Farmington Community Library's Service Roles
Overarching Role
Primary Service Roles
Secondary Service Roles
Overarching Role: Lifelong Learning
The Farmington Community Library's Management Advisory Committee reviewed recommended services roles from two American Library Association publications: Planning & Role Setting for Public Libraries, (1987) and Planning for Results: A Public Library Transformation Process (1998). The staff modified these ALA roles to best serve our community's needs.
No public library has sufficient budget, staff or collection to meet all of the prescribed roles. The Farmington Community Library endorses the following roles as priorities in terms of budget allocation for staffing and materials, collection development policies, and program planning
Primary Service Roles:
Popular and Current Topics / Titles
Residents desire access to current, high-demand, high-interest materials in various formats. Popular materials of new fiction, cultural or social trends will be ordered in a quantity sufficient to meet public demand.
Children
The Library environment and programs will support the parents' role as the best and first teacher of their child. Materials, technologies, and interactive elements will contribute to early childhood literacy and the development of the skills necessary to begin formal schooling.
Information Assistance
Staff members provide timely, accurate, and useful information to answer questions on a broad array of topics related to work, school and personal life. Special collections will be developed to meet community interests. Library programs, classes, and individual assistance will help the public in learning to use information technology independently and in evaluating the validity of resources.
Secondary Services Roles:
Community Commons
The Library environment helps address the need for people to meet and interact with others in their community and to participate in public discourse about community issues. With an inviting atmosphere, the Library is a gathering place that encourages seniors, students, telecommuters, and caregivers with young children to meet others for human interaction. In addition to the informal settings, both buildings offer meeting rooms for rent to groups. The Main Library has small group study rooms and a Café.
Cultural Awareness
As evidenced by its Statement on Diversity, the Library helps satisfy the desire of community residents to gain an understanding of their own cultural heritage and the cultural heritage of others. The Library Director and Staff Members work with the Multicultural Multiracial Community Council, the Bilingual Department of the Farmington Public Schools, and the Oakland Literacy Council to develop programs that will reach residents, new to the country and with limited English-speaking skills. Print and electronic resources support this role.
Business and Career Information
The Main Library has special collections on Business, Grants, Entrepreneurship, and Careers to address information needs related to business, new small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Both the Main Library and the Branch have Career Collections which allow for the exploration of various jobs, college and university programs, and preparation for entrance and professional examinations. These special collections support both the residential and business communities.
Local History and Genealogy
Community residents who wish to know and better understand personal or community heritage will appreciate the development of the Heritage Collection at the Main Library. Preservation of primary source local history documents and photographs is of key importance. Digitization of unique local resources in the collection will allow remote access to documents. Collaboration with volunteers from local historical and genealogical societies will ensure success in this role.