Delaware County Libraries board reviews updated strategic plan and approves state-aid waiver

Cheryl Trent, a consultant with SBRAND, presented an updated strategic plan for Delaware County Libraries (DCL) and outlined next steps for implementation, and the board approved a resolution to file a waiver with the Pennsylvania Office of Commonwealth Libraries for district aid standards.

Trent said the update — developed with member libraries through interviews, focus groups and surveys — keeps the plan’s major themes while adding more specific context and measurable goals. "The basic concept behind this strategic plan is that our libraries are ready for the future," Trent said during the presentation.

The plan is organized around six priority areas: community centered; diverse, inclusive and accessible; innovative and creative leaders in lifelong learning; resourceful and responsive; collaborative and sustainable; and amplified community and interagency cooperation. Trent told the board the document is a strategic, high-level plan and that a separate implementation plan will list concrete initiatives, assigned staff and target dates. "Typically those action steps have a person assigned to them and a specific date assigned to them," she said.

Annie Lappley, DCL administrator, said the implementation plan will focus on work the district headquarters can effect while many initiatives remain the responsibility of individual member libraries. She said DCL staff and participating library staff will prioritize potential initiatives and that Trent will return early next month to work with staff on fine-tuning the implementation plan.

The board also received routine administrative updates. Lappley reported the county received its 2025 state aid distribution of $2,474,117.95 on Jan. 6; checks were issued to eligible member libraries in the Jan. 31 county check run. She said a few libraries had not yet submitted their 2023 audit and that checks for those libraries are being held until the audits are completed.

Lappley reviewed other deadlines and administrative items: the statewide annual report opened Feb. 29 and is due from member libraries by 4 p.m. on March 10; the Library Foundation of Delaware County’s bingo license has been renewed and is valid through Jan. 19, 2026; and DCL staff provides support and open office hours to help libraries complete the annual reports.

On a new administrative requirement from the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Lappley explained the district must file a waiver for the 2023–24 fiscal year because the district center is not housed in a public library and therefore did not meet the public-service-hours and collection-size standards. She said the Office of Commonwealth Libraries has indicated this arrangement has precedent in other district library centers and that DCL has been advised the waiver process should not be a substantive problem.

The board approved several routine motions with brief discussion:

Votes at a glance - Approval of minutes from Dec. 19, 2024 — motion to approve; second; unanimous voice vote; motion carried. - Approval of January 2025 financial report — motion to approve; second; unanimous voice vote; motion carried. - Approval of the board resolution to file a waiver of district aid standards for fiscal year 2023–24 (form provided by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries) — motion to approve; second; unanimous voice vote; motion carried. Lappley said officers will sign the resolution signature page electronically as required. - Approval of slate of executive officers (Helen McGrane, president; Jody Allen, vice president; Virginia Maroon, treasurer; Jessica Brangle, secretary) — motion to approve; second; unanimous voice vote; motion carried.

The board scheduled further work on a county-requested system evaluation and said it expects to report additional details in April. Trent and Lappley emphasized the implementation plan will convert potential initiatives into prioritized, staffed action steps. The board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 17.