Each quarter, we will share updates on our progress toward the strategic goals outlined in the Library's 2025–2027 Strategic Plan. Developed with input from the community and adopted by the Library Board of Trustees, our Strategic Plan guides our efforts to focus on:
- Expanding connections with the community through collections, programs, and services;
- Embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion in all areas of operation; and
- Reviewing and updating the library‘s space usage to meet and exceed the community‘s desires for access to resources and innovative services.
➡️ Read our April 2025 Update
➡️ Read our January 2025 Update
April 2025 Update
Strategic Direction 1: Connect with Our Community
Goal 1.1: Position ourselves as the community's center for information needs.
Finals Cafe is popular with Northbrook high school students studying for finals
Strategic Plan Activity: Offer the auditorium as a rental space for residents to foster community engagement and resource utilization.
- We launched Auditorium rentals in July 2024 and hosted our first rental in February 2025. We have been collecting data on that event and other requests to determine if adjustments need to be made later in the year to this service implementation.
Strategic Plan Activity: Lead initiatives to promote civil civic engagement and strengthen community connections through library programs and partnerships.
- Finals Cafe was presented in January 2025. This popular annual program supports our local high school students studying for finals at the library.
- We offered space for Northbrook School Districts 27 and 28 to share information about the proposed school improvements that residents would be voting on in the April 1 election.
- Youth Services worked with Greenbriar Elementary school to install a StoryWalk for the spring season.
- Partnered with the NSYMCA to display the annual Art Show and host the Art Show reception.
- We hosted the State of the Village event in January, providing the Auditorium, staff, sound, and lighting for the Village President to address members of the Chamber of Commerce and residents. There were 177 in attendance.
- Elected officials and their staff frequently use library meeting rooms to meet with their constituents. This quarter, Commissioner Scott Britton's office was available for a day in March to meet with residents.
- We partnered with the League of Women Voters to host a Northbrook Trustees and District 225 Candidate Forum. This forum offered the Auditorium as a space for attendees to learn more about their local candidates before election day. The library supported the event by providing the Auditorium, and library staff managed sound, lighting, and video. There were 102 in attendance.
- We partnered with the Rotary Club of Northbrook to screen the film The Shot Felt 'Round The World, (2015, NR) to provide information about vaccines to the public, in particular around the topic of Polio.
- We have added new materials and circulated thousands of books, media, and eResources to our collection. New items added to the Library of Things include a blood pressure monitor, Brain Boost Launchpads that provide games that help maintain cognitive functioning, and a weed puller for gardening activities.
- Marketing and Communications staff finalized the community partner lobby display case calendar for 2025, which strengthens our relationship with these organizations and provides community members an opportunity to learn about them.
Goal 1.2: Provide exposure to new experiences and ways of looking at the world
- From January through March, our Maker Services staff assisted 2,181 patrons using the Collaboratory equipment, software, and Digitization Room, and offered 26 classes on sewing machine use, crafting techniques, glass fusion, and related maker subjects, serving 167 people.
- Nearly 2,000 patrons participated in our Winter Reading program.
- We have offered over 500 programs with nearly 20,000 participants this quarter.
Strategic Direction 2: Build an Inclusive Culture
Goal 2.1: Align staff roles and responsibilities and improve decision-making processes across the organization.
Strategic Plan Activity: Integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) principles into decision-making processes.
- Our Human Resources Director conducted a pay equity audit.
Strategic Plan Activity: Collaborate with an external vendor to reestablish methodology and reporting for monthly statistics.
- We continued to work on the monthly statistics data dashboard with data analyst Fifth Star Collective.
- We signed a contract to outsource our Facilities management to a Building Engineer from ABM.
Strategic Plan Activity: Identify activities that can be sunsetted with an eye toward meeting strategic goals and increasing staff capacity.
- Our Technical Services staff have been adjusting materials processing procedures and practices.
Goal 2.2: Foster a culture of shared growth and learning.
