EMPORIA PUBLIC LIBRARY STRATEGIC PLAN

Strategic Planning Committee Jayme Johnson Justina Mollach Brittany Torres Sara Worcester

SWOT Analysis Part One

The mission of the Emporia Public Library is to provide access to informational, educational and recreational services, materials and programs to users of all ages. While the Emporia Public Library is doing a good job of providing services to the public, there are some things that could be changed that would help improve the library to further support the mission. Through a SWOT analysis, our group will determine the internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats facing the Emporia Public Library. The SWOT analysis will allow us to

look critically at the Emporia Public Library to determine what changes should be made and implemented in the strategic plan. The second half of the strategic plan will address the changes that need to be made in the library to improve the overall service the library provides.

Internal Strengths
It is important to develop a full picture of the library atmosphere and in order to do this we must examine the positives as well as the negatives. In this section we will examine the an internal strength of the Emporia Public Library that we have chosen to highlight. That internal strength is the capable staff at each section who assist the patrons and perform tasks necessary to the operation of the library. This is one of the core competencies essential to a successful library and complies with the section of the mission statement detailing that there must be "adequate staff and scheduling to assist patrons at all times.

Internal Weakness
However, the Emporia Public Library is also facing internal conflicts that are based on communication issues. There has been an increase in patron/board complaints based on staff/page customer service. Customer service is a top priority for the Emporia Public Library and addressing these issues has been key in recent Board and Staff meetings. Complaints include not greeting patrons and not paying attention to patrons as they walk up to the circulation desk. This appears to be an issue of culture rather than training as even the mission statement dictates the aforementioned "adequate staff" and a "safe and accessible environment" for the patrons Another potential communication problem exists within the staff and departments. The library is separated on two floors, with the Childrens area and Internal Staff on the first floor and the Adults section on the second floor. Communication between the two areas is lacking, with several downstairs employees believing that the majority of the upstairs staff should not be trained in the basic circulation procedures. Which is a substantial issue considering that the upstairs staff is supervising the entire library on the weekends. These skills are needed by the entire library staff but they are limited only to the first floor due to communication problems between the floors. This breakdown exhibits a significant failure in producing synergy between the two departments.

External Opportunities and Strengths

An important external strength that should be emphasized is the commitment and involvement of the Board of Trustees. The positive relationship that exists with the Board of Trustees is important because the Emporia Public Library acts "in response to the specific needs of the community it serves." The Board is comprised of community members and ultimately serves as the formal connection to the community that will ultimately benefit from their representation.

As mentioned above, libraries across the board are facing critical funding shortfalls. Fortunately for the Emporia Public Library, the English Department at Emporia State University has recognized both the librarys need and potential. They have responded by developing a plan to raise funds for the library. This is not only a financial benefit for the library, but serves also as a morale booster with free publicity. The fact that the English Department is going out of their way to raise money for the library is most encouraging to those working there and the work being done helps to solidify the fact that the library is worth supporting. This is certainly a relationship that the EPL would like to continue to strengthen and will do so by supplying reference librarians to assist the English department and promote outreach.

External Threats and Weaknesses

While the Emporia Public Library has many different areas in which they excel, there are also several external areas which are presenting threats. Recently the budget for the Emporia Public was decreased by a significant amount (approximately $26,000 for the fiscal year), in light of this, the board and the director have chosen to close the library on Sundays, starting at the beginning of the new year 2013. This cut will help save money by cutting staff hours and utilities, however, there has been some subsequent negative feedback from the community. As with the many other government-funded institutions, the Emporia Public Library has experienced its budget cuts and they are learning to function with fewer dollars, as described earlier. It is discouraging, however, for the library and for the people in Emporias community to see how the towns funds are being managed. There is often discontent in the community, especially with the allocation of funds which support unpopular and expensive projects rather than existing institutions in need. One such example of these unpopular projects was the installation of large limestone entrance signs which many citizens disapproved of vocally in newspaper editorials and at city meetings. This is seen as a threat to the community and indirectly the library because funds are not being allocated to the areas which would benefit the citizens of Emporia the most.

