Anchorage Public Library Community Plan
The Anchorage Public Library Community Plan is finished! Review the plan:
Highlights of the Library Community Plan
Library Community Plan
Appendices
Appendix E-Long version of web survey
Six Month Progress Report, June 21, 2010
The Anchorage Public Library Community Plan challenged our community to imagine a world-class, 21st century public library and over 6,000 residents helped shape a community-supported plan to turn this vision into reality. The plan was released in December 2009 and the findings are unsettling—our public library is in a struggle for survival. If left unchecked, current funding trends will lead to a library system that is at best mediocre and at worst irrelevant.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way. The Library Community Plan offers exciting and empowering recommendations on how to turn our library into an indispensible resource for the community.
In 2009, national library experts Himmel & Wilson Library Consultants worked with local outreach specialists Agnew::Beck to challenge our community to imagine a world-class, 21st century library for Anchorage. The team did a statistical comparison of APL to peer libraries and introduced innovative ideas and service models from other successful libraries. They shared these ideas and gathered feedback from residents through focus groups, an online survey, personal interviews, a library summit and town hall meeting. Over 6,000 people participated in the process to create a community-supported vision for the future of our library.
The plan focuses on five categories and includes very specific recommendations in each category to move APL beyond survival mode, into a thriving public library:
1. Create a more welcoming, community-centered library
2. Encourage a new generation of library users while engaging traditional users
3. Enhance customer service
4. Let people know what the library offers
5. Reduce operating costs and secure new sources of funding
The Library Foundation, the Friends of the Library, and the Anchorage Public Library are committed to ensuring that our library thrives in the future. However, it will take the support of the entire community to advance the recommendations of the plan. As a Library supporter, you understand that a thriving library is one of the most important resources for our community. Your support will be critical as we put the plan in motion.
To join our effort, contact info@anchoragelibraryfoundation.org
