22 - Know yourself and your patron: Process mapping and needs assessment

Librarians, in order to survive and succeed, must be selfish in their quest for improvement, but also unselfish in their approach to recognizing the needs of their patrons. Process mapping and needs assessment, two specific tools, are examined in this chapter and are recommended to improve the way librarians work with, understand, and address the needs of an increasingly diverse community of patrons. Moreover, the growing demand by management and constituents for libraries to increase efficiency and demonstration value will be more easily dealt with once these practices have been instilled. We will be called to act; these tools will more fully prepare us to act wisely based upon meaningful input.