Regional Network

Okay. I know it seems like the worst possible time to be thinking "big", but this is what we've been working towards for the past 10 years I've been here!

Everything we've done so far has lead us here. One of the biggest challenges STILL, (after 3 years of training), STILL seems to be our boards.

But, let's not forget that the boards don't run the libraries--the directors do! Boards "should" be involved in vision and long-range planning. Any board member that can't "get on the bus" with the idea of a regional network can't think big enough and frankly, shouldn't be on a library board. And that seems to be one reason libraries stay "stuck"--because we have boards that can't see our future. Boards that never seem to think big enough!

The story of the Anna Porter Public Library is an inspirational one. Gatlinburg, TN is a very small mountain town. The service area for the library is the town of Gatlinburg which is approx. 3,500 people. The number of people that use the library is closer to 5,000. Gatlinburg is a tourist town. It is by no means a rich town.

The library director and the library board knew they needed a bigger library. So, what did they do first? They sat down and developed a PLAN. That plan is what lead them to where they are today--and that is in a newly opened, beautiful, bookstore concept library.

But, plans, no matter how well thought out or written need PEOPLE! And what kind of people? The right kind of people: passionate, positive, purposeful! A long-term library volunteer and the library board president divided the duties involved in the project and they got the job done! It wasn't about egos, it wasn't about "legacies". It was about providing the users of the Anna Porter Public Library with a larger library that met their service needs. They got everyone involved in the outcome; they partnered; they rallied gifts of money, talents and time. They weren't afraid to think big.

So, here we are...thinking big! A Regional "one-card" Network. We lucked into a very important partner for the project--Peacock Keller. The publicity generated, not only from the "signature event" Off The Shelf, but from the partners themselves making calls and talking about the libraries, the event and the purpose, is more effective than we ever could have imagined. This opportunity has fallen into our laps and we can't "blow it"! We must rally our boards and our staff to work as hard for the common goal as Peacock Keller is working for us!