Know Thyself

What is a SWOT Analysis?

SWOT

trengthseaknessespportunitieshreats

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

INTERNAL

EXTERNAL

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

POSITIVE ADVERSARIAL

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

What we’ve doneO Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)

What we’ve doneO Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)

10 Questions

1.What do you brag about when you talk about your work?

2.What are the three most critical issues facing our community today?

3.Why are these issues important?

4.If you could change anything about the way we serve the community, what would you change and why?

5.What operational investments would significantly improve the impact we have on the community?

6.What one thing would have the biggest impact?

7.Looking to the future, what worries you the most?

8.What makes you most hopeful?

9.If all your dreams could come true, what would you wish for your work? For the library system as a whole?

10.Who has a stake in the library’s success over the next three years?

What we’ve doneO Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)

10 Questions

1.What do you brag about when you talk about your work?

2.What are the three most critical issues facing our community today?

3.Why are these issues important?

4.If you could change anything about the way we serve the community, what would you change and why?

5.What operational investments would significantly improve the impact we have on the community?

6.What one thing would have the biggest impact?

7.Looking to the future, what worries you the most?

8.What makes you most hopeful?

9.If all your dreams could come true, what would you wish for your work? For the library system as a whole?

10.Who has a stake in the library’s success over the next three years?

Weaknesses

ThreatsOpportunities

Strengths

• Customer Service• Staff• Our ties to the

community

• Staffing Levels• Budget

• Database promotion• Promotion of early literacy• Time for 1-on-1 assistance

• Lack of dedicated prog./study areas

• Training• Outreach

• Emergency preparedness• Weeding

• Access to & assistance with tech

• Early literacy awareness• Job search assistance• Browsing copies of

books• Outreach• Emergency

preparedness

• Violence/Crime• Poverty/Economic

issues• Library becoming

irrelevant?

What we’ve doneO Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)O Blue Springs City Theatre

(Blue Springs, MO)

What we’ve doneO Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)O Blue Springs City Theatre

(Blue Springs, MO)

What are 5 things we do really well?

What are 5 things that we may not

do well?

What are 5 things that

you’d like to see us do

outside our organization

?

What are 5 barriers to

our organization’s success?

Blue Springs City Theatre

O Key ThreatO Other theatre organizations have

conflicting showtimes and weekendsO We communicated and adjusted our

show weekends to benefit everyone

O This analysis helped the board receive a grant to assist in strategic planning

What we’ve doneO Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)O Blue Springs City Theatre

(Blue Springs, MO)

O Colbern Road Branch (MCPL)

When to call in SWOTO As part of strategic planning

O used to create and set goals

O Apart from strategic planningO used to accomplish goals

O AnnuallyO revisit

The SWOT PlanO Decide how to gather data

O SurveyO Focus GroupsO Bulletin Board/White Board

Brainstorming

O Choose your SWOT Team

The SWOT TeamO StaffO Board MembersO Community

O PatronsO Non-patrons

AKA Stakeholders

The SWOT PlanO Decide how to gather data

O SurveyO Focus GroupsO Bulletin Board/White Board

Brainstorming

O Choose your SWOT Team

O Conduct itO gather and narrow results

SWOT Training

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

MLA Annual Conference

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

MLA Annual Conference• Networking

• Education• Library-specific• Meeting Vendors• Fun/Social Events• Exchange of Ideas• Chance to travel and see other libraries• Location (if centrally located)• Rotation of location (reaches smaller libs)• Helps academics meet presentation

requirements• Relatively Inexpensive• Committee Involvement• New technology

• Hit or Miss Sessions• Location• Technology Issues• Unfamiliar to New Members• Scheduling events• Session conflicts• Content may not pertain to special or

school libraries

• Funding• Decline in speakers• Competing conferences• Membership• Attendance• Tracking can harm attendance/interest

• Diversify Sessions (pertain to more libraries)

• Use conference as a forum for national lib issues

• Network with other associations• Solicit ideas from small/rural libraries• Reaching very small or rural libraries• Open-ended sessions (participation based)• Virtual sessions (broadcast/record)

eliminate conflicts• Carpooling/bussing to conference (link on

web?)• More scholarships• “Ask Dr. Librarian” session• More real-life xp panels• Regional mini-conferences

The SWOT PlanO Putting it to use

O Match Strengths with OpportunitiesO Take a hard, close look at WeaknessesO Allay Threats

O What can you do to improve?O What if you stop doing it? Is there

another organization that fills that need? Is it even needed?

ConclusionsO “Know Thyself”

O You have to know where you are before you know where you’re going

O Be deliberate about what we do and what we don’t do

O SWOT Analyses can help determine your focus

O This is the best session you will see all week

Questions?

Now is the time to seek counsel from the oracle

ReferencesHammerstein NYC. SWAT. Photo. Accessed 1 Oct 2014 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/strawdog316/8369913481/in/photolist-dKBZF8-fowQxE-dcfgXe-bdf6hc-fEwy6J-d56WRS-8mz2Q-ecMFMa-7zADpQ-dA3yoj-2qzEpa-6EcWx6-dcfpzS-9ReoN8-5c5Mk3-52rXrc-83un8g-iavncK-dkfC1x-5jC7Qs-ytjAS-ytjAL-5ZQjNS-djcWN8-Jqp8G-8gSZz-ytoCT-eZuxHQ-aEzXiP-ytoCP-eZicwk-618qgz-58ZEdJ-fBo5Uu-f18mk4-aWNJYx-trRMS-5WdVAw-e2bujL-6qCg3A-f1nGid-f6e7Ga-68STiJ-574iNa-2P3W7m-ELHp3-6M5H2j-4akWrd-7ELDsG-NXFyT

Lake, N. (2012). The Strategic Planning Workbook (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page

Peterson, S. Temple of Apollo. Photo. Accessed 22 Sep 2014 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevepeterson433/14932287048/in/photolist-f5Qf6M-brgvXi-ntw5AR-anvKJm-eAnZM-oKvSGY-8utWmu-obSRkK-x1h2Q-oVrc7w-pgRsDb-4W4tnG-be2Zja-eT5h8E-8Y2fug-hpiR7m-7uvL6f-nAutY5-azArDc-5A9CzZ-bk6fXZ-anUV2Q-72J6Y5-poKhAL-79tTyP-eAo6p-eZKWkd-f3YBwt-5nK9io-jwwmNf-eAo36-p5UsKy-avtKBa-eAo9J-pgTntv-jwuN7J-jwsuWB-a2suyz-2tyAZD-64z7qs-fmd6tS-fmdaSm-CLUVv-hJsPCi-8Y5irQ-dTUdEF-aqa2Mh-3VnHWu-hVvX8q-7e9KUY

Contact

Seth MosesColbern Road Branch ManagerMid-Continent Public Library

smoses@mymcpl.org

Dan BrowerParkville Branch ManagerMid-Continent Public Library

dbrower@mymcpl.org