Assessments of User Needs
| May 3, 2004 (evening) | First Trustee Public Forum (input using S.W.O.T format). |
| May 12 (afternoon) | Second Trustee Public Forum (input using S.W.O.T format). |
| May 16 (Sunday) | Third Trustee Public Forum (input using S.W.O.T format). |
| May 21 | Staff Development Day (input using S.W.O.T format). |
| June | 15 Member Long Range Planning Committee with broad based community representation is formed. |
| July | Community profile with trends in demographics is developed for Long Range Planning Committee. (See Appendix A) |
| July | Library profile with comparative data and status of handicapped access is developed for Long Range Planning Committee. (See Appendix B) |
| July 22 | Long Range Planning Committee meets (input using S.W.O.T format). |
| August | Town wide Library Survey is conducted (See Appendix C ) |
| August-November | Friends of the Library Executive Board and Board of Library Trustees collect support statement from residents who agree that Wilmington needs a new library facility. |
| August 30 | Long Range Planning Committee selects priority vision statements for the library. |
| September 9 | Review of survey results at Staff Meeting. |
| October 21 | Meeting with Library Department Heads to review first draft of the Long Range Plan. |
| November 1 | Long Range Planning Committee meets; modifies goals and objectives. |
All data that was gathered during this planning process confirms that the current library facility is not adequate to meet user needs. Through the S.W.O.T technique and through the town wide survey, residents indicated that the library lacks adequate space for collections, programs, technology and areas for quiet study and reading. Although the present library has one handicapped entrance with an automatic door and two other entrances are at street level, there are multiple issues within the library regarding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This Long Range Plan recommends corrective action by building a modern library facility that is accessible to all residents.
Other issues that were repeated in the data gathering and analysis include a desire for a continuation of programs for all ages and for improved access to an up to date collection and technology. The desire for Sunday hours in the winter and Saturday hours in the summer was also expressed.
It should also be noted that the vision expressed in the Wilmington Master Plan 2001 was added to the vision statements selected by the Long Range Planning Committee because the library is especially suited in specific ways to creating this vision for Wilmington. The library?s Long Range Plan takes into consideration a desire to have a town ?where residents have opportunities to interact and build relationships through a diverse array of social and cultural institutions? and a town where residents are ?well-informed.? The town?s vision is the basis for the primary tenet in the library?s mission ?to enrich the community by providing access to intellectual, cultural and recreational resources to all citizens.
Although the most ambitious goal in this plan is to construct a new library facility, subsequent goals respond to other important needs that were articulated in this planning process. In order to ensure access to library services, it is critical that residents are made aware of these services through an active public relations program which is the focus of the second goal. Goal three focuses on providing access to information technology in the present library as well as ensuring a flexible technology infrastructure in the new library. Goals four, five and six emphasize the continuation of providing excellent service to children, teens and adults. Goal seven reflects the desire to create a library that is viewed as a community hub and a primary source of local information. Goal eight emphasizes the important role that the library staff plays in the delivery of this plan of service. Although daily activities that are critical to the efficient operation of the library and to good customer service are not articulated in this plan, they are the foundation upon which this plan of service will be delivered.
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