“Apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy.”
Introduction
Information professionals are often called to work in management positions, so it is imperative that we have good business management skills. Planning, management, marketing and advocacy are key business management skills that any information institution will benefit from.
Planning
Planning allows an organization to efficiently use their time and resources. Rosenblum (2022) describes the steps for effective planning. To form an effective plan, the organization must first discuss and agree upon what they wish to accomplish. What is the mission and values of the organization? How well are they focusing on the mission and values, and where could they do better?
The next step, as outlined by Rosenblum, is to do a SWOT analysis, examining both internal and external environments for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This helps organizational decision makers get a realistic picture of how the organization is affected by the surrounding environment, allowing them to make achievable goals. The organization will then outline goals and strategies, making a specific plan for implementing changes that will improve the organization’s ability to achieve its mission. Included in the plan are specific assignments to specific team members and plans for assessing the organization’s progress towards their goals.
Management
Management means following the plan, making assignments, and adjusting when needed for changes. Employees need to know what their specific assignments are and how to do them. Managers must check in with employees and get feedback from them on how their assignments are going. A workplace environment where employees feel comfortable expressing their concerns and feel good about the mission and vision of the organization will be successful in achieving their goals (Mackenzie-Ruppel et. al., 2022).
Marketing
Marketing means making sure the larger community is aware of our information organization and the services we provide. Alman (2022) states, “Marketing should be directed by a formal plan with information targeted to specific populations using multiple formats, informal encounters, and community input.” Effective marketing means getting to know one’s audience and communicating how the organization’s services will meet their needs. Survey and assessment tools, as well as conversations with individuals, can help organizations understand what specific populations need, how they come across information, and what types of messaging are effective for them.
Advocacy
Advocacy means getting the people who make decisions on library funding to help our organizations and give us what we need. It means voicing our concerns and promoting political action. This is especially important today, at a time when libraries are frequently losing funding and support. Sweeney (2022) points out that contrary to common beliefs, use of a library, feeling good about a library, and political ideology do not affect whether people will vote for or against library funding. The one thing that does affect whether they will vote for more library funding is a person’s “relationship with, and belief about, their local librarian.” He further explains that to get traction on an issue affecting them, organizations need to gather supporters who are willing to vote on an issue affecting the organization. He cites political science research that shows if 3.5% of the population support an issue, they will achieve the change they want. Sweeney recommends that for getting political traction, organizations should keep a database of supporters who are willing to vote on an issue, not just the number of people who use the organization’s services. If the number of supporters is high enough, they will get the funding they need.
Items of Evidence
Evidence Item 1: Strategic Plan for Little Free Library and Accompanying Presentation
My first item of evidence is a Strategic Plan for Little Free Library. I wrote this with five other classmates for the course INFO 204: Information Professions. Our group was very good at communicating and sharing ideas for the project. We had a weekly video call, planned out agenda items, took notes on what we discussed, and made specific assignments. We collaborated on Google Docs, sharing research and writing ideas with each other, and proofread each other’s work. I felt free to share ideas and constructive criticism in this group and did so whenever I felt I needed to. This was the culminating project for the semester, after others we had also worked on together. We developed an outline for this report together and discussed what we were going to cover, then each took a section to write. We each wrote a section of the presentation together as well, each designing a few slides and writing a narrative script to go with them. One of our group members read and recorded the narration that we had written together.
My part on this report included writing the section summarizing our environmental scan and SWOT analysis, formatting the document, proofreading, and helping the group brainstorm ideas, find research, and stay on task. For the presentation, I wrote the script and created the slide for the “Why Little Free Libraries?” introductory slide, as well as the script and design for the final slide.
This strategic plan describes specific goals for the Little Free Library organization, how to accomplish those goals, and how to determine if we succeeded in achieving those goals. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that aims to bring free books to underserved communities by building “Take a book, leave a book” boxes all over the world. The format and clientele of the organization are unique, with traits similar to and different from typical information organizations. The goals include specific ways to better serve communities in need and spread the word about the organization, fostering more community involvement.
This item shows that I understand the process of developing an environmental scan and SWOT analysis. It shows that I can work together with a team to develop a strategic plan, taking into consideration the surrounding environment and how it affects the organization and the community it serves.
Evidence Item 2: Digital Asset Management System for a Local History Museum
This item is a report I wrote for the course INFO 282: Digital Asset Management. The report outlines a plan for developing a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system to manage a museum’s digital assets. It includes a suggested metadata model, search interface, workflow, digital preservation, licensing and copyright, and a review of different DAM software.
This report shows that I understand how to gather information to create a plan for improving an organization with new technology. It also shows that I recognize the importance of getting input from other people in the organization before making big decisions like the purchase of a DAM software. This shows that I know how to write a comprehensive plan and proposal for such a project.
Evidence Item 3: Discussion: Project Management
This item is a discussion post I wrote for the course INFO 282: Digital Asset Management. Here I answer questions about how to manage a project, and how to provide DAM as a service to an organization. This post shows that I understand fundamental concepts of project planning and management and can organize a project into the specific tasks required to accomplish it.
Conclusion
Planning, management, marketing and advocacy skills are key to my success in any organization, whatever my position in that organization. Whether I am working on a project independently or with a team of coworkers, planning, specific goals and assignments, and a consideration of our mission and environment will all help us achieve results faster and more effectively. Continual improvement in these skills is largely going to come from experience and observation of the workings of my own organization and others. The ALA and SAA also regularly publish materials on effective management and planning in the context of information organizations.
References
Alman, S. W. (2022). Communication, Marketing, and Outreach Strategies. In Hirsh, S. (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp.374-387). Roman & Littlefield.
Mackenzie-Ruppel, M. L., Haller, B. & Goch, R. (2022). Managing Human Resources. In Hirsh, S. (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp.305-321). Roman & Littlefield.
Rosenblum, L. G. (2022). Strategic Planning. In Hirsh, S. (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp.255-270). Roman & Littlefield.
Sweeney, P. (2022). Advocacy. In Hirsh, S. (Ed.) Information services today: An introduction (3rd ed., pp.388-396). Roman & Littlefield.