Note From Debbie

May 30, 2024

Since I began my work with MLA 5 years ago, MLA has been intentional about our future, to move the needle, to look outward at other industries, and to bring a fresh, new perspective to our collective impact. The world is changing quickly and we must stay current on trends and innovations, and explore unfamiliar/atypical partnerships that will keep libraries at the forefront of our communities.  

It is now time to begin a process to query our key stakeholders, ask hard questions that require deep thought, and develop a new three-year plan that will begin in 2025. This work will evaluate the impact of our past and present performance, services, and programming as well as examine our future work together. This is not a refresh of our past plan, which has served us well for the past five years, but a newly engaged process that will allow all of our members to become involved in creating the planning document. This new three-year strategic plan will serve as a road map for MLA; it will carefully lay out how we execute our chosen strategy to achieve our mission. This plan will focus our energy, resources, and time and include concrete, realistic, and measurable goals as well as benchmarks and timelines. 

The new plan will guide us in expanding and improving how we deliver core services and help us envision a more culturally rich environment for the state. It will also review and solidify our current mission, vision, and theory of change, which will become the platform for strong and effective strategic leadership, strategic thinking/decision-making, and fiduciary governance/management. 

Our new strategic planning workgroup, led by MLA President Dillon Geshel and President-Elect Jenny Marr, will identify and choose a planning consultant by September, who will then facilitate a 6-8 month process to develop a new planning document. We will use group decision-making and collaborative discussion to lead us through this process. With your help and input, we will put libraries at the forefront of our communities well into the future. When you are asked, we hope you will contribute your best thoughts and honest input into MLA’s strategic direction.

Deborah E. Mikula
Executive Director