Strategic Plan
In September 2017, the Library Board of Trustees of the Ida Grove Public Library invited community members to serve on a Strategic Planning Committee to envision the city’s future and explore the role the library could play in making that vision a reality.
Bonnie McKewon, NW District Library Consultant for the State Library of Iowa, facilitated two community focus groups using the Strategic Planning for Results process, as developed by Sandra Nelson and June Garcia. Committee members conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of Ida Grove and envisioned the Ida Grove of the future, considering the library’s role in that vision. Participants then voted to identify which of the eighteen possible service responses would be most beneficial to the community. The Library Board and staff analyzed these results and identified six service responses to focus on in the library’s strategic plan:
1. Satisfy Curiosity: Lifelong Learning
2. Express Creativity: Create and Share Content
3. Stimulate Imagination: Reading, Viewing, and Listening for Pleasure
4. Know Your Community: Community Resources and Services
5. Create Young Readers: Early Literacy
6. Visit a Comfortable Place: Physical and Virtual Spaces
These service responses formed the foundation for the library’s FY2018–2021 Strategic Plan and were carried forward into the FY2022–2025 Strategic Plan. Each plan outlined goals and objectives to guide the library board and staff in selecting services that meet the needs identified by the community during the planning process.
Building on these past efforts, the Ida Grove Public Library is pleased to announce its FY2026–2031 Strategic Plan. This new plan continues the library’s commitment to serving the evolving needs of the community, refining its focus on these key service responses, and charting a path for the library’s role in Ida Grove’s future.
Read the Ida Grove Public Library Strategic Plan 2026-2031
Past Strategic Plans: