Planning Strategically for Small Libraries

Strategic planning is important for small theological libraries. Strategic planning allows libraries to identify goals and succeed in completing them. Unfortunately, there is often very limited staff time at small libraries, so librarians default to simply “doing” rather than planning. The presenters discussed some of the background of strategic planning and emphasized the importance of purpose statements and strategic plans for accreditation and evaluation. They also identified barriers to planning in their own libraries and offered practical advice for working on strategic plans with limited time and resources. Additionally, they emphasized the value of thinking strategically, which may be even more important than creating and executing a detailed strategic plan.