Dedication:
The Library Board of Trustees dedicates this plan for the future of library services to the patrons of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Westford, Massachusetts.
The Board would like to recognize the following contributors to this plan:
• the Community Visioning Participants and survey respondents whose input helped craft this community-based plan,
• the committed Library staff who will implement and execute it, and
• the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System (NMRLS) Regional Administrator and Consultant who provided leadership and facilitation throughout the process.
The thoughtful insights, civic generosity and dedication of the Planning participants have ensured that through this visionary five-year plan, the J. V. Fletcher Library will remain in the vanguard of responsive community service.
This plan was unanimously approved and adopted by vote of the Board of Library Trustees at their regularly scheduled meeting on *** 2006 (date).
___________________
Sandra Kelly, Chair
Robert Price, Secretary
Elizabeth Adams, Treasurer (through April 2006)
David Daniel
Marianne Fleckner
John E. Wrobel
Samuel Frank (from May 2006)
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements |
p. 3 |
Overview of the Methodology |
p. 4 |
Library Vision Statement |
p. 5 |
Library Mission Statement |
p. 5 |
Goals and Objectives and Annual Action Plan FY07 |
p. 6-12 |
Appendices:
Library Visioning and Planning Calendar |
App. I |
Some Things You May Not Know About The Community of Westford |
App. II |
Some Things You May Not Know About The J. V. Fletcher Library! |
App. III |
2005 Community Survey: Executive Summary of Results and Assessment of User Needs |
App. IV |
Library Satisfaction Survey 2005 |
App. V |
Acknowledgements:
Community Visioning Participants:
James Arciero |
Aide to the Honorable Steve Panagiotakos, State Senator |
Shamim Bhindarwala |
Library Patron |
Karen Cavanagh |
Town Permanent Building Committee |
Charleen Cherng |
Member of Chinese Advisory Board |
Lynn Clermont |
Library Volunteer |
Ed Connolly |
Westford Business Contact |
Matthew Cooke |
Teen Advisor |
Buffie Diercks |
School Library Teacher |
Carole Frank |
Realtor |
Beatrice Friedman |
Media Representative |
Lizette Greaves |
Parish Center for the Arts |
Angela Harkness |
Lawyer |
Sally Harris |
President, Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. |
Dini Healy-Coffin |
Board of Selectmen |
Ron Jonhson |
Library Advocacy Committee |
Chris Kandianis |
League of Women Voters |
Norman Khumalo |
Assistant Town Manager |
Ron Koehler |
Director of Technology, Westford School Dept. |
Tina Marcouillier |
Home Schooling Community |
Fred Marsh |
Library Patron |
Patti Mason |
Roudenbush Afterschool Liaison |
John Newman |
Vice President, Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. |
Ingrid Nilsson |
Master Plan Study Committee; Community Preservation Committee |
Judy Ramirez |
Elder Services Liaison |
Chuck Reynolds |
Director of Technology, Town of Westford |
Kirk Ware |
Commission for Efficient Town Government |
Cindy Worthington-Berry |
Westford Ministerial Alliance |
Library Board of Trustees:
Sandra Kelly, Chair
Robert Price, Secretary
Elizabeth Adams, Treasurer
David Daniel
Marianne Fleckner
John E. Wrobel
Library Staff:
Ellen Rainville, Library Director |
Dina Kanabar, Systems/Automation Librarian |
India Nolen, Assistant Library Director |
Holly Sheridan-Pritchard, Head of Circulation |
Catherine Carroll, Head of Technical Services |
Kristina Worcester, Head of Information Services |
Kathleen Hutchins, Head of Youth Services |
Margo Sallet, Administrative Assistant |
Consultants and Facilitators:
Mary Behrle, Asst. Regional Administrator, Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System
Greg Pronevitz, Regional Administrator, Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System
John Whitman, Surveytools Corporation, Inc.
THE PLANNING PROCESS: An Overview AND Methodology
The Board of Library Trustees of the J. V. Fletcher Library approved on November 1, 2004 an Annual Action Plan that included the objective of a launching a new planning process. The Board and Director chose to initiate a new planning process in FY05 so that a final library document would be in place for submittal to the Town of Westford's Master Plan Committee (now working on updating their Master Plan). With the planning and consulting expertise of the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library System staff, an orientation session was held November 18, 2004 to acquaint the Board of Library Trustees and the Library administration with the proposed Planning Process (see Appendix I -- the planning calendar).
