The town of Hanover’s Howe Library is in the process of developing its strategic plan for the next five years, library director Mary White said.
White said that for many years, the Howe Library tries to meet community desires when developing its strategic plans. The current plan runs through the early fiscal year of 2017.
The first step in this process was to have staff meetings with an experienced consultant, White said. She added that the library is currently in the second step of developing their strategic plan, which involves implementing a community survey in order to gain insights from the public regarding “what we do well, what we could do better, what their dream library would look like and what they would like to see for the Howe five years from now.”
After the survey data is collected, White said there will be a series of focus group meetings with groups such as parents, families, community leaders, other area librarians and teenagers to help solidify the five-year vision for the library.
This summer, all the information will be processed and a plan with eight to ten goals will be developed to be implemented in the fall, she said.
White said that the Howe is distinct from other libraries in that it receives generous financial support from Hanover citizens via tax dollars. She said that on top of that, the private 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Howe Library Corporation, raises significant funds during an annual event and fundraising appeal. Money raised helps fund library materials, programs for all ages and other library enhancements such as technology and furniture.
“The strong partnership between the town and the corporation and the generosity of both those pieces, I think, is what makes Howe exceptional in the area,” White said.
The Howe Library is considered a small library in the national context, serving a population of 11,260, which includes Dartmouth students, White said, but is relatively large for the Upper Valley. The building itself is 30,000 square feet and contains over 100,000 items in its collection, she said.
The Howe Library, established in Hanover in 1899 by Emily Howe, was fully funded by the Howe Library corporation until the mid-1970s.
White said that Dartmouth students often come to the Howe for a change of venue and to ensure that they won’t be distracted, and that the library collaborates with Dartmouth frequently. Any Dartmouth student can receive a free library card from the Howe, as they are considered residents of Hanover, she said, and the Howe goes to Baker-Berry Library every September to offer cards to new students. In the past, Baker-Berry librarians have served on the board of the Howe Library, she added.
White said she was trying not to make a judgment on what she hopes to see come out of the five-year plan until they have collected data from the community. As of now, over 450 people have completed the survey, and they expect anywhere from 100 to 150 more responses by the beginning of March.
“I am seeing things very differently from what I thought I might see,” White said. “So that to me has been very enlightening and explains why one should do the survey, because we should do what our community wants, and I should stress that our community is not just Hanover. Everyone in the area is welcome to use the Howe Library.”
Lizann Peyton, an organization development consultant working with the Howe to develop their plan, said she has worked with the Howe and the Norwich Public Library, as well as other Upper Valley nonprofit organizations. Peyton said her role is to advise library workers on the public input process, help gauge the changing needs of the community and create a container for discussions for people to explore big ideas and distill them into tangible solutions.
With the Howe Library, Peyton said she has worked with the staff to evaluate how libraries are evolving and how to shape the Howe into a community hub rather than simply a place for books and programming.
“It is in many ways a community café environment, a gathering place for a variety of reasons,” Peyton said.
Peyton emphasized that the library has been part of an extended community within the overall region, not just the town of Hanover, and serves as a valuable and in-demand meeting space for a variety of groups.
The last time Peyton worked with the Howe Library was 10 years ago, at a time when the focus was on expanding the facilities to accommodate more spaces for study and programming. Ten years ago also marked a shift to a new age of technology for libraries, she said.
“They’ve done a fantastic job of building a very rich online presence and making more kinds of technology available to use in the library,” she said.
Howe’s department head of adult services Joanne Blais said that she also envisioned the library as a gathering place for all sorts of people.
“It’s easier to work from home, and yet, because it’s so easy to work from home, there’s a greater need for a place for people to gather,” she said. “I don’t see that people are reading less, I don’t even see that people are going to abandon physical books.”
Blais also emphasized the importance of a library having a broad collection and a knowledgeable staff to help foster a knowledgeable community.
“The library’s as good as it is because the community expects it,” she said.
