Everyone a Reader

A few months back while preparing for our strategic plan process, I was told that the library should have a vision statement in addition to our mission statement.  I hadn't heard of a vision statement before, and did some reading.  It sounded to me like vision statements are supposed to be shorter and broader than mission statements, and written to be more of a goal than a process.

Because I wrote the library's mission statement, which was then approved by our library board, I started looking at our mission statement and thinking about how I could adapt it into a vision statement.

The Tumbler Ridge Public Library's mission is to improve and promote literacy, intellectual freedom, and free access to information for all residents of and visitors to Tumbler Ridge.

Even now, in my heavily biased opinion, it seems fairly concise and covers the important things we do around here.  But I had no idea how to condense it further or how to make it into a goal.

After some thinking, considering, and (most importantly) pondering, I came up with this for a possible vision statement:

Everyone a reader.

And that's what it's really all about.  We can define and limit things, but it ultimately comes down to that as a goal.

Everyone a reader.

People borrowing John Grisham's newest?  Readers.

Children looking at picture books?  Readers.

Teenagers browsing graphic novels?  Readers.

Men who only seem to like westerns?  Readers.

Audiobook affictionados?  Readers.

E-book enthusiasts?  Readers.

Everyone a reader.

As long as libraries exist, reading will continue to be a cheap, fun activity suitable for all ages.  There's no reason everyone can't be a reader.

That's the goal folks.  Now we just need to make it happen.