Ten years ago, few libraries had business plans. Today, more and more libraries are required to write them, or they do so because business plans help clarify goals, set reasonable time frames, articulate standards, measure performance, and announce a library's successes. Chock-full of templates, worksheets, case studies, and samples from a wide variety of libraries, big and small, this how-to guide will help you create your business plan quickly and efficiently, saving you time, money, and frustration. One of the forerunners in library business plan development and a popular workshop leader, Harriman guides you through every step of the process, beginning with the whys and wherefores of writing a plan and the function of each component--from the cover page to the appendix and everything in-between. Thirty worksheets will help you pull your plan together, one component at a time. More than twenty sample plans from academic, public, medical, and special libraries worldwide represent best practices. What's more, all of the templates, worksheets, and samples are reproduced on a companion CD-ROM so you can get started now. This is the only reference you need to take your business plan from concept to completion efficiently, effectively, and without reinventing the wheel.

This book brings together international experience of business planning for digital libraries: the business case, planning processes, costs and benefits, practice and standards, and comparison with the traditional library. Although there is a vast literature already on other aspects of digital libraries, business planning is a subject that until now has not been systematically integrated in a book. Digital libraries are being created not only by traditional libraries but also by museums, archives, media organizations, and any institution concerned with managing scientific and cultural information. Business Planning for Digital Libraries is designed for practitioners in the cultural and scientific sectors, for students in information sciences and cultural management, and in particular for people engaged in managing digital libraries and repositories, in electronic publishing and e-learning, and in teaching and studying in these fields.

Judging by all the hoopla surrounding business plans, you'd think the only things standing between would-be entrepreneurs and spectacular success are glossy five-color charts, bundles of meticulous-looking spreadsheets, and decades of month-by-month financial projections. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, often the more elaborately crafted a business plan, the more likely the venture is to flop. Why? Most plans waste too much ink on numbers and devote too little to information that really matters to investors. The result? Investors discount them. In How to Write a Great Business Plan, William A. Sahlman shows how to avoid this all-too-common mistake by ensuring that your plan assesses the factors critical to every new venture: The people—the individuals launching and leading the venture and outside parties providing key services or important resources The opportunity—what the business will sell and to whom, and whether the venture can grow and how fast The context—the regulatory environment, interest rates, demographic trends, and other forces shaping the venture's fate Risk and reward—what can go wrong and right, and how the entrepreneurial team will respond Timely in this age of innovation, How to Write a Great Business Plan helps you give your new venture the best possible chances for success.

In these challenging times, libraries face fierce competition for customers and funding. Creating and implementing a marketing plan can help libraries make a compelling case and address both issues—attracting funding and customers by focusing on specific needs. But where and how do you start?

Creating a financing proposal, describing the business’s operations and goals, forecasting markets and sales, creating marketing and operating plans, obtaining financing from primary and secondary sources, and much more. This new edition also features a list of names and addresses of business and library resources, as well as web site addresses that are especially useful to small business owners. Titles in Barron's Business Library series are currently being revised and updated, and re-set in an attractive new paperback format. They are written especially for men and women starting a company or managing a small-to-medium-size business. Emphasis is on practical problem solving, and examples cited in these books are based on realistic business situations.

Covering all the issues in producing a business plan, this text also includes a full glossary, case histories, and a detailed section on the key issue of using internal business plans.