Strategic Plan

The Strategic Planning Committee

• Marla Romash, Committee Chair
• Larry Bartley, Senior Liaison
• Colleen LeBeau, Youth Services Librarian
• Emma MacIntyre, Outreach Librarian
• Mary Meagher, Town Council Liaison to Library Board of Trustees
• Eugene Mihaly, Chair, Library Board of Trustees
• Mackenzie Richards, Board Member, Library Board of Trustees
• Lisa Sheley, Library Director, Jamestown Philomenian Library
• Chris Walsh, Board Vice Chair, Library Board of Trustees

Strategic Plan Development

The Strategic Planning Committee for the Jamestown Philomenian Library (JPL) started our strategic planning process with a commitment to hear and learn from our community. We engaged Empower Success Corps to support our work, conducting interviews, focus group discussions, and fielding a community-wide survey from July 24 to August 7, 2025. Our consultants conducted 21 one-on-one interviews, two focus group discussions, and received nearly 200 responses to the community-wide survey. Using input we received and analysis of current trends in library services, JPL confirmed our Mission and set our direction and goals for the next three years.

Jamestown Philomenian Library Mission

The residents of Jamestown and visitors to the library are informed, connected to the community, culturally enriched, and supported as lifelong learners in a safe and welcoming environment.

Strategic Plan: What We Learned

• The Jamestown Philomenian Library has an excellent reputation in Jamestown, and the community highly regards the JPL staff.
• Jamestown nonprofit and social organizations appreciate JPL’s willingness to work with them on joint programs.
• The population and housing market in Jamestown are changing. The school-age population is in decline. People are buying houses for only seasonal use, which changes neighborhoods. JPL must keep these trends in mind when planning programs and services.
• Among the most valued services that JPL offers are free meeting spaces. There is little public meeting space available in Jamestown, so people appreciate that the library has rooms available.
• Future federal and state library funding is uncertain.
• There is some diversity in viewpoints on the role of a community library, and some community members feel that their viewpoints are underrepresented.
• There is significant demand for informing the community of emerging IT trends and providing access to, and education on, these trends.

Strategic Plan: Goals

Build Community

JPL will support the community through broader outreach to the people of Jamestown. By taking an active role in convening or participating in meetings of community organizations, we expect to grow collaborations. Through these collaborations, a new mechanism for outreach to the entire town population may be created and learning opportunities will be enhanced.

Grow Support for the Library

JPL is a valuable resource for Jamestown, offering free access to books and other materials across various platforms, extensive programming for children and people of all ages, research support, WiFi connection, meeting rooms, and cultural opportunities. Increasing patronage of the library would benefit Jamestown and the people who live here.

Improve Access and Understanding of Technology to Expand Learning and Knowledge and to Improve Operations

Information technology continues to evolve rapidly, and JPL has a role in helping the community learn about and navigate these changes. JPL includes in this goal the need to keep library operations updated and user friendly.

As part of the strategic planning process, corresponding strategies and tactics have been defined to reach each goal. The spreadsheet of these specific items is available for viewing in the office of the Library Director upon appointment.

We are grateful for the engagement of so many members of our community to help inform and shape this Strategic Plan. We share a commitment to the future of this library.