My name is Jennifer Peterson, and I'm really excited to be here to help host today's session.
Kathleen is logged in as WJ and can aassist you with technical questions.
This session will be recorded and we'll make that available later today.
I'll send you all an email once it's live.
I'll also send you a certificate for attending, that will show up within the week.
And a reminder that all of the learning at WebJunction.org, learn.webJunction.org is free and available for all who work or volunteer in libraries.
So we have lots of library-specific courses, WebJunction webinars, other providers who provide webinars, so know that that resource is available to you all.
Thanks to the support of OCLC and many state library agencies across the country.
If you are not yet subscribed to crossroads, our newsletter comes out twice a month via your email, and it's a great way to stay up to date and connected with new resources, new projects, new events that are going on at WebJunction.
I'm also excited to remind you that there is a learner guide for today's session.
This is a great resource for you to use following the event to extend the conversation with your team, to extend your learning, there are some excellent resources in the guide that build on some of the things that Gina anded that will talk about today, and know if you have steps that aren't as important to you, you can take those out and customize it and make this a learning resource for your request team.
I'm also really excited to be collaborating with OCLC on this webinar as a part of their transformative leader series.
And Kate is here to talk about that.
Welcome Katy.
>> Thanks.
Like Jennifer said, this is a collaboration between WebJunction and our transformative leaders series.
For those of you who might not have attended in the past, the series of free online sessions, topics of interest to current and future library leaders, and some of the past topics include web analytic and design, and also transforming library spaces.
And I think Jennifer is going to chat out a link with some of the information, and from there you can access those past sessions and all the recordings.
>> Fantastic.
Thanks so much, Katy.
And yes, there's lots of great past sessions and we look forward to future sessions as well.
All right.
I'm really excited to welcome our presenters for today's session on librarian evolution, libraries thrive when we change, from the Topeka and Shawnee Public Library, we're pleased to welcome Gina Millsap the CEO of the library, and Thad Hartman, who is the chief of staff at Topeka Shawnee County Public Library.
We're so excited to have you here.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> We are happy to be here.
Are we ready?
>> It's all yours.
>> Okay.
Good afternoon, everyone.
As Jennifer said, I'm Gina, and with me is Thad.
>> Hello.
>> And we are very happy to be with you this afternoon.
So before we begin, I have a request.
If you're thinking about a change, big or small, or in the midst of change, would you please share what that change is on chat?
As Jennifer says, here's your chance to crowd source some rolely great collective library wisdom.
So please get those ideas and those change experiences up and so that we can see what's going on in the wider library world.
What does the future hold for libraries and librarians?
I'm talking about librarian with a small L.
As far as the public is concerned, we're all librarians.
At the time when our country is divided, where our communities are challenged to be places where people want to live and work and play, and where people are worried.
They're worried about work, the economy, quality of life for themselves and their families.
What is the role of libraries in our communities?
So I want you to close your eyes for a minute.
I want you to imagine your community.
Everyone has a relationship with their library.
Everyone is a reader.
And there's a culture of learning, because people are curious about their world, and learning is  fun.
We're smarter, we're more compassionate, more civic minded, more civil, more just, more engaged with each other, and our community.
And we're also wealthier, sexier, and we have more fun.
So how do we get there?
So if we ran our libraries like Hogwarts, this would work, right?
Wouldn't that be awesome?
But we don't.
So what does change look like in the library world?
How will we align our goals with the needs and aspirations of our communities?
How will we make a difference?
Doing the same thing and expecting different results, help me out here in chat!
Doing the same things and expecting different results is -- insanity.
Thank you.
So we must be willing to do what it takes to make things happen.
In our case, that's advancing literacy and learning in our communities at a scale and a level of impact that we've never had before.
And that means we start by thinking and acting differently.
So how do we do that?
Before we get into that, I'd like to share a bit about our library to prove that Thad and I have the street cred to give advice about change.
Here we go.
Here's our library.
This is our building, it's the only building we have.
It was designed by architect Michael graves, if you don't know his name, you may know his work.
He's designed more than 350 buildings, everything from libraries and post offices, to Disney  resorts.
But strangely enough, it's his tea kettles and steak knives and other everyday objects that made him a household name.
Let me say I own his steak knives and they're fabulous N2001 we opened this new library, and the use of services collections programs and the building increased dramatically.
Today the library houses an art gallery, a full-service cafe, a gifts and used bookstore, and it's a community gathering place, a cultural center, and a hub of literacy and learning.
In terms of size, we serve a population of about 179,000, and we're spread out over 550 square  miles.
We go from very urban, we're just a couple miles down the street from the state capitol, to country gravel roads.
We have about 90,000 library members or customers, our collection is 393,000 physical items and  60,000 digital items.
And the fact that I'm reporting collection size in that way speaks to change in libraries, doesn't it?
Our circulation is about 2.3 million a year.
In terms of service deployment, we're a bit unusual.
We serve that area with one building.
One big building.
No branches.
