1. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 1 of 7
Mission: The Youth Services Department of the Orange Public Library intends to inspire a
lifelong love of learning and information seeking in the youth of Orange, and the greater
society. We aim to partner with government, businesses, and the greater community in order
to engage all collaborators in endeavors that create the best learning center to stimulate
positive growth in our youth. We intend to do this through dynamic programming, quality
collection development, and by fostering positive communication with our youth. In doing this,
we will create a learning center that is attractive, encourages information navigation, and
supports creativity, problem solving and exploratory conversations.
Strategic Plan:
STRENGTHS: The Orange Public Library, situated in downtown Orange, NJ, is an information hub
for the people of this city. The greatest strengths of the library are our patrons, community
partners, staff, information resources and commitment to progress.
The Children’s Library hosts thousands of children each year, who regularly use the library and
it is our hope that we continue to serve this bright segment of our population and increase the
programming and resources made available to them. We recently updated our internet and
library software in a huge effort to bring cutting edge tools to our facilities. We have a wide
collection of reading materials ranging from early reader materials to young adult. The
children’s library currently has four computers equipped with Windows 8 software and high

2. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 2 of 7
speed internet to assist the children with homework assignments and project creation. We
currently have a 56 member homework club comprised of children who attend the Orange
Public Library daily seeking homework assistance. Staff members organize occasional pizza
parties on their own dime to acknowledge the children’s academic excellence and commitment
to school success. Currently, the library hosts a bi-monthly movie night for the children, where
the staff, out of their own pockets, provide snacks to the children and families who attend the
event. Adjacent to the children’s library is a well used auditorium. The auditorium hosts a
variety of events, movie nights, book signings, and board meetings. The children’s and young
adult areas house reference materials as well as recreational reading materials that are
complementary to the common core curricula and reflect the diversity of our community.
WEAKNESSES: With all of the great successes of the Orange Public Library, there are still areas
where improvements can be made. As the building is older [ and stands as a historical landmark
for the City of Orange and the state of New Jersey], it is important to find a balance between
maintaining/updating in its original style and yet making sure the space is attractive and
comfortable for modern users. There is also a need for a sizeable weeding initiative that would
bring the collection up to date, and make our current holdings more cutting edge, while meet
the needs of the children and young adults. Currently there is no young adult area or services
that are being offered aside from young adult materials, and this is a huge opportunity for the

3. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 3 of 7
library to reach out. At age 12 and older, young teens are encouraged to “go upstairs” where
the young adult section is barely decipherable from the adult stacks. Many of the young adults
wish to continue utilizing children’s services, as services to young adults are extremely limited.
The Orange Public Library website is deafeningly void of information that is critical to the
community. Many of the programs offered at the library are only made available to long-time
users, and there is little outreach to the greater community. When users come to the library,
they are often surprised to learn of the events and services provided by the library. There is an
urgent need to update the website and make information about the library more accessible and
transparent to the community.
OPPORTUNITIES: A primary goal of the Youth Services Department is to collaborate with
the Orange Board of Education and to collaborate with area schools in order to fully participate
in the educational goals of the city, and to be an additional resource to students. It is suggested
that the library staff and area school libraries meet and discuss a collection development plan
so that the library can provide resources that enhance the local and common core curriculum.
We are very excited to nurture a relationship consistent with openness and a sincere desire to
bring the best resources to the youth of Orange.
Creating a young adult room/area in partnership with a Teen Advisory Board would be a
monumental opportunity. This Board will be made up of young adult members of the Orange,

4. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 4 of 7
NJ community who would meet regularly at the library to make collection development
suggestions, assist in the design and creation of the young adult room/area, suggest programs
and events at the library that target young adults and add to the development of the teens in
our area. The Teen Advisory Board could also research and engage in volunteer in community
outreach projects. This is also an opportunity to involve teens with inter-generational services -
helping the elderly navigate technology as well as providing bilingual story-time so that the
library can meet the needs of our diverse population.
We also could increase our collection development holdings to include more comic books,
graphic novels, and manga. Children and youth love these materials, and obtaining these
materials would allow the library to reach out and engage the youth in a much more effective
way. We also could increase our collection development to include circulating gaming
software. There have been numerous studies conducted that describe the importance of
gaming in the development of children and young adults. This is a huge opportunity to provide
a recreational yet developmental component to the children and young adults of our city. An
Xbox was recently purchased for the youth, and a tournament with educational prizes would be
a great way to engage young adults and children to avail themselves of the library and its
services.

5. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 5 of 7
Upgrading our collection to include eBooks would be a huge plus to our library, our community,
and our children. eBooks give instant access to available virtual resources and extends the
reach of the library beyond our business hours. Many libraries are already offering eBooks and
allowing users to borrow eReaders so that they may have access to virtual resources. Offering
eBooks and eReaders to the residents of Orange would be a great addition to our collection and
the community.
Another opportunity for the Youth Services Department is to create a series of dynamic
programming to engage the community. Within the next month, I hope to create on-going story
times and book club meetings that align with the common core curricula and engage readers at
their different reading levels. We could start an Infant Story Time, Toddler Story Time, Middle
Readers Book Club, Young Adult Book Club, Comic Book/Graphic Novel Book Club, Gamer’s
Club, and a Maker’s Club.
The Infant and Toddler Story Time, would be a parent assisted event that is to be highly
entertaining for children as well as informative to parents. Storytime events will include singing,
crafts, and enthusiastic story reading. A multi-age puppet show with a literary focus would be a
fun way to bring story time to life. This would require that we either make or purchase puppets
that could be used for shows.
Book clubs for Middle Readers, Young Adults, and Comic Book/Graphic Novel Enthusiasts would
be monthly after school book discussions where the youth vote on books month to month and

6. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 6 of 7
the discussions and topics are youth lead. The youth services librarian as well as community
volunteers will moderate and engage in healthy intellectual discussions. We will discuss books
that garner the greatest interest and light refreshments will be provided in an effort to create a
comfortable and sociable atmosphere.
We also will create a Maker’s Club/Makerspace. Makerspaces are areas where hands-on
learning, creativity and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) intersect,
and youths take education from the page to the real world. Makerspaces range from arts and
craft projects to the creation of prosthetic limbs from 3D computers. We will create an enviable
Makerspace that utilizes cutting edge technology and teaches youths about current trends in
computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, information management, and
design.
Youths, particularly young adults, love to have their voices heard. We wish to create a monthly
open mic night to showcase the talent that our youths have in poetry, music, and literature. We
also wish to have a more visible imprint on social media through “Booktubing”, Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram. Our youths have unique voices, they matter in the world, and we
wish to provide a healthy, intelligent, and thought provoking platform for them to voice issues
and interests that are important to them.

7. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF
THE ORANGE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Christina Vortia, </Youth Services Librarian>
Page 7 of 7
All of these wonderful activities and resources require funding, and that is where a huge grant
writing initiative will be important to meeting the needs and providing the excellence that our
youths deserve.
THREATS: As many area libraries are already offering services we wish to launch,
competition and expectations will be high. We need to be prepared to compete for the
attention and involvement of the youth. Many libraries have huge grant writing departments,
complete with project management staff to maintain the record keeping and ignite the
stakeholders to stay abreast of grants and the work involved in bringing programs to fruition.
We will encounter many challenges, but our youth are important, and they matter, and as such,
we must do all we can to make our library a beacon of light in our community and provide the
best to the children and young adults of city of Orange in NJ.
Respectfully submitted,
Christina Vortia
</Youth Services Librarian>
Orange Public Library Youth Services Budget