Libr 204: Strategic Plan

Albany Library

Strategic Plan

FY 2009-10 and FY 2010-2011

Prepared by:

The Albany Library Board of Trustees

and the

Albany Library Staff

Table of Contents

            •           Executive Summary3

            •           Introduction 4

            •           Albany Library SWOT Analysis 6

            •           Mission, Vision and Values 9

            •           Goals and Objectives 11

I.  Executive Summary

The Strategic Plan 2009-2011 is a first for Albany Library. It will serve as a guide to the future of Albany Library and its vision. The product of a two month planning process, led by Tracey Ward,  Director of Albany Library, with assistance from Katrina Deliramich of the Albany Library Board and David Power and Lianne Compton from the Library's staff, this plan was written using the input from our Library Board, our staff, and our patrons from the community. From this plan, the following goals were identified:

            •           The Library staff will continue to work with the Board and community leaders to continue providing excellent service, resources and collections to the Community.

            •           To maintain Albany Library’s record of excellent service and build upon the strength of our service, which is provided by our valuable staff.

            •           Provide community outreach and programs for our youth. Our community’s under 17 population represents over 20% of our total population (Albanyca.org, 2008). It is important for the Library, to provide programs in order to foster learning opportunities for our community’s youth.

            •           Continue making improvements to technology access for our community by exploring new types of access as well as adding more points of access inside the Library.

            •           Make improvements in marketing the Library to the Albany community, as well as surrounding communities in order to increase patronage and awareness of the Library as a community place.

            •           Seek new ways of additional funding for the Library in addition to state and public funding already in place.

The following pages lay out the Strategic Plan for Albany Library for the next two years. Many people in the Library and the community worked together to make this first time effort for the Albany Library possible.

A special thank you to all the staff who worked with the Committee, shared their skills and talents, and made this plan come together.

II.  Introduction

LIBRARY BACKGROUND

Albany Library serves the city of Albany, CA, with a population over 18,000, as well as the nearby communities of Berkeley, Oakland, El Cerrito, Kensington and Richmond. It is a branch of the Alameda County Library system, which serves a total population of 523,000 throughout the county. Funded mainly by Alameda County Library, Albany Library receives funds from the City of Albany for additional hours of service, passed by voters in 1994 and 2006. The Friends of the Albany Library is a volunteer-run organization that raises money to supplement the library’s collections and sponsor library programming (Albany Library, 2007).

The library has been in its current building since 1994 and shares the building with the Albany Community Center. The building is centrally located and on a major thoroughfare in the city. It is accessible by public transportation, a nearby bike and walking path, and has ample parking in the adjacent lot and surrounding streets. It is within walking distance of several of Albany’s schools, both public and private.

STATE OF THE LIBRARY

The roles of library services have been evolving for the past several years and continue to change almost daily. Instead of being a place where the books are, as viewed in the past, the library has become an innovative information center, with access to the most up-to-date technology, as well as a place for study, story time, community gathering, and a repository of our area’s culture and history.

New technology and other types of information access require libraries to be proactive in planning for and seeking new ways to improve resources for their communities. With new technology changing daily, libraries have to be more proactive than ever before, with continual maintenance and updates of materials, facilities and technology. Albany Library continues striving to create a place that meets the needs of the diverse population it serves. Albany Library's goal is to continue to create an information center that meets the needs of its community.

In order to create the most beneficial library for its public, Albany Library has turned to members of their Library Board, staff and patrons for input and ideas on improvements to the library. It is crucial that the residents of the city of Albany have the best access to materials. Education plays a key role in any library and the fact that an impressive number of adults in the city of Albany have higher education degrees supports the library’s need to keep information access current (Information Publications, 2009).

HOW THIS PLAN WAS DEVELOPED

This Strategic Plan represents the first of its kind for Albany Library. In the past, the library’s planning has fallen under strategic plans created by Alameda County Library.
The plan was developed by the Albany Library Board and Albany Library staff with valuable input from the public.

The Planning Committee presented to the Library Board the idea for the first Albany Library Strategic Plan at the September board meeting. At this meeting, input from the Board was gathered in order to determine the Board's perspective on areas of the library's strengths and weaknesses, and what areas may need improvements in order to continue to effectively serve the community and move towards the Library's vision.

The Committee then held two meetings with library staff to obtain their input regarding areas of strength and areas needing improvement. The Committee drafted a questionnaire that was given to patrons and other community members, either in the library, by phone or in other public areas around the City of Albany.