But we do have five buses that are mobile libraries and in one case an early childhood mobile classroom.
And we have lots and lots of out in the community services.
We were also high bring of the year in 2016.
And everybody wants to know why we won.
In a nutshell, I'd say we told a good story.
I'll tell you what you get.
You get a statue that looks like the Washington monument, a fabulous party at the ALA annual conference, and a $10,000 check.
But more importantly, it's helped build our reputation for innovation and excellence in our own community, and the larger library community.
And it's generated enormous civic pride among the residents of Topeka and Shawnee County.
People talk about it all the time, and it was almost three years ago.
But that was in 2016.
No library should rest on its laurels or be satisfied with past success.
Our focus is on the future and not the past.
What led to this award and what continues to drive us is a culture of change and learning.
>> Let's talk change.
You may be thinking about a change, or you've made one recently, and it hasn't been received as you anticipated.
You may work with colleagues that are resistant to change, and you may have experienced change that you had no say in, or control over.
There's attention between let's call in the changers and the changeees.
Those who promote or even demand change, and those who are concerned about how this might affect their ability to do their best work and the lack of say and control they have in the change.
It can also be tempting to put off making a change or just overlooking the need for change because it can take a lot of time and effort.
If we want to implement change successfully, it will take time, and if we don't take the proper  time, then it makes the changes that we make that much more difficult.
However, focusing on the difficulties of change can prevent you from change that could significantly benefit your organization.
I know many of you are looking at this and thinking, it was my understanding there would be no math.
To those of you, please bear with me for just a moment.
This is the formula for change that was popularized by Kathy Dannemiller, which was based on a formula created by David dpliekerment we see what is needed to implement change.
This formula says that there's always going to be some resistance to change.
However, we can overcome that if there's high dissatisfaction with the status quo, we have a strong vision for the future, and we have clear first steps to take.
The latter two things we can control.
This highlights the importance of having a clear vision and actionable first steps.
So this is the only other formula I'm going to show you, I promise.
I think this one highlights an additional important aspect of successful change.
This formula introduced by Robert Zawacki shows that the effectiveness of a decision is a product of the quality of a decision and the commitment to the decision.
So in other words, you may have the perfect solution to a problem, but if the people in your organization aren't committed to implementing that solution, it's not going to be effective.
To have the most effective change, we need to have commitment.
How do we get that?
Well, we'll talk more about that as we go along here, but once again, it involves having a clear vision and clear first steps.
However, it also includes engaging and enabling others throughout your organization so that they are involved in the decision making process.
>> So where do you start?
You need context to determine the who, what, when, and how of change.
Environmental scanning is key to knowing when changes happening, and how you anticipate and respond to it.
Knowing and understanding what's going on in our local communities, the library world, the country.
And the globe, helps us see ourselves and our potential differently.
>> It's understanding why we do what we do and thinking about it carefully.
We need to understand libraries from the outside in, not just the inside out.
How do people see us?
We must know ourselves and the people we serve.
What's important to them?
We know our values, but what is it that people value about us?
Otherwise, we're just contemplating our navels.
So what others saying about us?
>> For the past 13 years, the Pew Research Center has surveyed, researched, and reported on dozens of topics that outline the importance and impact of libraries in American society.
If you don't read these reports, you should.
>> Found you're Rich Harwood has worked with libraries and the American library association since 2001.
He views libraries as strong civic and social change.
He teaches libraries and other organizations to turn outwards and focus on civic engagement to facilitate change in our communities.
He describes public libraries as boundaries spanning organizations.
He means that we are uniquely positioned to facilitate collaboration, create strategic alliances, work on collective impact, and create new community next.
If you're not familiar with his work, you should be.
>> Here's another one.
In 2014, the spean Institute did a stowd on Public Libraries.
It's called rising to the challenge, reenvisioning public libraries, and it's a must-read, because it outlines what public libraries must do to prove themselves and>> It looks like we might have lost your audio, Gina and Thad.
Let me see.
Are you still there?
>> We're here.
>> Okay.
Maybe just repeat that last bit, because we did lose you for 30 seconds.
>> Okay.
>> We'll just start this slide over.
>> Okay.
>> In 2008, OCLC published from awareness to funding, a study of library support in America, a national study of the awareness, attitudes, and underlying motivations among U.S. voters for supporting library funding.
A decade later, OCLC partnered with the public library association to investigate current  perceptions and support among U.S. voters, in how they may have shifted in the up ter convenienting years.
These are two of my favorite studies.
A couple of -- a few of the key findings are that a majority of U.S. voters believed that public libraries are essential to communities and a source of civic pride.
However, this number has gone down from the previous report 10 years ago.
Voters still highly value traditional library services such as free access to books and quiet areas, but also value the library as a community hub.
However the value of traditional services is declined, while value as a community hub has increased.
There continues to be a disconnect between the services library offer and public awareness, and support for those services.
And although a majority of voters are likely to support library funding at the ballot box, fewer are committed to definite support than a decade ago.
