Thursday, June 23, 2011

An Open Letter to the Library Community from the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries

As you may know, the New York State Board of Regents has challenged the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries (RAC) to develop and recommend to the Board a 2020 vision for library services and an innovative plan for ensuring the greatest access to information for all New Yorkers. Jeffrey W. Cannell, Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education, New York State Education Department announced earlier this Spring that RAC was inviting broad input from stakeholder groups to inform the development of a new statewide plan for library services. This phase of the process requested feedback to a set of ‘Critical Questions” by April 21, 2011.

[The RAC] received 95 responses to the “10 Critical Questions” request. Of those responses, 36 were from groups representing a broad segment of affinity-based associations within the New York Library community. All areas of librarianship and library service are represented as were a variety of geographic locations and service populations.

Both the group and individual responses to the Critical Questions are listed HERE.

Responses are listed with permission from the responding organization or individual.The responses were thoughtful, insightful and creative and have ensured this project is off to a strong start. Your thoughts and ideas are the key to success as we work towards a new vision for library service in New York State. The process is by no means complete, and you will have additional opportunities to participate in this project in the coming months.

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