TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

JefferyBergeron,MeikeCarreira, ChristopherRathmel,AdrieneStaggs LI805,March2011

TableofContents
Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... 3 Organizational Profile ...................................................................................................... 4 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 4 The Organization .......................................................................................................... 4 Guiding Values .............................................................................................................. 5 Mission Statement......................................................................................................... 6 Preparation/Planning ....................................................................................................... 6 Library Management Team......................................................................................... 6 Planning Factors ........................................................................................................... 6 Current Reality ................................................................................................................. 7 Environmental Scan ..................................................................................................... 7 SWOT Analysis ............................................................................................................. 9 Organizational Performance...................................................................................... 10 Gap Analysis................................................................................................................ 13 New Priorities .................................................................................................................. 13 Strategic Profile........................................................................................................... 13 Future Vision............................................................................................................... 14 Strategic Initiatives ..................................................................................................... 15 Goal 1........................................................................................................................ 15 Goal 2........................................................................................................................ 15 Action Plan ...................................................................................................................... 16 Goal 1: TCPL as a Community Center.................................................................... 16 Goal 2: Outreach........................................................................................................ 19 Performance Management......................................................................................... 23 Yearly Budget.................................................................................................................. 24 Contingencies................................................................................................................... 25 Concluding Remarks ...................................................................................................... 26 References........................................................................................................................ 27 Appendix I ....................................................................................................................... 28 Organizational Chart for Tri-County Public Library ............................................ 29 Strategic Plan Timeline .............................................................................................. 30 Appendix II...................................................................................................................... 34 Axis of Access Stages of Team Development............................................................ 35 Meeting Minutes.......................................................................................................... 37

TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

ExecutiveSummary
Tri-County Public Library (TCPL) has been operating for three months. From a single location in the town of High Corner, Kansas, we serve approximately 70,000 residents in a three-county area of just over 1800 square miles. Until recently, the counties of Centerville, Leftwich, and TopGlade each operated its own public library. TCPL, a new library housed in a newly renovated, updated, and expanded space, is the product of the consolidation of resources and services from these three previous libraries. Here at the beginning of our life as an organization, we feel it appropriate to anticipate the challenges we will face and develop a strategy for meeting those challenges head-on. The first major challenge we identify is the challenge of becoming an indispensible member our three-county community. We are the first public entity to serve all three counties. As such, we feel it is our responsibility to promote and help establish a new sense of community identity for the three-county area. The second challenge we face is that of reaching out to serve every resident in the three-county area equally. Even though we operate from a single location in High Corner, in Centerville County, we want to ensure that residents of Leftwich and TopGlade counties feel strongly that we are their library. Considering the challenges, we formulated two major strategic goals, with corresponding initiatives: 1. To become the main community center for the region. i. Expand and update the young adult collection and reading area. ii. Plan and initiate a community-learning program with a wide range of classes. iii. Schedule regular guest speakers and authors based on community interests. iv. Organize and conduct a bi-annual book sale that is coordinated with local businesses and social organizations to create a county event. 2. To develop new and innovative outreach services to bring the library to those who cannot come to it. i. Increase remote access (website redesign, improve selection of electronic resources, implement chat reference services, take better advantage of social media). ii. Improve mobile/bookvan services. iii. Promote the library (coordinated marketing and branding effort). These goals are ambitious, but we believe that they are achievable. To ensure implementation, we institute a structure of continual progress monitoring for each of these initiatives. In order to remain flexible, our committee will meet every six months for an extensive examination of measures of success. During such times, we will closely reexamine our initiatives, looking for areas in which we need to adapt our strategy to meet our library's overriding goal of providing excellent library service to the residents of the tri-county area. TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 3

OrganizationalProfile
Overview
Because of a variety of factors, including dwindling budgets during tough economic times and the normal deterioration of facilities, the counties of Leftwich, TopGlade and Centerville decided to consolidate their resources and offer library services from a single location. The decision was not driven by negative factors alone. The county governments proceed with the firm belief that pooling their resources, financial and human, will provide every resident in the Tri-County region with better library materials and service than they have ever had. The library locations in Leftwich and TopGlade counties have closed their doors. The facilities of what was the Centerville County Public Library have been renovated and expanded and are now the home of TriCounty Public Library, serving a population of approximately 70,000 in the three counties of Leftwich, TopGlade and Centerville -- an area of just over 1800 square miles. Focusing on community-building and outreach, this strategic plan sets a course towards excellence in service over the next three years for an entirely new library organization.

TheOrganization
After choosing Centerville's Public Library in High Corner, Kansas as the basesite for Tri-County Public Library, renovations were made to increase and update the library's meeting room space with a new sound-system, state-of the-art projection equipment, and a new computer. The library's technological capacity was updated as well, with the installation of a completely new physical network, and the addition of 12 desktop computers. These renovations were finished four months ago. At the time of this writing, TCPL has been operating for three months. A Library Board of Directors consisting of three community members from each county (nine members in total) oversees the library. The Director reports to the Library Board. The library is organized into five main departments. Technical Services performs accounting, acquisitions, cataloging, IT services/support, and maintains the library's website (the website is directly overseen by the library's Assistant Director, in his role as director of Mobile/Remote services). Access Services is responsible for circulation, inter-library loan services, works closely with Bookmobile services, and is the reporting authority for collection development (collection development duties are shared across departments). Children/Young Adult Services is responsible for youth programming (on site and in conjunction with Mobile Services) and area collection development. Adult Services (a job search is being conducted for a librarian to head this department at the time of writing) will encompass reference services and adult programming. Given TCPL's geographical service situation, Mobile/Remote services plays a larger than usual role within the library, working closely with every department. Mobile/Remote consists of the Bookvan service and all of the library's web-based services. This department is the responsibility of the Assistant Director.

TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

Because Mobile Services plays such a major role at TCPL, there must be more cooperation across departments than would otherwise be typical. For this reason, TCPL felt the need to adopt a dual-reporting structure. The Heads of Technical, Access, and Children/YA Services all report directly to two supervisors: the Library Director and the Assistant Director in his capacity as Head of Mobile/Remote Services. There are six professional librarian positions at TCPL: Director; Assistant Director (Head of Mobile/Remote Services); Head of Technical Services; Head of Access Services; Head of Children/YA, and Head of Adult Services. TCPL employs 7 full-time paraprofessionals and 5 part-time paraprofessionals. (See appendix for Organizational Chart with reporting structures)

GuidingValues
The new board for the Tri-County area has immediately come together to form a new mandate that will serve as a guide for the creation of the strategic plan. 1. The new library will provide equal access to information to all Tri-County residents, regardless of age, sex, race, or ethnicity. All are welcome and will receive equal treatment. 2. The new library will be doing the job once performed by three covering a large geographic area. Many of the potential patrons of this library live more than 20 miles from the library; active outreach programs need to be a major priority. This will require going beyond traditional "book van" level programs to include mobile versions of normal in library adult and youth activities. If the patrons cannot make it to the library, then "We'll bring the Library to You." 3. While reaching out to the community at large, the library will be a Community Center in and of itself. It needs to be a safe place where members of all three counties can come together to share knowledge on all levels. This will begin with acting as a research and information hub, but will continue to include librarysponsored community programming as well as the use of library facilities for independent Tri-County programs. 4. In addition to being a place where information can be accessed, the library will provide instruction and training on how to access that information. Classes on the information technology and skills critical to thriving in our new and future information infrastructure will be the beginning. TCPL will seek to expand its educational program past traditional library programming to include anything that the community is interested in learning. 5. The library is here to serve the patrons of the Tri-County area, and will make customer service and professionalism a requirement of all staff, from the director to every page. While the customer might not always be "right, the needs and well being of the patron will always be our first priority. TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 5

MissionStatement
Community. Connections. Access to the information you need.