Throughout the winter and spring of 2005, the Community Visioning and Planning participants attended facilitated planning sessions, responding both to published library data and reports, SWOTs (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and surveys, and articulating the needs of the greater community as a representative focus group. With the assistance of Surveytools, Inc., the Library administration created a town-wide Library Satisfaction Questionnaire which was circulated to library patrons both in hard and electronic copy (on the J. V Fletcher Library website) during the late summer and fall of 2005. (See Appendices IV and V)A final Annual Action Plan for the old Planning Process was submitted to the Board of Library Commissioners for December 1, 2005 while the Library Management Team continued to work on a more long-term
planning document.
The input from the Visioning Participants as well as the responses from the Library Satisfaction Questionnaire have guided the Trustees and staff over the past twenty months in articulating goals and objectives to realize the ideal future J. V. Fletcher Library. While this plan is neither exhaustive nor all-encompassing, it does provide focus for the next three to five years in objectives open to on-going revision via future needs assessment tools. The Board of Trustees and the Library Administration would like to thank the community of Westford for its proactive library support, its eagerness to share an idealized future vision, and its committed belief that the public library contributes value to the quality of life within the community. This plan is intended to actualize the vision of the Community and the Planning participants and
thus is an instrument of positive change for both the J. V. Fletcher Library and the community as a whole.
J. V. FLETCHER LIBRARY VISION STATEMENT:
The J. V. Fletcher Library is a professional information partner dedicated to helping the Town of Westford and its citizens realize their full potential.
Library patrons experience the Fletcher Library as a responsive, creative resource meeting their unique needs and offering a memorable and personal library experience.
Lives are enriched and enhanced through the lifelong exposure to, and exploration of, life-changing ideas, art, literature, information and evolving technologies.
In a world of rushed and removed relationships, the library offers both a virtual village and a space of sanctuary and neighborhood.
Approved by the Board of Library Trustees, 5/1/2006.
MISSION STATEMENT OF THE J. V. FLETCHER LIBRARY:
The mission of the J. V. Fletcher Library is to serve its clientele as a progressive, responsive community resource. It is dedicated to serving the general informational, cultural, recreational and issue-oriented needs of its patrons, and to sustaining them in a lifelong pursuit of learning and personal growth. The Fletcher Library is a resource for exploring and using new technologies and formats, and serves as a meeting place for groups, individuals and families. While the Fletcher Library strives to be both reflective of, and responsive to, the community, it also seeks to be in the vanguard of professional library service -- attracting and leading the community into the future in a warm and welcoming public setting.
Approved by the Board of Library Trustees, 5/1/2006.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES & ANNUAL ACTION PLAN
COLLECTIONS & ACCESS
GOAL I: Library patrons speedily access a global array of titles, formats, and information sources, meeting and reflecting their needs, interests, careers and diverse demographics.
Objective A: Library staff will conduct selected inventories and assessments of major and unique collections beginning FY06.
Activity 1. Shelvers and paging staff will identify collection areas requiring shifting and thinning beginning in September of 2006.
Objective B: Library staff will promote and highlight specific literary genres and increase access via maps, labeling and signage by FY07.
Activity 1. By the end of FY07, a color-coded map identifying collection areas will be available to the Westford public.
Objective C: Library management staff will apply for an L.S.T.A. Foreign Language Collections Grant to expand and enhance the Chinese Language collection in FY07.
Activity 1. In March of 2007, the J. V. Fletcher Library will apply for an L.S.T.A. Foreign Language Collections Grant.
Objective D: Library staff will continue to expand and enhance the Circulating CD ROM Collection beginning in FY07.
Activity 1. The FY07 Materials Budget will include $1,000 for the juvenile Circulating CD ROM collection.
Objective E: Via the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC), the Library will invest in downloadable audio books beginning in FY07.
Activity 1. Beginning July 1, 2006, the Westford Library will designate a matching contribution of $750 towards the MVLC downloadable audio book collection.
Objective F: Beginning in FY07, Youth Services staff will steadily expand and augment the Graphic Novels collection for teens and 'tweens.
Activity 1.The FY07 Materials Budget will include $750 for the Graphic Novels collection for teens and 'tweens.
Objective G: Beginning in FY07, Information Services staff will steadily purchase informational databases to augment Reference and Research resources.
