Mission, Vision & Goals

Mission

Oak Park Public Library enhances the quality of life in our diverse community by providing the resources and services for lifelong learning and enjoyment, the space and opportunities to gather and connect, and by fostering a love of reading.

Vision

We embrace the rich heritage and vibrant future of our community. We aspire to be the best possible library for Oak Park. We create opportunities to participate, connect and discover by:

  • Encouraging lifelong learning
  • Responding to the needs of our diverse community
  • Ensuring freedom of access to information
  • Offering space for people and ideas to come together
  • Providing materials and programs that entertain and inspire

We are committed to excellent service and stewardship of the physical and financial assets entrusted to the library.

Strategtic plan

  • Goal 1: We continuously evaluate and change our physical spaces to meet changing needs; we ensure they are customer friendly, easy to use and green.
  • Goal 2: We design and deliver services and programs at our physical and virtual locations in anticipation of and in response to the diverse needs of individuals and the community at large.
  • Goal 3: We are a leader in making Oak Park a digitally inclusive community by collaborating with stakeholders to design and deliver needed services.
  • Goal 4: We provide a balanced, multi-format collection to meet the needs of our community and are open and ready to adopt new formats.  Our collections are administered, managed and made accessible to support customer use. Our technical infrastructure is robust and able to support all formats.
  • Goal 5: We inspire and support individual and community creativity with our expertise, resources and technology.
  • Goal 6: We provide leadership to and collaborate with libraries, library organizations and other groups on a local, regional, state and national level to create innovative services, maximize resources and achieve economies of scale.
  • Goal 7: We safeguard and celebrate our community’s rich heritage by providing robust physical and virtual access to local history and special collections. We will digitize existing content and collaborate with others to create new content in order to increase awareness and understanding of Oak Park’s history.
  • Goal 8: We provide library users with the opportunities to learn new skills through hand-on use, classes, and in other innovative ways.
  • Goal 9: We achieve organizational excellence because we are agile and innovative in how we deliver services; we support staff learning and want our library to be a great place to work; we are excited about the possibilities and opportunities that the future holds for us.
  • Goal 10: We practice sound, sustainable financial planning and management and we are dedicated to making our library the best it can be.

Action plan for 2013 based on goals in strategic plan

  • Complete Main Library Lobby renovation and new self-check system installation at all three facilities.
  • Evaluate teen and tween spaces for further enhancements or changes.
  • Hire a new Executive Director.
  • Complete reorganization of staff learning (orientation and training), collection development and interlibrary loan responsibilities; complete reorganization of technical services department to encompass management of interlibrary loan and shelving.
  • Improve technology infrastructure to support increased usage and expanded services, specifically branch internet access and virtual services in general.
  • Improve program coordination and marketing through the design and implementation of a library-wide summer reading program and events calendar.
  • Refresh the library brand and create a compelling tagline.
  • Improve customer satisfaction by rearranging collections on the second and third floors so materials are easier to find and use.

More

  • Review our budget
  • Read our annual report
  • See a list of five things you might not know your library card can get you, and read about more library innovations that touch our community and have inspired our library peers
  • Learn more about our rich history in Oak Park