by Daniel Hensley, Adult Programming Coordinator, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, hensleyd@carnegielibrary.org.

Allen County Public Library has strategically incorporated logic models and outcome measurement in planning and evaluating programs and services in a relatively short amount of time by using Project Outcome tools as a central part of an overall shift to a more outward-facing approach to library services.

Judging by Allen County Public Library’s (ACPL) reputation as a national leader in using strategic metrics to improve library services, it would be easy to assume that they were among the earliest public library adopters of outcomes measurement. But, in fact, outcomes have only been a part of the library’s strategy for about three years.

“Not unlike other public libraries, ACPL had not used outcomes-based measurement prior to 2017,” reports Denise Davis, who, as ACPL’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, oversees data collection efforts. “The library relied almost entirely on outputs and anecdotes — customer feedback and quotes — to describe the value of public programming.”

This changed with ACPL’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, which established an outcomes-based framework for the development of all library services. According to Davis, this newly central role of outcomes required a great amount of commitment from staff at all levels of ACPL: “This has been a sea change for staff, and a good deal of education has been needed to help staff adjust to this outward-facing approach to planning, service delivery, and evaluation.”

ACPL has been able to quickly integrate outcomes measurement by making a commitment to outcomes at all levels of the organization, applying a strategic approach to planning and evaluation that includes a number of data inputs, and putting the data to work in ways that impact library users right away.

A Marathon, Not a Sprint

Outcomes feature prominently in ACPL’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. Tellingly, the document resembles a logic model in its structure – broad goals are connected to demonstrable outcomes, which in turn relate to “investments,” or activities that support the goals of the organization.

The ACPL Director at the time of this interview was Greta Southard. She saw the 2018 Plan, her first as Director of ACPL, as an opportunity to shake up the strategic planning process. “When I came, the strategic plan was not a strategic plan. It was a laundry list of to-do items that we did because you had to submit something to the state library.” Southard’s vision was to use the strategic planning process as a catalyst for organizational change and a way to focus services on community outcomes.

Project Outcome tools play a central part in ACPL’s commitment to using outcomes to improve services, but the surveys and visualization tools are only one part of a larger investment of time, resources, and energy required to make lasting organizational change.

ACPL began using Project Outcome in 2017 and continued training staff in outcomes-based measurement, the Project Outcome portal, and logic models in 2018 and 2019. To put the training into practice, staff had six months to work with program planning and logic models, survey a program, and then use the results to improve the program.

The big picture goal of using logic models, according to Davis, is to encourage professionals to “take the emotion out of program planning.”

“We know that our staff knows how to plan a program — we don’t question that. What we want people to question is their process for identifying topics, and their fallback if a program fails. How will you know if the topic resonates with the community, and how will you adjust it so that it meets community needs over time?”

Davis encourages staff to be strategic about what programs they survey. Rather than surveying every program, she advises staff to be selective when identifying programs to evaluate, using guiding questions such as “Is this a cornerstone program that has gotten stale?” and “Is this a new program that isn’t getting the traction you expected?”

For support, Davis is available for staff to contact to discuss evaluation; additionally, three managers who have received more in-depth training in logic models and outcomes-based measurement serve as point people for staff. Time is given on agendas at regular meetings to guide staff through logic model planning and evaluation processes.

Davis also speaks “almost daily” with staff who want to add or change questions on Project Outcomes surveys. “I ask back what they plan to do with that information.” Planning, evaluation, and development are all parts of the same process, and every decision in that process ultimately ties back to the intended impact on the community.

Avoiding A Colossal Waste of Time

Davis speaks plainly when it comes to the “measure everything” approach to surveying program participants. “[That] is a colossal waste of time.” Instead, Project Outcome surveys are just one of a number of methods that ACLP uses to get data about programs and services, each of which adds to a larger picture of progress on the Strategic Plan.

The experience of using Project Outcome surveys for programs across the library system has taught ACPL some lessons in getting a good response rate, though Davis admits that survey response is always a challenge. It helps to be selective about what programs to survey so that regular patrons do not get “survey fatigue.” Paper surveys continue to be the most effective for in-person programming. But perhaps the best way to encourage feedback is to show patrons that you are listening. ACPL’s Genealogy department regularly sees response rates of 80% or higher, and Director of Special Collections Curt Witcher credits that to a strong connection between customers and staff.

“Carefully crafted questions focusing on how the customer is benefiting from our programs invite responses that are more meaningful and better guide us in our offerings. Team members hearing directly from those experiencing our programs about their needs is powerful in both motivating and guiding our programming work.”

