Assessment, Evaluation & Planning
With patron and community needs always evolving and expanding, how do we know we're providing the right services? When funders ask questions we can't answer, how do we gather evidence of the library's importance? And how do we evaluate our services so that we plan for changing needs? Explore various resources for needs assessment, planning, and evaluation to inform decisions about facilities and services to serve community needs.
Self-paced courses and webinar recordings on this topic are freely available in the WebJunction Course Catalog.
Photo: Kennisland, CC BY-SA 2.0
Most Recently Added
Broadband Improvements: Free Planning Tools for Libraries
Publish Date: Webinar / 20 April 2022
Learn how to use the Toward Gigabit Libraries toolkit―a free, self-service guide created to help libraries understand and improve their IT capacities and broadband resources.
Resources for Planning Your New Model Library
Publish Date: News / 15 February 2022
This article provides an overview of the New Model Library research, supporting learner guide, examples from public libraries, and information about an upcoming webinar on the topic. We hope that these materials can help facilitate local conversa...
Skills for Community-Centered Libraries Curriculum Available
Publish Date: News / 23 September 2021
Like many libraries across the nation, the Free Library of Philadelphia is undergoing a paradigm shift. Increasingly, our focus is not only on extensive collections but on how we are engaging with our communities. To address this shift, the Free Libr...
Exploring the SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results) Model
Publish Date: Webinar / 5 August 2021
Explore the SOAR model as a strategy for developing asset-oriented initiatives as a step toward developing a more community-centered library.
On Implicit Bias and Communication
Publish Date: Webinar / 8 July 2021
Reflect on how life experiences, traditions, and beliefs impact communication and explore strategies for facilitating deeper discussions and stronger connections as steps toward developing a more community-centered library.
Eliminating Library Fines: Improving Community Access, Equity and Usage
Publish Date: Webinar / 15 June 2021
This webinar shares how going fine-free eliminates barriers and improves access to your library’s materials and services.
Building Connections with Community Assets
Publish Date: Webinar / 3 June 2021
Explore strategies for connecting with community assets in-person and online as a step toward developing a more community-centered library.
Smart Spaces are Community Places
Publish Date: Webinar / 27 April 2021
In this webinar, learn design thinking principles that can be used in collaboration with the community, to identify and meet space and programming needs for active learning.
Skills for Community-Centered Libraries: A Webinar Series with the Free Library of Philadelphia
Publish Date: News / 19 April 2021
Like many libraries across the nation, the Free Library of Philadelphia is undergoing a paradigm shift. Their extensive collections offer boundless discoveries, but increasingly their focus is not only on what is housed within their walls and on thei...
Smart Space Transformations Transcend Library Closures
Publish Date: News / 12 March 2021
In the spring of 2020, the 15 small and rural libraries participating in WebJunction’s Small Libraries Create Smart Spaces project were on the verge of activating their newly transformed smart spaces with collaborative community programming;...
