PRESENTATION

Presentation Description:

A municipality in the inner west of Melbourne on the banks of the Maribyrnong River, home to the Western Bulldogs AFL Team, Highpoint Shopping Centre, Victoria University and a major public transport hub acting as a gateway to western metropolitan Melbourne. Known for its cultural diversity, vibrant arts scene and pockets of disadvantage, Maribyrnong is a municipality undergoing transformation. Maribyrnong Libraries operates 5 branches, a book locker, Home Library Service and online offer. Despite a strong collection budget and positive feedback from the community, only 22% of the population were members, ranking Maribyrnong in the lowest quartile for Victorian Public Libraries.

Maribyrnong Libraries had a sector reputation for being nice but was rarely on the must visit list within the industry. Ageing facilities, the staffing model and self-belief was hampering innovation. Fast forward two years and Maribyrnong has grown membership by 44%. In-person visits have returned to pre-pandemic levels and customers consistently provide feedback about the impact of the service on their lives.

This presentation explores changing a service-wide mindset from we can’t, we don’t, we’re not allowed to. It covers setting ambition and the importance of alignment, managing anxiety through incremental, achievable goals alongside aspirational goals and tactics for supporting staff through change.

We will share the successes and pitfalls of our 23-25 Library Plan and the development of our new 2030 strategic plan. We’ll cover key initiatives across service and program enhancement as well as the big wins in terms of investment in new and improved spaces. We’ll unpack our service model project, what has worked, what hasn’t and where we have met resistance from the team. But most importantly we’ll share with you the light at the end of our tunnel. The internal indicators, beyond membership, visitation and loan stats, that reassure us that we’re on the right track.

We’ll share the highs and lows of bringing staff on a journey to keep an eye on an ever shifting horizon, encouraging team members to aspire above & beyond what had been long expected of the service – Getting the staff to think they can!