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Bridgewater Public Library Long
Range Plan FY11-FY16 Table
of Contents
Vision Statement/Mission Statement Community Description – Assessment of Needs Planning Process and Methodology
Multi-Year Goals and Objectives (including Action Plan)
The Library, reflecting Bridgewater's long-standing commitment to life-long learning, is a dynamic, accessible, and publicly supported center for the dissemination of information that meets the educational, cultural, recreational, and social needs of the greater Bridgewater community. Adopted by the Board of Library Trustees
September 2009 Mission
Statement The Bridgewater Public Library is a commonly held public resource, shared and supported by the Town of Bridgewater and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its purpose is to ensure that members of the Bridgewater community have the right and means to free and open access to information and ideas. The Library protects intellectual freedom, promotes literacy and encourages life-long learning. Service
Roles
Adopted by the Board of Library Trustees September 2009
Bridgewater is located in southeastern Massachusetts in the western
portion of Plymouth County. The
town is approximately 27 miles south of Boston, 6 miles southeast of Brockton,
and 29 miles northeast of Providence, Rhode Island.
It is bordered on the north by East Bridgewater and West Bridgewater, on
the east by Halifax, on the south by Middleboro and on the west by Raynham.
The land area of Bridgewater is 27.49 square miles with .74 square miles
being water. The elevation is
approximately 104 feet above mean sea level.
The climate is characteristic to any New England town with an average low
temperature of 28.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months and 71.5 degrees
Fahrenheit in the summer. The
average annual precipitation is 43.98 inches.
Proximity to Routes 18, 24, 104, 106, Interstate 495, as well as the
availability of commuter rail service, makes Bridgewater easily accessible from
all points of the state and Bridgewater continues to be a prime area of
residential growth. The charm of
the town as well as the college community appeals to many new families.
As of January 2009, the Town Clerk reported that the population is
25,802. The highways have also made
Bridgewater more attractive to business and industry.
Between 1990 and 2000 alone, Bridgewater’s population grew by 18.5% and
1,662 new homes were constructed. There
are 579 businesses in town, which provide jobs for 7,567 employees. Bridgewater State College and MCI Bridgewater are the
town’s largest employers.
The overriding issue in Bridgewater since the last time we submitted a
Community Description is the fiscal crisis.
One of our previous goals was to develop new partnerships in the
community. Because of severe fiscal
cutbacks, some partnership programs have been put “on hold”.
The CCRC (Community and College Relations Committee) has been disbanded.
Other groups which flourished in the past have encountered difficulties
meeting their goals because of the economic climate, including the 4th
of July Committee. As a result,
Bridgewater cancelled its annual fireworks display in 2009. The Senior Center, one of our former partners, has also been
cut drastically and remains open minimal hours, as most of the staff has been
laid off.
On the plus side, the Town has begun encouraging new business to come to
town, resulting in the opening of a Walgreens and a Home Depot.
This has brought additional tax receipts and jobs into the community.
On the minus side, there are many more people who are unemployed than in
previous years. According to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for the area --
Brockton/Bridgewater/Easton -- is at 10.2% (effective July 2009---last date for
which statistics are available, from http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.ma_brockton_nd.htm#eag_ma_brockton_nd.f.2)
Every department in Bridgewater has suffered severe cutbacks; however,
the Library has been cut disproportionately to most other departments.
In February of 2008, the Library was decertified by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, sacrificing state aid and the option to apply for state and
federal grants. Residents of
Bridgewater are no longer allowed to borrow materials from most local libraries.
The Town of Bridgewater has reduced the Library’s budget approximately
73% since September of 2007. More
than half the staff has been eliminated and the Library is open to the public
only 14 hours per week.
Community support for the library remains high and the library is used
heavily during the hours it is open. Students
still need to rely on the public library for resources to support the
curriculum, and the library computers are being used by job-hunters,
researchers, and e-mailers. Wifi
access has also been added this past year.
The children’s room remains active, we continue to offer a minimal
story-hour program, and we were able to participate in the statewide Summer
Reading Program for the past two summers.
The Library has been operating in crisis mode for two years.
We are increasing our use of volunteers, and our Trustees are in the
process of creating a Foundation to supplement the meager funding offered by the
town. We are receiving more
external support from community members, including eight new public access
computers donated by a local bank and the Friends of the Bridgewater Public
Library. Wifi was made possible
through the generosity of a local computer store, a local electrician, the
Friends of the Library, and Comcast. Our 25 Adopt-a-Shelf volunteers have helped to keep
the library stacks in order and carry out other basic tasks.
The cutbacks have affected every aspect of library service.
Our goal is to ride out the current fiscal recession and to keep the
library in a position where we can grow and prosper once the economy turns
around. We feel strongly that a
public library can and should be a part of the fiscal recovery and we are trying
to market that message to our Town Administration, and to every member of the
community.
