Illustration of sparkling hardcover books stacked on top of each other. Image by Freepik.
Based on the information gathered about Windsor Public Library, libraries around the country, and literature about library services, collection development, and management, I have a few suggestions to create the starting points of a strategic action plan. While I do not have community expertise in the same way Wilson Branch staff does, I hope these actions connect staff with the community in a different, open way.
Mission: Specifying why the library pursues their mission is important and creates an understanding for those who may be unaware that inequitable information practices exist and further reassure those who do. Missions are hard to process if not connected to actions. The existing statement is: "Inform, enlighten and inspire through current materials, equal access to information, and enriching programs in an environment that fosters community gathering " I would expand this to say: "Inform, enlighten and inspire through current and in-demand materials, equal access to information for people of all abilities and economic backgrounds, and enriching programs in an environment that fosters community gathering in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood." Openly identifying sources of DEI information used for staff is beneficial to patron, as well. Who provided trainings or looked over the strategic plan with you? Are you partnering with local organizations they may align with?
Goals/objectives: Having a modular space or finding a way to collaborate further with those seeking community feedback on vacant Wilson lots/Roger Wolcott could create a solution for reaching further programming and resource goals. Planning to expand Wilson beyond the space they have without having to default to the public library could result in new community engagement, even if the building itself cannot have major renovations soon. As Noah Lenstra (2022) writes for Library Journal, blended facilities are not new and can lead to learning across town departments. Quantifying existing goals from strategic plan is vital, especially if the library is not prepared for new ones. Share the process of better understanding/auditing collections; what will you add or weed? Does this process need a survey from community members or will it focus on existing circulation statistics? How can collection highlights be implemented for adults in the process?
Activities: Having a dedicated space for suggestions online and/or in-person can help keep things organized among the many kinds of reference requests a librarian may have, especially when there is no role of outreach librarian. Questioning and gathering data on event times and duration may lead to using limited staff time more efficiently and ensuring those who are interested have a better chance of attending an event, although anything can deter a potential user in the end. Involving Windsor in new or existing public history initiatives to record more about life in Windsor in recent history, going beyond more widely shared colonial resources, can make local resources such as the Windsor Historical Society more approachable. Collaborating with places like the Connecticut Museum of History and Culture could help residents learn about other online research tools.
Although many are releived to move away from Zoom, having videos on social media and/or virtual workshops can give accessible points of entry for engagement or work with people who miss most regularly scheduled programs. Expanding activities in a way that could be in-person and remote to work with limited space leaves a record of events besides a calendar link to a past event (e.g. community gardening hour with demo about drying plants with recorded workshop about saving seeds and decorating with dried plants and herbs). Making sure there are recurring activities for older adults outside of the realm of tech help or tax assistance can increase interest, though both services are reliable and should be available. If most older adults in town are still grandparents or active parents of young children, that may mean more cross-generational activities. This kind of work may also look like mentorship for teens or younger adults. Having adult volunteers around the same age as those seeking tech help may also lessen the feeling of possibly being "too old to learn".
In Robin M. Sabo's (2017) article, " Lifelong learning and Library Programming for third agers" the motivations and main hindrances for older audiences are investigated through existing literature. Although the age group is centered on ages 50 and up in the "baby boomer generation", this may resonate with people approaching 50 and is more concerned about the way people feel in their body and social interactions later into adulthood, as every generation will reach this point. Sabo notes that activities may revolve around retirement just as much as they do current work and writes that "[b]arriers to lifelong learning include dispositional attributes (e.g. lack of confidence in the ability to learn), institutional barriers (e.g. insufficient or uninteresting programs, lack of information and difficulties in course scheduling ) and situational barriers (e.g. lack of time, transportation, money) (Cross,2014). From their survey of active, adult learners, Sloane-Seale and Kops (2004) reported that the most frequently cited obstacles to participation in learning were lack of time, insufficient course offerings and lack of information."
Resources: Posting policies about conflict resolution and relationship to police as a public space in addition to existing conduct policies can help reassure people who want to know they will not be immediately seen as disruptive. Even if the library never contacts the police, it is important to share this information. This is often mentioned in refernce to teens, but some adults are just now returning to the library after years away or may be neurodivergent. In general, noting accesibility features in the library can prepare visitors. Information about what people can do if late fines have been keeping them away is also a reassuring message and resource, especially as fine-free libraries are becoming widely known. People may ask why Windsor is not following other towns. According to the CT Public Library Annual Report, 96 libraries in Connecticut were book and DVD fine free by the end of fiscal year 2022 (Ghilardi, 2023).
Providing a full list of databses without need to log in through EBSCO can help those considering a library card. Making clear that passport help is provided, possibly alongside resources and collections for those traveling internationally for the first time, can help with the reintegration of that services in both library buildings. Continuing to guide people to public health information is important now that people are living with symptoms of long COVID and other health conditions.
Timeline: While community building cannot truly be rushed and the pandemic did derail existing strategic efforts, showing progress and any outstanding goals affirms that the library is a place that keeps itself accountable and can welcome feedback from the community. If it helps to have timeline beyond five years at a time, this is okay. There are statewide standards for gathering data which must be kept, but otherwise it is the library's role to make the data gathering process as useful as possible. Have shorter term strategic plans and longer vision statements could balance out priorities. However, life can still derail these plans at any time. A three-year plan or program pilot could work better, always offering the chance to expand future endeavors across five years or ten years. It truly depends on transparency amongst administrators, librarians, residents, and funders.
Ghilardi, B. (2023). LibGuides Home: Connecticut Public Libraries Statistics: Statistical Profile. Retrieved August 4, 2023, from https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/c.php?g=1329341&p=9787834
Lenstra, N. (2022). From Co-location to Blended Facilities. Library Journal. Retrieved August 4, 2023, from https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/publiclibraries/From-Co-location-to-Blended-Facilities
Sabo, R. M. (2017). Lifelong learning and library programming for third agers. Library Review, 66(1/2), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-08-2016-0065