Preparation/Planning
LibraryManagementTeam
As we create our strategic plan, we want to continue emphasizing our goal of community. Each area that the newly consolidated Tri-County Public Library (TCPL) serves will be represented by people who are acquainted with Leftwich, TopGlade, and Centerville counties because they are familiar with the strengths, weaknesses, concerns, and opportunities within specific areas of each community. Both the previous director of the Centerville County Public Library, now serving as director of TCPL, along with the previous director of the Leftwich library, who has taken on the role of assistant director at TCPL, will serve on the planning committee. Additionally, the three librarians that have been retained from their individual branches will also serve on the committee under their titles as the head of technical services, the head of children's/young adult services, and the head of access services, respectively. The head of technical services will prove to be an asset to our planning process because we hope to extend our tech services and remote access. This person's advice and expertise about how to best implement and cover our newly expanded area will be beneficial. A head of adult services librarian will also be hired and serve on the committee. Major responsibilities of this position include programming and reference services, both which we are working to improve. Finally, a member of the library board will also serve on the planning team so that the concerns and ideas of the community at large can be voiced. In total the planning committee will be made up of seven members: 1 Director, 1 Assistant Director, 4 head librarians, and 1 board member.

PlanningFactors
The successful coming together of the three libraries is perhaps never an easy task to manage, but the libraries' and communities' willingness to work together indicate the high priority of success felt by all involved. The consolidation allows more funds to be distributed through a central location. This will cut back on individual libraries spending funds for the same kinds of materials, programs, etc. Additionally, money will be freed up because payments concerning property and utilities have been eliminated at the libraries that closed. The added revenue will allow the library to extend its resources, perhaps purchase new materials and equipment, and reach all corners of the community. 6

TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

The area served by the consolidated library covers an extensive distance. One of our main goals concerns reaching every corner of the community, yet we must also recognize that covering such great distances necessitates creative budgeting and transportation plans. Each individual library created a distinct organizational culture; however, all of the librarians and librarian board members were willing to consolidate. Although it may take some time before everyone has adjusted new roles, everyone is willing and excited to begin the process of serving the tri-county area from a central location. Further, the community at large enthusiastically adopted the move toward consolidation. There were a few outliers that rejected the idea. Although it is not anticipated that those who disagreed will cause major problems, their dissatisfaction could lead to issues in the future.

CurrentReality
EnvironmentalScan
A scan of the environment surrounding TopGlade, Centerville, and Leftwich counties largely influenced our decision to undertake strategic planning. Funding for library programs, services, and maintenance was experiencing severe shortages in all three counties. A survey of the situation revealed that no single library could function efficiently as an individual unit with these low levels of funding. Therefore, the three libraries have merged to create Tri-County Public Library (TCPL) that serves all three counties. TCPL has been in operation for a few months now, and we feel that a wider environmental scan of the area and the newly formed library will help provide a clear picture of factors that could be implemented, could hinder, or could improve TCPL. The merger of three individual libraries clearly factors into the environment surrounding TCPL. Although most residents of the three counties agreed with combining libraries, we need to understand that we have merged three distinct cultures. It may take TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 7

time to adjust to one another. Additionally, the large expanse that the library's service area covers means that patrons are unlikely to be familiar with one other. This makes creating community more difficult, especially since residents attend schools, churches, and other functions within their respective counties. Additionally, one factor that influenced residents' acceptance of the merger was the belief that they would receive enhanced serves from a single, larger library. As the operations of TCPL continue to expand, we need to make sure that residents are receiving better service. The community now covered by TCPL includes the counties of TopGlade, Centerville, and Leftwich. The combined population of these counties is approximately 70,000 people in an area of about 18,000 square miles. Centerville County contains the most residents at approximately 25,000 individuals. Additionally, this county is the most industrialized. TopGlade contains almost 23,500 residents, and Leftwich County holds the smallest number of inhabitants with 21, 500 residents. The definition of a rural library differs greatly dependent on the organization that defines the concept. However, the area served by TCPL is considered rural based on the definition provided by the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship stating that a town of less than 25,000 people is considered rural (as cited in Ivie 2009). The patron base for TCPL covers three separate counties, each of which meet the criteria of rural. The Library Research Center at the University of Illinois expands on this definition by qualifying rural libraries as those which serve fewer than 10,000 people and is located in a county that has either less than 150 residents per square mile or has over eighty percent of its land devoted to agriculture (as cited in Ivie 2009). While TCPL serves well over 10,000 patrons, the library does serve three counties. Additionally, fewer than four residents inhabit each square mile if the entire area of the three counties is considered. As the main hub of industry, Centerville uses the least amount of land for agriculture, but at least forty percent of its resources are devoted to farming. TopGlade and Leftwich devote sixty and eighty-three percent, respectively, of their land to agricultural uses. In his article Defining Rural for Rural Librarianship, Ivie (2009) stresses that there is no standard definition for rural. Nonetheless, TCPL meets many of the criteria the article suggests. The rural nature of the area complicates transportation and access to TCPL. Rising gas prices across the nation must also be considered as we develop strategies for reaching the scattered population. The cost of Internet access is also slightly higher compared to clearly urbanized areas, but the librarys location in Centerville keeps costs from becoming astronomical. The library's service of free public Internet access has caused many people to turn to TCPL as they seek employment. This service continues to be one of the biggest uses of the library's materials. Due to the areas large dependence on agriculture, many migrant workers populate the Tri-County area during specific growing seasons. Few of them own personal computers or have ready availability to the Internet. Many of the children in these families receive scattered education because they are migrating with the crops. TCPL would like to find a way of serving this unique population effectively TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 8

Unfortunately, limited economic income continues to complicate the goals of TCPL. Brian Hansen (2003) points out that many young adults and their families are leaving the Great Plains area. He cites experts who blame the decline on such factors as the rise of agribusiness, the lack of cultural amenities and the ousting of family-owned farms (pg. 417). Consequently, few new industries view the area as profitable for their business. Coupled with other industries that move away from the area and overseas, many people are experiencing poverty, living standards sustainably lower than most Americans, or at least living standards that are lower than what they were previously accustomed to. The merger of the three libraries, coupled with hard economic times, demands that we be both intentional and strategic as we plan the future of TCPL. In order for TCPL to be successful, we need the patrons to feel like a part of the whole community the library serves. Reality dictates that we are also very conscious of our finances. The merger of the individual libraries was due largely to economic difficulties, so we need to offer more services while also being aware of our budget.

