Holley Cornetto
 
Professor. Librarian. Writer. Student of all things interesting and extraordinary.
 

In a global information age – where information is available anywhere, anytime, and without borders – there is little room for managers who are anything less than transcendent leaders when it comes to leading organizations that are dedicated to open-minded dialogue and perspectives. - Cass Mabott

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Some of the most important aspects of working in an information environment are those of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy. Planning is important because in order to provide collections and services with the allotted resources, information professionals must plan for the best ways to provide services and materials that patrons need. Management is important because information professionals must be able to manage collections, employees, patrons, and materials to ensure success in providing customer service. Marketing is important because it brings patrons in to the library. Advocacy is important because it reflects how we discuss the importance of libraries and what libraries add to our community or organization. These components comprise competency D.

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Many students enter into MLIS programs thinking that they want to work in libraries, and an understanding that customer service is a large part of most information professions. However, the elements included in competency D, are also very important elements of what it means to be an information professional and to provide services to the community. A good organization has a structure in place to plan for the future, to manage services and resources, to market those resources and services, and to advocate for themselves to their shareholders or other members of the community who may not understand the value that they bring to a community or organization.

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Planning

Planning takes place throughout all levels of library operations and management. Planning should also take place for both the short and long term. For the long term, libraries should have a strategic plan in place to direct the growth and development of the library. Strategic plans help an organization to set goals and objectives that uphold their values and mission. A good strategic plan can help with library management, because it is a guiding document that should be referred to during the decision making process to ensure that the path being followed closely adheres to the long term plan for the library’s future direction.

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In addition to long term planning, such as strategic plans, short term plans must be put into place for such things as collection development according to the information needs of the community. Programs and services must be planned well in advance to ensure that the needs of the community are met. It is important to implement both long and short term plans to ensure that all of the organizational goals are being met in addition to the needs of the community. Good short term planning may include finding out what types of services are needed that are not being offered, or what types of services are being offered that are unnecessary and could be changed or eliminated.

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Management

Management is another element that takes place throughout all of the levels of the library. While some management duties may fall to a Dean or Director of libraries, there are many management responsibilities that fall to library professionals that do not officially have management in their job titles. Therefore, management and leadership skills are essential for all information professionals, no matter where their position falls in the organizational hierarchy. Collection management, resource management, budgeting, time management, and personnel management are just a few areas where management skills are vital in the library.

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With management comes leadership responsibilities. Those whose job it is to manage the library often find themselves making decisions that affect the library on an operational and personnel level. Professionals and staff within the library look to managers for guidance about new policies, and other issues of importance. Having good management skills can ease the library through normally tumultuous times of change and stressful situations that arise. It is important for managers to work with future goals and objectives in mind, which is why having a strategic plan, or other guiding document is key for management to ensure that the decisions that are made support the organization.

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Marketing

Many of the courses that I have taken throughout the MLIS program have focused on marketing. Whether it is marketing services, materials, or using social media, marketing is an important element of an information professional’s job. Even though most libraries are nonprofit institutions, in order to ensure that the library receives community support, it is important to make sure that the library is being used. Completing a SWOT analysis can help libraries determine what programs and services that the library needs to provide for the patrons. Once the appropriate services have been identified, those services can be marketed to library users.

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It is also important to market services appropriately. If you are marketing services for people who do not have access to computers and technology, then marketing via social media is not an effective way to get your message out to patrons. However, if you are marketing services to college students, teenagers, or young adults, then marketing via social media is more likely to get the message across to patrons than physical flyers or newsletters.

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Advocacy

Advocacy is an important element for any library. Whether a public, academic, school, or special, each type of library has shareholders to whom they are responsible. When economic difficulties arise, libraries are often a target for budget cuts. It is important that when this happens, information professionals can step up and demonstrate the value that the library and their presence in the library adds to the community, university, school, or company. Librarians must also be able to advocate for themselves as professionals, as increasingly budget cuts see professional positions replaced or staffed by paraprofessionals.

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Advocacy is also important in academic libraries when considering curriculum and academic programs, and what roles that libraries should play in this environment. It is important for librarians to join committees and be active in the community in order to provide a voice for the library. Many people in organizations and communities have little understanding of what goes on inside a library, or the skills required to work in an information organization. Finding opportunities to elaborate on what services and resources libraries can and do offer, and how they can support the community or organization can remind people of the value that they offer.

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Evidence:

As my first piece of evidence, I am submitting an assignment on marketing that I created for my INFO 204 course, Information Professions. For this unit, I had to identify a company that offered products or services, and to discuss the way that the company marketed these services to potential customers (or users). This submission demonstrates my mastery of understanding about marketing, and how to market effectively. In this assignment, I discuss product, price, place, and promotion, which are the four Ps of marketing, and the four steps of the marketing process. By identifying where certain organizations succeed or fail at marketing strategy, I’ve demonstrated my mastery of this concept.

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My second piece of evidence for this competency also comes from my INFO 204 course. For this assignment, I had to discuss budgeting, including budget cuts and fundraising. I had to identify areas where I would target budget cuts, and propose ideas to make up for shortfalls in a budget. In this assignment, I discuss different types of budgets, ways to allocate resources, and ways to increase funding. This piece of evidence demonstrates my mastery of management skills, because some of the most difficult and stressful tasks for information professionals involve budget cuts and lack of funding for programs and resources. Information organizations are increasingly having to provide more with fewer resources, and these skills are increasingly valuable in libraries today.

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My third piece of evidence for this competency is my final project from INFO 246 Web 2.0 and Social Media. For this assignment, I had to identify a social media tool that I believe that my information organization would benefit from, and create a presentation with a plan for implementing this tool. The campus that I work for is a satellite campus for a local community college. In my presentation, I argue that our satellite campus should have its own social media presence, and I present a plan for how to implement the social media tool including who would be responsible for maintaining the tool, how much time would be allocated to it, and who should be trained to use it. This piece of evidence demonstrates my mastery in understanding of planning, including creating goals and objectives, and a clear plan to achieve those goals.

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Conclusion:

Planning, management, marketing, and advocacy are some of the most frequently used skills of information professionals. Often students entering MLIS programs, or new librarians entering the field are surprised to find that much of the job includes planning services and outcomes, managing resources, marketing services, and advocating on behalf of the library. These different aspects of librarianship happen across many different areas and happen both in short term and long term instances. It is important for information professionals to be aware of the challenges of their organizations so that planning, management, marketing and advocacy can be used to ensure the success of the organization. Finding and understanding the needs of the community or organization can help in knowing how to create a plan that supports the overall goals of the organization.

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References:

Hirsh, S. (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (pp. 229-233). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.