The Free Library of New Hope & Solebury
Strategic Plan 2022-2025
Strategic Planning Process Overview
The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury engaged in a strategic planning process in late 2021/early 2022 to revisit and strengthen the organization’s strategic goals for the next three to five years. The team conducted a focus group with the library’s board and staff, including a SWOT analysis and discussion of values. They then proceeded to a widely publicized, very brief survey of a few basic questions for the entire community, fielded online. The final step in data collection was conducting two focus groups of community participants to gather more detailed input into the library’s strategic focus. The findings in this report reflect a combination of all of these data collection methods.
Mission
Sharing knowledge, enriching lives.
Vision
To be the heart of an engaged, vibrant community
Strategic Goals for the Library
Based on the feedback from the survey and focus groups, the following are the strategic areas where the library will focus in the coming years.
Overview: The Library as a Community Connection and Information Hub
The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury will provide free and open access to information to all of our community members, while providing a place for the community to connect and come together both in-person and virtually. Through its dedicated, professional staff, the library will create a warm, welcoming environment for all users.
Goal 1: An Engaged Community
The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury will foster a strong sense of community in which people have the knowledge, skills, empowerment and sense of hope to make a positive impact on all areas of their community.
- The library will partner with other community organizations to identify opportunities for community building and cross-promote relevant information.
- The library will help to develop a thriving community through promotion of physical, educational and social programming.
Goal 2: A Welcoming Place
The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury will ensure that all members of the community are welcomed, accepted and included, enabling them to reach their full potential and celebrate their diversity.
- The library will develop and implement an organization-wide approach to practicing diversity, equity and inclusion in all areas of the organization.
- The library will engage in conversations with community organizations to explore ways to promote diversity and inclusion within its scope.
- The library will reach out to underserved communities and work to develop programs and services that will meaningfully address their needs.
Goal 3: An Empowered Community
The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury will stimulate the imagination and satisfy the curiosity of its users by providing collections and programs that engage, educate and inspire.
- The library will continue to develop its physical and virtual collections to address the needs of its users.
- The library will develop and offer educational, social and cultural programming for all ages.
- The library will provide patrons of all ages, in particular children and teens, with the resources they need to develop literacy skills and to stimulate their imagination and curiosity.
- The library will provide free and open access to information both physically and virtually.
- The library will create engaging digital environments through our website, social media and digital resources, where patrons can access content, explore interests, share ideas and strengthen and develop their technical skills.
Goal 4: A Sustainable Community Service
The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury will secure the resources to continue to provide services to its community for years to come.
- The library will strengthen our financial planning tools and explore new opportunities to diversify funding sources.
Implementation Plan
Concurrent with the development of this strategic plan, the library will be finalizing an implementation plan that will serve as the blueprint for the specific tasks, action items, and objectives that will be carried out in support of these strategic goals. The implementation plan will also serve as a means of monitoring and measuring the library’s success in progressing towards, and reaching, the established goals over the next several years. The library staff and board of trustees are excited about moving forward together and implementing this plan to strengthen The Free Library of New Hope and Solebury’s role as an effective, inspiring and valuable community resource.
