By Lee Hallberg

The Mancos Public Library has completed a three-year strategic plan to assist in the guidance of services and operations. Library staff, volunteers and board trustees spent many hours over the course of the last few months gathering data in the form of surveys, conversations with stakeholders, and focus groups. The resulting plan is the collaborative effort of many residents and leaders in the Mancos Valley, gives clear direction to the overall vision of the Mancos Public Library, and addresses many of the community needs and concerns.

As the library staff and volunteers were collecting feedback, they first began to realize that many of the conversations were centered around the challenges of keeping the community vibrant - providing activities to help attract and retain workers and young families. This was a natural fit for the mission and vision of the Mancos Public Library, thus was born the first three-year goal: Be the community gathering place to learn, engage and connect.

This goal means a big step in the library's service efforts for the community. The library staff and volunteers have always strove to bring educational, entertaining and enlightening programs, materials and workshops to the community. Moving forward, the library will continue to do this with a little more foresight and focus - developing planning and feedback mechanisms that will help the staff to better embrace the interests and desires of all demographics of community members, tapping into the skills of our friends and neighbors and building staff capacity so the library can more efficiently operate.

The second need that was apparent in the feedback has to do with what many are referring to as the 'digital divide'. In the increasingly technology-focused world, there is starting to be a defined rift between those who have readily embraced and have access to the latest technologies and those who have not. In small, rural communities where infrastructure for high-speed internet is not available and many homes cannot afford a personal computer, public access to cutting-edge technology is very important to ensure local students have a measurable advantage in the workforce, that seniors have equal access to services, and families are able to stay connected and prosper. Thus, the second goal is: Be the place to access new and emerging technologies.

As with the first goal, this requires an increase in capacity on the part of the library in order to achieve. The first steps in accomplishing this will be to upgrade the network and staff systems as to be poised to take full advantage of higher bandwidths as they become available, developing technology competencies and staff development plans, and securing funding to support these initiatives.

The third goal in the long-range plan came not from what the library staff and volunteers were hearing in the responses to conversations, but rather from what they were not hearing. Many people had indicated that they would like to see programs in the areas of Education, Health, Music, Art and Film. These are the current areas of focus for the programs and constitute the bulk of our offerings, yet turnout to these programs is low. So, the third goal took shape: Enhance community awareness of library programs, services and materials.

As the library continues to grow and offer more services to the community, the staff need to ensure that the word of these services are getting out to the community. The first steps in addressing this need will be the creation of a formal marketing plan to guide the efforts, developing strategies for partnering with individuals and other organizations that will increase library visibility, and maximizing library awareness and support through increased public relations.

The final goal in the plan comes out of necessity and to remind the library of the larger issue that the library staff and volunteers must keep in their sights moving forward. As much as the library staff and volunteers are excited with the direction the library is taking and are looking forward to improving our services to the community, the library still faces the issue of declining revenues on top of the large debt incurred in the building of the new library. So, the final goal was developed: Secure financial sustainability.

To meet this goal, the library staff and board will be looking into opportunities to defray debt and decrease financial burden through conversations with lenders and outreach to major donors. If measures to increase revenue and reduce debt aren't fruitful, then budget cuts will be implemented to balance resources with expenses until the economy is able to recover. Although this goal seems intimidating, the library made great strides over the last couple of years in keeping the budget in check. As library director, I'm confident we'll continue to be successful in the future.

I'd like to thank everyone who attended our focus group, met with library staff, or filled out a survey as part of our long range planning process. Your input is invaluable, and gave us much of the information that guided our planning - in short, this is your plan for your Mancos Public Library, and we will work hard to see it comes to fruition. Copies of the 3-Year Strategic Plan with first year objectives are available at the library, on the library's website at mancoslibrary.org/info, or you can request one be sent to you by calling the library at 533-7600.

Lee Hallberg is the director of the Mancos Public Library.