To date, there are no more libraries in the country that would not create a variety of projects, would not take part in a variety of competitions, because it is the project activities of the library that improve the financial condition of the institution and enhance its role in the area. Thus, the quality of services is improved, and readers are satisfied. The design activity of libraries allows you to find your own image and make it much better. So new perspectives appear in the work.
What are the projects
The nature and goals of the project can be completely different. For example, a pilot project. This is the first, trial phase of implementation, which will make sure that the selected system of actions is effective and easily applicable. At the same time, the entire working group is trained from the staff involved in the project. The forms and methods of project activities of the library, the need for configuration of the work system, the plan of organizational and technical measures are determined. All this gives a pilot project at the first stage of implementation. Costs are significantly reduced, and at the same time, the full-scale implementation of the project is accelerated. The timing of the pilot project is limited to thirty days.
The information project is prepared purely according to the wishes and needs of users. The innovative and design activities of libraries include projects based on significant changes, changes in familiar formats, the use of modern technologies and innovations. Innovative projects always attract a lot of user attention. The marketing project is designed for the broadest possible communication with the public in a given area, and this connection should be mutual. A strategic project is a long-term activity with distant prospects. The organizational project is always aimed at a more complex level. For example, people come together to solve very complex problems and develop a project much more voluminous.
A business or partnership project is based on an agreement between individuals and legal entities, where the rights and obligations are absolutely equal. The economic project is drawn up in a long-term form, where the priority tasks of the library are solved. Terms, however, in this type of project are always set accurately. Educational projects are most often used in the design activities of children's libraries, since the directions here can only be teaching, improving skills, knowledge, general education. A social project is usually intended for one category of people and is aimed at helping improve their lives.
The cultural and leisure project is very popular everywhere; in any rural library, project activities are based on this particular form of work. Here the library acts as a leisure center, such events are usually very spectacular: these are music and literary evenings, theatrical performances, presentations, festivals, public holidays, creative evenings, various exhibitions. The professional development project is implemented within the staff team and is aimed at improving and improving the special skills of library workers.
Mega and monoprojects
There are unusually many classifications of projects. You can separately consider them in scale and divide them into international, interstate, regional and interregional, national, sectoral and intersectoral, departmental, corporate, as well as projects implemented in one library. The latter can be called a monoproject, but there are also multiprojects - implementation takes place in several libraries, and megaprojects are a very wide, at least regional project.
There is no single definition of the concept of "megaproject" in domestic publications. However, even the program and project activities of rural libraries are sometimes involved in specialized integrated programs with a common goal and many heterogeneous projects that are closely related to each other, implemented at various levels of government. At the regional level, the mega-project involves both multiprojects and monoprojects, most often associated with the development of the cultural environment - the library sphere, theaters, museums, leisure centers. But the main condition: all projects must be united by a common goal, allocated material and financial resources, as well as the timing of implementation.
Megaprojects are always developed at the highest levels of government - at the interstate, state, republican, or at the regional or regional level. They are always expensive, time-consuming, with long implementation, with the involvement of remote areas with underdeveloped infrastructure. But they always influence the cultural and social environment of a whole region or even a country.
Special management and coordination methods, careful preparation are needed here. An example of the program and project activities of mega-scale libraries is the holding in 1998 of the Pushkin Library event, initiated by the Soros Foundation, which was held on an extremely large scale, lasted three years, and only the first of all sold $ 20 million. Participated in the megaproject of the library on the territory of 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Project idea
Any project is always a whole range of actions that are aimed at identifying and solving a particular problem. And each problem has its origins and a final solution. Therefore, the achievement of the final result in the design activities of libraries is always present. The idea of a project is necessarily socially significant, even if the project itself is small and modest, its results will certainly be useful and necessary for a certain part of the population. Library design activities are always aimed at a specific result. This can be any concept or service that is completed in its composition and properties, as provided for in the project.
Why do libraries need projects? This is, above all, a non-profit activity, but it is important in that it works to change the situation in ensuring access to the most high-quality, complete, effective information of all kinds - both for targeted readership groups and for the local community in its widest possible scope. The most popular is the program-design activity of libraries. It is usually considered that joint projects are most effective when they cooperate with other libraries, cultural or information institutions, with local authorities, as well as with non-profit organizations. This, of course, is true, but this does not mean at all that the library cannot successfully carry out program and project activities independently.
Project Work Phases
When a project is implemented, new services always arise - social, cultural, informational, educational, new opportunities open up, even new structures appear. Long before compiling a report on the program and project activities of the library, the relevance of such events becomes clear. Each project has the same properties from among the main ones. This time limit is from the moment the project starts until the problem is completely resolved, that is, the end of work, when the completion of the result is indicated in the solution to the thoroughly structured problem indicated in the project.
Below, it will be specifically shown how a report is written on the program and project activities of the library as a whole, and as a separate project in particular. When implementing any project, a certain amount of resources will be required to ensure the achievement of the goal. The phases of work on a library project can be described as follows: first, a concept is developed, then it is implemented, and then completed. Inspiration can be found by looking at other already developed projects. Project activities in the library always begin with this. And there will always be your own idea. In the initial phase, primary data are collected and analyzed, problem situations that need to be changed are identified. Then goals are set, tasks are set, basic requirements and necessary resources of time and resources are indicated.
