While organizations, corporations, and sometimes school districts bring together key members and a facilitator for one or more days to develop their strategic plan, you can do one on your own, although if you can get others to join you it’s likely to be even better.  The reason why strategic planning is considered important is that you set a direction for the next three years, understanding where, why, and how to concentrate your efforts.  Adjustments are made as you go along, and at the end of each year you can see how close you get to attaining your goals.

Speaking of goals—they are the first thing you need to write now that you have your Mission and Vision.  What are two or three goals you would like to achieve over the next three years?  Perhaps you want to develop stronger collaborations with teachers.  Or maybe, you want to increase your student’s recreational reading. These goals are yours.  They should further your Mission and/or Vision, and they should take time to accomplish.

Once you have your goals set, you are ready to determine how to realize them one year at a time.  For each goal, determine one or more Action Plans.  For example, if you want to develop stronger collaborations with teachers you might have an action plan to connect with three of them on an inquiry-based project, or zero in on a specific department or grade level.  Choose carefully.  Which are most likely to be open to your approach.  If you want to increase recreational reading, what program would best fit your school to get interest started?  One school, one book?  Battle of the Books?  A skyped author visit?

How will you accomplish each of your Action Plans?  Set up a spread sheet with your Mission and Vision on top, and then the first goal.  Identify the Action Plan(s) for the goal, and list who will be involved.  Obviously you would, but who else?  Which teachers?  Will you need something from an administrator or the tech department? When will each piece begin and end?

Most important of all is a column for assessment.  How will you evaluate each of the pieces?  Note what worked and what didn’t.  Perhaps a teacher you planned to work with had to leave mid-year.  Things beyond your control always come up.  Also you may have not factored in something important.  Don’t despair.  It’s all a learning experience.  Congratulate yourself on the parts you got right.  Even if you have only achieved one small step forward, at least you were able to move your program in a direction you set.

Now you are ready for year two of your Strategic Plan.  Your goals stay the same, but you need new Action Plans.  Based on how your first year went, you have a better idea of what is possible. By the end of year three, your program will have moved forward appreciably, and you will have had a sense of accomplishment as each year draws to a close.

Get started over the summer in developing your Strategic Plan.  Schedule a visit with your principal or supervisor—they are much more accessible in summer—and share your plan. You might even get an early buy-in. v

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Now is the time to prepare for next year and to start, take the time to craft a mission statement.  The mission defines your purpose—what you and your library program do.  It should highlight what makes you unique and vital to the educational community and expressed in words laymen can understand.  You can start with the mission AASL gives in Empower Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (ALA, 2009).

The mission of the school library media program is to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information.  The school library media specialist empowers to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skilled researchers, and ethical users of information (p. 8).

How it is done is included, but that’s not part of a mission statement which needs to be succinct, between 25 and 50 words. AASL’s statement is 32 words beginning with the word “to.” The reason for the brevity is so that it is easily remembered and can be framed and hung on the wall of the library for all to see.

That mission was written six years ago. Today we recognize an important part of what we do is ensure that students are also empowered to be producers of information.  Despite that important addition, the mission statement should be recognized for its use of strong words. Ensure and empower carry much more weight than “support and enrich” or even “foster and nurture” which frequently appear in school library mission statements. Avoid “can” as in “so students can…”  It will be stronger if you go directly to the next word.

You can borrow wording from the AASL statement and add other ideas important to presenting what you do and how it adds value to the school community.  In lower grade levels, love of reading leading to lifetime readers is a prime focus. While it is equally necessary at middle and high school grades, those you want to see why you are vital do not usually consider it as significant as student interaction with information.  You want to promote what you do but do it in such a way that your stakeholders recognize they need your contribution to the educational program.

Play around with the words you think are important.  Search under “school library mission statements” to find examples others have written.   Are there phrases you want to use in your statement?  Make sure you keep it in the present tense.  Review it.  Are the words powerful?  Does it show how you are unique? Once you get it within the length requirements, start memorizing it.  Print it and find a frame for it.  Proudly hang your Mission Statement on your wall for all who come into your library to see it.  And if you want help… send me an email at hilda@slworkshop.net

Next week – Vision Statements.

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