For one hundred thirty years, Whiting Library has served the community. It has been a historic architectural feature of Chester's downtown and a place to experience the joy of reading, information-seeking, enrichment, and lifelong learning. Whiting Library has withstood economic, social, and global upheaval and, most recently, a worldwide pandemic. Through it all, Whiting Library has remained the "Front Porch of Chester." The Board of Trustees, Director, and Staff are committed to honoring and preserving the tradition of the library's past while ensuring that it remains a vibrant, relevant, and sustainable resource for generations to come.

This Plan maps a path forward in which Whiting Library embraces its rich traditions while innovating and responding to the evolving needs of our patrons. Whiting Library will simultaneously preserve and path-find, broaden its programs and services, adopt appropriate technologies, and define what a library is and can be.

We are grateful for the incredible support of our patrons, the Chester Select Board, the Town of Andover, and everyone who generously supports our work.

We commit to continually seeking the input of our stakeholders. We will adjust this Plan, as necessary, to ensure our programs and services are available to and helpful for everyone in our community.

Whiting Library provides and promotes public access to a broad range of resources and experiences that inspire imagination, curiosity, awareness, and lifelong learning in a welcoming and inclusive environment. The library will embrace change and evolve its programs and resources to meet the needs of the community.

Whiting Library will be the civic and cultural center of a vibrant community in which citizens are literate, informed, and engaged.

Whiting Library provides and promotes public access to a broad range of resources and experiences that inspire imagination, curiosity, awareness, and lifelong learning in a welcoming and inclusive environment. The library will embrace change and evolve its programs and resources to meet the needs of the community.

● Intellectual Freedom

● Inclusiveness

● Creativity

● Collaboration

● Sustainability

Programming is an essential service offered by public libraries. Through creating public programs, Whiting Library can act as a community center, a hub for lifelong learning, an outlet for continuing education, and a space for collaboration and content creation for area residents. Library programs serve a community’s diversity through engaging entertainment, enrichment, and opportunities to encounter new ideas and learn new skills. Programming also helps develop a community voice and can support civic dialogues. It fosters local networks, introduces residents, invites newcomers, and allows exploration of shared community in a safe environment. Programming opens doors to new partnerships that can extend the community’s identity.

Cultural programs build awareness of the library and its value within the community, drawing increased attention to the many important services the library provides. Program audiences will likely return to the library to use collections and access electronic resources. They are also likely to communicate the value of the library to others.

Objective: Develop a regular schedule of programs

Action: Create an action plan for developing program content

Action: Identify opportunities to collaborate with other community groups and organizations

Action: Identify and contact local subject matter experts and presenters

Objective: Prioritize marketing and outreach for programs

Action: Identify groups to reach out to and methods of communication

Action: Create a communication plan to follow for all programs

Action: Delegate tasks and execute the communication plan

Objective: Offer excellent programs

Action: Create a welcoming and accessible programs and space suitable for each event

Action: Commit to facilitating all programs with help from staff, trustees, and volunteers

Objective: Evaluate programming

Action: Identify a methodology to measure the success of programs

Action: Use statistical and qualitative tools to measure program effectiveness and impact on all community audiences, including those that have historically been underserved

Action: Analyze data to better inform the creation and implementation of future programs

Developing and fostering an appreciation and love of reading from a young age is a significant focus of the library. The library will encourage children to enjoy reading and allow them to spend time with books as crucial first steps toward developing strong reading skills. Children who learn to love books and reading at a young age have an easier time transitioning to school environments. Children can also learn social skills and develop friendships at library programs. Finally, parents of children engaged in preschool and summer reading programs appear to be strongly invested in their children’s reading achievement.

Youth readers (ages 12-18) represent a distinct but vital group for which we need to offer library services. At an age when digital devices become available to many young people, continued engagement with the library environment and library resources helps maintain intellectual curiosity and a balanced approach to content. The library can also provide teens with a quiet, safe space for studying and gathering and a place to interact with other community members outside their age group.

Objective: Create engaging programs

Action: Develop and offer programs for preschool-age children for children of all ages from birth through 18 years of age.

Objective: Leverage partnerships with local organizations

Action: Offer programs in collaboration with preschools, Chester-Andover Elementary School, and Green Mountain Union High School.

Action: Advertise Summer Unplugged Environmental Programs with The Nature Museum

Action: Identify other organizations that work with youth and develop program and collaboration opportunities together

Objective: Increase awareness of collections, programs, and services available to children, teens, and their families through outreach and marketing

Action: Create a communication plan to market programs and services, which includes yearly visits to schools, print and online media coverage, school newsletter inclusion, communication with nontraditional caregivers, flyers, and social media

Action: Promote the collection, including special monthly book displays and regular new book posts on the website and social media

Objective: Update and improve children and teen spaces to provide appropriate, fun, and safe spaces for all

Action: Rearrange and weed collections for easier discovery and access.

Objective: Update and improve children and teen spaces to provide appropriate, fun, and safe spaces for all

Action: Distribute welcome packets to families of new babies

Action: Encourage 1000 Books Before Kindergarten for Children ages 0-5

Action: Incorporate early literacy information and learning opportunities for caregivers

The library seeks to welcome all members of the public in a safe and comfortable space where they can gather, learn, socialize, collaborate, and foster community connections. The public library is seen as a third space for a community. A ‘third space’ is a place outside of home and work where people gather informally to create community and collaborate. We endeavor to be a place where people can come together, especially since Chester does not have a designated community center.

