Management Matters. Does Your Vision Match Your Mission?

“Stick to your vision, but adapt your plan.” Brian Maggi

Luke Librarian just got a new administrator in his building. He has been with his previous administrator for several years and had a great working relationship. It was a relationship that grew with time and collaboration, keeping the school’s goals and mission as well as the school library program (SLP) in mind. But what happens now? What are the priorities of this new administrator going to be and what will that do to the library’s mission and vision? How much change can be expected, and what if that change isn’t what is best for the library program?

Stick to the Vision

Luke Librarian plans to schedule a meeting with his new administrator to learn what the new vision for the school is and figure out how to meet that vision within the school library program. Ruth Toor and Hilda K Weisberg say that in order for school librarians “to be seen as indispensable [they] must continually prove that [they] and the SLP are essential for achieving the school’s mission and goals [and librarians need to] identify the aspects of the educational program that are [their] responsibility, requiring [their] unique expertise” (2011).

The library’s mission statement sums up what it is and what is of value. How can an SLP transform teaching and learning? What steps are needed to make that happen? Resources online can help you establish a mission and vision statement so that you can demonstrate, in a quick and easy format for your busy administrators, the importance of the SLP’s role in students’ academic achievement. Having that simple statement, Luke Librarian can go into a meeting with his new administrator and have a conversation to see where their visions match or need redirection.

If a mission statement tells what an SLP is, a vision statement is what an SLP can become. Toor and Weisberg state, “From this point forward, [the librarian’s] actions, in addition to being aligned with [the] mission and core values, should be leading [the SLP] program toward this ultimate goal” (2011). They also state this vision needs to inspire not only the librarian, but also all stakeholders so that they are invested in the journey of “to be.” This is where Luke will need to use his leadership ability gained from his previous administrator; Luke will let this new administrator know that they have much in common, and that he is a partner in making success continue to happen at his school.

Adapt Your Plan

Once Luke has his meeting with his new administrator, he will reflect on the conversation and see where he needs to adapt his plan. Reviewing his program administration plan, Luke must make sure he continues, as Dr. Audrey Church writes, “developing the collection to support curriculum and instruction, supporting intellectual freedom, providing access to both physical and virtual resources, coordinating staffing for a unified program of services to students and teachers, creating a positive library environment which fosters learning, and utilizing data and evidence to formulate a strategic plan that moves the library forward in alignment with the school’s mission and goals” (2016).

This may mean Luke will need to rethink his action plans. One way to do this is by creating an evaluation chart similar to this:

Taking stock of what is going well, what is not, and what needs to change is something that can help bring about change in a way that is both strategic and reflective. This shouldn’t be done only when there is a change in leadership, but should be done as part of an annual review of the school year. Here again, data can be a key factor in presenting needs to leadership based on feedback from stakeholders and a personal, self-reflection of how the SLP met the vision and mission for student academic achievement.

Lay out a plan whether it is a one year, three year, or five year plan. Having long- and short-term goals can help meet both the vision and mission of the SLP and the school it serves. Having a long term plan that is adaptable is important in order for you to stay current and maintain forward thinking. Another chart might look like this:

From here, Luke Librarian and his new administrator can craft a plan that keeps the program moving forward while also providing necessary resources to keep the end goal in mind. Having a clear mission and vision makes management of the SLP much easier than without.

Works Cited:

"About AASL." American Association of School Librarians. September 27, 2006. Accessed July 28, 2016. http://www.ala.org/aasl/about.

Church, Audrey P. Tapping into the Skills of 21st-century School Librarians: A Concise Handbook for Administrators. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Toor, Ruth, and Hilda K. Weisburg. Being Indispensable: A School Librarian's Guide to Becoming an Invaluable Leader. American Library Association, 2011.