Project Management Fundamentals for Librarians

Librarians often have to lead projects with no formal project management training. This course, led by PMP-certified librarians, will help you gain project management skills from a library perspective so that you can plan and manage projects with confidence and efficiency. You will also have the opportunity to participate in an asynchronous workshop with expert feedback to practice applying new skills to your library.

After you attend this interactive online course and workshop, you’ll be able to:

Understand the intersections of project management and librarianship
Understand and have tools for the main two project management methods
Create and follow a realistic work plan
Manage personnel and team dynamics within projects
Conduct a risk assessment and manage your project accordingly
Track budgets and deliverables clearly and efficiently
Work within institutional constraints and guidelines
Report on project progress with confidence and clear metrics

Who should take this course: Any librarian whose role involves planning and completing mid- to large-scale projects, including program development, community outreach, children’s and adult services, and more. Whether you work in a school, public, academic library or elsewhere, this course will help you plan, track, and evaluate any project and streamline a program’s progress and success.

Register before September 21 to receive our Advance rate!

See what a past participant had to say:

"The course was very interactive and informative, and my new knowledge of project management methodologies have afforded me the mechanism to deliver efficient and improved project results" Debbie Brathwaite, Academic Librarian

Course Program

Week 1 Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Project Management 101 for Your Library

Increasingly, librarians are embracing project management to guide their work. This session will teach you the foundations of what project management is and how to get started when you’re also juggling many other work responsibilities.

Week 1 Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Foundational Methods for Library Project Management

There are different ways to approach project management in your library. This session will cover the basics of the agile and waterfall methods of project management so that you leave with an understanding of available methods and what might work best for your unique organization and context.

Week 2 Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Engaging Your Team to Execute Projects

A large part of project management includes supporting and working with all the people involved on your team. This session will teach you practical tips for how to manage and lead teams and stakeholders, how to conduct efficient and effective meetings, how to handle problems that arise, and best practices for clear and compassionate communication.

Week 2 Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Where Do I Begin? How to Initiate Projects

Initiating a project encompasses the processes that outline a new project or a new phase of a current project by obtaining authorization to begin work. Learn how to begin a project in a sustainable way through this session that will teach you first how to understand business cases and feasibility studies, how to develop goals and objectives, and how to identify risks and reveal assumptions. From there, you will learn how to determine your deliverables and clearly outline the scope of your project.

Week 3 Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Set Yourself Up for Success: How to Plan Your Projects

Planning a project includes outlining the processes related to figuring out what you will do and how you will do it. This phase establishes the scope of the project, refines goals and objectives, and defines the course of action for the project. The time devoted to project planning pays major dividends later as you are executing and monitoring time, cost, and quality. This session will teach you how to: kick off your project, develop a structure to break down your work, define your work sequence, schedule your project realistically, and determine and secure your needed resources.

Week 3 Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Maintaining Progress Pt. 1: Monitoring and Controlling Projects

This phase is involved with monitoring project progress, managing change and risk, and communicating project status. Project managers will ensure a project is performing well by using appropriate tools and techniques; managing changes to the project scope, schedule, and costs; and communicating project status to stakeholders.

Week 4 Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Maintaining Progress Pt. 2: Monitoring and Controlling Project

This session will be a continuation of last week’s monitoring and controlling projects session. This is the heart of project management, and it can be a lot to digest. Together, these sessions will ensure you leave knowing how to establish a communication plan, document a project and track its progress, manage quality control and changes, and control the project to meet your goals.

Week 4 Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Now What? Project Reflection and Closure

Ensuring you have a process in place to complete your project is just as important as your process for starting. Typical closing actions include finishing all project activities, archiving documents, obtaining acceptance for deliverables, and communicating project closure. This session will teach you how to close your contracts, conduct performance reviews, and manage transitions. You will learn how to reflect on the lessons you learned alongside your team to build and maintain relationships and establish your desired processes for future projects.

Course Speakers