METRO Strategic Plan 2009

Metropolitan New York Library Council
(METRO)
STRATEGIC PLAN 2009-2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction 3
Mission, Vision and Core Values 4
Strategic Goals 6
I. Be a Recognized Leader in the Library and Knowledge-Management

World
Undertake continuous environmental scanning
Establish METRO as a hub for dialogue and collaboration on critical issues
Strengthen strategic planning among our members
II. Provide Our Members with Outstanding and Innovative Services

Develop the highest quality services and support for our members
Provide outstanding professional development resources for librarians and others
with knowledge-management responsibilities
Strengthen our advocacy on behalf of libraries and the library profession as a
whole
III. Expand and Enrich Our Membership

Diversify our membership
Improve the systematic assessment of member needs
IV. Strengthen Our Organizational and Management Capabilities

Strengthen our executive and program team
Enhance our governance
Maximize the use of technology to achieve our goals
V. Ensure Our Long-Term Financial Health

Diversify and supplement our funding streams
Strengthen our case for the continuation of substantial operating support by New
York State
Design and implement a long-term financial plan
Measures of Success 14
Conclusion 15
Appendices
I. METRO’s Programs and Services
II. METRO’s Strategic Planning Process
III. Overview of the Changing Library World
METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

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INTRODUCTION
For more than 40 years, the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) has
served as a unique resource to libraries in the five boroughs of New York City and
Westchester County. Chartered in 1964 by the New York Board of Regents to “promote
and facilitate utilization of existing resources and to develop additional library services in
the New York metropolitan area,” METRO has played a valuable role in strengthening
the regional library network, providing a forum for its member libraries to share
resources and best practices, promoting professional development and advocating for
government funding for libraries and library systems.
Today, METRO is the largest of New York State’s nine reference and research library
resource systems (3Rs) and the state’s oldest continuously operating library council.
Based in Manhattan, METRO is located in the heart of the country’s most vibrant and
diverse center of arts and culture, media, education and civic life.
METRO serves a diverse network of more than 250 members and brings together public
and school library systems as well as academic, hospital and special libraries. Our
member organizations collectively represent more than 1,200 individual libraries, some
of which are among the nation’s largest and most prestigious. METRO provides a broad
range of programs and services to its members, including professional development
programs, resource-sharing services and grants, as summarized in Appendix I.
This Strategic Plan was developed through a broadly consultative and inclusive process
with a goal of defining METRO’s identity and vision consistent with the needs of its
members; the demands of a rapidly changing library/information world; and the beliefs of
the METRO Board of Trustees, staff and members about what course the organization
should take. Appendix II describes the planning process and provides important insights
on METRO’s strengths and challenges in advancing the Strategic Plan.
The context for METRO’s strategic planning process is discussed in Appendix III, which
summarizes some of the complex and dramatic changes currently underway in the library
and knowledge-management world.
The final draft of the 2009–2014 Strategic Plan was adopted in principle by METRO’s
Board of Trustees upon the unanimous recommendation of the METRO Strategic
Planning Committee at the Board of Trustees meeting on December 2, 2008.
The development of this strategic plan was supported, in part, by a generous grant from
the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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MISSION, VISION AND CORE VALUES
Mission
METRO advances library and knowledge-management services in New York City,
Westchester County and beyond through active collaboration, resource and
knowledge sharing, strategic planning and thinking, professional development and
advocacy among our members and other organizations with similar interests.
In this manner, we improve the public’s access to and understanding of timely, high-
quality information and strengthen the role of libraries as important partners for
solving individual problems, making sense of complex issues in the larger world and
accessing cultural and recreational resources.
Vision
METRO will serve as a dynamic resource to assist our members in meeting the
increasingly complex information needs of their constituencies and society at large.
To fulfill this role effectively, we will:
• Strengthen our ability and that of our members to anticipate and collaboratively
meet the challenges of the contemporary library and the larger knowledge-
management world.
• Be future-oriented and wide-ranging in our orientation by looking beyond the

library world to identify emerging trends, tools and public policies that affect the
library and knowledge-management arena.
• Attract a highly diverse and collegial membership that includes libraries as well as
new organizations and individuals who provide and shape information.
• Advance the standing of libraries and other providers of knowledge management

in the eyes of the general public.
• Provide outstanding professional development, strategic planning and other

services to our members to encourage their continuous learning.
Core Values
Everything we do is based on the following core values:
• Service to Members – METRO’s members are our raison d’être. Our members’
needs and interests will always be the core focus of our mission.
• Service to the Metropolitan Region and the Larger Society – By serving our
members well, we also address the increasingly complex information needs of our
region and society, improving the ability of individuals and groups to access,
share, understand and disseminate high-quality information.

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• Excellence – We will provide our members with services of the highest quality
and will pursue only those initiatives in which we are able to meet this standard.
• Collaboration – We believe that problem-solving is enhanced by eliciting diverse

points of view and through actions undertaken by many parties working together
toward a common goal.
• Innovation – We serve as a catalyst for innovation by leveraging the creative

thinking of our members and by building bridges among our members and other
organizations.
• Accountability – We evaluate our level of success or failure based upon our

members’ judgments of how well we return value for their fees and dues.

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STRATEGIC GOALS
To move assertively towards achieving our vision over the next five years, we will:
I. Be a Recognized Leader in the Library and Knowledge-Management World
II. Provide Our Members with Outstanding and Innovative Services
III. Expand and Enrich Our Membership
IV. Strengthen Our Organizational and Management Capabilities
V. Ensure Our Long-Term Financial Health
The following sections describe each of these goals. For each goal, we outline the
strategies METRO will follow and illustrate these strategies with potential
implementation ideas and initiatives. As the Strategic Plan evolves through a rigorous
implementation plan, METRO will draw inspiration from these and other ideas that may
emerge through continuing dialogue with our members and other stakeholders.
GOAL I: Be a Recognized Leader in the Library and Knowledge-Management

World
To identify and help our members respond to current and future library and knowledge-
management opportunities and challenges, we will:
Undertake continuous environmental scanning
• Establish the internal capacity to identify emerging trends, technologies, services

and policies with the potential to affect the library/information world, and then
share this information with members in a variety of forums.
• Create a database of best practices, policy and research reports from leading
organizations, leaders in the library/information field and other sources of useful
models so that METRO members can benefit from this information.
Establish METRO as a hub for dialogue and collaboration on critical issues
• Establish institutional and individual collaborations by linking the deep

knowledge bases of some members (in particular, public libraries, hospitals and
academic libraries) with the widely distributed “information portal” role that
libraries play in society.
• Reach out to cutting-edge, trans-disciplinary technology programs and researchers

to establish collaborations that bring researchers’ talents to bear on problems in
the library and knowledge-management worlds and keep METRO members
abreast of newly emerging technologies.

