Date: 8/23/2023
Revised: 2/24/2024
Purpose
The Reuben McMillan Free Library Association, doing business as The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (hereafter PLYMC), seeks to develop a long-range budget forecast for library services in Mahoning County. To effectively do so, we require a clear-eyed understanding of our existing assets, our future liabilities, and future opportunities that may require a change to our traditional approach to service delivery.
As a largely tax-funded organization, the library – first and foremost – must demonstrate fiscal responsibility to its stakeholders. However, this does not mean that our organization should be modest in its outlook or keep to familiar ground. In the future, PLYMC would like the opportunity to work proactively, identifying ways to fulfill our traditional mission – to connect people and communities in Mahoning County with reliable resources that inspire learning and foster enrichment – that take full advantage of available data and future projections.
Background
PLYMC has provided library services to the residents of this area since our incorporation as a nonprofit in 1880. Our first purpose-built library facility was built in 1910 and recently underwent substantial renovation. PLYMC once had as many as 23 library facilities before shrinking to its current number of 15. The system was also an early leader in bookmobile services and maintains a Pop-Up library (a traditional bookmobile) and a secondary vehicle today.
Unlike most library systems seeking a traditional facilities master plan, PLYMC does not reside in a growing community. The steel mills and traditional auto manufacturing responsible for Mahoning County’s growth in the 20th century are gone, taking much of the population with them. There is a healthy direct-to-consumer and mid-size business community, but no large, growing local employers. The additive manufacturing and electric vehicle industries have potential to deliver on that promise, but they are in their very early stages.
Both urban and rural areas suffer from a variety of ills: child poverty, chronic underemployment and unemployment, educational attainment, as well as substantive health challenges. Despite these problems, there remain substantial resources in our community, not the least of which is the fortitude and commitment to the place of its residents.
Residents of the Mahoning River Valley have long histories and families are committed to staying here. Indeed, the number of “boomerangs” – residents who have come back to the area after living away – seems to be increasing. There is a great deal of land and green space that is slowly being reclaimed from industry and being rehabilitated for tourism and recreation. And unlike costal and desert communities, Northeast Ohio enjoys a relatively stable climate with naturally fertile land. In addition, strong anchor institutions, like the Library, are committed to cultural and economic development and celebration.
Therefore, PLYMC does not solely seek a traditional facilities master plan. Rather, we are looking to create a shortlist of the most likely vendors to provide services in two main areas:
Section One:
- An evaluation of all owned and leased facilities, including structures, major systems, and grounds with recommendations for retention, repair, expansion/reduction or replacement.
Section Two:
- An analysis of the communities/townships within Mahoning County to identify likely demographic and economic trends, including the current and future impacts of current relocation opportunities/challenges (e.g.: work from anywhere, boomerangs, climate refugees and results of repopulation efforts).
- An assessment of current economic developments in the state of Ohio and Northeast Region, to realistically assess the impact of electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, chip manufacturing, and tourism along the Mahoning River, among others.
- An assessment of the three south central townships of Mahoning County (Goshen, Green, and Beaver) to identify the best service options.
- Recommendations, based on the results of the analysis in Section One and the findings in Section Two, for the best strategy for investing taxpayer and donated dollars in library services to the Mahoning County community services over the next decade, including the opportunities for new partnerships and services that will amplify the efforts currently at work.
One of the biggest problems facing Mahoning County has been the inability to change the narrative of who we are and what we can do to create our own success. Having built our identity as steel workers and auto manufacturers, it is difficult to see ourselves as anything else. There is a sense that people are still waiting for a major employer to come in and “save” our community, when in fact we have the grit and the resourcefulness to create our own future.
There are many organizations in Mahoning County working every day to change the narrative, and PLYMC seeks to identify ways we can most effectively use the resources we have to aid in that cause. As a library system, we specialize in stories, and we are looking for the right partners to help us craft our next chapter.
PLYMC will use the results of this/these project/s to inform its strategic future in conjunction with larger Mahoning Valley analyses currently underway.
RFQ Response
PLYMC will entertain responses from interested parties with relevant experience in similar projects. Based on available data, responders should provide:
- A brief background of the company/companies providing services, including a narrative of how services have been impacted and changed by post-pandemic trends.
- A general outline of actions suggested meeting the goals laid out in the RFQ.
- A non-binding cost estimate for services listed, and how pricing will work so that PLYMC may assess the budget impact of the overall project.
- A non-binding timeframe for full proposal delivery and start of work, so that PLYMC may assess the capacity of the responder as well as suitability of timeframe.
- A list of experience with similar projects, both within and outside of the library industry, with project descriptions and outcomes. Client contact names should be provided for at least three projects.
Respondents may provide a plan and pricing for Section One alone, Section Two alone, or the project in its entirety. PLYMC’s preference is to have one partner to provide services. Organizations bidding on only one section of the project should be prepared to confer with bidders of the other section to assist PLYMC in achieving its goal.
If all necessary expertise is not available within a single company, responders are encouraged to identify partner organizations who will provide those services. In that case, the responder will be expected to coordinate the activities of the associated vendors and indicate in their response if they would be employed as subcontractors or under an alternative methodology.
Responders may also suggest that analyses be completed as prerequisites or separate projects to be undertaken by PLYMC, but in that case should be prepared to develop proposals for those analyses and assist PLYMC in their management.
PLYMC expects to have responses to this RFQ by 12 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2024. A pre-submittal conference will be held on June 4, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Main Library, 305 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio 44503 in the second floor board conference room for those interested prior to submitting RFQs by the deadline.
PLYMC reserves the right to close the RFQ process without issuing a contract and/or reissue the RFQ with information gleaned from the initial process.