So overall, the numbers are still very positive, but when you look at both reports, you can see changes in the traditional perception of libraries.
>> The mission of libraries is to facilitate knowledge creation in their communities.
He also says that knowledge is created through conversation.
He says if you're in the knowledge business, you're in the conversation business.
So we have to ask ourselves, who are we talking with, and whom aren't we talking with in our communities?
>> Libraries are also in the headlines from the "Wall Street Journal" and Forbes, to NPR and the huffington post.
There's an unprecedented level of public awareness, and we must leverage that to advocate for libraries and the difference we make in the lives of individuals and communities.
All these sources give us valuable information and reflect back to us a picture of what we are and what we could be.
Of course this is flattering and exciting, but it's also a bit confusing.
There's a lot of data, opinion, and advice coming at us.
The challenge is to decide what will help us change so we can make our communities change and prosper.
>> Now that we have the big picture, what are the reasons to initiate change?
What are the drivers of change in a library organization?
These days it's the balancing act between print and digital content, the focus on -- that we have on stuff, versus cure rating the customer experience.
It might also be the pressure to demonstrate value.
The fact that information is readily available to anyone with a device and internet access.
That library staff are retiring and taking their expertise and experience with them.
Could also be ongoing budget cuts or a public perception of decreased relevance.
So what do you do about those difficult choices and challenges?
First, keep in mind change itself is a process and an exercise in leadership.
Leadership and change expert Dr. John Kotter developed an eight-step model for implementing  far-reaching organizational change, which he summarizes this way.
This presentation is an in-- isn't intended to have a deep dive, or to do a deep dive into organizational can change methodology, but Kotter is worth reading.
And he reinforces the idea of change as leadership.
When he says it's about mobilizing a group of people to jump into a better future.
Think about that.
Mobilizing a group of people to jump into a better future.
So is you've heard the expression change for the sake of change, right?
It may have been directed at you, or you may have even said it.
The reality is, it's never a compliment, and it's usually kind of an accusation.
But what is the person actually saying?
It's that they don't see a reason or have a vision for the difference change could make for the library and its customers.
And it's something else as well.
That there's no sense of inclusiveness or feeling that they're an important part of making the library better.
So let's talk about some specific examples of how we introduce the need for change and manage change at our library.
Let's start with the foundation.
For why we do what we do.
What brings us together as staff and as a profession?
We have core values, and they've never been more important.
Many things will and should change, these perhaps should not.
These are our library's mission and core values.
And I'm going to tell you more about the values.
Excellence.
We create experiences that anticipate our community's diverse needs and exceed expectations.
Accountability.
We serve the needs of the entire community by using resources responsibly, fairly, and  transparently.
Literacy.
We help people make their lives better by providing the tools to successfully navigate the world.
Freedom.
We welcome everyone in the community.
We support and defend our customers' rights to access information without judgment.
Teamwork.
We build stronger communities through mutual trust, collaboration, and shared goals.
And last but not least, curiosity.
We are hungry to learn, create, and innovate, and we inspire our community to do the same.
And here's our library's goals.
They double as our vision statement.
Every child will be ready for kindergarten.
Everyone will discover their passion for learning.
Topeka and Shawnee County will be an engaged community of readers.
Everyone will continue learning new ways to live their best life, and the library will be a learning organization committed to excellence and leadership, planning, customer focus, process management, and partner focus.
These are big hairy audacious goals.
And there are shared commitment to envision for our community.
They're just as important as the steel and bricks that for the identify the building.
>> How do we implement these ideas and how do we get a commitment across the organization?
A big part of creating effective change is to engage and enable staff, so that change does not just come from the top down.
But how does this look in the real world?
We've initiated civil process improvements over the years, and we use this term to cover anything from refining an existing process, such as the holds process, to implementing a new service.
A recent example I'm sure many of you have experienced with was the implementation of a roving reference model.
As you probably know, this can be an especially tricky change because it directly impact the daily work habits of staff.
And that can be very personal to staff.
One of the keys to making this work was engaging and enabling staff.
We developed a departmental team to create the model.
We included staff who would be responsible for implementing the new roving reference model, and we also included people from other areas of the library to get an outside perspective.
Another important aspect of the team makeup was making sure we not only had the right departments cofd, but the right people.
It's easy to just involve those people who are very positive about change.
However, we were sure to include a couple of people who we knew were a little skeptical of this change.
And this turned out to work very well, because they were a part of the decisions that we made and they saw all of the thought and work that went into that process.
They may have been a little skeptical of the process at first, and it may have proved a little time consuming, but they ended up being advocates for the change.
If they hadn't been included, no amount of explanation after the fact would have been as valuable as the time that that time on the process improvement team took.
One of the keys was starting with a shared goal that we tried to keep customer focused.
Getting everyone to agree to a goal and then making it about improving customer service was key.
We would often go back to the goal when making decisions to make sure we were staying true to our intenses.
