Keep the below
points in mind while writing your technology plan.
1. Be organized
2. Be flexible
3. Have buy-in
(Director / Tech Staff / Staff / Board)
A
Quick Talking Point Article
Library Laws
are meant to be broken
http://librarylaws.org/node/21
Library
Mission Statement
Start your
technology plan by stating your library's mission statement. The
mission and/or vision statement is a crucial component of your
technology plan. You should develop your technology plan with
your mission statement in mind. The library mission provides a
description of purpose of existance of your library and will help
to direct your planning.
Technology
Inventory (know what you have & where it is)
A technology
inventory can be as descriptive as you want, but it is of my opinion
that you be as complete as possible without going overboard. A
simple spreadsheet or database will work well for this part of
your plan. If you have an automation system, you can add equipment
item type(s) and barcode your technology allowing you to easily
track your equipment, print detailed reports and conduct inventory.
Key Components
of a Hardware Inventory
Item description,
date purchased, price, vendor, item serial number (if available),
property tag number (if you assign them), location of item and
who the item is currently assigned to.
Keep in
mind that you get what you pay for. Buying on "the cheap"
does not necessarily mean you are saving money. Many times skimping
on machine quality to save money initially may actaully cost
your library more in the long run.
Have
on hand
1. Label
maker
2. Storage
tubs
3. Storage
area (shelving or cabinets)
4. Access
to spreadsheet and wordprocessor such as Microsoft Excel
and Word
Recommendations
on hardware
1. General
computers have a lifespan of 3 - 4 years.
2. Server's
have a lifespan of 3 - 5 years depending on its purpose.
3. Printers
are becoming expendable (replace as necessary).
4. Network
peripherals (switches, routers, etc. - replace as necessary).
5. Firewall
(replace as necessary - maintain a current service contract
for software/firmware
updates and warranty).
Key Components
of a Software Inventory
Software
name / version, date purchased, purchase price, vendor, number
of licenses, license number, location of installed software
and to whom each license is currently assigned.
Seek
out discounted software for which your library is eligible.
AVOID
cheap, no-name software and most "to
good to be true" offers.
MaintainIT
project - http://maintainitproject.org/
Microsoft
Educational Pricing - http://www.microsoft.com/Education/eligible.mspx
Open Source
Initiative - http://www.opensource.org/
Open
Office - http://www.openoffice.org/
koha
- http://www.koha.org/
TechSoup
- http://www.techsoup.org/index.html
Key Components
of a Network Inventory / Setup
If your
library has a computer network in place or even a couple of
stand-alone systems, it is recommended that you have a worksheet
outlining your setup. While this sheet is not comprehensive
of your equipment, it will be vital towards providing a quick
snapshot of your network when it comes to troubleshooting as
well as enhancing your current network setup. [See
sample here]
Track your
user names and passwords.
Know what
accounts you have and how to access them.
Create backups
and store off site.
Assign a
backup staff member to have access to the above information.
Other
Considerations
Server
Room (climate controlled)
Wiring
Closet (climate)
Wiring
- Cat 5 - Cat 5e - Cat 6 (Data / Phone to patch panels)
Wireless
(features / reliability / costs / pitfalls - circ stations,
servers, other)
Thin Client
Solutions (Patron computer, Internet and print management).
Userful
- http://userful.com/
Veicon
- http://www.veicon.com/libraries.htm (see Derby Public
Library)
Electrical
(grounded / dedicated breaker)
UPS (Uniteruptable
Power Supply)
CAT 5
surge protection
Cable
surge protection
Think Future
A technology
plan requires you to think of the "big picture." You
MUST think into the future... not just today. While technology
changes rapidly, you can still plan and adjust accordingly as
time passes. Failing to plan or to look forward can be as detrimental
to you as not being flexible in your planning.
Items
to consider
Funding
(current sources may not always be there) * Negotiations
Emerging
technology/trends
Size of
your library (possible new library or renovation in five years)
Staffing
(addition or reduction)
Contractual
services (technology related contracts you have)
Automation
(trends: mergers / ASP solutions) * Maintain support and on-going
costs
Current
equipment (age/condition & quality vs. quantity)
Internet
(Kan-ed, e-rate, state reports, etc).
Training
and staff development
Technical
support (in-house vs. contract vs. combination)
Ongoing
assessments of where you are.
Create
goals and objectives and assign them to a flexible timeline
Perhaps the
most difficult and time-consuming part of creating and maintaining
a technology plan is the creation of goals and objectives. A great
deal of thinking and planning needs to take place when developing
this area. It is HIGHLY advised that you obtain
all of the information mentioned above prior to creation of your
technology plan goals and objectives. Knowing what you already
have will greatly benefit you as you move forward with creating
your plan.
Understanding
the difference between a goal and an objective is crucial. While
this can be somewhat confusing, I prefer to use the definitions
listed below.
* "Goals
are general directions, somewhat nebulous, that are not specific
enough to be measured. Think of the word "go." It
has no end."
