Each graduate of the Master of Library and Information Science program is able to apply the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy;
Planning, management, marketing, and advocacy all play a role in the success of an institution’s mission and goals. For libraries and other information organizations, the need for staff members with these skills and backgrounds is necessary during a climate of change, low funding and budget cuts. It is also important for information professionals to have background knowledge in all of these areas because it can create positive changes and improvements within an institution that will benefit the communities they serve. Information professionals who know the fundamental principles of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy will be able to apply them in all areas of work and responsibilities. For example, the creation of new policies, services, and programs requires careful planning and management. Planning ensures that goals and objectives are being met and reduces the possibilities for errors and disasters. The creation of successful marketing campaigns and promotions also requires planning and marketing fundamentals. Marketing skills are important because we want to reach users who are unaware of services and programs that are available at an informational institution. There needs to be staff members with some knowledge of marketing so that campaigns are created to effectively reach users. Marketing is also a crucial area to have skills in because if funds need to be allocated from other sources to support projects, services, and programs, a careful marketing campaign can help the institution gain funds from supporters inside and outside of the community. Advocacy is also another important area for information professionals to know about the fundamentals because there will be times we will need to defend our institutions and its users. Budgets cuts and the elimination of services and resources that are important to our users will require information professionals to know how to advocate on behalf of the institution and its users. It is also important for us to advocate for the needs of our users and to advocate for their intellectual freedom, access, and privacy. For most institutions, there is always room for improvement as the needs of users change, so knowing how to apply these fundamental principles will help information professionals in their endeavors and improve the organizations they work for.
Planning:
Planning is an integral part of creating policies, services and programs that align with the goals and mission of the institution. As in information professional, we will be required to participate in some form of the planning process so that day-to-day activities run efficiently. We will be asked to participate in various stages of planning in the creation of policies, rules, procedures, and budgets. Planning is important because it “measures progress, coordinates activities, addresses the future and copes with uncertainty (Evans & Ward, 2007 p. 163).” The organization and staff members at all levels need to be prepared for all types of situations that arise whether they are internal or external. For example, creating lectures, organizing fundraisers, planning new programs, creating plans and procedures for natural disasters are areas that need effective planning. Planning gives information professionals the opportunity to evaluate the current state of things before moving forward with the goal, objective or project at hand. Planning involves establishing goals, identifying resources, establishing and prioritizing tasks, creating timelines, delegating assignments, establishing evaluation methods and creating alternative courses of action (McQuerrey). In each phase of the planning process, it also involves collaborative work with others. Information professional needs to have the ability to collaborate with others because it is an important part of the planning process. Collaborating with others is an important part of planning because the input that various perspectives and opinions provide will enrich the planning process and motivate others to help and support each other. Planning is important because a successful plan leads to the minimization of errors, risks, and disasters and it also creates an opportunity for change and growth that impacts the institution at all levels.
Management:
As an information professional we will often be asked to take on management roles, so it important to be prepared to manage people, projects money and organizations. Within the literature, there are many management approaches that an information professional needs to be aware of, but it is not necessary to adopt only one.
Management approaches include:
-Scientific
-Administrative
-Behavioral
-Management Systems
-System
-Contingency
-Quality
-Contemporary
According to Evans & Ward (2007), “management style must change as situations and the persons’ involved change (35).” Information professionals need to know about different management approaches and how to apply them because there is a no one size fits all to management. Especially in an information organization where technology often follows great changes within an institution. Understanding the fundamentals of all approaches will allow information professional to adjust their approaches to suit the needs of a changing environment that needs guidance and support. Managers are not necessarily born with these skills but are learned and developed over time. Management is a continuous process that involves asking oneself questions about the organization, its resources and people, and one’s abilities. It is important for information professionals taking on management roles to recognize that all these approaches are flexible and that useful management concepts are available in a wide variety of resources.
