SWON Libraries

Co-Sponsored by the Special Libraries Association: Cincinnati Chapter

Date & Time

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Location

SWON Libraries Office

Speaker(s)

For many years Maggie Weaver worked as the business librarian in a large chemical company. As the chemical industry nose-dived in the 1990s, the library went through several downsizings, and she had to come up with new approaches to get and keep the support of clients and her boss. By applying management techniques (sometimes subversive ones), Maggie succeeded in raising the profile of the library in quite adverse times.

Maggie had more opportunities to learn and apply management techniques as the Canadian representative for Dialog. Later, she started the IntelliSearch fee-based service with a team of three in the Toronto Reference Library. She also started up and operated an information service for the City of Toronto Economic Development Division, helping small business clients get into exporting.

Maggie is currently self-employed, with clients in the federal and provincial governments. As her own "one-man band," she tries to promote the value of library skills for agencies that don’t have libraries. Marketing, time management, and boss management (now in the form of customer relations) are all part of her work, as is focusing on key services and juggling the marketing mix.

Maggie speaks frequently at library conferences about marketing of library services, small business information needs, and business planning, among other topics. These conferences have included the Canadian Library Association, the Ontario Association of Library Technicians/Association des Bibliotechniciens de l’Ontario, the Ontario Library Association, and the American Library Association.

Description

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PROGRAM IS DELIVERED THROUGH WEB CONFERENCING TO THE SWON LIBRARIES OFFICE.

Whether it’s a request to attend a conference, the acquisition of a new online service, or plans to join a consortium, library staff are expected to be able to produce a “business case,” or rationale, for the proposed expenditure.

Attendees will work through the research necessary to construct a business case, including: cost benefits, finding champions for the cause, and structuring an effective request for funding. Attendees also will get tips for the actual words to use—focusing on the goals of the organization and speaking in the language of their audience.

Participants will:
Understand how to research costs associated with a project.
Understand the importance of quantifying benefits or returns appropriate to their organization.
Understand how to present concisely the benefits of change or innovation, including financial impacts.
Be more likely to submit successful proposals to their management.
Take home a list of resources for building a business case in various situations.

Audience

Any member of a library or information centre staff who needs to explain to management why expenditure, whether new or ongoing, has to be made.