- Email: [email protected]
A planning process for public libraries
Social Science Information Studies (1982), 2 (223-239) 0 1982 Butterworths
BOOK Vernon
REVIEWS
E. Palmour,
Marcia C. Bellassai and Nancy V. De Wath. libraries. Prepared for the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association. Chicago: American Library Association, 1980. 304 pp. ISBN 0 8389 3246 0. fll.25. A planning
process for public
David Smith. in library and information management. New York, London: Saur, Clive Bingley, 1980. 142 pp. ISBN 0 85157 333 9. E6.75.
Systems thinking
K. G.
process for public libraries represents a major change of direction for the Public Library Association, replacing as it does the idea of ‘national standards’ for public libraries with the concept of a national planning system from which libraries can derive their own standards appropriate to local needs. The system was tested in five library systems: Illinois Valley, Louisville, Prince William County (Virginia), the London Borough of Islington and Sheffield. In addition, 26 public library leaders participated in a simulation of the planning process and reviewed the manual before publication. Much thought has, therefore, been put into the project, which was funded by a grant from the United States Office of Education. The manual is presented in three parts, preceded by an introduction and overview. This explains that, although the manual is essentially a ‘how to’ publication, it also discusses why things should be done in order to: A planning
1. Provide a thorough understanding of the total process and the relationship of each activity to it. 2. Assist in the selection of those activities most relevant to a particular library. 3. Help planners to define their own information needs and to design the data collection appropriately. 4. Encourage better utilization of the data collected. The inclusion of the ‘why’ information increases the bulk of the text and may, as the writers fear, suggest that the planning process is more complex and difficult than it actually is, but it adds considerably to the value of the manual. The introduction also emphasizes, rightly, that planning is an on-going process. One does not simply produce a plan and leave it at that; plans must be flexible and dynamic, responding to changes in the community and in the information needs of its residents. The emphasis throughout the manual is on participative planning, with librarians and people from the community working together. It is pointed out in the introduction that it is not the library which is developing the plan but a planning committee which includes representatives from the library staff, the library’s governing body and the community in general. Part I (‘Preparing to plan’) begins with a chapter on the role and composition of this committee and its involvement in data collection before moving on to a broad discussion of data collection, the most costly and time-consuming part of the entire planning process.
BOOK Vernon
REVIEWS
E. Palmour,
Marcia C. Bellassai and Nancy V. De Wath. libraries. Prepared for the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association. Chicago: American Library Association, 1980. 304 pp. ISBN 0 8389 3246 0. fll.25. A planning
process for public
David Smith. in library and information management. New York, London: Saur, Clive Bingley, 1980. 142 pp. ISBN 0 85157 333 9. E6.75.
Systems thinking
K. G.
process for public libraries represents a major change of direction for the Public Library Association, replacing as it does the idea of ‘national standards’ for public libraries with the concept of a national planning system from which libraries can derive their own standards appropriate to local needs. The system was tested in five library systems: Illinois Valley, Louisville, Prince William County (Virginia), the London Borough of Islington and Sheffield. In addition, 26 public library leaders participated in a simulation of the planning process and reviewed the manual before publication. Much thought has, therefore, been put into the project, which was funded by a grant from the United States Office of Education. The manual is presented in three parts, preceded by an introduction and overview. This explains that, although the manual is essentially a ‘how to’ publication, it also discusses why things should be done in order to: A planning
1. Provide a thorough understanding of the total process and the relationship of each activity to it. 2. Assist in the selection of those activities most relevant to a particular library. 3. Help planners to define their own information needs and to design the data collection appropriately. 4. Encourage better utilization of the data collected. The inclusion of the ‘why’ information increases the bulk of the text and may, as the writers fear, suggest that the planning process is more complex and difficult than it actually is, but it adds considerably to the value of the manual. The introduction also emphasizes, rightly, that planning is an on-going process. One does not simply produce a plan and leave it at that; plans must be flexible and dynamic, responding to changes in the community and in the information needs of its residents. The emphasis throughout the manual is on participative planning, with librarians and people from the community working together. It is pointed out in the introduction that it is not the library which is developing the plan but a planning committee which includes representatives from the library staff, the library’s governing body and the community in general. Part I (‘Preparing to plan’) begins with a chapter on the role and composition of this committee and its involvement in data collection before moving on to a broad discussion of data collection, the most costly and time-consuming part of the entire planning process.