The Purpose-Based Library: Finding Your Path to Survival, Success, and Growth

by John J. Huber, Steven V. Potter

In the years since John Huber’s trailblazing Lean Library Management was published, budget pressures on libraries have only increased. Yet libraries who have adopted his strategies have turned conventional management thinking—that if budgets are reduced, customer service suffers—on its head. These libraries have proven that by streamlining and improving customer services, they can eliminate wasteful activities and bring down costs. In The Purpose-Based Library, Huber and seasoned public library administrator Potter build on insight gleaned from decades of experience to demonstrate how libraries can create real growth opportunities through concentrating on their true mission and purpose, and without spending a lot more money. With a focus on putting ideas into action, they point the way towardsNew ways to think about metricsReexamining customer self-driven servicesEffectively leveraging the considerable footprint of librariesIdentifying and assessing community needs and realigning library services accordinglyActively encouraging community fundraisingOffering cutting-edge services and programsPacked with boots-on-the-ground commentary, this book presents strategies to help libraries survive and succeed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Library Science, Unfinished, Librarianship

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Meagan Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reminder of how to move a library into the future with a 100-year purpose of sustainable community involvement without too much mission-creep.

Lean-library management, community pull marketing, separating a library into centers of engagement instead of Dewey Decimal sections, and solving your communities hierarchy of needs.

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Targeted library type: public

If nothing else, this is an interesting read in a kind of futuristic, slightly pie-in-the-sky conceptualization of libraries, good food for radical thought. Despite being published in 2015, nothing outrageously pinged the "out of date" radar. I don't think I'd say their concept has come to pass yet in any major way, though I do know a lot that service-to-community angle is something of a hot topic, e.g. the number of urban public library staff trained to administer Narcan or the debate over how much of a social worker librarians ought to be. (I, in my academic ivory tower, am firmly on the side of "they shouldn't" and that it's mission creep. Hire actual social workers. Empower other civic institutions. All for that.)

Anyway.

This reminded me heavily of the training I did with Harwood Institute Public Innovators Lab -- the very concept of hosting community conversations about what kind of community (not library, but community) we want, then finding ways for the library to facilitate and support that. Library as connector, library as place the community comes together to do things and talk. All well and good!

The authors couldn't quite sell me on a lot of their ideas, however -- they'd get close but couldn't seal the deal. (Aside from the fact that the book is cemented in the public library mode; not always a dealbreaker, but it is a very different library type.) I like the underlying premise but just couldn't buy the examples given.

E.g.,

- Library goes lean, eliminates wasted time and effort, refocus staff on more meaningful duties. Excellent, yes. They seem very optimistic that librarians are natural data analysts, however, without any other specialized training. They could be, sure... but also the kind of librarian that likes to do storytime is maybe not the kind that can -- or WANTS -- to do this back end, dull, data work, even for good cause. I myself do a lot of data work, and I KNOW I'm barely touching the tip of the iceberg. Am I capable? Sure. Is it a related field? Yes. But that's basically an entire career change. They acknowledged you don't want to pull staff away from where they can meaningfully engage with patrons in doing all this, but...

- Libraries working with indie publishers both to bolster the authors in their communities and to dodge harsh publisher licensing terms. Their library seems to have made a go with the wonderfully-named Woodneath Story Center (which I was surprised to find is indeed active and not just a pilot that failed since the book was published; touché, authors) or a library that decided to host their own ebook server. Fleeting acknowledgment that maybe this is feasible for everyone or that good content can be a bit thin in this arena... Those are big deals! Huge deals. And this is a spot where I didn't think the optimism aged well, as we look at Netflix's struggle to control their licensed content and steady erosion of relevance now.

- Some, many of the ideas were extrapolations of current library services. I agree with the basic thesis that libraries can't just sit around waiting for people to come get information in this age of the internet, but -- despite their nods to "oh no, not service creep/mission creep" -- some of them did, to me, felt mission creepy. Not just some basic literacy or computer courses or resume help -- lets explore becoming job centers. Sponsoring people for 4-week internships at companies! Certifying people in things! I don't know, y'all. Major mixed feelings.