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• Promote and expand METRO’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and ensure that
their work is well documented and available to all METRO members. Identify
promising ideas arising from the SIGs and support the application of these ideas
within the library and information world.
• Expand METRO’s Issues Forums and convene roundtables of METRO and the
leadership of other associations that serve the research, records and information
needs of business, government, not-for-profit organizations and the general
public. Publish the proceedings of these Issues Forums and roundtables in a
variety of formats.
• Commission and publish research on topics of importance to the library and

information-management world and share significant research undertaken by
other organizations with our members.
• Encourage volunteerism among individual and institutional members, urging

them to devote some of their (and their staffs’) time to working with METRO or
other members on projects that will benefit all members.
• Encourage member collaborations on funding proposals and solicit funding for

grants that require multiple participants.
Strengthen strategic planning among our members
• Facilitate an open network of planning efforts by METRO members by creating a

protected Web site where members can post their strategic plans, planning
proposals and works-in-progress; access those of other members; pose questions;
and interactively and collectively discuss important strategic issues.
• Develop planning guides and tools and make these materials available to METRO
members and nonmembers at differentiated price points, run workshops and
provide a baseline level of assistance in strategic planning, paying particular
attention to the differing needs of various types of member libraries, including
academic libraries, medical/health libraries, archives and specialized libraries.
• Develop METRO’s capability to provide its members with direct assistance in

strategic planning (or outsource this function while ensuring quality control and
project coordination), ranging from diagnostic analyses to full-scale efforts.
Syndicate the results of such projects (with permission of the member
organization being served) to other METRO members.
GOAL II: Provide Our Members with Outstanding and Innovative Services
Serving as the go-to provider of library and knowledge-management services, METRO
will be a valuable source of tools and information that will save its members time and
money. To formulate creative responses to the new and emerging strategic challenges
they face, libraries and knowledge-management organizations require access to cutting-

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edge tools of high quality. To meet this growing need, METRO will build on its
reputation as a provider of first-rate, practical services in the following ways:
Develop the highest quality services and support for our members
• Based on systematic member needs assessments, identify services that are highly
valued by members and that METRO can offer in an effective, cost efficient
manner that leverages economies of scale. Characteristics of services that would
be appropriate for METRO to provide include those that:
 Would be too time consuming and/or costly for members to pursue on their
own.
 Are not core or “mission-critical” activities for members, but would add value
to their services or meet currently unmet needs.
 Are sufficiently valuable that members might pay a fee to METRO (above and
beyond membership dues) to receive them.
• Expand existing METRO services, such as:
 Vendor discounts including vetting of vendors to ensure service quality and a

good value for our members.
 Professional development, training and classes – including linking members
with such needs to other members who offer training and classes internally
and have room for additional enrollment.
• Create new services that meet the abovementioned criteria, such as:
 A “peer consulting service” (including a database listing member expertise

and skills) that matches a given member’s needs for problem-solving support
with specific areas of expertise or capability within METRO’s broader
membership.
 Career development that provides guidance and mentorship to individual
METRO members on shaping their future careers – a level of service that goes
beyond the online job- and resume-posting services already offered through
the METRO Job Magnet.
 Assisting member institutions that experience difficulties in attracting interns

from library schools with identifying and placing appropriate students in their
internship programs.1
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In addition to charging its members a small fee for this service, METRO might also charge fees to
participating library schools, which would benefit from providing their students with access to a wider
selection of library internships than they are likely to identify on their own.

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• Collect and analyze feedback from METRO members about their experiences
with various services (e.g., most reliable vendors, most suitable professional
development classes, most successful internships) and disseminate this
information to the broader membership.
Provide outstanding professional development resources for librarians and others with
knowledge-management responsibilities
• Establish an ongoing process for identifying the professional development needs

of members, including new and emerging areas of interest.
• Expand leadership development programs and provide support for succession

planning to help build the next generation of library leaders.
• Identify heavy users of professional development offerings, and design

coursework packages using formats and timeframes that are most convenient for
such users.
• Expand the types of formats and forums in which professional development is

offered to members, including increased Web 2.0 and other distributed-learning
formats, and programs offered on-site at our members’ facilities.
• Partner with other e-learning providers around the country to offer METRO
members a greater array of professional development courses and materials.
• Work with library and information science schools to strengthen the connection
between research and practices in the field; identify and bridge the gaps between
library-school training and skills required in the field; and collaboratively pursue
professional development grants.
Strengthen our advocacy on behalf of libraries and the library profession as a whole
• Secure funding to conduct a study on the economic and social impact of

METRO’s member libraries on their individual communities and the region as a
whole, and then work with our members to disseminate the study’s findings to
government leaders, philanthropic organizations and the general public.
• Work with METRO members and outside experts in marketing and public
relations to develop key messages about the value of libraries and librarianship in
21st century America that will form the basis of a public awareness campaign;
ensure that this campaign is broad enough to convey the diversity of library types
and the breadth of their contributions.
• Work with members to identify the mechanisms they use to communicate with
their patrons (such as e-newsletters, school posters, university library orientations
for new students, etc.). Consider how these communications tools might be used

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to promote the value of libraries and librarianship in terms that will resonate with
patrons.
• Continue METRO’s energetic collaboration with other library associations and

related organizations on advocacy efforts and leverage these relationships to
cultivate ongoing partnerships with the New York State Legislature and other
government supporters at the state and federal levels.
GOAL III: Expand and Enrich Our Membership

To enhance the depth of member collaboration and increase interdisciplinary interaction
between METRO members and other innovative knowledge-management organizations
and individuals outside the library world, we will:
Diversify our membership
• Develop a new-member recruitment effort focused on individuals and groups

from outside of the library world as conventionally conceived, including, for
example, individuals and businesses involved in technology development,
communications/media, information technology, advertising, marketing, and other
fields.
• Expand efforts, through myMETRO, to promote the value of individual METRO

membership to librarians, library support staff, archivists, information
professionals, students and others as a means to connect to an extensive network
of peers and colleagues.
• Increase the direct involvement of library executive leaders in METRO activities

and initiatives by polling them to identify topics of greatest interest and through
events such as small roundtables for selected leaders or “limited audience”
conversations with high-profile thinkers in the knowledge-management world.
• Seek more members from under-represented types of libraries and knowledge-

management providers and from among their staff, including non-librarians.
Improve the systematic assessment of member needs
• Strengthen METRO’s capacity for systematic data collection on the usage of

METRO’s programs and services by member type, size and function. Continue
the current practice of gathering data on program satisfaction and effectiveness.
• Continue and enhance the periodic assessment of members’ interests and
priorities regarding METRO services through an annual survey, Professional
Advisory Council discussions and the formal and informal feedback mechanisms
in each service area that are already in place at METRO.

