“In current public library research and practice, we have found that the most effective strategic plans begin with the community, not in the library,” stated Janis O’Driscoll, Manager of System Services.
Library Director Susan Nemitz will facilitate the community meetings as roundtable conversations with community members to determine shared priorities, passions, and values with an eye toward where the library fits in.
O’Driscoll continues, “That’s why we really hope the entire community around each branch will attend the meetings, whether they use the library or not.”
The process of garnering input for the library’s Strategic Plan will take a “Community First” approach. The Strategic Plan will be a roadmap for library decision-making about what services, programs, and activities to focus on over the next 3 years.
Library Director Susan Nemitz says, “In June 2016, the voters gave their support to the improvement of each of SCPL’s ten physical branches. We are very grateful for that support- and we owe it to the voters to create spaces that support services and programs that are relevant to our communities’ values, needs, and goals. We need a plan.”
Community Meeting Schedule:
Thurs. Oct 20 – 4 pm Garfield Park Library, 705 Woodrow Ave. SC
Tues. Oct 25 – 7 pm La Selva Beach Library, 316 Estrella Ave. LSB
Wed. Oct 26 – 7 pm Boulder Creek Library, 13390 West Park Ave. BC
Thurs. Oct 27 – 6 pm Aptos Library, 7695 Soquel Dr. Aptos
Tues. Nov 1 – 7 pm Capitola Library, 2005 Wharf Rd. CAP
Sat. Nov 5 – 10 am Downtown Library, 224 Church St. SC
Sun. Nov 6 – 2 pm Live Oak Library, 2380 Portola Ave. SC
Wed. Nov 9 – 7 pm Felton Library, 6299 Gushee, FEL
Tues. Nov 10 – 7 pm Scotts Valley Library, 251 Kings Village Rd. SV
In addition these Branch Meetings, library staff are also conversing with individuals, groups, and organizations for input. This information, combined with benchmarking studies against other California Libraries, demographic and other data analytics, will be analyzed in preparation for the 2017-2020 Strategic Plan, which is to be completed in January.
The ten neighborhood library branch locations are Aptos, Boulder Creek, Branciforte, Capitola, Downtown Santa Cruz, Felton, Garfield Park, La Selva Beach, Live Oak and Scotts Valley. Learn more about SCPL at SantaCruzPL.org or via Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.