E-Learning in Libraries Symposium 2016
Strategic Planning
Proactive Approaches to e-Learning
Jack Young • Digital Projects Librarian • McMaster University Health Sciences Library
[email protected]
Learning Objectives
• Explain the benefits of strategic planning in libraries
• Define the core components of a strategic plan
• Perform a basic SWOT analysis of your library and set appropriate strategic objectives
and performance goals
• Design and develop a strategic plan for e-learning in your library
Workshop Overview
• Establishing a Shared Perspective (Guiding Statements & Values)
• Setting the Course (Objectives, Actions, & Goals)
• Getting Work Done (Identifying Tasks)
• Evaluation & Assessment
• Working Strategically
Establishing a Shared Perspective
What do you see?
Establishing a Shared Perspective
E-Learning is_________________________
_______________________________________________________
_________________.
Establishing a Shared Perspective
E-Learning is content on the internet with the
purpose to teach professional development or
competency skills.
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Rationale &
Context
• Why is e-learning (as defined) important to your library?
• Organizational strategic plan
• Literature review
• Talk to stakeholders
• What e-learning currently exists in your library?
• What’s being created/curated?
• Who’s doing it?
• What challenges are you facing?
Vision
“To help [Company Name] and our consumers thrive in a
sustainable economy where people, profit and planet are in
balance”
Mission
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Guiding
Statements
“To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the
world”
Mission
Vision
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Guiding
Statements
[Organization Name] will be a vital center of knowledge for all, accessible 24
hours a day, and will be a leader in traditional and innovative…services which
reflect the diverse and dynamic spirit of the people of Brooklyn
To ensure the preservation and transmission of society's knowledge, history
and culture, and to provide the people of Brooklyn with free and open access
to information for education, recreation and reference.
Mission
"To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that
advance humankind.“
Vision
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Guiding
Statements
“Empathy, focus, impute.”
Vision
Mission
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Guiding
Statements
"Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software.
Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with
its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.“
“We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly
focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary
technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant
contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly
important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to
innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the
company….”
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Guiding
Statements
A Hybrid Model
• Partly aspirational
• Partly operational
• Provides context for your work
“Foster an overarching culture of e-learning within the library that aligns the organization with current and
emerging trends within higher education and prioritizes innovation as an avenue to enhanced service in four
key library areas: Education, Research, Services, and Staff Development.”
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Guiding
Statements
A Hybrid Model
• Partly aspirational
• Partly operational
• Provides context for your work
“Foster an overarching culture of e-learning within the library that aligns the organization with
current and emerging trends within higher education and prioritizes innovation as an avenue to
enhanced service in four key library areas: Education, Research, Services, and Staff Development.”
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Who’s Involved?
• Consolidate ideas in a small core group
• E.g. Key words and phrases, draft statement(s)
• Share these ideas with the rest of the library and
solicit feedback
• Return to small group to refine and finalize your
statement
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Values
• What are some relevant values related to e-learning?
?
Accessibility
?
?
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Values
Accessibility: E-learning will meet users at the point of need, with access unbounded by location or time. We value an
equitable learning experience for all users, regardless of disability, learning preference, or mode of access.
Usability: E-learning will be founded on established learning theory. Projects will be developed with the end user in mind to
maximize the impact of learning opportunities. Pedagogy will always come before technology.
Innovation: E-learning will seek new solutions to old problems. We embrace the rapidly evolving role of the academic library
and acknowledge the importance of emerging technology in preparing our users for the information landscapes of tomorrow.
Efficiency: E-learning will optimize the use of staff time and library funds. The up-front investment in an e-learning project
will reduce the library resources needed to address the topic moving forward, resulting in a net gain. With the proper
permissions, we will link to appropriate resources created outside of the HSL in order to avoid duplication of effort.
Collaboration: E-learning will be developed in collaboration with stakeholders, subject experts, and instructional designers
from the McMaster community and beyond. Through shared resources and a commitment to openness, we envision the HSL
as part of a powerful e-learning network.
