Using the Library

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Located on bustling Clematis Street in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach proudly serves our community with books, performances, classes, research, entertainment, technology, music and more.

You’ll find all of the above throughout our four floors as we strive to inspire, inform and and provide people with support to enhance their quality of life.

We welcome residents and visitors alike every day. Come explore and find what you’re looking for at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. If you live, work or play in West Palm Beach, we encourage you to get a library card.

In order to provide even better customer service, you can now begin the registration process online! Simply fill out the online form. You will then have access to all we have to offer.

–Lisa Hathaway, Director

Mission

Creating inspired lives by connecting people with information and ideas.

Vision

Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach reaches out to inspire, inform and provide people with the support to enhance their quality of life by:

Encouraging a love of books and reading
Providing an expanded and enhanced collection of books, music, movies and digital resources
Serving as a collaborative community gathering and meeting space
Supporting businesses, artists, entrepreneurs, families, job seekers, veterans and economic development
Providing cost-effective services and resources
Nourishing and inspiring the City’s diverse multicultural, LGBTQIA and BIPOC communities
Providing information and self-development opportunities
Connecting people with the newest technologies
Providing exceptional customer service.

Strategic Plan

The three-year Strategic Plan for the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach will provide the vision and the direction to serve the diverse community of West Palm Beach in an equitable and inclusive manner. This plan will guide staff to create, implement and offer engaging programming, the newest technological resources, enhanced collections, and exceptional customer service, while striving to become a world-class library.

GOAL ONE: Be a gathering place for our City

Provide library programs that are responsive to the community.
Partner with the FRIENDS of the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach and the West Palm Beach Library Foundation, Inc. to provide needed funding to support library programming for the community.
Partner with local cultural organizations and other City of West Palm Beach departments to provide programming for the community.
Recruit local businesses and volunteers with subject expertise to provide informational programming for the community.
Work with the City’s GIS Department to analyze patron population density and hot-spot data analysis.
Provide responsive trauma-informed services and resources.
Establish an in-house equity committee to ensure library services, programs, and resources are more inclusive and equitable by working to remain an anti-racist library.

GOAL TWO: Help families and young people succeed

Create and inspire young readers with innovative, interactive, and research-influenced storytimes, activities, and initiatives.
Develop programs to promote early literacy skills and life-long learning.
Incorporate STEAM, coding, and MakerSpace programming initiatives.
Inspire children and teens to become successful members of the community.
Provide summer learning programs to offset the “summer slide.”
Secure funding from the West Palm Beach Library Foundation and other granting agencies for youth services programming including afterschool homework centers, baby yoga, art classes, and more.

GOAL THREE: Create a literate city

Explore the establishment of a branch library for the City of West Palm Beach.
Explore and increase new technologies and products to expand upon the library’s digital collection.
Increase the library’s collection size to achieve the Florida Public Library “minimum” standard of two volumes per capita.
Expand the collection to reflect the cultural, ethnic, religious, and gender diversity of the community.
Include increased budgets for new collections for programming initiatives and grant requests.
Actively promote, market, and increase the library’s digital collections.
Create programming that engages readers and promotes increased readership and civil literacy.

GOAL FOUR: Make technology accessible to all

Promote digital equity by providing free access to the latest technology trends, equipment, and software.
Provide computer classes, workshops, and programs responsive to the community’s needs.
Use current social media technologies to actively reach out to patrons to inform, teach, and share important library resources.
Re-envision the 2nd floor space and activities to incorporate the latest trends and technologies that will assist, motivate, and inspire citizens.
Review current and potential ILS products to optimize workflows.
Circulate technology equipment to patrons.

GOAL FIVE: Deliver exceptional customer experiences

Create and maintain a positive work environment.
Hire and retain staff with excellent customer service skills.
Provide training and tools for staff members to excel in their jobs while also examining processes and workflows to help staff become more responsive and effective.
Monitor customer service transactions and customer feedback to provide continuous improvement.
Provide a safe, secure, vibrant, clean, and fully-accessible library for customers and staff.
Establish an Outreach Services division of the library to focus on bringing more services into the community while also working with more community partners to provide services within the library.