Describes procedures used by the St. Paul Public Library (Minnesota) to gather input from patrons to use in developing a new strategic plan. The use of group interviews and a survey to identify which roles of the library were important to users and which services supported each role is explained. (two references) (LRW)

Examines results of a Gallup poll of community opinion leaders which found the most important roles of the public library in the community to be to support educational aspirations of the community, and to provide the community with access to information. Tables compare opinions from the various opinion leader groups surveyed. (Author/JMV)

National samples of the general public (n=1,001) and community opinion leaders (n=300) were asked to evaluate the importance to their communities of 10 different roles of the public library. Respondents evaluated each role in terms of its importance to their communities. Survey results indicate that the public library's roles to support the…