Connecting Marketing and Implementation Research and Library Program Development: A Case Study of the Implementation of National [U.S.] Guidelines and Standards

Abstract

The American Association of School Librarians developed a detailed plan, with more than 30 specific objectives and more than 75 target audiences, for the implementation of Information Power, the 1998 national guidelines for effective programs. Clear delineation of responsibilities at the national, state, district and school levels was a key part of the plan. Marketing research allowed the Association to increase sources of information for planning and to report that information more clearly and consistently, to reduce error and to manage the Association's marketing program more aggressively. Research from the implementation of change and effective staff development was incorporated in the training for state coordinators. Implementation is now underway with documented achievement of the early objectives.