Harford County, Maryland FY 24 Proposed Operating Budget

LIBRARIES

ORIGIN/PURPOSE: The mission of the Harford County Public Library (HCPL) system is to provide efficient and convenient service to the residents of Harford County. The seven member Board of Library Trustees, representing all areas of the County, is appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council to overlapping five year terms. The Board operates under the Laws of Maryland, Title 23, and Harford County Code, Article XXI, Bill No. 81-68 and as amended by Bill No. 97-17. The library system currently maintains eleven (11) service outlets and one (1) administrative and support services building. MISSION STATEMENT: TO BE THE PREMIER LIBRARY SYSTEM, RECOGNIZED FOR DELIVERING INNOVATIVE SERVICES, PROVIDING ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND PROMOTING THE LOVE OF READING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

FY 24 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: TO HAVE A CULTURE WHERE INNOVATION IS THE NORM

• Decrease cultural barriers to innovation • Increase the number of innovative internal methods and practices • Increase the number of innovation customer-focused programs and services

TO PROVIDE CUSTOMIZED SERVICES TO TARGETED AUDIENCES IN THE COMMUNITY

• Increase support to school-aged children and teens • Improve library service to populations new to Harford County • Enhance the services we provide to our online community • Increase library access and resources for commuters

FY 23 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES (cont'd) TO USE ADVOCACY, PARTNERSHIPS, AND FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES TO INCREASE RESOURCES IN SUPPORT OF INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES • Increase key decision makers' level of understanding about Library initiatives and issues • Increase contributions to the Library from business partners within the community • Improve cooperation between the Library and HCPL Foundation to support fundraising efforts • Improve collaboration among HCPL Foundation, Friends groups, and the Library to support Friends efforts • Increase funding to support strategic objectives

TO MEET CUSTOMER TECHNOLOGY NEEDS BY PROVIDING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING

• Increase understanding of library customers' technology needs • Increase the library's knowledge and use of innovative technologies • Increase the organization's effectiveness in training staff in new and existing technologies • Increase customer usage of new and existing technologies

TO HELP THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND AND VALUE THE INNOVATIVE SERVICES PROVIDED BY HCPL

• Increase in-house understanding of Marketing's role as an integral part of library service delivery • Increase advertising, publicity, and promotional efforts for library main events and improve library positioning in the community • Improve the quality of HCPL marketing materials • Increase funding for marketing

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