Library director leads council through sticker exercise to shape next strategic plan

Laura Kimberly, the library and community engagement director for the City of Newport, led a brief exercise at the council work session to solicit priorities for the library's next strategic plan.

Kimberly said the process uses the Public Library Association's framework and asked council members to select up to 10 priority "service responses" from a list of 18. "These responses will help us identify areas of highest priority for our community," Kimberly said, describing the exercise as a tool to connect local needs to practical services.

She said staff, the library board and stakeholders have already participated in the selection process, and that council input will be combined with previous feedback. Council members received a one-page handout and were given stickers to place on posters showing each service response; Kimberly said results would be tallied and used to develop goals. Kimberly told the council she would return in two weeks with follow-up materials.

The director emphasized that the framework helps libraries prioritize services that matter to residents and that the selection will inform where the library should assign resources and attention during the next planning cycle. The exercise was presented during the work session and required no council vote.