While Project Outcome surveys give valuable insight into the effectiveness of targeted programs, these surveys alone do not show the whole picture. To get more real-time feedback, staff are also encouraged to regularly use informal methods, such as posting a flip chart in the lobby with one question to get feedback about a program, service, or space change. Outreach events are also seen as opportunities to get feedback about what community members would like the library to do. Both of these methods provide real-time feedback, and give people who may not otherwise be vocal a chance to have their voices heard.

To complete the data picture at ACPL, staff have access to a highly developed warehouse of output data. ACPL also uses feedback cards to get customer satisfaction information, and questionnaires administered in print and through Survey Monkey to periodically get topical feedback. The responses to these targeted surveys can be impressive – a recent online-only survey, which was only open for a week, yielded nearly 7,000 responses. All of this is supplemented by reports from Gale Analytics (formerly Analytics on Demand), which help staff understand customer behavior and trends.

ACPL’s experience shows a good example of how to make the most out of Project Outcome. Project Outcome surveys are most effective as part of a more holistic program of measurement. Outputs show attendance trends and help staffing decisions; regular customer surveys provide a baseline of community attitudes and expectations; informal customer feedback gives frontline staff real-time data on a local level. In this context, ACPL’s targeted Project Outcome surveys are used to assess the quality of programs and services by measuring them against outcomes that are clearly defined within a logic model.

As a result of these coordinated efforts, staff at all levels have access to data to help guide decision making, improve services, and track progress on the strategic plan.

Working Smarter, Not Harder

ACPL’s experience in training and support to adopt Project Outcome and other elements of their evaluation strategy has been a slow process and required a major effort, but the investment has already shown returns in service improvements and community relations.

The Summer Learning Program is perhaps ACPL’s largest annual programming initiative, and so has been a major focus in efforts to plan, evaluate, and adjust programming using outcomes and other metrics. The program is supported by a significant local foundation in Fort Wayne. As a result of ACLP’s move to a more intentional planning process, the relationship with the foundation has strengthened; the foundation has offered longer grant cycles and has invited ACPL to apply for additional funding. Southard believes that this improved relationship played a big role in millions of dollars in funding.

Countless smaller changes have been made by staff across the system as they learned to use logic models and outcomes in their planning practice. Project Outcome results have become part of Board communications, too: visualizations, details, and quotes from Project Outcome are included in quarterly Board updates, which are also made available to all staff.

Southard has found that using outcomes has helped board members to better understand the library’s impact. Many board members come from the world of business and are accustomed to seeing profits or other quantitative statements; outcomes provide a relatable way to track progress. This approach can also help situate the library’s work in the context of greater community goals.

“One of the goals for the region is growth of population – we can link increased skill and knowledge to be good for the community in general for future economic development. We are helping build that pipeline for the workforce of the future. Helping make those linkages about the work that we’re doing, from preschoolers up, we can show how we’re feeding into the longer-term aspirational elements.”

To Davis, however, the biggest impact is more subtle.

“Overall, it would not be an overstatement that staff are using the feedback to understand how best to focus their time on program development and delivery to ensure that we are making the most of the limited capacity we have for program delivery – working smarter not harder. As with any evaluation tool, adoption and integration happens slowly. We continue to learn where it makes the most sense to apply the surveys and where not, and the why of evaluation. This is not meant to be a “do you like us” survey. It is meant to guide us in program development and delivery. Sometimes we learn simple but critical things – is the program at the best time, is the room the best location for the program, was the presenter effective. And, we do this in a neutral way through the outcomes surveys.”

As proud as Southard is in the work that has been done, she sees it as only the beginning of an ongoing process. “ We are a learning organization and we have to continue learning what the community wants and continue applying that learning.” By using Project Outcomes tools in the context of a larger strategy that is based on community impact, Southard is confident that her team will be energized as they see the impact of work that has been developing over the past few years.

“I think people are finally starting to understand that you have to have building blocks, and it takes time to put those building blocks in place. Things may not happen in the exact sequence that you would want, and you can’t necessarily predict when all of the variables will happen. But, with a plan, once the variables come into place, you can see the greater impact of your hard work.”

Advice to a Newcomer to Strategic Measurement

According to a recent survey of Project Outcome users, many libraries indicated that they used, or hoped to use, Project Outcome as a one-stop data collection tool for library services. While you may be able to add custom questions and make this work in theory, this approach is not likely to yield much valuable information, and it is sure to cause survey fatigue among staff and patrons alike.