Marketing:
Marketing is a very important way to reach users about services and programs. Knowledge in marketing is used to create campaigns to reach users and raise money for an institution. Building awareness about the institution through marketing will help users discover new resources unavailable to them before. Building an awareness will also bring in new users, remind users to come back and build support. Building this awareness is an important aspect of marketing that information professionals should cultivate because it serves as evidence that emphasizes the importance of the institution to the community in times of crisis. Marketing helps raise awareness by building a brand that represents the institution. Brands are important because they help users associate symbols and concepts with their institution. Branding will help users remember the institution next time they have an informational need. Brands don’t necessarily have to be goods but often involve an experience associated with the institution. For example, consistent good customer service can be a brand (Evans & Ward, 2007 p. 96). For information professionals services and programs are public goods that provide customer service experiences. Therefore it is important to build the reputation of services and programs with good marketing and branding. There are a variety of ways information professionals can use marketing to reach users but using technology can be the most cost-effective way for institutions with low budgets. Technology plays a big role in marketing because it helps reach a large variety of users through social media outlets and across different devices. The more users are exposed to the availability of services and programs, the more likely they will want to try them. It is important for information professionals to have knowledge of the fundamentals of marketing because we need to know how to disseminate information across the proper channels to reach users.
Advocacy:
An understanding of the fundamentals of advocacy is an important area for information professionals to acquire. For information professionals, advocacy involves gathering support and influencing people about the importance of an issue, cause or service (Evans & Ward, 2007 p.717). Developing good public relation skills is essential for an information professional looking to advocate for the institution and its users. When looking at advocacy, it is also important to understand the value of networking and collaboration with other departments and organizations. Networking and collaboration create alliances that help spread support to other organizations and people. According to Evans & Ward (2007), “A high profile and positive image help to overcome barriers (187).” Emphasizing the value and importance of an institution will gather support in times of crisis, such as budget cuts. For libraries and other informational institutions, success is not measured in monetary values, so it is important for information professionals advocating to prove the success of the institution in other ways. Compiling data about usage rates and user experiences are helpful in measuring the success of a service or program. Advocating through social media is also another cost-effective tool at our disposal when trying to speak about an issue, cause or service that is important to an institution. It is also another way to reach users to speak on our behalf through social media platforms. Advocacy involves speaking out, bringing awareness and collaborating with others on behalf of an institution so it is important for information professionals to use advocacy as one tool to gain support.
Competency Development:
As a developing information professional, Libr 204, Information Organizations and Management, was a valuable course in understanding the fundamentals of Management, leadership, organization culture and relationships. This course provided me with an introduction to management concepts, marketing, planning, and budgeting. The course also provided me with assignments that dealt with the types of tasks managers an leaders face. For example, we were given assignments that asked us to budget with a 20% decrease in funds. Other assignments asked us to collaborate with others and create strategic plans for an institution, and evaluate emergency and disaster plans. These types of assignments gave me hands-on experience in dealing with tasks delegated to information professionals in management positions. With little background in management and organizational culture, this course developed the skills I will need to be an effective manager and leader while providing me with resources that will nurture my career development.
Evidence 1: Libr 204 Philosophy of Management and Leadership
For my Libr 204 course, I created my own personal Philosophy of Management and Leadership presentation where I applied the knowledge I gained about Management and leadership. It gave me the opportunity to create a project reflecting the concepts presented to me in Libr 204 to create a management approach looking at what I perceived to be the most important takeaways. I constructed the characteristics and skills of a successful manager and leaders and looked at areas these characteristics and skills are the most effective. For example, successful managers and leaders allocate available resources, through brand development, promotion and reputation development that cultivates support and supporters.
This is important to construct because it builds a profile for me to aspire too and defines responsibilities and tasks I will face. It also demonstrates the role of marketing in brand development and that it is a necessary skill for managers and leaders to have. I also looked at the roles of managers and leaders and discovered that the manager’s role is to get things done using available resources while leaders motivate their followers to meet challenges together. I also acknowledged that while managers and leaders have different roles they are sometimes overlapping. Understanding these roles gives me the opportunity to step into these roles if the situation requires. I may not be a manager, but the skills managers and leaders have been helpful in a wide range of situations. This philosophy of management assignment demonstrates my application of this competency because an understanding of management fundamentals helped me develop a management perspective that is flexible and adjustable as I gain experience in positions that require management and leadership. I will also be able to apply these management concepts that I learned in a variety of situations, such as, task delegation, dealing with conflicts, planning, inspiring innovation and motivation, and working with teams.
