St. Jerome Public Library Outreach – Strategic Plan Transforming our Community one Reader at a Time

Overview  In St. Jerome. Mississippi  On Gulf Coast, post Katrina  Provide community cohesiveness  11 Branches – Population still underserved  Shift in demographics  Current initiatives – African American, Yes, Teen  Proposed initiatives – Hispanic, Elderly

Vision Statement St. Jerome Public Library Outreach Department: Reaching out, helping people connect to the world.

Mission Statement We reach out to individuals and groups within the community to enhance connectivity to the world and enrich lives through collaborative learning.

Guiding Values 1.Community 2.Access 3.Democracy 4.Diversity 5.Education 6.Sustainability 7.Service

Organization Department Manager African American Resource Center Librarian Teen Zone Supervisor Phone Librarian Hispanic Programs Librarian Elderly Programs Librarian Volunteer Coordinator Partnership Coordinator

Planning Team and Factors  Avoid homogenous group, seek diversity  Avoid “Group Think”  Deciding which populations to focus on  Amber Ovsak, St. Jerome Public Library Director  Patty Miles, Outreach Department Manager  Lori Levine, Adult Services Manager  Kristina Jacobs, Library Board Member  Betty White, Strategic Planning Specialist, specializes in libraries

S.W.O.T Analysis Internal Strengths  Print Resources available  Identified Need  Database of Volunteers  Non-hierarchical  Ethnic diversity of staff Internal Weaknesses  Shortage of local funds  Dependence on volunteers

S.W.O.T Analysis External Opportunities  Community Partnerships  Delivery by Meals on Wheels  Donations of goods and supplies  Government funds External Threats  Fear of Government  Lack of Understanding of the Process  Lack of Partner follow- through  Difficulty in contacting target populations

Gap Analysis Programming and Patron Statistics  Currently: Program attendance among the Hispanic population is 1.9%  Goal: Our goal is to bring up attendance to 6% Implementation Strategies  Marketing programming specifically for the Hispanic population of St Jerome. Making sure that advertisements are in the Spanish language and are distributed in areas and retailers that are heavily frequented by the Hispanic population ensures market saturation.

Gap Analysis Programming and Patron Statistics  Currently: While we have a good patron base among our elderly citizens, circulation by these patrons is low at 9%  Goal: Our goal is to see circulation rise to 12% Implementation Strategies  Initiative 1: Deliver books, audiobooks, dvds, cds, etc. to homebound individuals.  Initiative 2: Deliver books to nursing homes, senior centers, and hospitals.  Initiative 3: Develop weekly programs at the St. Jerome Senior Center.

Service to the Elderly Deliver to homebound individuals  Meals on Wheels  Volunteer Delivery – 5 Zones Deliver to nursing homes & senior centers  Monthly cart delivery  Permanent contact individual

Service to the Elderly Develop weekly programs at St. Jerome Senior Center  Week 1: Travelogues  Week 2: Memoires  Week 3: Games  Week 4: Informational  Week 5 (when applicable): Seasonal

Hispanic Services Literacy Programs in Spanish  Programs for Early Literacy in Spanish  Spanish Book Clubs  Book Locker

Hispanic Services Continued… Painting Your Vision Mural Project  Designed for Hispanic youth ages 12 – 18  Partner with Art Council, Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware, and Sherwin Williams  Pregnancy and Childcare Lecture Series in Spanish  Educating teens on the importance of prenatal care  Partner with Community Health Center.

Performance Measurement  All programs will be evaluated by the Outreach Department Manager and Library Director at the end of each year.  Each program will be evaluated throughout the year by the appropriate librarian.  Changes/adjustments will be made throughout the year to improve programs. These changes will be documented  Attendance will be recorded for every program.

Performance Measurement  Deliver books to home-bound individuals  Evaluated quarterly  How many people being served and new participants  Survey volunteers, Meals-on-Wheels staff and volunteers, 10 participants  Deliver books to nursing homes, hospitals, and senior center  Evaluated every 6 months  Number and types of materials being checked out at each site  Appropriate personnel at site surveyed  Weekly programs at St. Jerome Senior Center  Evaluated with appropriate staff member quarterly  Attendance  Participant surveys throughout the year and after every informational session  Programs for Early Literacy in Spanish  Evaluated at end of each 8-week session  Attendance and number of children that attended all or most  Parents will be asked to provide feedback

Performance Measurement  Spanish book clubs  Evaluated monthly  Participants, staff, and volunteers will be surveyed and/or feedback will be recorded  Attendance and Participation  Book delivery to Hispanic Community Center  Evaluated every 6 months  Number and type of materials being checked out  Appropriate personnel surveyed  Paint Your Vision Mural Project  City officials, local artists, partners, and teen participants will be surveyed  Community feedback  Pregnancy and Child Care Lecture series in Spanish  Staff, volunteers, and participants will evaluate the program at the end of the series  Attendance

Implementation Timeline January-June 2011  Elderly Services  Hire a part-time Elderly Services Librarian  Contact sites about monthly delivery  Create procedures and routes  Begin delivery  Hispanic Services  Hire a part-time Hispanic Programming Librarian  Contact Community Center about delivery  Create procedures  Begin delivery July-December 2011  Elderly Services  Request approval from Senior Center for weekly programs  Find volunteers and plan weekly programs  Hispanic Services  Request approval to implement new programs at Community Center  Plan weekly sessions for Programs for Early Literacy in Spanish

Implementation Timeline January-June 2012  Elderly Services  Turn Elderly Services Librarian position into a full-time position  Begin weekly programs at St. Jerome Senior Center  Set up procedures for home- delivery  Hispanic Services  Turn Hispanic Programming Librarian position into a full- time position  Begin Programs for Early Literacy in Spanish  Set up, advertise, and registration for Paint Your Vision Mural Project July-December 2012  Elderly Services  Set up procedures with Meals- on-Wheels  Create home-delivery routes  Advertise and begin sign-up for home-delivery  Hispanic Services  Implement Paint Your Vision Mural Project  Survey patrons for Spanish book club  Select books for book club

Implementation Timeline January-June 2013  Hire a full-time librarian to answer phone calls  Elderly Services  Home-delivery begins  Meals-on-Wheels delivery begins  Hispanic Services  Begin Spanish book club  Set up Pregnancy and Child Care Lecture series in Spanish with Health Center  Implement Lecture series

Budget

Contingencies  Elderly Services  Change in St. Jerome Senior Center Director  Convince new director to allow programs  Highlight the added services at no additional cost  Meals-on-Wheels unable to participate  Re-do routes to include all home-bound patrons  Hispanic Services  Hispanic Community Center not allowing any programs at center  Highlight benefits  Find other venues

Conclusion This Strategic Plan offers a blueprint for initiatives that will bring much neededservices, and increase usage and readershipin the Hispanic and Elderly communities.

Group Process summary Forming  Getting Acquainted  Impressions of scope and content of the project  Focus of the plan  Group Name  Leadership/group dynamics  Communication process agreed upon Storming  Physical setting decided  Initiatives agreed upon Norming  Responsibilities and deadlines assigned  Volunteer partnerships developed

Group Process summary Performing Adjourning  Verifying completion of the project  Closure concerning the team process  Knowledge that our efforts may enhance the quality of lives  New communications channels agreed upon  Completed drafts to be posted on the Wiki  Process for sharing and verifying defined