MLA 2014: Program Logic Models

Logic models are not new, by the admission of consultant Cheryl Kessler and Marcela Sanchez of Hennepin County Library, but they can be useful for building and refining library programs and for evaluating outcomes. Kessler and Sanchez presented their experience using logic models in programming within Hennepin County in the session “Developing and Using Program Logic Models: A Case Study.” A program logic model visually displays everything related to a specific library program, from the audience to the activities to the intended outcomes. It provides structure to the planning process. A project group plans out the resources at hand and the intended audience. They determine outcomes they’d like that audience to achieve and build activities to support those outcomes. Indicators are created to measure whether the audience achieves the outcomes. Logic models help organizations to strategically plan events – to see everything they need to put into a program and to define everything their audience will get out of it. Kessler recommended the Logic Model Guidebook by Knowlton and Phillips as a practical guide to the process.