South Plainfield Public Library
Strategic Plan 2011-2013

Approved:
Library Board of Trustees
May 26, 2011

The South Plainfield Public Library Board of Trustees

Eric Aronowitz, President 
Donna Egan, Vice President 
Virginia Popik, Secretary 
Nina Rohrer, Treasurer 
Robert Bengivenga, Sr. 
Christine Faustini, Mayor's representative 
Eleanor Haines 
Gary Jones 
Patricia Massey, Superintendent of Schools representative 
Sunnie Randolph, Library Director

Strategic Planning Committee
Eric Aronowitz 
Phyllis Aronowitz
Linda Hansen 
Cheryl Keraga 
Cheryl Nagel Smiley 
Sundra Randolph
Anne Troop

Consultant
Suzan Globus, ThinkFrame

Table of Contents							
Summary					1
Strategic Planning Process			2			
Mission Statement 				2
Vision Statement				2
Current Library Services			3-4
Environmental Scan				5-7	
Strategic Plan Parameters			8				
Strategic Goals					9-10

Summary
The South Plainfield Public Library strives to contribute to the quality of life for every resident in the borough by being a center for life-long learning and a place for community interaction.  Its mission is to provide informational, educational, leisure and cultural resources to every resident of South Plainfield regardless of age, background or income level.  It has been achieving its mission by offering print and digital resources, programs, activities, assistance and services since 1965 from its current location at 2484 Plainfield Avenue, adjacent to the South Plainfield Borough Hall.
Characterized as being deficient in size for a comparably sized community by approximately fifty percent since it opened (South Plainfield Library Building Program, 1990, Grimm & McPherson), the Library building has undergone several renovations in an effort to serve the community effectively.  The children’s room was renovated in March, 1994 and the main area, staff offices and the HVAC system were addressed in a 1997 renovation.  The roof was replaced in 2008.  Since 1997 the Library Board of Trustees has initiated two campaigns in 2003 and 2008 to alleviate the Library’s overcrowded conditions by building a new building and renting an existing building, respectively.  Both campaigns ended unsuccessfully.
Due to the Library’s increased circulation and desire to offer current services to the community, the Board of Trustees feels the level of Library service is constrained by the severely overcrowded facility. The Library has to limit attendance at its programs, turn away community groups seeking meeting space and struggle to fit in additional computers. Patrons are unable to obtain quiet study space and the crowded environment does not support a place for social interaction. The Library is poised to fill the gap in a borough where no community center exists by offering programs and services to fully reflect community needs and to meet the demand for meeting space and community programs if it had the room to do so.
The strategic planning process was undertaken to ensure the Library’s continued value to the community. Several strategic issues were identified:
1.	There is a lack of understanding of the depth of the Library’s services and the value it brings to the community.
2.	The Library facility has hampered its ability to serve the community to its full capabilities.
3.	Responsible management principles to sustain effective management of the Library shall be maintained.

Strategic Planning Process
The South Plainfield Public Library’s new strategic plan provides a road map for managed change. It becomes a tool for effectiveness by establishing and prioritizing goals.  The planning process determines the best course of action among reasonable alternatives and increases organizational effectiveness and efficiency by focusing resources on what really matters to the Library.  The plan focuses staff efforts and creates opportunities for teamwork and sharing of expertise among staff, trustees and volunteers resulting in the Library’s ability to strengthen its service to the South Plainfield community.
The Board of Trustees voted to undertake the strategic planning process and a strategic planning committee was formed.  The committee consists of representatives from the Board of Trustees, the Library staff and members of the community.  A strategic planning consultant was retained to facilitate the planning process.  Taking into account the results of ongoing surveys conducted by the Library and reviewing research about South Plainfield, a series of interviews and planning sessions were conducted to lead the committee through an environmental scan to determine how South Plainfield Public Library is likely to be affected by global and local trends. After familiarizing themselves with current demographic statistics and reflecting on the culture of the community and the history of the Library, the members of the planning committee identified the ideal role of the Library in the community. The Library’s mission and vision statements were revised to reflect the committee’s input and a strategic plan was developed to support the Library’s mission. A work plan outlining strategies and tactics was developed for those responsible for executing the strategic plan.  Resources including time, personnel and costs were assigned to the strategies.  Metrics for success were identified and included to provide a tool to measure the effectiveness of the plan.
Vision Statement
The South Plainfield Public Library is a source of pride for the town residents as a community center offering programs, education and information resources to all ages, interests and abilities.  The library attracts new residents and resulting service businesses and provides increased value to the town while building a stronger community of informed technologically savvy residents. 
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the South Plainfield Public Library to provide informational, educational, leisure and cultural resources to every resident of South Plainfield regardless of age, background or income level. From its unique position of enabling access to its online resources 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Library encourages life-long learning through its print and digital collections, programs, activities and personal assistance at the Library.  The Library strengthens the community by supporting schools, underserved populations and community charitable organizations through its outreach services as well as enriching the lives of all the residents of South Plainfield.

