East Lansing Public Library
FY2024 (July 1, 2023 – June 30th, 2024) Action Plan
Mission
The East Lansing Public Library (ELPL) provides a place and resources where people gather to share information and ideas to enrich lives and foster community.
Vision
The East Lansing Public Library enriches, connects and transforms lives through knowledge and innovation.
Core Values
- Accessibility: “The ease with which a person may enter a library, gain access to its online systems, use its resources, and obtain needed information regardless of format. In a more general sense, the quality of being able to be located and used by a person. In the Web environment, the quality of being usable by everyone regardless of disability.” (From ODLIS)
- Community: “Community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with community members — be they library customers, residents, faculty, students or partner organizations— to address issues for the betterment of the community. As champions of lifelong learning, libraries are a place to quench curiosity, access technology, and explore new ideas, hobbies, and careers. Increasingly, libraries also offer patrons a welcoming space to meet their neighbors to discuss and resolve important issues.” (from ALA’s “Libraries Transforming Communities”)
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Innovation: Anticipating emerging trends in services, products and technologies that will enhance the library's position in its community" Examples may include: getting pro library
legislation passed, resisting book bans, building grassroots advocacy, protecting library funding, and transforming libraries into "community hubs" (Adapted from the ALA’s Ernest A. DiMattia Award for Innovation and Service to the Community and Profession) - Knowledge: “Information that has been comprehended and evaluated in the light of experience and incorporated into the knower’s intellectual understanding of the subject.” (From ODLIS)
The following action items support the ELPL core values.
(Names in bold and italics indicate the staff member(s) responsible for completing the task)
Accessibility
- Create and adopt a library accessibility policy for elpl.org (Gabby and Scott)
- Train staff on accessibility best practices for programming and marketing (Gabby and Scott)
- Go through training from “Autism Awareness” group as a step along the way to developing sensory-friendly programming events to better accommodate neurodiverse patrons and their families (Eric, Zandra, Rheanna, Gillian, Angelo, Phyllis)
- Develop outreach schedule and guidelines that match new Strategic Plan (Angelo, Eric, Zandra, Mike, Rheanna, Gillian)
- Draft Outdoor Sign guidelines and/or policies/procedures (Scott and Gabby)
Community
- Find the gap between the total money raised for a children’s garden and the total cost of the project, with the intention of adapting a scale and scope of the project that aligns with a newly developed Strategic Plan (Angelo and Shori)
- Partner with local international students and families to provide bilingual storytime quarterly (Gillian)
- Assess progress on actions outlined in the “East Lansing Public Library Board of Trustees Statement on Anti-racism” (Angelo and…)
- Work with paid consultants to complete a new Strategic Plan (All staff)
- Host National Night Out in August of 2023
Completed - Host East Lansing Welcomes the World in Fall of 2023
Completed - Assess feasibility of doing Books, Bites, and Bids in light of Phyllis’ retirement (Angelo and
Phyllis) - Develop a Programming Policy for the library. (Angelo, Eric, Zandra, Mike, Rheanna, Gillian)
- Develop story walk procedures and guidelines (Gillian, Phyllis, and Chrissie)
- Determine best use for ARPA funds, within limitations stipulated by Council resolution (Angelo and…)
- Depending on newly developed Strategic Plan, begin plans to re-launch One Book, One
Community (or something similar) (Angelo, Chrissie and…
Innovation
- Based on Strategic Planning, add language to our Collection Development Policy about the “Library of Things” (Chrissie)
- Add language to our Collection Development Policy about Little Free Libraries (Chrissie)
- Organize the library’s social media presence by going through all channels and creating consistency in playlists, who the official library page likes and follows, overall public impression, community interactions, etc (Gabby)
- Update the library’s communications plan based on insights gained from the Library Marketing and Communications Conference (Gabby)
- Create and implement a standardized promotional classification system based on insights gained from the Library Marketing and Communications Conference (Gabby)
- Create and implement standardized ways of collecting data to inform marketing tactics, including using surveys after library events and in the hiring process (Gabby, with Angelo and programming staff)
- Establish automatic renewal for items borrowed by patrons (Scott and Conner)
- Develop library marketing/social media that is specifically for Teens (Gabby and Zandra)
- Establish something similar to CADL’s Student Success Initiative with East Lansing Schools (Zandra, Gillian, Scott, Conner, Eric)
- Implement electronic invoice processing in Sierra (Chrissie)
- Purchase and upgrade end-of-life technology at the library (Scott)
- Based on Strategic Plan, decide what to do with the room formally referred to as the “Recording studio” (All staff)
- Implement mobile app for the library (Scott)
Knowledge
- Draft Collection Maintenance and Weeding procedures (Chrissie)
- Form Readers Advisory Committee to take responsibility for all lists, displays, etc. (Zandra and Chrissie)
- Assess the status of kits such as the Storytime, Early Literacy, and the Conscious Child Family Book Discussion Kits on Racial Equity for addition to the collection. (Gillian, Chrissie, Eric, Phyllis)
- Write a proactive crisis communications plan and talking points (Angelo and Gabby)
- Launch new Intranet and train staff on its use (Scott, Angelo, Gabby)
- Draft Meeting Room technology procedures, and train staff (Scott)
