Any problems with how the big building full of books is being run? The Oak Park Public Library wants to know.
The library is interested in the Oak Park community’s ideas on how to improve its services, and a strategic planning process has begun to capture those ideas.
The process kicked off in March with internal planning and got rolling last Wednesday with an open forum at Maze Branch Library. Representatives from 100 different organizations in Oak Park were invited to give input as to how the library can strengthen and expand its services.
About 30 invitees attended, representing organizations ranging from the Oak Park Housing Center, to the League of Women Voters, the Oak Park Art League, District 97 and the Hemingway Foundation, among others. Village Trustees Jan Pate, Ray Johnson, and Village Clerk Sandra Sokol also attended.
Maureen Sullivan-an organizational consultant who specializes in libraries-was hired to help spearhead the process. She has a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Maryland and over 25 years of experience in the consulting industry, currently working out of her home in Maryland.
“She’s very highly regarded and sort of the ‘tops’ in our field at doing this,” said library Director Deirdre Brennan.
Sullivan is also working with the North Suburban Library System and the Urban Libraries Council. The three library systems are sharing Sullivan’s costs, which Brennan said has “worked out very well.”
Sullivan led the forum last week, asking attendees how they picture the ideal future of Oak Park four or five years down the line. Sullivan then asked what needs to happen to achieve that future, and finally: What can the library do to help reach that vision?
Following the meeting, the library’s long-range planning committee met with Sullivan to digest the community’s suggestions. Brennan was excited by the ideas generated at the forum.
“We heard a lot of agreement from the attendees about what our future for the community is and about what the role of the library could be,” she said. “I think they really were engaged in thinking about not only what the future vision is, but what we need to do to achieve it. That was very helpful.”
Some intriguing ideas, Brennan said, were creating a community-wide calendar for planning events, which is facilitated by the library, using the library as a resource for accessing information about technology, and using the library to help protect civil liberties and intellectual properties.
The committee also liked the suggestion of “best practice,” looking at the library’s peer institutions and duplicating some of their successful methods.
The planning process is based on one designed by the Public Library Association, according to Brennan. It’s designed to identify gaps in service that need to be changed or improved, and to deliver library services the community desires.
They hope to complete the process by October, in time for the end of the library’s budget cycle, so funding can be aligned with the plan’s goals, Brennan said.
Another meeting will be held June 5 at 7 p.m. in the Veterans Room at the main library on Lake Street. The same questions will be asked, and the meeting is open to anyone interested in attending.
Online and paper surveys will also be passed out in the near future.
“We really are keenly interested in what you have to say about how we can make the library better for all of Oak Park,” Brennan said.