Pie
On March 12th the Library Board and myself met for a work day, a day to plan for the future of our library. Since the spring of 2018 we have been working toward creating a strategic plan for the library. A strategic plan is a document that establishes the direction of an organization. In March of 2018 I attended the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Philadelphia, and came back ready to do this plan right. We started visiting libraries, creating surveys, discussing focus groups, then, well, I got sick. We maintained course for a while, then started the discussion again.
The last few years the term “strategic plan” has continued to be brought up at our monthly meetings, I knew we needed an official plan, but I just had lost that previous drive to “do it right”. Over the past year I have been part of a group of Missouri library directors that are reformulating the Missouri State Standards for Public Libraries. Before becoming active with this group, I had created a simple list of goals for the library, I knew it wasn’t the “right” way to do it, but at least we were looking forward. Part of our 2022 plan was to tackle the document at each board meeting, you know, tiny bites of a huge pie. After 2 meetings we realized this was not working for us, our bites were not staying tiny, meetings were going far too long and the pie was not getting any smaller. That brings us to the March 12th work day.
After the first 2 meetings we had our 3 strategic initiatives picked; Building, Services and Community. Now we need specific goals, deliverables and timelines. With large pieces of paper taped to the window and a box of markers we started consuming the pie. Three hours later, we had a pretty good plan. It is not finalized yet, but it is close. I will admit it took a lot out of me, I might have needed an Ativan that afternoon. Don’t get me wrong, it was very productive and my board is the absolute best, but you know me, Queen of overthinking, Princess of anxiety (there are many titles); it was a lot to process.
The snake killer I am cannot just talk about doing something, my mind starts thinking of the attack and when and what I need to get it rolling. Breath in, breath out, this is a 5-year plan. We had concerns that our timeline was heavy in areas, so I am creating a table to get a better grasp of the work, money and man power that will be needed. Again, my board is awesome, they know me.
I will be leaving for my second PLA Conference on Tuesday, March 22nd. Kind of ironic isn’t it, a revisit to a conference that started this whole thing. I am so ready! Conferences reboot me, they give me the inspiration I need to come back and kill snakes without hurting myself.
So, now on to the second bookworm I need to write today in preparation for being out of the office next week. Killing snakes and eating pie, I got this.
Upcoming Events: 3/23 Story Time at 10am. Little House Reading Challenge continues, stop by the library for any of the first books of the series.