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HomeMy WebLinkAbout111920 Packet LIBRARY ADVISORY SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA November 19, 2020| 2:30 p.m. | Online ****The State of Emergency declared by Governor Inslee temporarily prohibits in-person contacts with the public required by the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act. The May 29, 2020 Public Health Order by Jefferson County Health Officer Thomas Locke also states no in-person meetings are allowed. Council will be participating by teleconference**** Submit public comment emails to be read aloud (up to three minutes per person) to: Submit public comment emails to be read aloud (up to three minutes per person) to: publiccomment@cityofpt.us or join in person via computer or tablet at http://joinwebinar.com enter the 9 digit Webinar ID 225-540-899 or listen by phone only (listening mode only) United States: +1 (415) 655-0060 access code: 448-180-272# Local Dial In – (360) 390-5064 access code: 448-180-272# I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Introductions IV. Approval of Agenda V. Old Business a. none VI. New Business a. Library Strategic Planning Process Update with Library Director Melody Sky Eisler and Brian Murphy of BERK Consulting b. Review Library Strategic Plan Draft with BERK Consulting c. City Council Business Meeting December 7, 2020 VII. Next Scheduled Meeting – December 10, 2020 | 2:30 p.m. ONLINE a. Agenda items VIII. Public Comment IX. Adjourn DRAFT November 15, 2020 Port Townsend Public Library Strategic Plan 2021-2025 Updated for 2021 The Port Townsend Public Library is dedicated to: Uplifting our community through reading, learning, connection, and creativity. And Ensuring A thriving community for all. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 2 Acknowledgments City Council Pamela Adams David Faber Amy Howard Monica MickHager Owen Rowe Michelle Sandoval Ariel Speser Library Advisory Board Robert Gray Savannah Hensel Ellie Mathews Jacqueline Mention Ann Raymond Kathy Ryan Owen Rowe, Council Liaison Sidonie Wilson (Chair) Other Departments John Mauro, City Manager Kelly Graves, Executive Assistant Library Supporters Friends of the Port Townsend Library Port Townsend Public Library Foundation Consultants BERK Consulting Library Department Melody Sky Eisler, Library Director Keith Darrock, Library Manager Hilary Verheggen, Library Manager Chloe Vogel, Library Associate Kathi Johnson, Library Assistant Shilah Gould, Library Assistant Nancy Grant, Library Assistant Erin Fenton, Library Page Jon Kasper, Library Page Karen Bezanson, Library Substitute Mary Coté, Library Substitute Mary Flick, Library Substitute Helen Tadeo, Library Substitute Library Strategic Planning Committee John Capps, Library Foundation Keith Darrock, Library Manager Michael D’Alessandro, Northwind Arts Center Melody Sky Eisler, Library Director Nora Mitchell, City Finance Director Tamara Meredith, Jefferson County Library Ann Raymond, Library Advisory Board Sarah Rubenstein, Port Townsend School District Deborah Vanderbilt, Friends of the Library Joy Wentzel, Port Townsend School District Sidonie Wilson, Library Advisory Board Special Thanks A special thank you to the numerous Port Townsend community members and stakeholder agencies who provided their time and thoughtful ideas to help the City create this Library Strategic Plan in 2020. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 3 PLANNING CONTEXT The Port Townsend Public Library (PTPL) is truly Port Townsend’s library. Its staff, collections, programs, historic Carnegie and Charles Pink House buildings are custom tailored for the unique community it serves. Port Townsend values its small town feel and sense of a community; loves the arts, creativity, history, and the sea; supports learning at all ages; and has a visitor-based economy. This Strategic Plan gives us direction for how to continue to be the best library for Port Townsend over the coming five years. Just as PTPL is shaped by its community, this plan is shaped by the particular time we are in. As this plan is written, we are in the midst of a major public health crisis, on the slow path to recovery. Financial challenges that were already affecting the City of Port Townsend have been exacerbated, inspiring Engage PT, a community-wide conversation about how to focus a constrained City budget, and encourage public participation in Citywide initiatives. Public attention is focused on systemic racism, social justice, climate change, sustainability both economically and environmentally, and providing equitable access to resources for all community members. We are grateful for our assets and mindful of our constraints. PTPL is fortunate to have the support of the community, expressed both in recent engagement activities and in the passage of a levy lid lift in 2008 that created a dedicated source for library operations. As generous as this is, this funding is constrained in two significant ways. The revenues it generates does not increase with inflation and so the library’s purchasing power is eroding over time. It also cannot be used for capital investments to maintain or improve our beautiful Carnegie building or historical Charles Pink House. Further programmatic outreach or any increased services will be dependent on staffing and service models. Currently, the library is at maximum capacity for maintaining day-to-day operations, which leaves offerings status quo for now. We will live within our means and work with the City, our Friends and Foundation, and other partners to manage existing resources and leverage creative funding opportunities. Given the economic hardships faced by community members and the City overall, we will not ask for additional public operating support during the five years covered by this plan. