JTEL Policies and Planning Documents The Board of Directors is currently developing several polices and plans to guide the management of the library. In the process, board members are consulting professional librarians, businesspeople, the Alaska Library Association, and the American Library Association. Library members are encouraged to review and comment on each policy. (Please request a copy of current drafts by e-mailing info@esterlibrary.org.) The following policies are under development or have been adopted: Annual Plan
(revised annually) The Annual Plan is a brief outline of goals for the year, developed before and after the Annual Membership Meeting, and arises from discussions at the meeting and motions carried, the events schedule as determined by the board during their annual meeting, the Business Plan, and the Marketing Plan. Input from the Capital Campaign Committee and the Construction Committee is also necessary. See Annual Plan 2011, draft Annual Plan 2012.
Board Roles & Responsibilities
(approved 8/9/2011) The JTEL Board Roles & Responsibilities Policy establishes a standard of care and conduct for service on the JTEL Board of Directors and provides an outline of the expectations for board members that expands beyond that provided under the bylaws. It acts as an aid to the board in planning, assessing, and assigning member duties and responsibilities that cover all facets of activities of the JTEL corporation. It can be used as an annually updated planning and organizational tool for the board. It also functions as a description of board duties and responsibilities that may be given to prospective board members.
Business Plan
(under development) The JTEL Business Plan provides an overview of the library, a justification for its existence, a competitive analysis, a guide for its management and operations, goals for its future, and a financial plan for its solvency. The Business Plan is updated yearly and includes the annual budget.
Capital Campaign Timeline & Plan
(under development) The JTEL Capital Campaign is designed to provide funding for the library's New Building Project; it is overseen by the Capital Campaign Committee.
Collections Development
(adopted 3/13/2011) The Collections Development Policy is meant to guide decisions in selection, weeding, and access to library materials. It includes a description of the collection, criteria for adding items to or removing them from the collection, provides a process for handling challenges or requests for reconsideration of materials, and asserts strong support for intellectual freedom. It includes attached statements on the Freedom to Read, Freedom to View, and Free Access to Libraries for Minors.
Goals & Objectives
(adopted 4/17/2011, revised 7/13/2011) The JTEL board has created a succinct list of goals and specific objectives to further the mission of the Ester library. The broad goal is to enrich and strengthen the social, cultural, and economic life of the people of Ester, specifically by constructing a library building.
IT Plan & Security Policy
(under development) The Internet Technology Plan & Security Policy is being developed by Ulises Gonzalez of Interior Technologies, Inc. Gonzalez is working on the design of a state-of-the-art computing system for the JTEL in honor of Patricia Davis, former Ester resident and artist.
Marketing Plan
(under development) The library's marketing plan is meant to increase awareness of the library, expand and inform the library membership, and help the board to raise funds. The marketing plan includes: branding and general publicity; public communications on the websites, the blog, and Facebook page; events publicity; and surveys of the membership and community.
Membership
(adopted 3/13/2011) The JTEL Membership Policy describes member rights and responsibilities; membership benefits, types, and requirements; and library use guidelines.
Operations Plan
(under development) The Operations Plan incorporates the Annual Plan, Business Plan, budget, and other aspects of facilities and program maintenance and administration.
Privacy
(under development) Library patron privacy and intellectual freedom are inextricably entwined. A section of the Membership Policy addresses privacy; however, a full privacy policy is under development. The JTEL's Privacy Policy is being developed with reference to the ALA Guidelines for Developing a Library Privacy Policy.
Procurement
(adopted 1/13/11) The Procurement Policy guides board decisions on purchasing and contracting. It establishes a local-, minority-, and women-owned preference, and requires that the board create a list of providers of goods and services that the library is likely to buy, organizing it according to locality (Ester area, borough, Interior). This list is still in process, and will be revised on an ongoing basis. The Procurement Policy will be reviewed and revised if necessary every three years.
Program & Activities Development
(adopted 8/9/2011) The Program & Activities Development Plan & Policy outlines library programs that the community and the board aim to introduce at the library, and provides program goals and a guide for establishing, administering, funding, and maintaining programs and activities that the library develops, such as the Library Lecture Series. The policy outlines a program proposal submission process.
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