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• Preface
  • Introduction
  • The Process
  • Participants
    • Board of Library Trustees
    • Library Staff Planning Committee
    • Community Planning Task Force
    • City of Palm Springs Officials
  • Palm Springs Today
  • The Plan
• Strategic Service Plan 2004-2009
  • Current Topics and Titles
  • Basic Literacy
  • Information Literacy
  • Commons
  • Cultural Awareness
  • Local History / Palm Springs Heritage
• Implementation
• Appendix A

PREFACE

Introduction

The City of Palm Springs has a wonderful history of valuing library services. As far back as 1919, well before incorporation, the residents had established a public library in a small adobe building. As the village grew, the citizens followed the library through more than 12 different locations.

Today the Library stands on the corner of Sunrise Way and Baristo Road, one of the anchors of Sunrise Park and a destination for residents and visitors alike. Its strengths have been, and continue to be, in-depth collections and exemplary service.

However, with the advent of the 21 st century, the demographics of Palm Springs are changing, as are the requirements and expectations for dissemination of information from the Library.

Thus in November 2003, the Library Board and staff began a strategic planning process that would set the Library’s goals and priorities, establish objectives and performance measures, and reallocate resources for the next five years. The ultimate product in this document involved substantial data gathering and analysis in five major categories:

• Facilities and systems
• Demographic characteristics and trends
• Library resources
• Financial assets and trends
• Community service needs and interests

The Process

The Library contracted with Jeanne Goodrich, of Jeanne Goodrich Consulting in Portland, Oregon to facilitate meetings with community stakeholders as well as to train staff in writing a measurable plan. The method Ms. Goodrich and the Library used was based on the New Planning for Results from the American Library Association.

Community stakeholders were identified and contacted to participate in two community task force meetings designed to define the issues of Palm Springs.

A total of 43 were invited to participate and represented a cross section of Palm Springs: businesses, cultural institutions, education, ethnic, gay and senior residents, religion, transportation, health care, the Agua Caliente Tribe of Cahuilla Indians, parents, as well as City government officials.

Two community task force meetings were held with about 30 stakeholder attendees each. Through discussion of City issues from the participants’ perspectives, and examination of the most current City demographics, the meetings identified the service emphases these community members felt the Library should pursue.

A staff planning committee and the Library Board of Trustees took the information from the community members to finalize the service emphases for the next five years.

The staff planning committee composed of staff from each area of the Library then wrote the plan, with training and facilitation from Jeanne Goodrich. The entire process took seven months.

Participants

Five groups played continuing, important roles throughout the planning process. The members of the Community Planning Task Force, who gave their feedback on Palm Springs and its needs today; the staff planning committee who met regularly to devise and write an attainable plan; the Library Board of Trustees who approved the overall direction and priorities; the City Manager and other City department heads who gave input to ensure the plan works from a governmental point of view; and of course the entire staff of the Palm Springs Public Library whose support of the project will make the results happen. Without these groups and their cooperative efforts, this plan would not exist.

