A Vision?

The "big group" struggled through an exercise with Tess Kirby last week and came up with this as a possible Vision Statement...let me know what you think, OK?

Southfield Public Library:

A world class choice for learning, discovering and imagining!

Dave

SWOT update

The group really got the creative juices flowing Tuesday and we came up with MANY threats. That may not sound like a good thing, but it is when you turn it around and see what kinds of OPPORTUNITIES it can present! Also, we don't want to be blindsided by something we could have avoided.
You can see all the identified Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats on the H drive. I'm always on the lookout for additional ideas, so never hesitate to share them with me. Our next step, Tuesday at 2-4 in the meeting room, is to "clump" like things together into 'threads', which we'll use to weave our future together.
I'm nervous about all this, but only because I see how many of us are actively involved and want to have the best product. Consultant Tess Kirby will be coming in a few weeks to help us create our over-arching VISION statement. Then we'll use the identified threads to weave ladders of goals and objectives that will help us reach the library we envision being in 5 years.
What an objective - what an opportunity to develop as individuals and as a team, what a chance to be a force for good in the community (even more than we are now!).
-- Dave

Phone Survey results

WOW! Bill Schroer, consultant and president of W.M. Schroer Co., made a presentation to the Strategy group yesterday afternoon and gave us a LOT to think about! His team's findings underscored some of what we knew, but also gave us many suggestions for things we didn't know and things we can do to improve the library.
Next week's Strategy meeting will give us some time to compare what we heard and put together some ideas - ideas and thoughts which will be combined with similar thinking about the other areas of our info gathering effort.
The most interesting and challenging part of this whole Long Range Plan effort is coming up...c correctly interpreting and understanding what to do with the data. I'm excited to begin the process and will let you know as things progress. (That is, if anyone's reading this...) - Dave

Surveys, Focus Groups coming

I have updated the Time Line in the lounge to show us tentatively conducting surveys Dec. 3-9. Kelly Ireland is searching for more people to help fill in times. If you'd like to help, let her know.

Polly K. will be here Jan. 14-15 to train our volunteer focus group leaders. If you'd like to participate, talk to your Coordinator. We have several groups we hope to talk to in late Jan. & early Feb.

Warren Graham will be here Jan. 8-11 to continue his work with us on security & safety. (I know that isn't part of the LRP, but it's coming soon & I want word to be spread...)

We've got a "Staff Survey" in the works, to help gather your thoughts on the possible directions the library can head in the future. More to come soon!

Think about the future! Dave

Electronic Paper

As we look 5-10 years down the road, what do you think will change in the world that will impact libraries, especially SPL?

One thing that's right on verge of "prime time" is electronic paper. Sounds like books made of dead trees may soon be a thing of the past. What if we could buy an author's entire set of work on a sheet of e-paper? Or, will patrons bring in their own e-paper books for us to fill with content? And how long until those same devices can hold movies & music?

How do we stay relevant to our community? Will we only be used by the "have-nots"?

Maybe this is where meeting rooms, programs, and other value added services come into play...

Give me your thoughts - Dave

Initial Post

Hello!

This forum is created to share ideas, concerns, comments and more about the Southfield Public Library's current Long Range Plan. Here I will share the progress of the process, ask you questions, answer questions, and give you my thoughts. In exchange I hope you'll give me honest feedback about the whole shebang.

Ground Rules:

1. Please, no name calling or disparaging of anyone (at the library or in the city).

2. This is fertile ground for brainstorming, so I even want to read about "Crazy" ideas. There may be reasons against putting some into action, but this is a good place to present them. They don't have to be completely thought out - that's what this forum is for, to explore pros & cons, so try not to make fun of another's ideas.

3. Comments should be made with the understanding that anyone else on staff can read them, and may comment back, so be gentle in pointing out flaws. BUT - we do need to know about flaws in ideas!

I'll soon be blogging about the newest steps we're taking, and will begin putting forth ideas for you to critique.

More to come soon, thanks for reading,
Dave