SWOTAnalysis
Positive Internal
Strengths Enthusiastic, concerned staff. General collection is strong, because it is from all three libraries. TCPL is the primary source of information for the community. Staff is focused on improving services. Some extra revenue due to consolidation. Mobile services are running, and will be expanded.

Negative
Weaknesses Minimal staff members. Lack of organization due to the consolidation. Certain key issues are still being worked on. Programs must be developed and expanded. Collection must be weeded. YA collection is not sufficient for population Staff must adjust to new roles.

External

Opportunities TCPL has the support of the community. Services and programming will be expanded with the new system. Outreach opportunities through the new central location. Patrons feel a connection to the new library.

Threats No significant growth in the community means no new sources of revenue. Patrons must adjust to a significant amount of change. Rising gas prices mean it is difficult for some to visit the library. County budgets remain tight.

TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

OrganizationalPerformance
Since Tri-County Public Library has been operating for only three months, this assessment of organizational performance will rely on data from two separate sources: 1) Circulation and attendance numbers from the past three years from each of the three libraries that used to cover Tri-County Public Library's service area. 2) Circulation, Attendance, and Mobile Services usage numbers from Tri-County Public Library for the first three months of operation. Circulation, Attendance & Website Data from Previous Libraries 2010 Centerville Leftwich TopGlade 2009 Centerville Leftwich TopGlade 2008 Centerville Leftwich TopGlade Circulation 57,235 43,111 30,003 50,002 37,866 36,252 47,032 39,006 34,779 Attendance 42,345 26,012 19,233 44,467 29,129 23,545 39,733 26,684 29,000 WebsiteVisits N/A N/A 5,987 N/A N/A 3,391 N/A N/A N/A

Totals for Entire Tri-County Area 2010 2009 2008 Circulation 130,349 124,120 120,817 Attendance 87,590 97,141 95,417

Data for First Three Months of Tri-Countys Operation January February March Totals Circulation 12,698 9,183 9,440 31,321 Attendance 5,837 3,750 4,706 14,293 Bookvan 904 1079 1219 3202

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Current Activities: Administrative: 1. Planning/Assessment: In the process of developing a three-year strategic plan, which will be reviewed by the planning committee on a bi-annual basis. 2. Fundraising: a) In the process of developing a new community support network, comprised of members from all three counties. b) Planning a large sale of duplicate and outdated materials. c) With the director of technical services, exploring e-rate and other technology grant opportunities. 3. Public Relations: a) Embarking on marketing campaign to introduce residents of our service area to the library's new mobile services. b) Strong effort within the library to promote expanded web services. Public Services: 1. Circulation: Learning new ILS and patron self-check equipment. Training two new, part-time employees and several volunteers to work the desk and re-shelve. 2. Reference: Using a mixed model -- one staff person on desk during all hours of operation and one reference staff person roving on the floor. 3. Programs: Two children's programs per week. So far, one adult program per two weeks. Technical Services: 1. Collection development: A spot analysis of the newly consolidated collection shows the most urgent areas in need of development are Young Adult and Technology. 2. Cataloging/Acquisitions: Learning the new ILS module. Developing processes 3. IT: Training Staff on New ILS and learning new equipment.

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Mobile Services: Six days a week, full-time service to the tri-county area. Runs a fixed, weekly route, with two staff. Makes home deliveries to rural population of counties and to homebound residents in towns. Performance Targets: Administrative: 1. Planning/Assessment: The strategic plan development process will be documented in detail and evaluated by every member of the planning team. Every six months, adherence to the plan will be assessed, and possible changes suggested and evaluated. 2. Fundraising: The Library Board has set a corporate/community fundraising goal of $250,000 for the first year of operation. 3. Public Relations: a) Expect a gradual but significant increase in the usage of mobile library services by end of year one. b) Expect a gradual but significant increase in website usage for completing user tasks such as placing reserves on items, ILL Requests, and ordering from mobile services by end of year one. Public Services: 1. Reference: Train all library staff in basic reference interview skills 2. Circulation: Take advantage of functionality of new ILS and track turnaround time from "check-in" to "on-the-shelf available". Show increased performance in turnaround time. Technical Services: 1. Collection Development: Increase YA selection and Information Technology collections. 2. Cataloging/Acquisitions: Begin tracking processing/cataloging statistics to measure performance. Show increased performance. 3. IT: a) Web: Strengthen web presence by increasing numbers on established social media sites. Utilize interface-tracking software to adapt webpages on site for optimum usability. b) Begin tracking user-generated technology questions/interactions. Mobile Services: 1. Show significant increase in usage by end of year one. 2. Collaborate more effectively with circulation and optimize routes to increase delivery time of materials. 3. Partner with more local business to establish regular times the van can share location.

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GapAnalysis
Current success at Tri-County Public Library should be viewed in terms of the initial integration of the three original libraries as well as current operation and statistics of the new Tri-County Public Library during its first three months of existence. First and foremost, TCPL has successfully completed the melding of the three original libraries and begun regular operations. All basic library functions from circulation, to technical services, to reference, to basic administration are up and running successfully. Adult services have begun technical classes and juvenile services have begun their reading program. Most main personnel positions have been filled and the old and new staffs are working to develop as a team. Administratively TCPL has begun fundraising efforts, is developing e-rate plans, and started a public relations campaign to increase attendance at the new library. As an operating public library, taking the average circulation data from the original three libraries over the last three years, circulation at TCPL is slightly lower than what we would expect when combining all three counties. One of the most troubling areas is the overall attendance at the library. Gate counts are significantly lower than hoped, currently at 60% of where they should be for a three month period considering previous attendance levels over the last three years in the three original libraries. Informal polling by staff indicates that most patrons coming into the library are High Corner residents, with only sporadic attendance by members of the other two counties. In relation to the low overall attendance, TCPL is not seeing a full utilization of its facilities for public events or social activities. Classes put on by adult services and story times in the juvenile department are mainly only seeing attendance by High Corner residents. The book van service is up and running but has not received the use we want. Although the book van is capable of reaching out to all three counties every day, circulation numbers are still low due to low patron usage of the service. This seems to be partially due to issues with establishing an effective schedule with local businesses in order to reach the maximum number of patrons. Fundraising efforts have begun but have only met with modest success, raising only about $30,000 to date. Plans are under way to target larger businesses in the three counties in the hope of soliciting more sizable donations. All of these issues may only be due to the newness of the library and location (for two of the three counties), and will pick up as a greater awareness of the new situation is spread through our public relations campaign.

