J. V. FLETCHER LIBRARY LONG-RANGE PLAN

2008-2012

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:

Appendices:

Acknowledgements:

Community Visioning Participants:

Library Board of Trustees:

  Sandra Kelly, Chair

  Robert Price, Secretary

  Elizabeth Adams, Treasurer

  David Daniel

  Marianne Fleckner

 John E. Wrobel

Library Staff:

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. 

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.
 

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 Westford’s 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.