Activity 1. The FY07 Materials Budget will include $5,000 for the purchase of informational databases to augment Reference and Research resources.
Objective H: Through FY11, the Library will systematically engage in preservation and conservation of the Historical Collection and preservation of its historic facility features.
FACILITY AND SPACE
GOAL II: Library patrons enjoy a modern, expansive facility, designed and furnished to afford: collection growth; study, activity and meeting space; leisure reading; technological access; and communal areas for the purpose of programming, governance and public discourse.
Objective A: Funding for a Building Consultant to conduct a Feasibility Study and create a Library Building Program will be submitted within the FY07 budget so as to poise the Library for pursuing a future Public Library Construction Grant.
Activity 1. $25,000 for a Building Consultant will be submitted with the FY07 Capital Budget.
Objective B: Beginning in FY07, the Fletcher Library via the Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. will embark on a Library Beautification project.
Activity 1.The Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. will meet with a design consultant and review furnishing, fabric and color palette options in FY07.
Activity 2. Via the Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc., the Library will systematically replace and/or reupholster lounge chairs and study seating through FY09.
Objective C: A capital project to supplement lighting levels in the East and West wing stack areas will be submitted with the FY07 budget.
Activity 1. Funds for supplemental lighting in the East and West wing stack areas will be submitted with the FY07 Capital Budget.
Objective D: Trustees and Staff will tour newly-built and renovated libraries beginning the Spring of FY06.
Activity 1. The Board and Library staff will tour at least two newly-built libraries beginning the Spring of FY06.
Objective E: Administration will prepare and complete a facility Disaster Plan using the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners' "dPlan" prototype beginning in FY07.
Activity 1. Execution of the "dPlan" will become one of the Director's goals for FY07.
Objective F: By the end of FY07, the Fletcher Library will upgrade lower level carpet, public sinks and vanities.
Activity 1. Funds for carpet replacement will be submitted with the FY07 Capital Budget.
Activity 2. The Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. will investigate the replacement of sinks and public vanities in FY07.
Objective G: Beginning in FY07, the Library will investigate expanded shelving or storage solutions to accommodate the growing collections that exceed facility space.
Activity 1. In FY06, additional shelving for AV formats will be estimated and cost out.
Objective H: In FY08, the Library will re-design service desks for greater efficiency, improved service and ADA-compliance.
Objective I: In FY09, the Library will re-design Technical Services Furnishings and (ILL) processing into this space.
Objective J: In FY10, the Library will investigate enhanced heating, insulation and energy efficiency at the Rear Public Entrance.
Objective K: In FY07, the Library will begin to investigate a limited Cafe or coffee service consignment for the public.
Activity 1. The Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. will investigate a coffee service beginning Spring of FY06.
Objective L: An expanded parking feasibility study will be conducted and completed by the end of FY08.
Objective M: Through FY11, the Library will systematically engage in preservation and conservation of its historic facility features.
Activity 1. The Library will pursue the preservation of its historic Greek Revival windows in FY07.
FUNDING/RESOURCES
GOAL III: The J. V. Fletcher Library is funded at a level that reflects the demographics, expectations, educational level and service needs of the community of Westford.
Objective A. Annually, the Board of Library Trustees will enact and advocate for a budget level that ensures certification by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners by meeting the Municipal Appropriation Requirement.
Objective B. Annually, the Board of Library Trustees will enact and advocate for a budget that maintains the J. V. Fletcher Library Materials collection at the 15% level that ensures certification by the Board of Library Commissioners.
Objective C: Annually, the Board of Library Trustees will enact and advocate for a budget level that maintains the J. V. Fletcher Library service hours at a level that will be certified by the Board of Library Commissioners (minimally 50 or more hours per week, some part of five days, including some evening hours) until Westfords population exceeds 25,000, and the hours regulation increases.
Objective D. Beginning in FY06, the Board of Library Trustees will develop a plan (that includes a timeline) for creating a Library Foundation to support major long-term Library objectives.
Activity 1. Investigation and formation of a Westford Library Foundation will be a Trustee Goal beginning in FY06.
Objective E. Beginning in FY06, the Board of Library Trustees and the Friends Advocacy Committee will pursue partnerships and collaborations to augment the municipal funding received by the Library Department from the Town of Westford.
Activity 1. In FY06, the Friends Advocacy Committee will explore the feasibility of expanding hours through business partnerships and collaboration.