Once feedback from the Board, staff and the community was compiled, the Committee took this information and completed a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis based upon the information received. This analysis was used to write the goals and objectives of the Library for the next two fiscal years. The goals and objectives were then shared with the staff in order to gather further input, and then revised to reflect the Committee's and staff's ideas and feedback.

III.   Albany Library SWOT Analysis

The Library prepared a SWOT Analysis in order to gain a better understanding of the organization and its environment. The SWOT Analysis is one of the first tools in the stage of planning and helps management to focus on the key issues that need to be included in strategic plans for the Library. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. The strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. The opportunities and threats are external factors.

The task force for our SWOT Analysis was headed by our Library Director, Tracey Ward, with Library Board member, Katrina Deliramich and key staff members, David Power and Lianne Compton, also serving. Three groups were involved in this analysis process, the Albany Library Board, Library staff and members of the community. Each group was surveyed, the Board at last month’s Board meeting, the Library staff internally, and the Community both internally and externally through telephone surveys and surveys conducted in the Library and other public locations. This type of analysis will enable the Library to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that can impact the Library’s ability to reach our vision. The following represents the input received from this process.

Strengths

Weaknesses

            •           Strong support from Friends of the Library

            •           Well-qualified and friendly staff who understand their jobs

            •           Youth programs

            •           Positive reputation in the community

            •           Staff vacancies that are unfilled

            •           Customer service reductions due to budgetary restrictions

            •           More demand for foreign language materials

            •           Website and marketing

Opportunities

Threats

            •           Little public or commercial competition in the community (no bookstores or other nearby libraries)

            •           Shared space with Community Center

            •           Proximity to local pre-schools and elementary school

            •           No convenient location to purchase coffee/beverages

            •           High community educational attainment (majority with Bachelor’s degree) can lead to higher expectations of library materials/services

            •           Costs of keeping up with technology

            •           Public funding issues, city, county and state

Strengths:

            •           Friends of the Library support

Our Friends of the Albany Library are an active 501 C3 non-profit organization that actively supports our Library. The have approximately 50,000 items donated yearly, including books, CDs, audio books and DVDs, which members sort, recycle, discard, price, pack and store in order to generate revenue through book sales that take place up to 6 times per year.  The organization provides most of the funding for family programs in the Library and as much as 20% of the costs for materials.

            •           Well-qualified and friendly staff

Our staff carries a strong belief in service and they are committed to bringing high quality service to our community. Some community input has included comments “Even when I didn’t know how to ask for help, the staff member recognized I needed help and immediately offered”, “The staff is always friendly and courteous to me when I visit”.

            •           Youth programs

The Library already offers drop-in Homework Help on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Family sing-a-long, children’s story hour. Would like to increase program offerings, with the under 17 population of Albany being over 20% .

            •           Positive reputation in the community

The Library continues to have a positive reputation and support from the Albany Library Board and Albany City Council. Increased marketing opportunities could help continue this positive role.

Weaknesses:

            •           Staff vacancies that are unfilled

Because staff positions are still unfilled, duties continue to be realigned and the remaining staff is doing more with less. Also, the library would like to offer more service time to the community by opening the Library on Fridays, which is currently a day the Library is closed. But without filling vacant staff positions, this will not be a possibility.

            •           Customer service reductions

As already mentioned, the Library is currently closed on Fridays. Because of budgetary restrictions, staff cannot be hired in order to offer service 7 days a week to our community.

            •           More demand for foreign language materials

There has been increasing patronage in the Library from the Chinese community. The Library currently carries a small selection of foreign language materials and often has to borrow requested materials through ILL on an increasing basis.

            •           Website and marketing

The Library’s current website does not provide much information beyond the library’s location, hours of operation and events calendar. This not only provides little information to the public, but also wastes a valuable marketing tool.

Opportunities:

            •           Little public or commercial competition in the community

Currently there are no bookstores or other public libraries within a 2 mile radius of the City of Albany.  The Library’s collection can benefit by offering more multi-media (music, DVD, audio books), as well as adult fiction, children’s and youth literature.

            •           Shared space with community center

The Library building is a shared space with the Albany Community Center. This benefits the Library in attracting patronage from Community Center visitors. Developing more programs in conjunction with the Community Center can only benefit both parties.

            •           Proximity to local pre-schools and elementary school

One of the busiest times for the Library is in the afternoon when the local schools let out. By developing more child and youth programs, the Library can not only create a safe and educational environment for the youth, but can also gain more patronage from the parents who come with their children to the Library.

            •           Coffee/beverage bar

Patrons have expressed how nice it would be to have a convenient place to purchase a coffee or beverage when visiting the Library. Other area libraries have been adding cafes and coffee/beverage kiosks.