Board of Library Trustees

Lynne Bushore, President

Janice Lyle, President Pro-tem

Richard Hostrop

Mary Lou Feenstra

Sandra Levinson

Library Staff Planning Committee

Barbara Roberts, City Librarian

Josette McNary, Principal Librarian

Sastri Madugula, Reference Section Head

Tom Lutgen, Reference Librarian

Carla Hope, Youth Section Head

Irene Canales, Senior Library Assistant, Youth

Robin Ptacek, Marketing and Outreach

Ann Morris, Automation/Technical Services Section Head

Jean Graham, Library Assistant

Jeff Clayton, Circulation Section Head

Community Planning Task Force Members

Lupe Bagley, Employment Development Department

Joseph Beaver, African American Historical Society

Dr. Lorraine Becker, Palm Springs Unified School District

Irene Canales, Palm Springs Library Staff

Michael Carbine, Desert Healing Institute

Lyn Calerdine, Calerdine Associates

Joe Castrodale, Angel View Foundation

Judith Cohen, Desert Regional Medical Center Library

Tracy Conrad, The Willows Historic Palm Springs Inn

Mark Davis, Boys and Girls Club

Jim Dunn, Palm Springs Convention Center

Virginia Eberhardt, Palm Springs Adult Education

Mary Lou Feenstra, Library Board of Trustees

Tish Gobble, Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce

Linda Goff, Evenstart

Leslie Grosjean, Sunline Transit

Denise Jacobs, Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism

Dr. Jay Jorgensen, Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce

Kathleen Jurasky, Palm Springs Cemetery District

Linda Krengel, United Way of the Desert

Darryl MacDonald, Palm Springs, Film Festival

Bill Matthews, Las Casuelas Terraza

Gaye McCabe, Raymond Cree Middle School Library

John Mich, Palm Springs Desert Musuem

Carolyn Miller, Palm Springs Desert Museum

Brad Mix, Coachella Valley Small Business Development Ctr.

Steve Nichols, Palm Springs Historical Society

Rob Parkins, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Valerie Revard, Sunrise Assisted Living

Robin Rosenberg, Celebrity Books

Evelyn Saenz, Early Childhood Education

Jack Schloeder, Greater Palm Springs Pride, Inc.

Bill Scott, Palm Springs Preservation Foundation

Marshall Stone, Camelot Theatres

Stacey Wessman, Pacific Western Bank

Char Whitaker, College of the Desert Library Services

Ricky Wright, Principal, Palm Springs High School

Dr. Kimberley Yang, Desert Family Medical Center

 City of Palm Springs Officials

 David Ready, City Manager

Tom Kanarr, Finance Director

John Raymond, Director of Community & Economic Development

Doug Evans, Director of Planning

Commander Mike McCracken, Police Department

Palm Springs Today

Appendix A is a compilation of the most recent 2000 United States census population demographics for Palm Springs. Over the past 10 years, while the population make-up has been changing, the population count has remained rather steady, increasing only 2%. Future predictions by the Palm Springs Economic Development Agency estimate a population gain remaining at about 2% annually for the next five years. With a rather stable population base between 43,000 – 48,000 residents and a median income of $32,000, Palm Springs finds itself looking for a modern identity. No longer just the playground of the rich and famous, Palm Springs is home to over 30% minority citizens, a large gay population, and a very large seasonal tourist population. While many still retire in Palm Springs, the average age is 48.

This eclectic community profile challenges the Library to find ways to remain relevant to its different constituencies. This will require understanding the community and its needs and taking risks in trying new services. The five-year strategic plan will help the Library, the Board, and Library staff to do this.

The Plan

The following plan has been written to guide the Library in providing services relevant to Palm Springs today. During the meetings with community members and staff, it became apparent that children, families, teens, minorities, and those with literacy needs are groups that are not sufficiently served by the Library. The service emphases selected by the community task force members, the staff and the Library Board stress services to these groups.

The Service Responses or emphases selected are:

Current Topics and Titles – fulfilling community residents’ appetite for information about popular cultural and social trends and their desire for satisfying recreational experiences.

Basic Literacy – addressing the need to read and to perform other essential daily tasks.

Information Literacy – addressing the need for skills related to finding, evaluating, and using information effectively.

Commons – providing an environment that helps address the need of people to meet and interact with others in their community and to participate in public discourse about community issues.

Cultural Awareness – helping satisfy the desire of community residents to gain an understanding of their own cultural heritage and the cultural heritage of others.

Local History – addressing the desire of community residents to know and better understand community heritage.

During the Fiscal Year 2004-2009 period, the Library will respond to service demands of current Library users as well as address the new diversity of the City’s population by designing new services and collections to meet new needs. The Library will use computers and telecommunication effectively, address building issues to provide equitable and sensible use for residents, and reallocate available resources to priority and productive purposes. It is the goal of the Palm Springs Library to continue its legacy of successful service to its residents while evolving a new legacy as a 21 st century point of pride.

STRATEGIC PLAN 2004-2009

A. CURRENT TOPICS AND TITLES

Goal 1

Residents and visitors will have ready access to popular materials in high interest areas in a variety of formats and information about popular culture and trends to satisfy their desire for enjoyable recreational experiences.

Objective 1.1 Increase adult circulation of materials by at least 2% each year.

Objective 1.2 Establish a rental collection for best sellers by September 2006.

