Library Director Ricky Gerhardt scoops some ice cream for a young library patron.
LONGPORT After its first full year with an eight-member Library Board of Trustees, its time for some goal setting, Library Director Ricky Gerhardt said Tuesday.
The library has launched a public survey to solicit input for a three-year strategic plan to determine the direction the library will take over the next several years, Gerhardt said.
We're looking for public input. We want people to tell us what we are doing right, how to improve and what they would like to see more of, he said.
Over the summer months, the library conducted some very successful programs including author visits and concerts.
The survey, which was published on the LongportPublicLibrary.org website last week, has already generated about 100 responses, Gerhardt said.
We are also doing a mailer to get more responses, he said.
The survey, which asks patrons to weigh-in on the library's hours of operation, borrowing preferences, use of technology, programs for adults and children and views on possible expansion, will be available to the public until Oct. 31.
The results of the survey will be compiled and used to develop the three-year plan.
Gerhardt said the Library Board plans to review the results at its November meeting and an official plan document will be developed and posted to the website, probably after the end of the year, Gerhardt said.
We want to know where the public thinks we should go over the next several years, he said.
The Library Board of Trustees was formally established on Oct. 17, 2018, following a public referendum in November 2016 that gave the borough the go-ahead for a librexit from the Atlantic County Library System. The Board of Commissioners said the borough could run a library just as efficiently as the county and offer more programs at a lower cost to taxpayers.
The county closed its Longport branch on Dec. 30, 2016 and the borough was without a library for about six months while management of the Margate Public Library offered technical assistance to get the municipal library up and running. A grand opening was held on July 28, 2017.
After two years operating under a shared services agreement, the parties mutually agreed to dissolve the pact as of Aug. 31.
Gerhardt previously said he knew the relationship would eventually change, It just happened sooner than we expected.
The Longport Library currently offers a children's reading program, movie nights, an art gallery and book clubs.
More than 250 people attended an event held in the Longport Borough Hall's Centennial Room that featured author Delia Owens, whose book, Where the Crawdads Sing, is on several best-seller lists.
This (was) our first official summer with our Board of Trustees in place and even those who were skeptical when we left the county system are happy with what we have done, Gerhardt said.
Access the survey at longportpubliclibrary.org or http://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeYlia_AxWUIVpBir-09bFIwx_vcbzCxZUd9KVBhp8rZBNs5Q/viewform
