Switzerland County Public Library

Strategic Plan

January 2026-December 2030

 

Adopted by the Switzerland County Public Library Board of Trustees October 14^th, 2025.

 

Introduction

 

To fulfill the mission of the Switzerland County Public Library, it is essential to stay ahead of growing demand by offering accurate, up-to-date resources in diverse formats that cater to the needs and expectations of the community. Services should be delivered in an optimal environment, with well-trained, knowledgeable staff dedicated to providing the highest level of service to our patrons.

 

In order to create relevant goals, from July to September of 2025, community members were asked to complete a survey about library services. The survey was available online, physical copies were available in the library, and links were posted on the library’s website and social media. In addition to in-house promotion, the survey was available at multiple outreach events during the collection period. In order to maximize participation, participants had the opportunity to enter into a drawing for a $50 Visa gift card for completing the survey. Some respondents were interviewed for more details about their responses. The Board of Trustees and staff reviewed and discussed survey results.

 

Our Mission

 

The Switzerland County Public Library will foster a culture of reading and thought by serving Switzerland County’s information, life-long learning and leisure pursuits.

 

Our Values

 

Comprehensive Offerings

We inspire our community by offering the most current materials, programming that highlights trending topics and activities, and up-to-date technology. We continually inspire patrons to explore, learn, and grow by making learning exciting and helping them thrive throughout life.

 

Community Matters

We actively participate in our community, seek partnerships with local organizations, and value the area and people we serve. We delight in meeting or exceeding patron expectations by providing friendly, courteous, knowledgeable and prompt service, showing respect, and valuing all individuals for their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ideas.

 

Inviting Spaces

We enrich our community by providing a well-maintained, comfortable and safe multi-use facility, where residents can meet, share ideas and be educated, entertained and informed. We pride ourselves on providing a clean, beautiful, functional, and accessible space that meets needs for all patrons.

 

Staff

We value our staff members and are committed to fostering a workplace where enthusiasm, teamwork, innovation, accountability, and a sense of purpose combine to provide a rewarding experience for both employees and patrons.

 

Resourceful

We are committed to being a fiscally responsible public institution, consistently seeking the most cost-effective uses of both public and private funds. We are thoughtful when it comes to purchases, both large and small, in order to maximize monetary funds and remain environmentally conscious.

 

Statement of Community Needs and Goals

 

A survey of community members was conducted between July and September 2025 to determine what the residents of Switzerland County thought about the services the library provides and what they would like to see the library provide. Some respondents were also interviewed to obtain more detailed information.

 

The following items were consistently listed as strengths:

• A friendly and helpful staff
• A variety of programs offered for all ages
• A diverse collection, including e-materials
• Access to Evergreen Indiana and interlibrary loan services
• Access to WiFi, public computers, and printing services

 

The following items were identified as needs and goals:

• Formalized outreach delivery service
• Meeting community needs outside of Vevay and surrounding area
• More digital offerings and resources
• Expansion of Library of Things
• Makerspace tools and classes

 

Goals

 

Goal 1: Formalize an outreach delivery service specifically for homebound patrons and those with transportation challenges

 

Goal 2: Intentionally look for outreach event opportunities outside of Vevay in order to meet community programming and information needs

 

Goal 3: Add more digital offerings and resources to reflect circulation trends

 

Goal 4: Expand the Library of Things to include a wider variety of items

 

Goal 5: Implement a Makerspace by adding tools and classes

 

Assessment of facilities, services, technology, and operations

 

SCPL is located in the town of Vevay, and its service area is Switzerland County. There are no branches, nor is there a bookmobile. For some residents, the library is 25 miles from their homes. There are few retail establishments in Vevay, and the majority of people drive to the neighboring towns of Madison or Aurora to shop at a Wal-Mart or Kroger. Approximately 20% of eligible residents hold a library card. There are over 22,000 items in the physical collection and patrons have access to over hundreds of thousands of downloadable books, audios, videos, and magazines through the Indiana Digital Library (Overdrive/Libby). Hoopla Digital provides patrons with access to a catalog of thousands of ever-changing electronic materials, including books, audios, videos, and musical sound recordings. Circulation for 2024 was approximately 32,000. The physical collection includes books, DVDs, audio books, newspapers, and magazines. Patrons can access INSPIRE which offers a variety of free databases to all Indiana residents.

 

SCPL has a staff of nine, three of whom are full-time. The director has an MSLS and a Librarian 1 certificate. She is the only degreed librarian employed by SCPL. The other full-time employees are an Adult Services Coordinator and a Youth Services Coordinator. A Local Historian is employed part-time to manage genealogy resources and inquiries. The remaining employees are circulation clerks, pages, and a janitor. Cataloging duties are shared between the Director, Adult Services Coordinator, and Youth Services Coordinator and as the library is relatively small there are many shared responsibilities among staff. SCPL is funded through property taxes and occasionally receives money from Switzerland County’s riverboat casino revenue. The library’s annual operating budget is approximately $400,000.

