Clearinghouse of Professional Information
Planning Resources
This section includes links to a variety of resources to assist libraries with planning. Other resources of interest may be found in the Clearinghouse, on our
Accreditation Resources, HR Resources and
Library Administration Resources pages.
SOLS services in this area are described on
Information, Advice and Specialized Assistance page. SOLS consultant Anne Marie Madziak is available for advice by telephone or in person and can also be
reached by e-mail at
OLS - North provides assistance with strategic and business planning
through its library development program. Libraries may contact the Skills
Team by phone or email
Topics include
General Resources
| Environmental Scan
| Measuring Outcomes and Results |
Mission, Vision and Values
| Planning Process
| Policies
| Sample Plans
| Situational Analysis
| Surveys
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indicates an item written by SOLS staff |
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indicates an item written by OLS-North staff |
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Clicking on certain topics will open a new window, if the link is to a topic included in an other Clearinghouse page |
Environmental Scan
Includes: social and demographic trends; economic/ political issues; technological advances; trends and issues in
the broader library world and not-for-profit sector
-
Environmental Scan for Ontario Public Libraries
(pdf)
Information gathering is a necessary part of any planning process.
While some of the information must be gathered locally (user feedback,
community profile and municipal priorities), there are also broader
societal trends that can be identified and analyzed on a province-wide
basis. The Environmental Scan for Ontario Public Libraries
(2011) pulls
together relevant information on social, technological, economic and
political trends that library planners (board and staff) need to
consider when planning for the future. Compiled for SOLS by Kestrel Info
Services. November 2011.
-
Ontario in the Creative Age / L'Ontario à l'ère de la créativité
Report by the Martin Prosperity Institute referred to by Richard Florida at
OLA Superconference
-
Ten Trends Shaping the Future of our Communities. (Project of
Public Spaces)
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2006 Community Profiles (Statistics Canada) /
Profil des communautés 2006 (Statistiques Canada)
-
Community Information
Database.
(Canadian Rural Research Network (CRRN)
Those
who are looking for useful data about your rural
community might be interested in this resource.
It can be searched from a map
(GIS). The Community Profiles feature provides a ready-made report for all
communities across Canada that includes graphs and tables of various
socio-economic indicators such as education, income, employment and population
for 1996, 2001, and 2006.
* The profiles provide a socio-economic comparison of a
community to its region, its peer group (similar
communities within its province/territory), and all
communities across its province/territory.
* The profiles show trends and changes at the
local level which can help to inform local decision-making.
* The profiles can also help to reduce the
amount of time and resources required to obtain and analyze
community level data by providing readymade
graphs and tables.
-
Financial Information Return Reports
(Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) FIR is the main
data collection tool used to collect financial and statistical
information on Municipalities (MPMP) Since the FIR is a standard
document which is collected from every municipality each year, the
MARS Database has evolved into a vast library of municipal financial
information dating back to 1977.
-
Your Community in Profile
(Ontario Trillium Foundation) are a series of customized statistical reports on economic, social and demographic trends in Ontario. They put a face to Ontario
communities and provide the most recent demographic data and analyses available about 16 regions in Ontario and the province as a whole.
- 6 Ways to Describe Your Community
Appendix 10 of Creating the Future You Have Imagined
-
Community Assessment: an essential part of the reference
librarian's toolkit. IFLA paper by Hillier, Shillie and Self. IFLA paper presented in Buenos Aires, August
2004. This paper describes the reasons for doing community assessment, the various methods and techniques librarians can
employ to assess and analyse their communities and the importance of incorporating community assessment data into the
development of library and reference services
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Community Engagement Needs Assessment Factsheets (Minnesota
Department of Health)
-
A
Few Good Online Survey Tools for Your Nonprofit
(TechSoup)
-
How is your community changing? From
Teacher's guide to World Resources: Exploring sustainable
communities, 1997.(World Resources Institute)
- Know Where You Are: by means of a Situational Analysis
(.ppt) Overview presented at Trustee Councils, Fall 2005
- New Pathways to Planning. (U.S. Northeast Kansas Library System) Based on a series of
workshops sponsored by Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS) in 1998. Their goal was to provide a process
that could be used by small public libraries to meet a system requirement for a written library plan, including a vision statement,
goals and objectives. It is intended for use by staff in small and medium sized Kansas libraries.
-
Ontario Public Library Statistics
(Ontario Ministry of Culture)
-
A
Few Good Online Survey Tools for Your Nonprofit (Techsoup) Free, low-cost,
and advanced online survey tools.
-
LibSat™...
"A Real-Time Customer
Satisfaction Management System Designed Specifically For Public Libraries." - "The OLA is proud to be able to present the LibSat
service to the Canadian public libraries sector "
Demo
- Library User Surveys on the Web (Library Research Service)
- Polling 101: the basics of public opinion research (The Roper
Institute) "This tutorial is intended to offer a simplified glimpse into some of the fundamentals of public opinion
polling. Designed for the novice, POLLING 101 provides definitions, examples, and explanations that serve to introduce interested
students to the field of public opinion research."
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Public Library User Survey (U.K., Institute of Public Finance)
- Sample Size Calculator (Creative Research Systems)
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Survey Gold. (Golden Hills Software) "Survey software that is easy to use and affordable"
Mission, Vision and Values
In Ontario
Outside Ontario
Measuring Outcomes and Results
