2016.01.13 Parks Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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To provide further insights into community -level needs and environment, a questionnaire was sent to the elected officials of the 33 communities and townships within Washington County. Also, a meeting was held with city administrators of these communities to discuss current and future community issues that could be impacted by library services. Finally, two all -day retreats were held in September and October in Woodbury and Forest Lake. These retreats attracted 30-50 people - current users and non-users of the Library - who represented specific targeted populations of the County. (See Appendix F: RRP Retreat Participants.) These retreats were designed to put a framework on the strategic plan and identify key themes from which to develop goals and strategies. The retreats were also designed to increase dialogue and introduce potential partnerships with organizations throughout the County. The outcome of the above activities includes this strategic plan report as well as a forthcoming Implementation Plan that will be developed with library staff following approval and acceptance of the strategic plan. Findings & Rationale As part of the investigative portion of the strategic planning process, Library Strategies, with the assistance of County staff, examined a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative data and inputs in preparation for creation of the strategic plan. Many of these assessments and analyses have been presented to the County previously in comprehensive reports. Presented here, in much abbreviated form, are the major findings from these analyses, and in particular, the assessments that contribute to various rationales included in the strategic planning goals. Library Assessment, Comparative Data and Staff SWOT Analysis Library Strategies conducted an assessment of the Library system, looked at peer data from comparable library systems across the country, and did a "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis with library department staff. These assessments were fully documented in separate reports to the County. Here are the major findings from these three assessments: Washington County Library, in comparison to comparable library systems, is an average to good system. Overall, the Library fares better in comparison to national peers, whereas it lags somewhat behind metro area library averages. The Library is highly efficient and provides good value to residents per taxpayer dollar.