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Athenaeum forms Strategic Planning Committee to develop its direction

By Erin O'Connor

Staff Writer



WESTFIELD The Westfield Athenaeum has formed a Strategic Long-Range Planning Committee to develop plans for the future direction of the Athenaeum, including programs and services that will be offered.

Athenaeum Director Christopher J. Lindquist said that most libraries do a long range plan every three to five years.

"This is the standard. The last one we did four years ago and it is time to do a new one," he said to the Reminder.

Lindquist said that the new plan will be in the 2012 fiscal year budget.

"There are two processes that take place," he said. "One is the planning and design for the building that includes renovations and the needs of the building for the next 20 years. The second is the strategic plan that meets other types of needs for the library. The staff, Board and community members will come up with a set of programs for the library."

The next meeting of the Board will be Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m.

The current criteria for the strategic plan can be viewed by going to the Atheneum web site at www.westath.org.

At the next meeting the Board will be discussing more in detail how to get feedback from the community.

As part of the strategic planning process, the committee will be doing surveys of residents using a variety of methods. A web-based survey will be created on the Athenaeum's website, a written survey will be used for walk- in patrons and a telephone survey will be used to reach other residents.

The results of the survey will be listed on the Athenaeum's website and in future issues of the bi-monthly newsletter, Athenaeum Columns.

he committee is using methods described in "Planning for Results; A Public Library Transformation Process" that was written by Ethel Himmel and William Wilson and published by the American Library Association (ALA). As part of the process, any building deficiencies that need to be addressed will also be included in the plan.

Lindquist said that once final plans have been drafted, the committee will present its recommendations to the Athenaeum's Board of Directors for its approval, before submitting the final plan to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

The committee expects to complete the final plan to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners by October 2007. At that time copies will be made available to the public.