Objective: Offer places to study, work, and read

Action: Evaluate indoor and outdoor library spaces, identifying areas for potential renovation or reuse. Work with the Town to identify grants and improvements.

Objective: Enhance library grounds to foster community building and education

Action: Increase outdoor seating areas

Action: Build an accessible patio area in the backyard. Action: Perform a handicap accessibility audit and make improvements

Objective: Enhance the virtual library space

Action: Upgrade the library management system for online patron access.

Action: Upgrade library equipment to help support new resources and accessibility.

Action: Make the website more accessible, user friendly

Objective: Maintain and improve infrastructure

Action: Maintain an active channel of communication with the Town to work collaboratively with the Town to support building infrastructure

Action: Perform quarterly building inspections and share with the Town

Action: Create a list of future building upgrade necessities with a potential timeline of action

Objective: Create an engaging and positive atmosphere for library patrons and staff

Action: Review library policies and procedures to improve the user experience with an emphasis on being flexible and patron-centered

Action: Develop core competency standards for staff and provide training to support success

Action: Improve the circulation desk and front lobby to facilitate a welcoming and efficient experience

As a ‘third space,’ the library can act as a potential catalyst to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the community. The library is a highly networked part of the community and is perceived as a trusted organization that hosts a diverse population who circulate through the space. The library can create opportunities for diverse groups to come together, share experiences, learn from each other, and even collaborate to meet their unique needs. It is important for the library, as a public-serving institution, to commit to meeting the communities’ needs, preserving and sharing our cultures, and enhancing the quality of life.

The library will utilize the DEI Scorecard for Library and Information Organizations, developed by the American Library Association Committee on Diversity, as an evaluative tool in this endeavor. The Scorecard is designed to help administrators of information organizations assess their current practices in five core areas to produce actionable data for decision-making and enacting a robust and sustainable commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice.

Objective: Provide a wide range of resources reflective of the difference

Action: Evaluate current holdings/conduct a DEI audit of collection, consistent with the library industry standard

Action: Include focus on DEI in collection development policy and procedure

Objective: Offer programming that reflects the cultural, ethnic, religious, economic, and gender diversity of the community

Action: Give voice to diverse perspectives in programming

Action: Find volunteers to lead programs in their areas of expertise

Action: Celebrate and support local authors in programming and collection, partner with local booksellers

Objective: Increase awareness of diverse collection materials and programs

Action: Create diverse displays of reading materials. Action: Promote diverse materials in library publicity, including website, social media, and press releases

Objective: Provide an accessible library

Action: Review library policies and procedures 

Action: Evaluate the accessibility of the library, physically and virtually

Action: Evaluate the safety and security of the library for patrons and staff.

Objective: Develop a culture of DEI at Whiting Library

Action: Encourage staff to take continuing education in DEI through various professional groups such as VTLIB, ALA, and ARSL

Action: Review and rewrite library policies to reflect DEI

Phase 1 (August-September 2021), Initiative Begins:

The Whiting Library Board of Trustees creates a Strategic Planning Committee composed of two trustees, the library director, and one library consultant. The committee includes trustees Edward Grossman and Robert Nied, library director Deirdre Doran, and strategic planning consultant Amy Howlett. The committee meets to discuss the process of gathering information from the local community and the greater library profession. The committee creates a community survey and a format for community conversations to gather public knowledge. The library director secures a $3,000 grant from the American Library Association to cover costs associated with the community conversations piece, including the consultant fees and survey mailing fees.

Phase 2 (June-October, 2021), Gathering Public Knowledge:

The Strategic Planning Committee completes information gathering through a community survey and two community conversations. The community survey is mailed directly to every physical mailbox in the 05143 zip code, which includes all Chester and Andover residences. The survey is also available online, and all physical surveys are added to the online form for ease of data analysis. 181 people responded to the survey out of a population area of 3,615. The two community conversations are held at the Chester Town Hall. The meetings are open to everyone in the community, and committee members make a point to specifically invite residents active in different community groups. 12 community members attend the first meeting, and 14 attend the second meeting. There are residents from both Andover and Chester at each meeting.

Phase 3 (October, 2021 - February, 2022), Assemble Data and Draft Plan:

The Strategic Planning Committee reviews the community input, analyzing the data for repetition of themes. Four strategic service priorities are identified for the library. Trustee Rosamund Conroy joins the committee to assist in drafting the strategic plan. Committee members consult various other library strategic plans and current trends in library strategic planning to inform their work. A comprehensive draft of the strategic plan is completed.

Phase 4 (March - April, 2022), Plan Completion: The strategic planning committee presents the draft strategic plan to the full Whiting Library Board of Trustees in a public meeting. The Board and the public are invited to suggest edits to the plan. A final draft of the strategic plan is then created to include the new edits and receives full library board approval. The strategic plan language is then put into an appealing graphic format. The finalized strategic plan is presented to the Chester Select Board. The approved strategic plan is published and shared in print and on the library website.

Phase 5 (Years 1-5), Implementation and Evaluation:

The Library Director and full Board of Trustees take ownership of the strategic plan to ensure that everyone is actively working towards the goals of the plan. The plan is used to influence decision making, budgeting, and the establishment of annual work priorities for the library. Progress towards the strategic goals of the plan are reviewed and activities revised or refined. The review takes place on a yearly basis, within a quarter year of the plan adoption date. If there is a significant change of some kind, the plan will be reviewed and changed before five years. At the end of the fourth year, the Board Chair tasks the Strategic Planning Committee to review the goals and the implementation, resulting in a recommendation to the Board either for continued implementation of the current plan or the initiation of a new strategic planning process.