It also made sure we didn't allow people to fall into the we've always done it this way sort of reasoning.
It allows -- allowed us to challenge assumptions and relationshipping.
Ultimately being deliberate and included including a wide range of people took more Planned Parenthooding time than what we could have done if we had sat down with management staff in a room.
But it made the implementation much easier and much more successful.
Making changes to individual services or processes is one thing, but if we're to truly change the goals of an organization, and do so in a well thought-out and systematic method, we need to talk about strategic planning.
So Gina showed you our library's goals, and they're ambitious.
So as we are working with those goals, we start to would der how do you create a strategic plan that will address large-scale community impact goals such as everyone will discover their passion for learning?
And when we say everyone, we literally mean everyone in our community.
They're great goals, but they can be a little oaf welling.
Especially when you think can ba to the change formula and the importance of creating those  actionable first steps.
How do we know where to begin and that what we do will actually lead to those large-scale goals?
We looked at several models and methods and landed on something called the theory of change.
The theory of change is essentially a way to illustrate how and why a desired change is expected to happen.
It's focused on mapping out those aspects at a strategic plan that can often be missing.
The first step is identifying long-term goals.
And in this case, we already had our community impact goals, which acted as our long-term goals.
The next step is working backwards and identifying all of the conditions and outcomes that need to occur in order for that goal to be accomplished.
These outcomes then provide a basis for identifying what types of activities and strategies will lead to the identified outcomes.
This gives us a link between activities and outcomes in the achievement of a long-term goal.
This leads to a better understanding of how change actually occurs, and once again, if you think back to our change formula, this gives us a strong vision, those community impact goals, and then also actionable first steps.
Plus it gives us a logical framework for how those first steps can lead to the ultimate goals.
So in the picture, you can see our digital services director David king working through the theory of change with our leadership team.
We worked backwards from the community impact goal and used relevant research to develop outcomes and preconditions that logically needed to occur in order to achieve that goal.
This has been a long process and we've expanded to include a large number of staff from all over the library in the planning process, and we'll be implementing idea management software so everyone in the library will have a voice.
It's been extremely beneficial in getting everyone in the library involved and understanding what we are doing and why we're doing it.
Now, of course like a few other things we've discussed, the theory of change could be a presentation in and of itself.
So if you're interested, I'd recommend seeking out further resources for mow details.
-- more details.
>> Another key to effective change is the development of a shared vision and the authority to make it happen.
We're investing in leadership to the creation of what we call the Tfpl leadership cohort.
Its members include our management team, our front line librarians and our paraprofessional colleagues who have proven themselves to be emerging leaders.
There's 50 of us, and we meet twice a month.
Together we developed our new mission and values, the community impact goals, and are now working on theory of change maps and implementation plans for those goals.
They're empowered to invite other staff members to join them as well.
This is a serious commitment of resources and brain power.
50 people meeting and working together at least four hours per month.
But we're working for a big impact, and that takes a big effort.
Another essential element to successful change is collaboration.
Both within the library and in the community.
Our vision is to help create a culture of literacy and learning in our community.
We can't to that by ourselves, and we shouldn't.
We work with over 100 community partners, the goal is to leverage resources and achieve bigger and better results through our collective efforts.
Achieving positive change is at the heart of our efforts, but we're not all the same.
We may have the same end game in mind, but the way there may look different for each organization.
So the key is learning and practicing active listening, having candid conversations, doing carefully negotiated compromise, and having a willingness to reallocate and apply resources.
That makes collaborative change possible.
>> We all have big challenges in our communities.
For example, 60% of the kids in the Topeka school district aren't ready for school.
And 80% of them qualify for free and reduced lunch.
That's a big challenge, and a big challenge requires a big goal.
And we have to have stretch goals, or BHAGs.
A guy named Jim Collins coin Thad phrase in his book "built to last."
Libraries need stretch goals designed to stimulate progress, and also to scare us a bit.
Those goals must focus on our community and its needs.
It's about them, not us.
So once again here are our goals.
They're ambitious,s far reaching, and long-term.
They're inclusive and strive to reach all people in the community.
But they're not goals that the library can achieve by itself, and they're not intended to be.
And they're also intended to stretch the library and its staff to be more and know more so we can work with people in our communities do the same.
Now, here's the inspiring part.
By helping people discover their passion for learning, by committing to creating a community of  readers, we are also helping combat the effects of poverty, contributing to economic mobility, and helping people make their own lives better.
>> Stage three is implement and sustain.
Here's a little snapshot of librarian evolution.
Look how we started and look how far we've come.
Right now we believe it's 97 been a better time to be a librarian and to work in a library.
But other things have to change too.
Libraries can change the world if we're leading that change.
And changing the world is the stuff of legends and heroes.
We can be, we should be the new superheros.
Libraries will achieve an unprecedented level of importance in our communities if librarians are viewed as and belief we are community leaders.
And I'm not just talking about directors.
I'm talking about all librarians and library staff out in the community.
So we're going to tell you what we look for in a librarian now who wants to work at our library.