Evidence 2: Libr 204 Strategic Plan Part 1 & 2
Another assignment in my Libr 204 course that demonstrates how I applied my understanding of these fundamentals is in my participation in a strategic plan for a public library. For Part 1 of this assignment, I worked collaboratively with other classmates researching, planning and implementing an environmental scan and SWOT Analysis and literature review for a public library. We drafted the vision, mission and value statement for the organization and in Part 2 created goals and objectives based on our findings during the environmental scan and SWOT analysis. This project required a great deal of planning within a group setting and for this group project we set up timelines, task checklists and delegated assignments (See Progress Report and Assessment). For Part 1 of this project I contributed to the literature review, environmental scan, the drafting of vision, mission and value statements and was in charge of the SWOT Analysis. In Part 2, I contributed to creating goals and objectives, such as, “Goal 4: To develop an advocacy and marketing plan that encourages staff and the community to raise respect and recognition for the library.”
This project taught me the importance of planning in a collaborative space to produce a strategic plan for an informational institution. Strategic plans are the type of projects that are vital to an institution because it defines the mission and goals from which programs and services develop. It is important to develop planning skills in a wide variety of organizational settings because it helps to ensure that operations run smoothly and minimizes error and risk. This assignment exposed me to the types of organizational projects information professionals participate in. I learned that not just managers participate but the whole organization contributes to the strategic planning, so it is important as an informational professional working at any level to understand this process. This assignment demonstrates this competency because it let me develop planning skills that are vital to developing strategic plans and demonstrates my application of planning within a team. This assignment also demonstrates my ability to apply advocacy and marketing strategies into a strategic plan because I designed goals and objectives that raise awareness about the library. This assignment gives me the necessary experience needed to plan and collaborate on institutional projects.
Evidence 3: Libr 204 Good to Great Essay
A third example of an assignment from Libr 204 that demonstrates my application of this competency is an essay about how Jim Collin’s Good to Great (2005) concepts are applied to non-profit organizations. I specifically discuss the hedgehog concept, and its application in the social sectors looking at a local non-profit organization. The hedgehog concept is a process that organizations use to foster the necessary skills and resources to fuel their goals and ambitions using concepts such as passion, best at and resource engine. This is important for an information professional to understand concepts like the “hedgehog” because it will help cultivate resources through marketing and advocacy. This is important for information professionals because we are often faced with limited funds and budgets and need different strategies to fuel the programs and services we offer. This essay demonstrates how I applied the hedgehog concept to non-profit organizations by looking at marketing and advocacy as major resources for institutions. I demonstrate how I applied marketing and advocacy concepts to explain the activities of a real organization.
Conclusion:
Informational professionals need a solid understanding of the fundamentals of planning, management, marketing, and advocacy because we often face a variety of tasks and responsibilities that require skills in these areas. Whether we are in a starting position are at the manager level, the fundamentals are an important starting point to create important change within an institution. A background in this knowledge will also help an information professional with their day-to-day activities. Programs, services, and activities will be better planned, organized and implemented. I will be able to provide improved outreach looking at marketing and advocacy strategies at my disposal. I will also be able to provide better direction, delegation, and support with my fellow peers at work and when involved in special projects. Understanding the fundamentals will allow me to grow as an informational professional and help me be ready to face any tasks at hand.
Resources:
Collins, J. (2005). Good to great and social sectors: A monograph to accompany good to great. Jim Collins: Boulder, Colorado.
Evans, G. E., & Ward, P. L. (2007). Management Basics for Information Professionals (2nd ed.). New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
McQuerrey, L. (n.d.). The Basic Steps in the Management Planning Process. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/basic-steps-management-planning-process-17646.html
Assignments
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