Andrew Pack

SWOT Analysis Waxhaw Public Library Strengths

Competent dedicated sta!! o! librarians who work "ery hard to help patrons meet their needs and get the most use out o! the library#s resources The new director o! the $nion County Public Library system %ina &eadows has experience as the Assistant 'irector in the Caldwell County Public Library system and the $nion County system( &eadows is a strong ad"ocate !or technology and seeks to !ind new and inno"ati"e ways to incorporate it into libraries( Strong community support !or the library !rom residents who see its "alue and want to make it better

Weaknesses
The library building is old and outdated in need o! reno"ation and expansion )udget cuts ha"e put a strain on the already limited materials the library has to o!!er making it di!!icult to ser"e all o! its patrons Additionally the library is expected to ser"e many surrounding communities such as &ineral Springs &ar"in *ackson and Weddington( The resources at the library are "astly insu!!icient to ser"e all o! these citi+ens( Lack o! digital resources and computers !or the use o! patrons Certain growing minority populations like ,ispanics are underser"ed by the library#s collections and programs

Opportunities
The Library Association o! Waxhaw runs a used bookstore to help generate !unds !or the library to build a new larger !acility that will better ser"e its many communities- more !und raising e"ents like this are needed( 'ue to the high concentration o! anti.ue stores in downtown Waxhaw the library can try to partner with them to get !undraising help( The Waxhaw Library can begin an Adopt/A/)ook program where patrons can help preser"e and restore anti.ue books donated by the stores in exchange !or a pla.ue recogni+ing their contribution( This would not only ser"e to impro"e the conditions o! the library#s books but also increase appreciation and interest in anti.ue books in the community bene!iting both the library and the anti.ue stores( They can hold e"ents on Saturdays with games and !ood where "isitors can win pri+es and donate while they are there( These types o! e"ents ha"e been success!ul at libraries be!ore and will hope!ully not only raise money but also acti"ely engage the community and help the library become a community center( 0n the past the Waxhaw Library has recei"ed the 1We the People2 grant which is a program that donates 34 books designed to help encourage young people to read classic books and explore themes in American history and culture( The works are selected in consultation with the Association !or Library Ser"ice to Children and the 5oung Adult Library Ser"ices Association( They change the list e"ery year and the donations greatly help the library to ac.uire works without !unds ha"ing to come out o! their limited bank it also helps attract children and get interest !rom schools in what the library has to o!!er( The library should continue to apply

!or this grant year a!ter year(

Threats
Some members o! Weddington and &ineral Springs want to construct their own town libraries instead o! impro"ing the existing one in Waxhaw( While this could help take some o! the load o!! o! the Waxhaw Library it would hurt its e!!orts to impro"e its !acilities and better ser"e the community as !unds would be directed towards these new buildings and away !rom the Waxhaw reno"ations( The $nion West library in 0ndian Trail about 67 minutes away has a much larger collection composed o! 89 777 items including numerous digital resources compared to Waxhaw#s 3: 777( Additionally it has double the amount o! computers !or adults and children and three more public access computers( &uch o! the taxes paid by $nion County residents go to the larger libraries in 0ndian Trail and &onroe and resources are di"erted away !rom the southwest area where Waxhaw is located despite its great population increase in the past !ew years(

Prioriti+e
The most important issue immediately !acing the Waxhaw Library is the need to upgrade its !acilities and pre"ent much needed county !unds !rom being directed away towards the construction o! se"eral smaller libraries( The issue o! creating a regional library !or Waxhaw has been debated since 877: and a decision will be made soon( The Waxhaw library needs to keep this issue in the eye o! the public and ensure that the $nion County )oard o! Commissioners appro"es the construction o! the regional !acility to create a better library !or southwestern $nion County( The system o! establishing se"eral regional libraries to ser"e larger areas has worked in $nion County !or years and

should be maintained( The desire o! some Weddington and &ar"in residents to ha"e a library in their town is understandable but se"eral town libraries will not be as bene!icial as ha"ing a !ew regional libraries( This can be seen by looking at the Waxhaw library it is a small library originally meant to ser"e only the people o! Waxhaw but is much too small to accomplish this due to the growth o! the community o"er time( Additionally residents o! surrounding communities look to Waxhaw !or their library needs since they don#t ha"e one making it essential !or the library to be upgraded and expanded as a regional library to ser"e them all( The alternati"e is building e"en more town libraries that will e"entually be outgrown by their community and insu!!icient to !ul!ill its needs( 0t is e"ident the citi+ens o! Waxhaw care deeply about their library and want to impro"e it( Thanks to the work o! the Library Association o! Waxhaw they ha"e raised ;47 777 !or the expansion o! the library and continue to raise more( This organi+ation needs to be supported and more !undraising e"ents need to take place at the Waxhaw Library to help achie"e the goal o! a new !acility( Additionally Waxhaw citi+ens need to acti"ely campaign !or the library being made a regional !acility so that taxpayer !unds do not get used to create town libraries throughout the county( The Waxhaw Library should hold e"ents that raise awareness o! this issue along with the !undraisers highlighting the bene!its a regional library would bring not only to patrons but also to the entire downtown area o! Waxhaw increasing the number o! "isitors and helping some o! the struggling businesses on &ain Street(

Suggestions !or the <uture

The library has been an important part o! the community !or years- howe"er in recent times the !acilities ha"e become too small and limited !or Waxhaw and its

surrounding communities( 0t is necessary !or the library to expand in order to accommodate the needs o! the growing community and pro"ide su!!icient help !or its patrons( The library needs more !unding in order to accomplish this goal- the main way this can be accomplished is by the Waxhaw branch becoming a large regional library( This will increase the !unds spent on the Waxhaw Library and help bring them up to the stature o! other regional libraries in $nion County like $nion West that will enable them to purchase more computers and ha"e Wi/<i 0nternet access( They will also be able to assemble a larger collection o! books to be able to o!!er more to their patrons than the limited collection they now maintain( The library currently only has a sta!! o! : which restricts the amount o! programs they can o!!er( The librarians are "ery dedicated and want to help patrons as much as they can howe"er they can only do so much( The increased !unding that would come with the regional library will enable them to hire more librarians and o!!er more programs and community outreach ser"ices( <inally the demographics o! $nion County ha"e changed signi!icantly in the past 87 years not only ha"e they seen tremendous growth but there has been a large increase in the ,ispanic population( The library could do a better =ob o! reaching out to this population- one way is to o!!er >SL programs to help nati"e Spanish speakers per!ect their >nglish( Additionally they can o!!er more Spanish language materials in the Library so they can still en=oy books in their nati"e language and teach it to their children( Technology is only going to become more and more important and the Waxhaw Library needs to in"est more in e/books and digital resources( They also need more computers to ser"e the needs o! the community since their two public access computers are simply not enough( 0n addition to buying more computers and digital resources the Waxhaw Library

should o!!er classes to help patrons learn how to use computer programs and gain digital skills that are necessary in today#s society( The Waxhaw Library has seen some tough times in the past !ew years but 0 ha"e no doubt that they will o"ercome them and continue to ser"e southwestern $nion County !or years to come(