Strategic Planning

The assignment below was a two-part assignment discussing strategic planning and a potential idea for improving library services. I chose this assignment because strategic planning is an important topic for libraries, and I feel that I was able to truly dissect and learn more about the goals, mission, and vision for the City of Norfolk and Norfolk Public Library through this project. My topic was about Pretlow Anchor Branch Library and the need to implement a free food and personal hygiene pantry in the library. This project I feel would still be beneficial for this branch but thankfully there is at least a personal hygiene pantry at the Slover branch now.

Demographics & Background Information:

The Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library opened in 2018 and is the first anchor branch of the Norfolk Public Library system. The $10.8 million regional facility with 90 public computers and a huge children’s area featured a 110-seat public meeting room and a wing for the Ocean View Station Museum. Pretlow Library is a gem for the library system and leads all branches including Slover Library, in the number of circulations. “The library system consists of three anchor branch libraries, nine neighborhood branches, a local history and genealogy collection (Sargeant Memorial Collection) and Mobile Delivery (Norfolk Public Library, 2022).” The City of Norfolk has a population of 238,000 with a diverse population of individuals. The median income for the city is $51,590 with a per capita income of $29,830 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021).  There is also a 18.7% poverty rate which is in line with the number of homeless individuals in the area.

NPL Mission:

The mission of Norfolk Public Library is to offer equal opportunity access to information, high quality book and multimedia materials, programs, exhibits, online resources, and technology to meet the needs of our diverse community for life-long learning, cultural enrichment, and intellectual stimulation. To fulfill its mission, the library employs a knowledgeable, well-trained staff committed to excellent service and civility.

NPL Vision:

The Norfolk Public Library strives to “Create a City of Readers” where the love and active pursuit of civility and learning begins at birth and continues through one’s lifetime, and where all citizens are literate and have access to technology. A City of Readers is a city where citizens are productive and everyone contributes to, and enjoys, a high quality of life.

Part 1:

When analyzing the mission of Norfolk Public Library, they have defined some of the reasons why they exist and all that they hope to provide to the community. The mission statement is the most important step in the strategic planning process. It should answer three basic questions of “Who (customers)?”, “What (services)?”, and “How (activities)?”, all focused by the previously answered question of “Why (the vision)? (Moran & Morner, 2017)” Each of these questions are generally answered when looking at their mission.  I have worked for Norfolk Public Library and understand that they do in fact try and provide resources for the diverse community. Their mission in my opinion, does promote the vision of NPL because they want to promote lifelong and equitable learning to the entire community in Norfolk. I know that the mission statement should be short and succinct, but the “how” question in the mission statement is the only part that I feel could have been elaborated on. They focus on the staff mainly and I would add providing a safe and welcoming space for the entire community as well. “A vision statement, as an act of foresight, outlines what the organization aspires to be (Moran & Morner, 2017).” The vision of Norfolk Public Library states that they want to create a city of readers where everyone is productive and lives a high quality of life.  Their vision is actually admirable, and I feel it would be a dream come true if that came into fruition.  The vision does make me hopeful that one day literacy rates in the city will drastically decline with the help of the library.

After looking over their entire strategic plan I see some good things but there is room for improvement. Since their strategic plan goes through 2023, I would think that the next plan that they are drafting may be a little different especially since the pandemic. There are some great strategic directions outlined but I would have like to have seen more information about diversity, equity, and inclusion for staff. This is something that my current employer has been working on but haven’t seen implemented as much in other departments. My only other critiques of the plan are the face that I didn’t really see an objectives section but inferred them through the plan and the fact that some of the images used are blurry.  Overall, Norfolk Public Library’s strategic plan was easy to understand and follow and did not have a lot of complex jargon. As an employee, I would feel alright about the mission statement but as mentioned previously, I would make a few changes as well.

Part 2:

Mary D. Pretlow Anchor Branch Library is the library that I would like to focus on. As stated above, it is the first anchor branch library in the Norfolk Public Library system.  The project that I would like to propose would be first implemented at Pretlow and then potentially added to other branches. I would like to propose adding a free food and personal hygiene pantry.  The reason I am first proposing this for Pretlow Library is because that library has the greatest amounts of circulation and traffic due to its location.  There is also a good amount of low income and individuals experiencing homelessness who frequent this library as well. I used to work at this branch and feel that these services would make a world of difference for the entire community of Norfolk.

One of the goals and vision of Norfolk Public Libraries is the meet the diverse needs of the community. This is a very important goal that can be met by adding additional in-house resources for the community.  Libraries usually provide the information as to where individuals can go and receive help, but it would be beneficial to meet some of those needs in house especially if there is space in the library. “29% of those who are dealing with food insecurity do not qualify for federal nutrition programs (Feeding America, 2022).”  This overall goal of this project would install a Little Food and Personal Hygiene pantry and refrigerator in at least half of the branches of Norfolk Public Library starting in Pretlow Library. The library system could partner with other organizations such as the Boy Scouts or the Friends of the Library to get a pantry built. This could be the only major costs associated with this project. In order to keep the pantries filled for the community, the library could create strong partnerships with partners such as local food banks, farmers, and the local community.  Little Free Pantry is a grassroots movement that started in 2016 to fight food insecurity and help provide a resource to the community (Little Free Pantry, 2022). They have a motto of taking what you need and giving what you can which is excellent because it allows people to feel comfortable accepting items.  This pantry and refrigerator would be held on the first floor of the library and would not require any patron to speak with a staff member to access them which is vital. The average poverty rate across Virginia is 11.2% which means that the city of Norfolk has a significantly higher poverty rate than some of the other localities which is another reason why this service would be helpful if implemented (WelfareInfo.org, 2022).

This project fits into the strategic plan because it covers the priority of a safe, healthy, and inclusive community as well as provide diverse programming (Norfolk Public Library, 2018). This type of project could support the program and literacy initiatives outlined in the strategic plan because libraries could offer cooking and gardening programs that could go show patrons how to utilize the food to make healthy meals for their family as well as how to grow their own.

References:

Feeding America. (2022). Food insecurity among overall (all ages) population in the United States. Overall (all ages) Hunger & Poverty in the United States | Map the Meal Gap (feedingamerica.org)

Little Free Pantry. (2022). Who we are. Who We Are — little free pantry.

Moran, B. B., & Morner, C. J. (2017). Library and information center management (9th ed.).
ABC-CLIO.

Norfolk Public Library. (2022). Strategic directions. ShowDocument (norfolkpubliclibrary.org)

United States Census Bureau. (2021). Quick facts. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Norfolk city, Virginia

WelfareInfo.org. (2022). Compare poverty rate among Virginia counties. Compare Poverty Rate Among Virginia Counties (welfareinfo.org)

SLO’s Achieved through this Assignment:

  • Create innovative responses to the needs and interests of diverse and global communities.
  • Demonstrate leadership attributes for a variety of information environments.
  • Interpret and apply basic and applied research to improve their professional practice.
  • Analyze current and historical trends to forecast future directions of the library and information field.