The document summarizes a meeting of the CCLS Steering Committee on June 28, 2012. It provides an overview of the CCLS planning process, including key stakeholder interviews, surveys, a visioning session, and data review. It discusses themes from the SWOT analysis, including strengths around training and shared resources, and weaknesses in communication and understanding of system goals. It also notes opportunities and threats related to declining populations and economics in the counties.

1. CCLS Steering Committee
Meeting #2
June 28, 2012
Gail Griffith and Elaine
Meyers

2. Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System Planning Process Overview
Key Focus Group
Stakeholder with Library
Interviews (in- Directors
person and by
Requirements of
phone)
the New York State
Library Online Survey for
System and
Library Board Constituent Boards,
Input Session Directors, System
Consultants
Data Review:
Systemwide
Census,
Visioning
Economic Best
Session
Analysis, Recent Practices
Library planning Research
data
Steering Committee Our wiki is a place to share and learn:
Meeting #1: http://chaucattsystemplan.pbworks.com
Process overview, Steering System
SWOT analysis and Committee Board
trends Meeting #3: Adopts
identification, Confidential project hotline: Review draft
review survey and chau_catt.plan@comcast.net documents, react,
Plan
interview tools refine for Board
Planning to Steering Committee
plan: initial Meeting #2:
process Share data;
discussions gap analysis and
strategic directions
February May June September October 2012
2012
Gail Griffith and Elaine Meyers for Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System

3. Data: Who Contributed
 Library Directors (Focus Group, 20)
 System Board (Meeting and Interviews, 9)
 System Consultants (Meeting and Interviews, 5)
 Steering Committee (Meeting, 10)
 Best Practices Group (Interviews, Research)
We’ll look at these separately:
 Survey (78 as of June 26)
 Visioning Group (Meeting, 11)

4. SWOT Analysis Themes
(Board and Steering)
Strengths Weaknesses
 Training for staff and  Lack of understanding
boards of system goals and
 Economies of scale functions
 Assistance with grants  Lack of communication
 Administrative services (all directions)
 Shared catalog

5. SWOT Analysis Themes
(Board and Steering)
 Trends: Opportunities and Threats
 High school graduation rates decreasing
 Population decline
 Counties are poorer
 College grads indebted/leaving in search of employment
 High rate of welfare recipients/9% unemployment
 Aging population, brain drain as boomers retire
 Increasing broadband except in rural areas

6. Data: Themes
 Leadership Styles and Leadership Transition
 History of stability; new realities of change
 Focus on external funding and internal operation
 Degree of Board and staff engagement and involvement
 Training
 Staff and Board
 High need areas:
 Awareness of system operations and goals
 Technology, digital literacy
 Collection development, cataloging
 Supports ability to envision the future

7. Data: Themes
 Technology
 Basic IT—not just bringing libraries online
 Keep up with trends
 Train the trainer for members
 Time to in-source?
 Empowering Members—Rights and Responsibilities
 System is responsible for clear communication and
transparency
 Members are responsible to take advantage and speak up for
what they need
 Customer Service
 Not historically data-driven? How to prioritize?
 Reactive and responsive
 Consultants going into the field more often
 Systems and processes for maintaining quality

8. Data: Themes
 High-Value Services
 Consultant staff response to questions
 Delivery, intralibrary loan
 Cooperative purchasing (more than books)
 Administrative support
 Grant-seeking assistance
 Not all members agree on what’s needed
 How to resolve?
 Where are levers of influence? Pressure Points?

9. What stood out for you?

10. What stood out for us?
 Technology
 Need to catch up
 Can’t be efficient without it
 Until we catch up, we can’t envision what else is possible
 Communication
 Roles and Goals—does everyone know what’s expected and
how they contribute?
 Vision, Ownership, and Leadership
 So busy keeping the doors open that it’s difficult to step back
 Doing the work right vs. doing the right work
 People rise to level of expectations: how high to set the bar?
 Stability and change—what can you count on?

