Mallory Goetz

Artifact #3: Strategic Plan

Description of Project

The strategic plan is an analysis of Smiley Middle School’s demographics and library status. Taking this data into account, the strategic plan is a 3-year projection of library goals and the steps to take in order to reach those goals.  The strategic plan also includes a statement on the librarian’s philosophy of library education.

In order to create this project, I did research on Smiley Middle School and on the strategic plans that the library had in place in the past.  I also looked very closely at the goals of the school—in order to align the libraries goals with those of the school.

Professional Reflection

This project helped me map out what a realistic schedule would be in order to reach specific goals for the library and for the school.  It allowed me to create an achievable timeline for what I wanted to do.  I tend to have big ideas…that I have trouble realizing in a realistic amount of time.  This strategic plan gave me a way to plan out my goals and have them span more than a year.

This project also taught me a lot about the paperwork side of being a librarian.  The fact that a librarian does have to budget and do paperwork and create a plan for the long term was not really on my radar as a teacher.  It was also pretty eye-opening to see the amount of money the library gets and how we have to come up with ways to supplement it with things like a book fair.  I am now working at a private, international school where my yearly budget is 18 times that of the budget I proposed in this strategic plan.  It was interesting going back and looking at this plan and remembering what it took to do all of these things with no money!  I still feel like there is not enough and my budget is insane.  This reminds me how creative librarians have to be in order to make the library the fantastic place it should be on such limited money.

Creating my library philosophy of education was a really good experience.  I was forced to think about what I actually believed in as a librarian and as an educator and I revisit this document often to remind myself.  This document helps me remember what my purpose and my beliefs are when I get lost in the everyday details of work and helps me define my direction when embarking on a new project within my field.

Demonstrated Competencies

1: Reflective Practice

The Strategic Plan helped me develop the library program and plan out how to take it in the direction that I wanted to.  It also is a tool for problem solving how to reach library goals or how to take steps to fix a problem in the library over time.

2: Program Analysis and Planning

Obviously, the Strategic Plan helps to plan out the library program over a three year period or more.  I based this plan on where the library currently is and where I want it to go.

3: Design and Development

I used current research and best practices to design the plan—especially for the goal of increasing the school’s literacy scores.  Each library PD that was in the plan was based on current and culturally responsive strategies.

4: Evaluation and Assessment

In order to create the Strategic Plan, I evaluated the current program and looked at what it was already doing to support the school-wide goals and then expanded and built upon what was already occurring in order to improve it.  Assessment of these goals was based upon student achievement on the CSAP, SRI, program implementation and other procedures.

5: Implementation and Change

All of these goals stated in the Strategic Plan are for the purpose of changing a problem in the school—in this case, literacy and writing development, among others.  This Strategic Plan allows me, as the librarian, to participate in the change needed to achieve the school-wide goals.

6: Management