NewPriorities
StrategicProfile
Our mission statement and guiding values provide a clear indication of where we intend to take our library and our community. Our focus is primarily on increasing access to information, through a variety of formats, and creating a community center in the library building. Because Tri-County Public Library has only recently opened its TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 13

doors, this programming is still developing. The previous three separate libraries did not have the resources required to operate programs such as TCPL intends to operate. New technologies are constantly changing the landscape of our culture. Libraries are not immune to these changes, and must adapt with the times. Digital books and access to information via the Internet are just a couple examples of how libraries can be affected. Regardless of what specific technologies or developments change the environment, one stable factor must remain: allowing all patrons to maintain access to information and a high level of service. The impact of technology is an area the library can excel in its service programming; many residents in this community do not have access to a computer at home. The library and its staff can provide the appropriate instruction to prepare the community for dealing with technology.

FutureVision
Tri-County Public Library will become known as the place for communitybuilding, community-learning, and idea exchange for the tri-county region. Utilizing technology and growing its mobile service, Tri-County Public Library will ensure that library users in the region have more access and more understanding of library resources and services than they ever have before.

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StrategicInitiatives
As an amalgamation of the three former county libraries of Centerville, TopGlade, and Leftwich, Tri-County Public library (TCPL) has successfully begun operations as a fully functioning public library. With that hurdle passed, TCPL has sought to focus its efforts over the next three years by working toward two main goals: 1. To become the main community center for the region. 2. To develop new and innovative outreach services to bring the library to those that cannot come to it. The following strategic initiatives are designed to provide specific tasks for reaching these goals. They are strategic in that they provide specific priorities for what TCPL wants to achieve in the near future, and gives the organization a single unified plan for reaching its goals. Goal1 Goal: Tri-County Public Library will become the region's main community center. Objective: Increase attendance, circulation, participation in library sponsored programs, and use of facilities at TCPL to double the total average for the Tri-County area as measured over the last three years.

Initiative 1: Expand and update the young adult collection and reading area. Initiative 2: Plan and initiate a community learning program with a wide range of classes based on local interest. Initiative 3: Schedule regular guest speakers and authors based on community interests. Initiative 4: Organize and conduct a bi-annual book sale that is coordinated with local businesses and social organizations to create a county event.

Goal2 Goal: Broaden outreach within the TCPL community. Objective: Increase service usage of patrons who are located further away from the physical library by fifty percent. This will be measured by taking a poll at the beginning of the project. Additional polls will be taken in increments to determine any increase in TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 15

usage of patrons from a distance. Some initiatives can also be measured simply by a tally of the people present. Initiative 1: Increase remote access Initiative 2: Continue to improve our mobile services Initiative 3: Begin a new marketing and re-branding campaign to increase community awareness of available resources and make TCPL a recognizable entity.

ActionPlan
Goal1:TCPLasaCommunityCenter
Initiative 1: Expand and update the young adult collection and reading area. Responsibility: Collaboration between technical services, collection development, and young adult services. Action Steps: Collection development will coordinate with YA services to identify specific gaps in the YA collection. Collection development will plan an ordering program for the next three years to get the missing materials. Technical services will place emphasis on immediate processing of newly acquired YA materials to ensure the fastest turnover into circulation. YA staff will plan a new YA area layout to accommodate the expanded collection while keeping a youth friendly reading/activity area. YA staff will advertise within the YA area about the expanded resources and prepare marketing material to be included in the marketing campaign. Timeline: Initial planning for this project and the reorganization of the YA area will take place over approximately 6 months in the first year of the plan. From that point through the remaining two and half years of the plan, collection development will work to acquire the relevant materials. Evaluation: A bi-annual review of the progress made will take place every April and October. Collection development and tech services will submit a report on the state of the YA collection, and Youth services will discuss patron use and satisfaction with the collection.

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Measureable Outcomes: Increase in the YA collection up to a standard comparable to other county libraries. Increase in youth use of the YA section. Increase in YA material circulation. Initiative 2: Plan and initiate a community-learning program with a wide range of classes based on local interests. Responsibility: Collaboration between Programming Librarian, adult services, the outreach program, and elements from all other departments of the library as instructors. Action Steps: Create and present an initial funding request to the Board of Trustees and Friends of the Library. Hire a Programming Librarian whose main focus is on running the communitylearning program. Consult with the Salina Public Library on the implementation and maintenance of their Community Learning and Skill Sharing (CLASS) program (Brack & McKenzie, 2007) Conduct a survey of library patrons in-library, through the outreach program, and through the web site (Survey Monkey) on what sort of continuing education opportunities they would be interested in. Survey library staff and members of the community at large for expertise in any hobby or skill that the public might like to learn, and solicit volunteer instructors for a small course stipend. Develop a semester plan and a catalog of courses with price list and distribute it at TCPL and through the marketing and out reach program. Timeline: The initial planning, research, surveys, and budget proposals will take place over the first year of the plan. By fall of the second year a fully functioning class schedule will be developed and implemented. The cycle of running the current semester classes while planning for the next semester will continue through the rest of the three-year plan. Evaluation: A bi-annual review of the progress made will take place every April and October. Exit surveys will be given at the end of each course. Student and instructor feedback on specific courses and the program in general will be examined, along with total enrollment numbers and the budget. Measureable Outcomes: Successful hiring of a programming librarian Creation of a catalog of courses based on community interests with committed instructors. TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 17

Enrollment in all planned courses. Positive patron feedback in end of semester class surveys

Initiative 3: Schedule regular guest speakers and authors based on community interests. Responsibility: Programming Librarian and Adult services Action Steps: Create and present an initial funding request to the Board of Trustees and Friends of the Library. Survey community through in-library, outreach, and Survey Monkey on potential speakers and topics. Contact speakers and create a schedule coordinated with the community-learning program. Timeline: Initial surveys and planning will take place over a 6-month period starting in September of the first year. Regular bi-weekly programming will begin in February of the first year and continue regularly according to schedule through the rest of the plan. An annual patron survey will be conducted. Evaluation: A bi-annual review of the progress made will take place every April and October. Adult services will discuss patron feedback and the progress of the program. Annual survey results concerning desired programming will also be discussed and applied toward future scheduling of speakers. Measureable Outcomes: Regular schedule of speakers Increase in attendance Positive reviews by patron attendees Initiative 4: Organize and conduct a bi-annual book sale that is coordinated with local businesses and social organizations to create a Tri- county event. Responsibility: Collaboration between technical services, the Friends of the Library, and the Marketing Committee. Action Steps: Examine collection for excessive numbers of copies left over from the threelibrary merger that are appropriate for sale. Solicit and organize book donations. Coordinate with local business and social organizations for inclusion of information and refreshment stands at the sale. Coordinate with local musical and performance groups for entertainment at the sale. TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 18

Create promotional advertisements in local newspapers, radio stations, and participating businesses on the upcoming sale and included organizations.