11. Survey Overview
 Available on website June 4—June 26
 Small sample, so no cross-tabs in this report. Can
run as needed.
 All figures in charts are percentages unless noted
otherwise. Note: rounding factor causes some lines
to add up to slightly more or less than 100%.
 Remember comments represent one voice
unless noted

12. Number and Distribution of Responses
Number = 78
2 4
Library Director
29 Library Staff
24
Library or System Board
Member
System Consultant
Library Volunteer
19

13. Should CCLS Provide These Model Services?
Yes No DK/No
Opinion
Professional Development and Training 95 1 4
Shared Automation Services 95 3 3
Technological Innovation 94 3 4
Cooperative Purchasing 91 3 6
Outreach 90 4 6
Shared Virtual Reference 85 6 9
System and Member Library Board Training 84 6 10
Administrative Support 83 7 11
Collaborative Digitization Initiatives 80 5 15
Fundraising and Advocacy 76 12 13
Legal Advice 62 15 23
Marketing and Branding 57 19 23

14. What do we see?
 Larger percentage of ‘don’t know/no opinion’
answers than ‘no’ answers

15. What services are missing?
 Communication, cooperation and collaboration
among members, between members and system (3)
 ILL (2)
 Rotating collections—LT, audiobooks, preschool (2)
 Collection development
 Cooperative purchasing includes more than just
books
 Shared programming
 New Administrator training
 Educational support for students of all ages
 Literacy training with local partners
 System does a great job!!!

16. Rate CCLS on Characteristics of Model
Library Systems
Excellent Good Fair Poor System DK/No
Doesn’t Opinion
Do
Facilitates sharing and consolidation 26 48 5 3 3 16
of services across library types and
geographic boundaries
Excels in its own area of expertise 24 46 11 0 0 20
Highly responsive to changes in the 15 44 19 4 0 18
marketplace and the profession
Demonstrates a statewide model of 14 35 17 6 3 26
collaboration, efficiency, and
cooperation
Prepared to take entrepreneurial risks 13 40 6 6 1 32
to bring new initiatives to member
libraries
Discontinuing out-of-date services 5 38 11 2 0 22

17. If ‘fair’ or ‘poor’, how can CCLS improve?
 More and better communication around changes—
leadership transition makes this even more important (5)
 Move with the times—do new things, be willing to let go
of the old (fax, VHS) (3)
 Need more info on system services that are available and
on NYSL practices, and support for planning (2)
 Improved training (2)
 Want ILL
 System staff not always pleasant or cooperative
 Discontinuing services is not always good

18. What do we see here?
 Number of Don’t Know/No Opinion responses
suggests lack of awareness

19. Modern Expectations, Customer Service:
Ranking
Ranked 1- Ranked Ranked Ranked
3 4-6 7-9 10-12
Provide prompt service to member libraries 59 22 12 8
Provide training and mentoring for new library directors 49 33 11 9
on system operations
Provide training for Directors and staff so we can provide 43 35 18 4
needed services
Anticipate member libraries’ needs 31 22 23 24
Provide incentive grants for pilot projects to member 28 35 18 19
libraries
Provide formal and informal ways for library directors to 27 29 19 23
communicate with each other and with the system
Organize the system’s website so information is easier to 21 25 31 21
find, and update regularly
Provide training for Boards so we can provide needed 17 36 24 22
services
Provide an online repository for policies and other 17 23 35 23
documents
Encourage applications for building/renovation projects 14 20 48 18
Use online meeting methods more often for training and 12 20 31 38
meetings

20. How else can CCLS provide better customer
service?
 Communicate more, visit/meet with/survey member libraries
regularly, ask and listen—promote understanding of each others’
roles and challenges to reduce frustration (8)
 Organize teams of directors to work on common goals (SIRSI
changes, cataloging and circulation rules) (2)
 Keep existing staff that works so well with us, reorganize their duties
as needed (2)
 Create programs for member libraries
 More opportunities to learn about new technologies
 Make new materials more readily available
 Let us know what they do now so we could tell them

21. What do we see here?
 Contrast professional training with board training

22. Promote Efficiency: Ranking
Ranked 1-3 Ranked 4-6 Ranked 7-9
Provide intralibrary loan (inside the system) 49 31 21
Work with members to develop more centralized ways 47 34 18
of doing things (Ex: provide training in weeding, make
catalog easier for end-users, encourage working toward
consistency in catalog records and circulation policies)
Use resources wisely for the maximum benefit of 42 34 24
member libraries (Ex.—keep processing costs low;
outsource appropriate functions)
Simplify the annual report process for member 40 17 43
libraries
Provide training in technology we can use in order to 35 44 21
be more efficient and effective
Use technology to promote greater efficiency 33 42 24
Promote more collaboration among members 29 30 40
Provide interlibrary loan (outside the system) 26 40 34
Provide training in collection development 18 30 54

