25 - Developing a Library Strategic Plan During COVID-19

Objectives: COVID‐19 transformed the way clinicians, researchers, nurses, and other healthcare and administrative staff worked to provide or support cancer patient care. Health science librarians redesigned the delivery of existing services to support these individuals as they shifted to a remote or hybrid work model or adapted to onsite work during a pandemic. New work models and expectations for our users created an ideal opportunity to gather data for a strategic plan to reimagine library operations and services by addressing this changing work environment, identifying new users’ information needs, setting priorities, and determining staff capacity in a post-pandemic era.

Methods: In 2021, we used multiple methods to solicit and obtain feedback to inform our strategic plan for the next three years. Our strategy involved high- and low-touch approaches to learn about our users and their current and future use of the library, their preferred digital tools, their research activities, and how we might support their day-to-day work. High-touch methodologies included focus group sessions and individual interviews, while low-touch tactics focused on a large-scale client feedback survey and Yammer polls. To complement the user data, we included a peer benchmarking exercise to compare our performance against four similar libraries. An analysis of the collected data, coupled with input from the library team, formed the foundation of our strategic plan.

Results: The online survey provided the easiest route for soliciting client feedback but limited potential follow-ups as many completed surveys (994) were anonymous. The individual interviews (14) and focus group sessions (100 participants) were time-intensive to schedule and host but yielded more meaningful feedback and allowed library facilitators to qualify answers. In addition, specific departments, groups, and individuals were targeted to ensure a balance of responses not only from frequent library users but also from newer departments and clients that rarely or never used the library. The least successful method was Yammer polling due to minimal response rate. Peer benchmarking added another perspective which complemented the user data.

Conclusion: Using multiple approaches for collecting client feedback produced a rich body of data to use in preparing our three-year plan, which outlined three strategic focus statements with defined goals and objectives. Additional insights generated from the client data included: (1) a list of client-suggested training topics; (2) proposed service enhancements; and (3) ideas for promoting and marketing library resources and services to specific user segments.