Mission Statement

The Vision

The Avalon Free Public Library will serve as the informational and cultural Gateway to Avalon for all residents and visitors. The library will be a welcoming, warm and friendly gathering space for all.

The Mission

The Avalon Free Public Library encourages a literate and informed community by providing free and open access to first class collections, services and programs that inspire, inform and enrich our community.

The Strategic Plan

The Gateway to Avalon, 2010, our third strategic plan since we opened in 2005 is
the result of work on the part of staff and board members who refined the shared
vision for our new library for the future.

Our community has changed in recent years. Citizens require electronic technology,
new media formats and other non‐traditional library services, as well as content
delivered through traditional methods, like books.

Our new library continues to be a unique institution in Avalon. The Library serves
as the place for residents to meet and share ideas, to be entertained, educated, and
informed. It is the locus and focus of our entire community in all seasons of the
year. The library is unique in that it was born out of an interlocal, collaborative
agreement of the Borough, the Avalon Elementary School and the newly formed
public library. On September 24, 2002 residents voted to approve this proposition
that a new public library would be built in Avalon and would become a partner with
the Borough and Avalon Elementary School in creating a new Avalon institution
with local control. Mayor Pagliughi and the Borough council provided vision and
leadership to lead to the creation of an independent Library Board of Trustees and
the new Avalon Free Public Library.

This new strategic plan provides a roadmap for building upon and enhancing our
first strategic plan in 2006 and the successful completion of our fifth full year of
service to the community. This plan focuses on the resources and successes so that
we can fully realize the potential value of the library to our community. As the
library accomplishes this goal through 2012, it will continue its focus on cultural
activity and lifelong learning for the community. We would like to invite all of our
neighbors to renew our commitment in bringing first class library services to
Avalon.

Tony Lampazzi
President, Board of Trustees

Norman Gluckman
Library Director

2009 Reports

On March 10, 2010, a report on the state of the library (linked here in PDF) was presented to Borough Council. This presentation was partially based on data in the annual statistical summary. Current reports on library activity as well as links to archived material can be found in the Pamphlet Section of the Library Information page.