Current Library Services 
The Library achieves its mission by providing the following services:
•	Welcome and serve South Plainfield residents in the library building
•	Provide opportunities for children through adults to learn on their own
•	Provide programs and activities for youth and adults as space permits
•	Provide free access to a vibrant collection of print and digital materials
•	Support schools by providing materials that schools or parents would otherwise have to provide such as books for summer reading lists
•	Distribute books to those who are homebound
•	Donate books and materials to the underserved
•	Donate books to community organizations
•	Sell donated and recycled books 
•	Support a variety of community organizations such as the Scouts 
•	Serve as a center for the community to access information regarding topics as diverse as income taxes, employment support and medical research

There are 16,838 South Plainfield Library card holders in a town with a population of over 23,000.

As one indicator of its success, the Library’s circulation has almost doubled through steady increases from 116,126 in the year 2000 to 202,781 in 2010. While the number of children participating in South Plainfield Library’s Summer Reading Program remained fairly steady at between 250 and 300 from 1991 to 2003, the number of books they read doubled from approximately 4500 to over 9000 during the same years. The growth in popularity of downloadable books also reflects the Library’s ability to offer desired services.  The first quarter tally of 509 books in 2011 forecasts a growth rate of 100 percent in one year.

In order to keep abreast of the needs of the community, the Library conducts user preference surveys on an ongoing basis. Currently, a technology survey to determine what digital services Library customers are using or would like to use and how they would like to access them is being conducted. 

The Library staff regularly researches and applies for grants as part of its mission to operate responsibly and seek alternate sources of funding.  For example, the Library is participating  in the NJ State Library’s Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant to provide support services to job seekers.  The grant review team determined that the Library did not have an adequate number of public access computers to serve a town of its size and added three computers to the grant award bringing total number of public computers in the Library to 18. 

Continuing an effort to bring the most current library services to its community, the Library has installed a self check out machine. Members of the community are able to obtain Notary service, stamps and income tax forms at the Library.  
By using the Library’s web site, Library card holders are able to see which new books the Library has ordered and to place a hold on them.  Library customers are notified when the books arrive at the Library.  Readers can keep their personal reading lists on the web site, contribute book reviews to the community and see what other readers have to say about books.  

Environmental Scan
An environmental scan is a tool used to analyze global and national trends to understand what effect they may have on the local community served by the library and to help it plan for the future.  Trends are typically tracked in five spheres: demographics, economy, society, technology and environment. 

Demographics:

South Plainfield, an approximately 8.2 square mile borough of Middlesex County, is a stable, middle income community according to the most recent US Census figures, Unlike many towns in the densely populated Northeast, South Plainfield’s population of approximately 23,000 has experienced slight growth, showing a 3 percent increase in population from 2000 to 2009.

Although the US population is trending towards increasing numbers of minorities, South Plainfield statistics do not reflect the trend to diversity. Nearly 69 percent of the residents of South Plainfield are classified as white only by the US Census bureau’s 2005-2009 report.

Of the nearly 13,000 residents surveyed by the Census between the ages of 25 to 61 years, nearly two thirds of them have at least some college education. According to the New Jersey State Report Card, 52.7 percent of South Plainfield high school graduates plan to attend a four year college. 

The culture of the town is described as sports oriented.

The number of elementary school age children is increasing.

The median age is 37 years.

A vocal and active senior population exists in South Plainfield

The gender divide in South Plainfield mirrors national statics. Approximately 51% of South Plainfield residents are female and 49% are male and there are more traditional family units living in South Plainfield than non-traditional households.

Economy:

Recent job growth in South Plainfield is negative as is common throughout most of the country.

The Library staff saw more people using the Library to search for jobs last year than ever before.  The decline in apparent job seekers at the Library in 2011 may be due either to people having stopped searching because they were unsuccessful or to having gained employment although the national figures do not support that theory.  

The state is reducing grant moneys to municipalities and South Plainfield is no exception.  Currently the Library is under the threat of the town taking their funds saved through the years for capital improvements.

Property values have decreased resulting in decreased ratable which affects the amount of money the Library receives because the amount is based upon a percentage of the tax revenues. Retail businesses are struggling and the community saw the loss of the Borders book store.

Society:

Society is experiencing the rise of the new “Millenials” (ages 11-33 years); similarly, the largest age group in South Plainfield falls in the 15-44 year group, comprising almost 40% of the population. This group is characterized as having more influence and buying power than any generation in history.  These are highly visual learners who seek acknowledgement and appreciation.
 
