Harnett County Public Library's Long Range Plan -- Library Service Priorities

601 North Main Street, Lillington, North Carolina, 27546
Phone: (910) 893-3446 / Fax: (910) 893-3001

Long Range Plan for the Harnett County Public Library, 2003-2007

Executive Summary
Introduction
Community Needs
» Library Service Priorities
Vision Statement
Mission Statement
Goals and Objectives:

Current Titles and Topics
Lifelong Learning
Information Literacy
General Information
Formal Learning Support

Based on the community needs identified by the Planning Committee and its understanding of the library’s strengths and weaknesses, the committee suggested the following service priorities for the Harnett County Public Library. These priorities were selected from among thirteen such priorities listed in The New Planning for Results.

Current Topics and Titles, which emphasizes the library’s role in fulfilling its users’ needs for current information about popular cultural and social trends and their desire for recreational reading, viewing, and listening experiences. The Planning Committee recommended that the library center these efforts on all library users but place special emphasis on children.
Lifelong Learning, which focuses on the library’s role in addressing the desire for its users’ self-directed personal growth and development. The Planning Committee suggested that the library’s efforts in this area be aimed at all library users but with some focus on adults.
Information Literacy, which emphasizes the library’s role in addressing the needs of its users for skills related to finding, evaluating, and using information effectively. The Planning Committee recommended that the library focus on adults as well as reinforcing the education being received by school children and “filling the gaps” for those school children who do not otherwise have access to the information technology outside of school.
General Information, which focuses on the library’s efforts to meet the need for information and answers to questions on a broad array of topics related to work, school, and personal life. The Planning Committee suggested that the library fulfill this role for all library users.
Formal Learning Support, whereby the library helps students who are enrolled in formal programs of education or who are pursuing their education through a program of homeschooling to attain their educational goals. The Planning Committee recommended that the library’s efforts in this area be focused on school children in general and homeschoolers in particular.

The staff of the Harnett County Public Library then met to consider the recommended service priorities. The staff examined the strengths and weaknesses of the library as well as the opportunities and threats presented by the recommended service priorities. After consideration of these issues, the staff gave its support to the five priorities and worked with the consultant to draft vision and mission statements for the library and to identify goals, objectives, and activities to implement the service priorities over the next five years.

Target figures for the objectives associated with each goal were based on the increases needed for the Harnett County Public Library to match the median service levels in the pertinent statistical measures for all county libraries in North Carolina at the end of the five-year period. (For example, under goal 1, for the Library to match the median adult book circulation of the 51 county libraries in the state, its circulation would have to increase by 6 per cent each year for the next five years.)