by Laura Damon-Moore
One of the great privileges I have in working at WiLS is coordinating the Small Library Strategic Planning Cohort. I came up in small-town libraries as a youth librarian and assistant director, and so it means a lot to me personally each year when I get to attend the cohort’s Capstone meeting and hear about the plans our state’s smallest community libraries worked on so diligently over the last year. I’m proud to showcase some highlights from the six libraries we heard from earlier this month!
The team at Karl Junginger Memorial Library (Waterloo) is making their facility a major focus in their upcoming plan. They are starting with a roomy building, but hope to use the data and information they gathered to apply for grants to refresh and make their spaces more functional and user-friendly.
Clinton Public Library leaned into their strong relationship with elementary school teachers by hosting a community conversation with educators during their planning process. The library is embracing outreach and offsite visits to deepen their community presence despite having a very small physical footprint.
Johnson Creek Public Library is gearing up for significant community growth projected to take place over the next several years. A primary focus for the library’s strategic plan is laying the groundwork for a potential major facilities project down the road, while simultaneously expanding its reach and connections beyond the library’s walls with a focus on outreach and engagement activities.
The 100-year-old building occupied by Lakeview Community Library (a joint library of the Villages of Random Lake and Adell, and the Towns of Sherman and Scott) offers a wealth of opportunities that the library will explore over the coming years. Their priorities include activating their outside spaces and continuing to build on their already strong community-based programming.
McIntosh Memorial Library (Viroqua) has several strategic priorities to address over the course of its plan, including increased staff and public technology training, as well as the development of a Community Resource Center. Access is a major focus for the McIntosh team, which has led to the exploration of a fine-free policy and making the library more user-friendly through signage enhancements and website and social media updates.
Schreiner Memorial Library (Lancaster) brought a unique perspective and process to this year’s cohort – a branch library in Potosi. To ensure both locations were represented, the planning team included staff and trustees from Schreiner and Potosi. The emphasis was on a strategic plan framework that works for both locations – leading to a focus on communication and marketing, core services like collections and programming, and community collaborations.
Congratulations to all of our 2024-25 cohort participants. We are so proud of you and the hard work you put in over the last year!
Do you work at a library serving a community with a population of about 5,000 or less? If any of these highlights inspire you to consider strategic planning in a shared learning approach alongside similar libraries, we invite you to check out the 2025-26 Small Library Strategic Planning Cohort! You can dig into the details and registration information here, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Laura Damon-Moore (laura@wils.org) with questions or to connect with a previous cohort participant.
