Nancy has significant experience in strategic planning for libraries and multi-type cooperatives.

Nancy (with Sandra Stephan) is the author of Strategic Planning for MultiType Library Cooperatives.

Our teams have facilitated strategic plans for multi-type cooperatives in four states and numerous public libraries across the country. Plan development can be done in two or three weekend sessions or over a period of several months, depending on the need of the client. Cooperatives can also be trained to conduct the strategic planning on their own. Typically, the Strategic Planning process includes:

• Planning to plan
• Developing a vision for the cooperative
• Developing a mission for the cooperative
• Conducting a self-analysis of the cooperative’s current services
• Conducting a needs assessment of the cooperatives past, current, and potential members
• Conducting an environmental scan of the cooperative’s local, state, national context including issues and trends
• Establishing strategic directions and measurable outcomes
• Developing an action plan

Our team has facilitated public library strategic plans. The primary tool is the Public Library Association’s Planning for Results with its complimentary manuals. We also bring into the training other non-library ideas and experiences from past training.