Here’s the very rough draft/takeaway from our discussion just now at the Quarterly. Just some points to mull over for next Friday’s extended board meeting discussion:

Discussion Item: Plan for Strategic Planning Committee

Milavec introduced the Strategic Planning process to date. A board retreat was held last summer on June 30^th, and it was identified that a new Strategic Planning process will be needed going forward, and to ensure that it includes our new 19 libraries. At the next board meeting on December 15^th, we will be holding our first “planning to plan” meeting, to determine what process we will use, our timeline going forward, who we may use to facilitate, etc. Today is the membership’s opportunity to share their feedback: what would they like to see, which recommendations that they may have regarding processes or facilitators that they have used in the past, etc.

Comments from the membership: Robin from South Holland noted that they are also starting their SP process. At ILA there was a session on “out of the box” ideas to make Strategic Plans a one-page graphic plan for ease of understanding, and also to add a dashboard on the website to show where the organization is in the process. It was also noted that for action steps, rather than a 3-5 year planning process, it should be taken year by year to ensure flexibility with technology and changing needs. She felt that these ideas may be beneficial for SWAN as well. PrairieCat also used that model. This plan can also be posted in public areas and staff rooms. Verzani shared that it is important to determine who should be involved in the process – membership, SWAN staff, even patrons? Kathy Berggren from Matteson noted that it is important to determine the function of this process – is it a plan, or a marketing tool? Action verbs will be important to make this a true plan, while using realism to ensure that they can be achieved within the designated time-frame. Sue from River Forest thought that the “big picture” things that we want to deliver to our membership and our users is important to keep in mind. Obviously, action steps are important to get there, but big picture is equally important. She noted an easy to use catalog and self-sufficiency in funding as examples. Values also figure in, but what will we see at the end of this – what are we working towards? Milavec asked, “What is SWAN?” This has actually been more difficult to define, as different stakeholders may have differing definitions for the organization. It is important to get the feedback of not only library leadership, but also staff. What about library boards? Is it beneficial to have them involved? This may help them to better understand what SWAN is, and what it provides to our libraries. Susan Ricker, SWAN staff member, would love to know how we define “who are SWAN’s customers?” Is it the directors, the library staff, the patrons, or all of the above? How involved will library directors like to be? Robin from South Holland felt that moderate involvement is good – in person discussions at membership meetings, sharing of viewpoints, bouncing ideas off of one another. Pierre Gregoire from Frankfort agreed with Robin’s level of involvement, but intensified direct involvement of Circ Managers is probably even more important. Guided discussion is helpful, perhaps among smaller focus groups. An online comment from Kevin Davis was shared; an online survey would be helpful, perhaps a focus group of directors and staff. Also, take advantage of existing groups (i.e Circ and Cat Advisory) to gather input and feedback. Discussion was also held on the benefits on hiring an outside facilitator to aid this process. Seleb noted that it is important that we make clear what we hope to get out of this process, both process and outcomes. Gregoire shared that another approach is to look at excellence practices.

Thanks!

Brande Overbey
Operations Manager
brande@swanlibraries.net • (630)326-7104

SWAN Library Services
800 Quail Ridge Drive, Westmont, IL 60559
swanlibraries.net • catalog.swanlibraries.net