Ames Public Library Strategic Plan
Today is 6/19/2013
Children through age six and their caregivers will have collections, programs, services, and spaces designed to ensure that children will enter school ready to learn to read, write, and listen.
(Note: “caregiver” signifies parent, grandparent, daycare provider, teacher, etc.)
Activities:
- Provide current and vital print and non-print collections focused on
emergent literacy skills. [Youth Selectors] - Provide attractive, conveniently packaged theme packets for children and their parents and caregivers to encourage early literacy activities in homes and day cares. [Youth Selectors]
- Evaluate the impact of Project Smyles on youth services collection needs and implement an ongoing maintenance and development program to meet those needs. [Project Smyles Coordinator and Youth Services Specialist]
- Investigate and implement best practices for serving targeted populations, such as low-income children and their caregivers and English Language Learning (ELL) children and their caregivers. [Youth Services Specialist]
- Provide educational and entertaining programs for various age groups and mixed age groups both within and outside of the library. [Children and Family Programming Committee]
- Seek partnerships with other community entities to sponsor and
cosponsor programs. [Children and Family Programming Committee] - Provide early literacy programs and materials off-site through Project
Smyles, including deposit collections. [Project Smyles Team] - Investigate the feasibility of adding a second, smaller mobile library
(“storymobile”) to provide children an opportunity to select their own materials at Project Smyles sites. [Project Smyles Team] - Create opportunities to provide training and information to parents and
caregivers about literacy related child development and emergent literacy skills. [Youth Services Specialist] - Develop and implement a plan to include the Smyles mascot and his image in library events, spaces, and materials, both printed and online.
[Children and Family Programming Committee] - Develop training materials and a pool of well-trained volunteers and staff
to perform as the Smyles mascot and his handler. [Project Smyles Team] - Continue the current Books for Babies program. [Youth Services Specialist]
- Provide a comprehensive summer library program focusing on emergent literacy skills for infants through age six. [Children and Family Programming Committee]
- Evaluate library spaces to enhance age-appropriate, distinct spaces for
infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. [Youth Services Specialist] - Update staff training in areas of preschool collection development, readers advisory, program presentation, and online resources. [Youth Services Specialist]
Measures of Success:
- The vitality of discrete parts of the youth fiction and nonfiction print
and non-print collections after the initial measurements will reach the
target ratio of 1.0 to 1.5 each year. - Each year, the number of children and caregivers who attend youth
programs will increase in proportion to annual population growth. - After an initial annual space utilization survey:
- The percent of multigenerational groups observed will continue to increase in proportion to annual population growth.
- The number of caregivers observed networking in the children’s area will continue to increase in proportion to annual population growth.
- The number of children independently browsing for materials will continue to increase in proportion to annual population growth.
- The number of children using materials and fixtures designed to enhance pre-literacy skills will continue to increase in proportion to annual population growth.
