Southern Ontario Library Service

Library Development Guides

Library Development Guides are a series of guides produced by SOLS on key issues in public library management.
Topics selected are in response to requests from library staff.

Creating the Future You’ve Imagined: a Guide to Essential Planning, March 2007

This publication outlines SOLS’ approach to the planning process, an approach that highlights the need for board and staff to enter into strategic conversation as the best way to arrive at a collective understanding of the library’s essence, where it is right now, where it should be, and what it needs to do to get from here to there. Essential Planning is a scale-able planning approach that can be made appropriate for the small town library, the county library with geographically dispersed rural branches, and the thriving urban library system. It recognizes that planning is an essential board and staff responsibility, but also recognizes that it represents work that is in addition to the ongoing governance and operational work required for the provision of library service. The Essential Planning approach was designed to be a manageable, plausible undertaking so that all boards and staff will choose to engage in the essential work of planning for library service.

One copy of this Guide is being distributed to every public library in Ontario at no cost. To purchase copies use the order form.

Prepared by Barbara Baker for SOLS. While the Guide is written primarily for the CEO's of small and medium sized libraries, it is intended to be used by staff in all sizes and types of libraries as they deal with the staff recruitment process. The intent of the guide is to coach staff through the process, not to provide a template. The guide links recruitment for any library position to the library's overall strategic plan, and encourages strategic thinking about staff recruitment and how it relates to overall library service.

This document is available to download in pdf format.

Coaching for Service and Success: A Guide to Performance Feedback. August 2003, 77 pages. français  (.pdf)

Prepared by Beth Cada for SOLS. This guide is intended to coach CEOs and library supervisors through the performance appraisal process. It is not meant to be a template, but describes and outlines an approach to performance appraisal. It introduces best practices and manageable strategies for improving employee performance, and fostering a strong service commitment.

This document is also available in pdf format or, to order a print copy use the order form

Ontario Public Library Purchasing Guide. Autumn, 2004, 153 pages, appendices.

Prepared by Daryl Novak and Randee Loucks of SOLS and Michael Monaghan of LSC. This guide is written to assist library staff members responsible for the purchasing function. Recent changes to the Municipal Act require all public libraries to adopt purchasing policies for their libraries even if their purchasing is done by the municipal purchasing department. Library staff often ask about what factors to consider in analyzing vendor proposals, what they should outsource, and what they should continue to do as in-house staff functions.

We increasingly hear of the benefits of ‘economies of scale’ and there are numerous players offering various consortia approaches to goods and services, especially electronic products. This guide will also assist libraries to create an RFP for materials that will elicit the lowest cost solution for the library. This guide does not provide and should not be relied upon
for legal advice or interpretation.

This document is also available in pdf format or, to order a print copy use the order form

A Technology Planning Kit for Ontario Public Libraries. May, 2001, 38 pages, appendices.

Prepared by Katherine Slimman for SOLS.  This kit will guide the library through the selection, acquisition, use and maintenance of technological applications appropriate to the individual library’s stated mission, goals and objectives. It can be used as a checklist by library administrative, service and systems staff, or as an outline by outside experts brought in to assist the library, in anticipating technology needs and putting in place the means to implement the solutions.  

This document is also available in pdf format or, to order a print copy use the order form

Fundraising Training Kit. 1994., 37 Pages.

Prepared by SOLS, the Fundraising Training Kit will help prepare the groundwork for planning your library's fundraising campaign.  The kit can be used as a self-study module or as part of a board meeting or seminar with trustees, friends of the library/volunteers and staff.

This document is also available in pdf format or, to order a print copy use the order form