Massachusetts Public Library Trustees Handbook

If you don't know where you want to go, any road will take you there. -Traditional Proverb

Library boards continuously guide, shape and build library services for their community as they make judgments on money, buildings, programs and staff. The challenge is to make these decisions based on a carefully considered written plan. The purpose of planning is to anticipate both opportunities and problems. A long range plan is a systematic decision-making process to set goals for future development and plan strategies for reaching these goals. A good planning strategy is to first ask, what kind of community do we have, and where does the library fit in with the overall goals of the community? Comprehensive plans include recognition of the library's present situation, identification of needs, determination of objectives and priorities, and decisions on actions needed to accomplish the library's goals. Successful planning allows a choice of options and avoids the "this-is-the-way-we-do-it" syndrome.

Planning involves answering five basic questions:

When the answer to the last question is reached, the plan is complete. Though the process is straightforward, planning requires commitment. It requires time, effort and careful organization to accomplish. Special board committees should be formed and a series of planning meetings scheduled to allow ample time to explore, brainstorm, dream, and study before making final decisions. Make sure to involve representatives from the community in the planning process. Identify the library's stakeholders: who cares deeply for the library and will work for the best possible library services? These stakeholders might include representatives from the Friends group, the library foundation, a municipal official such as a member of the Finance Committee or a Selectman, and a dedicated user of the library. The broader the base of support for, and understanding of the library's long range plan, the more successful the implementation of the plan will be.