 

Regular services offered by SCPL include a weekly Story Hour for toddlers and preschoolers, craft and game programs for adults and children, a Summer Reading Program for youth and adults, and outreach services to the Town of Patriot, Switzerland County Schools, Switzerland County YMCA, and Head Start. There are four computers in the library for public use. These provide Internet access as well as Microsoft Office software. Internet access is through the Zayo (formerly ENA) consortium with fiber at 100 MBps. Printer, copier, scanner, and fax services are provided to the public and there is a charge for these. Wireless Internet connection is available during library hours. SCPL is open Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.; Friday 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

 

Originally housed in a Carnegie building, in 1992 SCPL moved into a newly built 7500 square foot facility. The building has one floor and includes one large room with adult and teen resources, the circulation desk, and all public access computers. There are separate rooms for local history/genealogy and children’s resources as well as a meeting room which holds approximately forty and is available for public use during library hours. The majority of library programs take place in the meeting room. Each year, SCPL offers programs such as craft classes, computer workshops, and informational and cultural programs. In April 2009, SCPL migrated from the ILS Polaris to the open source ILS Evergreen Indiana (EI). This move has increased resources and borrowing opportunities for patrons. A statewide delivery system transports items three times a week for a fee to SCPL which is subsidized in part by the Indiana State Library.

 

 

Measurable Objectives and Service Responses

 

Goal 1: Formalize an outreach delivery service specifically for homebound patrons and those with transportation challenges

 

Rationale: The Switzerland County Public Library, located in the town of Vevay, is not centrally located to the majority of the county’s population. This, combined with poverty levels and an aging population, make transportation unreliable for a significant number of residents. A need was indicated in the strategic plan survey results.

 

Objectives

• Staff will create a list of patrons who request regular delivery service of physical materials and will visit at least one time per month
• Each outreach patron will be sent items curated to their interests

Strategies

• The Adult Services Coordinator will begin the program by serving Swiss Villa Nursing Home and creating an onboarding process and delivery routine that works for both parties and ensures each patron is receiving items they are interested in.
• Staff will slowly roll out the service by scouting potential users at outreach events, particularly focusing outside of Vevay and using word of mouth and outreach partners to gather new users.
• An online recruitment campaign will begin after a successful routine is established on a small scale.

 

Goal 2: Intentionally look for outreach event opportunities outside of Vevay in order to meet community programming and information needs

 

Rationale: Over 50% of survey respondents said that personal time constraints keep them from attending library programs, but the vast majority of respondents said they supported what we are doing. Mobility is essential to meeting people where they are.

 

Objectives

• SCPL staff will utilize community partners to participate in outreach opportunities
• Outreach events will focus on meeting programming and information needs; book delivery is a separate outreach endeavor

Strategies

• Programming staff will continue ongoing outreach programs and research potential partners for future events and partnerships
• Staff will reach out to organizations listed in strategic plan survey responses who stated they were willing to partner with the library
• Establish a semi-regular schedule of outreach events, stops, and programs

 

Goal 3: Add more digital offerings and resources

 

Rationale: Digital circulation has grown exponentially in the last ten years and now accounts for one-third of all SCPL circulation, with two-thirds of SCPL patrons using e-readers or similar devices. Half of survey respondents indicated they would prefer digital tracking for annual reading programs.

 

Objectives

• The library will spend more of the budget on electronic resources, including e-circulation materials

Strategies

• The library director and library board will increase the e-book budget in a way that reflects current circulation trends but does not negatively impact the library’s physical offerings
• Options for digital reading trackers for summer and winter reading programs will be explored and added based on cost
  • If cost is unaffordable, it will be added into our summer reading grant proposal

 

Goal 4: Expand the Library of Things

 

Rationale: Patrons have stated how much they enjoy checking out games and puzzles, but circulation numbers and feedback show that after a while, offerings are stale. By adding new types of items, we hope to entice more patrons.

 

Objective

• Add new types of items to the Library of Things, including craft items, tools, baking utensils, and more
• Catalog Library of Things items more quickly and come up with a strategic way to add items into circulation

Strategies

• Streamline puzzles to a “swap” format to cut back on cataloging efforts
• Make the budget go further by purchasing multi-purpose items, such as things that could be used in a Makerspace
• Make kits by grouping similar items together

 

Goal 5: Add Makerspace tools and classes to our offerings

 

Rationale: SCPL has purchased several items for the Library of Things that have either not been cataloged or have not been advertised for use. Many times, this is because they item requires in-depth training in order to use it. By creating a mobile Makerspace and offering a Makerspace program, we can teach patrons new skills and utilize tools that have already been purchased.