23. How else can CCLS promote efficiency?
 Concerns about outsourcing (4)
 Communication, understanding what members want
and need (2)
 Need two deliveries a week to members?
 Menu—allow members to choose where they need
help
 Use members’ strengths, could reduce territoriality
 Hire more system staff
 With savings, offer direct aid to member libraries

24. What do we see here?

25. Economic Stability: Ranking
1 2 3 4 5
Provide information about community 38 17 17 14 14
resources and services
Develop or strengthen county- or state- 21 26 23 16 13
level partnerships to help us connect job
seekers with the services they need
Help member libraries provide access to 19 19 10 21 31
e-government online, so that patrons can
access tax info, SS an unemployment
benefits, and other government services
Provide training to help us identify and 16 22 27 25 10
meet the needs of job-seekers
Provide a training framework members 9 20 26 18 26
can use to train job-seeking patrons

26. How else can CCLS help promote
economic stability of our communities?
 All are important—not sure of libraries’ impact (3)
 Publicize and promote library resources
 Help members find and apply for grants
 Better linkage with agencies to promote shared services—
consistently communicate with key partners
 Survey members for specific needs
 “Pretty poor choices to rank. Health, fitness, community
involvement, volunteerism, beautification programs,
collaboration with schools, other educational programs,
teen activities and options, etc. etc. are just as needed
in supporting economic stability as job hunting. Yet three
options were about jobs.”

27. What do we see here?
 Only one item has 50% in combined 1 and 2
rankings
 Disconnect with this response and weakness and
trends
 Lack of clarity on what to do in this area

28. Educational Success: Ranking
1-3 4-6 7-9
Support our work with preschool children and their families/caregivers so 61 23 17
that children enter school ready to learn
Provide core list of web resources to support educators and students 44 36 20
Provide training to help us identify and meet educational needs of people in 42 37 22
our communities
Provide services that help us promote digital and print literacy (ex: use 38 39 23
computer labs to train patrons, scheduling classes by area)
Provide recommended list of core collections on topics related to lifelong 34 39 28
learning (job searching, GED, tax info)
Have literacy volunteer come to member libraries. Train and support 32 27 42
volunteers and promote services centrally
Identify professional development opportunities to help us keep abreast of 30 33 36
library trends, and provide scholarships to make it easier for members to take
advantage of them
Provide a bank of program topics and activities, including online resources 23 47 32
Identify and pursue opportunities for system-level partnerships to meet the 21 19 61
needs of learners

29. How else can CCLS support educational
success?
 Concerns about taking on an educational role (2)
 After-school programming and other non-academic
library programs for students
 Not in favor of catering to non-English speakers who
refuse to learn English

30. What do we see here?
 Much higher response to this role

31. Community Memory and Culture: Ranking
1 2 3 4 5
Provide system funding for databases like 37 19 19 10 15
Ancestry.com or HeritageQuest and other online
tools
Seek grant funding for digitization projects (ex; 23 23 26 18 11
local newspapers, cemetery records, local birth and
death records)
Identify and pursue opportunities for system-level 19 14 22 21 24
partnerships with local, county, and state
organizations
Help members identify and work with others 17 17 14 27 24
already involved in local history projects
Offer training for existing databases and free online 12 35 17 18 18
resources

32. How else can CCLS support the
preservation of local memory and culture?
 Encourage members to publicize their libraries as
the ‘go-to’ place for these things
 Help member libraries catalog their local history
collections as well as materials housed in local
museums

33. What do we see here?
 Less clarity on how to approach this

34. Five Categories: Ranked in Order of
Importance to Your Library
1 2 3 4 5
Meeting modern expectations of our customers 53 20 14 12 2
Supporting educational access for students of 22 26 31 14 8
all ages
Promoting efficient operation 14 31 22 22 11
Supporting the economic stability of our 8 14 17 28 33
communities
Helping communities preserve their memory 6 12 17 23 42
and culture

35. What else would you like CCLS to know?
 These are not mutually exclusive
 Accept our differences
 Help us recruit and maintain volunteers so that the
librarian can leave the desk responsibilities to others
and spend more time planning projects, etc.
 Appreciation for CCLS staff and for particular
services like cooperative purchasing, intralibrary
loan, cooperative purchasing, rotating large print
collections, processing and cataloging to meet
specific needs, website(2)

36. What do we see here?
 Modern expectations is the only one that really
resonates.

38. CCLS Mission Statement
The mission of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus
Library System is to foster, strengthen, and
improve public library services within its
two-county service area.

39. Vision Elements
 Action and vibrancy
 Community focus
 Patron focus
 Working together
 Moving past the bumps