NRL Strategic Plan 2023 - 2028
Digital Advancement
Goal
Create a safe and secure digital environment by streamlining user experience and enhancing the Library's network infrastructure.
Action Steps
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Perform an audit of network stability and security to address vulnerabilities and provide applicable staff with additional network training.
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Increase website accessibility in compliance with W3C standards.
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Plan and implement staff technology competency training.
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Develop a Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Plan.
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Create a Digital Inclusion Plan to evaluate equipment replacement and adaptive technology.
Access and Awareness
Goal
Implement access without restrictions to diverse collections, programming, and services for all community members in a safe and inclusive environment.
Action Steps
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Ensure access to materials and information sources that reflect and respond to the nature and diverse interests of the Library's service population.
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Develop culturally diverse programming based on community input that offers opportunities for new perspectives and experiences.
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Expand outreach throughout the region to bring new opportunities for STEM education, early literacy, increased access to technology, and enrichment activities to identified communities with one or more barriers to access.
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Broaden and sustain the Let's Connect initiative to connect populations that have been consistently overlooked and underserved to vital services that assist with employment, mental health, housing, and/or food security.
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Augment the perception of what the Library can provide by increasing awareness of conventional and non-conventional library services and sharing successes through multiple platforms.
Vision Statement
Neuse Regional Libraries enrich lives by inspiring creativity, fostering learning, and engaging community.
Mission Statement
Neuse Regional Libraries are centers for community connections that provide evolving and accessible technologies, programming, services, and collections that are as diverse and intergenerational as the people of Lenoir, Jones, and Greene Counties.
Community Relations
Goal
Build and maintain productive and mutually beneficial relationships in order to identify and address community needs.
Action Steps
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Empower library staff as active leaders through participation in community and professional organizations.
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Cultivate productive partnerships with educational institutions in order to foster academic achievement.
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Partner with local organizations in developing a Digital Resource Rover summer food service initiative to ensure that youth continue to have access to nutritious food.
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Reinforce the Library's role in the preservation of local history by collecting and curating primary sources from the community.
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Establish a recognition program to acknowledge the valuable contributions of library volunteers.
Foundational Literacies
Goal
Provide services that reflect the Library's essential role as a resource for improving literacy for patrons of all ages, including both traditional and non-traditional forms of literacy, in turn strengthening the quality of life in our communities.
Action Steps
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Mentor staff in providing weekly Early Literacy and after school programming at every library
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Develop impactful bilingual programming, resources, and marketing to engage Spanish-speaking community members
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Expand the Literacy Without Barriers initiative to more comprehensively serve the region with the support of community volunteers.
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Offer programming and services that focus on entrepreneurship and digital literacy.
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Provide services that promote health and wellness as well as environmental sustainability in the community through partnerships with guest specialists.
Achievement and Sustainability
Goal
Establish a culture of professional growth in order to maintain a healthy organization that supports a sustainable future.
Action Steps
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Train staff to apply a trauma-informed approach that promotes and preserves a safe and supportive environment.
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Implement strategies and provide biennial staff training that prioritizes equity, diversity, and inclusion.
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Increase annual continuing education requirements for paraprofessional staff to 20 hours and professional staff to 40 hours.
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Create entry-level opportunities that lead to increased diversity for the library profession through a teen volunteer program and paid internships.
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Establish and maintain an endowment to advocate for public and private funding and seek alternative funding sources.