It looks the same, but, really, it's different.

I have been to many meetings to describe the progress of the cluster, and I've used an analogy to describe how I, and the members of the cluster view the composition of these six branches.

Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods filled with row homes.  Many of us grew up on one of these blocks where two or three or more of the houses were occupied by extended members of the same family.  As children, we lived in the one house with our family, but we often had the "run" of the other houses as well.  We could go in without knocking, sit down and watch TV.  We knew whose house we had to ask permission before getting a glass of water, or milk.  We knew where we could put our feet on the sofa, and where we definitely could not put our feet on the furniture.

The goal for the six libraries in the cluster is the same.  Most of the staff is assigned to one facility. But, they should feel comfortable about suggesting programs, or offering to do programs for another branch.  Already I am seeing this happening.  There is an arrangement being worked out that will move MG's between three libraries in order to enable one MG who has an interest in horticulture to do a program for the public at Lillian Marerro Library.

Traditionally, in years past, the El día de los niños/El día de los libros celebration has been a one day event at Lillian Marerro Neighborhood Library.  This year, it will be a six day event with something happening at each of the six libraries.

These are just two examples of how there is more group thinking.  One concern that we looked at was the possibility of one library's program statistics looking less robust because of the staff cooperating with programs at the other libraries.  In order to address this, I asked the web team to provide a way to look at the statistics for the cluster as a whole.  We will sink or swim as one unit.

I anticipate that regular monthly meetings with the six library managers will continue to spark ideas that can be nurtured by all.  And, the once monthly all-cluster meetings will encourage staff at all levels to participate in the overall success of the cluster.