The New Planning for Results: A Streamlined Approach

Citation

Ole Pors, N. (2002), "The New Planning for Results: A Streamlined Approach", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 58 No. 5, pp. 584-585. https://doi.org/10.1108/jd.2002.58.5.584.1

The title indicates that the book is a revision of an earlier work, Planning for Results: A Library Transformation Process, 1998. The earlier work was divided into a guidebook and a how‐to‐do‐it manual. According to the foreword in the new edition responses indicated that the earlier version was too detailed. Essentially, the message in the new and old version is the same.

The book has four parts. The first is named “The planning process” and it consists of six chapters, each dealing with one important aspect of the planning process. “Public library service responses” is the second part and it contains essentially illustrative examples serving inspirational purposes. The third part of the book is called “Tool kit”. It addresses primarily questions concerning communication problems. The last and fourth part contains 13 forms related to the various steps in the planning process.

The European library community has always looked with a certain envy at the guidebooks and manuals produced by the really huge library associations. They have in many ways been inspirational. I do not think this will be an exception.

A book such as this can be judged by several sets of criteria. Important criteria are:

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  Does it have a sound theoretical and methodological basis?

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  Can it be implemented without too many difficulties?

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  Will the use of it ultimately lead to an improvement of the services?

One could argue that it is impossible to answer the last question, but still, it is the perspective.

The description of the planning process is lucid and very clear. The text contains a number of milestones and indications of what to do and what to avoid at the different stages of the process. The whole planning process is analysed in 12 clear‐cut tasks. It is important to emphasise that the focus of the planning process is the community and the community needs. Focusing the text on this issue means that the planning process really gets a viable perspective and the problem is covered very well and in a precise way. I think the way the author fits the purpose of the public library into the visions and needs of the community is done extremely well.

The next part of the book contains information on 13 service responses derived from possible or thinkable roles of the public library. Not all of these service responses are relevant for all public libraries. They serve mainly as inspirational tools and the chapters raise several important questions to consider implementing some of the services. The chapter also contains excerpts from different existing service plans. It has valuable examples of what to measure in relation to the implementation of service responses.

The tool kit in the third part of the book focuses on communication and interpersonal issues. It emphasises four recurrent problems in the planning process and the communication of it. How to identify and select options is one of the problems. It is dealt with by introducing different group‐works methods like nominal group technique and the Delphi method. There are also very useful paragraphs on dealing with people’s peculiarities in different group settings. Included are also rather good guidelines for communicating the plan to different types of audiences.

The last part of the book presents 13 work forms. Together they deal with the whole planning process.

The whole text of the book is clear and it is based on well‐established theories and methodologies. Using the book will without any doubt make any library planning easier and more convincing. I find it extremely satisfactory that the text is focused so much upon the relationship between the library and the community it is serving. The book is highly recommended and it is really value for the money.