First someone who is a good communicator in a lot of different channels.
>> Some one who is curious and can inspire curiosity in others, because that's the key to learning.
>> How to give great customer service, who knows the library inside and out and is familiar with our collections, services, and programs.
All of them.
>> A killer salesperson who knows how to upsell and persuade people to try new things.
>> A good facilitator who knows how to work with and get the best from groups of diverse, smart people.
>> You're literate and literacy.
We have to develop competency and literacy -- to ensure our programs and services are effective and actually work.
>> Team and project management.
The ability to help colleagues do their best work and get things done.
>> Strategic planning.
The ability to develop and work towards a common vision to set goals and priorities.
>> Knowing how to allocate resources to support changing needs and objectives.
Making those pivots and shifts with resources.
>> Data analysis.
I'm not saying we all have to be statisticians, but we should be able to look at data and figure out the stories they're telling us about people who use libraries, who don't use libraries, and what's happening in our communities.
>> How to do research.
Real research, not just Google answers to questions.
>> Knowing the basics of how to design, implement, and evaluate the user experience.
>> The ability to initiate and manage partnerships, again, so that we're leveraging our resources and collectively seeking greater impact.
>> How to advocate for the library in any setting.
>> How to coordinate and participate in process improvement, with a mind-set of there's always a better way.
And last but not least, change agent.
No matter where you are in your library organization, you can make positive change.
Think about the roles and activities on this slide.
Librarians and libraries are uniquely positioned to effect big positive change in their  organizations and in our communities.
So which of these is you?
A change agent is enthusiastic, passionate, and inspiring to those around them.
They're strong, engaging, and a dynamic communicator.
An effective networker and facilitator.
Capable of engaging in self assessment, self-reflection and analysis.
Self-awareness.
Committed to lifelong learning for themselves and others.
Has an understanding of the environment, social and economic connections and conditions.
Has the ability to act as a responsible citizen.
Is a critical and systems thinker with the ability to solve problems creatively.
Works in cooperation with others.
Plays well with others.
And is pro active, not reactive.
They anticipate and lead change.
>> I'm sure you're saying, that's all well and good, but how to we actually do all of this great stuff?
The very first thing we have to do is empower ourselves to learn and think differently.
What it means to innovate, execute, and evaluate.
So how do we get there?
The hardest thing is to change the way people behave.
Why?
Because we're creatures of habit, but we don't have to be.
>> First, we have to create a culture of learning in our libraries.
It's kind of the irony of libraries.
One of our core values is supposedly life lopping learning, but how many library organizations facilitate learning and expect their employees to model that for the communities we serve?
How many of us are genuine liqueurus and see sparking curiosity in others as an essential part of our jobs?
>> You don't have to -- you don't change the world by maintaining what you've always done.
That way lies mediocrity and irrelevant vns.
That's good enough shouldn't be in our vocabulary.
>> To be more and do more, we must know more.
We must invest in ourselves, which means we have to recognize that we have different learning  styles.
We have to have -- we have to clearly define the skill sets that we need.
We need to provide a variety of training and learning experiences and the opportunities to practice the skills that we need and value.
And we need to hold people accountable.
No one gets a pass or gets to opt out.
Everyone must do their job with energy, creativity, and focus.
>> I'm sure some of you are familiar with this book.
It's Peter -- it's "the fifth discipline field book."
He coined the phrase learning organizations to describe workplaces where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinkings are nurtured.
Where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning together.
We can't think of another organization more suited to this idea than a library.
That's why our library will spend the next few years evolving ourselves to become a learning organization.
>> Let me tell you about one of our staff members.
His name is Matt Petit.
He's a library specialist, that's a paraprofessional staff member, woulding in red carpet.
That's our service program for older adults.
In that role he serves on the advisory board of the Jay hawk area agency on aging, he advocates for legislation that ensures that seniors continue to receive essential services, and he's always looking for ways to make the library more effective in the community.
He's earned certificates in public administration, and hell currently working on becoming a  sustained dialogue facilitator.
He's constantly learning and building his tool kit.
To ensure his talents help advance our community impact goals.
So when I was talking to Matt one day, I said, why are you doing all of this?
And he said, I want to change the world.
We all need to be more like Matt.
>> We need to find out what our customers really want and what they don't want.
We need to stop thinking of ourselves as service providers, and start thinking of ourselves as  learning partners.
>> There's that BHAG again.
Not only do our libraries need BHAGs, we should have our own big hairy audacious goals that stretch us USA employees and as unique individuals.
>> To change the world, we have to be out there experiencing it.
We need to get out of our buildings and meet people where they are.
>> I'd like -- I was going to say, we want to give a shout out to Natalie moreland of our staff, because that's her on her bicycle.
>> She's in chat, I've seen her join in.
>> She's modeling the way.
Our partners know the community in ways we don't, and they have skills and resources we don't have.
What can they teach us?
What can we learn from them?
>> Believe that good enough is never good enough.