Appendix
Mission Statement
The Mission of the Emporia Public Library, a tax-supported community resource, is to provide access to informational, educational and recreational services, materials and programs to users of all ages. The Emporia Public Library is an agency for the collection and dissemination of cultural, business, occupation, recreational, and educational information in response to the specific needs of the community it serves. If offers important contributions to the shaping and sustenance of the quality of life for all the citizens. The Emporia Public Library support the ALA Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read and View statements. Copies are available upon request.

The Emporia Public Library strives to supply resources in a timely fashion, as well as facilities, services and the staff to offer patrons a wide range of opportunities to develop individually and in groups by providing: 1. Books, periodicals, electronic media, for public borrowing or use in the library; 2. Accurate and reliable information in a timely response to specific needs; 3. Information for self-directed educational growth to meet personal, vocational, and avocational needs; 4. Adequate staff and scheduling to assist patrons; 5. Stimulation for intellectual and community awareness through programming, exhibitions, and acquisitions; 6. Facilities for cultural and educational activities; 7. A safe and accessible environment

SWOT Analysis Part 2 Revised Mission Statement

The mission of the Emporia Public Library is to connect the community with services for informational and recreational needs. The Emporia Public Library advocates the idea of intellectual freedom and strives to support the community by adapting the ALA Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read and View statements. The library will listen to the community and make appropriate decisions based on community needs. The goals of the Emporia Public library are: Provide the community with information by supplying books, periodicals, and electronic media. Enrich the community with programs that are available to further educational goals, or recreational goals. Connect the community with information professionals and trained staff to provide assistance with information needs. Promote a positive atmosphere at the library through friendly staff and patron interactions.

Recommended strategies
In order to accurately reflect the libraries mission statement and best serve the public, actions must be taken to improve aspects that are not at optimal levels. Likewise, the staff should not diminish their efforts upon the aspects that are currently working and

move forward with their actions to maintain these levels of fulfillment. With that in mind we suggest the following strategies to encourage continual improvement. Internal Strength To bolster the strength of capable staff who assist the patrons and perform tasks necessary to the operation of the library we suggest the following strategy. The strategy would be the improvement of continuing education on a staff-wide scale. We suggest continuing education focusing on managerial techniques that focus on proactivity. This would insure that staff members are up to date on emerging trends and best practices which would consequently reduce uncertainty. In turn this would encourage staff members to be confidant in directing the future of the library, which would cultivate an atmosphere of innovation. All of these factors would act as a shift toward a more organic structure. Internal Weakness Our suggestion to combat two of the main internal weaknesses, interdepartmental communication and public service issues, would be the inclusion of more frequent library wide meetings. The purpose of this suggestion would be to increase staff awareness of trends and issues within the community and the library itself. The change would, in effect, develop a healthier dialogue within the library allowing for swift correction of perceived issues. While we understand all of the tasks do not require a reciprocal level of interdependency, we would suggest higher levels of interdependency when possible. The ultimate goal of these change would be to promote a sense of synergy that would best serve the patrons of the library, in contrast to a divided departmental focus. Although the public is currently receiving more than adequate service, the interdepartmental structure is hampering the efforts. By shifting the circulation staff towards the Reference desk to answer directional and computer questions and moving the librarians more towards outreach, the librarians will be able to focus on the higher variety questions while the staff can work in lower uncertainty areas. This too will help the interdepartmental flow by staffing the reference desk with circulation staff. External Opportunities One of the main goals of the library is to improve the relationship and dialogue with the community in order to better meet their needs and cultivate future external opportunities. In order for this to occur, the library must be aware of the publics needs and the public must know what the library has to offer. Additionally, we will focus on taking advantage of external opportunities that have been presented to the library. An example of this would be working with the Emporia State University English Department, who has so graciously offered to help the library.

External Threats The most prominent of the threats facing the library today are the external changes occurring in the present economic environment. In light of these economic hardships it is important that we are vocal about the value of our institutions and encourage voters to support their library. The best way to do this is to not only reinforce the value of the library, but to increase awareness and support of this value. Every day should be viewed by the library as a campaign for their future. In order to do this the library must insure that taking advantage of existing marketing mediums is a core competency. There are many outlets, which would cost little or nothing, that the library could utilize more fully to underscore their impact within the community.