Assessment: E-learning will be assessed at all levels, from strategy implementation to the creation of individual learning
objects. Needs assessments, usability testing, use statistics and a regular review of the currency and relevancy of existing elearning objects, will ensure our e-learning goals are being met.
Establishing a Shared Perspective: Outcomes (~4
months)
• Framework for e-Learning at the Health Sciences Library
•
•
•
•
•
Definition of e-Learning
Rationale & Context
Vision for e-Learning
Values
Recommendations
• Creation of an e-Learning Team to enact the Framework
Setting the Course: Strategic Objectives
• In your current environment, what’s propelling you towards your vision? What’s holding
you back?
External
Internal
Setting the Course: Strategic Objectives
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Staff member with production background
and experience creating e-learning objects
• No consistency between current e-learning
objects
Opportunities
Threats
• Integration w/ curriculum via liaison program
• Inconsistent funding
Setting the Course: Strategic Objectives
Common Themes
Setting the Course: Strategic Objectives
Stating Objectives
• Enhance staff expertise with e-learning
creation software
• Integrate library e-learning with
program curriculum
• Design modules to increase users’
database searching skills
• Establish a marketing and branding
strategy for library e-learning
Setting the Course: Strategic Objectives
Prioritizing Objectives
Needs
Wants
• Enhance staff expertise with e-learning
creation software
• Integrate library e-learning with
program curriculum
• Design modules to increase users’
database searching skills
• Establish a marketing and branding
strategy for library e-learning
Setting the Course: Actions & Goals
Set actions and performance goals for each strategic objective:
Actions
• What work are you going to do meet the strategic objective?
Performance Goals
• How will you know if you have attained the strategic objective?
Setting the Course: Actions & Goals
Objective: Enhance the expertise of staff creating e-learning objects
Actions:
• Create a communication hub for sharing training materials with staff
• Run regular e-learning continuing education workshops
• Send 2 librarians to the e-Learning in Libraries Symposium
Setting the Course: Actions & Goals
Good goals are SMART goals:
S Specific
M
Measurable
A
Agreed Upon
R
Realistic
T
Time-based
Setting the Course: Actions & Goals
Objective: Enhance the expertise of staff creating e-learning objects
Actions:
• Create a communication hub for sharing training materials with staff
• Plan regular e-learning continuing education workshops
• Send 2 librarians to the e-Learning in Libraries Symposium
Goals:
• Three librarians with the ability to create screencapture videos using Camtasia (within 4
months)
• Over 300 site visits to the e-Learning Hub LibGuide
• At least 5 different library staff involved with e-learning projects over the first year
Getting Work Done: Identifying Tasks
Each action can be broken down into manageable tasks
• Tasks are:
• Discrete
• Time-bound
• Able to be delegated
Getting Work Done: Identifying Tasks
Action: Create a communication hub for sharing training materials with
staff
Tasks:
• Create a new staff guide in LibGuides
• Collect existing training materials from the web
• Design blog template for sharing updates and news items
• Create promotional presentation for next all-staff meeting
Getting Work Done: Identifying Tasks
Action: Send 2 librarians to the e-Learning in Libraries Symposium
Tasks:
• Register for symposium
• Identify relevant workshops from symposium schedule
Guiding Statement
Strategic Objectives
Actions
Tasks
Performance Goals
Core Values
Evaluation & Assessment
All pieces of the strategic plan should be reviewed on a regular basis
• Guiding Statement & Values (~4 years)
• Are these still relevant?
• Have new developments changed your library’s perspective?
• Strategic Objectives, Actions, & Performance Goals (Annually)
• Report on the advances you’ve made
• Prioritize objectives for the coming year
• Set new actions and performance goals for each objective
Working Strategically
Strategy as a Map
• A map is tool
• A map does not replace good sense
• A map can lead you to unexpected
places
• A map can be improved as you go
Questions? Comments?
Learning Objectives
• Explain the benefits of strategic planning in libraries
• Define the core components of a strategic plan
• Perform a basic SWOT analysis of your library and set appropriate strategic objectives
and performance goals
• Design and develop a strategic plan for e-learning in your library