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 4 PLAN STRUCTURE AND FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION In the midst of current challenges, we remain hopeful. This Strategic Plan is calibrated to be both pragmatic, grounded in short-term realities, and aspirational, looking beyond current constraints. Engagement activities conducted as a part of this planning process captured what is most important to community members: our collections, staff, and space. We also heard a desire for more: more community connections; more programs and resources beyond the walls of the library; and more of a focus on what makes Port Townsend, and Port Townsend Public Library, unique. This Strategic Plan names the Library’s Vision, Mission, Core Services, and Assets and Resources. We will stay true to these, leveraging them to advance four Strategic Initiatives designed to strengthen our ability to serve the Port Townsend community. These elements are durable and will guide us through 2025 and perhaps beyond. Each year we will use this guidance to identify current special projects, with related ideas for the future indicating where we may go in subsequent years. In an annual cycle, Library staff will work with the Library Advisory Board, City leadership, and our partners to reflect on our progress and establish priorities and our budget for the coming year. Annually the staff will identify meaningful measures by which to track deliverables, outcomes, and build success. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 5 OUR VISION AND MISSION We share the City of Port Townsend’s Vision of: A thriving with access to resources for learning, relaxing, and expressing creativity community founded on our ability to connect to one another, by design and by accident, in person and online for all. includes full access for everyone, without barriers. The individuals and organizations of the Port Townsend community must work together to achieve this Vision, each according to their ability, focus, and resources. For its part: OUR STRATEGY We will prioritize the delivery of the Library’s Core Services: Collections, Programs and Events, Staff Expertise, and Access to Technology. Our community relies on us for these services, by providing spaces to house collections, offering friendly and expert customer service, hosting programs and events, and creating opportunities for connection, and we will deliver. We will steward our assets and resources, including our financial resources and beautiful Carnegie building. We will amplify our impact through partnerships with our Friends, Foundation, Cooperative Libraries of the Eastern Olympics (CLEO), and local and regional organizations. Our community desires more than we can provide on our own, so these relationships are essential to achieving our Mission. We will use our Core Services, partnerships, assets, and resources to continue to advance four Strategic Initiatives designed to help us be the best possible library for the Port Townsend community: 1. Increase equitable access to library offerings to serve all Port Townsend residents and visitors according to their needs, interests, and abilities. 2. Build community as a trusted convener and connector, both within and beyond library walls. 3. Help our Port Townsend community learn, do, create, and share. 4. Make efficient and effective use of local and regional resources. Tactics for implementing these Initiatives in 2021, as well as some ideas for the future are presented on the following pages. Initial Measures of Success are listed for 2021, with the expectation that these will evolve over time to include a mix of outputs and outcomes, with 2021 serving to establish a baseline in some areas. The Library’s Mission is: Uplifting our community through reading, learning, connection, and creativity. