Dedham Public Library Releases Updated Strategic Plan

Exciting things are happening these days at the Dedham Public Library! After facing a number of headwinds, including a COVID-19 pandemic that fundamentally altered the way the library was able to serve the public and turnover in its leadership, the library has emerged stronger than ever. Underpinning its evolution as a community cornerstone is its recent adoption of a new three-year strategic plan.

The new strategic plan was developed through the collaboration of many different members of the Dedham community. In addition to the library’s Board of Trustees, director, and staff, nine other community members and three other representatives from other town boards and departments were part of the strategic planning committee. Additionally, many other community members participated in the development of the plan by lending their time and opinions in a town-wide survey and various community meetings conducted by the consulting firm HMI Management. The result was a complete review and overhaul of the library’s mission, vision, and value statements and the adoption of five organizational goals for the coming years.

Shirin Baradaran, the Chair of Dedham’s Board of Library Trustees, called the plan ambitious and energizing for the organization that dates back to 1794. Ms. Baradaran said, “Our Board was incredibly excited to begin working on this plan and to see how our current facilities, services, and programs measure up to our community’s needs and to identify opportunities for growth. I think we all feel very strongly that this plan is a roadmap for future success.”

The new strategic plan, which can be viewed on the Dedham Public Library’s website, adopts a new mission statement that reads “The Dedham Public Library: Facilitating lifelong learning and cultivating strong connections throughout our community and beyond.” Additionally, it lays out a number of strategic goals for the organization, including addressing the physical needs of the library buildings, developing comprehensive and cohesive marketing and communication plans, developing additional partnerships with local organizations and departments, creating a fundraising program to support library initiatives, and implementing professional development training for library staff and trustees.

Amber Moroney, the library’s Director, said that while implementing the plan will take work and dedication, she is confident that achieving the goals outlined in the plan will help strengthen the library’s role in the community for years to come. She thanked the community for their involvement in developing the plan and providing helpful feedback.

The adoption of the strategic plan is coming at a time when the Dedham Public Library is experiencing something of a renaissance. In 2022 the library was one of only nine libraries in the Minuteman Library Network to experience all-time high circulation numbers, which is a remarkable bounceback from the COVID-19 pandemic. While Ms. Moroney is excited to see increasing circulation numbers, she cautioned that the library is still working on increasing its community utilization numbers. To achieve that goal, the library has developed new programming, expanded its outreach into the community, created new connections with local organizations and town departments, and increased its digital collection and subscriptions to databases.

In discussing the future of the library, Ms. Moroney said, “The Dedham Public Library is an incredible place to be these days. I am so excited to see what the future brings and to be a part of the next chapter of our historic institution.”

The complete strategic plan can be found here: https://dedhamlibrary.com/stra...