Strategic Plan

Download a copy of our 2024 - 2028 Strategic Plan document here.

Our Mission

The Thunder Bay Public Library facilitates knowledge sharing and helps build a connected and healthy community by providing the space, collections, services and programs that residents need to learn, grow, create and be successful.

Our Vision

Thunder Bay Public Library provides the community with inspiring and vibrant gathering spaces where anyone can achieve a lifetime of learning, build community, grow as a person, and fulfill endless possibilities.

Our Values

Access & Sharing
The Library facilitates access to reliable information to empower everyone to engage in community life. Sharing knowledge and resources with one another makes us all richer.

Diversity & Inclusion
Everyone is welcome at the Library. Our community is beautifully diverse and Library services are for everyone. We respect one another and seek out opportunities to ensure that Library services meet the needs of all community members.

Innovation & Opportunity
The Library encourages innovation, creativity, fun, and experimentation. We try out new things and deliver Library experiences that capture the imagination. We provide exciting opportunities for learning, sharing, building community, and helping one another.

High Quality Service
Library staff deliver high quality and responsive customer service to all Library patrons with consistency and flexibility. Library staff are trusted to help community members navigate through vast channels of information to find the resources that they need to reach their goals.

Collaboration
The Library partners with local government, businesses, non-profits, and the community. We recognize that by collaborating and working together, we are stronger and more effective in achieving our collective goals.

Intellectual Freedom
The Library supports the free exchange of information and ideas which is so critical in a democratic society. We respect each individual's rights to privacy and choice. We preserve and promote universal access to a broad range of knowledge, experience, information, and ideas.

Strategic Objectives

Facility Revitalization
TBPL will implement the vision of the TBPL Master Facilities Plan to achieve a modern, accessible, and impactful 21st century Public Library system that will provide social, economic, educational, and cultural spaces for all members of the community.  Learn more about our Master Facilities Plan here.

Innovative Service Culture
TBPL will develop and sustain a culture of innovation that supports creative thinking and advances efforts to generate new and improved customer service, products, and processes that are driven by research and data.

Knowledge Sharing
TBPL will foster an environment that encourages lifelong learning, advances literacy in all forms, and encourages the sharing of knowledge among community members and staff.

Indigenous Collaboration
TBPL will advance reconciliation and relationship building with the Indigenous community by integrating Indigeneity into all major aspects of the Library. We will collaborate, consult and partner with members in the Indigenous community to achieve authentic and meaningful outcomes.

Cultivate Library Membership
The Library will experiment with bold new ideas and methods to attract new members and improve the visitor experience overall.


2019 - 2023 Strategic Plan

Overdue - The Case for Canada's Public Libraries