What do residents of Essex expect and need from their library, both now and in the future? Does the current vision and mission of the library reflect those needs? What are the contemporary roles of the library for the community's children, teens, older adults, and parents?

The Essex Library would like to hear those with thoughts on these questions. The library is developing a strategic plan to guide it in serving the Essex community over the next several years and into the next generation. The library association needs community input.

A committee headed up by Essex Library Association President Fred Szufnarowski and Library Director Richard Conroy is working with nationally recognized Library Development Solutions of Princeton, New Jersey, to address the challenges specific to the delivery of library services during this period of rapid transition to electronic media.

Community outreach will be a key element of the strategic planning process, Conroy said. The library is asking Essex residents to take a survey, either online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/Essexlibrary or at the library, on paper or a computer set up for that purpose. Anyone who takes the survey and provides the library with their email address will be entered in a drawing for an iPad Mini. Those who've already taken the survey, and didn't provide an email, can enter the drawing by calling the library and giving his or her email address to the librarian.

"Community engagement is critical to the success of this initiative," Conroy said.

Some of the questions to be explored during the planning process include:

• How does the library respond with services, collections, staffing, and facilities to meet identified community needs and expected future needs?

• How does the library respond to a quickly changing environment in which the issues of library funding, content and collections, and staffing?

• What are the challenges and barriers associated with creating the Essex Library of the future?

The consultants will facilitate interviews and workshops with key stakeholders, as needed, to ensure the involvement of the community, staff, the library association board, and town leaders in order to assess residents' current awareness and satisfaction with library services, programs, collections, and the facility and to discuss their ideas for future library services, collections, programs, and facilities.

Leslie and Alan Burger of Library Development Solutions have worked with many Connecticut libraries (both municipal and association), consortia, and boards throughout the state on strategic planning, facilities, and funding projects.

For more information or to learn how to participate in the strategic planning process, contact Richard Conroy at 860-767-1560.