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• Coordinate focused conversations with the other 3Rs, leading state and national
library consortia, the New York State Library and national library membership
organizations about emerging member needs and innovative service solutions.
GOAL IV: Strengthen Our Organizational and Management Capabilities

While we have made remarkable progress over the past several years in building our
Board of Trustees and developing a strong financial foundation, we do not yet have the
management and governance infrastructure required to move forward in realizing the
vision articulated in this Strategic Plan. To address these issues, we will:
Strengthen our executive and program team
• Create a senior management team that ensures coordination and collaboration

across all program and administrative areas and provides adequate staff and
administrative support for senior managers.
• Increase the visibility of our executive leadership in the information-management

and library communities regionally (and beyond) by actively pursuing
opportunities to publicize METRO’s positions on key issues.
• Build internal staff capacity in such areas as media and communications,

digitization, emerging technologies, development and financial modeling.
• Develop succession planning for all senior and middle management positions,
including crafting individualized career development plans for staff members who
are most ready to take on additional responsibilities.
Enhance our governance
• Strengthen METRO’s Board of Trustees by selectively adding new members with

expertise in the evolving world of libraries and knowledge management as well as
various areas of organizational stewardship (e.g., financial, legal, technology,
public relations and planning).
• Over time, elect new Board members who can provide substantial assistance in
private fundraising through their personal means or connections to individual
donors and philanthropies.
• Increase METRO’s visibility by pursuing opportunities for the leaders of our

Board of Trustees to speak with the media, participate in meetings with public
officials and act as ambassadors for METRO with corporations, foundations and
other organizations.
• Structure Board meetings to include substantive discussions of important trends

and issues in society and the library and knowledge-management field.

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• Create a Board Advisory Group on New Ventures to explore and take advantage
of entrepreneurial ideas and emerging opportunities.
Maximize the use of technology to achieve our goals
• Implement a system for consistently capturing service-user data and managing

member relationships; a data-gathering mechanism is critical for communicating
our value to decision-makers and for carrying out effective program evaluation
and program planning.
• Review METRO’s technology needs in terms of member communication, staff

training, administration and public relations/marketing.
• Continue to explore ways to streamline the delivery of current services via

technology (for example, enhancing digital delivery services, new formats for
professional development courses, etc.).
• Support members in exploring and implementing new and emerging information

technologies that can strengthen library services.
• Use Web 2.0 tools and other technology-based strategies to provide (and model)
new forms of member collaboration, input and dialogue.
GOAL V: Ensure Our Long-Term Financial Health

We are significantly advantaged by the strong financial support of New York State.
However, likely cuts in future State budgets emphasize the need to fundamentally alter
our approach to fundraising. We must diversify our revenue streams and achieve a state
of long-term financial strength. We seek to address these issues by taking the following
actions:
Diversify and supplement our funding streams
• Assess the revenue-generating potential of each of METRO’s current service and

“product” lines to identify opportunities to generate greater fees for service or
increase membership dues by making METRO’s value proposition more explicit
to our members.
• Develop new revenue-generating programs (e.g., expanded professional

development, consulting services, etc.) that build on METRO’s core strengths.
• Substantially increase private funding from corporate entities and not-for-profit

organizations that enjoy relatively high levels of access to capital by:

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 Developing strong, long-term relationships with foundations to learn about

their funding interests and increase their understanding of the role of library
associations generally and of METRO in particular.
 Leveraging our position in the library and knowledge-management world to

more aggressively pursue corporate sponsorship opportunities.
• Explore additional funding opportunities at the federal level.
• Build an in-house fundraising capacity to work closely with METRO’s Board and
executive leadership in raising new operating funds.
• Develop a Board culture that emphasizes the Board’s leadership role in securing
METRO’s long-term financial health, including the articulation of clearly defined
fundraising-related expectations for new members elected to the Board.
Strengthen our case for the continuation of substantial operating support by New York
State
• Ensure that New York State continues to recognize our position as a vital resource
for its libraries and, by extension, the public, through an active program of
communications, outreach and advocacy.
• Explore other opportunities among New York State agencies for support of
special initiatives that will strengthen the capacities and service delivery of our
members.
Design and implement a long-term financial plan
• Develop a long-range financial plan by setting fiscal targets and identifying

projects to ensure a state of financial stability characterized by sufficient and
dependable resources to support a strong organizational infrastructure, program
innovation and experimentation, and service expansion.
• Explore the financial implications of a range of scenarios that take account of

such possibilities as a merger with a compatible/complementary organization,
strategic alliance or a for-profit subsidiary.

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MEASURES OF SUCCESS
A sound strategic plan must provide for accountability. The METRO Strategic Plan will
be subject to regular monitoring of its progress and evaluation of the results and
outcomes of its implementation.
• METRO staff will develop annual implementation plans that set specific goals,
identify responsible parties and delineate outcomes.
• The Strategic Planning Committee will oversee the implementation of the Strategic
Plan and receive from staff, on behalf of the full Board, an overall summary of
progress in implementing the Strategic Plan at least semi-annually, as well as regular
updates on evolving trends and issues of importance in the library and knowledge-
management fields.
No single performance measure can fully capture METRO’s level of achievement in

executing the strategic objectives presented in this Strategic Plan. We will therefore
develop a series of measures to routinely assess our performance, using such indicators
as:
• The quality of METRO’s service delivery, as evidenced by ratings on self-assessment

measures, measurable outcomes for service recipients, participant satisfaction and
funder acknowledgement;
• Growth in METRO’s membership, with particular attention to attracting and retaining

private sector firms with significant knowledge-management needs;
• METRO’s visibility and reputation as a leader in recognizing and addressing

emerging library needs and as a potent force on behalf of increasing public awareness
of the importance of libraries and knowledge-management professionals;
• Increased collaboration with other organizations that result in improved services for
our members, as well as new partnerships that strengthen outcomes for librarians,
knowledge-management professionals and the general public in our service area and
beyond; and
• Increases in METRO’s level of private discretionary funding; capacity for investment

in innovation, pilot projects and infrastructure improvement at METRO; and progress
on other key steps to achieving METRO’s long-term financial health.

