Some people say that libraries are the heart of the community.
The Mahomet Public Library board and staff certainly hope so.
Even as COVID-19 mitigation measures continue to be in place, circulation numbers are up, and residents are eager to engage with library programming.
This is why Director John Howard isn’t too concerned about how responses to a public survey have trickled in.
“It just means that people are satisfied generally with the library, so we’re okay with that,” he said.
No one joined the two Zoom meetings the library held, but they did receive about 40 surveys from community members. Howard said if anyone still wants to participate, they are welcome to.
Still, the library staff and board will move forward, looking to the future of what the library is to the Mahomet community and what it could become.
In the middle of his second year at the library that serves approximately 9,000 constituents, Howard has his sights set on leading within the industry. Prior to March 2020, the Mahomet Public Library had expanded its programming, sticking with the classics like storytime, while also focusing on open its doors for local performers and community discussions.
Adjustments had to be made, particularly in the early days of the pandemic. While the world figured out what COVID-19 was and how it spread, the library closed like everything else. But they were the first library in Central Illinois to safely reopen in the summer of 2020.
Over the last 17 months, the library board has operated with four priorities: keep staff safe; keep patrons safe; be part of the community response to the pandemic; serve patrons. Doing so, at times meant being creative, but the Mahomet Public Library has utilized outdoor spaces for gatherings while also reissuing a requirement for masks indoors as COVID-19 numbers rise with the Delta variant.
The library will be closed on the morning of Aug. 21 for staff to talk about where the library has been and where it would like to go. The board will do the same on Sept. 18 as it looks at community surveys and staff recommendations to establish an updated mission statement, value statements, and creating a plan that includes six to eight large strategic goals.
It’s a process the staff and board are accustomed to.
“We hold the plan out and I report through all of those goals and objectives,” Howard said. It is his duty to report to the board quarterly at board meetings.
“We show what we have accomplished since the plan was first published, what we’ve accomplished for each objective. And then what we’ve accomplished in the last quarter for each objective.
“It really is a great way of keeping your feet to the fire in terms of making your plan be a document that really guides.”
Having spent 18 months out of the previous three-year plan under mitigations, Howard said he’s proud of the way staff has worked together to accomplish goals. He is confident that the staff the library has, a committed and enthusiastic staff, will be able to take the next plan through 2024.
With census data showing growth in Mahomet, the library is charged with thinking about how their 13,000 sq. ft. building can accommodate the community’s needs.
“When we built this building, we weren’t building a building that was big enough for the community,” Howard said. “With our growth prospects we needed a 24,000 square foot building.”
Through three referendums to allot $3.25 million to move from the 4,000 sq. ft. facility located at 512 E. Main St., library officials at the time did not want to design under 15,000 sq. ft.
Today, Howard said that the Mahomet-Seymour School District is in need of a tax referendum to expand their current facilities which are beyond capacity. The school district is currently financing a community outreach program called Bulldog Blueprint, which will make recommendations to the Mahomet-Seymour School Board next March.
In order to not put too much on the taxpayer plates, the library district is looking to grants to help fund additions at this time. The United State Infrastructure bill may allocate some monies to libraries nationwide.
Howard also said that there are also upcoming state grants that the library will want to pursue. To be ready for the application process, Howard alongside Business Director Kate Smith are working on putting together a needs assessment and the board will look at hiring a conceptual architect later in the fall.
And while space is an issue for the board and staff, Howard said that the library should be more than that. The group is looking for ways to host community educational events, like a few that were held in 2020: how to find a reliable news source and the school board candidate forum.
Howard said that after the staff and board come together for their planning days, public input will also be welcome through board meetings in the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022. He expects the final stamp of approval to come sometime in March or April of 2022.
