Latest news with #PhilipShackelford
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The 'next chapter' begins at the Lee-Itawamba Library system
TUPELO - The Lee-Itawamba Library System is launching a new strategic plan to coordinate its operations and growth over the next five years. Approved by the Administrative Board of Trustees in their October meeting, the library's new strategic plan was developed over the past 12 months using a variety of planning tools and feedback, beginning with the system's staff and moving out to include the library board, the fundraising group Friends of the Lee County Library and a community survey that was used to collect feedback earlier this summer. The plan, which positions the period of 2025-2030 as 'the next chapter' for the library system, identified five areas of strategic priority for the library to focus energy and attention—people, outreach, programming, space, and funding. The library will target specific objectives within each category, goals such as creating a structured volunteer program, creating and implementing a system-wide marketing plan, cultivating partnerships, carrying out much-needed facility upgrades, and securing sufficient funding to support important growth. 'These changes are necessary in order to mobilize our library for the future,' said Philip Shackelford, the system's executive director. 'Looking forward, it is more important than ever that our library remains focused on serving the individuals in our community — supporting their quality of life and expanded opportunity.' A key element of the library's new strategic plan is an intentional focus on people — both in terms of the communities served by the library its team. This is clear in the system's updated mission statement, revised during this year's strategic planning process and approved by the library board during an earlier meeting: 'Our mission is to empower our community by providing information, service, and opportunity. We mobilize community growth by being bold, purposeful, and people-focused. We are YOUR library.' That final phrase — we are your library — represents an updated brand for the library system, which was developed earlier this year and first used informally on social media. The rebranding effort was recognized by a Public Relations Award from the Mississippi Library Association in October, bestowed to highlight the best year-round effort by a public library system to publicize library services. The mindset embodied by this new brand represents the starting place for how the library system thinks about its purpose — enabling community members to harness the power of the library to meet their personal, educational, or professional goals. 'Libraries today are about people,' Shackelford said. 'Serving our community's needs effectively requires dedication, persistence, creativity, adaptability, and yes — graceful pivots when and where they are necessary.' Programming is another recognized priority that the library aims to develop, cultivating a range of offerings for different audiences. Building upon an already active foundation of programs for children and teens, the library team plans to begin offering classes, workshops, and cultural programs for adults, while maintaining signature collaborative events such as Tupelo Reads, the annual Helen Foster Lecture, and the Friends of the Lee County Library's popular Lunching with Books series. 'We work hard to provide a wide range of programming, so we're very excited to see how much people appreciate our efforts and enjoy what we're able to offer,' said Grace Guntharp, youth services manager at the Lee County Library, referencing the record turnout that brought over 11,000 individuals to the library system for Summer Reading and other activities. 'We are always working on adding more programs to our schedule.' Staff throughout the Lee-Itawamba Library System are excited to see objectives included in the 'Next Chapter' plan come to fruition, particularly those which will address much-needed and long-overdue facility upgrades and additional funding. 'The library's new strategic direction will allow our library system to better serve our community,' said Jeffrey Martin, library manager at the Itawamba County-Pratt Memorial Library in Fulton. 'I am excited to see the positive changes that this initiative will bring, and for the new opportunities and resources that will be made available to residents in our local area.' Shackelford agreed. 'Looking forward, our team is excited by the possibility of bringing enhanced library services to our communities—transforming our libraries for the future. We will innovate,' he said. 'We will grow. Together, we will serve as the most vibrant and forward-thinking library in North Mississippi.'
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Lee-Itawamba Library System celebrates a record year
The numbers are in — staff at the Lee-Itawamba Library System are celebrating a record year of program attendance and other key performance indicators measuring the library's impact and success over the past twelve months. It has been a busy year, characterized by what Executive Director Philip Shackelford describes as a 'meaningful transition.' 'It has been a great year,' he said. 'We brought in new leadership, welcomed new board members, and began a process of intentional evaluation and adjustment focused on enhancing the organizational health of our system,' he continued. 'The wide range of activities and adjustments that we have carried out this year are designed to position our library for growth, to take advantage of important opportunities, and continue to serve the people of our communities to the best of our ability.' And the numbers are impressive. In November the library held its first ever Convocation—a special event bringing together the entire library team, the Administrative Board of Trustees, the Lee County Library Foundation Board of Directors, and the Friends of the Lee County Library Board of Directors—to discuss key performance indicators, explore the library's new strategic plan, and celebrate important milestones and accomplishments achieved by the library team. Among those accomplishments was a record-breaking year for the system's summer reading program, a popular initiative offered every year by libraries across the country. 'We always have a fantastic time during the Summer Reading Program and this year was no exception,' said Grace Guntharp, youth services manager at the Lee County Library. 'We love investing in the community with this program by becoming part of families' weekly summertime routine.' The more than 3,000 individuals who participated in summer reading activities across the system's locations this summer make up part of the more than 11,000 individuals who attended library programs throughout the year—a 37% increase over program attendance in FY 2023. In addition, more than 2,400 people utilized library meeting space for their own gatherings. Overall, the system welcomed an estimated 134,000 library visits in FY 2024, representing a 3% increase over last year. These and other metrics are submitted to the Mississippi Library Commission each year by Bonnie Gaines, administrative assistant at the Lee County Library. 'I am happy that our stats show that our library is utilized by our community,' she observed. 'The library has something for everyone.' Philip Shackelford agreed. 'Connecting with our community is among the most important work that we do,' he said, 'and we have been blessed by the passionate and stalwart support of friends, partners, and patrons throughout our communities. Working together, libraries and library teams are capable of GREAT things.' Economic impact and community growth are two concepts that Shackelford mentions often, and with good reason. By checking out library materials—instead of purchasing those materials on their own elsewhere—patrons of the Lee-Itawamba Library System saved more than $2.2 million dollars in FY 2024. 'That is tremendous,' Shackelford said. 'That money is not going to Amazon, online retailers, or any other big box store,' he continued. 'Those dollars are staying right here in our community and in the pockets of our patrons, giving them greater purchasing power for other goods and services in Lee and Itawamba County and throughout our communities. What a great example of the positive economic impact that our libraries bring.' Another area of positive impact for the library is technology. More than 12,000 sessions were logged on the library system's public computers this year, with more than 89,000 pages printed and more than 21,000 visits to the library's new website—just since its launch earlier this spring. Library patrons also enjoy access to the library's eBook and digital streaming platforms—Boundless and Hoopla Digital—with more than 28,000 streams and downloads, representing a 38% increase over FY 2023. The most dramatic increase, however, came with the more than 177,000 Wi-Fi sessions logged on the system's public networks—an increase of more than 200% over FY 2023. 'More than 20% of the population across the State of Mississippi does not have Internet access at home,' Shackelford observed. 'Our library stands as a valuable place where folks can do research, apply for jobs, and get information about other resources and services that they need.' The library's physical collection is heavily used as well. More than 157,000 materials were borrowed by patrons over the course of FY 2024—an increase of 3.3% over last year—with physical books representing almost 87% of that number. In addition, the system provided more than 300 interlibrary loans to other libraries for patrons living in other areas. With the library's reference staff logging more than 6,000 reference interactions—the range of so-called 'traditional' library offerings and services are alive and well. 'As we look ahead to the future,' Shackelford observed, 'we are confident in the value that our library system provides and in the potential growth that we can support in our community. Modern libraries are strong partners in the communities that they serve,' he continued, 'maximizing resources and promoting opportunity, which positively impacts the local economy and quality of life. We know this. We understand this. Looking ahead, our aim is to remain people-focused as we refresh, redesign, and reinvigorate our libraries.'
