Community Needs Response Planning for Public Library Accreditation
After a two year break due
to the COVID-19 pandemic, Public Library Accreditation is back! And a few
changes have been made to the program to make it easier for libraries to
navigate the process.
To learn about what's new for
the 2022 Nebraska Public Library Accreditation program, view the recording
of the Public Library Accreditation
2022 Workshop (2 hours 43 minutes).
The Nebraska Public Library Accreditation Guidelines are based on the principle that a good library is a library that is
serving the unique needs of its own community. Therefore, the Accreditation Guidelines require that each library applying
for accreditation have an up-to-date Community Needs Response Plan (previously called the
Strategic Plan) that addresses how the library will serve those needs.
The Community Needs Response Plan must be up-to-date and include the following 7 elements:
- The library's mission statement.
- A community profile.
- An assessment of community needs. A library's first responsibility is to
address the needs of its community.
- An analysis of the library's strengths and resources; and an analysis of
barriers and opportunities for improvement.
- An analysis of what all this means and where the library can contribute to community progress, based on the previous 3 steps.
- Specific goals with measurable objectives or action plans that provide details
including timelines, assignment of
responsibility, etc.
- A plan for evaluation of accomplishment, and a summary of evaluation of previous accomplishments.
Webinars:
Accessing Census Data - Recorded online session and presentation slides
- July 21, 2021 - 1 hour 25 mintues
Community Engagement: Straight Talk - Recorded online session and
presentation slides - 1 hour
Easier Than It Looks: A Simple Approach to Strategic Planning - Recorded
online session and presentation slides - 1 hour
Rising to the Challenge: Using the Aspen Institute Report and Action Guide
for Strategic Planning - Recorded online session and presentation slides
- 1 hour
Examples: Note: The
following examples are pre-2022. The required
content of the Plans was updated in 2022.
Templates and Guides:
Libraries which do not have a plan in place may use the following guide
to create a Community Needs Response Plan.
Community Needs Response Planning Process in
12 Steps
Please contact Christa Porter with questions about Accreditation via email or at 402.471.3107.
Related pages:
- About Accreditation
- 12 Minimum Qualifications
- Preview Accreditation Application
- Nebraska Public Library Accreditation
Status - list of all Nebraska Public Libraries, with their accreditation standing & next accreditation year
- Accreditation Program History
- Public Library Survey