Objective 1.3 By January 2007 the VHS tape collection will have been completely withdrawn.

Objective 1.4 Entire collection will be weeded once a year.

Objective 1.5 Ebooks and downloadable audio books to be offered by January 2007.

Objective 1.6 Library’s web page will be a portal to continuously selected and updated collection of at least 50 websites organized by subject by January 2005.

Goal 2

Children and teenagers will have ready access to popular materials in a variety of formats to expand their knowledge, to enrich their recreation and to encourage them to explore the world of ideas.

Objective 2.1 Young adult materials will increase by 2% in circulation per year

over the life of the plan.

Objective 2.2 Circulation of juvenile materials will increase by 2% per year over the life of the plan.

Goal 3

People of all ages whose first or primary language is not English will have access to popular materials and current information in their preferred language.

Objective 3.1 Juvenile and YA Spanish language collections will increase in size by 3% each year over the life of the plan.

Objective 3.2 Circulation of Spanish language materials will increase by 3% each year over the life of the plan.

B. BASIC LITERACY

Goal 1

Adult low-level readers will have the opportunity to develop life-changing literacy skills that will allow them to improve the quality of their work and family lives.

Objective 1.1 The number of learner and tutor pairs will not fall below the precedent year 2005 level, and will increase 15% each year over the next 3 years.

Objective 1.2 Funding for literacy programs will be increased by 10% through grants by June 2006.

Objective 1.3 By December 200 6, 10% of the Spanish language collection for adults will be bilingual.

Goal 2

Non-English-speaking children will acquire familiarity with English through the use of materials and programs.

Objective 3.1 The bi-lingual Spanish/English collection will increase by 3% each year for the life of the plan.

Objective 3.2 By the end of FY 2009, 10% of Spanish speaking children in Palm Springs schools will have participated in a Library sponsored bilingual program.

Goal 3

Children and teenagers in Palm Springs will have an opportunity to have easy access to all materials to develop basic reading skills and to stimulate their love of reading.

Objective 3.1 Increase the number of children in the Summer Reading Program by 2% to 5% each year.

Objective 3.2 Increase the length of the Summer Reading Program by 1 week each year.

Objective 3.3 Create 2 new teen programs each year for the first three years.

Objective 3.4 Create & implement 12 programs each year for middle school and high school youth.

Objective 3.5 Attendance at library programs for children ages birth to 16 will increase by 5% every year during the life of the plan.

C. INFORMATION LITERACY

Goal 1

Residents and visitors will have the skills needed to find, evaluate and use information in a variety of formats in order to make informed decisions in their daily lives.

Objective 1.1 Beginning in 2006 the library will offer adult basic and advanced computer classes at least twice a month.

Objective 1.2 Beginning in February 2006, internet safety classes will be offered to parents at least once each semester during the school year.

Objective 1.3 Enrollment in library computer classes will increase at least 5% a year beginning in FY ’05 – ’06.

Objective 1.4 Enrollment in, or use of, Library training programs will increase 10% a year beginning in FY ’05 – ‘06.

Goal 2

Students attending schools in the Palm Springs Unified School District will have the skills to independently use all of the resources of the Palm Springs Public Library.

Objective 2.1 By fiscal year ’07-’08 5% of teachers in Palm Springs schools will have received instruction in using library resources .

Objective 2.2 By fiscal year ’07-’08 5% of students in grades 5-12 in Palm Springs schools will have learned to navigate and use the library website for research.

Objective 2.3 Each year of the plan 100% of students participating in library tours will receive instruction in using the library resources pertinent to their grade level.

D. COMMONS

Goal 1

Residents and visitors will find the Palm Springs Public Library an attractive, spacious, comfortable and accessible environment in which to gather, and to pursue common interests.

Objective 1.1 By the June 2005, a complete professional physical facility assessment assessment will be completed.

Objective 1.2 By 2007, an architectural design for a remodeled and expanded building will be completed.

Objective 1.3 Visits to the Palm Springs Public Library will increase by 10% each year during the life of the plan.

Objective 1.4 By June 200 6 all policies and procedures will be revised to be user friendly.