Project Outcome is best used as part of an overall measurement strategy – an important part, but not the only part. Denise Davis, ACLP’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, offers some advice for libraries looking to get more out of Project Outcome by using it within the context of a larger planning and evaluation strategy.

Don’t survey everything. Spend time thinking about what you need to learn to improve a service, and pick one program to start.

Use a logic model to think through the process. They really do work.

Have a specific learning goal in mind for the surveys. Don’t burden staff and attendees with unfocused surveys.

Give it time. Don’t be discouraged if you have a slow start. This is new to your customers as well as staff, so they need to understand why you are asking for feedback and how you will use the information.

Consider an incentive. Don’t go overboard, but you may want to give out some chocolate or another inexpensive “thank you” for helping the library improve programs.

Look at the results…especially the open-ended responses. This is your baseline to guide program development.

Make a plan about what you will do. What can you act on now? What more do you need to know?

Follow up if you need to. If you need more information, find an easy way to get it, such as a flip chart or a sign inviting attendees to speak with staff to give more input.

Share the results with the community. Let them know what you changed, and thank them for helping the library to provide better service.

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The post Community Values first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Throughout the years, I’ve found these ‘methods’ are always little more than a variety of helpful steps or formulas to help owners and managers formulate a direction for an organization, or person, for the future. A Boeing engineer once asked me what skills potential recruits will need to learn for the future aerospace industry. Researching the futurist literature, the only thing seemingly pertinent was something I read (irretrievable) in The Futurist Magazine over twenty years ago. The late Robert Theobald, economist and futurist author, commented on future education ‘…twenty years from now, one will learn what one needs to know when they need it,’ and now we are doing exactly that. Theobald was repeating the scenario he wrote about in 1967 about the future in 1994¹.

We have been inundated by articles about the future of the library, yet little has been said about the future of librarians; those bastions of information and troughs of information and experience people rely on. Like the oft quoted proverb from Africa “When a knowledgeable old person dies, a whole library disappears,” librarians are surely as much the library as the brick and mortar buildings they work in.

More recently I was at home with our thirteen guests at Thanksgiving, and we played a little game of getting to know each other. We passed around notes from which each person read and told us about their favorite book, their favorite activity, also, my note, “What would you like to be known for?” Well, when I was younger, I was in charge of a youth group and they started calling me “fearless leader.” I kind of liked that. Since then, I’ve come to know that a leader is not born, is not, by education nor effort, a leader. A leader is someone others ascribe that title to; usually because they have already done something significant to help or change the lives of others. This is what I find most librarians do, and thus are leaders, and that won’t go away because a building or printed books aren’t available.

As a recruiter and speaker for organizations, I try to talk about “Options and Opportunities.” What we chose as our role(s) in life, lays out our options and opportunities we may have. I believe librarians must decide to choose their role(s), and when they (we) do, we will survive all things of the future which come to pass.

Back in the 70s we heard a great deal about methods for “creating the future.” Here is another planning method; a book to help us with a range of future possibilities, probabilities, plausible options, and opportunities in creating our future:

It’s YOUR Future… Make it a Good One! by Dr. Verne Wheelwrite, 2012. This tome takes the strategic foresight and scenario planning tools utilized successfully by some corporations and scales them down for the individual.

References

1. Tegs Nineteen Ninety-Four: An Anticipation of the Near Future – June, 1972, by Robert Theobald, Jim Scott.

TEG’S 1994, written in 1967 and published in 1971, was 30 years ahead of its time. It is a portrait of the world in which we live today.

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In today’s fast-paced environment of constant technological, demographic, fiscal, and social change in our communities, we have to be nimble and ready to meet opportunities and push through challenges. Dynamic planning practices provide the tools to be in touch with our community members, empower staff, and engage stakeholders in order to continuously meet the needs of our communities.

What is the Dynamic Planning Institute?

The Dynamic Planning Institute—to be hosted in Washington, D.C., (October 5–7, 2016) and online (September–November)—is a workshop that spotlights the many tools and resources available, rooted in design thinking, community engagement, evaluation, data analysis, risk management, and more. This professional development opportunity is truly unique in that it meets participants where they are and allows them to integrate dynamic planning into their daily work. Participants can choose to create a plan by the end of the year or just practice using some of these new tools, and they will be connected to a like-minded community striving for success. The workshop is an especially good fit for small libraries that don’t have the time or staff to devote to a large-scale planning effort.