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CONCLUSION
Building upon our longstanding history of achievement, METRO will become a leader
for libraries, librarians and knowledge-management professionals within our service area
and beyond. We will help these stakeholders to anticipate emerging trends and issues;
serve the public by making library resources widely available; help society understand
the importance of librarianship and knowledge management during a time of information
overload; and support New York State in its efforts to serve the public effectively.
Through the careful and thoughtful execution of the goals and objectives outlined in this
Strategic Plan, we will advance steadily toward the realization of our vision in the decade
to come.

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Appendix I
METRO’S PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
METRO provides a broad range of programs and services to its members, including:
• Professional Development: This includes traditional classroom training, online
tutorials and webinars in areas essential to the success of our members, including
technology, collection and archive maintenance, library management, information
science and staff development. Attended by over 1,500 participants annually,
courses are led by experienced library science professionals from across the
country.
• Special Interest Groups (SIGs): METRO’s SIGs provide opportunities for

leadership, networking, information exchange and professional development
within the New York library community, including shared-learning programs
(involving discussion groups and speaker programs) on a wide array of library
topics, an annual Library Assistants’ Day (a development opportunity for library
support staff) and other initiatives.
• Digitization: This area of service includes Digital METRO New York (a Web site
of digitized collections that reflect the cultural heritage of New York City and
Westchester County); symposia on various aspects of digitization of library
collections; digitization vendor showcases; and surveys to assess the progress of
digitization projects and plans in the METRO region.
• Expanded Access Services: This service element includes an interlibrary

loan/delivery system, referral card system and consortium purchasing program,
which enable our members to share resources more effectively and buy a wide
range of electronic resources and databases at significant discounts. Through this
service, METRO members can also gain access to NOVEL, a collection of
databases purchased by the New York State Library and made available to
libraries in New York State.
• Documentary Heritage Program (DHP): This program supports archival

documentation projects for under-documented groups, including training courses
for archivists and librarians on archival technology.
• Hospital Library Services Program (HLSP): This program supports the work of
65 hospital and medical center libraries through subscriptions to STAT!Ref, an
electronic medical library containing the text of 35 core medical reference books;
collection development and technology grants; and the Medical Information
Service Program, which subsidizes medical-related library loans.

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• Grants: METRO provides its members with financial assistance for digitization,
collection development and special projects, including the Documentary Heritage
Program, Retrospective Conversion Regional Bibliographic Database, and
Coordinated Collection Development Aid for Academic Libraries, among others.
• Individual Memberships (“myMETRO”): METRO’s individual membership

program connects librarians, archivists, information professionals, students and
retirees to an array of networking opportunities, learning resources and other
benefits.
• Information Resources: METRO produces a variety of information resources,

including its recently updated website (www.metro.org), the METRO
Membership Directory, METRO_L (member listserv), @METRO (e-newsletter),
special publications, research bibliographies, event archives, digitization reports
and the like, which offer important tools for networking, resource sharing and
communications to and among our members.
• Career Services and Human Resource Support: Includes the METRO Job
Magnet, which offers services for both employers and job seekers.
• Networking Events and Opportunities: Includes METRO’s annual meeting,

Membership Directory, issues forums and Special Interest Groups.
• Advocacy: METRO works closely with government leaders at the New York
State and at the federal level to advocate for appropriate levels of funding for
libraries and library systems.

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Appendix II
METRO’s STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS
Initiated in the fall of 2007, METRO’s strategic planning process was guided by a
Strategic Planning Committee chaired by Heike Kordish (then-President of the METRO
Board), and composed of six additional Board members and two staff members.
Members of this committee are listed in the Exhibit I.
The Strategic Planning Committee met eight times during the second half of 2007 and
throughout 2008 to review findings, discuss analyses of various issues, define key
strategic issues and oversee the preparation of multiple drafts of the Strategic Plan. In
2008, the Board of Trustees reviewed the progress made on the Strategic Plan during two
of its regular board meetings.
In addition, the METRO Professional Planning Group, comprised of METRO members

and library/information professionals, worked closely with the Strategic Planning
Committee and met three times to provide input on the findings, hypotheses and ideas
generated regarding METRO’s strategic goals.
Along with the Strategic Planning Committee and Professional Planning Group meetings,
a series of supplementary meetings for Board members and staff were held to provide
additional opportunities for these stakeholders to share their expertise and provide
recommendations on key subject areas related to the strategic planning process.
The Strategic Planning Committee also undertook an extensive telephone survey of

METRO’s members to solicit their views about current and prospective services,
METRO’s role and related topics.
A final draft of the Strategic Plan was reviewed and approved in principle by the
METRO Board of Trustees upon the unanimous recommendation of the METRO
Strategic Planning Committee at its meeting of December 2, 2008.
The Committee was assisted in its work by Anthony Knerr & Associates (AKA),
strategic advisors to leading nonprofit organizations in the United States and in Europe.
• AKA conducted 42 confidential interviews, facilitated two focus groups with

METRO members and a meeting of the Professional Advisory Council, reviewed
and analyzed extensive written and electronic materials about METRO (including
financial analysis and analysis of the lines of business), similar organizations and
the field as a whole. Exhibit II lists the individuals interviewed, focus groups
participants and Professional Advisory Council members.
• AKA prepared various documents for review and discussion by the Strategic
Planning Committee and the Board and developed multiple drafts of the Strategic
Plan.