Planning Process & Methodology The planning process is essential to any organization. The Bridgewater Public Library is no exception. Current services being provided to the community need to be assessed from time to time and changes must be considered in order to provide the public with the best possible service.
In January of 2009, the Board of Trustees’ Policy and Planning
Committee and Director Betty Gregg met with Cheryl Bryan of SEMLS to discuss
fundraising, foundations, and long range planning.
Cheryl suggested that we begin a long range planning session first, then,
in the future, consider fundraising and establishing a foundation. Ms. Bryan met with the full Board of Library Trustees in March to give an overview of the process. She suggested that we develop a list of stakeholders for two public meeting sessions. Sandra Nelson’s New Planning for Results would be used to guide us through the process. Letters were sent out to numerous people, asking them to participate in our planning process. A group of thirty members of the community agreed to attend two planning sessions that were held in May. There was a good cross section of people including retirees, business people, teachers, members of the press, college librarians, as well as staff members, Trustees, Town department heads, Selectmen and the interim municipal administrator. A community SWOT analysis took place at the first meeting and
the results are attached to this document.
At the second meeting, attendees selected three service priorities. The
first priority is “Create Young Readers”, focusing on early childhood
literacy. Children from birth to
age five will have programs and services designed to ensure that they will enter
school ready to learn to read, write, and listen. The second priority is “Connect to the Online World”,
expanding the library’s role as a center for online communication.
Residents will have high-speed access to the digital world with no
unnecessary restrictions or fees to ensure that everyone can take advantage of
the ever-growing resources and services available through the Internet.
The third priority is to “Understand How to Find, Evaluate and Use
Information”. Residents will know
when they need information to resolve an issue or answer a question and will
have the skills to search for, locate, evaluate, and effectively use information
to meet their needs.
Ms. Bryan also held a SWOT analysis with the library staff. Using the staff SWOT analysis as a guide, the Trustees added
some of their ideas regarding library strengths and weaknesses.
Copies of both SWOT analyses are attached to this document.
Given the financial crisis we have experienced for several years, we must
find ways to operate more efficiently and effectively in order to deliver the
best services to our patrons in the most economical way.
The goals we have set will help us achieve that end. The Policy and Planning committee reviewed the library’s existing Vision Statement, Mission Statement and Services Roles. With a few minor changes, the committee felt that these statements still define our purpose. The plan that follows has been adopted by the Board of Library Trustees and will be used as our guide for developing library services for the Town of Bridgewater.
Long Range Plan 2011-2016
BPL
Goal 1:
Create Young Readers – Promotion of Early Childhood Literacy Objectives: l
Regularly add wide variety of materials and supplies as
recommended by ALA- ongoing l
Promote donations by acknowledging with book plate by FY11 l
Publicize new acquisitions in media and in library. Create a
display of new materials by FY11. l
Increase staffing in children's room by one in FY11 and two in
FY12. l
Hire children's librarian - FY11 l
Utilize volunteers in children's room by enlisting a second
volunteer coordinator who will organize volunteer training by a professional
librarian. FY11 l
Increase number of Story
Hours to at least one each day the library is open for differentiated age
groups. FY12 l
Promote and publicize programing – i. e.
story tellers, cultural opportunities, current on-line opportunities.
- Ongoing l
Develop and publicize parent shelf to help parents learn how to
promote literacy l
Establish a series of lectures on the general topic of early
childhood education. Promote, “A
child who has had 1000 books read to by the time s/he enters school learns to
read easily.” l
Ninety-five percent of Bridgewater children will have a library
card by age 6. FY13 l
Librarian will attend at least one day of professional development
yearly FY11 Goal 2:
Connect to the On Line World Objectives: l
Promote and publicize the library on-line presence by taking
advantage of emerging technologies. FY11 l
Publicize connections to the online world/website through local
media, library pamphlets and displays, and local cable the BPL Wi-Fi connection.
FY11 l
Reestablish children's services link on website. FY11 l
Update the website monthly FY11 l
Offer tutoring to promote computer literacy through speaker,
yearly series of training sessions. Utilize volunteers to work with small
groups. FY12 l
Develop a technology replacement
plan by seeking outside funding/grants, volunteer expertise, and creating a
time-line. FY13 l
Require professional development of staff related to technology by
attending three seminars a year and share learning with colleagues. Ongoing Goal 3: Understand
How to Find, Evaluate and Use Information Objectives: l
Librarian will demonstrate method of
locating information in written material and data bases. Ongoing l
Continuous promotion of available print collection and databases
by announcements of new acquisitions and programs through website, newsletter,
press releases, local media. The library shall also display informational signs,
posters, pamphlets to be updated at least quarterly. Ongoing
l
Librarians shall attend at least one workshop per year and
disseminate learned information to colleagues. Ongoing l
Maintain, improve and upgrade reference and circulating
collections according to the recommended
state standards. FY13
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