Library Strategic Plan
What do you most want or need the Library to be in the future and how do we ensure the path forward is financially sustainable?
Background Information and Key Issues:
The Port Townsend Public Library is well-used and appreciated by the community. Community support for the Library is seen in the 2008 passage of a levy lid lift. This is further evidenced by input gathered via stakeholder interviews and the Library’s customer service survey in 2018. While the levy supported increased levels of services for the Library in 2009 the levy’s dollars do not go as far now due to inflation.
As a result of this reality, the Library recently worked with BERK Consulting to assess its current operating and fiscal condition. This led to a Level of Service and Sustainability Analysis, adopted by City Council in 2019, that identified immediate opportunities for the Library to make small but high-impact staffing and operating adjustments to balance Library services with its fiscal reality. This effort also identified that while the recommended short-term adjustments were immediately actionable, a long-term, community-supported plan was needed to chart the Library’s essential services going forward.
The Library is developing a strategic plan in collaboration with the community that clearly identifies the Library’s future direction. The final but flexible plan will define core services, initiatives and priorities that reflect community desires for the coming five years.
The Library’s strategic plan will be the result of meaningful engagement with the Port Townsend community. The process of including the community in the development of the strategic plan is as important as the plan itself.
Objectives/Desired Outcome(s):
Develop a publicly supported strategic plan for the Library that charts the core services for the entire community while working within the current budgetary constraints of the Library’s levy.
Fiscal Considerations:
The 2019 Level of Service and Sustainability Analysis identified that the Library’s financial sustainability is at risk and provided actions for temporary adjustments to Library operations. In 2008 a passage of a voter-approved Library levy lid lift occurred. In 2009, the levy was sufficient to increase hours of operation, staff presence, and collections, however, because the City is only allowed to increase the levied amount by 1% each year, the levy hasn’t kept up with inflation and the purchasing power of the revenues generated by the levy has begun to decrease. As such, despite this dedicated levy, Library operating costs are quickly outpacing revenue growth, with operating costs expected to exceed revenues and absorb existing fund balance by 2025. To maintain the existing high levels of service enjoyed by Port Townsend residents, efficiencies must be gained, or new or enhanced revenue streams established. The Level of Service study identified two options that maximize level of service to Library users while managing its fiscally constrained environment, and a third which meets Library user requests but is not fiscally feasible. Balancing levels of services expectations with financial realities is paramount to the final strategic plan.
Outcome:
The Library Strategic Plan was successfully completed in 2020, and Library staff have been working hard to implement the plan.
Contact Information:
Melody Sky Eisler | Library Director | meisler@cityofpt.us
