Creating Your Library's Business Plan

Book excerpt: Ten years ago, few libraries had business plans. Today, more and more libraries are required to write them, or they do so because business plans help clarify goals, set reasonable time frames, articulate standards, measure performance, and announce a library's successes. Chock-full of templates, worksheets, case studies, and samples from a wide variety of libraries, big and small, this how-to guide will help you create your business plan quickly and efficiently, saving you time, money, and frustration. One of the forerunners in library business plan development and a popular workshop leader, Harriman guides you through every step of the process, beginning with the whys and wherefores of writing a plan and the function of each component--from the cover page to the appendix and everything in-between. Thirty worksheets will help you pull your plan together, one component at a time. More than twenty sample plans from academic, public, medical, and special libraries worldwide represent best practices. What's more, all of the templates, worksheets, and samples are reproduced on a companion CD-ROM so you can get started now. This is the only reference you need to take your business plan from concept to completion efficiently, effectively, and without reinventing the wheel.