October’s Director’s Note

Hello Manchester-ites!

Fall may not be the traditional time to talk about renewal and growth, but for the Library, autumn is the season to unveil new plans. Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library has just completed a new Strategic Plan to guide us through the next five years until 2030. Based on lots of community feedback, we took a look at what the library was doing well and where we need to grow from here. The result is four strategic directions to lead us to a bright future: Advancing Lifelong Learning, Enhancing Community & Engagement, Embracing Technology and Ensuring Equity & Inclusion. I would be remiss if I did not mention our greatest challenge: space! Each of these strategic initiatives includes the ways in which our physical space affects how we provide library services. We hope you will take a moment to read the full strategic plan which is currently posted on our website, and that you will join us in helping us reach our goals!

At the end of September, we hosted our first Good Neighbor Day, inviting the community to join us at the Library for a relaxed opportunity to get to know your neighbors! With the support of Russell Orchards and the Friends of the Library, we served delicious cider donuts while crafting, chatting and playing games. We hope this is the start of an annual tradition, and that until next year’s celebration, you think of the Library as a great spot to meet neighbors, friends and family for learning, fun and connection!

Speaking of family, I wanted to take a moment to highlight a resource we have here at the library: Ancestry.com. With the Library’s special subscription, you can research your distant relatives and learn about their stories. Start your family history search at the Library today!

Enjoy the crisp, clear autumn days to come,

-Cynthia