An increasingly mobile workforce has been evident at the Library in the numbers of people seeking a place to work outside their homes.  Trend reports indicate that people can feel isolated when working at home and many prefer to work in the presence of others. The staff has observed that people trying to work at the Library frequently leave due to lack of space and high noise levels. 

The return on investment of higher education is being questioned in today’s economy.  Alternate means of learning such as on-line classes and instruction offered by local experts are becoming increasingly popular. The Library would like to increase its instructional programming, but is hampered by the lack of space to do so.

As social media grows in popularity, the Library is staying abreast of the demand by establishing a Facebook page.  Recognizing Twitter is an increasingly important source of information, the Library is devoting resources to communicate with South Plainfield residents through social media.

Technology:

We are becoming a nation of visual learners.  There is an increasing demand for information in video format.  The use of the Library’s collection and on-line resources reflect the growing demand for visual resources.

Mirroring the trend towards the growth of converging technologies and the increase in demand for 24/7 access to information, the Library is experiencing an increase in the number of people who access its databases from home. 
 
Gaming continues to increase in popularity and attracts not just teens, as previously thought, but also those in their 20s and 30 are who grew up with the phenomenon.  Studies have indicated that gaming is useful in creating a sense of community among teens.  The Library’s offerings of gaming nights have been popular among South Plainfield residents.  The Library would increase their gaming programs if they had more space to offer them without sacrificing service to other patrons.

Environment:

Due to the recognition that the built environment is the largest contributing sector to carbon footprints, the Library can expect that building outputs will be monitored in the future. Outdated building systems will continue to need repairs and capital improvements.  As personal costs associated with getting to and from the Library continue to increase, there is good reason to ensure the Library is located conveniently to mass transportation. 

The physical environment of the Library building was inadequate to serve the community well in 1990 according to the building program published that year by library consultants Grimm and McPherson. The Library is housed in a 6330 square foot building constructed in 1964 which, according to commonly accepted library planning standards, is about 9400 square feet less than what a library serving a community of approximately 25,000 residents should be. The Library’s history of working with the Borough to develop a larger library can be referenced in detail in the South Plainfield Public Library Capital Plan 2011.

Strategic Plan Parameters 

In preparation for creating a strategic plan, the planning committee was asked to answer a series of questions regarding the future of the Library to determine  what is working well now that needs to be carried forward on the path to the future and what needs to change so that it can be avoided in planning for the future. Several critical issues affecting the Library’s future were identified.

•	There is a lack of knowledge in the community about the extent of the Library’s digital and print resources, programs and support services available to the residents of South Plainfield.  
•	The misperception that the Library is only a building containing books and computers needs to be addressed.
•	The Library’s operation has become a political issue in South Plainfield.
•	The ability to improve services, offer additional programs, create a more welcoming environment and increase the collection is hampered by the lack of space in the library facility. 

The planning committee agreed that the following positive attributes that currently exist must be retained as the Library plans its future:

•	A supportive and well-functioning Board of Trustees
•	A well trained and competent staff
•	A stable source of funding
•	The collection, resources and programs that the Library offers
•	The investment in technology and its accessibility to citizens of South Plainfield
•	The continuously updated Library web site

The issues were condensed and prioritized as follows: there is a need to create a deeper awareness of the Library’s value to the community resulting in increased use of the Library and public and political support; gaining additional space to increase Library services while preserving that which works well now will enable the Library to serve the community to its maximum potential.

	         
Strategic Goals for the South Plainfield Public Library

•	Goal One: Increase public awareness of the Library’s value to the community

•	Goal Two: Obtain additional space for the Library to improve its effectiveness and accessibility

•	Goal Three:  Maintain responsible and sustainable management of the Library

Goal One:  Increase public awareness of the Library’s value to the community

A.	Hold a well publicized series of open houses with a variety of programs and refreshments to attract new library users, reacquaint former library users with tours of resources, create communities of special interests and demonstrate the Library’s value.

B.	Send trustees to various community groups to speak about the Library’s programs and resources of particular interest to the attendees

C.	Issue a press release about the Library’s strategic planning process and include the revised vision and mission statements

D.	Increase political support for the Library through educating the governing body about Library’s value to the community

Goal Two:  Obtain additional space for the Library to improve its effectiveness and accessibility
	
	A.  Research options of building or leasing additional space 
	
	B.  Develop comparative short and long term budgets for each option

	C.  Negotiate cost sharing with identified partners 

D.  Conduct fundraising campaign through Library supporters

E.  Execute building program/ lease program 

Goal Three:  Maintain responsible and sustainable management of the Library
	
A.  Create and operate under a strategic plan, work plan and budget

B.  Provide for on-going Trustees and staff development and training

C.  Identify and develop additional private sources of funding 

D.  Promote candidates for Library Board of Trustees with deep knowledge and support of Library services

E.     Seek collaborative opportunities for Library’s operations