Timeline: Initial planning and weeding will take place over a 4-month period. Book sales will take place bi-annually in September and April of each year, with weeding and organizing beginning three month in advance of each sale. Evaluation: A bi-annual review of the progress made will take place every April and October. Patron feedback, total earnings, attendance numbers, and staff observations will be discussed. Measureable Outcomes: Attendance at book sale. Total amount of revenue earned at sale Positive feedback from patrons attending sale.

Goal2:Outreach
Initiative 1: Increase remote access. Responsibility: Collaboration between Head of technical services, Head of Adult services, full time reference staff, the webmaster, the assistant director, and the director.

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Action Steps: Technical services will collaborate with the Head of Adult Services to create, distribute and analyze a survey, created by SurveyMonkey (we plan to purchase a one year subscription) that measures the effectiveness of the library's website. Technical services will redesign the website based on suggested improvements. A committee comprised of the Head of technical services, Head of access services, Head of Adult Services, and the library director will evaluate the existing databases, offer suggestions for additional databases and e-resources, and oversee the purchase of these materials. The webmaster will create tutorials that explain how to use some of the major databases using the free version of Jing, by TechSmith The Head of Adult Services and the reference staff will install a Meebo Chat widget on the library homepage, catalog search page, and e-resources page. The reference staff will use the chat widget to answer online reference questions. The assistant director will increase the library's online social presence by creating and maintaining Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, and YouTube accounts that highlight library and community events. Timeline: The entire process of increasing website usability from beginning survey to redesign is expected to take 6 months. Recommendations, purchase, and implementation of new electronic resources (including tutorials) are expected to take about 6 months. Both the successful beginnings of reference chat and an increase in online social presence is expected to be completed within 2 weeks. Evaluation: Once the website has been redesigned, its effectiveness will be reevaluated 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months from the initial redesign through surveys and statistics. Surveys will be used to determine the use and relevance of the databases. Software may also be installed that counts the number of searches performed on each database and the number of hits the database tutorials receive. The reference staff will keep a tally of the reference questions they answer each shift, noting if the encounter was face-to-face, through Meebo, through email, or by telephone. The reference staff will offer their input after 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and three years concerning Meebo's effectiveness. The usefulness of an increased online social presence will be evaluated by the staff 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and three years. Measureable Outcomes: Increased web hits Fewer questions asked by patrons about the location of web services Improved website usability ratings on subsequent surveys Increased use of databases Increase in the number of reference questions answered TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 20

Increasing friends and comments on Facebook and Twitter accounts Increased attendance at events due to advertisement on Facebook and other online social media sites

Initiative 2: Improve mobile services by increasing the efficiency of the Bookmobile, increasing the relevance of the Bookmobile, and providing transportation to the library for events. Responsibility: A committee consisting of the director, the assistant director, full time Bookmobile staff, Head of Access Services, Head of Children's/Young Adult Services, and a board member at large Action Steps: The full time Bookmobile staff will evaluate the Bookmobile's route for three months, noting any inefficient stops and areas that are not served or sparsely served. The full time Bookmobile staff will also collect informal input from those who use the service, writing down their thoughts and suggestions. The full time Bookmobile staff will also spend time traveling to areas that are not currently served and evaluate these residents' interest in the program. ($300 has been allotted for the additional travel) The full time Book staff will present their finding to the committee who will formulate and implement a plan that improves the scope and efficiency of the Bookmobile services. The full time Bookmobile staff will distribute surveys, created by SurveyMonkey, to Bookmobile patrons designed to reveal patrons preferences regarding the Bookmobile collection. The committee will evaluate the survey, and the collection will be updated through either additions from the main library collection or the purchase of new materials. Bi-weekly, the bookmobile staff will contact area schools that are along the Bookmobile route and get information about school-wide or grade-wide projects, such as science fair or research papers. Materials will be added to the Bookmobile collection as necessary. The director will coordinate policies and volunteers that promote the library as a destination by picking up patrons who live more than thirty miles from the library for special events. Timeline: Both the evaluation of the Bookmobile's route and the completion of the surveys detailing patrons' interest are expected to take 3 months. The committee should create, approve, and implement an improved route within 2 months of the initial report. They should also work to purchase materials within 2 months of learning patron preferences. 4 weeks have been estimated for the successful coordination of volunteer event drivers. TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 21

Evaluation: The bookmobile staff and bookmobile patrons will evaluate the new Bookmobile route after 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years. The librarian will also keep a tally of the bookmobile's patrons so that patron usage can be tabulated and analyzed. A tab of miles traveled and gas receipts will also be collected so that travel expenses can be accounted for (and adjusted in necessary). The relevance will be evaluated by the bookmobile librarian and bookmobile patrons after 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years. The librarian will also keep a tally of the bookmobile's patrons so that patron usage can be tabulated. These numbers will be compared month-to-month and to previous tallies gathered by individual libraries of Tri-County who provided these services. Due to rising gas costs, this program that promotes the library as a destination will be evaluated on a yearly basis based on attendance. Measureable Outcomes: Increased usage of Bookmobile materials Increased attendance at library events. Initiative 3: Begin a new marketing and re-branding campaign to increase community awareness of available resources and make TCPL a recognizable entity. Responsibility: A newly formed marketing committee headed by the library director with members representing each department in the library. Action Steps: Conduct a literature review on re-branding and hire a local graphic designer to help develop a new TCPL logo. Update all brochures, letterheads, new library cards, web pages, social media, and any materials that have old logos with the new TCPL brand logo. Design an information circular detailing the various services available at the library, placing heavy emphasis on the redesigned meeting and reading spaces, new meeting equipment, updated computer lab, new web site, and new community learning program. Coordinate with local newspapers and businesses in all three counties, and with our outreach program to distribute the information circular to as wide a range of Tri-county residents as possible. Purchase space in local newspapers and airtime on local radio stations for brief advertisements on new TCPL resources and upcoming events. Visit local schools, churches, social clubs, etc to give a brief talk on TCPL resources and services. Timeline: On-going TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 22

Evaluation: The results will be evaluated after 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years. Measurable Outcomes: Successful creation and distribution of the new brand materials and information circulars Increase in library attendance Increase in registration Increase in circulation Increase in meeting space usage Increase in web traffic

