Case Studies
Mid-Columbia Libraries:
How a regional library system created a long-term
strategy addressing changing community needs
Solution
Community needs assessment
Vertical
Non-profit
Research Tools
Focus groups
Surveys
Town halls
Secondary research
“We wanted our strategic planning to be grounded in community needs, but we also wanted to address the needs of groups we felt were previously underserved. Sonar Insights gave us in-depth feedback from customers across our library system to make strategic decisions with confidence.”
Kyle Cox
Executive Director,
Mid-Columbia Libraries
Company Story
Mid-Columbia Libraries operates 12 branches across Benton & Franklin counties in Washington. They have served these communities for the past 75 years.
Goals
Target traditionally marginalized groups, 2,500 surveys and community engagement.
Methodology
Internal workshop and interviews with leadership, board and staff. Focus groups for qualitative insight into community needs to create the survey. Town halls for insight from other organizations and gain traction with others for future partnerships. Surveys for quantitative data to identify impact of needs across the community.
Overview
In 2022, Mid-Columbia Libraries wanted to conduct a Community Needs Assessment to understand the changing needs of the communities they serve, especially historically marginalized groups to ensure that their services were addressing their unique needs. Sonar Insights was hired to conduct the research and facilitate a strategic planning session based on the results of the study. The strategic plan was to be grounded in relevant needs and help identify the right programs and services to provide across the urban and rural communities that Mid-Columbia Libraries serves.
Research
Research by Sonar Insights includes:
6
On site focus groups English & Spanish.
3
Town halls – People serving marginalized groups.
2.5K
Completed surveys – 2 counties, 10 cities.
Outcomes
Surveys were translated to English, Spanish, Arabic and Russian. The community submitted surveys digitally, physically, and orally. Special attention was given to elicit responses from marginalized groups to ensure the library continued to serve the needs of the entire community. After the survey, Sonar Insights led a planning session with Mid-Columbia Libraries to share the results of the study. The result is a 3-5 year strategic plan focused on serving the community with a better understanding of marginalized groups as well as data to serve others according to income, age, ethnicity, gender, language, family status, and location.
42
Needs tested with the community.
4
Languages survey was available in.
5
Focus areas prioritized for 3-5 year plan.