Threats:

            •           High community education attainment

Over 60% of the adult community in Albany is educated at a Bachelor’s degree level (or higher). This can lead to higher expectations of the Library for materials and services offered.

            •           Costs of keeping up with technology

Because of continuing budget concerns and the costs associated with purchasing new and/or updating current technology, the Library struggles with providing public computer access and other forms of technology to keep up with community demand.

            •           Public funding issues

The continued budget crisis in the State of California continues to affect the public libraries. The Library manager reported to our Board earlier this year that the State could borrow up to 8% of the libraries special district funding for other purposes. There could also be some additional mid-year cuts in November. This continued budget problem continues to complicate our staffing issues and service availability.

IV.   Mission, Vision and Values

Library Mission Statement

Albany Library seeks to enlighten, enrich and assist the people of our community to achieve their full learning potential. The Library is committed to providing excellent service, access to information, and a continuing growth to both print and electronic resources that will meet the needs of our diverse population (Dekalb CPL, 2007, p.5).

Our Vision

We envision a library committed to creating and maintaining access for anyone. We want our library to be a place where every person in our community has the opportunity to participate in a dynamic learning environment in order to achieve personal, educational, career, and community goals. We will provide effective information and appropriate technology to meet our community’s needs.

Our Values

Respect

            •           We will treat each person with courtesy and respect, regardless of race, age or physical capabilities (Multnomah CL, 2005).

            •           We encourage diversity in our staff and patrons, and are committed to exploring new ideas and implementing change that benefits and upholds the values of the community we serve.

Intellectual Freedom

            •           We value the free exchange of ideas and will not deny or obstruct a person’s right to choose his/her own materials (University of Washington, 2006).

            •           We are committed to challenging censorship and providing materials of a diverse nature to reflect the diversity within our community (Multnomah CL, 2005).

            •           We believe in equal access for all Albany Library patrons (Ypsilanti DL, 2007).

Integrity

            •           We believe in a high standard of service, providing just and fair services to all patrons and staff.

            •           We are committed to providing an efficient and knowledgeable staff by encouraging a strong work ethic and providing our staff with opportunities for staff development.

            •           We believe in providing excellent service by providing an abundance of accurate materials to our patrons in a timely manner.

Resources

            •           We value obtaining new resources, as well as maintaining our current resources for our community’s needs.

            •           We strive to provide resources that meet our community’s needs and interests.

            •           We will continue to seek new ways to increase our resources in order to provide even better service and access to our community.

Facilities

            •           We value our library and adjoining community center, and we will continue to strive in our efforts to keep them well-maintained and safe for our patrons.

            •           We will continue to seek ways to expand and improve facilities based upon our  community’s input.

            •           We take full responsibility for the appearance of the Library (Multnomah CL, 2005).

V.  Goals and Objectives

Based upon the SWOT Analysis and the input from our Board, staff and community members, the Library has developed the following goals and objectives. Over the next two years the Library will strive to meet these goals in order to continue providing excellent service to our community.

Goal  #1          Service

The Library staff will continue to work with the Board and community leaders to continue providing excellent service, resources and collections to the Community.

Objectives:

            •           Currently the Library is closed on Fridays. We would like to increase the Library’s hours to 7 days-a-week by opening from noon until 5:00 on Fridays in order to allow for more access. The current agreement with the City is that the Library will be open 41 hours per week. Petition the City Council, through the Board, to raise this to at least 45 hours per week in order to accommodate additional Friday hours.

            •           There has been an increase in immigrant populations over the Census 2000 numbers, where Asian/Pacific Islanders represented 25% of the city’s population (Albanyca.org, 2008). We would like to increase the amount of the foreign language materials to better serve this growing population.

            •           Open a café or coffee and beverage bar in collaboration with the Community Center to provide hospitality for our patrons.

            •           Continue evaluation of the County’s floating collection program started in July 2009 (Albany Library Board, 2009). Currently Albany Library has been the largest recipient of these materials, and this seems to be enhancing patron service.

Goal #2           Staff

To maintain Albany Library’s record of excellent service and build upon the strength of our service, which is provided by our valuable staff.

Objectives:

            •           Petition the City Council to fill the vacant Children’s Librarian position, which has been vacant for more than a year. As of September 2009, this petition was presented in the form of a letter from the Library Board to the Albany City Council (Flanagan, personal communication, July 29, 2009).

            •           Fill the full-time staff position vacated in August 2009 with the retirement of one of our long-time staff members. This was also presented in the letter to the City Council.

            •           Provide more training and staff development opportunities for staff.

