November/December 2009

The Library's new Strategic Plan was approved by the Corvallis City Council on September 21. The plan sets a course for the Library for the next five years and involves recommendations in a number of areas. Overall, the consultant was impressed with our Library, our staff and board, our services, and our level of community support. The strategic initiatives identified include:   

• strengthening board advocacy and partnerships
• expanding staffing levels and creating a succession plan for future leadership
• increasing our ability to adopt new technologies and to support what we have
• improving services to school-age children
• increasing effectiveness of our outreach, especially with the bookmobile
• improving marketing of library services
• creating more efficiencies to get materials in the hands of patrons faster
• sustaining the quality of our collections
• maximizing our current facilities and planning for future space requirements

  
These initiatives will be incorporated into the Library's Business Plan, which is part of our budget process, so we can plan from a financial standpoint as to how and when to implement improvements.   

The most pressing need is for additional staff. Our Library has about 20 fewer FTE than libraries with similar populations and service levels, which is difficult to sustain long-term. Three of our service points (Alsea, Monroe, and the Bookmobile) are solo operations with only one person each, which is a safety issue.   

The full plan is on the Library's web site.