The power of dynamic planning can be explained through the example of using a lever. A dynamic process is defined as energy and effective action, usually through continuous and productive activity or change. When a dynamic force is applied to a lever that force is multiplied many times and thus the performance is improved with less effort. The more dynamic efforts that are applied, the greater the potential of that force obtaining the desired results. It allows us to focus our efforts on lifting the heavy loads of our community needs. The plan is like a fulcrum, if it is placed closer to the needs of the community, greater results will be accomplished. Without a plan (fulcrum), library efforts can be wasted and less can be accomplished. Dynamic planning requires periodic refreshment of change in order to retain energy and progress.

With dynamic planning, you focus your efforts for the greatest results.

Benefits of the Dynamic Planning Institute

Participate in the PLA’s Dynamic Planning Institute if you want to:

1. Continuously revitalize your library while increasing impact.
2. Assess your library’s strengths and limitations.
3. Produce a commonality of purpose that bridges library staff and leadership, increasing staff’s morale and job satisfaction as informed partners.
4. Determine clear strategic priorities and realistic goals based on your community’s greatest needs.
5. Provide a basis for ongoing evaluation and informed improvement.
6. Strengthen responsible accountability to governing authorities and the public while ensuring the most effective use of the library’s resources.
7. Anticipate and respond to the challenges of a changing environment, ready for opportunities and funding possibilities.
8. Incorporate innovation, flexibility, and stakeholder engagement.
9. Create a living document with actionable pathways and an inclusive one-page plan.
10. Explore tools and resources to help with community engagement, decision-making, risk-taking, innovation, staff empowerment, and project management.
11. Apply best practices in dynamic library planning using the most updated methods and tools for communicating and achieving continuous results.

It’s not too late to sign up for PLA’s Dynamic Planning Institute! The deadline for applications is Friday, August 19. Click here to apply.

Stephanie Gerding, MLIS, (http://stephaniegerding.com), is a library consultant, trainer, and author on library planning, grants, training, advocacy, and technology topics. Stephanie provides professional development and evaluation consultations for clients around the world and online, including public, academic, state, and special libraries, as well as nonprofits.

Recent projects include developing and delivering PLA’s new Dynamic Planning Institute; Regional Trainer for PLA’s Project Outcome; project management for the IMLS/Gates grant funded Continuing Education Connector project led by the Chief Officers of State Libraries (COSLA), evaluation and training for CA’s Infopeople, training needs assessments for state and national organizations, online trainer for PLA’s Turning the Page advocacy program, consulting and training on the technology benchmarking Edge Initiative, and advisor for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She has written four books including The Accidental Public Library Technology Trainer, and Winning Grants. She lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and engaging nine-year-old daughter.

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My library has an existing strategic plan, but I learned a tremendous amount about its implementation during the program. Creating a vision for your library is one thing, but actually identifying the necessary steps to make it happen, while getting staff on board in the process, can be difficult. Boot Camp gave me specific tools and strategies to help refine my library’s goals and put them into action.

Perhaps the information that stuck out to me most was the importance of acclimating staff to change and helping them see the benefits of the library’s goals and objectives. The costs associated with change do not merely deal with money or facilities; there is an emotional component to it as well. By taking the time to understand how employees are feeling and address any questions or concerns they may have, a manager can help ensure his or her plan’s success.

Another rewarding aspect of Boot Camp was the small group format. This year’s class was the largest to date, featuring eighty librarians from throughout the country. Because the group was not unwieldy, participants were able to get to know each other and collaborate throughout the week. While it is very easy to become insulated in your own county or state, this setup forced us out of that habit, helping us to see how libraries operate in different areas.

For more information about strategic planning, I highly recommend instructor Sandra Nelson’s book Strategic Planning for Results, available through the ALA Store. This information contained in this work, part of the PLA Results series, mirrors much of the content covered in Boot Camp and is a necessity for any public library working towards a strategic plan.

Have questions about PLA’s other continuing education and professional development offerings? Visit http://www.ala.org/pla/education.

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A very brief synopsis of what we’ve covered so far: Appreciative Inquiry is an approach to organizational change that builds on existing strengths. It begins by identifying the positive core (Discovery phase) and imagining the organization’s future when its strengths have been optimized (Dream phase). Now that a collective vision is in place, the next step is to translate the dream into actionable measures.

Design: What should be?

According to Cooperrider, Whitney, and Stavros, “In the Design phase, attention turns to creating the ideal organization so that it might achieve its dream”[i]. This stage aspires to transform the organization’s social architecture by generating 3-5 provocative propositions that guide the change effort.

Let’s pause here for a second. I just dropped two terms that require explanation. Time to raid the glossary of the Appreciative Inquiry Handbook for Leaders of Change… Social architecture: “addresses the design elements critical to an organization to support the positive core”[ii]. Not super helpful. Provocative propositions: “statements that bridge the best of ‘what is’ with an organization’s vision of ‘what might be’”[iii]. Um, okay…

We could get bogged down in ambiguous definitions (the creators of Appreciative Inquiry can’t seem to resist them). Instead, I’ll try my hand at an oversimplified but mentally graspable rendition: the Design phase rethinks how things are currently done (the reigning social architecture) in relation to the ideal Dream state (as written in provocative propositions).

Perhaps a library-relevant example can clear things up even further:

Anywhere Public Library (APL) prides itself as a community gathering point. Its building has several areas well-suited to public meetings and group activities. Though these spaces get quite a bit of use, members of the Change Action Team (CAT) would like to maximize their potential. To make their dream tangible, they composed the following provocative proposition:

Anywhere Public Library is a hub in its community. Residents gather at APL because of its inviting atmosphere, friendly staff, ample meeting space, and clean facilities. APL hosts engaging and entertaining programs that appeal to local groups and interests. Community members are welcome to plan events at APL with the help of our dedicated team.

In composing their provocative proposition, APL’s CAT subtly characterized a social architecture that may not have been linked to the library as place, such as: inviting atmosphere, friendly staff, clean facilities, engaging and entertaining programs, etc. Now that these elements are coupled, all can be addressed in light of their impact on patron visits.

Destiny: What will be?

Consider Anywhere Public Library’s provocative proposition again. It sounds reasonable, right? In fact, you could say it reflects the organization when it is at its best. That should be easy to accomplish, yes?

Therein lies the magic of Appreciative Inquiry: it ultimately makes accomplishing an ideal state seem like a piece of cake. After going through the first three steps, the primary task of the Destiny phase is to simply let change take its course. “By this stage in the process, because of the shared positive image of the future, everyone is invited to align his or her interactions in cocreating the future”[iv]. The goal is not so lofty as to be unreachable, thereby motivating staff to achieve it. It does not aim at low-hanging fruit, either, so changes still feel meaningful and boost confidence.

Success in these endeavors breathes life and energy into the organization, building momentum as the 4-D Cycle revolves back around to the Discovery phase. The process continues over time as the organization builds upon its gains and approaches its dynamic ideal state.

The post Appreciative Inquiry – Part 2 first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

1. We stopped in the middle. The BPL’s strategic planning process began in September 2009, and just three months in, planning efforts collided with a challenging annual budget that predicted steeps cuts in funding sources. For a short while, the library tried to keep the planning going amid the budget talks, but community members and other stakeholders asked that the strategic plan be put on hold. The library agreed, and the benefits were enormous. The budget process inspired thousands of Boston residents to articulate the importance of libraries to elected officials, to the library, and to each other. This generated a wave of care for and interest in the library that helped steer additional funds to the BPL. That same wave was then channeled into the strategic plan when it restarted, bringing many more people into the conversation.
2. We excelled in uncertainty. Few people like to present an unfinished draft, but doing exactly that became the hallmark of the Boston Public Library’s consensus-building model. Creating a strategic plan is supposed to be a dynamic and iterative process. Staff at the library let go of the notion that every community or staff meeting had to be a perfect presentation and instead focused on how to generate the most conversation about whatever stage of planning the organization was in. We shared the very latest drafts of the plan’s strategic principles and outcomes, constantly updating documents to incorporate the latest comments. It was dizzying work at times – involving untold numbers of markers and post-its – but it made for a much more authentic way to demonstrate that the library was genuinely listening and ready to revise.
3. We fell in love with feedback. The amount of ideas and suggestions coming from our users and even some of our non-users (whom we now like to call potential users) was tremendous. This was due, in part, to all the channels we opened in order to collect it: 82 convenings over two years; 15,632 completed surveys; 10,000 postcards distributed to non-users; blogs; online chats; email; letters; social media; and more. The surprising thing was that we grew to love having the input, even thrive on it. Not only was it a measure of engagement, but it was truly helping us create a better plan and challenging us to find creative solutions throughout the organization.

Looking back, it is clear that none of these milestones were on our planning roadmap. No one suggested these steps to use. What’s more, no one takes credit for them – that’s how to be sure something occurred organically. Without these unexpected keys, however, the BPL Compass would be a lesser document.

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