On October 7, 2013, the Board of Trustees of the Kent County Public Library approved a new mission statement, vision statement, and three-year strategic plan. Since March, consultant Barbara Houchen and a steering committee consisting of Dick Hawkins, Alice Ritchie, Jackie Adams, Christina Roseberry, and Ruth Shoge, have conducted interviews and focus groups with dozens of community members to answer the question: How can the library best serve the community in the near future?
Their answers were distilled into four themes that will guide library operations through 2016. The first of these is to ‘Energize the collection based on community preferences to include a multiplicity of formats and reflect the changing nature of publishing.” The second theme is to “Excel in technical support of the community by providing access to technology and offering training taught by a tech-savy staff.” The third theme is to “Enhance library spaces to encourage collaboration, social interaction, and reading enjoyment.” Finally, the library intends to “Expand outreach so the community will better use and value library services through increased cooperation with other organizations that support community education.”
The new mission statement includes the statement that the library should be “the cornerstone of the community where children and adults can experience life-long learning, personal enrichment, and connection with one another.” Participants who contributed to the strategic plan envision the library as “the premier place to experience the joy of reading, the discovery of ideas, the power of information, the excitement of collaboration, and the reward of social interaction…”
Brochures about the new strategic plan are available at the library.
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