Muskego City Library committee reviews 2025 draft action plan; approves prior minutes

The Muskego City Library Board Strategic Planning Committee met Oct. 29 to review a draft 2025 action plan that staff described as “a one-year snapshot of goals” aligned with the library’s five-year strategic plan, and to set next steps before the plan goes to the full board.

In a wide-ranging review, a staff member (Speaker 2) said the draft emphasizes achievable items and aims to balance workload across staff: “We wanna make sure that not only the quantity, but the quality was in balance for each staff member.” Committee members pressed for clarifications and low-cost ideas for implementation.

Display cases and policies: A committee member (Speaker 4) asked that the plan include an assessment of the four lobby display cases. Speaker 2 said the cases serve different purposes — a donors display, the Friends display, a public-notices case and a community-groups reservation case — and recommended reviewing the reservation policy and clearer labeling to boost use.

Tree health and grounds maintenance: Staff flagged two front trees with significant dieback and other unhealthy specimens on the property. Speaker 2 described options including removal and replanting with native trees, seeking sponsorships, and engaging volunteers to plant replacements. She also noted the library’s building and grounds maintenance budget was not increased for next year.

Parking-lot reconstruction: Speaker 2 reported that funding for a full parking-lot reconstruction was approved the prior Tuesday and outlined a plan to coordinate with the city Department of Public Works (DPW) so the project can be included as an alternate bid in the city’s 2025 roads program. To limit disruption, staff said the bid will require phased work and exclude the busiest summer months. “So the bids will then get opened. The bid will be awarded. And then the question is timing of it all,” Speaker 2 said.

Collections and accessibility: Staff said both physical and electronic circulation rose year over year, and that wait times for ebooks and eaudiobooks remain long. The committee discussed expanding the large-print collection and continuing deposit collections for senior residences (Tudor Oaks, Stoney Creek). Committee members asked about braille materials and Playaways (portable audiobook devices). Staff noted demand for braille is unclear and that the library refers patrons to the Milwaukee Talking Book and Braille Library for state-level services; Playaways were described as costing roughly $65–75 each compared with about $40 for typical CD audiobooks but include warranty and replacement options.

Discovery layer (public catalog) rollout: Speaker 2 and another staff member (Speaker 3) explained a systemwide discovery layer being deployed by the Bridges consortium to group formats (print, audiobook, ebook) so patrons see consolidated results. Staff said the vendor is the same company that supplies the current catalog, but that record cleanup, staff training and public outreach will be required before public rollout; initial back-end work could begin in spring with a user-facing rollout possibly in September to avoid the library’s busiest summer period.

Actions and next steps: The committee moved and seconded approval of minutes from Nov. 8, 2023; the motion was recorded as approved with one affirmative and two abstentions. Speaker 2 said the draft action plan is a first pass and will return to the full board in November for review; the full board is expected to vote on the plan in December.

The meeting closed after a brief scheduling note. A motion to adjourn was made and seconded, and the committee ended the meeting at 6:34 p.m.