Annual Plan of Service and Budget

HEARTLAND LIBRARY COOPERATIVE
ANNUAL PLAN OF SERVICE AND BUDGET
FISCAL YEAR 2008

The Annual Plan of Service and Budget is an outline of the cooperative's focus of activities during the year. The plan supports the goals, objectives, and action plan from the cooperative's Long-Range Plan. The activities outlined in the Annual Plan of Service are supported by the cooperative's budget as described.

The major emphasis during Fiscal Year 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008) will be upon, 1) providing technology support for all Cooperative libraries; and, 2) assisting cooperative libraries with their mission to provide the citizens of DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands and Okeechobee Counties with quality, innovative library service. The Cooperative libraries' roles in accomplishing the plan of service will be one of support utilizing their current staff.

The Heartland Library Cooperative assists its member libraries to address the following needs of its citizens:

• Our libraries will provide current titles and best sellers to satisfy library users' recreational reading needs. Library collections will support and stimulate the "pure and simple pleasure of reading".
• Our libraries will provide informational resources and assistance using educational tools including computers. The libraries will concentrate on providing supplemental materials rather than duplicate resources available in institutions such as South Florida Community College and other regional colleges and universities.
• Our libraries will provide an extension collection of circulating materials on a wide variety of topics in which the public has a sustained interest.
• Our libraries will provide access to information in a variety of formats and will offer computer and Internet access.

SERVICES
Continue cooperative circulation of library materials.
Continue courier route, 5 visits per week to each library.
Plan and integrate cooperative collection development policies.
Continue development of cooperative standards for cataloging practice.
Implement policies approved by Governing Board.
Act as materials buying agent for member libraries.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Provide public access workstations to include WWW access, library catalogs, and local government information.
Continue to update and maintain the Heartland Library Cooperative web site and assist member libraries with development of their own web site
Maintain and upgrade as necessary wireless access to the Internet at libraries.
Install additional Express Checks for patron self-checkout.

FINANCES
Apply for grant funding, if available, for assistance in developing enhancements to current technology.

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT
Replace outdated workstations as needed.
Purchase additional printers as needed.

STAFF
Provide continuing education opportunities for all member staff.

RESOURCE SHARING
Continue membership in Tampa Bay Library Consortium.
Provide ILL access via OCLC to all cooperative members.
Provide consistent cataloging and authority control for shared database.
Continue database "cleanup" for future inclusion of data on OCLC.
Provide cooperative patrons with access to First Search.
Provide cooperative patrons with access to online resources.

TRAINING
Conduct cooperative training sessions for instruction in the use of new automated resources.
Conduct other training sessions such as cataloging, Internet searching, First Search, office automation, etc.
Conduct training for staff to develop excellent customer service.
Conduct yearly staff in-service workshops.

REPORTING/ACCOUNTABILITY
Provide governing board with monthly financial statements.
Provide governing board with monthly narrative reports of significant cooperative activities, including circulation & other library statistics.

PUBLICITY
Make use of area radio, newspaper and TV resources.
Conduct user surveys and publicize results.

GRANTS
Administer Communities in Learning Grants for Hardee, DeSoto and Highlands County Libraries.