Summery of audio lecture

Summary of Lecture of Ramiro Salazar The speaker, Ramiro Salazar, the Director of the San Antonio Public Library, provided pertinent issues relative to Library Administration, particularly focusing on areas such as planning and preparing for the future, development of strategic plans, and strategic plan recommendations based on his capacity as director of the public library. Mr. Salazar initially provided a brief background of his leadership where he noted that he came from humble beginnings and had been successful in his 30 year-long career in the library administration through the assistance of mentorship. He emphasized that the San Antonio Public Library is still a crucial part of the community as more than six million people use the library per year.
In planning for the future, Mr. Salazar acknowledged that the evolution of technology necessitates anticipating for future trends. Despite the proliferation of the Internet, Mr. Salazar noted that the library remains a viable and reliable source of credible information and that as an administrator, he needs to re-invent and adapt to environmental changes, to adjust and respond as needed.
To effectively prepare for the future, Mr. Salazar indicated that there is a need for strategic planning where a blueprint for five years needs to be designed regarding library system. This plan needs to be monitored annually and revised accordingly. Further, the strategic planning process should incorporate a community needs assessment that aims to determine what the community wants and needs regarding the services that could be provided by the public library. As emphasized, there are two components of the strategic planning process: (1) using a corporate market segmentation that analyzes the target market beyond demographic factors; and (2) considering the organizational health where the needs of the staff and those of the organization are duly accounted for.
With regards to the development of plans, Mr. Salazar mentioned these important steps: (1) implement a community needs assessment; (2) work on running a market segmentation; (3) review best practices from all libraries worldwide; (4) consider key stakeholders; (5) include opportunities for staff to participate in the planning process: (6) solicit feedback; and (7) incorporate mission, vision, and values statement in the planning process.
From the strategic plan recommendations, Mr. Salazar noted that there are six focus areas that need to be considered: (1) support educational and learning opportunities; (2) help address issues in the community: (3) support workforce and economic development; (4) devise service strategies that help develop communities; (5) increase public awareness; and (6) delineate roles of the board of trustees and other support groups.
Finally, the key strategy plan recommendations were further expounded to emphasize that there is a need to know the target market through market segmentation and to tailor the strategies to be designed according to the needs of the target market. Also, there is a need to consider alternative service models; develop a means for gauging performance through standards; and there is a constant need to be adaptive and learn from the environment.
As a final note, Mr. Salazar shared his vision for a prototype digital library where the following elements are envisioned: drive thru service, 24/7 access, diverse study rooms, touch screen, cell phone booths, automated check-in, early childhood learning materials, video conferencing, WIFI, stations to download books, among others. However, there is still a need to retain traditional services since books remain the vital component of an effective library.
Work Cited
Salazar, Ramiro. Library Administration at San Antonio Public Library. 2012. Web. 18 March
2012, from