2019-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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Report of the Mashpee Public Library To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the Citizens of the Town Mashpee: On behalf of the Library Staff and Board of Trustees, I am pleased to submit the 2019 Annual Report. 2019 marked the end of the decade, as well as the end of the first decade in our building on Steeple Street. So much has changed since April 2010, when we opened the doors and welcomed patrons and community members to the "new" Library. Cell phones and social media were not yet ubiquitous or all consuming. Patrons did not come equipped with their own laptops or devices, and texting was still in its infancy. Many of our shelves were empty, waiting for new acquisitions to bolster the collection. The Netflix model allowed people to select movies online and have them mailed to their homes, which changed viewing practices forever. Ten years ago the Library maintained a modest collection of DVD feature films, but the explosion of television series available on DVD was just beginning and demand would skyrocket over the course of the next ten years. Interest in the new Library was gratifying as residents from all over Cape Cod came to visit, explore the Children's Room, and use the public access computers. The number of registered library card users skyrocketed as staff scrambled to make new cards and greet new patrons. Initially we worked to find our footing, maintaining a limited schedule of 32 hours per week, and even faced a temporary closure when faulty ceiling tiles emitted an odor too potent to ignore. Over the past decade with the support of town officials and community members we have gradually increased our service hours and are now fully open to the public 50 hours per week. Ten years later, our Library's "sharing economy" has extended to the digital realm. Patrons regularly download ebooks, audiobooks, magazines from our OverDrive platform. In the case of magazines we are seeing many high profile publications migrate to online subscriptions as the production of print magazines steadily declines. Library card holders watch movies using Kanopy, our streaming service, and research their family history using our online genealogy tools. Our collections now include more than traditional books, movies, and music. Mobile hotspots, telescopes, birding watching kits, and metal detectors are available for checkout, and the "Library of Things" concept has been widely adopted by public libraries across the country. Library programs have also evolved. Our summer programming efforts include a partnership with Project Bread, which provides free lunches to young people ages 18 and under twice a week. A partnership with AARP was forged to offer free income tax preparation and filing services at no charge to patrons of any age. Working with the Mashpee Conservation and Natural Resources departments the Library is hosting programs to encourage residents to become land stewards or participate in the annual herring count. We co -sponsored a series of successful programs with the Mashpee Historic Commission and secured funding to digitize the Mashpee Enterprise and preserve the town's history. The Public Library Association of America recently completed a Strategic Plan to chart the future direction of public libraries across the nation. They adopted a Statement of Ambition: A dynamic public library is the heart of every community. With that sentiment in mind, the Library embarked on a community focused Strategic Planning initiative to develop a roadmap for future services. A Planning Committee of residents, business owners, non-profit leaders, Library staff, town officials and employees representing various organizations and demographics was formed in April 2019 to begin the process of renewing the Library's Strategic Plan. The Library Trustees, along with the committee, reviewed the Library's current Mission Statement, and agreed it is still a relevant declaration for the organization and then began the work of planning for the future. A consultant was hired to facilitate the strategic planning process. She led two focus groups for the Strategic Planning Committee, which included S.O.A.R (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results) and Community Visioning exercises to gather information and perceptions about the Library and its role in the community. .m