2024-2027 Strategic Framework
The Dover Town Library presents to Dover and the MBLC this Strategic Framework for the years 2024-2027. This document is a starting point and flexible guide for ongoing learning and improvement, not a rigid plan or set of goals. The Strategic Planning Committee invested time clarifying the library’s aspirations: its mission, the major needs it aims to serve, and its distinctive style. With agreement on where we’re trying to go, we can better assess the library’s strengths and challenges in getting there.
Strategy is not a long planning document; it is a set of interrelated choices that help define success and position an organization to succeed. Accordingly, the framework may raise as many questions as it answers. It should adapt as we explore these questions, evaluate progress, gather new information, and raise new questions. The director and trustees will continuously assess if we’re on track and adjust course as needed, using annual action plans and measures of success.
The Dover Town Library, a community resource open to all, enjoys strong support and appreciation for what it adds to our small town. It is valued and loved by many, operating at a per capita pace ahead of its peers, and with a reputation for innovation, welcoming, and joy. The focus for the new few years: How might the library enhance its already-strong service to Dover–shoring up use by a changing and eclectic community–without compromising what it has created in town … and while remaining mindful of our town’s size and financial reality?
We hope this strategic framework helps guide our conversations and work as we answer that question.
The Board of Library Trustees &
Bethany Klem, Library Director
