Markham Public Library open to public feedback for strategic plan

By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Markham Public Library (MPL) is currently accepting public feedback to help guide the development of its new strategic plan.

The library released an online survey that will remain open until Oct. 25. The survey is also available in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and Farsi.

Participants can enter for a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. The library will draw the prize winner after the survey closes.

MPL is creating the plan to help direct its activities for the next three to five years. Diane Macklin, MPL community engagement director, said that the library is hoping to publish it by spring 2026.

The library gathered responses from over 10,000 people by running several focus groups and surveys throughout 2025. It also conducted an environmental scan of its community and arranged focus groups and town hall meetings with its employees.

Afterwards, it will analyze and interpret everyone’s responses over the next few months to help complete the plan.

Macklin explained that obtaining public feedback is crucial for understanding how to meet the needs of the Markham community. She added that the following themes stood out to her: Improving connections among library users, providing skills training and access to technology, and increasing family-oriented activities, including those for older adults.

“We exist to serve the community, so the only way to really understand and know how to serve them is to ask,” she said.

Macklin said that MPL developed its current plan during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required unique guidelines that no longer apply. As a result, she said that a new strategic plan would help address current needs of the Markham community.

Macklin said that another reason to redesign MPL’s strategic plan is because its board recently updated its global ends policy, which explains MPL’s mission, vision, and audience.

“Everything is moving so quickly in terms of technology and global events in general that it’s hard to imagine what the library or community will look like in 2030,” she said. “I think it would be very important for us to have a strategic plan that is very fluid and can adapt to any kind of changing circumstances.”

Residents can continue to provide feedback by talking to library staff, participating in quarterly surveys, and following the library on social media.

To learn more about MPL’s strategic plan, head to markhampubliclibrary.ca/stratplan.

Photo: Residents can provide their feedback about MPL through an online survey until Oct. 25.