Meghan O’Keefe

LIS 770 99

Strategic Plan Analysis

July 17, 2017

Downers Grove Public Library

The Downers Grove Public Library serves the village of Downers Grove, Illinois.

Downers Grove has a population of 47,833. 43,405 of these residents are white. 5,265

of these residents were foreign born. The median age of the population is listed at 42.4.

There are 5,898 companies in the village. There is a high educational attainment rate of

96.4% earning high school degrees or higher. The median household income is

$83,513. (“Downers Grove Village”, 2016)

The completed Strategic Plan currently in effect covers 2015 to 2017. However,

the Downers Grove Public LIbrary is also in the process of creating their new Strategic

Plan which will cover the end of 2017 through 2020, so that will be discussed here as

well.

The planning model is somewhat of a mix, since there are currently various

strategic plans in place. The current plan in effect is mostly goal based. It it structured

in a way that splits the document up into overarching issues for the library, but then lists

specific goals for each. Each goal then lists multiple objectives for how and when it will

be achieved. For the plan currently being created, there is a one page plan listing

values, purpose, core services, and strategic focus that is all issue based (“One Page
Strategic Plan”, 2017). However, once the full plan is approved after the summer, this

might become more goal based as well.

The mission and values of the Strategic Plan seem strong. Ongoing missions the

library lists as working to continue include, “maintain a strong focus on books and

reading and associated services, support early/emergent literacy, and actively

investigate community needs and develop and promote relevant service responses”

(“2015-2017 Strategic Plan”, 2014). All of these are very important elements of the

foundation of public library services, so it is important to maintain them to not lose what

public libraries have long stood for. Initiative missions the library is working to develop

include, “embrace technological and marketplace change, make the library building, its

contents, and its activities an attractive destination, establish a significant presence

outside the walls, working with schools, businesses, local government, community

groups, churches, youth-serving and senior-serving organizations, and others, and

increase overall organizational effectiveness” (“2015-2017 Strategic Plan”, 2014). Just

as it is important to remain true to the values and purpose of public libraries, it is equally

important to remain current and relevant in a changing world to best serve its patrons.

Keeping the library up to date (particularly with technological advancement), actively

engaging with the community the library serves, and striving to constantly improve are

vital to ensuring the library does not fade away. By balancing the foundational values of

the library with the emerging opportunities, the library presents a strong mission to be

able to serve its community very well in many ways.

 The established goals align very well with the overall mission. Each goal supports

the mission it is tied to in a clear way. For example, the mission “maintain a strong focus

on books and reading and associated services” is supported by the goal “an ample,

well-developed, actively-used library collection” (“2015-2017 Strategic Plan”, 2014).

These are clearly matched together well. While this goal is still somewhat vague, that is

appropriate since each goal has multiple objectives tied to it which more explicitly list

what will be done and a date it should be achieved. The goal just listed above has five

objectives which will help it to be achieved. These include, “increase overall purchasing

in multiple formats including e-books by 5% beginning with the 2014 operating budgets,

promote collection use with expanded display and merchandising of materials by June

30 2013, promote collection use by continuing removal of unneeded materials so that

overall collection size remains stable, enhance staff capacity as readers’ advisors and

reference librarians by cross training and enhanced technology tools beginning October

2012, and participate in regional efforts to improve library participation in e-books

publishing and distribution marketplace” (“2017-2017 Strategic Plan”, 2014). These

objectives are easily understood, all seem to support achieving the listed goal, and have

clear metrics for measurable gains when possible.

The goals and strategic plan overall align well with the community needs very well

also. There is a strong emphasis on literacy and learning which matches a community

with a high education rate, supports expanding technology resources and services in a

community not restricted with the budget limitations more common in communities with
lower income levels, and strives to work more with the businesses, schools, and

organizations valued in the community.

As the Downers Grove Library is currently in the process of creating a new

strategic plan, it is clear that it is assessing (or already has) internal and external

environment, used external benchmarks, includes methods of assessment, and includes

outreach and marketing. “Information was gathered from staff, community stakeholders,

residents, and the Library Board of Trustees through online surveys, in person

interviews, and small focus groups” from January through March of this year (“Strategic

Plan”, 2017). From April to May, they created the One Page Strategic Plan which the

Board Approved setting forth values, purpose, core services, and strategic focus for the

upcoming plan. They will next create the Action Plan (which will assist with planning,

budgeting, and delivering strategic plan goals) and full Strategic Plan listing specific

goals and actions, measurable outcomes, and completion dates. Once approved by the

Board, it will begin being implemented by the end of the year (“Strategic Plan”, 2017).

This process is well planned and organized, uses best practices in gathering information,

establishing benchmarks, and assessing progress, and plans for outreach in a way that

sets up the new strategic plan for success.

Overall, this is a very strong strategic plan and the library seems set to have an

even stronger plan in place for the upcoming three years. It has solid values and

missions, well aligned goals, and clear objectives and assessment practices. The only

weakness I noticed with the plan is that is seemed to have been updated from a

previous version in ways that were somewhat awkward. Some of the dates were not
updated (or done so incorrectly) which was confusing when first accessing the document

until confirming with staff that it was the current strategic plan. There were also a few

areas where the grammar was somewhat odd (multiple “ands” within one sentence or

odd punctuation) and made it look less professional than it could have for a document

that most likely took a lot of work to create. Hopefully, the new plan being put in place

will clear up these minor flaws.

Sources Cited:

American FactFinder (2016). Downers Grove Village, Illinois. Retrieved from

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml

Downers Grove Public Library (2014). 2015-2017 Strategic Plan. Retrieved from

file:///home/chronos/u-a0e5d374ddc6ccd3a0798f4c6d48965512bcc977/Downloads/201

5-2017%20Strategic%20Plan%20(1).pdf

Downers Grove Public Library (2017). One Page Strategic Plan. Retrieved from

http://dglibrary.org/sites/default/files/files/DGPL%20One%20page%20strategic%20plan.p

df

Downers Grove Public Library (2017). Strategic Plan. Retrieved from

http://dglibrary.org/plan