 

Objective

• Create a mobile Makerspace by storing Makerspace tools on a cart that can be wheeled around the library
• Regularly host programs related to the Makerspace

Strategies

• Determine a list of items to be purchased for the Makerspace and evaluate what items the library already has
• Schedule a how-to program for some of the more complicated items (for example, if we purchase a Cricut machine, we could have a program on how to use it)
• Begin regularly scheduled “Maker Hours” where patrons can drop in to use the tools they need and staff will be available to help
• Schedule one-on-one help if needed

 

Evaluation of the strategic plan

 

The Board of Trustees and staff members will meet annually to assess progress towards the goals and to refine goals and strategies as needed. Changes to the plan will be documented in Board minutes and sent to the Indiana State Library.

 

Financial Resources and Sustainability

 

The library will continue to annually increase the proposed budget by the state growth quotient. Money from the Operating Fund will be transferred to LIRF and Rainy Day each year for future library improvements. SCPL staff and board members recognize that recent legislation regarding library budgets should be monitored. SCPL is dedicated to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. This strategic plan will serve as a guide for leadership when prioritizing expenses.

 

The library will apply for funding from other local, state, and federal sources as grant opportunities fit the goals of the library. The Community Foundation of Switzerland County and the Vevay Switzerland County Foundation have supported program and technology needs in the past, and the library will continue to apply for grants through these avenues. Local businesses will be asked to support the Summer Reading Program as they have in the past. When there are LSTA grants which can meet the needs of the library’s service population, the library will pursue those opportunities. The library may partner with other groups such as the Switzerland County Historical Society, the schools, the YMCA, Purdue Extension, Economic Development and others to seek funding for special collaborative activities.

 

Equipment Replacement Schedule

 

 

Item	Replacement Date/Est. Cost	Funding Source	Evaluation-check when completed
VOIP phone system with 5 handsets	2031   $700	Operating
Copystar CS-2553ci copier	2028-will probably need to replace coin-op machine as it may not be compatible with a new copier   $7000 for copy machine and coin-op	Rainy Day/Grants
HP Color Laserjet M554 (for printing from public computers)	2028 $1700	Operating
Internet connectivity Zayo Education	If bandwidth rises above 75% increase fiber capacity to 150 Mbps. Estimated increase of $3000 per year after erate discount.	Operating
Two Meraki radio units for wireless access	2027 $600	Operating
Epson T20 receipt printer for circulation	2029 $400	Operating
4 Windows computers for public use	2026 $6000	Operating
MS 6000 MKII Reader/Printer for microfiche in genealogy	2028 $8000	Combination of grants, Operating, Rainy Day, Casino funds
HP 2025 Color Printer for staff use	2026 $1700	Operating and Rainy Day funds
2 staff laptops	2026 $3000	Operating
1 OPAC computer for public use	2026 $1500	Operating
7 Windows 10 computers for staff use	2026	Operating/Rainy Day
1 patron laptop	2026 $1500	Operating
Windows server	2029 $12,000	Rainy Day/Operating/Casino Riverboat
2 children’s mounted tablets	2031 $7000	Grants
HP LaserJet 1006 (Director’s Office)	2027 $500	Operating

 

Professional Development Strategy

 

SCPL has developed a list of competencies that staff are expected to be able to master. This list will be updated annually as technology and service needs change. The list of competencies will be reviewed with staff at their annual evaluation and any other training needs will be discussed. This information will be used to create an individualized plan for professional development throughout the year. The library budget supports staff training and staff is encouraged to attend conferences, trainings and participate in webinars that enhance their skills.

 

Collaboration with Other Public Libraries and Community Partners

SCPL is part of the Evergreen Indiana Consortium and participates in the Statewide Reciprocal Borrowing system. We are a member of the Midwest Collaborative Library Services. SCPL will seek opportunities to collaborate with neighboring libraries to provide staff training and public programming.

 

SCPL has partnered with the Switzerland County School Corporation, County Government, the Purdue Extension Service, the YMCA, the Historic Hoosier Theater, business owners, and the Switzerland County Historical Society to share resources and to provide programming and will continue to do so. We will take advantage of opportunities to work with other agencies as they arise.

 

This plan will be available on the Switzerland County Public Library’s website and print copies will be made available upon request at no cost to persons living in the library’s service area.

 

Adopted by the Switzerland County Public Library Board of Trustees October 14^th, 2025.