engagement, we present clients with the strategic opportunities we - and the customers and stakeholders we interview - see lying ahead of the organization. Some jump on the opportunities, others not. But in all cases, clients tell us that naming the opportunities cause them to consider anew their current service or enforcement offerings.
What does opportunity look like? This Connie's Corner showcases ten opportunities presented one client a regional network of libraries.
#1Find-A-Book.Com. Run a regional virtual catalog. Build the systems and protocols necessary to create an online, searchable catalog of the collections of the regions libraries. Its focus would be to get as many of the regions libraries connected as possible and to have them place links on their respective web sites back to the virtual catalog. The catalog could also include the resources of an online bookseller providing users the option to buy the book for themselves (with a percentage of the proceeds going back to the network to support the operation of the catalog).
#2 Books to Your Doorstep. Launch a direct-to-patron loan and delivery service. In the Information Age, individuals have an ever-increasing expectation of having access to the information they want, when they want it, in the form they desire with little or no hassle. The model of visiting a local library, checking out a book, taking it home, reading it, and then physically returning it to the library is out of alignment with this trend. Therefore, position now to be directly in service to the regions residents and businesses as the provider of timely and cost-effective (but not necessarily free!) door-to-door delivery of library materials from member libraries.
#3 Google on Steroids. Create a regional direct-to-patron reference service. With staffing shortages and reduced library hours, it is becoming increasingly problematic for individual libraries to adequately meet their patrons reference needs. In addition, many consumers (and policymakers) believe that search engines and other Internet tools can provide good enough reference capabilities for free. Directly compete by creating a 24/7 live-person reference service that can be accessed over the phone or Internet.
#4 Let Us Be Your Library's Back Office Partner. Deliver exceptional, cost-effective shared services to the regions' libraries. All library organizations in the region are confronting the challenge of delivering high-quality library services to their clientele with increasingly limited resources. Be the source for libraries to turn to for shared services that can be delivered less expensively (and perhaps with higher quality) than today. The types of services to offer could include back office operations such as book purchasing and cataloging or administrative services including accounting, payroll, insurance, cash management, etc. You could also negotiate discounted rates with vendors of services like online databases, provide centralized grant writing and fundraising services taking a percentage of the revenue raised to cover its costs.
#5 One for All and All for One. Build a true regional collection of library materials. The capacity of libraries in the region to acquire and maintain a compelling and up-to-date collection of materials is more and more limited. In particular, individual libraries feel constrained in their ability to purchase non-English or specialty materials that serve only a small population of local patrons. Work with member libraries to actively manage their individual collections as a regional resource assuring that every library has access to a premier collection of materials even though no one library would own it all.
#6 Librarians Can Be Cool. Develop the next generation of librarians for the region. Everyone says that we are at the start of the Information Age. There are few professions that are more oriented towards helping people harness the power of information than librarians. So, while the schools of library science focus on teaching the traditional skills that librarians need, seize the opportunity to be the place where librarians turn for the cutting-edge ideas and developmental opportunities. One might even imagine a credentialing program that instructs librarians in 21st century skills such as being more entrepreneurial. The key is to make this training and development so distinct and valuable that even librarians from other parts of the state and throughout the country want to be credentialed there.
#7 One-Stop Government Information Shop. Create a centralized repository for government information and data throughout the region. Many businesses and individuals across the region rely on data and information that is produced by local, state, and federal agencies that includes Census and GIS data. However, this information is currently very decentralized and therefore burdensome to access. Create a one-stop shop (physically and/or virtually) for this kind of information. In that way, people working on issues or projects that cross-jurisdictional boundaries can find the information that they need to effectively do their work.
#8 Bring the Power of Libraries to Bear on the Regions Toughest Challenges. Become a neutral facilitator of conversations on critical regional issues. There are a number of important issues facing the region, with many powerful players with B agendas. Libraries enjoy a unique position in the community as a perceived neutral party to those issues. Capitalize on this by positioning the network as a kind of facilitator, using the materials, facilities, and other capacities of libraries to create safe havens for the substantive debates that need to take place across the region. Use pioneering tools such as new community decision-making or simulation technology to bring issues and solutions to life for members of the public.
#9 Everyone Else Is Becoming A Consultant; Why Can't We? Identify and promote innovative, promising practices to member libraries. Become a proactive gatherer and distributor of information and tools regarding how libraries can operate more effectively. This would include building an on-line database and/or newsletter of best practices, creating e-mail or web-based discussions on operational topics, providing seed capital to research and development projects at member libraries (the results of which get shared), and delivering on-site consulting assistance to libraries with operational improvement needs.
#10 To Sleep, Perchance to Dream. The key premise under which this network formed namely, that the state would provide substantial appropriated financial support has essentially disappeared. Moreover, the states fiscal crisis is unlikely to end any time soon. This strategy would involve un-incorporating altogether and re-establishing only with another financing strategy in hand.
Our client chose not to advance all these ideas. But, all were applauded literally. This set of opportunities received a standing ovation from a roomful of library directors who are members of the regional network. One person said, This is the best set of strategies opportunities collected for libraries anywhere that I've ever seen.
My partners Steve Struthers and Peter Hutchinson worked on this engagement. Steve reports that the biggest "aha" for this client occurred when they started to see themselves for the first time as a significant regional actor. While always a regional library network, in their own minds they had emphasized the word network. Once they started exploring the assets inherent in their regional base and reputation, they quickly became excited about the issue convening, information brokering role they could play in the hot regional issues of the day. And, they started to see a host of opportunities previously blind to them.
As 2003 begins, my hope is that you will see the opportunities awaiting your organization. Seek out a fresh vantage point, starting with your customers perspective. I'm 99.9% positive the opportunities are out there knocking!
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