Evaluating Your Library's Plan
| Site: | MSL Learn |
| Course: | Written Plans |
| Book: | Evaluating Your Library's Plan |
| Printed by: | Guest user |
| Date: | Sunday, April 27, 2025, 12:52 AM |
Monitor and Evaluate your Progress
The role of the board is to monitor progress on the plan and to ensure that the library has the resources it needs to meet the desired outcomes.
To monitor progress on the plan, the director may provide updates at your regularly scheduled board meetings. The work of carrying out the plan’s activities will be ongoing, and so inevitably some adjustments will need to be made.
Make your plan a standing agenda item for your board meetings so that you can understand what the library needs to keep moving towards its goals.
Start with the End in Mind
Evaluation means looking at what data or evidence you have to prove whether you have met the desired outcomes.
What data could you use to evaluate your goal?
- Program attendance?
- Circulation?
- Observation?
It’s helpful to think about what data you will use for evaluation as you are writing your goals so that you can begin collecting that data from the very start.
Measuring Outcomes
Using young adult activities as an example: how could the outcomes be
measured?
Young adults identify the library as a welcoming space to hang out and young adults report feeling welcome in the library would require feedback from young adults.
Staff could create a short survey postcard asking young adults how welcome they feel in the library on a scale of 1-5, how they like to use the library, and if they have any ideas for additional library programs or services.
These postcards could be left in the YA section of the library or handed out at YA programs such as the board game afternoon.
More young adults use the library as a gathering place and more young adults attend library programs could be measured by staff observation.
The director can share the library’s evaluation data with the board as part of the monitoring process.
Celebrate Success
Don’t
forget to celebrate your success with your board and staff!
Review
In this video Cara Orban will talk about how the library board can evaluate the library’s progress on its strategic plan.(9:30)
Planning Cycle
We've covered a lot of the components of a successful planning process . . . however, the work is never complete or done.
A living plan requires evaluation and re-evaluation on a continuous cycle.
Each year, the director will report on the board's review of the library's written plan. If you recall from the beginning of this course, the Public Library Standards require all boards to adopt a written plan.
(8) The public library board, in consultation with the director, shall identify in writing what they want to accomplish in the next three to five years, and that plan shall be focused on meeting community needs. The board and director shall annually review their plan and progress made.
As you review and update your plan, consider looking to the Elective Roadmap to Library Excellence for inspiration.
You can always reach out the the MSL Library Consultants for technical assistance and more training.
