Register on this page to receive your link to "Smart Planning for the Post-COVID Library", a free on-demand webinar touching on the experiences of various libraries during COVID and how these experiences can inform and direct ways for libraries to move forward purposefully. This webinar was recorded on September 16th, 2021 with a live online audience and Q&A.
The COVID pandemic altered both library operations and personal habits during the crisis and some of those changes will continue going forward. The approach to and scope of planning are areas that dramatically changed during the pandemic along with how patrons and non-user residents interact with the library and each other. Many of the lessons learned and new approaches that were forced upon us help to inform new approaches to service and reinforce the need for adaptable plans and methodologies. This webinar will talk through some of these lessons learned and new approaches to smart planning for libraries going forward.
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In working with hundreds of libraries and thousands of library staff, patrons and community members over the years, ReThinking Libraries had already developed a more nimble and adaptable approach to library planning for both strategies and facilities. COVID Pandemic forced us to further reassess the methodologies, tools, and resulting plan frameworks. Rob and Janet will share what they learned about planning during the pandemic and how that is translating into improved and even more adaptable approaches in planning for the post-pandemic world. Ideas around community engagement and input, assessment, planning methodologies, making strategic planning part of your organization’s culture, and building plans that guide but are flexible in a consistently changing world will be discussed.
You’ll Learn:
- What approaches worked and didn’t work during the pandemic and how that informs post-COVID planning.
- How both strategic and facilities planning are best adapted in the post-COVID world.
- What strategies for community engagement still work and what new approaches should be implemented.
- Why planning, even in a world more prone to disruption, is more important than ever.
- Best practices for maximizing community engagement, community participation, and staff involvement in your planning processes.
Meet our Presenters:
Rob Cullin, Managing Principal, ReThinking Libraries
Rob has been serving libraries with unique solutions for over 18 years. Initially, he co-founded Evanced Solutions, LLC (later acquired by Demco, Inc.) providing him with exposure to thousands of libraries across the USA, Canada, and Australia. In 2004, he helped launch the library consulting firm, Kimberly Bolan & Associates, and has been involved in hundreds of KBA’s strategic planning and facility planning projects. This experience led to launching the ReThinking Libraries consulting firm in 2020. With a broad set of experiences reaching beyond libraries, Rob has direct specialties in strategic planning, community engagement, complex data and demographic analysis, marketing, service and organizational design. He was also a Library Journal recognized “Mover & Shaker” in 2008.
Janet Nelson, Principal, ReThinking Libraries
Janet is currently a Principal and Senior Consultant with ReThinking Libraries, a national library consulting firm working primarily with public libraries in the areas of Strategic Planning, Facility Planning and Marketing Planning. She co-founded the organization with Rob Cullin in 2020. Janet has over 20 years of experience in the education market, 17 of those years with Demco, Inc. Her responsibilities at Demco included developing marketing strategy for library design services, creating quality content to educate librarians, and engaging with industry partners and library leaders/staff to better understand and create dialog around the needs of libraries. Her focus has always been directed toward helping librarians better serve their communities. Specific areas of expertise include strategic planning, marketing strategy, research and development and space planning.