- The library officially transitioned to ADP as its new payroll and time-tracking system.
- As part of our engagement with Joffe Emergency Services, we are reviewing our emergency operations procedures to ensure they foster growth and learning
Goal 2.3: Embed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Operations
Strategic Plan Activity: Perform a comprehensive pay equity audit to ensure fair compensation across all roles.
- The pay equity audit is complete.
Other activities
- The Q4 Pulse Survey, administered by the HR Director in January 2025, served as a check-in on staff capacity and their perspectives on ongoing changes.
- To gain further insights into areas with lower scores, a targeted two-question follow-up survey was distributed to specific departments at the end of March. This follow-up facilitated by Zheng Consulting, aims to provide actionable data for library leadership to address identified concerns.
- The staff EDI committee is contributing to Staff Development Day.
- We concluded an exploratory process to assess and potentially realign the structure of our Technical Services and Circulation departments due to the retirement of our Technical Services Manager.
Strategic Direction 3: Create Spaces to Belong
Goal 3.1: Reimagine our spaces to increase flexibility and opportunities to explore and connect.
Strategic Plan Activity: Create a Civic Room hybrid meeting room to support flexible, hybrid meetings and events.
- The Civic Room is being used frequently for both library programs and outside room bookings. The technology upgrades were funded by a donation from the Northbrook Civic Foundation.
Board members of the Library and Northbrook Civic Foundation celebrate the reopening of the Civic Room as a hybrid meeting space
Goal 3.2 Cultivate an inclusive and welcoming library environment.
Strategic Plan Activity: Continue to organize programs that celebrate cultural diversity and foster an inclusive community.
- We are continuing to plan and produce programs that have a varied cultural focus, including the Lunar New Year Festival Show and a few other Illinois Libraries Present events that explore culture.
- We are developing a budget for FY26 that will ensure we allocate resources effectively to enhance our library services. This process included obtaining Board, managers and staff input as well as looking at historical data.
- Worked with students and staff from GBN Transitional Services and TrueNorth to offer weekly volunteer opportunities.
Goal 3.3 Improve access to facilities, programs, and materials to better serve all populations.
Strategic Plan Activity: Launch the Find More Illinois initiative to provide access to more materials statewide.
- This new service launched on January 27.
Strategic Plan Activity: Upgrade security cameras, alarm, door locks, and the paging system.
- Engaged with Joffe Emergency Services. The RFP is being written after engaging in a building assessment this past quarter.
Other activities
- Our Graphic Designer designed new wayfinding signage for the Youth Services department that will align with our wayfinding signage in the lobby, including displaying Korean, Russian, and Spanish translations for the Bathroom and the Self-Checkout machine.
- As part of the parking lot re-paving project, our Finance Director worked with a civil engineer to relocate ADA parking spots for enhanced accessibility.
- We have started an elevator modernization project to ensure we have elevators that operate optimally with accessibility and safety as key priorities.
- Our Youth Services staff met with representatives from Baker and Taylor for training, to address delays in procuring materials, and to better utilize our e-audiobook platform, Boundless. Boundless services include an intergovernmental agreement with District 27, 28, 30, and 31 schools so students can access materials using either their Northbrook Public Library card OR their school account.
January 2025 Update
Strategic Direction 1: Connect with Our Community
Goal 1.1: Position ourselves as the community's center for information needs.
Goal 1.2: Provide exposure to new experiences and ways of looking at the world
Northbrook authors promoting their books at our Meet the Author Fair
- Our first Meet the Author Fair was a big success, featuring 17 local authors who connected with 60 patrons, supported by our partnership with Book Bin for traditionally published titles.
- Our community engagement efforts demonstrated strong partnerships and diverse programming. Our lobby display cases featured TotalLink to highlight National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and the North Suburban Genealogical Society to celebrate Family History Month.
- We strengthened community connections through food pantry donations to Northfield Township and a technology drive with Angaza Center supporting tech education in rural African schools.
