THE ALA PLANNING PROCESS: THE SHEFFIELD EXPERIENCE

Probably few members of the library profession in Britain will know of a project carried out in late 1978 and the first half of 1979 to test the applicability of the ALA Planning Process for Public Libraries to libraries in the UK. Indeed, many outside the US may not be aware that any such process existed. Briefly, it was developed for the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association, by Vernon E. Palmour, Marcia C. Bellassai and Nancy V. DeWath in 1977 and 1978 and subsequently published as a do‐it‐yourself manual. The Process represents a new approach to the setting of public library standards leading away from national input‐based standards towards the development of locally appropriate goals and objectives.