After this, the project environment, the selection of participants are analyzed, risks are determined. In the process, all possible ways to solve this problem are determined and the optimal one is chosen. All successfully developed projects in the design activities of the library begin that way. The most interesting of the proposals for solving the indicated problem is accepted. And with the finished concept, you can begin the search for finance. There are not many organizations ready to finance libraries, but you can still find them. An application for financing is being drawn up.
Idea, goal, tasks
First of all, it is necessary to determine the main idea of the project: which user groups need its implementation, does the project idea meet the needs and requirements of the target audience, as well as the current situation, why this need could arise and if this library can solve these problems. Here it is necessary to correlate the requirements: project activities in the school library are significantly different from the university ones. The idea needs to be confirmed with concrete data, expert assessments, real statistics, user requests, publications in the press and the like.
The greatest difficulties arise in the formulation of goals and objectives. The goal, as usual, is the long-term result, the final product, exactly what causes the need for the implementation of the project, that is - these are so far general statements, quantitatively and qualitatively not confirmed by anything. The formula for the desired result. Successful examples of library design activities show that the long-term nature of the result does not prevent the creators from answering the question “why?”. Tasks are usually easier to manage, faster and easier, because they are closely related to the problem being solved, they are always concrete and give intermediate project results up to the final ones, reflect changes in the situation - quantitative and qualitative, and most importantly - they always have an action.
That is why it is necessary to set tasks that are capacious, accurate in terms of conditions. When a decision says: “improve this” or “increase this”, the task itself will not be completely solved, because a specific result is not indicated. The project activity report in the library should not contain such vague language. Here we need clear verbs: "change to this", "combine this and that," "create this" and so on. You can test yourself with questions when formulating the problem. For example: is there an exact deadline in this task, are everywhere “what” and “how” replace “why” and “why”, is it possible to check and measure the result of solving this problem, is this task at all feasible, does everyone understand the conditions of this task, will the solution to this problem become more weighty in terms of results than the goal itself?
Development phase
The content of the development phase is to study all the main components that are contained in the project, and to fully prepare it for implementation. Firstly, it is now necessary to appoint a project manager and form a team. Secondly, to develop the project structure, resources, identify the main work and determine the final result of each stage.
Schedules, work schedules are drawn up, security is being considered - the budget and budget of the project, control and management technologies are determined, and possible risks are calculated. Finally, at this stage, a contract for financing the project is concluded. All this structural planning should enter the development phase.
The creators of the project at the moment should already be absolutely clear which particular measures are necessary to carry out in order to achieve the intended results, both intermediate and final. At this stage, it is already clearly defined what exactly will be done, who will carry out the planned actions, how he will do it, when it will happen, what is the sequence of actions, what resources all this will require.
Implementation phase
Now it is necessary to proceed to the main work of the project, which, as each action is taken, the manager will constantly monitor them. To do this, he will need detailed monitoring regarding the collection of all evidence in order to compare it with the plans. Upon completion of the project, all the final goals should be achieved, which are already indicated in the first stages of work. Be sure to summarize and the project is closed.
At the stage of project implementation, the main content of work usually consists in organizing an advertising company, in conducting presentations, after which the project is put into operation. Methodological materials, publications in the media are being developed. The result of the project is evaluated, the results are summarized and then the reporting part follows.
Reports are prepared both informative and financial (for those organizations that were sponsors). The project is being closed, sometimes solemnly. The best project is one that never ends in the form of the benefit that it has brought. In this case, the results are sustainable, and the experience gained allows us to share it with other organizations and libraries.
Project documentation
The design of the project in the documents should look something like this:
1. On the title page - the name of the project, its authors and the applicant organization.
2. The introductory part with a brief description of the project - no more than five sentences, which outline the statement and description of the problem for which the project was created, further convincing evidence of the need and justification of the relevance of the project (many slightly exaggerate this significance, and rightly so).
3. The purpose of the project and the final result after its implementation are indicated.
4. Lines are built and ways to solve them.
5. Detailed information about the project participants. About the project manager. About the performers. About partners.
6. The general content of the project with a list of activities necessary to solve each problem. It is convenient to use tables and graphs with the dates of events and indicating the responsible persons.
7. Cost estimate - project budget.
8. All about the expected results.
9. On the prospects for development based on the results of the project.
Afterword
Not only precise, but also emotional components can be included here: project implementation activities always organize the team, discipline, mutual understanding appears when common goals and objectives are pursued, as well as mutual assistance, the results of the work of the whole team are clearly visible, and therefore this creative process attracts employees without any coercion, as well as visitors to the library and other residents of the area.
It is necessary to write about the fact that the project work is full of joy and words of gratitude, it contributes not only to the preservation, but also to the prosperity of each library, thus attracting the attention of authorities and business structures, various organizations, associations and the general public.
Legislation and new rules
In recent decades, many social and economic changes have occurred in our country. It should be noted that the situation has not yet fully settled. FZ-131 on local self-government was adopted, for example, which greatly complicated the life and work of libraries. Nevertheless, other approaches to managing the current situation are being developed.
And project development is one of the most effective ways to direct library work in a modern direction. So far, these techniques have not been fully developed and often have a spontaneous character, however, in these cases they show a high effect, even if the library is limited to the implementation of only certain elements of this direction.
The planned distribution system is already a thing of the past, legal regulation is also, the management is decentralized. All these changes cannot but affect the psychology of people, including library workers. The only thing that comes to the rescue is computer technology, which has made a sharp leap in development in recent times. This is invaluable in the design activities of any library - urban, rural, and children’s.