Transforming the Conversation: Communicating Your Librarys Value - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transforming the Conversation: Communicating Your Library’s Value

AMANDA B. ALBERT | ROCHESTER REGIONAL LIBRARY COUNCIL | 11. 16. 2016

Welcome + Introduction

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Getting to know you…

 What type of library are you a part of?  What best describes your role/position in the library?  Administration  Assessment  PR/Communications  Reference/Instruction  Collections  Technical services/acquisitions/access/ILL  Student  Other

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What do you hope to learn today?

Why are you here today? What is it that you most hope to take

away?

What are some major concerns?

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Goals + Objectives

 Participants will be able to articulate the concept of communicating

library value in order to apply it to their libraries’ communication practices.

 Participants will be able to analyze their unique stakeholders in order to be

able to communicate with them effectively.

 Participants will be able to evaluate their assessment data in order to use it

tell their library value story.

 Participants will be able to identify gaps in their assessment and marketing

practices in order to understand how to create a fuller picture of their libraries’ value.

 Participants will experiment with various marketing strategies in order to

choose the strategies that work best for their institutions.

 Participants will be able to create a communication plan in order to

strategically communicate the value of their library.

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Agenda: Developing a Communication Plan

 Part 1: Providing the frame for your value picture  Getting to know your institution  Assessing Assessment Evidence  Part 2: Painting the picture for your stakeholders  Communication Elements

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Background

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Value

Inputs/Outputs Alternative Comparison Use ROI Satisfaction Commodity Production Impact

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Library Impact

Financial Value Impact value

Oakleaf, M. (2010). The value of academic libraries. Chicago: ALA.

The Impact Map

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What does it mean to CLV?

Let’s brainstorm and create our own

definition

Work in groups to define the phrase

“communicating library value”

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Planned strategies adopted into current workflows that allows all library staff to tell a compelling story of the library's value supported with assessment evidence to targeted audiences.

Why is it important to CLV?

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Communication Commitment to Assessment + Transparency Culture of Assessment Increase Visibility Visionary Leadership Build Brand Love

Culture of Assessment

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• Understand campus

mission/vision/goals

• align lib’s mission

w/campus’

• Use campus

assessment plan as the foundation

• Create library

assessment plan

Planning

• Select appropriate

assessment measures

• Gather assessment

data

Implementation

• Assessment of library's

impact on:

• SLOs
• Faculty Teaching
• Campus Research
• Other?

Evaluation

• Communicate the

results of the assessment to campus administrators, library staff and other stakeholders

Improvement

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Reflection

Developing your Communication Plan

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Communication Plan Introduction Outcomes Targeted Audience Positioning Statement Key Messages Message Delivery Strategies

Let’s Talk About YOUR Institution

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Picture of Your Institution

 What is most important to your institution?

 To your faculty?  To your students?  To other stakeholders?

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Issues of Institutional Importance

Oakleaf, M. (2012). Academic Library Value: Impact Starter Kit. Syracuse, NY.: Dellas Graphics

Stakeholders

“Engaging stakeholders in a discussion about value will allow the library to create a framework of library value from the stakeholders’ perspective. The perceptions

• f the stakeholders are vital to

understanding the different ways they view the library and its possible impacts in the life

• f students and the faculty.” Matthews 2015,

p 175

Why are people important to

• ur discussion today?

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Segmenting Stakeholders

 Who is most important to your

institution?

 Students  Faculty  Administration  Parents  Employers  Alumni  Graduate/Professional Schools  Accreditors  Local Community  Institutional Partners

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Role Play

Image: CC BY-ND 2.0 cypaxPictures https://flic.kr/p/7yZioe

1.

Split your table into groups of two.

2.

Read directions on your handout.

3.

Engage in the activity and fill in the Profile worksheet.

4.

Prepare to Share.

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Segmenting Stakeholders

Stakeholders Lifestyle Values Attitudes

Adjunct Faculty Fast-paced – teaching a lot

• f classes; maybe on or off

campus (online teaching); working from home often Efficiency; speed; convenience; ease of access They are overwhelmed and must teach all of the content – why would they invite the librarian into their class if they don’t have time? Tenured Faculty Possibly Research focused; more presence on campus; more duties outside of teaching Access to lots of resources; access to discipline specific resources for their own research They are the expert, why would they need us in their class?

Give Me a Break: 10 mins

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Image: Scott Ehardt (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Pains and Gains

 How do your SHs define ”too costly”?

What things take a lot of time, cost too much, or require significant effort?

 What are their frustrations?  What are their main challenges?

Biggest concerns?

 Which savings would make your SHs

happy? Money, Time and/or effort?

 What would make their lives easier

(i.e.: increased productivity, reduced costs)?

 What makes them look good?  How do they measure success and

failure?

