NCW Libraries Has Guidelines In Place For Next Three Years

NCW Libraries has four priorities in place to serve as guideposts for the libraries’ growth in the next three years. 

Its 2024-26 Strategic Directions include plans to meet community needs, enhance customer experiences, strengthen the library, and ensure it’s using tax dollars wisely. 

NCW Libraries executive director Barbara Walters says the plan is fully functional. 

"It's already been implemented," said Walters. "We are working towards these goals currently, all the way from my office to our librarians are doing this hard work." 

NCW Libraries is based in Wenatchee and operates 29 other libraries across five counties in North Central Washington – Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan, and Ferry counties. 

Walters says, among other things, they found out there's an ongoing need to have fax machines at all their branch libraries. 

"This was in Royal City," said Walters. "The closest fax machine was in Moses Lake. So, when we were thinking about an IT solution, a print solution that also included faxing at all of our locations. Again, meeting those unique community needs." 

As laid out in a news release, the first priority for NCW Libraries Strategic Directions is to meet critical community needs by cultivating local and regional partnerships; providing relevant services, programs, and resources to community members; and increasing community awareness of what the library has to offer. 

The second direction is to enhance customer experience by fostering an environment where everyone feels welcome. This includes reimagining and strategically updating library spaces, as well as consistently meeting and exceeding customer needs and expectations. 

It includes the library's Reimagining Spaces Project in which it'll invest more than $10 million in a multi-year project to redesign 29 libraries. The flagship Wenatchee branch has already been redesigned. 

The third strategic direction for NCW Libraries is to strengthen internal organizational health by building a stronger and more positive culture, celebrating and investing in the success of employees, and collectively committing to a growth mindset. 

NCW Libraries’ fourth direction is meant to maximize the community’s investment in the library system by regularly evaluating the library’s impact on communities, as well as pursuing opportunities for innovation and improvement and making data-driven financial decisions.