Goal #3           Programs

Provide community outreach and programs for our youth. Our community’s under 17 population represents over 20% of our total population. It is important for the Library, to provide programs in order to foster learning opportunities for our community’s youth.

Objectives:

            •           Look for increased volunteership in order to provide more Homework Help sessions, which currently are offered on two afternoons per week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Would like to also provide additional sessions on Wednesday nights when the Library is open until 8:00 pm.

            •           Once we have restored our Children’s Librarian position to the Library, will increase children’s programs by adding more story times and arts and crafts on the weekends.

            •           The Library’s Teen Center is well-used by the community. Work with staff to implement some events targeted to teens in order to keep their interest in the Library strong  - teen reading groups, a gaming night with Wii and board games.

            •           Albany’s demographics show that over 60% of the community’s adult population has at least a Bachelor’s level education, which indicates a population that could be interested in continuing educational opportunities. The Library will implement additional adult-centered programs such as reading groups, computer courses. Also, these adults may be interested in volunteering to help with our Homework Help program.

Goal #4           Technology

Continue making improvement to technology access for our community by exploring new types of access as well as adding more points of access inside the Library.

Objectives:

            •           In April 2009 a new computer with adaptive technology was introduced to the Library. In the next two years work to add another terminal in order to better assist patrons with disabilities.

            •           Look into the benefits of adding e-mail or text a librarian program to the Library to provide even more access to our community and surrounding communities. There is a business software developer, Mosio, who may offer free one-year contracts to libraries who are interested in their system, which would be a good opportunity to test this program.

            •           Increase the number of public access computers by two during FY 2009-10 and an additional two during FY 2010-11.

Goal #5           Marketing

Make improvements in marketing the Library to the Albany community, as well as surrounding communities in order to increase patronage and awareness of the Library as a community place.

Objectives:

            •           Redesign and promote the Library’s website to include more links to useful resources and more information about the Library’s offerings. Also include more information about Library events, reading recommendations (by staff) and reference assistance. Put a task force in place on this by January 2010 in order to begin making improvements by summer 2010.

            •           Appeal to the Board and City Council about the importance of marketing and using the Library to enhance the community.

            •           Start a monthly library newsletter for the community in order to announce events, programs, and new and interesting additions to the collections. Hold a community-wide contest to name the newsletter and visit area school art classes to promote student artwork in the newsletter by encouraging students to submit drawings and cartoons to feature in the newsletter each month.

            •           Create social networking accounts for Albany Library in Facebook and Twitter. These are cost-free ways to get the word out to the public about our events and services.

Goal #6           Funding

Seek new ways of additional funding for the Library in addition to state and public funding already in place.

Objectives:

            •           In addition to the Friends of the Albany Library book sales, plan for one major fundraising event each year through FY 2009-10 and FY 2010-11. This could involve working with the neighboring Community Center and other area businesses for donations and support.

            •           Work with city and county leaders to create a proposal to increase funding for the Albany Library by 10-15% yearly. This would cover the impact of inflation and the growth of technology.

            •           Each year the State Librarian of California issues grants on a competitive basis to libraries that submit program proposals for specific grants. Albany library will work with staff to create a plan to compete yearly for LSTA grants (California State Library, 2009).

References

Albany Library. (2007, July 20). Retrieved October 28, 2009 from http://www.aclibrary.org/

branches/alb/default.asp?topic=Albany&cat=ALBHome

California Cities, Towns & Counties. (2009). Woodside, CA: Information Publications, Inc.

California State Library. (2009). Retrieved from www.library.ca.gov/

City of Albany, CA. (2008, June 18). Demographics. Retrieved September 30, 2009 from

 http://albanyca.org/index.aspx?page=60

Davis, R. (2009, July). Floating Collections Update. Update presented at the meeting of the

            Albany Library Board, Albany, CA.

DeKalb County. (2007). DeKalb County Public Library Strategic Plan. Retrieved from

            www.dekalblibrary.org

Flanagan, L. (2009, July 29). Letter to Albany City Council. Retrieved October 20, 2009 from

            http://www.albanyca.org/index.aspx?recordid=2197&page=640

Multnomah County. (2005). Multnomah County Library Strategic Plan. Retrieved from

            www.multcolib.org/plan/

Power, D. (2009). Environmental Scan. San Jose State University, San Jose, CA.

University of Washington. (2006). Vision 2010: The Libraries’ 2006-2010 Strategic Plan.

            Retrieved from www.lib.Washington.edu/

Ypsilanti District Library. (2007). Strategic Plan 2007-2010. Retrieved from www.

            Ypsilibrary.org/