We are proud to share with you our strategic plan that will guide the next three-to-five years of work in our community.

Community involvement has been an essential component since we began this process, and I hope everyone in Norwich will see this strategic plan as something that was made for and by our community.

With community engagement, interpreted and curated by a strategic planning committee, and translated into plans of action with our consultant Empower Success Corp (ESC), we were able to create a plan that outlines five goals:

• Goal 1: NPL will develop innovating educational opportunities and diverse, quality collections to meet the specific interests and needs for different audiences.

Goal 1 responds to community interest in the library being a place of learning.

• Goal 2: NPL’s technology will ensure accessibility to meet the evolving needs of its patron, staff, and the broader community. NPL will investigate best practices while addressing the need to update technology and continually respond to the needs of the community.

Goal 2 recognizes that technology in all its iterations will play a growing role in how libraries operate and how the community will interact with he board, staff, and the collections.

• Goal 3: NPL will foster an environment where the community will engage and connect.

Goal 3 reflects the community’s expressed interest in the library continuing to serve as a center of community life.

• Goal 4: NPL will create interior and flexible spaces that are welcoming, accessibly, and appropriate for a range of activities and community interactions.

Goal 4 builds on Goal 3 and addresses the physical presence of the library.

• Goal 5: NPL will ensure the long-term financial health and sustainability of the library.

Goal 5 supports all the above goals by focusing on the financial future of the library.

Each of these goals has multiple action steps to achieve completion and is supported by a thoughtful and sequenced implementation. The vivid vision this plan captures is ambitious, readily achievable and unique to Norwich. All of us at the library and on the Board look forward to working together in the coming years on this Plan.

Sincerely,

Lucinda Walker, Director