Weymouth Public Libraries Releases New Strategic Plan

After a thorough and thoughtful process, the Weymouth Public Libraries have released a new Strategic Plan for fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2027. The plan is available on the library website at www.weymouth.ma.us/about/pages/strategic-plan, and in hard copy at Tufts Library and the Fogg Branch Library.

The new Strategic Plan incorporates insights gained from extensive community and staff feedback that was gathered in late 2021. Activities were designed to seek broad input across Weymouth neighborhoods, demographics, and library users and non-users. Multiple focus groups were conducted, followed by a community survey that was available in six languages. Based on the community's needs, hopes, and aspirations identified through the feedback process, the library crafted a new mission statement and identified four priority areas to support wider and deeper community impact in its work over the next five years. This planning process will be further supported by annual Action Plans that the library will create to set specific annual goals.

"These past five years have been a whirlwind of activity and adaptation at the Weymouth Public Libraries," wrote Library Director Robert MacLean in the Strategic Plan's introduction. "What we’ve learned during this time - that we must focus on the fine details and the big picture at the same time; we need to include everyone; and we need to listen and be flexible - was incorporated into our approach for the Strategic Plan for FY2023-2027." He continued, "We are confident this Plan matches the hopes and aspirations of Weymouth residents and that our next five years will be a whirlwind of activity and adaptation, too."

“We have one of the best public library buildings in the state,” said Cathy Torrey, chair of the Board of Library Trustees. “Now, this plan will help us make sure our programs, services, and collections strive to meet that standard while meeting the needs of Weymouth residents.”

“The library has a vibrant and diverse group of users which reflects our community and is consistent with data from the 2020 Census,” said Yoshie Picciotto, a participant in a community focus group for the strategic plan. “Along with the data, we heard a message from the community of a need for more inclusion. This new roadmap for the library builds on its prior work to be a welcoming environment and a space with resources for all Weymouth residents.”

The Strategic Plan lays out a new mission statement for the library alongside four priority areas for its work. These are:

Mission Statement: "Weymouth Public Libraries celebrates and sustains the growth of community, collaboration, and culture through traditions of reading, learning, and sharing."

Priority Area 1: A Hub for Reading, Learning, and Culture: Weymouth Public Libraries reaffirms its commitment to support and celebrate reading and learning for enjoyment, personal growth, and discovery. We promote literacy in all forms, including civic, cultural, media, technology, financial, and health literacies. We provide informal education and lifelong learning opportunities for all ages.

Priority Area 2: A Place for Everyone: The library provides a welcoming, inclusive, and safe community space, where ideas and thoughts are embraced. We reach out into the community to promote library use and to encourage all to seek out opportunities to improve their lives through the Weymouth Public Libraries.

Priority Area 3: Community Connections and Engagement: The Library strives to be at the heart of Weymouth, supporting and strengthening our community by fostering social cohesion and cultivating opportunities for Weymouth residents to come together through shared spaces, resources, and events.

Priority Area 4: Focus on the Future: Weymouth Public Libraries recognizes that the Weymouth community, our society, and technology are continually changing. The library commits to expanding and improving its ability to provide a wide range of evolving services that will sustain and enhance the quality of life in Weymouth.

For more information about the Weymouth Public Libraries FY23-FY27 Strategic Plan, the process of its creation, and the data that was gathered, see the plan at www.weymouth.ma.us/about/pages/strategic-plan or contact Library Director Robert MacLean at rmaclean@weymouth.ma.us / 781-340-5002.

Weymouth Public Libraries celebrates and sustains the growth of community, collaboration, and culture through traditions of reading, learning, and sharing. In October 2020, library operations commenced in the newly constructed Tufts Library building, a 50,000 square-foot community hub supporting active, flexible, exciting new programs and services for the Weymouth community. For more information, see the Weymouth Public Libraries website at www.weymouth.ma.us/library.