FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA STRATEGIC PLAN PROGRESS REPORT

Transcription

1 FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA STRATEGIC PLAN PROGRESS REPORT

2 2012 Strategic Plan approved Philbrick Hall renovated Pew Report on the Free Library APRIL Techmobile SUMMER Organizational Redesign Healthcare Advisory Council created JULY FLP at the Airport Prison Library Program initiated Cluster model DECEMBER Rosenbach merger approved Rare Book Department and Skyline Room renovated In 2010, the Free Library of Philadelphia embarked on a strategic planning process that would transform our organizational design, service-delivery model, and assessment methods. It had been years since a functional plan was in place, and the Free Library was undergoing significant change. In 2008, Siobhan A. Reardon took the helm; much of the world was in financial turmoil, leaving library funding slashed; and libraries across the country scrambled to adapt to customer demand for ebooks and other changes that modernized the way library services had traditionally been offered. In this unknown territory, the Library a two-year-long planning process that engaged 150 people including staff, Board members, cultural leaders, stakeholders, and consultants and examined what the Library wanted to be and had to be in order to thrive in the 21st century. The result was a five-year plan that opened an exciting chapter in the Library s history. Driven by a new mission to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity, and a new vision of building an enlightened community devoted to lifelong learning, we began breaking down our traditional methods while keeping an eye on our strengths, questioning our organizational structure while supporting and encouraging staff, and anticipating our customers needs while in the midst of an economic crisis. WHAT WE DISCOVERED: The world of libraries continues to change. If there has been any story around libraries, it has been the question of their relevance, yet the Free Library has demonstrated its adaptability and is proving that libraries are thriving. Navigating change is an ongoing challenge that we are willing to meet with innovative projects, novel ways of providing services, and cutting-edge technology. An improving economy offers a breath of fresh air, but we now know our financial underpinnings are ever-shifting and we can no longer rely solely on traditional, stable government funding. Strategizing methods for accomplishing the most effective work with fewer resources is essential. Flexibility and nimbleness are key. We can t spend our days behind reference desks, but need to seek deeper engagement with the neighborhoods where our customers learn and work. We have determined several effective means of doing this, which you ll read about in these pages, and we continually ask staff to find new ways to meet the needs of the public. During the first years of the strategic plan, the Library learned and grew, embracing innovation and embarking on a number of noteworthy initiatives. ORGANIZATIONAL REDESIGN We realized we could not successfully carry out our new strategic plan if we didn t have the staffing models and service methods to meet its objectives. A Design Team comprised of staff from all levels of the Library analyzed what we had, what other libraries have, and how we needed to adapt. The outcome was a new structure built on customer engagement that refocused the work of executive-level management, moved neighborhood libraries into collaborative clusters, created a Strategic Initiatives Department, and sought fresh ways for staff and management to communicate. CLUSTERING LIBRARIES The new organizational design called for groups of six to eight geographically adjacent libraries with comparable demographics that would decentralize management structures and enable relationshipbuilding with their communities. In 2013, the first cluster in North Philadelphia was in one of the most economically challenged areas of the city. Staff formed a community council to gauge the needs of their neighborhoods, share staff and resources, and meet regularly with one another to strengthen ties and combat challenges. After a successful year, two additional clusters in northeast Philadelphia in fall All neighborhood libraries will be clustered by the end of FREE LIBRARY OF THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC PLAN FREE LIBRARY OF THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC PLAN

3 2014 WINTER 100,000+ library cards distributed to school children SPRING Screen readers for visually impaired users loaded on 500 computers MAY Regional Operations Center opened Strategic Initiatives Department JUNE Culinary Literacy Center opened JULY Social workers on site at Parkway Central BUILDING INSPIRATION: A COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Revolutionizing the way we do business means we have to adapt physical spaces to reflect the needs of customers. To do this, we ve begun a comprehensive campaign that will eventually renovate every neighborhood library to meet the unique requirements of its community. The first phase of the renovations has begun with the South Philadelphia Library, and the renovation of four more libraries will begin soon. We ve also begun to refurbish the Parkway Central Library, our Beaux-Arts gem, restoring it to its original grandeur and reclaiming space for the public, creating a destination hub that rivals its cultural arts peers along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Renovations to the Music Department and Philbrick Hall, which holds popular fiction materials, promote our excellent collections; the William B. Dietrich Gallery, a showcase for our rare materials, opened in January 2014; and a refurbished 4th floor offers ultramodern event and meeting spaces and a teaching kitchen. The renovation of the neighborhood libraries begins with five libraries across the city, each with community-specific focus areas. LILLIAN MARRERO LIBRARY Early childhood literacy Services for new Americans LOGAN LIBRARY Family literacy LOVETT MEMORIAL LIBRARY Community partnerships SOUTH PHILADELPHIA LIBRARY Health literacy Services for new Americans TACONY LIBRARY Small business owners and entrepreneurs 4 FRE E LIB RA RY O F T H E 21 ST C E N T U RY STRAT EGIC P LA N Building Inspiration: 21st Century Libraries Initiative announced Largest-ever grant from William Penn Foundation Hours extended at all neighborhood libraries FALL Best Practices in Early Learning Award from PA Library Association DECEMBER Named READ! by 4th backbone organization CULINARY LITERACY CENTER With the drive to innovate, we the Culinary Literacy Center (CLC) in June Programs offered through this state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen teach basic literacy skills through cooking and support health literacy through nutrition education. The CLC is a driver for grade school and high school students to hone reading and math skills; for low-literate adults to build comprehension, numeracy, and problem-solving skills; and for those new to English to build on vocabulary and conversation competency. In its first year, the Culinary Literacy Center held several hundred programs for more than 3,000 people. READ! BY 4TH In 2015, the Library was selected to manage a fiveyear, city-wide initiative to ensure that every child in Philadelphia is reading on grade level before entering fourth grade. As part of this collaborative effort, which has more than 50 partners, the Library will take the lead to guarantee that parents and caregivers are engaged in the literacy of their children, teachers have the support they need, health barriers to literacy are tackled, and our children are given all the tools they need to succeed. THE ROSENBACH One of the components of the strategic plan challenged the Free Library to become a world-class institution. Merging with the Rosenbach, the one-of-a-kind rare book museum and library, in 2013 moved the needle toward our claiming that distinction. Filled with treasures such as the original manuscript of Ulysses and a rare copy of the first edition of Don Quixote, the Rosenbach s unique holdings enrich, and in many cases complement, the rare collections already held by the Free Library s Rare Book Department. Exhibition possibilities abound. FREE LIBRARY OF T HE 21ST CEN T U RY ST R AT E G I C PL A N

4 2015 Siobhan Reardon named Library Journal s 2015 Librarian of the Year FEBRUARY Six curators named Autism Services recognized by City Council Two staff members named as Library Journal Movers and Shakers SPRING Digital Resource Specialist job class created JUNE Awarded ULC Top Innovator for Organizational Change and Strategic Management SUMMER Virtual library card introduced Sunday hours at 12 libraries began It is worth celebrating the exciting first years of the Library s strategic plan roll-out, while also considering what the future holds and potential challenges we may encounter. In tackling an ambitious plan, the impulse to wrap our arms around every opportunity is strong, but we have come to understand that we cannot be everything to everyone and be consistently successful. A concerted effort to focus our attention is necessary at this midway point, especially in light of the environment in Philadelphia today. Struggling public schools that, largely, do not have libraries; pressure to demonstrate our impact through quantitative evaluation and measures; ongoing demand from the public for cutting-edge technologies; and the growing gulf between the poor and wealthy in our city are just some of the external challenges that will inform the methods we employ to fulfill the goals of the strategic plan over the next three years. With this in mind, three objectives have been given priority: CHILDREN S LITERACY One of the most significant needs in Philadelphia is literacy support for our city s children and families. Our long history of service and expertise in this area includes programs such as Summer Reading, which combats the summer slide students experience when not in school; Science in the Summer, which offers much-needed STEM skills for kids; and our decades-long flagship afterschool program, LEAP, which serves thousands of children annually. A number of initiatives will boost our pre-eminence in this area. From working intensively with the School District on the Building Bridges with Books partnership, to teaming up with cultural organizations for the Words at Play Vocabulary Initiative and the teen nutrition project Get Hype!, we are bringing a variety of literacy strategies to children, parents, and teens. Through these, we will capitalize on our history as educators and the expertise of our librarians to help the city improve its literacy rate and thrive. ENRICHING THE LIVES OF CITIZENS BY ENCOURAGING CIVIC DIALOGUE, CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT, COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, AND THE FREE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS What riches we have! From the newly renovated Rare Book Department with its excellent gallery space to the Rosenbach s holdings, including Bram Stoker s original notes on Dracula, to the Fleisher collection, where the world s largest collection of orchestral performance scores lives, we are awash in unique treasures. We ve even recently created a new job class of curators to steward and showcase all of our rare finds. Additionally, we have one of the finest collections of antique maps, the best Author Events Series in the region, and a venue wherein three Mayoral debates were hosted during the most recent campaign. Ensuring we support and build programs and services to sustain these efforts, while also listening to what our customers are telling us they d like to do and see, is an imperative. We aim to become the hub of cultural activity in Philadelphia. ENCOURAGING STAFF TO EXPERIMENT, EXPLORE, AND CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO IN ORDER TO FIND THE BEST WAYS TO SERVE THE PUBLIC Free Library staff members are engines for great ideas. Hearing each day from customers about what they d like to see, staff builds up a wealth of interesting, engaging ideas for what we could be doing and how we could be doing it. In just the last year, we ve supported staff-driven ideas for a prison library, health insurance enrollment, services for children and families with autism, and many more. Focusing on this strategic objective allows us to gather the best of the best and put those innovations into action. Listening to staff and implementing methods by which they can submit and vet ideas can only lead us toward fulfillment of our strategic goals. Let s Get to Work! (Some More) We have much to celebrate, while being aware of the hard work ahead. One of the great aspects of the changes we ve effected in recent years is the excitement that comes with them. We know we still have aspirations to meet and adjustments to make to be worldclass. But we are getting there, and the process is rewarding in and of itself. Our work feels lively. We are thriving. We re on a mission. 6 FREE LIBRARY OF THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC PLAN FREE LIBRARY OF THE 21ST CENTURY STRATEGIC PLAN

5 1901 VINE STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA freelibrary.org