• HLS working Group Strategic Plan 2017 - 2020

Home library in 2027 At the 6 February 2017 meeting of the Home Library Service Working Group a brainstorming challenge was issued … everyone in attendance was asked to consider:

How will the library reach the housebound in 2027? and What do we mean by “Library”?

The responses from the group included:

• All services remain free for all and personal service provided
• Use advertising, e.g. local radio, television and newspapers
• Enewsletters
• Healthcare professionals
• Approaching older/disabled people in the library
• Expos and pop-up libraries
• Involvement in community functions and special events
• Community networking and partnerships
• Seniors will be more tech savvy
• Electronically: education of seniors in social media, accessing library catalogue and ebooks, audiobooks, emags,/newspapers and databases
• Lending of tablets or laptops and in-home tech help, especially for filling of online forms
• Provide access to programs remotely, e.g. virtual bookclubs, author talks broadcast online and courses
• Not so much selection but facilitating peoples self-selection – using iPads etc
• Seniors book clubs and cultural pursuits such as art, music and poetry
• Translation apps to reach Cald community
• Comprehensive services to multi-cultural and disability groups (potential growth area) and carers
• Greater use of technological aids for vision impaired
• More demand in some areas due to aging population (retirement hot spots?) and there needs to be extra planning and resources in these areas
• Better collections aimed at Hls customers
• Volunteers playing more significant role in extending client services
• Library will be a “Hub” for the local community and businesses

Overall responses are in favour of library services retaining the personal contact that is an integral part of our jobs and being places of learning, knowledge, meeting, study and enjoyment.

Notes compiled in a group discussion about the strategic plan.

• Promotion guidelines scanty
• Past grant projects - flyers and CALD language
• Extremely committedand enthusiastic, knowledgeable
• Tech savvy - go to IT person
• Know about local community, awareness
• Library expert communicators within seniors demographic
• Know how to relate with people - empathy and communications skills
• Ability to link isolated individuals with community
• Reader Advisory skills which extend to general library
• Multi-skilled in service delivery and management (of volunteers)

• Not using our local community knowledge to best advantage
• Limited use of HLS modules in LMS
• Variation in services
• Manual handling risks
• Difficulties expanding services to LOTE clients and carers
• Low profile of service within library staff and senior management
• Low awareness of service
• Lack of library staff wishing to be involved
• Limited budget
• Lack of resources particularly Australian content and classics - in AV, N-F and LP
• The way we capture statistics

• Marketing and promotion - external and internal
• Networking - forming partnerships within Library sectors, Council and Community
• Collaboration with RA Group
• Amalgamations
• Over 55 Lifestyle Residences - partnerships?
• Library as community

• Succession planning - job sharing to build skills and fill potential voids
• Apparent decrease in demand
• Technology - no need for delivery, streamed
• Amalgamations
• Cashed up Seniors
• Very well resources Over 55 Lifestyle Residences
• Low profile
• Strategies
• Discards/donations labelled/barcoded as HLS item - not necessary to catalogue - good for statistics, doesn't matter if lost

Internal

• Councillors
• Volunteers
• Collection management staff
• Council's community services and IT staff (if only)

External

• Home care support, Community Services
• Group Homes

• Familiarity of staff to develop relationship and trust
• Quality of service, communication,
• Reliability of service

• Raise awareness of HLS service

• Quarterly/monthly reports
• Numbers

• Numbers good
• Minutes are very helpful
• Mylee/SL very supportive

New Objective: How to work collaboratively to develop strategies do we market and promote HLS within community and Library

• Develop techniques and tools to promote HLS
• Raise our profile
• Provide group with marketing know-how and tools -
• Providing guidance and mentoring to support individual HLS
• Identify ways of capturing statistics to demonstrate the impact and benefit of HLS
• How to do local market research - tailor to community
• Hold a marketing workshop
• Development generic reporting document
• People to share experiences re managing amalgamations - some well into process alreadyHow to gain consensus on merging HLS from various Councils - standing item on Agenda at 2017 meetings

• Market research
• Development of generic reporting template/document
• Annual collaborative group workshop
• Raise profile by publishing profiles of individual HLS eg PLS blog, Carers NSW
• Conduct annual workshop
• Product template for reporting to management
• Review templates for more specific/refreshed marketing material - include information for carers
• Submit articles/blogs

• Survey keep at 5 yearly time frame - 2020/21
• Delete "Transition services for frail and disabled library clients"

• Delete - "promotional tools"
• Readers Advisory tools - arrange talk with RA (2017 every second year) / online training for volunteers (5 years)
• Delete - "National Year of Reading"
• New Risk Management Guidelines review 2019
• Designing HLS flyers - move to New Objective 6
• Advocacy for HLS - move to New Objective 6
• Improve HLS service capacity and workflows … LMS more effectively - to New Objective 6 re Marketing and Promotions??

• Need to share the load with organising biennial seniors in focus. Next to be 2018 and then 2020.
• Add reference to Wiki