| The purpose of this study was to investigate the status planning in small academic libraries. Although planning has been a frequent topic in library literature, little is known about what planning is actually occurring in small academic libraries. This study determined how many small academic libraries plan, the types of planning used in small academic libraries, and the perceived effectiveness of the planning in small academic libraries that do plan.;Small academic libraries were defined as libraries at institutions of higher education with 4,000 or fewer student enrollment. The researcher mailed the questionnaire, "A Characterization of Planning in Small Academic Libraries," to the directors of approximately 600 small academic libraries.;Two hundred sixty-eight directors of small academic libraries returned the survey. The responses showed that 38 libraries did not plan; 59 libraries used operational planning; 133 libraries used tactical planning; and 38 libraries used strategic planning. Using the T-test, the study determined that there was not a significant relationship between type of small academic library and level of planning (none, operational, tactical, or strategic). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) determined that there was a significant relationship among librarians' perceptions of the influence of the institution's planning on library planning, but there was not a significant difference among librarians' perceptions of the influence of the institution's accrediting agency on library planning.;Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) also showed that there was a significant difference among librarians' perceptions of the result of types of planning on changing the goals of the library. There was not a significant difference among librarians' perceptions of the result of types of planning on better use of resources, on increasing funding, on improving the image of the library, on changing policies or procedures of the library, or on improving services to faculty and staff.;Although the study found statistical significance on only two of the variables, the directors did agree that planning had a positive influence on resources, funding, image, policies, and services. |
