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Say you have a project like strategic planning that you know will require the help of an outside consultant. An RFP (Request for Proposal) is a document you create that includes a detailed description of your project and the services you’re requesting that invites prospective vendors to respond with their approach and cost. This document…

Library Strategies is a consulting group of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. We are the only consulting group in the country based inside of a library organization. As such, we often have big picture conversations with our local library leadership. We offer a unique set of services designed specifically to strengthen libraries…

During the summer of last year, while we were still finding our footing in response to the pandemic, we conducted a survey of libraries and library-support organizations across the country. The two most pressing challenges libraries identified were the ability to effectively meet the needs of a changing community with static or declining budgets and…

A year ago, when we thought we would be using virtual meetings and events as stop-gaps for a time, we did not consider just how vital they’d become to the way we do business as an organization. Of course, we had “webinars” like most places operating in the 21st century. We had the ability to…

Whelp (as we say here in Minnesota as a precursor to a statement of finality), we’ve reached the end of a very long 2020. I’ve already seen articles calling it “the lost year,” and I don’t think that’s accurate. We may have missed concerts, State Fairs, vacations, all those opportunities to be a stranger among…

In late July, The Montana State Library (MSL), in partnership with Library Strategies, was awarded a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to launch “Framing the Future: Advancing Strategic Planning for Small and Rural Libraries.” The grain of the idea came out of Library Strategies’ strategic planning training sessions with MSL in…

Hello! Like many of you, our team at Library Strategies has been using this time of uncertainty to examine our organization, our services, and our team. We’re excited to share with you some of the plans and changes we’ve made that we hope will serve you, and organizations across the country, even better in your…

It seems bizarre now, but if I think back to March, there was a prevailing feeling that COVID was just going to crash upon us like a hurricane. There was a similar feeling that this new world required the same kind of immediate response from organizations. We needed to get out there and “meet the…