Long Range Plan 

Moving Toward the Millenium: A Long Range Plan for the Gates Public Library

Summary

This long-range plan for the Gates Public Library builds on the mission statement which defines the library's principle roles and aims. The plan targets a series of major goals and objectives and begins the development of action plans, assignments, and timetables for taking action. The goals include maintenance of a high-caliber staff and dedicated board, evaluation of programs and services, establishment of priorities for using finite resources, reviewing building needs, diversifying and expanding funding sources, establishing an on-line public access catalog, and increasing community participation. The plan is a living document that will undergo further development, change, and refinement.

Development of a long-range plan is an ongoing process. Refinement of plans, assignments, and timetables will continue. The board and library staff will review and amend the plan to make implementation effective.

Introduction

The Gates Public Library undertook the preparation of this long-range plan because it acknowledges the importance of clarifying the library's long-term role in community life. This community-based plan is intended to be a foundation for the development of goals and objectives that will lead to activities to maintain, strengthen, and improve the quality and scope of library programs and services. The plan is in keeping with recognized and accepted library standards and sound business practices.

Mission Statement

Recognizing its role as a major informational, recreational, and educational resource in the community, the Gates Public Library will continually respond to the needs of its patrons of all ages and backgrounds. Further, it will increase its efforts to gain new users in the Gates community and attempt to anticipate the evolving needs of the multi-cultural community. By offering open access to its wide array of materials, services, programs, and external resources, Gates Public Library will continue to be an enriching influence in the lives of Gates citizens.

Goals and Objectives

The following pages contain the long-range goals, objectives, action plans, assignments, and timetables as defined by a planning committee composed of library staff, library trustees, and concerned citizens.

Goal 1 - Maintain a high caliber staff and a dedicated Board of Trustees

1. The Gates Public Library will continue to maintain only certified, qualified staff. We will meet or exceed average staffing of libraries of equal size (measured by population of service area), including at least one-third professional staff (excluding custodial). The Director will provide an annual analysis of staffing to the Board. The Board of Trustees, the Library Director, and other supervisory personnel will promote active team building through regular personnel evaluation and feedback, staff input questionnaires, and quality circle activities.
2. The Library will put in place formal staff and Board development programs. The Library Director and Assistant Director will establish an annual internal staff development workshop schedule.
3. The Library Board will maintain contacts with county, state, and national trustee associations and related library professional journals.
4. The Board and staff will utilize library system and library association continuing education opportunities.
5. Within budgetary limits, the Board will adopt a tuition reimbursement plan to promote improved work-related skills.
6. The Board will establish a targeted proportion of the annual budget for professional staff conference and workshop opportunities.

Goal 2 - Develop systems to evaluate library programs and services to meet community needs

1. The Library Director, Assistant Director, and other professional staff will use at least one output measure ("Output Measures for Public Libraries," Appendix E) annually to evaluate the effectiveness of current services.
2. The Director and Assistant Director will review all services annually to establish their continuing need.
3. The Director will report the results of these annual evaluations and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
4. The Library Director and programming librarians will evaluate the effectiveness of all library programs at the end of the program, for a single offering, or at series conclusion, for a series.
5. To increase evaluations of the library by patrons, the Library Director and staff will annually survey patrons, tabulate the results, and report to the Board.
6. The Assistant Library Director or librarians will annually select a portion of the collection to analyze for currency and will use standard sampling methods for collection evaluation.
7. The Assistant Library Director or librarians will annually use automated circulation totals to analyze collection by use and material type. The Assistant Director will report results from these surveys with recommendations to the Board of Trustees.
8. Within six months of when 1990 Census data are available, the Library Director will review and update the 1970 and 1980 community studies with population trend and comparisons. The Library Board will review and evaluate data as input for future library plans.

Goal 3 - Increase Gates community participation in library

1. To encourage and support the growth of the Friends of the Gates Public Library, the Board of Trustees will continue Board liaison with the Friends to increase awareness of Library needs.
2. To increase the number of patron cards issued to Gates residents, the library staff will mail a welcoming letter to new Gates residents and check the new residents list for activity three months after mailing. The staff will make the mailing quarterly and evaluate responses in the next quarter and report results to the Board.
3. To increase circulation to Gates residents, the Library Director, Assistant Director, and library staff will utilize data from service evaluation (Goal 2) and patron census tract information to study what Gates residents prefer to borrow and build the collection accordingly. This plan will be implemented when census tract data is available in the patron data base (expected in 1992).
4. To increase outreach programs to individual residents of Gates, the Library Director, Assistant Director, and librarians will, after analysis of 1990 census data for Gates and entry of census tract information into patron database, identify areas showing low library usage, study census tract data to identify characteristics of low usage tracts, and develop a plan to increase usage in low-usage tracts. The Library will have in place and be actively pursuing an outreach plan by the end of the five-year plan.
5. To increase outreach programs to Gates community groups, the Library Director, Assistant Director, and librarians will identify community groups that serve primarily Gates residents, make initial contact with groups to inform them about library services, explore possibility of adapting library services and program offerings to meet a group's needs, and report results regularly to Board. The Library staff or the Board of Trustees will make contact with every group identified at least once by the end of the five-year plan.

Goal 4 - Review and establish priorities for utilization of finite resources

1. With input of the Library Director and library staff, the Board of Trustees will annually determine revenue expectations and define expenditure priorities based on findings of program and service evaluations.

Goal 5 - Diversify and expand new funding possibilities

1. To increase the number of funding sources, the Board of Trustees and the Library Director will identify and develop strategies for reaching diversified funding sources: grants, endowment funds, bequests, United Way donor option, contracts for services, business and industry solicitation, and governmental funding at all levels. The Board will develop a plan in 1992, evaluate and test the plan in 1993, and proceed with the plan in 1994.
2. To increase revenue, the Board of Trustees and the Library Director will pursue grants, develop endowment funds, encourage bequests, seek United Way donor option, establish contracts for services, solicit business and industry donations, and retain governmental funding from local, county, and state levels. The Board will develop a plan in 1992, evaluate and test the plan in 1993, and proceed with the plan in 1994.

Goal 6 - Plan for optimum utilization of facilities

1. The Board of Trustees will review 1989-90 building needs assessment and feasibility studies for new or expanded library facility within six months of adopting this document and yearly thereafter.
2. The Library Director and Board of Trustees will review handicapped access to Library and develop a plan to comply with federal mandates. The Board will complete a preliminary plan by July 1992 and complete implementation of the plan by July 1995.

Goal 7 - Establish On-Line Public Access Catalog (OPAC) in library

1. Pending action of the Monroe County Library System, the Library Automation Services, technical services staff of Gates Public Library, the Library Director, and Assistant Director will move to implement the schedule for On-Line Public Access.

Implementation Timetable

Appendices

• A. Committee
• B. Summary of Roles for Public Libraries
• C. History of Gates Public Library
• D. Library Systems in New York State: Toward the 21st Century An Action Plan
• E. Output Measures for Public Libraries