(The characters and events depicted in this case are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons is purely coincidental).

Pat, a librarian in a larger town in northeastern Alberta, has noticed that there have been some recent changes in the community. Not only have new residents been moving in, but there has been an influx of new businesses and services. She is starting to review the planning document for the library and is concerned that the needs of the community may be changing. She would like to have more information about what is happening, or projected to happen, in the town and surrounding area and wonders if there are any changes that would affect the library’s strategic plan.

Although Pat has talked with current patrons, library staff, and volunteers as well as some of the community’s leaders, she wants to have concrete and factual data as well as the anecdotal information. She would like to know what is happening in her community in terms of demographic and economic information. She would also like to know what the community needs now and in the future.

She knows that information will need to be gathered from a variety of sources. To whom in the community could she turn for accurate information? Who could help her in this quest for information that is crucial in planning for the library’s future?

First Steps

Pat decides to check the Alberta government website to look for information that she knows is regularly collected and analyzed in terms of what is going on in the province. To start, Pat checks out the main website at: www.gov.ab.ca to see if there any general issues that will affect her planning.

Moving on to specific information that is kept on the Department of Finance website, Pat moves to the web pages at http://www.finance.gov.ab.ca/aboutalberta/demographic_information.html to look at the quarterly demographic information. From there she checks out her community directly by going to the web pages at: http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/community.

This information also includes information about all of the activities, both cultural and economic, going on in her community. She figures that this site will also help her to determine to whom she could turn for information in a more formal method. She asks herself if these changes are noticeable in her community? How might these changes affect the library as a Community Information Centre?

Pat drafts a plan of action to ensure she gets as much input from different sources. She knows that this information will ultimately guide her planning and help her achieve this vision for the library – a truly inclusive Community Information Centre that recognizes and honours the needs of the diverse community.

First of all, Pat has to find out who is not being included in the library at this time and if this group or groups would require additional or different materials to fulfill their information needs. Recognizing that gathering this information will not be able to subtract resources from her current plan, she determines that she should consider talking to local organizations or informed individuals.

What people or local organizations would be likely sources of information? Pat starts to list some of them:

1. The district school board administrator.
2. The local 4-H club administration and members.
3. The senior centre as it will be expanding with a newer section that will include adults with disabilities. Could she develop resources in conjunction with the centre? Certainly something to consider.
4. Local family and social service agencies – What do they perceive to be the information needs for the people they serve? How might they benefit from information and communication technology?

Pat knows that this is just the first “brainstorming” of ideas on her own. She needs to talk to the staff as well as the board and other volunteers to get their ideas as well. Pat plans to add a discussion about needs to the agenda of the next staff meeting, and will ask that this topic also be discussed by the Library Board. She knows that there is a wealth of information out there to assist in the development of a plan that will meet the needs of the community and library patrons, both current and future.