plan
Non-Profit Org. US Postage
315 South Rose Street Kalamazoo, MI 49007
strategic
PA I D Kalamazoo, MI Permit No. 1224
Central Library 315 S Rose St, 49007 342-9837
Friends of the Library Bookstore 315 S Rose St, 49007 553-7820
Eastwood
Kalamazoo Public Library launched
1112 Gayle Ave, 49048 553-7810
a strategic planning process this year
Oshtemo
to consider current, anticipated, and
7265 W Main St, 49009 553-7980
possible future community needs—
Create Young Readers
Connect to the Online World
then determine which of those needs
Young children (birth to 5) will have programs, services, and materials to prepare them to enter school ready to learn.
Everyone in Kalamazoo will have free highspeed access to the online world.
• Young children will check out more easy
and wireless network.
KPL can help meet. Working with a highly regarded
readers, picture books, and board books.
library strategic planner, we learned
• More young children will attend library
what library services are most
programs and participate in the annual summer reading game.
needed and valued in Kalamazoo, keeping in mind resources available from other organizations. Following are the five overarching services, goals and specific objectives that will guide KPL’s work through the next three years.
link
December 2010 L I B R A R Y L I N K
Kalamazoo Public Library
Parents/caregivers will have the tools and skills needed to prepare young children (birth to 5) to learn when they enter school. • Parents/caregivers will say the library
• More people will use library computers • Library users will say KPL’s online
services and staff support are very good.
Build Successful Enterprises Nonprofit organizations will have the tools to build capacity and achieve excellence provided by a securely funded ONEplace.
helps prepare children to enter school with skills they need to succeed.
• At least 1,500 people will attend a
• Parents and caregivers will attend library
• More individuals or groups will receive
programs designed to give them the tools to help their children.
ONEplace program each year. assistance from ONEplace. • Users will evaluate such assistance as
very good or excellent.
Stimulate Imagination Everyone will have materials and services that provide pleasurable reading, viewing, and listening experiences. • Patrons of all ages will check out more
fiction, nonfiction, music, and movies. • More youth will attend library programs
and participate in the annual summer reading game. • Tweens/teens will say their library spaces
are fun and welcoming. • Tweens/teens and adults will say they
found something good to read, listen to, or view at the library. • Adults will say that they received reserved
items in a timely manner. • Library-sponsored programs will attract
7,500 adults each year.
Discover Your Roots Everyone will have resources to know local history and to connect past with present through family histories. • At least 1,000 people will attend a local
history/genealogy program each year. • Staff will answer at least 6,000 local
history/genealogy questions each year. • Users will evaluate local history/genealogy
services as very good or excellent. • More people will access local history or
genealogy web pages each year.
note
director’s
Alma Powell 1000 W Paterson St, 49007 553-7960
Washington Square 1244 Portage St, 49001 553-7970
working the plan
Library Board
As you’ve read in past issues of Link, KPL’s strategic planning initiative dominated the library management team’s work this past year.
Lisa A. Godfrey President Valerie Wright Vice President
We consulted with library strategic planner Sandra Nelson and used her books Strategic Planning for Results and Implementing for Results. Exercises and worksheets in her books helped us identify desirable service responses, define goals, and set specific objectives to reach those goals. You’ll find a summary of the final plan on the previous page.
As we work with the plan, we’ll seek more input from you, our patrons. Throughout the year, we’ll ask about your library visit—to learn if you found something good to read, listen to, or view; how well staff helped you find information; how quickly you were able to use a computer or access the wifi network to reach the Internet.
Even as we worked through the steps outlined in Nelson’s books, we faced funding challenges that forced hard decisions, like eliminating bookmobile service, reducing staff positions and branch hours, and centralizing materials selection and reference services.
We recently purchased an annual subscription to CollectionHQ, a web based application that will help KPL librarians to better select, weed, and refresh KPL’s collection. We plan to serve you even better, with a dynamic selection of books, movies, and music that you can’t resist! Look for more displays to highlight special collections.
At the same time, we welcomed increased library use. Patrons checked out 1,132,842 items last year, boosting KPL’s circulation by 16%. The new strategic plan enables us to focus on the five service responses the community most values from the library. Each program or project will be held up to the plan. Before we commit any library resources, we’ll determine whether a proposed effort will enhance KPL’s ability to meet strategic objectives.
Ann Rohrbaugh Library Director
James VanderRoest Treasurer Fenner Brown II Secretary Cynthia Addison Cheryl TenBrink Robert Paul Brown Trustees
Credits Kalamazoo Public Library’s Marketing and Communications Office publishes Link with support from the Friends of the Library. Contact us with your comments or suggestions, 553-7879 or email mac@kpl.gov.
www.kpl.gov
live at KPL More than 4,000 patrons have attended a free concert at KPL since the series started in 2008. Audience members and musicians love these intimate live familyfriendly performances, held on the third Wednesday of each month. Mark Duval, Two Track Mind, says KPL’s Van Deusen Room offers music lovers a “fabulous opportunity to hear acoustic performers.” Gazette reporter and reviewer John Liberty calls KPL’s concerts “a show for the band to be heard and the crowd to listen.” He enjoys the pre-song banter and post-concert chat. Ian Gorman has performed at KPL quite a few times with different groups, including Michael Beauchamp/Red Tail Ring and The Red Sea Pedestrians. He describes KPL experience as “a pleasure,” with “great vibe,” a chance to connect with a crowd that really appreciates roots music. According to Ian, KPL employs “one of the best sound guys in town,” Bryan Heany, who says he “loves working sound at the library concert series...where the music is the focus.” Asked whether they would perform again at KPL, Mark responded “Definitely!” and John Wesley Harding said, “I’d be delighted.” Ian loves playing KPL concerts and “can’t wait to do it again!” So when’s the next concert? Join us for the Micaela Kingslight Band, December 15, 7 pm, Kalamazoo Public Library.
branch hours change KPL’s Board of Trustees voted to reduce service hours at branch libraries starting December 1. The recommended changes are based on a review of circulation statistics, computer use, and staff observation. The new open hours reflect the busiest times at each branch location. Washington Square, Eastwood, and Powell branch libraries will have almost the same hours. Powell Branch Library will be closed on Saturdays because Douglass Commu-
meet jaimy gordon
nity Center, home of the library,
December 2, 7 pm, Kalamazoo Public Library
is closed.
Jaimy Gordon’s new novel, Lord of Misrule, was named a National Book Award winner in the fiction category, one of just five finalists. Lord of Misrule follows five characters—scarred and lonely dreamers in the American grain—through a year and four races at Indian Mound Downs, downriver from Wheeling, West Virginia. Andrei Codrescu, an award judge, praised Jaimy for her “incredible
A total of 33 hours will be cut system-wide, reducing costs by approximately $145,000.
command of other voices, and a sense of music in language...” A Western Michigan University professor of English, Jaimy Gordon has written two other novels, plus poetry, plays, short stories, and essays. She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College, and an Academy-Institute Award from the American Institute of Arts and Letters. Lord of Misrule will be available for purchase at the event.
in this issue events ONEplace • annual report • strategic plan • director’s note • •