King County Library System Strategic Assessment and Plan

Mission and Stakeholder Overview

The purpose of the King County Library System (KCLS) is to serve as a distribution center for equal access to information resources and to coordinate those resources in a way that maximizes value to the community. Specifically, the community is to be provided with a highly sophisticated level of materials and services, with a renewed emphasis on quality and service.

With this in mind, the organization's mission statement could be expressed as follows: KCLS's mission is to provide the highest quality of access and service in terms of information resources, taking into account the needs of its patrons in an equitable and highly sophisticated way. For this reason, the organization will be the county's primary source for reference information, while continually focusing on meeting the changing and growing informational, educational, and cultural needs of the community it serves.

The key organizational stakeholder groups include the library's patrons — without whom it would not exist — as well as line staff, branch personnel, middle management, and senior management. The Library Board is the primary stakeholder, having commissioned the director to build upon a prior finding regarding the population growth and demographic diversification of the county. The voters in the library district are also an important stakeholder group, as they provide the funding required not only to maintain existing services but also to implement the necessary plans for the library's future growth.

A further stakeholder group consists of the underserved and unserved parts of King County, which would benefit from the six new libraries and twelve replacement libraries proposed. All these stakeholders must therefore be taken into account when strategic changes are implemented. Patron satisfaction is the primary concern, while personnel satisfaction must also be considered, since staff serve on a team whose morale and engagement directly affect the quality of service provided to users.

External and Internal Environmental Analysis

There are two main external factors currently affecting the organization: population growth in the county, with its concomitant demographic and other changes, and technological advances. Regarding the first, the library must expand its services to cater not only to a larger customer base but also to the various demographic groups that will become part of the community. Regarding technological advancement, the library can use new tools to streamline operations in ways that optimize services and advance its mission goals of excellence.

Both factors create significant challenges. Population growth will require thorough research into the needs and requirements of the community, particularly where significant demographic changes have occurred. Books and other library materials will need to be ordered to serve newly identified groups that have not been adequately served in the past. Implementing new library systems also presents challenges in terms of helping patrons work with them and training personnel. Funding will need to be allocated for the proper implementation of these systems.

Internally, two related factors significantly affect the organization's ability to operate as an integrated and effective whole: the hierarchical management structure and a degree of conflict and dissatisfaction arising from the current management system. These are not new problems — complaints from both management and branch staff about the internal business system have persisted for at least three years. These issues are a definite hindrance to the organization's ultimate success in terms of its mission and mandate. Implementing a new plan without addressing them would only worsen the situation and risk undermining the organization's ability to achieve its goals.

That said, the organization also has many strengths. One major strength is the requirement that all librarians hold a Master's degree in Library and Information Science, or alternatively a Washington State certification qualifying them as librarians. The proximity of the organization's management team to four graduate programs in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington in Seattle is a notable asset when staffing the system's 38 branches. Staff recruited through these programs are dedicated and highly qualified from the outset. In summary, the excellence of library personnel and the educational standards required to qualify for a position at KCLS constitute two significant organizational strengths — and key reasons why retaining these staff members is so important.

One of the major weaknesses the library faces is its hierarchical leadership structure. Although this structure has been traditional among public library systems, its shortcomings are becoming increasingly evident in terms of staff satisfaction and operational excellence. The Library Board provides overarching guidance, while the director supervises the daily management of the system. Together with the Board, the director establishes long-range goals and long-term priorities. The assistant director manages the Public Services Department. The main weakness associated with this system is a definite lack of communication among the various levels of hierarchy, which has resulted in a sense of dysfunction among staff members in their relationship with leadership.

Senior management directives, for example, are conveyed to area administrators through separate, isolated meetings. One of the primary sources of personnel dissatisfaction is the director's Administrative Council (DAC), which serves as the senior management team. This team was created by the previous director and has been in effect for decades. Even the current director made very few changes to this system upon taking the role. All formal decisions are concentrated within the DAC, consisting of eight individuals. While other committees exist to maintain communication between senior management and staff, these appear to function primarily as channels for communicating mandates downward rather than as genuine two-way channels through which staff can voice concerns.

In summary, the two main weaknesses are a lack of meaningful communication between staff and senior management, and a failure to reform this system despite clear evidence that change is necessary.

Opportunities arise from external environmental factors. Advancing technology offers the library an opportunity to provide more sophisticated services to the public. As an information center, access to the internet and other electronic resources can be a valuable complement to traditional materials such as films and hardcopy books. Online films and e-books represent two of the most significant recent advances the library can leverage. Population growth also presents an opportunity: the county's expanding customer base, diverse in both number and demography, includes a large number of unserved and underserved residents from whom the library could benefit by expanding its services.

The library's main challenges arise from both internal and external environments. Internally, the challenge is to create a high-functioning communication system through which both staff and management can interact effectively — thereby retaining excellent personnel by enhancing job satisfaction. External challenges include implementing electronic resources that reflect advances in the information industry, requiring investment in funding and staff training time. Population growth also presents the challenge of identifying and responding to the needs of newly served demographic groups as the library expands its branches.

Key Strategic Issues

Before the library can implement effective changes in pursuit of its mission, it must address several pressing strategic issues. The first concerns the video loan period change, which created significant difficulty for staff and operations. The issue centers on the expansion of the video loan period from two to fourteen days. Under the new policy, patrons borrowing fiction videos were also permitted to place holds on videos throughout the system, and videos would be mailed to patrons' homes, as books already were.

This policy change led to problems in meeting customer demand for video loans. The library could no longer supply the full volume of requests, as video shelves were constantly empty. This created difficulties for both staff and customers. Although the new mailing policy pleased those patrons who were successfully served, it did nothing to satisfy those who waited extended periods to borrow fiction videos. If left unaddressed, this issue would result in increasing dissatisfaction among both customers and staff, and a potential loss of library patrons.

A second strategic issue involves the shift to centralized book purchasing. This policy moved the book-buying function to the Service Center in order to achieve a more sophisticated and comprehensive collections program. It was implemented without consulting branch managers, who were directly affected by the decision. From the patron's perspective, the new policy would indeed create a better selection of materials by promoting diversity and reducing duplication. However, it generated considerable resentment among librarians, who regarded book selection as one of their most valued responsibilities — one that directly utilized their professional expertise. If left unaddressed, this issue could severely impact librarian job satisfaction and lead to the loss of valuable personnel.

A third strategic issue concerns the technology transition. As noted above, system automation created opportunities to streamline many of the library's functions. Both staff and patrons were initially impressed by the new, more efficient systems. Patrons appreciated faster service, and librarians welcomed the improved workflows. However, the underlying communication problem again proved challenging. Changes were often made without adequate advance notice to branch personnel, and no input was sought from line staff — those working directly with the public on training in new systems. Such changes frequently occurred overnight, creating confusion for both staff and patrons. This produced a negative image of the service among patrons while leaving staff feeling frustrated and undervalued. If left unaddressed, this issue risks entrenching a persistently negative image of the library among its patrons and contributing to both staff and patron attrition.