Show Low Public Library Strategic Plan

January 31, 2003. Phil Heikkinen, Library Director

Background:

In December 2002 the Library initiated a strategic planning process intended to guide its actions for the next three to five years. We modeled the process after the Public Library Association’s The New Planning for Results, created in 2001 to facilitate and streamline public library planning. Fourteen local stakeholders comprised the Library Community Planning Committee, which met on December 20, January 10, and January 31. During these meetings the Committee brainstormed community vision statements; considered relevant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; listed community needs; and prioritized service responses for the Library intended to meet these needs, incorporating feedback from Library staff. The Committee proved to be an effective, dedicated, and congenial team.

The three service responses recommended by the Planning Committee, in priority order, include Lifelong Learning, Community Gathering Place, and Cultural Awareness. The following pages incorporate these priorities into a new mission statement, goals, and objectives. Also, we have listed supporting activities that the Library may undertake over the course of the next few years, understanding that these may vary according to what works best at any given time, and that we may add other activities not listed.

This is an ideal time for this new strategic plan. We will incorporate the Committee’s recommendations into the design of our new building, following the philosophy that form should follow function. It is likely that once we occupy the new facility in 2004, we may find new possible directions emerging, especially as the City and community continue to engage in downtown redesign and redevelopment. Based on this thinking, we anticipate that the typical five-year lifespan for a strategic plan may in our case be closer to three years.

More information about the planning assumptions, terminology, or process itself is available upon request at the Library. Also, we are happy to discuss the building project and any other activities or issues.

Show Low City Council: Gene Kelley (Mayor), Bob Delzer (Vice Mayor), Virginia Evans, Rick Fernau, Ken King, Ann Staffnik, Bill Thomas

Show Low Public Library Staff: Phil Heikkinen (Director), Michelle Smith (Assistant Director), Don Fogle, Jim Hagan, Melinda Halsall, Robin McNeil, Susan Shirley, Kathy Tippets, Gabrielle Zornes

Community Planning Committee: Janet Ball (Facilitator; Director of the Copper Queen Library in Bisbee), Lauren Barnert, Barbara Bruce [and substitute Melody Judd], Virginia Evans, Carole Fogle, Jessie Formica, Joseph Formica, Melanie Hefner, Marlys Hunt [and substitute Marg Geiger], Isaiah Lee, Sarah Nicks, Susan Shirley, Mike Sipes, Greg Tock, Joel Weeks
 

Mission Statement:

The Show Low Public Library enriches the community by giving all residents lifelong opportunities to learn, to gather, and to celebrate the world’s cultures.

Lifelong Learning Goals and Objectives:

1. Children will develop the love of reading through Library programs and collections.

• Checkouts of Children’s materials will increase 10% each year.

Sample activities: weekly storytimes; group tours of the Library; puppet shows both inside and away from the building; visits to schools, childcare facilities, and other organizations; ample well-designed spaces for children in the new building.

2. Teens will discover Library resources that meet their educational and recreational needs.

• Use of online databases will increase 10% per semester.

• A semi-annual survey of teens (summer and winter) will reflect that 80% of respondents feel they fulfilled their purpose for visiting the Library.

Sample activities: a dedicated Teen Room in the new building designed with input from teens; building the teen-oriented collection with the use of research and surveys; teen-oriented webpages; publicizing online databases in the schools; tours and orientations for high school classes on the use of the Library, online databases, and Learn-a-Test.

3. Retirees will pursue their interests with the effective support of the Library.

• Computer class attendance will average 95% of capacity each session.

• On a semi-annual survey (summer and winter), 85% of retirees will report that they either met their needs or were given appropriate referrals or other means of addressing them.

Sample activities: ample adult reading and study areas in the new building; publicizing computer classes; reviewing and upgrading Library materials; computer class exit surveys; ongoing contacts with local clubs and organizations; close partnership with the Senior Center; state-of-the-art computer lab in the new building.

Community Gathering Place Goals and Objectives: 

1. All residents will see the Library as a primary location to meet and interact 

• Monthly book discussion group attendance will average 10 in the existing building and 20 in the new building.

• The Library door count will increase an average of 20% each year.

Sample activities: publicize the book discussion group; include spaces in the new building for exhibits, meeting rooms, lobby, small study rooms, kiosks or bulletin boards, refreshment area, and videoconferencing facilities; develop the Library’s website and monthly online newsletter; include spaces in the new campus for large-group activities, both indoors and outdoors.

2. Seasonal visitors will visit the Library to learn about the social and cultural life of Show Low.

• The monthly June-August door count will exceed by 50% the average for the rest of the year.

Sample activities: special displays of local information; close contact with local clubs and organizations; use of a clubs and organizations file; distribute information through the Chamber of Commerce and local motels/B&Bs; booths at local events; publicize the Deuce Card (two checkouts at a time with no proof of address required); appropriate enhancements of the Library’s website.

Cultural Awareness Goals and Objectives:

1. Children will gain an appreciation of world cultures through Library programs and collections.

• White Mountain Storytelling Festival student attendance at the in-school programs will exceed 90% of students in each building.

• The number of books and audio-visual materials in the Library about world cultures will increase by 20% per year.

Sample activities: displays in the Library; White Mountain Storytelling Festival; developing the Library’s collection of books and other materials about world cultures; booths at local events; joint programs with local civic organizations; cultural website content; work with exchange students and programs; programs featuring local residents’ travel stories.

2. All residents will have opportunities to learn about all the cultures that share this community.

• WMSF attendance will increase by 20% each year.

Sample activities: maintain and strengthen the White Mountain Storytelling Festival; co-sponsorship of cultural programs with other local organizations; close partnership with the Show Low Historical Society; develop and publicize the Arizona and Native-American collections; build a local history collection in the new building; digitize local unpublished histories and add to the website; displays in the new building; participate in local art/cultural events; multilingual collections and online databases.

In pursuing all service goals, make full use of partnerships with other community organizations!