Know Thyself
What is a SWOT Analysis?
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
What we’ve done
O Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)
10 Questions
1.What do you brag about when
you talk about your work?
6.What one thing would have the
biggest impact?
What we’ve done
2.What are the three most
7.Looking to the future, what
critical issues facing our
worries you the most?
O
Blue
Ridge
Branch
(MCPL)
community today?
8.What makes you most
3.Why are these issues
hopeful?
important?
9.If all your dreams could come
4.If you could change anything
true, what would you wish for
about the way we serve the
your work? For the library
community, what would you
system as a whole?
change and why?
10.Who has a stake in the
5.What operational investments
library’s success over the next
would significantly improve the
three years?
impact we have on the
community?
10
Questions
Strengths
Weaknesses
1.What
do you Service
brag about when
6.What one thing
would have
the
• Customer
• Staffing
Levels
you
talk about your work?
biggest impact? • Budget
• Staff
• Our ties to the community
• Database promotion
2.What are the three most
7.Looking
to theoffuture,
what
• Promotion
early literacy
critical issues facing our
the most?
•worries
Time you
for 1-on-1
assistance
O
Blue
Ridge
Branch
(MCPL)
community today?
• Lack of dedicated prog./study
8.What makes you most areas
• Access
to & issues
assistance with
3.Why
are these
hopeful?
• Training
tech
important?
• Outreach
• Early literacy awareness
9.If• allEmergency
your dreams
could come
preparedness
• you
Jobcould
search
assistance
4.If
change
anything
true, what would you
wish for
• Weeding
• Browsing
copies
of books
about
the way
we serve
the
your work? For the library
• Outreach what would you
community,
system as a whole?
• Violence/Crime
• Emergency
preparedness
change
and why?
• Poverty/Economic issues
10.Who has a stake in the
• Library becoming irrelevant?
5.What operational investments
library’s success over the next
would significantly improve the
three years?
Opportunities
Threats
impact we have on the
community?
What we’ve done
What we’ve done
O Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)
O Blue Springs City Theatre (Blue
Springs, MO)
What we’ve done
What are 5
What are 5
things
we do
O Blue
Ridge
Branch (MCPL) things that we
really well?
may not do well?
O Blue Springs City Theatre (Blue
Springs, MO)
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 Threat
O Other theatre organizations have conflicting
showtimes and weekends
O 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 done
O Blue Ridge Branch (MCPL)
O Blue Springs City Theatre (Blue
Springs, MO)
O Colbern Road Branch (MCPL)
When to call in SWOT
O As part of strategic planning
O used to create and set goals
O Apart from strategic planning
O used to accomplish goals
O Annually
O revisit
The SWOT Plan
O Decide how to gather data
O Survey
O Focus Groups
O Bulletin Board/White Board Brainstorming
O Choose your SWOT Team
The SWOT Team
O Staff
O Board Members
O Community
O Patrons
O Non-patrons
AKA Stakeholders
The SWOT Plan
O Decide how to gather data
O Survey
O Focus Groups
O Bulletin Board/White Board Brainstorming
O Choose your SWOT Team
O Conduct it
O gather and narrow results
SWOT Training
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
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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
•
•
•
•
•
•
Strengths
Opportunities
Hit or Miss Sessions
Location
Technology Issues
Unfamiliar to New Members
Scheduling events
Session conflicts
Content may not pertain to special or school
libraries
Weaknesses
Funding
Decline in speakers
Competing conferences
Membership
Attendance
Tracking can harm attendance/interest
Threats
The SWOT Plan
O Putting it to use
O Match Strengths with Opportunities
O Take a hard, close look at Weaknesses
O 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?
Conclusions
O “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
References
Hammerstein NYC. SWAT. Photo. Accessed 1 Oct 2014 from
https://www.flickr.com/photos/strawdog316/8369913481/in/photolist-dKBZF8-fowQxEdcfgXe-bdf6hc-fEwy6J-d56WRS-8mz2Q-ecMFMa-7zADpQ-dA3yoj-2qzEpa-6EcWx6-dcfpzS9ReoN8-5c5Mk3-52rXrc-83un8g-iavncK-dkfC1x-5jC7Qs-ytjAS-ytjAL-5ZQjNS-djcWN8-Jqp8G8gSZz-ytoCT-eZuxHQ-aEzXiP-ytoCP-eZicwk-618qgz-58ZEdJ-fBo5Uu-f18mk4-aWNJYx-trRMS5WdVAw-e2bujL-6qCg3A-f1nGid-f6e7Ga-68STiJ-574iNa-2P3W7m-ELHp3-6M5H2j-4akWrd7ELDsG-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-f5Qf6MbrgvXi-ntw5AR-anvKJm-eAnZM-oKvSGY-8utWmu-obSRkK-x1h2Q-oVrc7w-pgRsDb-4W4tnGbe2Zja-eT5h8E-8Y2fug-hpiR7m-7uvL6f-nAutY5-azArDc-5A9CzZ-bk6fXZ-anUV2Q-72J6Y5poKhAL-79tTyP-eAo6p-eZKWkd-f3YBwt-5nK9io-jwwmNf-eAo36-p5UsKy-avtKBa-eAo9J-pgTntvjwuN7J-jwsuWB-a2suyz-2tyAZD-64z7qs-fmd6tS-fmdaSm-CLUVv-hJsPCi-8Y5irQ-dTUdEFaqa2Mh-3VnHWu-hVvX8q-7e9KUY
Contact
Seth Moses
Dan Brower
Colbern Road Branch Manager
Mid-Continent Public Library
Parkville Branch Manager
Mid-Continent Public Library
smoses@mymcpl.org
dbrower@mymcpl.org