You can find the full text of the review here, and then click the image of the map.

Download and share the March Compass Roundtable flyer (PDF).

“Compass” is the name of the Boston Public Library’s strategic plan. The User-centered principle in the Compass states: The BPL is a user-centered institution with services that anticipate and respond to neighborhood interests and the changing demographics of the City and Commonwealth.

User-centered Institution is the eighth of eight principles that staff from the BPL have discussed with the public following the unanimous approval of the strategic plan by the BPL Board of Trustees in November 2011. Boston Public Library engaged its stakeholders in a two-year, three-phase planning process prior to that Board approval.

If you are not able to join the User-centered Institution roundtable, you are welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to compass@bpl.org with your ideas.

“Compass” is the name of the Boston Public Library’s strategic plan. Community Gathering is the seventh of eight principles that staff from the BPL have discussed with the public following the unanimous approval of the strategic plan by the BPL Board of Trustees in November 2011. The Boston Public Library engaged its stakeholders in a two-year, three-phase planning process prior to that Board approval. The final Compass principle to be discussed is the User-Centered Institution principle, which will be covered in March 2013.

Download and share the January 30 Roundtable flyer (PDF).

If you are not able to join the January roundtable, you are always welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to compass@bpl.org with your ideas.

Since the 1940s, the library has used a number of buildings to serve as storage facilities, but now we are entering the final phase of a long term project to consolidate our offsite storage space in the City of Boston Archival Center, located at 201 Rivermoor Street in West Roxbury. When completed, much of the library’s special research collection will be stored in a secure climate controlled state-of-the-art facility that will enhance the efficient storage and retrieval of books, journals, newspapers, maps, films, and archival materials. The facility is based on a high-density shelving plan and is designed around the “Harvard model” in which materials are shelved according to size. Barcodes are assigned to match each item with a specific location on a shelf. Requested materials will be retrieved by staff and delivered to the Central Library or, for some titles, to a branch location. Occasionally, if a large collection is requested, users will be welcomed to the spacious reading room which is shared with the City of Boston Archives.

For those interested in local history, the facility will be most convenient as they pursue their research into the history and culture of Boston.

The next Compass Roundtable will take place on Wednesday, January 30, at 6 p.m. in the Commonwealth Salon at the Central Library in Copley Square, located at 700 Boylston Street. Join a conversation about the Community Gathering principle with David Leonard, Boston Public Library’s Director of Administration & Technology, and Mary Frances O’Brien, the BPL’s Chief of Public Services .

“Compass” is the name of the Boston Public Library’s strategic plan. The Community Gathering principle in the Compass states: The BPL exists to serve and sustain communities that foster discovery, reading, thinking, conversing, teaching, and learning, in accessible, sustainable, and welcoming facilities throughout the City, as well as with an engaging online presence. The stated outcomes under the Community Gathering Principles are:

• Provide library spaces that are inviting, stimulating, comfortable, clean, and safe.
• Reimagine and redesign the BPL website to create a single location for connecting users with resources and with each other.
• Link community members to library programs and services within the BPL system and beyond.
• Minimize the library’s environmental impact.

Community Gathering is the seventh of eight principles that staff from the BPL have discussed with the public following the unanimous approval of the strategic plan by the BPL Board of Trustees in November 2011. The Boston Public Library engaged its stakeholders in a two-year, three-phase planning process prior to that Board approval. The final Compass principle to be discussed is the User-Centered Institution principle, which will be covered in March 2013.

Download and share the January flyer (PDF).

If you are not able to join the January roundtable, you are always welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to compass@bpl.org with your ideas.

The next Compass Roundtable will take place on Wednesday, November 7, at 6 p.m. in the Orientation Room of the Central Library in Copley Square. Join in a discussion about the Special Collections principle with Director of Library Services Michael Colford and Keeper of Special Collections Susan Glover.

The Special Collections principle states: The BPL is committed to the ongoing development and preservation of its distinctive special collections, which provide citizens from all walks of life with access to their common cultural heritage.

The stated outcomes under the Special Collections principle are:

1. Strengthen and grow collections that focus on existing strengths and geographic specialties.
2. Special collections will be discoverable by users in buildings and online.
3. Develop a digitization plan.

If you are not able to joins us in person in November, you are always welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to compass@bpl.org with your ideas. There are two more roundtables to come:

• January 2013: Community Gathering. The BPL exists to serve and sustain communities that foster discovery, reading, thinking, conversing, teaching, and learning, in accessible, sustainable, and welcoming facilities throughout the City, as well as with an engaging online presence.
• March 2013: User-Centered Institution. The BPL is a user-centered institution with services that anticipate and respond to neighborhood interests and the changing demographics of the City and Commonwealth.

Specific dates, times, and locations will be published for the remaining pair of roundtables as soon as they are available.

The next Compass Roundtable will take place on Wednesday, November 7, at 6 p.m. in the Orientation Room of the Central Library in Copley Square.

