photo by: Shawn Valverde

File photo of the Lawrence Public Library on Friday, July 26, 2024.

Next year should be a big year for the Lawrence Public Library, as it will start off with a lot of work on the library’s comprehensive facilities master plan.

As the Journal-World reported, the library in April requested the services of firms to assess the current state of its facilities, identify future needs and recommend strategies. Now, Brad Allen, the library’s executive director, said the planning will soon “get cracking.” The library hired the consulting firm Margaret Sullivan Studio, and a team from that firm will visit Lawrence at least a couple of times early this year.

“It’s an exciting start to the year,” Allen said.

The consultants will be visiting Lawrence in late January to meet with library staff to help with “visioning,” Allen said. They will meet with a select group of partners identified by the library and will plan to attend a few different events at the library, such as a story time event, and talk to people who attend.

A subsequent phase of visits will happen in the spring and will include town hall-style meetings that will be open to the public, Allen said. Consultants will also be reviewing data the library provided to see where Lawrence stacks up compared to other cities, which can help guide recommendations on how to better serve patrons.

In addition to the meetings and analysis, Allen said that the library is working to draft a community survey that will provide another layer of public feedback. Allen said the library wants to learn how residents feel not just about traditional library services, but also about the library’s broader community role. He said that since the library serves a lot of different functions, he wants to hear feedback about all the ways the library can benefit Lawrence.

“Some of our work is going to be (asking), ‘What’s the library’s mission towards accomplishing community goals that are bigger than just using the library?'” Allen said.

Answering those questions will be important for shaping future plans. Allen said libraries are often asked to do “everything and the kitchen sink” in ways that could overlap with other organizations. He hopes the master plan will also provide ideas for how the library can be a better partner in the community and pursue community goals with other organizations “in a more holistic and more efficient way.”

Once the work really gets started in January, Allen said he expects the process will take around five months, and a final report will be sent to the library’s Board of Trustees after the work concludes.

Allen said the library had not done this type of planning during his tenure, and he was excited hear an outside take on the library’s services from the consultants. He called Margaret Sullivan a “great thought leader” for libraries and hopes the consultants and public feedback can help the library can come up with a plan to guide its future work.

“I’m excited to have all of us in the community figure out what our town is about and what the library can do to help meet those needs,” Allen said.