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Russell Library committee refines community survey, considers AI and multi‑pronged outreach
Summary
The Russell Library Strategic Planning Committee agreed Aug. 21 to refine a draft set of community-engagement questions, weigh combining overlapping prompts, and pursue mixed outreach (online, paper, in-person). Members discussed using AI to help analyze responses and whether to wait on a press release until partnership details are firm.
The Russell Library Strategic Planning Committee spent much of its Aug. 21 meeting fine‑tuning draft questions for a community survey intended to inform the library's next strategic plan. The committee praised a draft prepared by Ramona, who said the set draws on the Harwood Institute's four-question 'Ask' exercise and the Public Library Association's strategic-planning guidance.
Committee members focused on clarity and scope. Jennifer urged the group to capture respondent residency—"are you a Middletown resident?"—so results can be interpreted for local planning. Several members questioned whether one prompt, "How might life change in Middletown in the next few years?", could prompt unrealistic or off‑topic answers; the committee proposed combining that item with a question about growing community needs into a single, clearer "what do you see on the horizon" prompt.
The committee also discussed outreach mechanics. Members recommended a multi‑pronged approach—online forms, in‑person focus groups and paper surveys at the library—to avoid survey fatigue and reach residents less comfortable with technology. Ramona and others cited Bowling Green, Ky., as an example for broad civic participation and suggested adapting its techniques for Middletown.
Chair noted institutional access to AI tools and proposed using automated analysis to help parse open‑ended responses. Ramona said she had used ChatGPT as a drafting aid for possible questions, and members distinguished using AI for synthesis from using AI as the primary engagement mechanism.
On public notice, the committee agreed to delay a detailed press release until plans with potential partners and outreach methods are more settled; members recommended coordinating messaging with the city so the announcement emphasizes communitywide input rather than library‑only programming.
The committee will ask Ramona to revise question wording (including the residency prompt and the combined horizon/needs question) and return a shortened draft for final review at the next meeting. No formal policy decisions or votes on survey methods were taken at the meeting.
