Strategic Plan for University Libraries
Mission
University Libraries equip knowledge seekers to use information to shape their professions, enhance their communities, and create a more equitable society.
Vision
Anchored in the University’s educational mission and commitment to
transformative equity, the University Libraries advance a bold vision
of equitable access, empowered learning, and human-centered spaces.
Values Statement
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Learner-centered: This value in action:
- We center learning and learner needs in our services, spaces, and all that we do by proactively asking: “How does this impact our users?”
- We create and maintain conditions which enable entrepreneurial culture, curiosity, inquiry, and continuous learning.
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Equity: This value in action:
- We actively work to reduce barriers to library services and information by critically examining systems, structures, and processes.
- We invite many voices and perspectives to ensure diverse representation in library decisions and collections.
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Collaboration: This value in action:
- We recognize the strengths of individuals and the importance of many perspectives.
- We strategically collaborate with departments, campus groups, and the greater profession to develop thoughtful solutions and reduce barriers to student learning.
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Care: This value in action:
- We approach each other with respect, empathy, and curiosity, and we recognize the necessity of hard conversations.
- We prioritize what we do and how we do it while we take care of ourselves and each other.
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Integrity: This value in action:
- We work to promote transparency in our processes and decisions.
- We uphold the principles of academic freedom, the exchange of ideas, and the ethical uses of information and data.
- We are leaders in advancing open knowledge as a public good.
Planning Process
Several components of the Libraries’ strategic planning process
informed the Libraries’ new strategic framework and strategic
directions: an environmental scan, a stakeholder listening tour, our
campus self-study, programmatic review, and the campus strategic plan.
Collaboration
One of the Libraries document strategic values is collaboration. Often the work we move forward requires buy-in and partnership with other faculty across campus. Our example of Collaboration in action is "We strategically collaborate with departments, campus groups, and the greater profession to develop thoughtful solutions and reduce barriers to student learning."
Building Capacity
Prior to strategic planning the Libraries conducted a programmatic review across the libraries to identify which work might be streamlined or stopped to make space for new initatives. The workflows still exist so we can review services and projects as needed when capacity becomes an issue. The plan is to regularly engage with all of our services to ensure we're spending time on the impactful and strategic work.