Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Useful Tips In Selecting Library Planning Consultants

By Lucia Weeks


It is never easy to manage a facility. It requires knowledge, expertise and the appropriate attitude. A task as important as cannot be handed on just anyone. You need reliable people who can effectively manage the facility for you. The best thing to do in this situation is to hire someone you could trust.

The library planning consultants can provide you the services you are looking for. They are experts in every steps from the planning and establishing to the operation of every type of libraries, may it be digital or traditional. Most of these professionals are librarians who worked in a depository firsthand. Others were coming from different fields but gained substantial exclusive knowledge related to libraries and the information systems in general.

Although the consultant's background should be taken into consideration, you must focus more on the candidate's ability. Prior experience in the industry may give a librarian an edge, but someone exposed to a different field may contribute a fresh idea or two. A combination of both rookie and seasoned adviser is a great idea because it can brew an interesting result.

Before you start with your search, you must know your needs. Prepare a criteria to determine if a candidate is a good match or not. You must also be able to answer important questions like what responsibilities await successful candidates, is the task going to be simple or complicated and would it require more than one adviser.

This will help you identify the skills and abilities to look for in a candidate early on. In some cases, the tasks turned out to be more than what the consultant can handle, which led to unfavorable and unsatisfactory results. If you are anticipating a complex task, you might be needing more than one consultant. Each one must fit the duties and responsibilities that await.

Once the details were outlined, you may start the hiring process. List down the consultants in your area who meet your qualifications. There are several sources you can get this information from. The most reliable is the word of mouth. You can also visit the internet or check with local and national associations of librarians or the state agencies.

After gathering several names, filter your list. Contact the candidates to assess how they match the project. Provide each one with the bird's eye view on the tasks at hand, then ask them evaluation questions. Ask them what their understanding of the project is, if they are confident that they can apply their expertise on this project, what their methods for accomplishing it and can they possibly deliver within your given time frame.

This is your chance to discuss on the adviser's schedule as well. Expect the best consultants to be busy with several offers coming in. Still, a professional must allocate a fair amount of his time for the completion of his tasks. You must also talk about how you could communicate with one another to keep yourself updated on the progress status despite your busy schedules.

Finally, decide on the fee structures. Some advisers charge a standard rate for the entire length of the contract while others charge hourly. If the project is divided into different stages, you may offer to break down the payments per stage. Anticipate the need to negotiate since you must also consider the organization's finances.




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