PerformanceManagement
Synergies: High levels of synergy exist between many of our strategic initiatives. Growing the use of Tri-County Public Library's planned array of new and updated services requires that we communicate effectively with the community. For TCPL's communication to be accepted as authentic, it must be verified in the eyes of our users by the facts on the ground. Under our broad strategic goal of "Outreach, for example, the long-term success of our "marketing/re-branding" initiative will directly depend on our ability to build strong bonds with local organizations and executed the initiatives from our first strategic goal, Community Center (particularly 3, 4, and 5 ("community learning program", "quality programming", and "bi-annual book sale"). In the shortterm, "increasing remote access" (initiative one of strategic goal two, "Community Outreach") through an assessment-driven redesign of TCPL's web-services will work in conjunction with our marketing/re-branding efforts. Direct links between our marketing efforts and our mobile services will be established through having our mobile staff communicate the library's message to each user they encounter, distributing information and literature relating TCPL's updated programs and services. Potential Conflicts: Realizing TCPL's strategic initiatives will be a complex task, requiring the utmost effort from every member of the library staff. Because many of the initiatives are so closely related, a high degree of coordination between departments within the library will be required for successful execution. Communication failures or inefficiencies between departments pose the greatest threat to the success of these interrelated initiatives. Monitoring and Revision: Because continual communication across facets of the library will be crucial to the success of implementing our initiatives, TCPL will develop structures to keep the flow of information free among library staff. One member of each department (in most cases, the department supervisor), will meet weekly with the library directors for a 90minute "long-lunch" meeting in the library, where the implementation of the library's strategic initiatives will be the primary focus. A wiki devoted to TCPL's strategic TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 23

initiatives and open for authorship to all library staff will be set up on the library's intranet. This wiki will be organized by department, will describe each department's role with respect to relevant initiatives, and will be updated weekly with statistics for each department that relate to the actions under each initiative. On a bi-annual basis, the strategic planning committee will have a day-long meeting to examine progress on the strategic plan. At such time, the committee will examine measures of progress (usage statistics and action targets, as stated in the Action Plan) and revise initiatives as needed.

YearlyBudget
Item Graphic Designer Update materials with signage and logo Initial Information Circular Initial newspaper advertisements Update YA collection (in addition to annual budget) YA Shelving New Programming Librarian Survey of community learning interests Instructor stipend X 20 Class materials Semester catalog Guest Speaker/Authors Community survey on speaker interests Book sale tents Book sale tables Book sale newspaper advertising Musical/performance group stipends X2 Book sale radio advertising Surveys and Survey Monkey subscription Maintenance and purchase of new databases Additional transportation costs Bookmobile Collection development Total Cost $1,500 $9,000 $500 $500 $10,000 $800 $45,000 $300 $500 $2,000 $1,000 $5,000 $300 $500 $250 $500 $500 $1,000 $300 $10,000 $500 $500 $101,450

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 Contingencies
The successful implementation of our goals could be faced with a number of threats. Specifically, these threats include:

Further budget cuts. This threat would be the most harmful to this organization. Funding for the library from all three counties was already at a severely low level. This threat is a definite possibility, especially considering the current economic situation. If this situation does present itself, TCPL will attempt to do everything possible to maintain a high level of service, while shouldering the budget cuts. Certain costly initiatives may be put on hold until the budget recovers. Resistance from the community. Each countys residents were accustomed to a different type of service experience from the individual libraries. While most residents were supportive of the merger, some expressed concern over how they would be affected. It is possible for the community to resist certain changes; however, we feel most of the changes will be for the better. There will be an adjustment period for all community members, but with the addition of expanded services, we feel the residents will be happier overall. Loss of patron base. The Tri-County Public Library currently serves a population of 70,000, spread out over 1,800 square miles. This is a rural population, largely dependent on agriculture. It is possible for residents to move out of the area, in order to find better opportunities. This would significantly affect TCPLs budget and programming. This is not something TCPL can change. If residents have no opportunity for employment in an area, they will move. Hopefully, between the three counties, a steady population will be maintained. Loss of county support - The Tri-County Public Library depends on the contribution of funds from all three surrounding counties; if one county were to decide not to be part of the consortium, TCPL would suffer greatly. At this time, this appears to be an unrealistic threat, based on the current economic situation faced by all three counties. It is more beneficial to each county to remain part of the consortium. However, if one of the counties felt underserved by the new library system, they could push to dissolve TCPL. In the event this does occur, the two remaining libraries would probably see if they could pool their resources into a viable organization.

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ConcludingRemarks
The world and the community around us change daily. In an effort to meet these changes and the challenges they provide, TCPL has created a strategic plan to guide us as we carry out our mission. Creating a strategic plan is a significant undertaking, but we believe the process has paved the way for future success as we strive to facilitate community, create connections, and provide access. The strategic plan we have developed for TCPL considers both the strengths, weaknesses of our organization. It also accounts for the community that TCPL serves. By implementing the goals and objectives outlined in our strategic plan, we hope to continue reinforcing our successes, improving ineffectiveness, and strengthening community bonds. Our entire library team is committed to the successful completion and implementation of the strategic plan. Already, they have worked diligently to investigate the needs of TCPL and its community so that the strategic plan specifically addresses these areas. As our strategic plan begins to be implemented, the library team will continue working hard to see its successful completion. We appreciate your confidence and trust as we seek to create a thriving organization that fosters community, connections, and access.

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References
Brack, L & McKenzie J. (2007). The future of adult programming in the public library. Public Libraries, 46(3), 40-44. Hansen, B. (2003, May 9). Crisis on the plains. CQ Researcher, 13, 417-448. Retrieved from http://0-library.cqpress.com.www.whitelib.emporia.edu/cqresearcher/ Ivie, Thomas. (2009). Defining 'rural' for rural library research. The Idaho Librarian, 59.1. Retrieved from: http://www.idaholibraries.org/idlibrarian/index.php/idaholibrarian/index.

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AppendixI
OrganizationalChart&StrategicPlanTimeline

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OrganizationalChartforTriCountyPublicLibrary

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 StrategicPlanTimeline

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TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

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TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan

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AppendixII
SummaryReportofTeamProjectActivities JeffreyBergeron,MeikeCarreira,ChristopherRathmel,AdrieneStaggs LI805,March2011

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AxisofAccessStagesofTeamDevelopment
During the creation of their strategic plan for LI 805, Team 5, which became known as the Axis of Access, passed through the Stages of Team Development as described by Tuckerman and Jensen (1977). The main Stages of Team Development include Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Forming: The formation of the team began before the actual beginning of class when the instructor offered the students the option of forming their own teams for the strategic planning project. Meike Carreira emailed fellow students Jeffrey Bergeron, Christopher Rathmel, and Adriene Staggs to discuss the possibility of forming a team. All four had successfully worked together in some combination on group projects in other SLIM classes. All agreed to form a team and at a specified time the next day signed up on the course Blackboard site under Team 5. Nothing else of consequence took place in the group until the first LI 805 class weekend where they met face to face. Storming: The storming portion of the development of Team 5 took place during the first LI 805 class weekend. The storm was relatively short in duration. All team members had worked together previously and had actively chosen to be a part of this team. The team briefly debated what sort of library to focus on and quickly settled on a public library set in a rural area. After this basic idea was agreed upon, team leader and secretary roles were discussed. Meike volunteered to be secretary, to which all other members agreed. Christopher nominated Jeff to be team leader, which he accepted, and Meike and Adriene assented. The team continued discussion on the exact scenario the library would find itself in, moving on to what sort of mission and values would be its focus for the project. These basics were settled on, and the team chose the name Axis of Access as it moniker. Norming: The norming stage began toward the end of the initial meeting and continued through the next two group meetings. After the team had focused in on a basic mission and goal for the librarys strategic plan, they discussed the particulars of how the project would be completed. It was agreed that frequent meetings were the best idea, and a weekly gathering on Adobe Connect at 7:30 pm on Mondays was set. The wiki feature on Blackboard was determined to be the best option for sharing the work of the project as it evolved over several weeks. Over the next two meetings on Adobe Connect the group established a basic timeline and standard for each meeting. The project was broken up into several sections to be completed a week at a time. Every week each section would be divided up among the four team members, who would post their work on the wiki for discussion the following week. Performing: Once the routine was set the team began performing very well. Every week a section was completed and discussed. This continued through January and February as TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 35

