About Us

Dear Lake County Community,

In January of 2020 we started our 2020 - 2022 strategic planning process. By March 2020 we had had several staff meetings devoted to the process and received input from the Library Board of Trustees. We were getting ready to reach out to the community for input and then...well, you know what happened. 

We tried to finish it up while we were closed in the Spring, but thinking about the future at that time proved to be challenging. So, for the last year it has sat in strategic planning purgatory, waiting patiently to be brought back to life. Even though we had no formal strategic plan in place this past year, library staff has done an extraordinary job of being both flexible and responsive to help meet the needs of our community. We'll have an annual report available soon which will highlight the great programming, services, and collections library staff developed in response to COVID-19. 

Although we are not back to normal operations, we have started to turn our attention back to long term planning and are ready to share our Strategic Plan for 2021 - 2023. We see this strategic plan as a "living" document, which means that the plan will undergo regular review so that we can respond to any changes in community needs and incorporate feedback from our community.

Several goals within our strategic plan include gathering data or feedback to inform our decision-making. There is no better time than the present to get that started! We want to hear about what you think of our goals. Did we hit the mark? Do you think we are missing some things? Let us know by filling out this short (I promise!) survey.

Sincerely,

Brena Smith

Director

Strategic Plan 2021 - 2023

Goal: Community Engagement

Objective: to help identify needs, ideas, and barriers to participation in library programs and services

• Use social media platforms and newsletters to communicate with patrons and promote surveys and other forms of data collection

• Work with local partners to help determine community needs

• Ensure all communication is available in Spanish

• Ensure all communication is available in paper form

Objective: To be a community partner, facilitate lifelong learning, and encourage engagement with collections through programming 

• Each department engages with ongoing program and collection development

• Identify and maintain partnership with local organizations

Goal: Marketing and communication

Objective: Promote programs, collections and news in the library with a marketing plan. 

• Maintain a social media plan for all departments

• Send biweekly newsletters

• Create and send regular press releases

• Create a long-term marketing plan

Goal: Fundraising 

Objective: Facilitate the creation of a foundation to support fundraising efforts through events, campaigns, and grant writing

Objective: Maintain list of prioritized projects that are not supported under the library's regular operating budget (If I had a million dollars…).

• Identify projects through:

  • Evaluation of departments

  • Communication with Lake County community

Goal: Collections 

Objective: Promote collections of all formats through reading lists, social media, and reading challenges:

• Create on-going reading challenges

• Develop reading lists and research guides, accompanied by displays

• Identify underutilized print and digital collections

Goal: Engage Underserved Populations

Objective: Identify underserved populations through research and data collection

• Review library literature to identify existing research

• Partner with local organizations for data collection

Objective: Develop ongoing plan for engaging the Spanish speaking community, including development of programs, library collections, and services.

• Ensure all marketing and communication materials are available in Spanish

• Offer interpretation for all in-person and virtual programming

• Maintain collection of relevant Spanish language books and DVDs 

Goal: Promote, develop, and preserve local history collections

Objective: Assessment and preservation of physical materials: FY 2021 

• Conduct assessment and plan; 

• Identify at-risk materials

• Assess and prioritize uncataloged materials

• Create Collection Development Policy

Objective: Develop and assess digital collection: FY 2021-22

• Develop digital preservation plan

• Develop standard for selection and digitization of materials

• Migrate digital collection to new platform

Objective: Promotion and engagement FY 2021-22

• Programming: Provide at least 6 programs a year

• Research support & tools: research guides

  • Creating bilingual "research" materials

  • Spanish language materials

• "Informal" ideas for engagement

Oral History FY 2021-22

• Develop interview guidelines 

• Identify and prioritize interviewees

Goal: Leaving room for the unexpected! 

Unexpected opportunities and barriers arise, and we want to be nimble and responsive in those situations. To assist in this, we will have our priorities laid out for each goal as an organization and as members of the library team. Additionally, the actions associated with each goal will be tied to our operations plan. Our ultimate goal is to support every staff member’s ability to carry out the Library’s mission and create a joyful space for our community.