Vision 2020 Strategic Planning Committee
Kitsap Regional Library, 2014
I participated in the committee that created Vision 2020, Kitsap Regional Library's strategic plan for 2015-2020.
This process took place at a time of significant change for our library system. We had recently gone through a rebranding, which not only changed our physical designs but clarified who we want to be in our community. Our strategic plan needed to reach for our new vision while accomplishing our new mission and embodying our newly-articulated core values in both the process and results.
Furthermore, we were in the process of building two new library branches. One was approaching completion, and the other just moving out of the feasibility study phase. Even more importantly, our state's post-recession restrictive rules around property taxes were affecting our funding, and voters had rejected a proposed increase - twice. We knew we would likely make a third attempt during this five-year period.
In order to be effective over the next five years, we knew we would need strategies that responded to our patrons' needs and had buy-in from our staff. We surveyed patrons and staff to get a sense of their priorities, and used that information to develop several of our key plans. I went into retreat with my staff to hear their front-line perspective on community and patron needs, and reflected what I heard back up to the planning committee. We put what we learned into the four areas of our vision statement (our community, our services, our spaces, and our people) to ensure that our responsiveness to staff and patron needs continued to reach forward towards accomplishing our vision.
Read the 2020 strategic plan here.
This process took place at a time of significant change for our library system. We had recently gone through a rebranding, which not only changed our physical designs but clarified who we want to be in our community. Our strategic plan needed to reach for our new vision while accomplishing our new mission and embodying our newly-articulated core values in both the process and results.
Furthermore, we were in the process of building two new library branches. One was approaching completion, and the other just moving out of the feasibility study phase. Even more importantly, our state's post-recession restrictive rules around property taxes were affecting our funding, and voters had rejected a proposed increase - twice. We knew we would likely make a third attempt during this five-year period.
In order to be effective over the next five years, we knew we would need strategies that responded to our patrons' needs and had buy-in from our staff. We surveyed patrons and staff to get a sense of their priorities, and used that information to develop several of our key plans. I went into retreat with my staff to hear their front-line perspective on community and patron needs, and reflected what I heard back up to the planning committee. We put what we learned into the four areas of our vision statement (our community, our services, our spaces, and our people) to ensure that our responsiveness to staff and patron needs continued to reach forward towards accomplishing our vision.
Read the 2020 strategic plan here.