Objective 1.5 By June 200 6 signage and landscaping will be assessed to increase library’s physical visibility.

Objective 1.6 By end of 2006 complete bond campaign and election for building expansion.

Objective 1.7 Complete building expansion by December 2009.

Goal 2

Children under the age of 18 will find the Library a welcoming and fun place to gather and enjoy a variety of programs and use a wide range of resources.

Objective 2.1 Youth room visits will increase by at least 5% a year over the life of plan.

Objective 2. In house circulation will increase 5% a year over life of the plan.

Objective 2.3 By January 200 7 a new materials marketing display will be in place in Youth room and Teen Zone.

Objective 2.4 By June 2006 the family reading area in youth room will be augmented with additional comfortable furniture that encourages parents reading to their children.

Goal 3

Internet users will use the Library’s web page as a virtual library for personal information needs and to learn about Palm Springs events, history, attractions and organizations.

Objective 3.1 During FY ’ 06-’ 07 the library will conduct web usability studies to determine the number of its users and specific uses of the website.

Objective 3.2 Web usability studies will be conducted semi-annually to determine how users perceive the ease of use and effectiveness of the website.

Objective 3.3 By June 2006 the library will create and implement a marketing campaign to educate the public about the PSPL website.

Objective 3.4 Use of theweb site will increase by 20% during 2005 and 10% each year thereafter.

Objective 3.5 Website content and design will evolve and change with enhancements made monthly.

Goal 4

Residents and visitors will be aware of the Library as a vital informational and cultural institution.

Objective 4.1 By December 200 6 a complete marketing/public relations plan will be developed and implemented.

Objective 4.2 The local media will feature the Library and its services at least once a month.

E. CULTURAL AWARENESS

Goal 1

Area residents and visitors will find materials and programs that reflect their cultural diversity and that of their neighbors’.

Objective 5.1 The Spanish language collection will increase 10% in size and circulation each year for five years.

Objective 5.2 The Palm Springs Public Library will devote 20% of its programming to reflect the interests and needs of diverse cultures in the community.

Objective 5.3 Through a comprehensive community survey cultural groups in Palm Springs will be defined and quantified by J anuary 2007.

Objective 5.4 An outreach campaign to all identified cultural groups will be developed and implemented through collaboration with representative cultural organizations by June 2007.

F. LOCAL HISTORY/PALM SPRINGS HERITAGE

Goal 1

Residents and visitors will have access to information and expertise about the cultural and historical heritage of Palm Springs.

Objective 6.1 Work with the Palm Springs Historical Society Board to officially establish the Palm Springs Historical Society as a separate 501(c)3 entity by August 2006.

Objective 6.2 Library historical collections will be publicized through the Library’s marketing plan.

Implementation

The success of this plan will depend upon the commitment of each Board and staff member to promote its ideals and in the success in establishing and achieving activities which will enable the Library to meet these goals and objectives.

The strategic plan is a flexible and living document. While it is written to be achievable, as the community issues and budgets flucuate, the plan is designed to be modified during the five years, in order that it remains current and relevant.

Each staff member will be assigned specific activities within their areas of expertise that directly relate to the plan’s objectives. Staff will then be held accountable during their evaluations for completing the activities in order that the goals and objectives are met and the plan succeeds.

For example, Goal 2, Objective 2.3 states, “By July 2005 a new Teen space will be established and in use.” To ensure this is achieved, the staff member who works with teens will be assigned job related activities particular to this objective such as:

--By December 2004 a space within the Library will be identified for use as a Teen space.

--By September 2004, a Palm Springs Teen Advisory Council will be recruited and holding regular meetings.

--By February 2005, with the Teen Advisory Council input, a floor-plan, furnishings request and materials requests will be finalized.

--By April 2005, a Teen web page, or “zine” will be in the design stages.

With these measurable activities a Teen space within the Library will become a reality and not just a dream. With appropriate activities selected for each staff member, the entire plan will become a reality.

Many of the basic issues in the Plan, collection development, partnerships with community organizations, planning for a Teen area, youth activities, expanding the Literacy program are already underway.

The next five years will be active and exciting as the Palm Springs Public Library retains its reputation for excellence while becoming a hub for the community in the 21 st century.