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• AKA also coordinated the extensive work (and provided analysis and implications
of the survey results) of the public opinion research firm, Kane, Parsons &
Associates, which conducted the METRO Member Survey (152 respondents) in
the summer of 2008.
METRO has engaged in the strategic planning process from a position of considerable
strength.
• We enjoy a strong reputation among our members for the quality of our services and
activities (particularly with respect to grants, delivery services and professional
development), setting a standard for professionalism in New York State and
nationwide.
• The breadth of our membership gives METRO considerable strength and prestige.
We can legitimately describe ourselves as highly representative of a wide cross-
section of the library world, and we benefit from the prominent reputations of our
many high-profile members.
• We have recently undertaken several innovative initiatives to meet our members’

evolving needs. For example, we have helped our members tackle digitization
projects through grants and courses, and have launched a successful individual
membership program (“myMETRO”) that connects librarians, archivists, information
professionals, students and retirees to an array of unique networking opportunities,
dynamic learning resources and other benefits.
• Our leadership generally gets high marks from informed observers. We have recently
changed the composition of our Board of Trustees from entirely professional
librarians to a group representing more diverse occupations and expertise.
• We are on a strong financial footing. Our budget is consistently balanced; we enjoy a

healthy investment return; and we have accumulated sufficient working capital to
help meet any financial shortfalls that may arise in the future.
At the same time, we face multiple challenges:
• Our identity is not clear to the larger library and information-management world. We
lack visibility outside the library world, which may hinder our ability to attract new
types of members and funders.
• Though respected and valued by members, we have not clearly “branded” ourselves
in the eyes of the most senior library leaders. As a result, some of the decision-
makers within our member organizations feel disconnected from METRO and are
unaware of our value and benefits.

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• Our members continue to face major questions regarding how best to adapt to the
impact of technology and changing user interests and needs. These challenges raise
fundamental questions about our members’ missions, purposes, viability and funding.
METRO is now at a juncture where it is critically important for us to maintain our
strong tradition of providing outstanding services to our members while also stepping
up to the plate to provide the robust leadership our constituency requires.
• The diversity of METRO’s membership poses challenges in terms of communicating

the value of METRO’s services to different membership segments. That we do not
yet have a consistent mechanism for gathering data on the usage patterns of our
programs and services compounds this challenge.
• While METRO has reached capacity in certain membership categories (academic

libraries, public libraries, school libraries and hospital and medical libraries), we have
few members outside of the traditional library world, especially in the for-profit
sector. Expanding membership in this area is critical to cultivating the kind of
intellectual capital we will need to be an influential leader and a dynamic hub of
information and resources in the library and knowledge-management world.
• Our revenue streams are not sufficiently diverse. We receive about 80% of our
operating budget from New York State, with earned revenue (membership dues and
program fees) and private funding covering only a small portion of the cost of
delivering services. New York State’s worsening budget situation presents significant
challenges to our public funding; in any case, the structure of METRO’s current
resource base represents an area of vulnerability. As part of our overall diversification
efforts, we are reexamining our pricing structure (including dues, program fees,
member services, etc.) to capitalize on appropriate opportunities to generate
additional revenue.
• While we have been able to run a lean operation providing quality services to our
members, taking METRO to the next level and positioning us as a leader and
innovator in the library and information-management world will require significant
capacity enhancements (including sophisticated leadership, expertise in information
technology, assessment and evaluation capacity, communications and PR capacity,
senior management capacity) and a more entrepreneurial mindset.

21
Exhibit I
METRO Strategic Planning Committee
Board
Heike Kordish, President; Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
Neil Robert Grabois
Hal F. Higginbotham, Treasurer
Milan Hughston
Norman J. Jacknis, Vice President
Jeffery Olson, Secretary
Patricia C. Skarulis
Staff
Dottie Hiebing, Executive Director
Robert Schmidt, Special Projects Manager
METRO Professional Planning Group
David Badertscher, Principal Law Librarian, New York State Supreme Court, Criminal
Law Library
Ellen H. Belcher, Assistant Professor/Special Collections Librarian, John Jay College of
Criminal Justice, CUNY
Carrie Bickner-Zeldman, Director of Education Outreach, The Research Libraries, The
New York Public Library
Karen Brewer, Director & Curator, New York University School of Medicine, Frederick
L. Ehrman Medical Library
Jan Combopiano, Vice President & Chief Knowledge Officer, Catalyst
Phyllis DiBianco, Library Media Specialist, Scarsdale High School Library
Pamela Gillespie, Assistant Dean and Chief Librarian, The City College of New York
William W. Jones, ILS Librarian, New York University Library
Terry Kirchner, Director, Access Services, Columbia University
Joseph M. Komljenovich, Archivist, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Deirdre Lawrence, Principal Librarian, Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
Teresa L. McManus, Chief Librarian, Bronx Community College, CUNY
Diane Neary, Head Librarian, The Nightingale-Bamford School
Kathryn Shaughnessy, Assistant Professor, Instructional Services Librarian, St. John’s
University Library
Carol L. Sheffer, Deputy Director of Planning & Development, Queens Borough Public
Library
Sarah Warner, Cofounder & Vice President of Staffing & Business Development,
Wontawk

22
METRO Professional Advisory Council
JoAnne Sparks, Chair; Director of Library Services, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer

Center
Jan Combopiano, Director, Information Center, Catalyst
Constantia Constantinou, Library Director, SUNY Maritime College
Julie Cunningham, Chief Librarian, Mina Rees Librarian, Graduate Center, CUNY
Patricia Cutright, Director of Libraries, Pratt Institute
Diana Delgado, Information Services Librarian, Weill Cornell Medical Library
Phyllis DiBianco, Library Media Specialist, Scarsdale High School Library
Edward M. Falcone, Deputy Director, Yonkers Public Library
Stephen Francoeur, Assistant Professor/Information Services Librarian, Baruch College
Luis J. Gonzalez, Deputy Chief Librarian, Hunter College Libraries
Mary Graham, Interim Deputy Director for Public Service, Brooklyn Public Library
Mel Isaacson, Associate University Librarian for New York City, Pace University
Terry Kirchner, Director, Access Services, Columbia University Libraries
Rita Maier, Library Director, New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens
Robert McBrien, Associate Director for Collections and Services, The New York Public
Library
John P. Monahan, Director, Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES School Library
System
Steven Pisani, Head, Cataloging & Interlibrary Loan Services, Westchester Library
System
Lorna Rudder-Kilkenny, Director of Central Library, Queens Library
Linda Seckelson, Head, Reader’s Services, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ronald Sexton, Librarian/Online Researcher, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Kimberly Burke Sweetman, Head, Access Services, New York University Libraries
Stephanie Walker, Associate Librarian for Information Services, Brooklyn College
Library