- Our civic engagement initiatives included three well-attended League of Women Voters information tables and an Election Analysis 2024 program. The Job Seekers drop-in service saw increased activity, helping patrons with resumes and career transitions while promoting library resources.
- The Collaboratory continued to be a vibrant community space, serving 2,262 patrons this quarter with 88 3D printing requests in October alone. Our partnership with the North Shore Radio Club flourished, hosting bi-monthly Build Club meetings and amateur radio exam sessions, engaging 133 participants throughout 2024. A new Little Free Library at Williamsburg Square Park, decorated by our Teen Advisory Board and stocked by Friends of the Library, extends our reach into the community.
- The 32nd season of Fine Arts Fall achieved remarkable success, with each of the three October concerts drawing 100 patrons. Performances included innovative programming like Tango with Winnie and the Tetrapin Cello Quartet, garnering enthusiastic patron feedback praising the diverse musical offerings. The One Book One Northbrook initiative engaged community members in selecting from five diverse finalists, with the final selection planned for early January.
- Our Winter Reading program attracted 461 adult registrants, with 181 completing the challenge.
- Cultural programming expanded with the Día de los Muertos display in Youth Services and a virtual presentation from the Ukrainian Museum of Chicago, teaching patrons about Easter eggs, traditional instruments, and embroidery.
- Marketing efforts amplified these initiatives, with our skating rink social media post achieving viral status (45,365 views, 40,739 reach).
Strategic Direction 2: Build an Inclusive Culture
Goal 2.1: Align staff roles and responsibilities and improve decision-making processes across the organization.
Goal 2.2: Foster a culture of shared growth and learning.
Goal 2.3: Embed Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Operations
- This quarter marked significant organizational development with the implementation of our new ADP payroll system, launched in January 2025. The transition included comprehensive policy updates to the Employee Handbook, affecting FMLA, time tracking, and leave policies.
- The Q3 2024 pulse survey revealed stability in employee satisfaction and improved perceptions of leadership respect, with new qualitative feedback mechanisms providing valuable insights.
- Professional development remained a priority, with our Marketing team attending the Library Marketing Conference in St. Louis and HR staff participating in key industry conferences. Technical Services conducted benchmark visits to Wilmette and Des Plaines libraries, gathering insights for potential departmental restructuring. The ongoing pay equity audit progresses on schedule, with regular updates to staff maintaining transparency.
- Security enhancements advanced through our partnership with Joffe Emergency Services, including staff and Board training sessions. Quarterly phishing training and updated incident reporting procedures strengthen our organizational resilience.
Strategic Direction 3: Create Spaces to Belong
Goal 3.1: Reimagine our spaces to increase flexibility and opportunities to explore and connect.
Goal 3.2: Cultivate an inclusive and welcoming library environment.
Goal 3.3: Improve access to facilities, programs, and materials to better serve all populations.
- Facility improvements progressed this quarter, including the parking lot project with enhanced ADA accessibility. While initial work was completed in October, RG Asphalt will return in Spring 2025 for a redo as we were not satisfied with the job performed. The elevator modernization project, though delayed to January 2025, maintains safety standards while planning for enhanced accessibility.
- The Collaboratory continues to exemplify our commitment to creative community space, hosting diverse projects from custom gifts to educational materials. The Northbrook Repairs event successfully served the community with 50 items inspected by seven volunteers. Our collection development expanded through the !Wepa! Libros partnership, enhancing world language materials access.
- Digital accessibility improvements included website performance optimization and security enhancements. The creation of dedicated web resources for Hispanic Heritage Month and streamlined display case management further support our inclusive environment goals.
- Looking ahead to 2025, we will complete the pay equity audit, launch the new payroll system, and execute planned facility improvements. Strategic initiatives focus on enhanced security measures, expanded world language materials, and strengthened community partnerships, all supporting our mission of creating an accessible, inclusive library environment for all Northbrook residents.