HOURS
GOAL IV: Library patrons of all ages have access to collections, meaningful activities, programs and events which foster personal growth, self-development and exposure to ideas, art, cultures and current issues during service hours which reflect their needs.
Objective A: By the end of FY08, the Fletcher Library will increase its weekly service hours to 60.
Objective B. By the end of FY09, or the Town's population reaching the 25,000 mark, the Library will increase its weekly service hours to 64 (per state regulation).
Objective C. By the end of FY09, Saturday service will be offered year-round.
Objective D. By the end of FY08, Sunday hours will be offered October through April.
Objective E: Bookmobile service hours will increase by 45% by the end of FY10.
STAFFING
GOAL V: Library patrons enjoy access to an array of services, programs and collections facilitated by trained, customer-oriented and sufficient staffing.
Objective A: In FY07, the Library will analyze and expand its paid and volunteer paging hours.
Activity 1. Beginning in FY06, the Library will advertise for volunteer shelvers.
Objective B. The Community Outreach Job Description will continue to be submitted annually with budget submittals from the FY02 budget on.
Activity 1: This position will be submitted annually until funded.
Objective C. By the end of FY10, the Community Outreach librarian will supplement current Bookmobile services by extending hours on Mondays and Fridays to the very young and the very old and to the homebound.
Objective D. In FY11, the J. V. Fletcher Library will apply for an L.S.T.A. Customer Service grant.
PUBLIC SERVICES
GOAL VI: Library patrons enjoy offerings, services, programs and collections that meet their interests, demographics, schedules and abilities.
Objective A. In FY07, Library staff will execute an L.S.T.A. "Mother Goose on the Loose" Grant program.
Activity 1. Youth Services staff will apply for and execute this grant as written.
Objective B: In FY08, Library staff will apply for an L.S.T.A. "Serving 'Tweens and Teens" Grant.
Objective C: In FY09, Library staff will apply for an L.S.T.A. "On the Same Page" Grant.
Objective D: In FY07, in concert with the Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc., the J. V. Fletcher Library Trustees will engage in a comprehensive brand and graphic design update to promote services, visibility and outreach to the public.
Activity 1. In concert with the Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc., the Library will explore working with a design firm to promote visibility and outreach to the public.
Activity 2. In concert with the Northeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System, the Library will initiate and execute a Marketing Plan.
Objective E: Beginning in FY10, the Library will investigate and implement services and technologies that reflect an aging usership, such as larger Spine Label Print, ADA-compliant Public Access Computers, vision enhancing and voice-activated technologies, etc.
TECHNOLOGY
GOAL VII: Library patrons access data, information, resources and collections via the latest technology and via new technological formats.
Objective A. In FY07, staff will implement networked public computers with centralized printing.
Activity 1. Via the Town Technology Department, the Library will migrate to new wiring and networked public computers.
Activity 2. The Library will bid out centralized printing service in the fall of FY07.
Objective B. By FY07, a wireless network will expand access to the Internet and facilitate laptop use throughout the Library.
Activity 1. Via the Town Technology Department, the Library will migrate to new wiring and to wireless capability in FY07.
Objective C. By FY07, the Library will install a public fax machine service.
Activity 1. The Library will experiment with public fax service by FY07.
Objective D. In FY07, administration will install enhanced photocopier service for the public.
Activity 1. The Library will bid out enhanced photocopier service by November 1, 2006.
Objective E: In FY07, a new telephone system will be installed.
Activity 1. Via the Town Technology Department, the Library will migrate to new telephone service during FY07.
Objective F: By FY08, the Library will offer juvenile Internet Search stations and juvenile Public Access Computers featuring Kidspac.
Objective G: By FY08, the J. V. Fletcher Library website will be re-designed and expanded (e.g. a Book Group Link on website, Video tutorials on web site) based upon the results of the brand exercise.
Objective H: By FY08, in concert with the Friends of the J. V. Fletcher Library, Inc. or some other partnership, the Library will offer laptops for in-library use.
Objective I: By FY08 or the advent of wireless capability, the Library will offer Public Access Catalog-only computers.
Objective J: By FY09, the Library will experiment with a Scanner for public use.
Objective K: By FY09, the Fletcher Library will offer public access computers that display Chinese character fonts.
Objective L: By FY09, the library will investigate the feasibility and affordability of a Self Check-out Computer.
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