And that we have always done it that way is the enemy of excellence.
>> Fundamentally, here's what we all need to believe.
We can change the world by facilitating, promoting, and advancing literacy and learning, by working with our fellow citizens and in our communities.
If we become masters and agents of change.
>> We'd like to close with a couple of quotes, and you may be familiar with them.
But I think they're relevant.
The first one is from Charles Darwin.
It is not strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
And the second is from Alan Kay.
"the best way to predict the future is to invent it."
>> To all of you we say, start a librarian evolution!
Thanks!
>> Fantastic.
Bravo!
Thank you so much.
So much in there, and I appreciate that you noticed that much of your content could be a standalone webinar on its own.
Plenty to absorb, and there were a few questions that came through, but I encourage people to post questions in chat and again, a special thank you to Natalie, she was responding to some questions in there.
One of them was the size of your staff, which she mentioned was about 200.
So that was good to know.
>> Correct.
>> There were -- there was a question when you mentioned idea management, and one library is interested in looking into idea management software.
So they were wondering which one you're using.
>> We actually are in the process of reviewing them ourselves.
That is something we have not actually implemented but we will be implementing in the next couple months.
>> Excellent.
>> We're looking for recommendations as well.
>> Okay.
And I did post a link to chat to a webinar that we did with the snow isle libraries a few years ago, so I'm sure that some of the software has changed, but it's a really excellent webinar in terms of engaging both staff and the community with idea management.
So I commend you for heading on that path.
>> I noticed somebody mentioned idea scale, and that's certainly on our list.
>> Excellent.
Great.
And then when you were talking about getting feedback from the community and engaging with the community, there were questions about how you get that feedback in terms of surveys, I know that Natalie chimed in and said that you've used both formal surveys as well as more informal methods of getting feedback from community members, like a question on a piece of poster board with sticky notes for people to write down their ideas.
Do you want to talk more about tools for gathering community and staff input?
>> The big area in which we got the most input was in creating community impact goals.
Because we wanted those to reflect obviously not just our goals, but the goals for the community.
So we had many ways that we reached out to the community, the first was with a formal community survey, in which we asked questions asking them what they wanted for the community.
So once again we try not to ask simply questions like, you know, how many hours do you think we should be open, but really what were they -- what are the impacts they want to see in their community, what are the changes they want to see in our community.
But then we also had focus groups throughout the community in which we went through a sore analysis, which is like a swat analysis, but sore is strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results.
So we just felt that was a little more positive and really looking at how they felt about the community and what they wanted from the community.
And then we tried to develop our goals based on how the library could fit into that.
So we did that with the community, we also had similar sore analysis workshops with the library staff.
And then we had some other kind of exercises with staff at staff development day.
So we took quite a while to develop those community impact goals and working with the public and staff to make sure that we were getting input from as many people as possible.
>> Fantastic.
That's great.
There were definitely some questions around how you engaged staff who are resistant to change.
And I know some of the folks that we've done webinars with that talk about shifting culture is that sometimes there can be that resistance at the beginning, but you can definitely find ways to get folks on board, but can you talk a also bit about how you dealt with resistance from staff?
>> Well, I think there's a couple of things.
First I think it's really important that -- let me back this up.
I firmly believe that most staff, all staff want to do a good job, and they want to know what's expected of them.
Because when we say good job, that can mean different things to different people.
So what we try to do is be very concrete about setting expectations, and staff involvement and engagement in advancing the goals of the library is an expectation.
And managers and supervisors do -- they coach, they mentor, and they also hold people's feet to the fire when they need to, to be sure they're actually performing.
Secondly, we invite them to the table.
And we do that through sometimes it's through informational meetings, where we're sharing information and then soliciting feedback.
Other times people are invited to participate in teams.
We do very little where we just send out a broadcast message and ask for volunteers.
We select the people that we think are the best fit for a particular team or a particular task  force, we think that first of all, we're trying to be -- we're trying to be like match.com,  getting the right set of skills and knowledge, and relationships within the library.
We also want to give people an opportunity to work with people that they have not worked with  before.
And also then people then begin to see, as Thad mentioned, when people see the thoughtful process and the time that's spent, and how -- the care and attention that their colleagues are giving to this, that's very persuasive.
It's certainly more persuasive than me standing up in front of a group of people and saying, this is what we're going to do.
So it's really not -- there's not a magic pill for this or a magic bullet, it's a combination and it's creating a culture where we hold each other accountable.
>> Excellent.
You mentioned that there's 50 people on your -- what is the leadership cohort called?
>> It's just the leadership cohort.
>> The leadership cohort.
So that's really a quarter of your team.
So obviously building the accountability and empowering those folks to really work with those that they're engaging with and that they represent staff from all different levels in the organization, and from the front of the desk and behind the desk, and back in the back room.
So how -- can you just talk a little bit about the timing -- how long have you had that cohort, and how has the onboarding of having that cohort be such a key part of your culture?