planned. As the bulk of the project was reaching completion, the material was moved off the wiki into a Word document for final editing. The Blackboard file-exchange and comment feature in Word were used to edit the document as a group. After the final document was assembled a Power Point presentation was put together. Each team member would present the sections that they actually wrote as the plan was created. Frequent communication and strong participation from all members made the process run smoothly.

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MeetingMinutes
Saturday, January 22, 2011 Location: SLIM Members Present: All team members were present. Goals: Determine what type of library. Assign team duties. Develop a mission statement. Business: Meike mentioned that none of the group members are School Library Media students and suggested that a school library situation be avoided. Chris wished to avoid a special library. The team decided that most of our experience lay in public libraries. Discussion began to define what type of a public library. Adriene suggested a small, rural library. Some clarifications were made on what defines small. The team decided to focus on a regional library system, which would serve a tricounty area of around 100,000 residents. Before developing a mission statement, the group decided to assign team duties. Meike volunteered to be the secretary. Chris nominated Jeff as the team leader. Jeff accepted the responsibility. Chris suggested working through Exercise #1 individually. Each team member then read his or her responses to the group. The group decided on the key goals for the library, as well as the values. The group was unable to decide on the specific wording for the mission and vision statement, but decided on Axis of Access as a team name. The group agreed to meet every Monday evening at 7:30 on Adobe Connect. The group agreed to use the wiki as a place to post everything. Next meeting scheduled for Monday, January 23

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Monday, January 23 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Determine breakdown of document. Determine timeline. Discuss details of our library. Business: Jeff brought the meeting to order and noted Meike created the wiki pages for all to begin using. Jeff initiated discussion on how the team will break down the sections into manageable chunks. The team decided to work on the Organizational Profile together, as this information is necessary to move forward to the other sections. Chris suggested a background story that includes the closure or one or more libraries in the tri-county area. This would explain why there is a need for a strategic plan. Jeff agreed and added this would explain why there is a need to focus on outreach. The group decided that originally there would have been three libraries and due to budget constraints, they consolidated into one. Discussion began on what numbers should be used for this library. Meike stated it might be easier to use a fictional situation, as the details could then be made up. The group agreed to use a fictional situation. The group decided to have a tricounty population of 70,000 residents. Chris noted this population would allow more objectives than if the library system served less people. The details of the merger of the libraries will be avoided in this particular strategic plan. Jeff suggested we look at this plan as a where do we go from here document. The group re-visited the mission statement. Chris suggested To foster community and support all tri-county area residents in their effort to meet the challenge of the times and work smarter. Adriene suggested the need to highlight the working together aspect. Chris mentioned he had discussed this with others in the field and they recommended avoiding anything that sounds patronizing, such as hardworking. No final decision was made about the mission or vision statement. The breakdown of work for the first week was discussed. Chris will work on Overview and The Organization. Jeff will work on Guiding Values and Mission. Adriene will work on Library Management Team and Planning Factors. All of this work will be done on the wiki. Meike will post the meeting minutes by Wednesday. For Next Meeting: Brainstorm initiatives that could potentially be included. Next meeting scheduled for Monday, January 31 TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 38

Monday, January 31 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Review additions to wiki. Divide work for upcoming week. Determine schedule for remaining weeks. Business: The group began by reviewing updates made to the wiki. Chris clarified the names of the libraries - Centerville, Leftwich, TopGlade as the three individual libraries. Tri-County is the name of the conglomerate. Jeff brought up the mission statement and asked the group members for an opinion. All group members agreed the bottom statements were succinct and overall better. Jeff asked for the group to choose a specific statement. Meike voted for Community. Connections. Access to the information you need. Adriene agreed. Chris agreed and also suggested: Reaching out to bring the tricounty community together with the information they need. He noted the description of outreach helped. A brief discussion ensued on which statement was better. Adriene noted the first option is a memorable statement. All group members agreed to use Community. Connections. Access to the information you need. Chris asked for feedback regarding The Organization. Meike noted we might want to add the org chart detailing authority. Adriene asked for clarification on whether duties might be included on this chart. It was decided duties would be detailed separately. How do we move forward? Jeff suggested that since each section is cumulative, the group break down the sections and work from there. Chris noted that weekly deadlines are a big help. The group decided on breaking down the remaining five weeks into four focused on document writing and one for the presentation. The schedule is as follows: Feb 1 Feb 7 - Current Reality Feb 8 Feb 14 - New Priorities Feb 15 Feb 21 - Action Plan & Contingencies Feb 22 Feb 28 - Concluding Remarks & Appendix Mar 1 Mar 7 Presentation For this week, each group member was assigned the following section: Environmental Scan Adriene SWOT Analysis Meike Organizational Performance Chris Gap Analysis Jeff Next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 8

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Review additions to the wiki. Divide up work in New Priorities section. Business: Chris asked for feedback regarding the Organizational Profile section. He had some difficulties with creating the numbers required. The group agreed to leave the numbers as they are currently and to re-visit this section when we are further along in the process. All team members agree it will be easier to go back and tweak things, rather than write entire sections closer to the end. The group agrees to continue moving forward with the schedule, as was proposed at the last meeting. Jeff notes he is pleased with our progress so far. The rest of the team concurs. Jeff initiates discussion on the upcoming week. He asks the team where we want to go with initiatives. Jeff suggests: increasing outreach and making a community center of the library. Meike notes those were the original goals of our initial meeting. Chris suggested the team focus narrowly rather than trying to have a detailed plan, encompassing too many operating details. Everyone agrees to work with those two strategic initiatives. Jeff initiates discussion on the Future Vision section and noted much of this was discussed at our initial meeting. Clarification on what should be included in this section. Strategic Profile part of this was already covered in another section of the wiki. The team agrees to use what we already created and expand it here. The team discusses the difference between goals and objectives. Objectives must be clear and measurable terms. Some suggestions by Jeff on how to measure our success include: gate counts, attendance, web hits, attendees to programs at the library, circulation data, and attendance to the book van. Chris asks about the inclusion of marketing. Meike notes we might want to include that under strategies to implement this mission. Everyone agrees. Jeff notes it will be a necessary part of both our initiatives. The team agrees to divide the work for the upcoming week as follows: Chris Future Vision Meike Strategic Profile Adriene Initiative - Outreach Jeff Initiative Social Community Center. Next meeting scheduled for Monday, February 14

