NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The library trustees are seeking public input to inform a new strategic plan.

 

"We are asking what kind of community residents of North Adams want to live in, and we hope to use that information to guide our decision-making as we develop new programs and collections, and assess what we are already doing," Library Director Sarah Sanfilippo said.

 

Sanfilippo said the trustees actually started the process last March. With the pandemic, the project was put on hold for about a year. 

 

"We thought answers to the questions we wanted to ask would be colored by the pandemic," she said. "We still think the pandemic will affect people's thoughts, but perhaps not quite the way it would have a year ago. This is also just a good transitional time to assess what we are doing."

 

Sanfilippo said the library is now fully open, and people are glad to be back. She said there was a "surge" of visitors the first week they were open, and people are happy to no longer be limited to curbside pickup or timed visits. 

 

She anticipates an inevitable slowdown during the summer, a perfect time to reevaluate the library's offerings.

 

Even before the pandemic, the public library's place in the community was constantly changing as residents looked for different services not always in line with simply taking out books. 

 

"Libraries are often seen as stuffy, staid institutions, but the best ones are always changing and adapting, even in stable times," Sanfilippo said.

 

This was highlighted with the pandemic that forced the library to reimagine how they delivered services.

 

Sanfilippo said many services had to repackaged virtually. Even with the pandemic ramping down, virtual offerings could become a mainstay in the public library.

 

"We're all in a bit of a Zoom hangover right now, but I can see offering programming that way occasionally in the future, even when people are comfortable gathering," she said. "... Zoom is the perfect format for teaching people how to use the online resources the library offers, since you can share your screen and show people what you're doing. I'm actually planning a session that I'll advertise soon, to help people learn to navigate our new website."

 

Sanfilippo urged residents to participate in the survey and said the information will help guide their decision making going forward 

 

"People who are lifelong library users can tell us what we do well already that can be built on, as well as what we can improve upon," she said. "We also want to hear from people who have never been here, or stopped coming for some reason. They can tell us how we are not currently meeting their needs. We know we can't please everyone perfectly, but we also know there is always room for growth and change."

 

The survey can be found on the library's website. Paper versions are also available in the library.