Library Board
Ocean Shores Public Library Strategic Plan 2023
Download Strategic Plan in PDF
Strategy Development – In 2018 and 2022, the Ocean Shores Library Board of Trustees undertook a process to develop a strategic plan to guide library activities. A total of 941 surveys were completed. These patron responses served as the guide in assessing the needs of the library community.
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Provide a comfortable and safe place to visit |
Connect to the online world |
Stimulate imagination through reading, viewing, and listening for pleasure |
Promote lifelong learning |
The Library will provide a safe, welcoming place to
meet and interact with others.
Services:
- Meeting Rooms
- Outdoor Pavilion
- Extended open hours
- Clean, updated facility
- Designated spaces and collections
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The Library will
provide internet for patrons to access the digital world.
Services:
- Internet Access
- WiFi Access
- Online Training
- Technology Support
- Social Media
- eResources
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The Library will provide materials to enhance patrons' leisure time, will find out what they want, and will provide the help they need to make choices and access the options.
Services:
- Reader's Guidance
- Programs
- Displays
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The Library will provide patrons the resources to explore topics of personal interest to continue learning throughout their lives.
Services:
- Collections
- Information and referral
- Programs
- Community and city information
- Staff Training
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- “…I appreciate the library and all that it offers” – library patron
- “The library is a great asset to the community and deserves community support” – library patron
- “Staff are all very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.” – library patron
- “The library is the heart of our little community!” – library patron
- “The city of Ocean Shores will commit to continued support of the independent Ocean Shores Public Library.“ – Mayor Jon Martin
Our Vision
The Ocean Shores Public Library will be the essential community resource for residents to access information and ideas that strengthen and enrich their lives.
Our Mission
As the heart of the Ocean Shores community, the library provides access to the world through reading, learning, and connecting.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Keitha Owen, Director; Denise Siers, President; Susan Robinson, Vice President; Alex Suarez, Secretary; Jeff Brittain; Jeni Cate
Board Members
The Ocean Shores Public Library Board consists of five members appointed to five-year terms by the Mayor and approved by the City Council. They meet monthly. Meetings are the second Wednesday at 10:00 AM. The Library Board adopts bylaws, rules and regulations, for its own guidance and for the governance of the Library.
Denise Siers - President
Our library is a true community hub. The wonderful staff, tremendous selection of materials, stimulating programs, and information services offer something for everyone. The library’s electronic resources provide virtual access for eBooks, audiobooks, reference, newspapers, and web links.
My husband Richard & I purchased our first property in Ocean Shores in 2010. City services, including the library, were a determining factor in our choice. We moved here full-time in 2015 after retiring. We both depend on the physical and online library for our recreational and informational needs.
Libraries are my passion. I served as Director of Public Services for the King County Library System. My responsibilities over 2 decades included branch administration, governmental liaison, services to youth, adults, diversity, outreach, and the virtual library.
I consider serving on our city’s Library Board a true privilege. I strive to represent our patrons needs across ages and diverse interests. I look forward to the challenges of our growing community. Welcome to our new patrons and thank you to our loyal continuing patrons. |
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Susan Robinson - Vice President
Susan Robinson purchased a home with her husband Craig in Ocean Shores in 2004 and came down from Seattle to live here full time in 2007. The presence of the Ocean Shores Library in town was a major factor in their decision to live here, as both she and Craig are lifelong readers. They met at the Egyptian Theatre in Seattle where they both worked for many years. Susan also worked at Amazon, way back in the early days when they were just selling books. So books and movies have been a major theme in her life for a long time. She believes that supporting a library speaks to the values of a community and that it should seek to serve, enlighten and inform. She hopes to promote all of these endeavors and enthusiastically advocate for the library's continued success. Susan works at Edward Jones here in town as a branch office administrator. She is honored to serve on the board. |
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Alex Suarez - Secretary
Alex Suarez Ph.D. has lived in Ocean Shores since 2016, when she retired from teaching at Antioch University's doctoral program in Psychology. She loves the library and likes the people who read, view films, listen to music, meet and enjoy the library because they are learning and being intellectually engaged and interesting. She joined the Library Board in order to support all those people and the continued evolution of the library as a defining cultural space for Ocean Shores.
Alex is a psychologist, with a doctorate and masters degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington and a post-doctoral masters in Psychopharmacology from Alliant University. She discovered early on that one can always count on learning to feel engaged and challenged (that is why she loves the library), so she holds certificates in French Literature and Translation, Psychoanalysis, Scientific Illustration, Non-fiction Writing and a post-doc in Dialectic Behavioral Training as well as a lot of practice in meditation from Ridhwan. Now she likes to learn about the natural world around Ocean Shores and studies watercolors at the Northbeach Artists' Guild. You can also find her riding her tricycle around town and the beach. She recently discovered that it is also fun to cook. She volunteers for COASST bird research, the Coastal Interpretive Center and for North Beach PAWS. She lives at the tail end of Duck Lake with her wonderful husband Richard, with Percy the cozy cat, and with Lady the Brittany mutt. |
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Jeff Brittain
Jeff, his wife Mona and their dog Max have lived happily in Ocean Shores since 2015. They enjoy travel, reading and motorcycle riding. Jeff and Mona follow the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Las Vegas Raiders. Jeff is a retired life and health insurance underwriter. They have two grown sons who also reside in Western Washington. |
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Jeni Cate
I moved to Ocean Shores in the fall of 2009 from the Seattle area, although I live in a house my dad built here in 1969, so I have a long history with Ocean Shores. I retired from CenturyLink telephone company after working 28 years in Public Policy. I also operated a tour company part time for 18 years taking people on culinary and bicycle tours in Europe and the Pacific Northwest.
My first job as a teenager was working as a “page” in my local library in Portland, Oregon and I have loved libraries ever since. I remember my mom and I going to the library here in Ocean Shores when it was housed in a little room inside a building which I think now is the Permit Office.
I have 3 grown sons and 4 grand-daughters and they are scattered around the country including Alaska and Florida. I enjoy line dancing and working out at the Community Center in my spare time.
I love living in Ocean Shores and hope to be able to support the library in various ways as I serve on the board. The library is one of Ocean Shores greatest assets. |
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Contact the Library Board of Trustees – libraryboardoftrustees@gmail.com
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