If you work in a school library, I’m going to assume you do some planning. Planning displays for the term, planning events or author visits, planning what books to purchase, what collection to stocktake, what section to promote next, or planning library lessons and programs. But how often do you think about how those plans work together to form a big picture or a targeted focus or direction? If you do, you are probably a strategic planner or thinker. I like to think of myself as a strategic thinker. I love thinking about how all the little details come together to create an overall strategy. And I happen to believe that strategic planning is vital for school libraries. Let’s unpack why.
What is strategic planning?
Strategic planning is creating a road map for the long-term direction, goals and objectives of a company, or in this case, school library. It helps to then set priorities, allocate resources and direct staff time. A strategic plan includes a vision for the future, as well as the actions that help achieve that vision. It is based on the values of the organisation and it helps to measure the impact of actions, measure progress, and ensure actions are purposeful. Strategic planning is not something you do in one sitting, it’s a process. It’s also something that is ongoing, both in guiding your actions, but also as a means to reflect and assess impact, as well as something you then update.
Why is it relevant to the school library?
Basically, strategic planning is advocacy, alignment for purpose, and a method to save time, all rolled into one. And those are all things we could use a lot more of in the school library. Times are changing, rapidly. And with them, school libraries have needed to adapt. Some have transformed, while others cling to older practices. Without a strategic plan, or at least a direction, vision or purpose, a school library is at risk of becoming stagnant, not adapting or changing quickly enough. On the flip side, without a strategic plan, change might occur without any real purpose, direction or lasting benefit. Time might be spent on endeavours that are counterintuitive, or on things that don’t have a true impact.
I didn’t use to care too much if the school library I worked in had a strategic plan. It wasn’t until I needed to get leadership support that it became something I thought was worth my time. Now that I’ve seen the impact it can have, I truly think all school libraries need to have one. As a leader of my school library, it’s also something I would never do without now. It helps me to understand the team and their wishes for the school library, it helps me guide our work, and it helps me align to the school’s strategic plan. Our strategic plan helps me to advocate for the work of the school library, through sharing measurable objectives achieved and the impact from these. It helps me ensure the best use of library resources and staff time.
My school has one, isn’t that enough?
Your school may have a strategic plan, I hope that it does. It will make your own school library strategic plan a lot stronger. But just because your school has a strategic plan, doesn’t mean your school library doesn’t need one that is specific to the library service. There are a few reasons. The first is a strategic plan needs to be specific. A whole school has a lot to focus on, while the library’s strategic plan can be targeted towards the goals and vision of the school library. It should be specific. The school library’s strategic plan should reflect the school’s strategic direction if it hopes to gain leadership support and be instrumental in helping a school achieve its vision. However, it’s also good to remember that the school library has priorities that might not fit the school’s overall priorities at the time, things like building a reading culture or supporting information literacy. A school library strategic plan can ensure these are still made a priority.
I’m too busy?
I know, I know, we are already pretty busy in the school library, so making time to create a strategic plan might seem overwhelming, but I promise it will help with the overwhelm and save you time in the long run. While it is a process, it’s actually a very fun process and something that is so worth your time. And it’s really not that hard. I’ll be sharing more about my process of how I updated a strategic plan, how I created a new vision statement and how we use our strategic plan in my school library.
Further readings
Ready to learn more about strategic planning? Here’s some further reading to get you started
https://lookingbackward.edublogs.org/2020/01/15/strategic-planning/
https://www.eduwebinar.com.au/2024/01/16/strategic-planning-for-school-libraries/