Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will be an anchor in the community and provide welcoming and meaningful experiences to all who enter. We will offer services that integrate physical space, in-person interaction and digital presence in order to achieve an intuitive, user-centered experience.

Indicators of Success:

1. All CLP locations are accessible, climate controlled, clean and welcoming with flexible spaces to accommodate a range of work needs and styles, technology, programs, ages and formats. Space needs and allocations are evaluated and adjusted on an annual basis.

What We’re Doing

• A team of Library Services Managers developed standards that address the look and feel of the Library, including visual appeal, organization and accessibility. These recommendations have been implemented at all Neighborhood Libraries in 2015.
• Three of CLP’s nineteen public service locations remain to be updated. CLP–Beechview reopened in summer 2015. CLP-Knoxville closed for a 10-month renovation in June 2015. Planning has begun for a renovation of CLP-Carrick. In spring 2014, CLP–West End was renovated and CLP–Hazelwood moved to a new, larger location.
• New spaces for teens have been unveiled at CLP–Allegheny and CLP–East Liberty thanks to the generous support of The Cindy & Murry Gerber Foundation.
• Library services managers at CLP-Main conducted a review of space within the Main Library from the point of view of the customer. Their findings have informed the planning that is now occurring in 2015 about information services and collections.
• All staff were trained in emergency response techniques. Many staff participated in First Aid/CPR and AED training as well. All staff participated in active shooter response drills.
• The Westinghouse electrical panel that was originally installed in 1959 in CLP – Main has been replaced with modern, efficient equipment.
• The Job & Career Education Center (JCEC) and the Nonprofit Resource Center were combined into a new unit called Workforce & Economic Development at CLP-Main. The PC Lab was integrated with the Job and Career and Education Center on the second floor of CLP-Main in 2014.
• With funding from a competitive IMLS grant, JCEC added new classes and technologies to support entrepreneurs and job-seekers. Additions include a collaborative media center, 3-D printer, Apple computers and professional design and marketing software programs.
• An accessibility assessment of CLP’s programs, services, communications and service points was completed in 2014. Plans are being made to address architectural, technological, and attitudinal barriers for our patrons who have disabilities, and recommendations to provide the best customer experience will be included in work plans for 2015 and beyond.
• Wireless access points have been updated at 13 locations and CLP-Main with assistance from a state microgrant. Upgrades at all remaining branches will be completed in 2015.
• Staff teams began a process of reviewing all public-facing policies to ensure that they provide for the best customer experience possible. Many policies and practices have changed as a result.

2. The Office of Programs and Partnerships coordinates a continuum of quality programming for all ages across all library locations and community venues and supports the necessary partnerships and collaborations that ensure community input and engagement.

What we’re doing

• A new Assistant Director for Programs and Partnerships was hired in July, 2013. All staff of the Office of Programs and Partnerships moved into their new office space at CLP-East Liberty in October, 2013.
• Meetings with current and potential partners are ongoing including: Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, Pittsburgh Public Schools and Penn State Center at the Energy Innovation Center.
• The Labs creative technology programming was developed and has been implemented at all locations through Labs on Location (Labs mentors visit locations to provide programming). Services have been expanded through hands-on-training and creation and lending of Labs program kits. In September 2015, weekly Labs programs were extended to children ages 8-11 and teens at CLP-Beechview and CLP-Hazelwood, thanks to the generous support of the Heinz Endowments.
• A Coordinator of Adult Programming was hired in 2014 to manage adult programs system-wide. Development and evaluation of current programming and all new programming in 2015 is occurring through POPEFA teams (Programs & Outreach Patron Experience Focus Area).
  Projects and priorities for programming for 2016 have been identified, with teams forming to address them.
• The Coordinators of Children’s and Teen Services are working closely with the Coordinator of Adult Programming and the programming teams to ensure the Library offers a continuum of services from birth through adulthood – keeping everyone connected during their transitions from Children’s to Teen Services and Teen to Adult Services.
• Developed partnerships with Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures and WQED to bring large-scale signature programs to the Library and community.
  Adult Summer Reading was revamped in 2015 to offer personalized book and reading recommendations to over 1,000 participants from a team of librarians and staff. Customers submitted their reading and learning goals, and CLP coaches prepared customized newsletters and emails to help patrons reach those goals.
• All Hands on Tech pilot expanded to all library locations through the purchase of iPads and peer-to-peer trainings. iPad technology is now regularly used in library programming.

3.) Library materials are displayed intuitively, reflective of community interests and needs and presented in a variety of formats, resulting in expanded usage of Library collections.

What we’re doing

• A team of Library Services Managers studied the collections and physical space at each Neighborhood Library location to make recommendations about the most effective way to shelve and display materials to improve access and increase usage.
• In addition to the desktop computers that are available for use in all CLP locations, laptop loans are now available for more flexible technology access.
• CLP participated in a pilot program with the Library of Congress to develop and test RDA (or Resource Description and Access), a new type of cataloging process that will make non-book and e-formatted materials easier to search and find in the Library’s catalog.
• E-resources are being promoted with physical displays.
• Popular DVD collections are available in all locations by walk-in only.
• Collection for homeless teens at CLP-Main enables borrowing without a library card.
• Uncatalogued collections, or “Community Collections,” were launched to six sites across the city targeting populations facing barriers to library services that enables them to borrow materials without a library card.
• Browse-able collections of large print books are available at many locations.
• A Teen Best Seller collection was started for walk-in browsers.