4.A. Needs assessment and development of the Plan:

4.A.1   What processes were used to assess needs in development of the Plan?

System services and member needs are discussed regularly at the monthly meetings of the Member Library Directors’ Association (renamed Onondaga County Suburban Libraries in June 2006), which are attended by System staff.  Additionally, system services and member needs are discussed at the bi-weekly meetings of the System Services Committee, made up of member directors, Central library/branch staff and the System Director.

Member library staff were included on each of the 10 Element committees set up to draft Section 5.  Ten directors & nine staff from member libraries chaired or served on the committees.  Member directors were included on the Steering and Review Committees.  A member director served as co-Project Manager in charge of organizing Section 5.

Input was solicited from member directors, with the POS draft being a topic of discussion in a special system-wide retreat. 

4.A.2   What groups were involved and what were their roles?   

• Steering Committee (System Director, Deputy Director, Branch Administrator, System Services Consultant/Outreach Supervisor and member director) devised an overall plan, created a timeline, selected some Element Committee chairs and committee members, added topics to Elements, selected Review Committee members, presented charge to co-Project Managers, completed Sections 1-4, shared drafts with Review Committee, presented final version to OCPL Board of Trustees.
• Review Committee (System Director, System Services Consultant/Outreach Supervisor, Director of Administrative Services, OCPL trustee, member director, OCPL Advisory Council president) reviewed draft and made recommendations for additions, deletions and revisions. 
• Co-Project Managers (1 OCPL branch manager, 1 member director) identified remaining Element chairs and committee members, communicated timeline and directions to Element chairs, assisted committees with drafts as needed, edited drafts for consistency.
• Element committees (System, Central, branch and member library staff of various levels; OCPL trustees; member library trustees; County budget analysts) drafted 1 element each.

Member library directors, OCPL Advisory Council and the OCPL Outreach Advisory Council were represented on Element committees.

On-going needs assessment is gathered informally by various standing committees:  Uniform Circulation Procedures, Grants, Database, Adult Services, Young Adult Services, Children’s Services, Continuing Education, Automation, and the ILSI (integrated library system implementation) Training Committees.

4.B  Approval of the Plan

               Describe the process for approval of the system’s Plan of Service.

The Steering Committee charged the co-Project Managers with tasking the Element Committees to draft their various parts.  The Review Committee reviewed the drafts and made suggestions for revision.  The revised drafts were shared with the Steering Committee and Project Managers.  The Steering Committee presented the final drafts to the OCPL Board of Trustees.  Following the Board’s approval of the POS, it was shared with each of the member library boards for their information.

The POS process will result in a Memo of Understanding between the OCPL Administration and the member libraries. 

4.C.  Evaluation:

4.C.1  What information will be collected to evaluate whether or not the system has achieved the intended results of the Plan?

The various statistics, questionnaires and survey results identified in the evaluation methods listed for each goal will be used.  Occasional interviews and observations will be used for certain goals, as noted in Part 5.   

4.C.2  What methods will be used to determine whether the system’s customers were satisfied with the system’s services?

OCPL administration has contracted for a professional survey of member library directors, to be undertaken in late 2006.  This will serve as the baseline of satisfaction among suburban library directors as customers of OCPL.  It will inform the system’s focus on services and a long-range strategic planning process.

OCPL management will schedule quarterly meetings in which OCPL management, including city branch managers, and suburban library directors will come together to discuss issues of mutual concern.  At these meetings, each system-wide committee will report on their activity during the quarter.  The meetings will also provide opportunities to measure progress towards POS goals and request changes in POS goals and intended outcomes during the next year. 

4.C.3 How will the information on customer satisfaction be used to shape the system’s plan in the next year or in the following cycle?

If there is a request for changes to the POS, a workgroup will be organized to study the issue and make recommendations.  The workgroup will be made up of representatives from the suburban library directors and OCPL system staff.  The workgroup will be expected to complete fact-finding and consult with appropriate staff about the changes.  The recommended changes will be widely distributed to insure input from advisory groups, trustees and staff. 

4.D. Revision process:

Describe the process for revising the system’s Plan of Service for submission to the New York State Library.

The workgroup will submit the changes to the Executive Director, who will share them with the OCPL Board, along with her/his recommendations.   The Board will consider the recommendations and if approved they will be sent to NYSL by the revision deadline.