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. RRLC | 2016

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

Cu

lture

of A

ssessm

en

t

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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

of the stakeholders are vital to

understanding the different ways they view

the library and its possible impacts in the life

of students and the faculty.” Matthews 2015,

p 175

Why are people important to our 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

of 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?

RRLC | 2016 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? RRLC | 2016

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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:

Instruction

Library

Contribution #2:

Interlibrary

loan IFA#1:

Student

persistence/retention

to graduation

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:

Faculty grant

funding

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)

RRLC | 2016 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

our 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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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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