Changes in store for Nevada State Library and Archives

From May 15 through 31, staff from the Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records (NSLAPR) will make 19 stops throughout Nevada, visiting Nevada libraries of all kinds.

Staff will seek input toward development of a new five-year strategic plan that will guide activities and initiatives of the Nevada State Library.

“Things change quickly and the coming years present many challenges for library services of all kinds throughout the state. Setting goals help us express our priorities and focus on key efforts in strategic planning,” said Jeff Kintop, administrator. “Librarians throughout Nevada will have the chance to help the State Council on Libraries and Literacy set these goals and I’m confident the plan will provide a clear and comprehensive course to meet the vision and the mission of the state library’s powerful collections, resources, support and education opportunities.”

Using a two-phased planning approach, the project managers have been engaged in strategic planning methods and activities over the past several months.

The first part of the process has involved classifying and reviewing existing services; identifying opportunities and threats and finding related organizations as possible collaborators.

The second part is also a work in progress. The in-person visits, during the statewide tour with Nevada’s library directors serving in public and private institutions, aim at identifying assumptions, auditing our collective values and understanding the goals and strategies of key stakeholder groups.

Staff say the process itself is a mechanism to avoid overemphasizing organizational parts at the expense of the whole and is helping guide council to make decisions that are in line with the aims and strategies of Nevada’s library leadership.

“The final plan targets a forward-looking perspective into what Nevada library leaders consider issues of strategic importance with which the state library should be concerned. And it is serving as a training tool, since the planning process requires participants to ask and answer the very questions that management must address,” said Tammy Westergard, assistant administrator for Library Services and Library Development.

Call 775-684-3306 for a recorded list of locations, dates and times, or visit www.nsla.gov for the itinerary.