Strategic Librarian

I’ve talked before about strategic planning and its importance for the law firm library.  We developed two strategic plans while I was at my last firm.

The first one was done after I had been there for a year and I knew the firm better by doing an information audit.  I was the facilitator.  It was a plan for the next 3 years and had the following components:

• Mission
• SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
• Objectives 
  • Goals
    •  Actions 

Our objectives were the following:

Objective 1:  Identify and select external information resources in the appropriate format (print, electronic, audiovisual, etc.) to improve overall access to information and control costs

Objective 2:  Develop internal information resources (KM)

Objective 3: Develop web applications for practice groups and administrative departments that support their goals and objectives and enhance firm processes

Objective 4:  Develop timely training opportunities that provide attorneys and staff with the knowledge needed to perform the highest quality research in a cost effective manner.

Objective 5:  Develop current awareness tools

Objective 6:  Provide timely assistance in both legal and non-legal reference and research

Objective 7:  Manage the physical and digital collection and maintenance of facilities used in the research process, administer online contracts and client billing for online research, and coordinate copyright compliance efforts

Objective 8:  Continue to develop of knowledge about library management processes, information resources, and technology solutions

If they seem simple, it is because they defined what we did as a department.  I felt this plan needed to be very task based as we were building a library where there wasn’t any leadership for 5 years – no director.  Each objective had several goals and each goal had several actions..  . 

The second plan was done with a consultant as facilitator.  It is quite different than the first and follows the current thinking in strategic plans.   

• Mission
• SWOT
• Objectives that followed the firm objectives 
  • Each objective had a vision that stated where we wanted to be in 3-5 years and a list of goals needed to meet the objectives

While we had a strategic plan with objectives and goals, it did not include actions or strategies.  We used an annual plan that outlined the strategies/actions we intended to work on each year.  A report that included metrics for measuring the success of the strategy was done quarterly and at year-end. 

Some things to think about:

• Don’t begin to develop your plan until you have talked to your clients to determine what your objectives and goals should be. 
• If your firm has a strategic plan, use the objectives listed in that plan and develop goals to support them.
• While you may have an annual plan with quarterly reports to keep you on track, consider to maintain a document that reports on progress against goals/actions on a weekly/biweekly/monthly basis.

Moving from a task-based plan to one that focuses more on the big pictures was not easy as details are more familar to us as librarians.  I will tell you it was worth the effort.