LONG RANGE PLAN

 completed June 1, 2001 by Library Planning Associates, Inc.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The study team’s investigations found that the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library is well-regarded within the community. The library is well-run and consciously, deliberately sensitive to the needs of its public. The library staff and board make consistent efforts to listen to the community and to respond to the needs expressed by the community. Patrons are broadly satisfied with the library and its services. Comments heard from the individual and group interviews were broadly positive. The library staff and board in fact tended to be more critical than county residents of the scope of resources and services that the library offers—perhaps because the staff and trustees are more fully aware of those resources, services, and possibilities that are available in other libraries in other communities. 

Comparisons with other libraries revealed a variety of areas where the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library could make improvements. In the context of Ohio peer libraries (serving roughly populations of similar size), the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library is found to be under-resourced and under-supported. The library’s overall resources are moderate in scope in comparison with these peer libraries—except for its non-print collection which is considerably larger than is found at most of the library’s peers, reflecting the community’s extraordinary demand for this material. Still, this corresponds to being “under-resourced” and “under-supported” because of the high aspirations for library service reported by staff, board, and community residents. All agree that the Findlay-Hancock county Public Library should be outstanding.           
Emerging from these observations, the following plan recommends a course for action for the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library. 
 

COLLECTIONS GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library maintains a diverse collection, supporting a variety of traditional and nontraditional formats, responsive to the needs and interests of its community. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should adopt a collection development plan to expand its
print resources to accommodate a collection of roughly 290,000 volumes
by the year 2020.
Within its collections, Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should create an expanded audiovisual collection,
ultimately reaching a collection of 72,500 items by the year 2020.
Within its collections, Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should continue to develop its genealogy/local
history collection.
Within its collections, Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should create an expanded browsing collection
featuring current best sellers and topical selections in a casual shelving and
lounging environment. 
Within its collections, Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should create an expanded young adult collection.
The YA collection should encompass a variety of formats, including electronic
Resources. 
 

ELECTRONIC ACCESS GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library supports convenient and ample
access to information resources in electronic formats in addition to its more
traditional collections. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should expand the number of computer network stations for public use.
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should continue to have a web presence and explore enhancement
of its current web site.
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should develop a computer training lab for public instruction and
staff training activities. 
 

ADULT SERVICES GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library will seek to address the diverse
Information needs of the adult community. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should expand its schedule of programs for adults. 
 

CHILDREN’S SERVICES GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library actively encourages library use by children from the community. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should extend children’s programming efforts into the community. 
 

OUTREACH SERVICES GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library will extend access to its
resources and services into the community through bookmobile,
homebound, and other services in an effort to bring the benefit of
library service to patrons who might not otherwise be able to reach
traditional, fixed location service points. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should re-examine the schedule of bookmobile stops to improve
remote access to library resources throughout the county. 
 

STAFFING GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library provides a well-trained
staff to better respond to the demands and interests of the public. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should expand its staffing, especially as needed to develop
the programs and services outlined in this plan.
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should continue to provide training in order to insure that staff
can meet the demands of the public. 
 

ACCESSIBILITY GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library strives to remove barriers to its
services, making its collections and resources convenient and accessible to
residents throughout its service area. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should continue to foster partnerships with other local agencies to improve access to library service. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should enhance its marketing and community awareness
Activities. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should explore extending its operating hours. 
 

FACILITIES GOAL:
The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library provides facilities that effectively support the operational goals of the library and are conveniently located within the community. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should explore the feasibility of a substantial expansion to its downtown library facility. A preliminary estimate of the scope of this expansion is offered at 92,100 square feet. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should expand the parking capacity supporting the downtown building. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should initiate planning for a new branch facility, especially if the
site evaluation study reveals constraints at the present location that might
limit the library’s ability to achieve the necessary expansion in the downtown. 
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should be alert to opportunities to improve the Arlington branch facility.           
The latter goal, relating to facilities, is truly the lynch pin to this entire endeavor. Input and suggestions from the community, staff and board members offered suggestions for service improvement that directly or indirectly related to the size of the library’s building—a larger collection, more audiovisual materials, more computer terminals for public use. The participants in the library’s planning retreat concurred, expressing a more specific goal that Findlay-Hancock County Public Library should strive to develop collections and resources that will place the library within the upper quartile in comparison with its peers. This essential goal cannot be implemented within the confines of the existing downtown Facility. 
The need for expanded library services and facilities in Findlay and Hancock County is clear and convincing. Over the last several years, the library has established a solid foundation of library services and now is poised to build on that foundation and flourish into the decades to come, allowing the library to respond effectively to changing patterns in use and demand.