Strategic Plan Development: Activities and Timeline

The Office of Library and Information Services is developing its new five-year plan for the use of federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding for federal fiscal years 2023-2027. The LSTA Five-Year State Plan encompasses all activities and services at OLIS that are supported in part or in whole with federal funds. It does not include OLIS programs that do not meet the purposes and priorities of LSTA and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Grants to States Program. As such, activities such as library construction are not included in the Five-Year Plan.

Throughout the spring of 2022, OLIS will undertake a series of activities to develop a new Five-Year Plan to replace its expiring plan. This activities include the evaluation of the 2018-2022 Five-Year Plan by an independent evaluator, which included gathering input from the library community about programs conducted under that plan; gathering of input from a variety of library stakeholders about current and future needs for library services; and the development and review of the new Five-Year Plan for 2023-2027.

The new Five-Year Plan is due to the Institute of Museum and Library Services on June 30, 2022 in accordance with federal regulations governing the administration of federal LSTA funds. The plan is simultaneously developed to address statewide needs for library services in accordance with Rhode Island General Law § 29-3.1-7

Timeline

The following activities will be conducted to develop the new Five-Year Plan:

  • October 2021-March 2022: Evaluation of 2018-2022 Five-Year Plan
  • March 31, 2022: Evaluation of 2018-2022 Five-Year Plan due to IMLS
  • March 2022: Community survey, focus groups, and interviews of library stakeholders to develop environmental scan of current and future needs for library services
  • April 2022: Release of report on current and future needs for library services in Rhode Island
  • April 2022: Development of draft Five-Year Plan
  • May 2022: Presentation of draft Five-Year Plan to the Library Board of Rhode Island and stakeholders for feedback
  • June 2022: Five-Year Plan finalized and presented to Library Board of Rhode Island for approval
  • June 30, 2022: Five-Year Plan submitted to IMLS for review and approval
  • October 1, 2022: New Five-Year Plan goes into effect for federal fiscal years 2023-2027 (Oct 1, 2022-Sept 20, 2027)