Section B - Goals, Expansion and Physical Plant

Policy Number B048.1

Mission Statement -- Service Responses

Service areas selected for emphasis in the St. Charles City-County Library District

Community Referral Services

The District will cultivate relationships with organizations in the community, and increase the effectiveness of its community referral services. Relationships will center on multi-purpose organizations, such as the Community Council, which specialize in directories, provider listings, and specialty services. The Not for Profit Librarian will work with area non-profit organizations to increase social service networking.

Consumer Information

The District will provide information and resources, including critical reviews, price guidelines, and expert guidance to assist patrons in making informed consumer decisions. The District will market its consumer services through various means, including bookmarks, public presentations, and media releases.

Lifelong Learning

The Library District will evaluate potential roles in lifelong learning with an emphasis on preparing people for life changes. The District will maintain a strong non-fiction collection to enhance self-directed learning, and support information access.

Information Literacy

The Library will devise and present programs to promote lasting patron skills in locating, evaluating and using information. Public training will emphasize available print and electronic formats, and will be addressed to patrons of all age groups.

Business and Public Management Services

The District will provide expert personal assistance, electronic and print resources, and services of interest to governmental and public agencies, to the business community, to investors, to entrepreneurs, or those who are dealing with a changing work environment. The Information Resource Center will expand the means by which library users can access information without visiting the library.

Government Documents and Geographic Information Systems

The Library will provide access to a wide selection of information about and from federal, state of Missouri and local government departments, in a wide variety of formats. The Information Resource Center will further expand GIS services and analysis to various organizations and agencies within the District's service area.

Local History and generalized Genealogical support

In order to serve an expanding population base, and an increased interest in family and local history, the District will expand its collection in all formats, to facilitate historical and genealogical research. The Information Resource center will augment use of resources in the Bizelli-Fleming collection, and increase access to those resources throughout the District, and will form alliances with historical and genealogical agencies to increase the scope and depth of historical resources.

Current Topics and Titles

The District will provide the public with access to current titles in appropriate formats and quantities in a timely manner. Materials will be available in multiple formats and will be accessible through conveniently located and reliable equipment, software, and interpretive resources. The Library will provide suitable programs to meet the public's demand for current informational, educational and recreational information.

General Information

Previously known as reference services, the General Information service response will address public needs for accurate, well-documented information for work, school, and personal use. It will entail constant review and updating of resources, management of information access, the usability and efficacy of available formats, and enhancing training and the library staff's ability to guide patrons' informational search and analysis.

Children's Services

The Library district will provide and promote quality materials, services and programs to children as a way of enhancing a lifelong interest in reading and library use. All of the services and materials the District offers will be available to children to meet their personal interests and learning needs. Library staff will work closely with parents, agencies, schools, daycares and preschools to promote reading readiness, literacy, and use of the library.

In addition to these Service Responses, the District will emphasize several management and support functions to strengthen its operating structure and service delivery.

Facilities Planning

The District will provide and, as needed, expand existing facilities, and acquire strategically located property for future development to meet population growth and diversity within St. Charles County. We shall evaluate the status of all facilities and consider means of improving customer comfort, convenience and privacy and promoting the most efficient possible use of physical properties.

Training and Staffing

The District will emphasize staff training that maintains quality and consistency in services and procedures from branch to branch. A full schedule of on-going training classes dealing with service issues, technological competence, resource utilization, and enhanced skill development will be implemented and evaluated for effectiveness. Staff recognition, input, and expertise will be emphasized through a flattened organizational structure, delegation, and considerable independence for action.

Community Partnerships and Linkages

The District will be actively involved in the community it serves, and will form lasting linkages with other organizations to augment the service levels of all parties. Alliances could cover in-service training, marketing, children's services and external outreach offerings. Governmental entities, taxing bodies, social service agencies, schools and day centers, colleges and universities, and organizations with similar purposes are likely targets for partnerships.

Funding and Finance

The District will continue operating on conservative, well-reasoned budgets, spending wisely to maximize return on investment, and justifying consumer support for the tax-based revenue upon which it depends. Because of the extent of public funding needed to fulfill the Mission, the District will be critical and cautious of attempts to erode the county's tax base, or to divert tax revenue to municipal economic development initiatives. At the same time, we will expand avenues of alternative funding, including donative and contributed income, support from related organizations such as the Library Foundation and Friends of the Library, and through fiscal grants from public and private sources.

Collection Management

The District will provide a useful collection using appropriate materials and formats to meet the needs of patrons of all ages for general and recreational information. The collection management team will endeavor to centralize some collection functions to increase efficiency in ordering, processing, and distributing materials. The District will endeavor to streamline and improve the catalog database to increase its usefulness and user-friendliness. On an ongoing basis, the staff, management, and collection specialists will examine, evaluate, and modify the collection to attain its maximum effectiveness.

Telecommunications and Technology

The St. Charles City-County Library District strives to be the public informational utility for St. Charles County Missouri. It will use telecommunications and computing to build a seamless connection between its physical facilities. It will seek partnerships that will allow delivering of virtual library services to points throughout the County. It will develop professional expertise of staff in its areas of subject concentration through an enhanced staff training program. It will continue to emphasize technological literacy in generalized and specialized training for St. Charles County residents in fully using the Internet and other new technologies.

Revised 10/09/2000