Adult Services Team Mission
Kitsap Regional Library, 2015
When I started as the Adult Services (AS) Manager at KRL, every branch planned and implemented its adult services independently. In each location, a few creative, enthusiastic people built the programs and services for their own local community. While this resulted in a lot of excellent events, it also meant lost opportunities. With limited contact, we often discovered too late that we had been duplicating work, offering inconsistent services around the county, and missing the chance to learn from each other’s successes and failures. We also did not have a mechanism to speak with a single voice within the organization, which limited our ability to advocate for services to Kitsap’s adults.
I realized that one of my first tasks would have to be helping us coalesce around a shared mission. We needed to find reasons to want to work together - not just to serve our own immediate communities, but to put in the extra effort to create a broader, more impactful library for all. We needed language that helped us articulate why this is important, and what we can all gain from teamwork.
I brought the team into retreat for a day of team-building and inspiration. We prepared for that day with multiple meetings, email threads, and discussion about what we do and why it matters.
Just like the system, we needed to build from a foundation of shared values. When I looked at the shared values of our organization, which we had already articulated system-wide, I realized that AS did not have different values from the rest of the system. We just had a particular audience in mind when expressing them. Therefore, we decided as a group to officially adopt KRL's values.
A mission is what you want to do in the world- the actions that make your values come to life. How could AS bring our values to life in the adult communities we serve? And how could we do it in a way that was unique, that communicated our particular value to our organization and our community?
We realized that AS librarians serve one fundamental role in inspiring our adults to dream more, learn more, do more, and be more: we provide a human connection. We care about your needs. We will take the time to help you find the information that will make a difference in your life, however large or small. We will guide you through confusion, past information overload. And we will do it with absolutely no agenda other than to enrich your life. You can get plain information on Google, in books, in databases, from companies - but nowhere else in the world can you get the understanding and empathy of a librarian.
Together, we developed our mission statement:
To be the human connection to information and inspiration in our adult communities.
United behind this common mission, we had a clear reason to work together. We understand why we matter, what we have to offer, and what to prioritize in our work. Adult Services librarians now meet regularly, plan jointly, share the work, and support each other. We put our full, combined strength into initiatives that reach across the county, and that we could never accomplish alone. We continue to explore new ways to support each other every day. I am so proud of my team!
I realized that one of my first tasks would have to be helping us coalesce around a shared mission. We needed to find reasons to want to work together - not just to serve our own immediate communities, but to put in the extra effort to create a broader, more impactful library for all. We needed language that helped us articulate why this is important, and what we can all gain from teamwork.
I brought the team into retreat for a day of team-building and inspiration. We prepared for that day with multiple meetings, email threads, and discussion about what we do and why it matters.
Just like the system, we needed to build from a foundation of shared values. When I looked at the shared values of our organization, which we had already articulated system-wide, I realized that AS did not have different values from the rest of the system. We just had a particular audience in mind when expressing them. Therefore, we decided as a group to officially adopt KRL's values.
A mission is what you want to do in the world- the actions that make your values come to life. How could AS bring our values to life in the adult communities we serve? And how could we do it in a way that was unique, that communicated our particular value to our organization and our community?
We realized that AS librarians serve one fundamental role in inspiring our adults to dream more, learn more, do more, and be more: we provide a human connection. We care about your needs. We will take the time to help you find the information that will make a difference in your life, however large or small. We will guide you through confusion, past information overload. And we will do it with absolutely no agenda other than to enrich your life. You can get plain information on Google, in books, in databases, from companies - but nowhere else in the world can you get the understanding and empathy of a librarian.
Together, we developed our mission statement:
To be the human connection to information and inspiration in our adult communities.
United behind this common mission, we had a clear reason to work together. We understand why we matter, what we have to offer, and what to prioritize in our work. Adult Services librarians now meet regularly, plan jointly, share the work, and support each other. We put our full, combined strength into initiatives that reach across the county, and that we could never accomplish alone. We continue to explore new ways to support each other every day. I am so proud of my team!
