Let's Get it Right!

Oprah Winfrey said “Cheers for a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

As we all feel invigorated at the start of 2007, this quote seems appropriate. I hope that we at the library “get it right” for our community.

Every single day we are making decisions that impact our patrons:

-How many copies of this bestseller should we purchase?
-How many staff are needed to give basic service at various times of the day?
-When should we offer preschool storytimes?
-How much should we charge for fines?
-How many computers can we provide to the public?
-How can we get the word out about the library’s services?
-Should we buy more DVDs? What must we give up to do that?

We struggle to provide many services with limited resources. We want to provide the most needed services at the lowest cost. But how do we know if we are making the best choices? Maybe we should spend less money on books and more money on staff? Maybe we should drop storytimes and have more teen programs.

The library board and the staff continually evaluate what we are doing. We look at usage statistics, our financial resources, the talents and strengths of the staff, and the way the world (and Emporia) work. We want to give you the most service for the most reasonable cost.

If you have a suggestion for how we could do things better or faster or cheaper, please let me know. We’ll listen!

Sue Blechl, Director

blechls@emporialibrary.org