>> We've had that cohort, it's been a also oaf a year now.
And I think -- year and a half.
I think it's been especially interesting because it has -- it gives us a wider view of what's going on in the library and gets a lot more perspectives to that kind of traditional management team.
But it also gives leadership to those people who they've always been leaders, but I think now they're given a little more formal leadership, especially with the way we're doing our community impact goals, using the theory of change in our strategic Planned Parenthooding, to where now they are leading smaller work groups and bringing in other staff members as well, so there are -- they are spreading out to the library more so.
They're not just being part of that leadership cohort by discussing ideas as a group, but now they're turning into leaders of small groups of their own.
>> Well, and I want to recognize the comment in chat about being from a small -- in a small library with small staff, and I know that some of the webinars that we've done with small and rural libraries definitely leverage beyond just your staff, whether it's your board, or volunteers, or even this partnership, finding community members that are willing to sort of be a part of your learning team.
Building that culture even outside the library can make a huge difference in terms of bringing folks on board.
And also to recognize somebody did comment that while my work is all done in the back room, and how do you encourage those staff to become more engaged in outside the library and in the  community?
And can you talk a little bit about how you empower staff that maybe are back room staff to get out in the community?
Do you have month Kells you can suggest for that?
>> Well, I guess we're trying really hard to break down those barriers and that idea that there's front room and back room.
And I'm not saying we're there, but that leadership cohort contains representatives from all areas of the library.
Including technical services and circulation.
And so basically they have great ideas.
I think that the other thing that we're working on -- one of the things we did a number of years ago was -- stick with me, there's a point to this -- we did an RFID conversion that allowed us to get to about 100% self-check in our building.
The reason we did that was because we knew we had great people, for instance, in our circulation department, who could do many things well, and we wanted to be able to reallocate staffing resources to what we thought would be more meaningful customer interactions, and interactions with partnerships.
It's allowing us to get more people out of the library.
In other words, it's not just me anymore as the CEO out there being the face and the voice of the library.
We have librarians and library staff at a lot of tables.
One example is momentum 2022, which is our communitywide planning process.
That we have a number of staff participating in.
Another is heartland visioning, which was actually the initial planning process for the community.
And so basically I invite staff that I think are interested, have the skill set needed to represent the library.
It's really more developing a model of shared power.
And understanding that if we want to have the level of impact and the level of recognition in the community, that it takes a big team of us to achieve that.
And so I really believe in personalizing this.
And identifying those no matter where they are in the organization, and inviting them to participate in a specific community effort.
>> And I'll just add to that, for those people who maybe are working as you say kind of in the back room, not directly with the public, I think a big part of it, this is -- for all of us to think about the fact that it's easy if you're not working directly with the public to maybe not think about the direct impact that the work you do has on the public.
So I think when you're doing that work that is not directly involved, that doesn't mean you don't have things that you could do that would impact the customer experience that people at your library are having, and certainly you would be one of the people who would know best kind of what you can do to make changes that would improve that customer experience.
So that would involve what you're doing with your job but that's also where you can start to get out and look at how people are using the collections or browsing, or using your catalog, or downloading things digitally, and then how can you make changes to improve that service through what you're doing in your regular day-to-day work?
>> I would echo that.
We talked about one of the key skill sets that all staff need to have now is advocacy.
Advocacy, when we say that word, people think that means talking to legislators, or talking to  elected officials.
Advocacy, in its purest form, means doing a kick-ass job.
No matter where you are in the organization,s because overall, operationally that moves the library towards excellence and customers see that and experience that.
>> M-hmm.
Wow.
There are lots of really rich and deep questions.
I think I'm going to bundle together the groups that address how do you -- what do you say to community members who resist change, and I know you talked about all the different ways to understand our communities, but in terms of funding, there was a question about how you deal with funding challenges.
Have the programs and recognition that you all have received resulted in additional funding, and I don't know ifs  that can -- if that can touch on how the community members' perception of change and how you all have embraced change makes a difference.
>> So here's what I'll say.
We have a distinct advantage in that the library board, we are a consolidated, autonomous library district.
The board has taxing authority.
That is a game-changer for any library.
Because we really control our finances.
We use -- the board uses that very judiciously, and conservatively, but the reality is it gives us a level of control that, for instance, a library that's part of a municipality, a city or county organization, doesn't necessarily have.
So I want to be up front about that.
But I also think it's important, in a small town situation, everybody knows everybody, right?
It's important to build coalitions, so that it's not just you saying something -- that we need to change because.
And I finded that even in my position, I can -- what I say has more relevance and more credibility when it's also being affirmed by people that are not part of the library organization.
And so I think that it's important to bring those people in and to work collectively and to recognize that what the library is attempting to do isn't for the library's benefit, it's for the community's benefit.
And that's pretty hard to argue with.
You might -- you're still going to have your naysayers, you're always going to have the folks that just don't want things to change because guy golly we like it just the way it is.