On November 7, join in a discussion about the Special Collections principle with Director of Library Services Michael Colford and Keeper of Special Collections Susan Glover.

The Special Collections principle states: The BPL is committed to the ongoing development and preservation of its distinctive special collections, which provide citizens from all walks of life with access to their common cultural heritage.

The stated outcomes under the Special Collections principle are:

1. Strengthen and grow collections that focus on existing strengths and geographic specialties.
2. Special collections will be discoverable by users in buildings and online.
3. Develop a digitization plan.

If you are not able to joins us in person in November, you are always welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to compass@bpl.org with your ideas. There are two more roundtables to come:

• January 2013: Community Gathering. The BPL exists to serve and sustain communities that foster discovery, reading, thinking, conversing, teaching, and learning, in accessible, sustainable, and welcoming facilities throughout the City, as well as with an engaging online presence.
• March 2013: User-Centered Institution. The BPL is a user-centered institution with services that anticipate and respond to neighborhood interests and the changing demographics of the City and Commonwealth.

Specific dates, times, and locations will be published for the remaining pair of roundtables as soon as they are available.

On October 1, join in a discussion about the Center of Knowledge principle with Chief of Collections Strategy Laura Irmscher and Manager of Reference & Instruction Services Gianna Gifford.

The Center of Knowledge principle states: The BPL is a center of knowledge that serves researchers, lifelong learners, and the intellectually curious through its incomparable collections, digital resources, and access to other scholarly networks.

The planned outcomes under the Center of Knowledge principle are:

1. Develop community-responsive and neighborhood-reflective circulating collections.
2. Develop and support a public training program that meets the needs of a wide range of communities.
3. Support the research, scholastic, and literacy needs of the City and Commonwealth.

Download the PDF version of the October 1 Compass Roundtable flyer.

If you are not able to joins us in person in October, you are always welcome to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to compass@bpl.org with your ideas. There are three more roundtables to come:

• November 2012: Special Collections. The BPL is committed to the ongoing development and preservation of its distinctive special collections, which provide citizens from all walks of life with access to their common cultural heritage.
• January 2013: Community Gathering. The BPL exists to serve and sustain communities that foster discovery, reading, thinking, conversing, teaching, and learning, in accessible, sustainable, and welcoming facilities throughout the City, as well as with an engaging online presence.
• March 2013: User-Centered Institution. The BPL is a user-centered institution with services that anticipate and respond to neighborhood interests and the changing demographics of the City and Commonwealth.

Specific dates, times, and locations will be published for the remaining three roundtables as soon as they are available.

In addition to the planning work of library professionals on the BPL’s Youth Services team, the library administered a survey to gain input directly from children and teens, along with a separate survey for parents and caregivers. The staggered survey roll-out schedule made it possible to incorporate comments from the children and teens survey (May 2012) into the adults and caregivers survey (June 2012).

Below are highlights from both survey instruments utilized. Adult and caregiver responses appear in blue; children and teen responses appear in orange. For the chart immediately below, survey takers were allowed to choose multiple program types in their response. The numbers along the left-hand side represent what percent of respondents chose a particular program type.

For the chart immediately below, survey takers were allowed to choose multiple activities in their response. The numbers along the left-hand side represent what percent of respondents chose a particular activity.

Work continues on the library’s out-of-school time program offerings. The surveys have direct influence on the out-of-school time programming model the BPL will unveil in September of this year. Programming will focus on themes such as arts, writing, science, math, and robotics each month during the school year. From September to May, the Boston Public Library will partner with other Boston-based organizations offering those types of programs. The library’s calendar (www.bpl.org/calendar) will list out-of-school time programs beginning in September.

Thank you to all who completed the surveys and who offered comments in the open response sections in addition to the objective questions. Ninety-five (95) young people completed the May survey and 191 parents and caregivers completed the June survey.

For many years, long before I arrived in Boston, it has been clear that the way people read, think, learn, and teach is being redefined. Libraries everywhere must place themselves at the forefront of such change all while minding the gap, so to speak, between those with access to technology and information and those without. This strategic planning process has afforded my colleagues and me the privilege of personally communicating with thousands of Bostonians. Whether we serve people in buildings, online, or out in the community, we have listened to them talk about the library they have loved since childhood and their hopes for the library of the future.

Libraries have never been more important or useful than they are today. In this era of ever-expanding information, libraries help people make sense of the world. In buildings, the Boston Public Library’s core services will thrive with more books, open hours, story times, programs, and access to and assistance with technology. Online, the Boston Public Library will truly open the gate to the information highway in our buildings, at work, and on-the-go. In the community, the Boston Public Library will extend itself beyond bricks and mortar to meet our users – and our potential users – where they are.

Fulfilling the Boston Public Library’s 21st century potential may take some time, but I believe we can deliver on the vision contained within these pages. With Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s support and leadership, the Boston Public Library is committed to investing in the future of Boston. With this document, we have our compass.