Comprehensive Library Master Plan approved by Library Board

OVERLAND PARK, KS --- The Board of Directors of the Johnson County Library unanimously accepted an ambitious long-range plan at their May 14, 2015 meeting. The Comprehensive Library Master Plan recommends how and where Library services will be delivered across Johnson County for the next generation.

“The Plan is submitted on behalf of the citizens of Johnson County, whom we are pledged to serve,” stated County Librarian Sean Casserley. “It is truly a plan of the people – it benefits from input by thousands of Johnson Countians of all walks of life.”

The Plan comprises findings from a series of studies conducted or directed by Johnson County Library since 2009. The variety of independent efforts includes patron user studies, collection development analysis, scrutiny of circulation patterns, materials handling efficiency examinations as well as facilities condition reports. The Comprehensive Library Master Plan, commissioned by the Johnson County Library Board from San Francisco-based Group 4, also references population studies, economic benefit analysis and strategic visioning produced by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC), KU Edwards Engaged Scholarship Program and Johnson County Government.

Key findings and proposals of the Plan include

- Equitable distribution of service throughout the county as population grows;

- Modernization and capacity building are the key strategies for improving the library’s network of facilities and services;

- Plan based on patron behaviors: A County-wide network of Library sites will continue to make collections, services and programs optimally available, according to how people actually use their Libraries;

- Civic and educational partnerships have been and will continue to be crucial to Library and County success. Thanks to strategic growth of the Library system so far, the Plan does not specifically recommend Libraries to be closed. The Plan also affirms the Library will not leave cities where libraries are currently located.

The Library Board will present the completed Plan to the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Thursday, May 21. Implementation of the Plan will be deliberated this year as part of the Library’s regular budget review process with the Board of County Commissioners.

Members of the Johnson County Library Board of Directors are appointed by the BoCC for a four-year term, and may be reappointed for an additional four-year term. Current members of the JCL Board are: Neil Shortlidge, Chair; Pamela Robinson, Secretary/Vice Chair; Amy Amos Ruo, Treasurer; Nancy Hupp; John Nelson; J. R. Riley; Mitra Templin.

The Plan is expected to be published on June 1.