But I think by forming these coalitions you reach critical mass and you reach a tipping point, and while they may be reluctant, they're going to have to get on the bus or get left behind.
>> M-hmm.
Yeah.
And I think your comments earlier in terms of how to ask the community, you're not asking the community about what they want the library to do, you're asking the community to share their dreams, their aspirations, what about them do they want to share, and I think having that -- that information from the folks who respond and who are eager to share, that can give you the language and the stories to really come back to the library and work with your staff.
But also then to tell those stories back out to the community where people really don't get or understand what the library is doing in interaction with those community members.
So I know there's lots of great resources that you mentioned in terms of how do you -- how you get out in the community and really understand the community's needs, I regardless of what they know or think the library is going to do about those.
So I don't think we can overestimate that too much.
So the other thing -- you know, we hear this a lot in actually all of our webinars, there's folks that come to the webinar who perhaps are in leadership positions and they maybe feel like they're not able to get staff on board, or it's staff that are having trouble getting their leadership on board.
So can you just talk a little bit about how you maybe handle either those senior-ranking staff who are stuck in the this is the way we've always done it mentality, or knowing that the feet  draggers in the staff as well, but you just have done such a good job of creating that culture, but someone asked for what kind of language, what are the ways in which you can sort of talk about this in a way to bring folks on board?
>> I really think it starts with having a plan.
There needs to be context for change, right?
There needs to be some context for having a conversation about what the library is and what it could be.
And so I think that's where it starts.
And then once you have that in place, and you do that in collaboration with your community and your board of trustees.
Once that plan is in place, you know, and you've invited staff to be part of that all along the way, then to me it's really -- the conversation then turns to, let's talk about your role in advancing these goals.
It's not really a choice there.
And that may sound a bit Ruthless, but my believe is that ths the mandate that we have, when we accept a job in the library, we accept being part of not just its present, but its future.
And the way to ensure a bright and thriving future is to be sure that we're staying relevant, that we're staying current, and that we're tuned in to what our community wants and needs from us.
And not only that, but surprising them and wowing them and shoring them things a library can be that they never even imagined.
>> That's great.
I know you have an exercise in the learner guide that encourages staff to think about especially those folks that say we don't want to change, the question of, well, what happens if we don't change, what happens if we do change?
So I think that's a great simple exercise to do much of what you just talked about.
>> I think it's really important, I don't want to -- if you're introducing something like a roving reference model, which for -- I'm an old person, right?
I was raised -- when I was a reference librarian you sat at a desk and waited for the question, right?
And so -- and we were very good at what we did.
There was nothing wrong with that.
But we've perceived that in some libraries there's a better way.
So -- but that doesn't mean that you marginalize or negate the genuine feelings people have about the way that they've done their work, that they've done it with passion, that they've done it with expertise, and now you're telling me it's not good enough anymore.
So you need to have that conversation.
And acknowledge it.
And acknowledge that there may be some sadness and some grieving, and sometimes that sadness and grieving translates as resistance, but you need to know what the underlying emotions are as well.
The and be respectful of that.
>> That's really good.
I did get one question that said what would you say is the best change you've implemented so far?
And I don't know if your roving reference -- can you just let's hear from both of you, what do you think is the best change that's happened at your library?
>> It's hard to say something specific, but I would say just the mind-set we have had over the past 10 years has really changed to be coming much more about community impact and working with community partners and just being out in the community much more than we were, say 10 years  ago.
>> And I would say for me it's being able to share power with a broad range of staff and to be able to effectively draw on the collective wisdom of the organization, because you never know where the great idea is going to come from.
Self-reflection months ago I had -- if I may just finish with a brief story.
When we were developing the community impact goals, we put these long runs of news print oner on  Louer level and asked staff to write what they thought about the goals.
Who should we partner with?
What strategies and tactics might we use?
In your role in the library where do you see yourself advancing those goals?
So I was down there one day looking at -- it was actually, Topeka and Shawnee community will be an engaged community of readers.
One of our custodians came up to me and he said, do you have a minute?
And I said sure.
And he said, you don't know this about me, but I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was in my 40s.
And before that I did -- I made a lot of bad decisions and I ended up in jail.
He said do you know what I spent my time in jail doing?
I said no.
He said, I and one other inmate were the only two who could read and write and spe went our time helping the other inmates read and write letters and other communications.
And he said, right now there's nothing up there about basic literacy, and he said, I think we need to do that.
And you know what?
He was absolutely right.
>> That's fantastic.
That is a great story.
And wow.
What a wonderful way to wrap up today.
Thank you both so much for bringing your great work to this webinar and thank you to everyone that's gathered here for all the great work that you're doing.
We're going to go ahead and wrap up, and a reminder that I'll send you an email once the recording is available later today, and I'm also going to send you to a short survey as you leave.
We'd love your feedback on today's session, and we'll be able to share that with our presenters and we'll use it in decisions around our ongoing programming.
So thank you all, and thank you to our captioner.
Have a fantastic day.
>> Thank you!
>> Thank you.