Strategic Plan

Evanston Public Library Strategic Plan

2000-2010

A Decade of Outreach

Vision Statement

The Evanston Public Library Board of Trustees envisions a future in which the Library’s collections, programs, and leadership help ensure:

• That every Evanston resident has the opportunity to enjoy an intellectually and culturally rich life
• That every child enters school with the requisite developmental skills
• That every child experiences the pleasure of reading and the joy of learning
• That our community celebrates and appreciates its diversity
• That those in need can find assistance and information with ease

Mission Statement

The mission of the Evanston Public Library is to promote the development of independent, self-confident, and literate citizens through the provision of open access to cultural, intellectual, and informational resources.

Introduction

For much of its recent history, the Evanston Public Library’s priorities were clear. For nearly twenty years, addressing the inadequacies of the Main Library building were the Library’s most pressing need. With the opening of the new Library building in October of 1994, it very quickly became clear that the Library’s collections did not match its beautiful new building and did not compare well to other north suburban libraries. Over the last five years the Library Board has done a great deal to increase public funding for the Library’s collections and to raise private funds to support those collections. While the Evanston Public Library collections still do not match those of the leading libraries in the north suburban area, sufficient progress has been made to permit the Board to consider the means of meeting some of Evanston’s other library needs.

The opening of the new Library building coincided with the emergence of the Internet as a major information source and communication medium. In the intervening years the Internet has transformed the economy, education, publishing, and the nature of library service itself. These transformations are expected to continue and accelerate. They are so great and far reaching that it is not unusual to hear bright people wonder if there is a future for printed books and libraries.

The Library Board believes that reading will continue to be the way that people come to understand complex ideas, and that literature will continue to be one of the best ways of knowing the world. The printed book may eventually go the way of plank roads and kerosene lamps, but such a transition is likely to take generations. Even if all books become electronic, it is likely that most thoughtful people will need more of them in a lifetime than they can afford. The same will be true for other media. Publicly owned collections of books, sound recordings, moving pictures, and software will continue to enrich the life of a community. Children will continue to benefit from the enthusiasm of library staff members and the exposure to books, stories, and literature. The more sophisticated and complex the Internet becomes, the more users will benefit from the assistance of a professional to help find the information they need.

It is clear that public libraries will be changing in fundamental ways because of this new technology. Already we have seen a slight drop in library use measured by the conventional standards of circulation and questions answered. The reference staff reports that questions are becoming more complex, and that the patron making the inquiry is often somewhat desperate, having already used a variety of resources before turning to the Library. Student assignments often place less emphasis on the use of books and periodicals, and now require the use of Web sites. Students are often unwilling to use print sources or to trust the information in them. Some Evanston residents are now turning to the Internet for information they once obtained from the Library. Other Evanston residents turn to the Library for access to these same Internet resources. The Library’s own Web Site and the Internet resources made available through it are factors in transforming the nature and frequency of library use by Evanston residents.

Certainly providing improved access to electronic resources as well as training and guidance in their use will be a part of the Library’s future. Educating and guiding people in the evaluation and selection of information sources will also be a major part of the Library’s future.

Many people, however, demand nothing more of the Library than good books for recreational reading. In this driven age when technological sophistication and economic value seem to be the measures of all things, it is easy to dismiss the value of recreational reading. Nonetheless the Board continues to believe that promoting recreational reading is one of the most important services that the Library provides for the citizens of Evanston. We believe that reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. People who don’t read regularly and often are in great danger of not having the intellectual or emotional resources they need to deal with assignments at school or work, the challenges of everyday life, personal problems, and the huge challenge of giving meaning to their lives. In that sense reading for pleasure is a survival skill. The ultimate aim of the Library’s work with children is the creation of lifelong readers - in other words, the creation of recreational readers.

It is clear that the benefits and pleasures of reading and library use are not evenly distributed in our community. The Assessment of Library Service to Low and Moderate Income Residents of Evanston, IL completed in November of 1999 by Himmel & Wilson Library Consultants documents a high level of market penetration by and satisfaction with the Library, but it also reports that library use is low among Evanston’s low-income residents. The Assessment reported, "In particular, the area bounded by McCormick and the North Shore Channel on the west and north, by Green Bay Road and Dodge Street on the east, and by Main Street on the south shows considerably less library circulation use than other areas of the City. There is a high level of correlation between this area and low and moderate-income." The Assessment also identified "specific areas of the south side that have high density of individuals and families with low-incomes" where library use was also below expectations. Both of these areas have a high proportion of minority residents. When this data is coupled with the "minority student achievement gap" reported by the schools, it becomes clear that there is considerable work to be done to promote reading and library use among Evanston’s low and moderate-income population.

As it went through this planning process, the Library Board came to believe that Evanston’s most pressing library need is the promotion and marketing of library services. The Evanston Public Library needs to clearly establish itself as an important component of the new electronic information system, while not abandoning traditional information resources prematurely. The Library needs to be a missionary for reading, seizing every opportunity to encourage parents to read to children, to encourage children to become independent recreational readers, and to encourage adults to see reading as essential to individual growth and enrichment, as one of the most enjoyable forms of recreation, and as an important responsibility of citizenship. The necessary marketing of Library services and resources is a community wide undertaking, but it is essential that this effort focus on those segments of the community that currently underutilize the Library, particularly Evanston’s low income residents and the children growing up in these circumstances. For these reasons the Library Board believes that the next ten years need to be the Library’s "Decade of Outreach."

It is customary these days to write strategic plans for three years or at most five years. The Library Board recognizes that it is difficult to plan on a longer horizon, but the Board also believes that its commitment to outreach needs to be a long term commitment and that the results of these efforts need to be measured over a longer period of time. Our plan is for a decade. Our vision is clearer in the short term, but we believe our goals will remain relevant for ten years.

The Board will annually revise the objectives and activities of this Plan, and will review the entire Plan in 2005 to determine if its goals are still appropriate.