We Live in Interesting Times
Public library managers and boards are facing unprecedented challenges. The rapidly changing external environment is affecting all libraries. People turn to the Internet for answers rather than asking a librarian, social networking is rapidly overtaking Google and other search engines as the primary way people use the Internet, there has been an explosion of user-generated content, the sale of e-books is increasing daily, and more and more of the content that libraries make available is stored in off-site servers and accessed electronically.
The public library environment is more unsettled than it has been for many decades. Library managers can deal with this shifting landscape in one of two ways: they can fight to maintain the status quo or they can engage in a strategic planning process that involves the community in a discussion about what the library could and should become. Every community is unique and so is every library. An effective strategic planning process provides a framework for all of stakeholders to work together to create a shared vision of the future and a clear understanding of the library's role in helping to reach that vision. 
A library is only as good as the people who work in it. The skills, abilities, and attitudes of the people who work in your library are what make the difference between an adequate library and a great library. Ongoing training and staff development are the keys to ensuring that your staff members have the tools they need to successfully meet the changing needs of the library's users. 
Efficiency can be defined as doing a task in most streamlined manner possible. Effectiveness, on the other hand, is a measure of the results of the task and an assessment of whether the task is worth doing at all. In today's economic environment, libraries must operate in the most cost-effective way possible and that means focusing on both effectiveness and efficiency.