23
Exhibit II
Individuals Interviewed and Focus Group Participants
Interviews (42)
Board Members (5)

Patricia L. Francy
Hal F. Higginbotham, Treasurer
Norman J. Jacknis, Vice President (by phone)
Heike Kordish, President; Chair, Strategic Planning Committee
Jeffrey Olson, Secretary
Staff (2)
Dottie Hiebing, Executive Director
Robert Schmidt, Special Projects Manager
Others (35)
Liz Bishoff, President, The Bishoff Group
Linda Braun, President, LEO: Librarians & Educators Online
Karen Brewer, Director & Curator, New York University Medical Center
Patrick Callahan, Library Director, SUNY at Purchase
Nancy Carmichael, Vice President, Washburn Partners, Inc.
Scott Corwin, Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton
Michael Crandall, Chair, Masters of Science in Information Management Program,
University of Washington
Linda Crowe, Executive Director, Golden Gateway Library Network (CALIFA)
Denise Davis, Researcher, American Library Association
Keith Fiels, Executive Director, American Library Association
Joshua Greenberg, Director of Digital Strategy and Scholarship, The New York Public
Library
Leigh Gusts, Director of Library & Research Services, Council on Foreign Relations
Barbra Higginbotham, Chief Librarian; Executive Director of Academic Information
Technologies, Brooklyn College, CUNY
Alexander Howe, Principal, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott
Curtis Kendrick, University Librarian, The City University of New York, CUNY
Jason Kramer, Executive Director, New York State Higher Education Initiative (NYSHEI)
Frederick Lane, Professor of Public Administration, Baruch College, CUNY
Sarah Long, Executive Director, North Suburban Library System
Clifford A. Lynch, Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information
Myron Menewitch, Former East Regional Research Manager, Ernst & Young; Former
Manager of Information Services, Pepsi-Cola
Kathleen M. Miller, Executive Director, Rochester Regional Library Council
James Neal, Vice President for Information Services & University Librarian, Columbia
University

24
George M. Needham, Vice President, Member Services, Online Computer Library Center
(OCLC)
Kate Nevins, Executive Director, Solinet
Martin Nisenholtz, Senior Vice President, Digital Operations, The New York Times
Company
David Penniman, Executive Director, NYLINK
Carol Sheffer, Deputy Director, Planning & Development, Queens Borough Public
Library
Kenneth Soehner, President, Art Libraries Society of North America; Watson Library
Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Marcia L. Sprules, Deputy Director, Library and Research Services, Council on Foreign
Relations
Sheila Sterling, East Coast Research and Information Resources Manager, Orrick,
Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Barbara Taranto, Director, Digital Library Program, The New York Public Library
Roy Tennant, Senior Program Manager, RLG Programs, Online Computer Library
Center (OCLC)
Michael Washburn, President, Washburn Partners, Inc.
Janet Welch, Assistant Commissioner, New York State Library
Peter Wosh, Director, Archives and Public History Program, New York University
Focus Group Participants (22)

Lou Acierno, Metropolitan College of New York
Marie Ascher, New York Medical College
Eva Babalis, Plaza College
David Badertscher, New York State Supreme Court Law Library
Francine Costello, Southern Westchester BOCES School Library System
Carol A. Feltes, The Rockefeller University
Kaura Gale, Beth Israel Medical Center
Michael W. Handis, CUNY Graduate Center
Jean Hines, Pratt Institute
Robert Kayton, ASA Institute
Terry Kirchner, Columbia University
Alan Krissof, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Judy Lee, Emisphere Technologies, Inc.
Ellen Mehling, Queens Public Library
Marilyn K. Morgan, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Ana Noriega, Laboratory Institute of Merchandising
Fenjei Ouyang, MLS Student
Sandra Sajoras, Brooklyn Public Library
Mary Saramak, Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester
Helen Tannenbaum, The HealthCare Chaplaincy
Gregory M. Wilkening, Columbia University Libraries, MLS Student
Chen Xu, MLS PhD Student

25
Appendix III
OVERVIEW OF THE CHANGING LIBRARY WORLD
METRO has engaged in this strategic planning process during a time of profound change
in the library and knowledge-management world.
As technology alters the ways in which information is created, retrieved, managed and
shared, a major metamorphosis is underway in terms of the roles that libraries play, the
manner in which libraries are perceived by various sectors of our society, and the ways in
which information management functions and is viewed. These extraordinary changes
bring great uncertainty for libraries and library organizations, including METRO.
Several issues appear to dominate the library world’s agenda at this point in time:
• Although the library continues to play an important role in connecting patrons

with quality content, the library is being increasingly disintermediated from this
process. The perception of the value libraries provide to patrons – library “brand”
– is decreasing, leaving libraries with the challenge to offer new value-added and
technologically sophisticated services to meet the new needs of its users.
• Libraries now face competition from commercial (usually Internet-based)

institutions. Of course, librarianship has not disappeared; it is now needed in
institutions that are not libraries in the traditional sense of the term, which
provides METRO with an opportunity to attract new members and customers.
• There is significant pressure for libraries to become more businesslike in their

operations, communicate their value and ROI to their stakeholders, become much
more customer-oriented through regular analysis of user needs and align their
internal structures with this user-centric mentality.
• The role of the librarian is changing. As a result, the professional development

interests and needs of current librarians are likely to grow significantly, not only
in the areas of information technology and digitization, but also in the fields of
executive and management skills; marketing, communications and outreach
capabilities; planning; and financial analysis.
• It is likely that different types of libraries will evolve in different ways. Public
and community libraries may become quite robust, with a multitude of services
aimed at meeting the needs of their communities. Research and academic
libraries may become smaller with respect to physical holdings and staff, while
assuming a more vital role in defining and supporting research agendas.
• Questions of digitization, preservation and storage of physical and digital

materials, facilities and the use of space, as well as questions of funding will
remain relevant and benefit from collective solutions. Moreover, a growing