* "Objectives,
on the other hand, are specific and measurable. They can be
output objectives, or they can be attitudinal or behavioral.
But most of all, they can be measured. They are concise. They
are specific. Think of the word "object." You can
touch it, it's there, it's actual, it's finite."
* Goals
vs. Objectives
2002 Second Quarter issue of Public Relations Strategies
By Craig Miyamoto, APR, Fellow PRSA
http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/8925/goobject.htm
I imagine
about now you are thinking why do we need to have goals? We might
as well just write out our objectives and call it good. The goals
will create direction. The objectives then serve as the map of
how you will get where you need to go. It is within your objectives
that flexibility becomes crucial. Just like when you go on vacation
and have a planned route, there is always that unexpected detour.
When you hit a bump in the road during your technology plan due
to an item that has become obsolete, a cash windfall or the cut
of a crucial technology staff person, you will need to adjust
your objectives accordingly. In planning, it is wise to adjust,
adjust and adjust some more until you get the desired outcome.
When objectives
are specific and measurable, you are able to accurately define
whether or not they have been met. Estimate not only what you
are going to do, but also how your are going to do it, a timeline,
who is going to be primarily responsible, who will be trained
on how to support/maintain/utilize it, how much it is going to
cost, how you are going to pay for it and finally, how you will
evaluate if the objective was met successfully.
Now that we
have discussed technology planning a bit, let us look at creating
a goal and some objectives. Keep in mind that some goals might
be able to be met with just one objective, but often times you
will utilize multiple objectives to meet each goal. The more detailed
you become, the more objectives you will have. It is of my opinion
that breaking a goal into multiple objectives that are manageable
can be of great benefit, as the end result becomes a lot clearer.
Let's say
that you want to automate your library. The goal statement by
itself is rather straightforward.
Goal
To automate the library
You can
become more specific and state, "To automate our library
with Polaris utilizing a ethernet network with a Windows 2003
server." However, keep in mind that highly detailed goals
make it appear that you have combined goals and objectives into
one statement, thus making your objectives appear repetitive.
Now that
we have a goal, let's take a look at a few of the objectives
we would create. Remember, this is only an example and I am
not creating the entire set of objectives for this goal as that
could not only become overbearing and time-consuming, but also
that objectives for automation for one library compared to another
can and WILL vary greatly. Remember when developing your goals
and objectives, you need to keep YOUR library in mind, not the
library in the next town or the school library next door. Other
libraries can be great resources for seeing how things have
been done, but unless you are working on creating a consortium
type automation system with external agencies, utilizing goals
and objectives established by other libraries will not necessarily
best meet YOUR library's needs.
Objective
1
Complete a site survey of the library to determine infrastructure
for the addition of an automation system and network.
(a) Complete
a building walkthrough noting location of electrical outlets,
network drops (if installed), possible locations for server,
automation circulation station and patron card catalog stations.
Make note of currently available furniture and needs for additional
furniture.
(b) Locate
area(s) for a possible secure and climate controlled server
/ network room.
(c) Note
location of electrical panel and points of demarcation for telephone
and Internet access.
Evaluation
of objective success
This objective will be successfully met by completing tasks
(a - c) as outlined above.
Estimated
Timeline: April 28, 2007
Estimated Cost: Time on task
Staff assigned to task: Technical Staff
Objective
2
Determine available automation system program options that are
relevant to our library.
(a) Contact
regional system automation consultant and inquire on our options.
Request consultant make an on-site visit initially with librarian
and key staff.
(b) Contact
regional system automation consultant to make a follow-up presentation
on library automation to our library board.
(c) After
the first two initial visits by the automation consultant, contact
automation vendors to schedule on-site demonstrations of their
products detailing product options, usability and requirements.
Evaluation
of objective success
This objective will be successfully met by completing tasks
(a - c) as outlined above.
Estimated
Timeline: August 4, 2007
Estimated Cost: Time on task
Staff assigned to task: Director
Note that
the steps are specific and are broken down into manageable pieces.
The goal is not to make more work, but to make it manageable and
easily identifiable in regards to evaluating the success of each
objective. Some objectives will most likely need to state something
such as, meet objective, section (c) at 95%. That shows a specific
amount that is measurable. In the examples listed above I stated,
"... successfully met by completing tasks (a-c)..."
the word completing is key, as it shows/states that you HAVE done
all three (3) sections of the objective.
When completing
your objectives, it is recommended that you document the steps
you took to accomplish them and maintain that history in a electronic
file and/or binder for future reference. It is crucial that you
document what you are doing as you will refer back to those areas
frequently and without documentation you may end up going back
and "redoing" those steps again.
A final bit
of advice. When developing your goals and objectives, attempt
to keep each goal with its objectives separate from the other
goals. Ideally, limit each goal and its objective(s) to one page,
although some goals require many objectives and utilize more than
one page.
Technology
Planning: An Overview for Librarians & Board Members