St. Mary’s County Library Strategic Plan, 2020-2024
Guiding Statements
Our Vision: We inform and inspire.
Our Mission: We connect people with ideas and information in a diverse community, valuing opportunity and education for all.
Our Core Values and Guiding Principles
- Education
- Build collections that inform and entertain, promote the development of skills and life-long learning, and spark creativity
- Ensure our collections are diverse, inclusive, and accessible to all
- Support and defend our customers’ right to access information without judgment
- Inspire a love of learning and foster wisdom
- Service
- Develop a friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive staff who anticipate and exceed our community’s diverse needs and expectations
- Provide training and opportunities for continued employee growth
- Embrace change and innovation
- Community
- Serve all members of our community, respecting our diversity
- Seek creative community partnerships and welcome volunteers
- Engage in joint efforts with regional and state library partners to achieve our mission
- Integrity
- Be accountable to the Board of Library Trustees and the citizens of St. Mary’s County
- Be good stewards of funds and resources provided by St. Mary’s County, the State of Maryland, the Friends of the St. Mary’s County Library, and the St. Mary’s County Library Foundation
- Be fair and ethical in all our dealings with customers and staff
- Protect our customers’ privacy and preserve intellectual freedom

Area of Focus: Organizational Health
- Goal 1: Promote a positive working environment
- Create sustainable systems and processes that foster communication, teamwork, and collaboration
- Seek opportunities to increase productivity and efficiency
- Develop and enhance employee wellness and morale
- Strive to retain employees and honor their achievements and contributions
- Goal 2: Institutionalize the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
- Provide inclusive programming, services, and resources for our diverse community
- Develop policies and procedures to ensure equity, diversity, and inclusion across the organization
- Continue to provide equity, diversity, and inclusion training and other opportunities to all staff

Area of Focus: Service to the Community
- Goal 1: Develop and maintain a dynamic and current collection
- Apply professional best practices to provide a collection that is current, responsive, diverse, and in excellent condition
- Drive new models for accessing digital content, and publicly advocate for beneficial business models and formats to meet the digital content needs and expectations of our community
- Goal 2: Enhance our programs and services
- Meet the needs of diverse audiences with innovative programs and services
- Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of our programs and services
- Utilize strategic partnerships to reach community members
Area of Focus: Access
- Goal 1: Improve access to collections, services, and programs
- Work towards eliminating fines on all overdue materials
- Explore options for services beyond the three Library locations
- Expand library card access and opportunities
- Ensure that collections, services, and programs are accessible to all
- Goal 2: Renovate and/or repurpose existing spaces to meet changing needs
- Continuously assess the current physical and technological needs of the Library and the community
- Invest in multi-use or flexible spaces
- Ensure that Library spaces are accessible to all

Area of Focus: Technology
- Goal 1: Stay abreast of current and changing technologies to best serve the community
- Ensure the highest level of computer and network performance
- Introduce innovative technologies that exceed the expectations of our community
- Monitor and respond to trends in technology
- Goal 2: Provide access and training to address the digital divide
- Address barriers to use of our public computers, WiFi, and other technologies
- Continue to invest in technology and equipment for in-house use or borrowing
- Tailor technology services and training opportunities for diverse needs
Area of Focus: Community Relations
- Goal 1: Tell the Library’s story
- Develop and continuously update a marketing plan
- Host and participate in community events to expand our impact
- Goal 2: Cultivate advantageous partnerships
- Assess current and potential partnerships for alignment with the Library’s strategic goals and core values
- Effectively allocate staff resources to partnership development and management
- Goal 3: Proactively communicate with our community
- Train staff in best practices in customer service
- Empower staff to creatively address customer needs
- Effectively use digital and print communications
For further details please contact the Director, Michael Blackwell at 301-475-2846 x5013 or mblackwell@stmalib.org
This strategic planning project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through a Library Services and Technology Services (LSTA) grant.