Long Range Plan | Forbes Library

Forbes Library Charts Course

By Kristina Tedeschi
July 31, 2006
Reprinted by permission from the Daily Hampshire Gazette

NORTHAMPTON - The Forbes Library, responding to a survey of patrons, has mapped out changes to satisfy community needs, including extended hours beginning in the fall.

The survey, which drew 661 responses, found that people wanted the library to be more accessible and more receptive to user needs. They also wanted a library coffee shop.

While there are no plans to bring coffee makers into the reading room, there are plans to create a more satisfying library experience, to use patron-driven improvement of services and to increase community awareness of all the services and resources that Forbes offers.

The library's long-range planning committee created the survey, with 16-questions, in January. The survey was available in February and March online, at the library and at various local businesses.

''We wanted this to be meaningful,'' said Forbes Library Director Janet Moulding. ''If we were going to do this, we wanted information out of it.''

Moulding and Peter Rowe, the president of the library's board of trustees, said the survey showed that people want more from their public library. In simpler times, they noted, libraries were mostly concerned with books; but times have changed.

The survey showed that 54 percent of the respondents wanted the library coffee shop, 55 percent wanted more computer availability, and 68 percent wanted education and entertainment programs, like film and lecture series.

''Culture has changed and the library has to change with it,'' said Moulding. ''We want the library to be a place where people can gather.''

In response to survey results, the committee drafted long-range goals, which have been approved by the library's trustees. The goals include creating a more satisfying library experience for users, patron-driven improvement of library services and a campaign to increase community awareness of all services and resources Forbes offers.

Lisa Downing, a committee member and assistant director at Forbes said the plan ''will carry us forward over the next five years.''

''It is an ambitious plan. There's no denying we want to be responsive to what we've heard.''

According to the survey, 21.8 percent of people don't use the library because the hours of operation are inconvenient. Results showed that 43.6 percent of people were most likely to visit the library on Sundays.

The library is currently open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays during the fall, winter, and spring, but it is closed on Sundays during the summer. The library will begin extended hours in the fall, staying open longer and opening on Sundays next summer.

''It's what the community wants,'' said Moulding. ''So that's what we'll do.''

Moulding said she was surprised to learn that the No. 1 reason people gave for not using the library was not having a library card.

On that score, she said, they need to educate the public that Forbes ''is open to everybody.'' And that getting a card is simple.

In fact, Moulding said marketing and public relations was a key area to focus on, because the survey also showed people didn't know what services were available.

As a result, committee members will begin producing public service announcements for local radio, as well as putting notices about new services on Northampton Community Television.

They also plan to reach out to schools and community organizations, Moulding said. She noted that Forbes offers practice tests for nursing, postal and scholastic aptitude (SATs) that are not used all that much because people don't know they're there.

Rowe, who is a former professor at Smith College, said many people wanted to have easier access to the stacks and get a better idea of where things were located in the library.

He noted that people can do serious research at Forbes using its wealth of databases, genealogies, and primary sources located there, such as journals and account books of historic Northampton figures. He cited the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum contains materials documenting the 30th president's private life is an unusual holding for a small city's public library.

''It's a beautiful archive,'' said Rowe. ''Forbes is unique in the United States, I think, because it is the only public library that is a presidential library.''

Moulding said the library would like to have more books, more computers, and even longer hours, but money is an issue.

The library has benefited from donations by The Friends of the Library - a community room was recently built using funds from the group.

She said the library is always seeking donations, and will hold its first annual fund drive this fall.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2006

FORBES LIBRARY SOLICITS PUBLIC INPUT FOR NEW LONG-RANGE PLAN

Forbes Library is forging ahead into the New Year with ambitious plans to set a course for the next five years that will offer Northampton residents the best possible library service. The library has convened a Long-Range Planning Committee composed of community members and library staff. Chaired by Trustee Peter Rowe, the 13-member group will embark on an ambitious agenda, studying the Northampton community's needs, analyzing the library's strengths and weaknesses, and developing goals, objectives and a practical plan of action.

Soliciting community input on the library's programs and services will be the first step in the planning process. To that end, a survey of user needs and interests is now available, asking the community what aspects of the library are most important and seeking opinions on future directions. The library hopes for a strong community response to the survey, which is available at the library and elsewhere in the city.

Long-range planning is common among Massachusetts public libraries today. "We want Forbes to be a vital place for the entire Northampton community and our services to meet the needs of all city residents," says Library Director Janet Moulding. "We're eager to find new and better ways to serve both our regular users and also those who are not now using the library. Only by asking the people of Northampton what they want from their library can we really know what our goals should be." Moreover, Moulding says, a long-range plan has the added value of making the library eligible for a variety of federal grants available from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners in Boston.

The survey is posted on the library's website (www.forbeslibrary.org) for people to fill out at home or on a library computer in the Reference Room. Some residents may be called and asked to complete the survey by telephone. Paper copies can be found at the library's circulation desk and in several locations throughout the city.

The committee is in the process of gathering additional information about community needs from local agencies, organizations and citizens. Interviews, focus groups, and public forums are in the works. Participation of the public in this initial phase of the planning process is essential to the construction of a valid long-range plan, and the committee is open to innovative ideas. They expect to have the plan completed and approved by the end of the summer.

Members of the committee include community residents Joan Cenedella, Marjorie Hess, Louise Kanus and Laura Reed. Library staff members are Lisa Downing, Hillary Garrett, Suzy Hoyt, Towle Leichliter, Janet Moulding, Adam Novitt, and Brian Tabor.