East Lyme library looks toward future with strategic plan
East Lyme — How should the East Lyme Public Library meet the needs of the community over the next five years?
As part of a strategic planning process, the library is holding public workshops and asking residents and library patrons about what services and materials they currently use and what they would like to see in the future.
Lisa Timothy, the library's director, said in a phone interview that the library's last strategic plan was completed about 20 years ago. With potential changes in town, such as planned developments like Costco and an increasing population, library officials want to determine the best way to direct its future.
She said that while the library is popular, they want to ensure they are providing the most useful services and then determine what other services might be developed in the future to meet the needs of the community.
"We want to have a sense of what the community wants from the library," she said.
The East Lyme Public Library had 8,233 library patrons in fiscal year 2017.
People currently use East Lyme's library for a variety of purposes that include continuing education; entertainment; business research; activities and programs for children or teens, including a filmmaking program; training on how to use devices, from eBook readers to iPhones; and learning foreign languages, Timothy said. The library offers e-books and audiobooks, but they're not replacing print books.
In addition to services and materials, Timothy said the strategic plan also will consider the question of how additional space could be used, if the library were to have more space in the future. For example, is there interest in a potential makerspace that some libraries have installed, and if so, what items should it have?
The library also is considering how it could better reach out to the business community, she said.
Maverick & Boutique, a firm that has worked with companies and libraries in the United States and internationally, will write the five-year strategic plan, which is funded through a grant from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut and donations, she said.
Timothy said the goal is to finish the planning activities by the end of the calendar year and then present it to the library's board of trustees and the East Lyme Public Library Foundation board by early spring of 2018.
Timothy is encouraging people to attend the public workshops and provide feedback.
The first workshop will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Aug. 14 in the Senior Center meal site at 37 Society Road.
The second workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the Youth Services Room at the Community Center.
"We sincerely want their opinions," Timothy said. "We very much want them to create the library they want."
According to flyers for the workshops, children are encouraged to attend, but they must be accompanied by an adult if they are under 16. The workshops will include refreshments and a raffle for a Kindle fire tablet.
To register for the workshops, call (860) 739-6926 or email elpl@ely.lioninc.org.
The library also will offer electronic surveys, as well as paper surveys that people can fill out at the library.
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