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Pains Gains

Adapted from: D’Elia, M.J. (2016). Value Proposition Conversations in Libraries: Facilitators toolkit 1.0. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Services, Expertise and Resources: Pain Relievers and Gain Creators

Identify SERs that your SHs already use, or would benefit from using in the

• library. Record them on the Flip Chart. Record answers to these questions:

 How can these SERs produce savings? (Time, money, effort)

 Can the SERs produce outcomes that exceed SH’s expectations?

 Can these SERs provide solutions to the pains SHs feel? Can they make the

SH’s life easier?

 Can these SERs eliminate mistakes SHs make? Can they help this SH

achieve their goals?

 How can the library eliminate barriers that keep this SH from trying SERs?

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Adapted from: D’Elia, M.J. (2016). Value Proposition Conversations in Libraries: Facilitators toolkit 1.0. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries.

Reflection

 What is most important

to your Stakeholders?

 What do you do to

contribute to this issue of most importance?

 What do your

colleagues do to contribute to it?

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Lunch Break

Image: Jeffrey Beall (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/7G5myv

Documenting Impact

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Documenting Impact

Assessment as Argument

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Value Conversation To Inform Using Data

Documenting Impact

 With regard to institutional

focus areas, what impact does the library make?

 What service, areas of

expertise, or resources make that impact?

 Does evidence of that

impact exist?

Data: What do you have?

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Institutional Focus Areas Library Contribution #1:

Inst structio ction

Library Contribution #2:

Interlibr librar ary y loan an

IFA#1:

Stude dent t persi siste stence nce/r /reten tentio tion to grad aduat atio ion

฀ There is an impact. ฀ There is no impact. ฀ There could be an impact. ฀ There is an impact. ฀ There is no impact. ฀ There could be an impact. IFA#2:

Fac aculty lty gran ant fundi ding

฀ There is an impact. ฀ There is no impact. ฀ There could be an impact. ฀ There is an impact. ฀ There is no impact. ฀ There could be an impact.

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By Arz - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2342677z

• 1. What data are you missing? How could you fill in those gaps?
• 2. What could you start doing immediately to fill those gaps?
• 3. Is this data communicated to Stakeholders?

Communicating Impact

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Communication Matrix (Academic Example)

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Adapted from: Lewis, V. (2015). Articulating Worth: Communicating the Library’s Value Proposition. IFLA WLIC.

Stakeholder Group Outcome Positioning Statement Key Message Strategy UG Students General Public

• Parents

Developing your Communication Plan

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Communication Plan Introduction Outcomes Targeted Audience Positioning Statement Key Messages Message Delivery Strategies

Specific Measureable Attainable Realistic Timely Ethical Recorded

Outcomes

 What is your desired goal?

 Trust?  Relationship Building?  Action?  Persuasion?  Information sharing?  Money/Funding?

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What do you want to happen as a result of communicating library value to X stakeholder?

Communication Matrix (Academic Example)

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Stakeholder Group Outcome UG Students As a result of communicating assessment data about successful research consultations, students will actively seek out librarians for research help General Public - Parents As a result of communicating assessment data about

• ur early literacy kits, parents will check out more kits

for their kids.

Adapted from: Lewis, V. (2015). Articulating Worth: Communicating the Library’s Value Proposition. IFLA WLIC.

Developing your Communication Plan

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Communication Plan Introduction Outcomes Targeted Audience Positioning Statement Key Messages Message Delivery Strategies

The Library Value Wheel

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Image: Danuta A. Nitecki Eileen G. Abels, (2013),"Exploring the cause and effect of library value", Performance Measurement and Metrics, Vol. 14 Iss 1

• pp. 17 - 24 Permanent link to this

document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14678041311 316103

Developing your Communication Plan

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Communication Plan Introduction Outcomes Targeted Audience Positioning Statement Key Messages Message Delivery Strategies

Elevator Speeches

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 What services, expertise, and resources

(SER) does your library offer to this stakeholder?

 What impact does library SERs make on its

stakeholders?

 Do you have data that supports this? If so,

what?

 How does the Stakeholder benefit?  How does this distinguish you from a

competitor?

Communication Matrix (Academic Example)

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Stakeholder Group Positioning Statement UG Students The library offers UG students 1:1 research

• consultations. This helps you find resources better

suited for your assignment. We have data from instructors stating that students who work with a librarian find better resources in ½ the amount of

• time. If you make a 1:1 appointment, the librarian will

help you through your specific assignment, saving you time and effort – it’s much easier than slogging thorough Google. You should sign up today – I would love to help you with your research so you can achieve your goals!

Give Me a Break: 10 mins

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Image: Scott Ehardt (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Developing your Communication Plan

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Communication Plan Introduction Outcomes Targeted Audience Positioning Statement Key Messages Message Delivery Strategies

Key Messages

Draw connection between Stakeholders’ needs and Library SERs

1.

Value Propositions

 Our [choose an SER] helps [Stakeholder] who want to [itemize task they want to

do] by ___________ and ___________.

2.