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Monday, February 14, 2011 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Review additions to the wiki. Divide up work in New Priorities section. Business Meike reviewed her work on the Strategic Profile section. She noted the difficulty with how much information to include because some of what was written may repeat in the next section. Chris reiterated from a previous meeting to leave the sections as they are now, and we can revise after it is put together. Chris reviewed his work on Future Vision. He provided the group with four options for the vision statement, and asked for feedback. Meike said she liked #3 because it is succinct and clear. Adriene said she liked #1 or #3 because they both sounded like our library. Jeff said he liked #3 because it has all the elements we want. Chris agrees with everyone on statement #3. Jeff reviewed the work on Strategic Initiative #1, Community Center. Jeff asked the group if it is unrealistic to have so many initiatives. Meike pointed out that at least a few of these could be combined. The group agreed to combine some of the initiatives. Chris asked about the points on remodeling. The group had not yet decided on what would be done to the existing library. Chris suggested we note the existing library was refurbished before re-opening. Mention the major technologies have already been updated and the library already has these facilities available. Chris will go back and make the change to the previous wiki post. Meike suggested doing some outreach to community organizations, promoting the spaces available. This space could be used for everything from Boy Scout meetings to quilting bees. The group agreed. Adriene stated we could potentially have an activities fair, for all the community organizations to come to the library. Jeff mentioned this was intended with initiative #8. Jeff asked the group about web presence and where it should be included. Both Jeff and Adriene included it in their respective sections. Chris stated it might be more important to outreach, although it is important to both. The group concurred. Adriene reviewed work on Strategic Initiative #2, Community Outreach. Adriene suggested she also combine some of the initiatives into three main goals. These three categories could include: increasing web access, marketing and the travelling aspect of the library. Chris asked the group where the budget fits into the plan. Adriene and Jeff noted this is part of each strategic initiative and that we are not required to complete a whole budget. For next week: Strategic Initiatives Jeff & Adriene TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 41

 Performance Management Chris Contingencies Meike Adriene mentioned the inclusion of outside resources in the sample plans. The group agreed we should be using outside resources. Chris volunteered to look at the other plans and come back with a proposal on how we can integrate some secondary sources. Jeff mentioned we could identify some sources from our class lectures. Adriene mentioned an article she already has that would tie in. She will email it to Chris for review. Chris will create a new wiki page specifically to deal with the sources and will annotate anything he finds by next meeting.

Next meeting scheduled for Monday, February 21

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Monday, February 21, 2011 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Review additions to the wiki. Divide up work for the upcoming week. Business: Chris did not get a chance to create a new wiki page for the additional resources. Adriene volunteered to create the page for Chris to update. Adriene mentioned she did not do a budget for her strategic initiative. Jeff noted his budget was incomplete; these numbers were made up with some help from preliminary web searches on public library budgets. Jeff mentioned his use of one of the sample strategic plan layouts for his initiative. Adriene and Chris agreed to streamline each of the initiatives to match. Chris noted some of the sample plans included a timeline. All of the group members agreed we should include a timeline in our plan. Chris moved to develop procedures for the initial creation of the Word document. This is the last week we are creating new content for the document, and we should start to move away from the wiki. Jeff stated what needs to be accomplished this week: Concluding Remarks, Appendix, and Executive Summary. We also need to create a reference page, change the formatting to the initiatives and create a timeline. Meike suggested making one document, with one person in control of making the changes. This could avoid potential difficulties with four people editing. The group discussed how to best make the changes and edits. Adriene suggested emailing the changes to one person. Meike volunteered to create the initial document. She stated the need to have a deadline for the final changes to existing wiki pages. Chris noted the existing tables and graphs in the wiki cannot easily be pasted into Word and volunteered to make a copy of his in a Word document. For this week: Chris Executive Summary, build timeline table Adriene Concluding Remarks, add budget to initiative, edit initiative formatting Meike Rough draft of document Jeff Appendix Narrative. Meike requested all changes be made to the existing wiki pages by Saturday. Chris suggested each group member read through all pages and make suggestions in the comments section. The group agreed to make any comments necessary by Friday and to have the final edits completed by Saturday.

Next meeting scheduled for Monday, February 28 TriCountyPublicLibraryStrategicPlan 43

Monday, February 28, 2011 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Review additions to the wiki. Review document. Divide up work for the upcoming week. Business: Chris mentioned he forwarded everyone the timeline via email. Meike began discussion on the document. She noted the formatting differences between the two strategic initiatives. She already made the basic charts, but did not complete the budget chart, as this section is still under construction. Only basic editing was done spell check and formatting. No copyediting was completed. The entire team agrees the document needs to be edited down. Meike offers to contact Professor Singh to determine the specifics on the length requirement. Chris alerted the team he is drawing up an organizational chart in the next few days. He will email this to the team when completed. Jeff noted this plan has a lot more initiatives in comparison to some of the examples provided. He and Adriene agree to edit down the initiatives and line up the formatting. Meike asked the group how we want to do the editing. Chris suggested we do the final editing on the wiki and the copy editing on the document. Meike asked all group members to submit any changes to the wiki by Friday, March 4 at noon. She will re-compile the document for weekend copyediting. Jeff initiated discussion on the presentation. He suggested each person present the section he/she wrote. The team agreed. Chris suggested the team plan on having more than one meeting next week in order to prepare for the presentation. The team agreed to submit edits to the wiki by Friday at noon. Next meeting scheduled for Monday, March 7

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Monday, March 7, 2011 Location: Adobe Connect Members Present: All members were present Goals: Review document. Plan for presentation. Business: Jeff asked the team if there were any additions still to be made. Meike noted she must still add in a reference page. Adriene brought up the subject of photographs. Meike reminded the team they had agreed to add in pictures. Meike will change the title page to the appendix. Chris asked about the formatting of the goals. Meike noted they now match. Adriene and Jeff agreed. Meike and Adriene discussed the addition of pictures. Adriene will submit a revised document by Tuesday at 5:00 with the pictures. Chris will make the changes to the organizational chart and will put that on the file exchange for Adriene. Jeff asked the team about the presentation. He suggested each person present the sections he/she wrote. Jeff volunteered to put the presentation together. The group discussed the best way to do this, and agreed to email the bullet points of the slides to Jeff. This will be done by Thursday at noon. The team discussed an additional meeting time. Everyone agreed to meet after class on Friday for a run-through. Meike reiterated everyones duties for the next few days.

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