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 6 Strategic Initiatives 1. Increase equitable access to library offerings to serve all Port Townsend residents and visitors according to their needs, interests, and abilities. In 2021 Measures of Success ▪ Explore options for enhancing and expanding our collections, including strategies to improve easy access to digital resources and make creative use of Library and public spaces to house programs and collections. ▪ Raise awareness of what we have to offer, where we have limitations, and where we can instead connect to partner resources. ▪ Develop a creative method for identifying resources and programs that are provided by PTPL, including those provided through partnership with others. ▪ Enhance opportunities for serendipitous discovery, even if access to the building continues to be limited. ▪ Create a simple quick annual customer satisfaction survey with consistent questions to be able to measure changes over time. ▪ Evaluate current services such as: staff development; access to technology, ADA; Books on Wheels, to establish a baseline. ▪ Items in our collection. Total circulation and circulation statistics overtime. ▪ Percent of the Port Townsend community who are active library card users, meaning they have used their cards at least once a quarter in the past year. ▪ Survey respondent satisfaction with Library collections. Ideas for the Future ▪ Engage underserved populations in the community and identify their needs and desires for library services. ▪ Build on what we’ve learned about new user desires and continue to balance traditional services with ideas for drawing in new patrons. ▪ Initiate community conversations to continually connect with the community and promote library services. ▪ Explore options for pop-up library services and convenient pick up and drop off locations. ▪ Create a Services Improvement and Efficiencies Plan from the established baselines in 2021. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 7 2. Build community as a trusted convener and connector, both within and beyond Library walls. In 2021 Measures of Success ▪ Sponsor safe outdoor or online meeting and event/program spaces if restrictions on indoor gatherings continue. ▪ Work with the Friends and Foundation to secure stakeholder advocacy and financial support for programs and outreach. ▪ Number of events held in the library and elsewhere in the community. ▪ Attendance at and increased demand for programs. ▪ Positive feedback from event participants. ▪ Survey respondent overall satisfaction with the Library. Ideas for the Future ▪ Extend library programs into the community. ▪ Facilitate access to physical and virtual meeting spaces. ▪ Evaluate library programs and outreach activities to identify equity and access challenges. Use this baseline assessment to inform a future Program & Outreach Plan. ▪ Develop an annual Program & Outreach Plan, including more developed Measures of Success with a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 8 3. Help our Port Townsend community learn, do, create, and share. In 2021 Measures of Success ▪ Map and formalize our partnerships to leverage community resources. ▪ Build on existing collaboration with the Port Townsend School District in the COVID/post-COVID reality through programs like “Lunch at Your Library” and supporting their place-based learning. ▪ Continue creative services like “Take and Make Bags,” “Grab Bags,” and the “Unusual Items to Check Out” collection. ▪ Number of active partnerships. ▪ Number of programs and events delivered by the Library and its partners. ▪ Attendance at and increased demand for creative programs. ▪ Survey respondent satisfaction with Library programs and events. ▪ Positive feedback from event participants. ▪ Increased demand for relevant programs and events. Ideas for the Future ▪ Showcase local creative works in partnership with other community organizations. ▪ Offer local history and tell local stories in our collections in partnership with local organizations. ▪ Feature more indigenous history, stories, and programs in partnership with local Tribes. ▪ Circulate tools, technology, and other means to do, create, and share. PTPL | Strategic Plan 2021-2025 | Updated for 2021 | WORKING DRAFT 9 4. Make efficient and effective use of local and regional resources. In 2021 Measures of Success ▪ Serve as a hub for Engage PT and other current City initiatives. ▪ Plan Library All Staff Day 2021 in person or virtual ▪ Assemble and prioritize the Library’s maintenance and capital improvement needs. ▪ Update the Library’s staffing plan to best serve community priorities and work within the Library’s current operating budget. ▪ Collaborate with the Friends and Foundation to prioritize resources for collections in response to community priorities. ▪ Interlibrary circulation statistics within CLEO. ▪ Survey respondent feedback that the Library is a good steward of public resources. ▪ Expression of overall satisfaction by survey respondents. ▪ Increased Friends and Foundation resources for collections and programs. Ideas for the Future ▪ Invest in staff development to meet evolving service needs aligned with this Strategic Plan. ▪ Work with the City to establish a plan to address long-term capital needs and aging physical infrastructure. ▪ Explore funding for historical preservations and capital improvements. ▪ Research long-term options for establishing a sustainable operating budget aligned with community expectations. ▪ Explore long-term options for establishing sustainable funding for the City’s maintenance and capital improvements to the Library and Pink House.