Board of Trustees to Embark on Strategic Planning Process

With the assistance of a consultant from the Council of Community Services of New York State, Inc (Albany and Poughkeepsie), the Board of Trustees will conduct a process that will lead to a new strategic plan for SENYLRC. The organization is seeking grant assistance from the Dyson Foundation to help defray the cost of this undertaking.

After several meetings from December through February with the Board, the Board’s Planning Committee and SENYLRC staff, Denise Harlow, from CCSNYS is ready to devise a multi-level member input process. Included will be five to nine focus group meetings, a detailed web-based survey, a targeted phone survey plus a needs assessment instrument for our new Hudson Valley Heritage service (http://www.hudsonvalleyheritage.org). This last survey will target libraries and cultural heritage institutions in the region on the benefits of contributing historical content to HVH. The intent is to introduce to organizations that are not aware of SENYLRC the benefits of contributing content for digital access by the public via HVH.

It is anticipated that the member input stage will last several months through June. Following this stage Ms Harlow will lead the Board through an intensive discussion process on service priorities and alternative sources of revenue. The goal is a determination of SENYLRC’s priorities and directions for the next three to five years, based on member input, fiscal realities, and the technological landscape.

By John Shaloiko, Executive Director

Southeastern News Online is published bi-monthly by SENYLRC staff.