Letter of Thanks from the Library Board
Published in the Fairport-ER Post, March 21, 2012
Community Helps Fairport Library Focus Services
Over the last three months, a group of 14 local volunteers played an important role in helping the Fairport Public Library identify services to meet community needs. Volunteers were selected to represent a broad variety of community organizations and interests.
Using a nationally developed model for public library planning, the group first envisioned an ideal Fairport/Perinton. Next, they discussed what the community would need to achieve this vision and selected library services that would actively support that vision. This essential community input provides the starting point for the library staff and Trustees as we draft a five-year strategic plan to guide our future operations. For updates on this ongoing process, visit the Library’s website at http://www.fairportlibrary.org/board.html.
The Board of Trustees of the Fairport Public Library would like to thank Kevin Clark, Jim Donahue, Albert Gubiotti, Bob Hunt, Clark King, T.C. Lewis, Deanne Molinari, David Nead, Allison O’Malley, Wayne Shipman, Jon Suiter, Mandira Talwar, Jean Whitney, and Kal Wysokowski for all of their contributions. Each person contributed personal time, constructive thought, expertise, diverse viewpoints, and creativity to this planning effort. Their work will help the library continue to be an important institution in our community.
The Library Board of Trustees is pleased to publicly recognize and express appreciation for this demonstration of broad community support of the library and its services.
Fairport Library Board of Trustees
Beth Puckett, Suzanne Stockman, Mark Haefele, Lori Wagoner, Bethanne White
March 21, 2012
Thank you!
A very big thank you to the volunteers on our Community Planning Committee. The group meetings have concluded, all the comments and ideas compiled. and now the draft Strategic Plan is handed back to the library staff and the Board of Trustees for final editing and review.
March 5, 2012
Community Committee meetings
The planning process is underway. Two meetings were held in January and February, where the group of community volunteers worked on a vision of the ideal Fairport/Perinton community and what services the library could provide. Linked in the sidebar are two reports from those meetings, as well as the draft Strategic Plan with goals and objectives matching the service priorities as communicated by the Community Planning Committee.
The Community Planning Committee will meet one more time in March to review the draft plan. The plan will then be submitted to the Library Board for review and once the plan is finalized, it will be published on the library’s website.
March 2, 2012
December Update
The Long Range Planning Committee presented its final recommendations for the Community Planning Committee to the library board on December 13th. The list was approved and can be found here. We are very grateful to have had so many residents interested in participating in our planning process and hope that those who are not on the committee will be able to participate in the future.
The next steps in our planning process will center on the three meetings scheduled in January, February and March. Committee members will be led through a process to identify the core values and a vision for the Fairport/Perinton community, and then identify how the library can support those values, selecting from a list of library service responses. The library board and staff will also be asked for input in this process. The results will be compiled and presented after the last meeting in March. The library board and staff will then create goals and objectives centered on the chosen library service responses, identifying and planning for needed resources.
Again, we’d like to thank everyone for their time and efforts in this planning process. More updates to come later in January.
December 14, 2011
Progress
Thanks for all your suggestions for our Community Planning Committee. We had a large number of names that had to be narrowed down to 15-18 participants. The meetings are scheduled to run January through March, with the final plan presented to the Board 1-2 months later. Stay tuned for more updates.
November 9, 2011
Moving forward
The Library Board has selected Jennifer Morris as the consultant and facilitator for our strategic planning process. Jennifer was formerly the Director of the Pioneer Library System in Canandaigua, and is now working as a library consultant. The Planning Committee is still accepting suggestions for the community planning committee through Wednesday, September 21st. All the suggestions will be reviewed and a final list that reflects many of the different demographics of our community will be submitted to the Library Board for approval. The planning workshops are expected to be scheduled for November.
September 14, 2011
Make a suggestion
We need your suggestions for members of the Community Planning Committee. Residents who have a particular talent or skill or vision for our community; or someone who represents a vital organization or agency in Fairport/Perinton; or our elected officials. Follow the instructions on this web page to submit your recommendations and share with your friends and neighbors–we’d like to hear from many different residents.
Thank you for helping with this project.
August 24, 2011
Updates from the library
As a result of the December 2010 defeated referendum for a new facility, the Library Board of Trustees has adopted the planning process in Strategic Planning for Results, by Sandra Nelson, published by the Public Library Association, to identify key services, programs and functions for the library. A major component of this process is community involvement and the Board recognized the importance of this: going back to the drawing board as promised and matching services to the wants and needs of the school district taxpayers.
This planning process involves four different groups:
- the Planning Committee (members of the existing Long Range Planning Committee)
- the Board of Trustees
- Library Staff
- a Community Planning Committee
These groups, as well as community residents, will have the opportunity to suggest participants for the Community Planning Committee: leaders or various agencies; residents who represent different aspects or demographics in the community; local business owners; etc. This list of participants will be compiled and final recommendations made to the Board of Trustees.
The Community Planning Committee will be invited to participate in two day-long workshops—first identifying a community vision and current conditions in the community. Specific library services will then be selected as a response to reaching that vision throughout the community. The Board of Trustees will then work with the selected services, developing goals and objectives to provide the best collections, programs, and facilities to meet the community needs.
Details and events from the planning process will be listed here in an effort to keep everyone updated.
August 24, 2011
Planning Consultant
The Library Board of Trustees is looking for a planning consultant familiar with the adopted Strategic Planning for Results process. The complete request for proposal is available here and any other questions may be directed to Betsy Gilbert, Library Director, at 223-9091.
August 15, 2011