The North Valley Public Library District Board of Directors is holding “Community Listening Sessions” later this month to gather input from the community that could help in the creation of a strategic plan for the library. The board has engaged a professional facilitator from the Montana State Library to help in the assessment of the community’s desires and needs in terms of a public library. The North Valley Public Library Foundation is assisting the board in organizing and hosting the sessions.
Board Chair Victoria Howell recently invited members of the Stevensville Town Council to attend one of sessions, planned for Tuesday, October 23. A breakfast session is scheduled from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and an evening session is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Library community meeting room. She told the Council members, “We are looking for ideas for making a positive contribution to the library, so it can grow and improve. We also want to know how the library can assist the whole community in achieving its goals.” She told them the board’s aim was to fashion a strategic plan for the library that will fit well with the Town’s Master Plan.
The North Valley Public Library District encompasses both the Stevensville and Lone Rock School Districts and is supported by property taxes. According to Howell, the District currently operates on a budget of approximately $370,000 budget with some money also coming from state and federal sources. She said there are a total of about 10,000 residents in the district and 3,153 of them are registered borrowers at the library. The library is open 52 weeks out of the year and 52 hours per week. Nearly 1000 people visit the library facility each week, with over 200 per week using the public computers.
One big issue facing the district in its planning process is the condition of the building. She said the 6540-square-foot facility is really three buildings cobbled into one and all of them are old.
Many improvements have been made to the facility in the last few years, but, said Howell, “We have to figure out how to best deal with our aging building.”
She told the council members, “We need our local government involved in this planning effort and I urge you to attend.”
Council members Robin Holcomb, Stacie Barker and Raymond Smith said they would be attending one of the sessions. The general public is also invited, but anyone planning to attend should RSVP to: dbridge@montana.com or call Denise Ard, 777-5061.