26
proportion of most libraries’ holdings is now electronic, creating a set of

additional challenges.
It is neither possible nor appropriate to predict a certain set of future roles based on the
current activities of libraries, librarians, information specialists and knowledge-
management professionals. Understanding the professional trends, societal issues and
technological advances on the horizon is critical in order for METRO to remain relevant
and stake out a leadership position. We must be forward thinking and innovative,
providing our members with useful guidance as they re-invent themselves, reframe their
identities and communicate the value of their work to constituents, supporters and the
general public.
Out of the different efforts of many institutions will surely come a more informed
understanding of the challenges and possibilities the future is likely to bring. METRO
has a remarkable opportunity to serve as a centralized resource in the development of this
approach by managing complex interactions on a systemic level, bringing the right
players to the table, providing a set of tools and strategies for collaboration, setting
standards and protocols for interaction among the key players in the information-
management world and facilitating the creation of services that enrich and advance
libraries and library systems.
In the years to come, it seems abundantly clear that libraries of all types will increasingly
reside in the digital arena. Although libraries will share this common environment, there
is likely to be an increasing divergence in the roles, functions, areas of focus and degrees
of vigor among different library types as a result of ongoing technological advances.
• Public libraries/public library systems and community libraries will remain

important gateways for large numbers of immigrants and lower-income
individuals and families, particularly in New York City and Westchester County.
 For a large proportion of the metropolitan area’s population,2 public libraries

offer the only point of access to the digital world, placing such libraries in an
extremely important position, given the ever-increasing level of usage and
demand for such services.
 Public libraries meet a broad spectrum of needs among people of different age
groups and demographic backgrounds – providing job-search services for
individuals seeking employment opportunities; helping children learn to read
and navigate the Internet; serving as safe havens for teenagers; providing
social and community gathering places for seniors; and providing English as a
Second Language classes and Internet training to immigrant communities.
2
One-fifth of New York City’s population currently lives at or below the Federal poverty level and the
city’s population is expected to increase by more than a million in the coming decade. Recent immigrants
and/or lower income individuals will represent a sizable proportion of this growing population.

27
 Public libraries are perhaps even more vital now than when Andrew Carnegie
established them in New York City over a century ago. Their physical
presence is highly important; however, many are not particularly well located,
and resource constraints often prevent them from being open when they would
be most heavily utilized – especially in the evenings and on weekends.
• University and college academic/research libraries are faced with rapidly

increasing demand for electronic access to library resources.
 Even as these libraries confront a difficult transition from a physical presence

to a more electronic one, some users will continue to want access to their
unique holdings (some of which may never be digitized), raising important
questions about storage of, and access to, collections.
 As a result, university and college libraries may need to: (a) improve their
methods of data storage, preservation and retrieval; (b) determine how to
define and support research agendas for a new generation of researchers
(younger, more tech savvy, more demanding of convenience and highly
sophisticated services, etc.); and (c) find ways to more proactively reach out to
their communities and demonstrate their value in an increasingly Web-driven
society.
 Because they cater to undergraduate, graduate and professional students with

diverse interests and needs, campus libraries are increasingly becoming
important gathering places for collaborative study, group project work and
socializing.
 These libraries are functioning in a transitional manner, serving as the bridge

between the “traditional library” containing physical collections and the
“virtual library” containing digital collections. They almost always now
include a “Learning Commons” of open space that can be easily reconfigured
for different uses and they almost always provide (at minimum) easy access to
the Internet, email, etc.
 There is a growing instructional component to the modern undergraduate

library – teaching students how to use the collections and available
multimedia equipment and teaching faculty how to use educational
technologies and incorporate library materials in developing curricula.3
• Funding for school libraries is increasingly uncertain, though the need for them is
growing as sources of information proliferate and more complex skills are
required to navigate among these sources.
3
For example, following construction of the new library at Brooklyn College, the role of library staff has
expanded to include training faculty in the use of the library’s new equipment and resources.

28
 There is an urgent need to educate younger children on how to apply

technology to a wide variety of library-related questions (e.g., access,
evaluation of quality of information, data sharing, proper use of physical
materials, etc.). This is the contemporary version of the orientations on how
to use the library that earlier generations of school children received.
 Although the importance of this kind of training is irrefutable, it is

questionable that, given limited resources, the NYC Department of Education
will be able to provide this instruction.
 School library resources are more vulnerable to financial cuts than teaching
resources. As school library services are reduced, municipal and state leaders
may call more on academic and public libraries to partner with schools in
providing library services.
• Corporate libraries, including those within professional service firms, are largely
disappearing in their traditional form.
 Many corporate libraries are being replaced by electronic information sources.

Information specialists assist with complex searches and more specialized
needs.
 Many corporations now outsource their archives and records management.4
 Most professional service firms now expect their staff to be tech savvy. In
general, younger lawyers work on their own directly from electronic sources
to find, analyze and interpret the information they need. Although an older
generation of lawyers still depends upon the traditional law firm library, it is
likely that even these libraries will disappear over the next decade or so.
• There are serious questions about the extent to which health and medical libraries
will continue to exist in their traditional form.
 Some smaller health science libraries are disappearing due to the widespread
availability of digital information from other sources.
 Hospital libraries are facing an increased emphasis on providing on-demand,

“just in time” information. For example, in an effort to deliver services to
users in a more convenient and proactive manner, some medical libraries are
now delivering information to doctors on their PDAs.
• Specialized and smaller nonprofit libraries face a highly uncertain future.
4
Similarly, ancestry.com has digitized and thereby eliminated the need for census archives.

29
 Those that are better funded, have well-defined user populations, provide
excellent service and (in some cases) have special collections are likely to be
survive the current sea change unscathed.
 Some of these libraries, however, may not survive if they: (1) lack the
resources to keep pace with the ever-advancing technology; (2) are unable to
provide relevant services to their users; and/or (3) lack the distinguishing
characteristics (such as special collections, archival capabilities, etc.) to ensure
that their services and resources are valued, utilized and supported.
Several other trends and issues are likely to have a significant impact on METRO and its
members, regardless of library type.
Digitization
• While the rush to digitize will undoubtedly continue for some time and increasing
amounts of new material will be produced in digital form, it is unlikely that
everything will ultimately be digitized. In any case, digitized material is likely to
be spread across multiple databases that do not “speak” to each other easily.
Facilities and the Use of Space

• The importance of physical materials for libraries other than corporate,
professional services firms and, conceivably, medical and health libraries is not
likely to diminish over the next 10 to 15 years. However, many of these libraries
will increase the amount of space dedicated to “public uses” and opt more and
more for off-site storage rather than providing additional shelf space for growing
acquisitions.
• Many libraries are paring down their collections to create more space for
collaborative work, computer terminals, multimedia work stations, and
exhibitions and activities designed to attract visitors.
Access
• Even as the digital divide decreases and access to digital technology becomes
more widespread, significant gaps will remain between those who possess the
skills to navigate cyberspace and evaluate the quality of the information obtained
there and those who lack these important skills. Public and community libraries
have an important role to play in serving the less privileged side of the digital
divide not only by providing access to technology, but by providing training and
services in Web navigation, search skills, and the evaluation of a given site’s
accuracy and trustworthiness
• Libraries will no longer be “the portal to everything” or the primary “go-to source
for information,” as the traditional library and librarian role of information
“retriever” is replaced in response to demand for alternate approaches to
accessing information, resources and knowledge. Such approaches range from