See also: The Atlas of New Librarianship

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huber made a name for himself with his book on lean management. As the name implies, lean management means cutting waste. He is a bit more positive than me. He might call it stream-lining. And he spends book space arguing that as a consultant on lean management, his job is not to cut jobs. Rather, his job is about savings and reallocating resources. In this book he partners with a library administrator who utilized Huber's services to improve their library. Instead of making a case study of Steven Potter's Mid-Continent Public Library in Missouri, Huber (and Potter) present some vague philosophies on the future of librarianship. Huber does examine the future of libraries through a unique lens that introduces some novel thoughts.

All of Huber's examples are set in a public library. His arguments are directed towards public libraries. He does not mention academic or special libraries. However, his suggestions could be twisted to make them applicable to any library. I am not a fan of lean management. However, I acknowledge that many government-funded institutions institutionalize waste and therefore need cleaning. Huber is optimistic and very positive in his writing. His style can easily disarm even the staunchest conservatives.

The purpose-based library is centered on Huber adapting Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs into a hierarchy of community needs. The crux of the book is for the library to identify the weaknesses in this new hierarchy and determine how they can improve those needs. The result makes the library more a social service with programs and missions directed a specific demographics rather than everyone. Adult literacy is weak? Make more adult reading programs. Childhood literacy is weak? Make more children's reading programs. Adult socialization is weak, bring more computers to the needy.

The logical result of this purpose-based librarianship is to make the library more political in nature. He recognizes this fact and spends considerable time and space arguing that libraries should avoid becoming political. Then he ends the book with a chapter on environmental sustainability. I suspect that even he sees the pitfall with the book's strategy. Quite the reverse, directing resources for programs to benefit minorities and political hot potatoes seems like making things more difficult for libraries.

However, looking at mission statements through the lens of Huber's Hierarchy of Community Needs has the potential to benefit any library. A library does not need to focus on the weakest needs. It can also strengthen and reinforce other needs. Mazlow sought self actualization. Huber places philanthropy at the apex of his pyramid.

I also like the idea of Huber publicly displaying metrics when measuring specific goals and outcomes. He is correct when he says that 'if you don't measure it, it must not be important.' A large part of his book is motivating library employees to share the library's success. Dashboard metrics give them concrete numbers and a good ice breaker.

Overall, there are some good ideas in the book. Readers should ponder the message and consider the pros and cons of following Huber's advice. Huber is right that libraries are frequently under attack and need to prove a return on investment. I am unconvinced that lean management and Huber's Hierarchy of Needs are the best formulas to solve the funding dilemma; but they offer an interesting start to the discussion, and some benefit is possible in their implementation.

[Theresa Jehlik · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Huber, a lean business expert, and Steven Potter, a library director team up to write about their model that has libraries focusing less on being a task-driven entity and more on the purpose or "why" of libraries' relevance in today's society. Huber's Hierarchy of Community Needs is designed to help libraries decide where they should be focusing their efforts -- Basic, Psychological, and/or Fulfillment Needs. They are also strong proponents of community metrics because if "you don't measure it, it isn't important". Case studies are used to illustrate various points. Charts abound that illustrate how a library can display its community's metrics dashboard. My only quibble with the book is that it has a checklist feel without recognizing that accomplishing many of these goals involves working with people which means using lots and lots of communication and emotional intelligence.

[Ellen]

I was delighted to see that my hometown library (Carrollton, Texas), was the initial case study in this book. However, after skimming, I decided that this was not a particularly helpful book for my situation, and I should probably read Huber's first book, Lean Library Management: Eleven Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Services, instead.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read for any library leader or decision maker. Each chapter gives you plenty to chew on. I took tons of notes and now have a stockpile of actionable ideas to pursue. Invaluable.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of actionable ideas in the book which I appreciate. Some of the book is dated 5 years later, but still a solid guidebook for staff.