Implementation
Section 1
The biggest change occurring in the library will be moving the reference desk librarians off the desk to work on community outreach and supplementing the reference desk with the circulation desk staff. In more recent years, the reference desk has increasingly been answering mostly directional questions, so the uncertainty of working the desk has decreased. By taking the reference desk librarians off the desk the variety will increase as will the uncertainty. By adding the reference desk to the mechanistic duties that are associated with circulation desk the variety of the circulation staff will somewhat increase, but not a lot due the fact that the majority of the questions answered at the reference desk are directional questions.

Organizational chart addressing specific changes:

Organizational Goals: Specific The goal in making these changes at Emporia Public Library is to increase community buy in to the library. Since there is a plan to increase the mil levy in the future, it is imperative that the community understand the importance of the library and also know why the library is asking for the increase.

Measurable Success can be measured by whether or not the number of users of the library increases, if there is an increase in donations, and if the community chooses to pass the increase in taxes in support of the library. Attainable

It is important that the reference librarians are friendly and approachable in their outreach to the community. Reference librarians are generally used to helping people, so it was felt that they already had the appropriate attitude to make the changeover to outreach. It will be important that the reference librarians take on a larger leadership role with the reference desk and be prepared to assist the circulation staff in any problems they might have with the transition. The circulation staff will need to carry over their service attitude from the circulation desk to the reference desk. Relevant The new changes relate to the mission of the Emporia Public Library. The library is focusing on connecting the community with services offered at the library and outreach via the reference librarians is taking a proactive approach to the mission. Timetable Our goal is to have the plan completely implemented by the end of week ten. Below is a timeline stating the steps needed to be done to complete the plan. Weeks 1-2: Reference desk librarians will train circulation staff on the reference desk. Weeks 3-4: Circulation staff will be implemented on the reference desk. Reference desk attend training/speak with other librarians on outreach to the community. Weeks 5-6: Reference desk librarians will prepare an outreach plan to present to the library staff and management. Weeks 7-9: Reference desk librarians will make any suggested changes to the plan and present the outreach plan to the board. Week 10: Outreach plan will be implemented by the reference staff. Emporia Public Library currently exhibits both bureaucratic and organic characteristics. The library itself is small, so any changes that need to be made can be made fairly easily as long as all of the employees are all on board. To gain employees trust in the strategic plan, it would be vital to provide motivational support for the employees. These motivations will only work if they are things the employees want, so it will be important to listen to employees to decide on potential motivational techniques. The main problem at the library appears to be communication. There should be an effort to make the library more transparent and increase communication between departments and with the community. The change in communication will promote beneficial adjustments within the library and will change the atmosphere of the library. It is important that the library staff support the strategic plan, but it is also important that each employee feels empowered to make suggestions on what could work at the library.

Section 2
Continuing Education

The action which we suggest that will demand a dedicated fund would be the practice of continuing education. In order to mitigate the costs that the library may incur by sending multiple individuals to conferences or workshops our suggestion is to, instead, send a single individual who would then relay the new information and techniques to the rest of the staff during meetings. As stated previously, these actions would encourage staff members to be confidant in directing the future of the library. All of these changes would precipitate our ultimate goal of increasing the organic nature of Emporia Public Library. Library Communication One problem Emporia Public Library has is the nature of communication within the library. To open communication between departments we suggest an all staff meeting at least once a week for the period of one month. Having these meetings will be vital to the implementation of the strategic plan. It is, likewise, imperative that all of the staff members support the new mission and goals of the library. The library staff meetings will promote transparency throughout the library and allow staff members to have more autonomy in the workplace by providing an open forum to discuss new ideas. Once the support of the strategic plan is in place, staff meetings could then be changed to occurring once every two weeks, or once a month at the discretion of the staff. Staff meetings could have a budgetary effect on the library depending on what the library schedule is like. If there is one hour where most/all of the staff is working at the library this would be the most cost efficient time to have a meeting as opposed to a time where staff would have to come in and receive an additional hour of pay.