Uintah County Library Strategic Plan 2024-2026

Every three years the Library evaluates its Strategic Plan to determine if the Library staffing, services, collections, facilities, and community activities are furthering the Mission of the Library and helping to achieve the Library’s Vision statement.

The mission of Uintah County Library is to support people in their quests to learn, grow, and discover. We promote individual and community growth by providing opportunities for lifelong learning and enrichment that are centered on first-rate informational resources.

It is the vision of the Library that residents of Uintah County will see their library as a social, educational, and civic hub in the community. At the Library, people will enjoy clean, high-quality facilities and services that support lifelong learning.

Background: The Library operates as a department of Uintah County and comprises a Main Library in Vernal, a Regional History Branch Branch, and Community Library Outlets in Avalon and Tridell. Approximately 80% of the residents of Uintah County live within a five-mile range of the Library’s location in Vernal City’s historic downtown.

Continue to Promote Lifelong Learning and Enrichment

  • Develop and implement new programs and services that align with the mission of supporting people in their quests to learn, grow, and discover.
  • Assess the effectiveness of current programs and make adjustments based on community feedback and evolving needs.

Strengthen the Library's Role as a Community Hub

  • Expand and enhance community programming to establish the library as a social, educational, and civic hub.
  • Collaborate with local organizations to host events, workshops, and activities that cater to diverse interests and age groups.

Evaluate and Optimize Facility Usage:

  • Assess the utilization of different spaces within the library building and its branches to ensure that they meet the community's evolving needs.
  • Explore opportunities to improve the physical layout for better functionality and accessibility.
  • Partition of the current teen room to create a director’s office, and two meeting rooms that can accommodate up to ten people.
  • Evaluate the Library’s participation in the Tridell Community Center & Fire Station.

Sustain and Expand Regional History Initiatives

  • Continue to develop the Regional History Center's digital resources and online presence.
  • Explore new partnerships and collaborations to engage a broader audience in local history, addressing the challenge of reaching beyond the traditional user base.
  • Integrate to a degree the Museum and History Center’s “help desk” areas. Create combined physical and virtual spaces to help patrons whose research needs may flow across both entities while maintaining collections and other services in the most beneficial way to the community and the organization.

Library as a Platform

  • Strengthen existing partnerships and seek new collaborations with local civic, governmental, and educational organizations.
  • Evaluate how a Library Friends Group or Library Foundation may be able to support the Library in areas where tax funding and county employees are not optimal.
  • Evaluate the impact of the Library as a Platform initiative and identify areas for improvement and expansion.

Enhance Access to Library Services

  • Evaluate the success of initiatives such as the revitalization of the Avalon Center.
  • Explore and potentially develop a modernized bookmobile.
  • Explore innovative methods to enhance and expand services in all library outlets, ensuring access for all residents.

Technology and Online Resources

  • Continuously assess and update online resources to meet the changing needs of the community.
  • Provide training and support to community members to ensure they can take full advantage of digital resources.
  • Ensure that an adequate budget is available to replace computer equipment on a cycle established by Uintah County Management of Information Systems Department.
  • Evaluate and apply for e-rate and similar funding to replace internal Internet-related infrastructure as needed.

Empower Citizen Historians

  • Launch and promote the local oral history [name to be determined] program.
  • Develop user-friendly tools and resources for citizens to contribute to the curation of historical content.
  • Continue a series of public history, journaling classes.
  • Partner with other organizations that can magnify these efforts.

Evaluate and Enhance Staff Training

  • Assess the training needs of library staff to ensure they are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to deliver high-quality services.
  • Provide ongoing professional development opportunities for staff to stay updated on industry trends and best practices.
  • Seek matching grant funding to support staff development.

Community Outreach and Engagement

  • Actively seek feedback from the community through surveys, focus groups, and other means to ensure that library services align with community expectations.
  • Implement outreach programs to engage with underserved populations and identify ways to better meet their needs.