Posts by Kim Horton
5 Ways Friends Groups Attract Millennials
Across the country, Friends of the Library groups of all sizes are reporting declining memberships. This is troubling in and of itself, and doubly so because the number of active members willing to take on vital volunteer responsibilities core to the operation is also dwindling. At a high level, this trend is no mystery. In…
Read MoreSix 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…
Read MoreDoes Board Size Matter?
Through our work, we see many different sizes of Boards of Directors for Library Friends and Foundations. Many people ask us if it really matters how big a Board is. We also frequently hear that it is getting more difficult to find and recruit good Board members. What we often find ourselves telling people is…
Read MoreShould We Be a 501(c)(3)?
Many people consider nonprofit and 501(c)(3) to be synonymous. Well, that’s not always true… Nonprofit refers to an organization being a private, not-for-profit corporation. That means the organization has registered as a non-profit business in the state in which it operates. In most states, registration is pretty simple. But, to register, the organization will need…
Read MoreWelcome Christopher Stewart and New Library Strategies Services!
Dr. Christopher Stewart is the newest Library Strategies consultant to join our team. Stewart will be expanding our services to the academic library world in several areas including: Organization Assessment & Development Strategic Planning Executive Search Space Planning (View All Services and Details) Stewart has over twenty years in academic library leadership, teaching and consulting.…
Read MoreSupervising & Motivating an Intergenerational Library Workforce
A popular managerial maxim holds that “managing things is easy – managing people is the challenge” (Evans & Alire). This may be more true now than ever before. Recent demographic shifts have created an unprecedented situation, wherein members of four different generations are working side by side, in large numbers, in workplaces across the country.…
Read MoreWhat Makes a Good Friends Group?
Over the years since Library Strategies was created, we’ve worked with dozens of Friends groups across the country. Some were led by board members who’d been serving as volunteers for as many as thirty years and were praying for a way out, but were too committed to just leave. Other Friends groups have a kick-butt…
Read MoreThree Things Every New Library Director Should Consider
1) Library-Community Relationship? How does the library fit into the community—and can it fit better? Forget about the budget and the facility for a moment. Consider instead what the foremost issues are facing the community, then inventory what other organizations are addressing those issues, and, finally, assess how the library might partner with those organizations…
Read MoreTrends Shaping Today’s Libraries (Part 3)
(Read our Part 1 of our Library Trends Series!) (Read our Part 2 of our Library Trends Series!) ——— Anyone who frequents libraries knows that physical collections are not static – items are added, and others weeded, all the time. Less obvious, but no less important, is the fact that library service is also slowly…
Read MoreProfessional Development for Your Board(s)
Public libraries often have a number of boards, including a Library Board, as well as a Foundation or Friends Board. As professional bodies that can affect the performance of your library, it is important that each member of the board regularly participates in professional development activities. In this way, the board members become informed leaders,…
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