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A total of 5 individuals serving rotating volunteer five-year terms comprise the library’s Board of trustees. The Board of Trustees focuses on setting library policy and meets with the library’s director on a monthly basis, usually at 4 pm on the second Tuesday of each month in the library’s meeting room.
Current Trustees:
Mark Madsen - President
Glenna Hall - Secretary
Barry Jacobson - Vice President
Fred Henley
Lynn Weber/Roochvarg
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| Sunday |
1 - 5 |
| Mon, Wed, Fri |
10 - 6 |
| Tues, Thurs |
10 - 8 |
| Saturday |
10 - 5 |
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| Sunday |
1pm - 5pm |
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| Mon, Wed, Fri |
10am - 6pm |
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| Tues, Thurs |
10am - 8pm
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| Saturday |
10am - 5pm |
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San Juan Island Library
1010 Guard Street
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
From Spring Street in downtown Friday Harbor, turn onto Second Street. Second Street runs three blocks then becomes Guard Street. Follow Guard Street for several blocks. The San Juan Island Library will be on the right hand side of Guard Street. |
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Long Range Strategic Plan |
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| San Juan Island Library unveils the 2012-2017 Long Range Strategic Plan |
The San Juan Island Library announces the completion of the 2012-2017 Long Range Strategic Plan. This plan is a blueprint for guiding the Library's direction and operation over the next five years. The Plan was eight months in development and is the product of hundreds of hours of discussion involving members of the San Juan Island community, the Library staff, and the Board of Trustees. It is available in brochure form at the Library's checkout desk and or for download below. |
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Download or view the
2012-2017 Brochure
Long Range Plan Brochure
pdf 33.4Mb
or
Download / view the
Complete 2012-2017 Plan
2012-2017 Long Range Plan pdf 2.4Mb |
While much of the plan addresses Library infrastructure and daily operations, some of the other highlights include recommendations for expansion of the Library's downloadable materials, online information and learning resources; increasing the community's awareness of Library services through public relations and social networking; exploring options for making the Library a more welcoming place and future facility needs; and increasing outreach efforts to community organizations and underserved populations. |
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The process of creating the Long Range Strategic Plan began with the authorization of the effort by the Board of Trustees in December 2010. During the winter and spring of this year, an extensive effort at assessing the community's views regarding the Library's current functioning and perceived future needs resulted in the development of a survey that ultimately was completed by 345 individuals. This information was presented to a community planning committee over the course of three half-day meetings at monthly intervals, in which representatives from the island's varied interest groups constructed their vision of the future of the Library. The results of these discussions were presented to the Library staff, which worked to further refine the ideas into specific Library functions and services. Additionally, the working groups developed an updated mission statement and a proclamation of the Library's core values.
The Board of Trustees approved the final Plan in their August meeting. Glenna Hall, Board President, summarized her view of the Plan, saying, "This is the most substantive long-range plan I've ever had the opportunity to work with. The long-range plan is truly a community plan for the Library. Ideas were drawn from every segment of the community and from the Library staff, making this a truly participatory document."
For Marjorie Harrison, San Juan Island Library Director, who was newly arrived at the Library just before the start of the planning process, it was an intense and immediate education in the staff and community's hopes for the Library's future. She said, "I know much more about the Library and our community than ever before. I got to work with terrific people who love libraries. It doesn't get any better." She views it as a "very energizing and positive experience. Committee folk, staff, and Library Trustees were so enthusiastic about libraries and our community. It made planning for the future a fun thing to do. "Marjorie believes that the Plan is not simply a dry exercise, but that it will be extremely useful to her and to the staff as they envision and implement future policies, procedures and services, noting that, "I refer to the plan on a daily basis now."
A brochure available at the Library includes the Mission Statement, the Core Values, and a summary version of the lengthy Long Range Strategic Plan. The entire document, also featuring an extensive introduction with the Library's history, a description of the planning process, and a summary of the community's characteristics, in addition to the detailed results of the community survey, is available above.
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The Friday Harbor Public Library, the predecessor to the San Juan Island Library District, opened on February 4, 1922 in the American Legion building with books donated by the Bellingham American Legion and local citizens. The American Legion Save-N-Auxiliary in 1924 began donating $100 per year to buy new books and continued this annual donation for fifty-nine years.
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In 1935, concerns about the safety of the American Legion building prompted a search for new quarters. The community constructed a one-story, concrete-block building with funds from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a depression-era program established to provide work for the unemployed. The 30’ x 85’ building, owned by the Town of Friday Harbor, cost less than $7,000 and was divided into two rooms. One room served as the Town Council meeting room and the other room served as the library, for which the town provided free rent and utilities.
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| By the late 70’s, the island's population had grown substantially while the library's income failed to keep pace. This financial pressure spurred the creation of a "Friends of the Library" group to help support the library. Even with this support, continuing financial problems and insufficient space prompted the creation of an island-wide library district. Voters approved the district in 1982, with an annual taxation rate of $0.50 per thousand dollars of assessed property value. The newly created Board of Trustees immediately began looking for larger quarters to house the library. |
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The library district purchased the present site, a 4,500 square foot former restaurant in 1983 and installed the library with minimal remodeling of the site. The first substantial remodel of the building was undertaken from April through September of 1988, during which the library occupied temporary quarters in the Moose Lodge. Funds for the remodel came from library savings and bank financing. The remodeled building was dedicated in October 1988.
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In 1992 the SJI Library Board of Trustees initiated a long-range planning process to ensure the library’s future viability. The result was a document entitled "Imagining the Future: San Juan Island Library Long Range Plan 1993-2000" which outlined the library’s priorities in the final years of the century. One of the goals of this plan was to expand the library's existing facility. After close examination of the available funding options for expansion, the Board of Trustees passed a resolution that authorized a tax lid lift to be placed on the September 14, 1993 ballot.
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This lid lift (which passed with a 59% approval rating) enabled the library to collect the money necessary for the library expansion. In 1994 construction began on the library addition/renovation, which doubled the size of the library, from 4,500 sq. ft. to approximately 9,600 square feet. The expanded library reopened in February 1995.
Ten years later, in 2005 the interior of the library was remodeled to create sufficient shelf space for its expanded collection, to provide a quiet area for study, to enlarge the community meeting room, and to improve the space for the children’s and teen’s collections. |
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