30
the traditional (helping people find the things they are looking for) to the new
(providing an understanding of the many approaches by which users can find the
things they are looking for).
• Moreover, users will increasingly determine for themselves how, when and why
to make use of library resources and capabilities. As this occurs, libraries will
need to make a major cultural adjustment in how they relate to users.
The Archival Function

• Growing digitization will make the archival function an increasingly significant
role of many libraries (and, possibly, many kinds of libraries). This in turn may
create a larger and more diverse “community” of archives, many of which are
gaining in importance as the historical records of corporate and other
organizations are turned over to them.
Metrics and Evaluation

• Many libraries have not established clear metrics with which to measure their
usage and evaluate their effectiveness in meeting the traditional and evolving
needs of their users. As their resources become more constrained, libraries will
find it increasingly important to figure out who they serve (and why) and to
determine what services to provide. Identifying meaningful metrics and
understanding how to use them will be critical to this task.
Funding
• The level of individual and institutional philanthropic support for libraries is
likely to remain stable, if not increase, over the next decade, particularly for those
institutions that are clear about their missions, have robust objectives and are
skilled at marketing and development. Libraries that make the case for their
strategic and programmatic importance are likely to benefit significantly from
private support. In all likelihood, these will be the larger, wealthier libraries with
strong programs and the smaller, highly focused ones with specific niches.
Role of the Librarian

• In light of the many challenges described above, the role of the librarian is bound
to change radically over the next decade or two.
• As a result, the professional development interests and needs of current librarians

are likely to grow significantly. This will occur partly in the areas of information
technology and digitization (a trend already quite evident) and more interestingly,
with respect to executive and management skills; marketing, communications and
outreach capabilities; and planning and financial analysis capacities.
Furthermore, it is highly likely that librarians with multiple language skills will be
in greater demand as more materials in multiple languages are published, readily
available and of interest to users.

31
• The changing role of librarians will continue to have a significant impact on

library schools, as can be seen in several emerging trends:
 Individuals with other (i.e., non-library-school) professional skills, interests

and training are assuming positions in libraries and related organizations.
 Some of the best graduates of library/information schools are now hired by

for-profit companies, which can offer more cutting-edge job opportunities and
higher salaries than most libraries are able to.
 Increasingly, traditional libraries do not offer the most interesting positions for
the best graduates of library/information schools. As libraries grapple with
what skills and positions they require to meet the information needs of 21st
century users, they will find it increasingly important to find ways to attract
and retain the “best and the brightest” graduates to their institutions.
 Some libraries are hiring young MLS graduates and expecting them to bring
change to their libraries. However, without extensive experience in the library
world, adequate leadership training, authority and/or understanding of the
institution, these recent graduates are unlikely to bring about the desired
changes by their mere presence. This dynamic can result in a level of job
dissatisfaction and frustration that results in their departure from the field,
depriving our sector of talent that, if properly trained and developed, could
contribute to the library world in positive ways.
 These factors, along with the anticipated retirement of a great many library
directors and leaders over the next five years, make succession planning an
issue of paramount importance to libraries seeking to survive and thrive in a
rapidly changing environment. In this context, leadership development
programs such as those currently offered by METRO, are perhaps more
valuable and vital than ever before.

METRO Strategic Plan 2009

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Metropolitan New York Library Council

STRATEGIC PLAN 2009-2014

Mission, Vision and Core Values 4

I. Be a Recognized Leader in the Library and Knowledge-Management

II. Provide Our Members with Outstanding and Innovative Services

III. Expand and Enrich Our Membership

IV. Strengthen Our Organizational and Management Capabilities

V. Ensure Our Long-Term Financial Health

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

MISSION, VISION AND CORE VALUES

• Be future-oriented and wide-ranging in our orientation by looking beyond the

• Advance the standing of libraries and other providers of knowledge management

• Provide outstanding professional development, strategic planning and other

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

• Collaboration – We believe that problem-solving is enhanced by eliciting diverse

• Innovation – We serve as a catalyst for innovation by leveraging the creative

• Accountability – We evaluate our level of success or failure based upon our

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

I. Be a Recognized Leader in the Library and Knowledge-Management World

II. Provide Our Members with Outstanding and Innovative Services

III. Expand and Enrich Our Membership

IV. Strengthen Our Organizational and Management Capabilities

V. Ensure Our Long-Term Financial Health

GOAL I: Be a Recognized Leader in the Library and Knowledge-Management

Undertake continuous environmental scanning

• Establish the internal capacity to identify emerging trends, technologies, services

Establish METRO as a hub for dialogue and collaboration on critical issues

• Establish institutional and individual collaborations by linking the deep

• Reach out to cutting-edge, trans-disciplinary technology programs and researchers

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

• Commission and publish research on topics of importance to the library and

• Encourage volunteerism among individual and institutional members, urging

• Encourage member collaborations on funding proposals and solicit funding for

Strengthen strategic planning among our members

• Facilitate an open network of planning efforts by METRO members by creating a

• Develop METRO’s capability to provide its members with direct assistance in

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

• Expand existing METRO services, such as:

 Vendor discounts including vetting of vendors to ensure service quality and a

 A “peer consulting service” (including a database listing member expertise

 Assisting member institutions that experience difficulties in attracting interns

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

• Establish an ongoing process for identifying the professional development needs

• Expand leadership development programs and provide support for succession

• Identify heavy users of professional development offerings, and design

• Expand the types of formats and forums in which professional development is

• Secure funding to conduct a study on the economic and social impact of

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

• Continue METRO’s energetic collaboration with other library associations and

GOAL III: Expand and Enrich Our Membership

Diversify our membership

• Develop a new-member recruitment effort focused on individuals and groups

• Expand efforts, through myMETRO, to promote the value of individual METRO

• Increase the direct involvement of library executive leaders in METRO activities

• Seek more members from under-represented types of libraries and knowledge-

Improve the systematic assessment of member needs

• Strengthen METRO’s capacity for systematic data collection on the usage of

METROPOLITAN NEW YORK LIBRARY COUNCIL

GOAL IV: Strengthen Our Organizational and Management Capabilities

Strengthen our executive and program team

• Create a senior management team that ensures coordination and collaboration

• Increase the visibility of our executive leadership in the information-management

• Build internal staff capacity in such areas as media and communications,