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.