Library Value Statement

 Based on our experience [doing what, generally] we have the ability to

contribute [what, specifically] resulting in [type of business improvement] for [stakeholder].

3.

Key findings from assessment – time, money, effort, surrogate for  impact

4.

Follow up to assessments – thank you’s, decisions, actions we’re taking

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Keep it C.U.P.S.S

• Using evidence to support your statement

Confidence

• Not all stakeholders are created equal – no canned

messages Unique

• Made for that specific stakeholder, using their

language Personalized

• Appeals to their needs/wants/desires/goals

Self-Interest

• Easy to understand; on their level

Simple

Communication Matrix (Academic Example)

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Stakeholder Group Outcome Positioning Statement Key Message Strategy UG Students Thanks for filling in the survey General Public

• parents

Top 5 findings

Adapted from: Lewis, V. (2015). Articulating Worth: Communicating the Library’s Value Proposition. IFLA WLIC.

Storytelling

“Whoever controls the information gets to tell the story and whoever tells the story wins.” – Marek 2011

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Sacred Bundle – Core of your story

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CC BY 2.0 McKay Savage https://flic.kr/p/i3dopv

Types of Stories

1.

Who I am  uses transparency to build trust; i.e.: share background, experiences

2.

Why I am here  motivations for existence; i.e.: passion for equity of access to information

3.

The vision  shared by everyone for a better future; i.e.: your staff believes in the vision to create a better library for all

4.

Teaching stories  show people what you want them to learn and how you want them to do it; i.e.: show how new behaviors can produce new results

5.

Values-in-action stories  inspire stakeholders to action through common goals and aspirations; i.e.: stories about shared values of lifelong learning can inspire stakeholders to use services and resources

6.

I know what you’re thinking stories  combat “that won’t work here” attitudes; i.e.: create stories that tell alternative futures, the sky is the limit

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Write your story

What key values or characteristics of your library would you highlight in your library story to your chosen stakeholder?

 What triggers can you use to tell the

story? (Marek, 88)

 Pictures  Memories  SERs where you shine  Graphics  Data

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Developing your Communication Plan

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Communication Plan Introduction Outcomes Targeted Audience Positioning Statement Key Messages Message Delivery Strategies

Marketing Strategies

 Executive

summary

 Annual report  Newsletter or

newspaper

 Email  Meeting or

presentation

 Poster  Websites  Videos  Images  Data

visualizations

 Other?  Text  Tables + charts  Quotations +

narratives

 Qualitative focus  Quantitative

focus

 Formative focus  Summative focus  Short time or

length

 Long time or

length

 In person  In print  Online

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Media Content

Branding Visual Value Emotional

Image: CC0 ClkerFreeVectorImages

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Marketing Petting Zoo

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 Review the library fact sheets  Select one fact or data point that tells you how good the library is  Transform that fact into a sentence describing the good the library

does or enables others to do.

“When [leaders] try to determine the return of their investment [in the library], they do not ask, ‘How good is the library?’ Rather they ask, ‘How much good does the library do?’”

— James Matarazzo and Laurence Prusak

Marketing Petting Zoo: Your Institution

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 Which institutional focus areas do they emphasize?  Which stakeholder is this targeted to?  How are the library contributions to these focus areas communicated?  What data (quantitative or qualitative) is cited or used to emphasize value?  How might this communication be improved to focus on a targeted stakeholder?  What else or who else could you get to communicate this information besides this

particular website/information sheet/handout/flier?

Whole Library Participation

 Responsible Parties – who is responsible? Time commitment? Deliverables?  Action Plan & Timeline – what actions will you take; when will you take them?  Budget – How much can you spend? Where will you get the money?

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Strategies for telling the story

What communication strategy is most likely to appeal to your stakeholder?

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Final Remarks and Questions

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Personal email: amandabalbert@gmail.com

References

Albert, A.B. (2014). Communicating Library Value: The Missing Piece of the Assessment Puzzle. The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 40, pp 634-637. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.10.001 D’Elia, M.J. (2016). Value Proposition Conversations in Libraries: Facilitators toolkit 1.0. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries. Dando, P. (2014). Say it with data. Chicago, IL: ALA. Lewis, V. (2015). Articulating Worth: Communicating the Library’s Value Proposition. IFLA WLIC. Marek, K. (2011). Organizational storytelling for librarians: Using stories for effective leadership. Chicago: ALA. Matthews, B. (2009). Marketing Today’s Academic Library. Chicago, IL: ALA Matthews, J.R. (2015). Library assessment in higher education (2nd ed.) . Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited. Nitecki, D.A. & Abels, E.G. (2013). Exploring the cause and effect of library value. Performance Measurement and Metrics, 14, , pp. 17 – 24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14678041311316103 Oakleaf, M. (2010). The value of academic libraries. Chicago: ALA. Oakleaf, M. (2012). Academic Library Value: Impact Starter Kit. Syracuse, NY.: Dellas Graphics

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