challenge The state library office in Georgia recognized the need for public libraries across the state to perform strategic planning to more effectively serve residents and deal with their ever-changing internal and external environments. Yet, the office did not have the resources to offer the training for free and there was…

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Strategic Planning for the Folks Who Raise the Money

Friends and foundations need a plan as much as the library does. All too often, however, these organizations operate from year to year with no direction or plan in place. So, it’s time to think about development planning! Development planning is strategic planning for the support organizations that raise funds for their libraries. A development…

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Six Great Ideas for Library Partnerships

Partnerships have great potential to expand your library’s capacity to offer more, reach broader audiences, and leverage your resources. As libraries continually seek new ways to stretch their budgets, partnering is a valuable option to consider. There are several natural partnerships that many libraries have formed: 1) Literacy Partnerships. Partner with your local literacy organization…

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Webinar Series: The Importance of Planning

This free webinar series “The Importance of Planning” shows you just how important it is for Libraries and support organizations to prepare for their future. The series includes Library Strategies’ unique and innovative Rapid Results Planning® strategic planning process. The three-part series is produced by Library Strategies and hosted by consultants Sue Hall and Stu…

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10 Tips to Plan for an Uncertain Future

The one thing that is certain in our future is change. Unfortunately, we can’t predict the future, but here are 10 ways that your library or organization can more effectively deal with the change and uncertainty it faces: Create a Culture of Continual Improvement – Deal with future change by having your library always look…

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When Is a Strategic Plan Not a Strategic Plan?

Answer:  When it’s a development plan. So then what is a development plan? A development plan is the plan that addresses how you fund your library beyond its operating budget. Library support organizations (library foundations and/or Friends groups) create development plans to direct their fundraising and advocacy activities. Development planning is a rapidly growing activity…

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Planning Can Be Deadly: Keep It Light and Quick

Strategic planning is a fundamental tool to moving your library or support organization forward. This is truer than ever, as libraries face so many community and technology changes and choices. But let’s face it, most people dread strategic planning. If you haven’t done strategic planning before, you are likely to have heard unfavorable stories about…

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10 Signs It’s Time for a New Strategic Plan

10 Signs for a new Strategic Plan Blog, Library Strategies Consulting Group, Library Consulting

How do you know it is time for a new strategic plan? Well – duh – the obvious answer is that your old plan is coming to an end, and you need a new plan. But what if your library, Friends or foundation has never done a plan, or you’ve accomplished everything in your current…

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Paying for Strategic Plan Ticket Items

Library Strategies Development Planning, Library Consulting

In the past two years, Library Strategies has seen a huge increase in clients who come to us with a request to help them create a development plan for their Foundation or Friends group. This seems to be a direct outcome of libraries conducting great strategic planning processes and then saying, “Now we have to…

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Need a New Strategic Plan?

Rapid Results Planning Strategic Planning, Library Consulting, Library Strategies Consulting Group

Rapid Results Planning™ is Affordable, Fast and Effective There’s no place in today’s busy library world for strategic planning processes with huge investments of time and money, resulting in plans that can easily end up on the shelf gathering dust. Rapid Results Planning® is a focused, energetic and synergistic planning process driven by community stakeholders.…

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