Minutes
November 10, 2012
Board Strategic Plan Retreat
The retreat was called to order at 9:10 a.m. by Vice President Carol Browne. Present were: Trustees Mike Kiella, Chris Antkoviak, Carol Browne, Sally Trabulsi, Catherine Hellmann and Carol Garofalo, Director Ann Perrigo, Administrative Assistant Evelyn Lyzenga and Genealogy-History Librarian Linda Koch. Trustee Watts was absent.
The title for the retreat was “Shifting”. Trustee Browne set the stage for the retreat based on the agenda and the idea of shifting the mindset of all present from the 20th century to the 21st century. We need to be prepared for what is now and what will be the future.
Director Perrigo gave an update on the 2012 Strategic Action Plan and what things have been completed and those still pending. The pending items will be moved into the 2013 – 2015 strategic action plans.
Administrative Assistant Evie Lyzenga gave a presentation on 21st Century Library Shifts. She discussed the mindsets and skills going forward in the 21st century. These attributes will affect individuals and companies here and throughout the country. The questions being considered
were:
• Where is ADL on the “shift continuum?” Did we consider these in our strategic plan?
• Is there anything the library should incorporate or use to revise the strategic goals or priorities?
Genealogy-History Librarian Linda Koch gave a visual presentation on shifting the library’s large history and genealogy collection to a digital format. She very clearly laid out what items the library has that need to be digitized; why this shift is important for the library’s development in the 21st century. Those items are:
• Items that are deteriorating and need to be preserved
• We have the only copy of whatever that item is and they need preservation
• The availability and preservation of this collection for the future
• Many more items that need transcription into usable copies for patron, genealogists and historians usage
She also shared what it would take to do this huge project. The new ScanPro for use with our microfilm and the new Book Scan Station are two items that will be instrumental in this process along with personnel to do this work.
At this point the board took a break and then had lunch.
After lunch Administrative Assistant Evie Lyzenga presented “Technology Forum” as we know technology now and what we know (at this point in time) in the future. Technology will be impacting our library through its patrons and the community as a whole. Director Perrigo presented “Future of Library Technology”. This looked at:
• Consumer Trends that affect Libraries
• Industry Buzzwords
• Role of Libraries in being proactive and community engagement being the “center of the community providing services and opportunities”
• How to do this
• Where are we going with infrastructure, automation, value-added content, and services.
She also gave an overview of social media/networks and the library.
After a report by Director Perrigo about shifting how the library plans for collection development and a new software tool to give improved statistics and valuable input on the status of the collection, the Board expressed their interest in going ahead with such a purchase.
At this time in the afternoon, a discussion lead by Trustee Browne centered on the relationship of the existing action plans and the information shared at this retreat. The board was trying to answer these questions:
• What shifts should we incorporate into our strategic thinking?
• How do these issues inform our strategic actions?
• What needs to be shifted into first gear?
• Where are we stalled and why?
The results were:
• To consider collection development software at the next regular Board meeting
• More staff. Among those ideas were:
o IT be expanded from more than just one person,
o look at existing personnel to see other strengths that could be utilized,
o a need for a grant writer to seek alternative forms of funding,
o shifting existing responsibilities
• Appreciation of the overview of the digitization project; believe need to ship work out to capable vendors who do such preservation along with inside personnel involvement
• Changes in personnel leaving; board’s vision to mesh with new persons
• Partner with the Allegan County Historical Society
• To think of how to get to be embedded in the community
• Trustee Antkoviak to send email to Rob Hillard regarding a nice fancy sign out by M89/M40 corner of Hubbard pointing to the Griswold, Allegan District Library, Allegan Courthouse, etc.
• Send a formal thank you note from the Board to the City of Allegan for the paving of the driveway
• Publish an annual report every year for the library’s constituents
• President Kiella brought up the unspoken elephant in the room regarding capacity, planning and accountability. Board members are all volunteers; they have no accountability except their own personal values.
• Board agreed that to get any of the newly mentioned ideas and/or needs to go forward, the board would need to:
o Get going
o Fund them
o Implement
Retreat adjourned at 3:00 pm.
Evie Lyzenga
Administrative Assistant