Strategic Plan 1999-2003
Prepared by:
University Libraries Strategic Planning Team
Gordon Aamot, Chair Alan Grosenheider
Emily Hull Geri Bunker Ingram Elaine Jennerich ex officio
Sarah Leadley
Jan Monti, external consultant Lisa Scharnhorst
Kirsten Spillum Jennifer Stone
Jake White
February 14, 2000
Introduction
The University of Washington Libraries is one of the premier academic libraries in the
world. Our collection size ranks twelfth among North American research libraries. We spend over one million dollars per year to provide access to the full-text electronic journals and
indexing tools our students and faculty need to be successful. Our innovative and collaboratively developed UWired program is recognized internationally as an example of what an academic information literacy program can be. UW librarians play a leadership role in information literacy discussions on campus and beyond. Our user surveys indicate that an overwhelming majority of UW faculty and students are very satisfied with library services and collections. Recognizing that the demands of a changing work environment require library staff to continually develop new skills and upgrade old ones, the University Libraries is one of the few American research libraries to devote resources to a full-time staff development officer. No matter what one’s perspective, the University Libraries is clearly a world-class library system.
The landscape in which academic libraries operate is shifting. The ways in which libraries and library services are perceived, our relationships with colleagues, and the roles that we play in order to serve our users are changing.
Academic libraries are subject to pressure on a wide range of political, economic, technological, and social fronts. The combination of shrinking materials budgets and inflation is forcing libraries to set priorities and make difficult decisions. For example, the University Libraries reduced its expenditures for library materials by $700,000 in 1999-2001 by canceling over 1200 titles in order to cover anticipated serials inflation. Networked information technology has begun to transform the ways in which libraries do business and has made the delivery of information to users’ desktops a reality, but it also presents a new set of challenges. One of the most difficult is the imperative to reorganize ourselves to offer an array of online services to information-hungry users and, at the same time, continue to provide many of the traditional library services users expect.
Our students and their expectations are changing. The diversity we see now, and expect to continue to see in the future, reflects our changing society. The shifts in our student populations are manifested in an increase in older, part-time, commuter, distributed learning, and returning students, and a higher percentage of ethnically diverse and international students. Students are coming to universities with widely varying experiences, learning styles, educational demands, and expectations. The new demography will require libraries to think more imaginatively about how to provide curricular support and lifelong educational opportunities.
Change may be viewed as a threat, but change also presents an opportunity to identify our strengths and challenges; it presents an opportunity to reflect upon and realign our organization and our services to support our priorities. The University Libraries staff is challenging itself to reexamine its assumptions and conventions to take into account the evolving economic, social, and political changes around us. In order to remain successful, the University Libraries must focus on positioning itself strategically for the future. It is in this spirit that we have worked together to produce the first iteration of our 1999-2003 Strategic Plan.
Values Statement
The University of Washington Libraries values:
Service
by anticipating and meeting user needs by teaching and learning
by managing and preserving our collections
by providing reliable information, discovery methods and tools by making a difference in education
by working for the public good
Intellectual endeavor
by fostering and protecting intellectual freedom by advancing free inquiry
by encouraging lifelong learning
by promoting fair and open access to all information by creating knowledge
by providing premier collections and excellent facilities
Creativity
through innovation
through risk-taking and initiative through leadership at all levels
through continuous organizational learning through integrated user services
Respect
for the individual for all human diversity
for privacy and confidentiality
for the achievements and contributions of staff
Staff excellence
through teamwork
through open, thoughtful, and responsive communication through a pleasant, safe and healthy environment
Collegiality
in collaboration and partnerships within the University Libraries and beyond
in working with the University community
Accountability
by honoring our commitments
by being institutionally and personally responsible by stewarding our resources
Mission Statement
The mission of the University of Washington Libraries, the region’s premier academic and research library, is to promote the success of students, faculty, staff and programs of the University of Washington through knowledge resources and services. To that end, we:
Advance new knowledge while preserving the community
memory for the University, the region and the world.
Lead in the development and application of innovative strategies
and technologies to meet information needs.
Identify, acquire, organize, facilitate access to, and preserve
knowledge resources.
Teach and enable self-sufficiency for lifelong learning and collaborate on the integration of technology into education.
Offer high-quality collections, physical facilities and personalized
service as we expand electronic resources and programs.
Vision Statement
The University of Washington Libraries is an indispensable partner in the education, clinical care, research, and service mission of the University, and a critical component of the scholarly communication cycle. We are the intellectual
commons of the University, providing a physical and virtual space where individuals come together to explore ideas and issues or engage in solitary inquiry and reflection.
To realize this vision, we will:
Collaborate with members of the University of Washington community to ensure that
students acquire the skills and intellectual abilities necessary to function independently and successfully in an information-driven world.
Conduct research and create knowledge.
Seek out strategic partnerships with organizations and individuals to leverage our resources
and achieve our goals.
Add value to the educational and research endeavor by providing a wide range of seamless
information services and resources, both remotely and on-site, to support intellectual inquiry.
Champion intellectual freedom and the rights of individuals to explore and express a
diversity of viewpoints.
Build, steward, and preserve our resources for present and future generations.
Eliminate barriers to information and maximize its usefulness and accessibility.
Transform our organization and the ways we provide services in response to a changing
environment and the evolving needs of our users.
Goal One
Select, maintain, and preserve essential information resources, including the diverse and the unique, to support the missions of a premier academic research institution.
Libraries supporting great academic institutions face great challenges. Library staff must provide materials and professional expertise to support hundreds of diverse University programs. With diminishing budgets and escalating materials costs, libraries are called upon to balance increasing demands for information in a variety of formats with limited financial resources. They must meet expectations to deliver current information to the desktop and, at the same time, provide ready access to the historical and archival resources needed by academic researchers. Essential state resources like the University Libraries also serve as a focal point for regional,
national, and international collection development and preservation efforts and play a critical leadership role in helping to preserve our cultural heritage.
Our primary responsibilities are to serve the information and research needs of University of Washington students, faculty and staff. However, as stewards of the largest research library in the state, with important stakeholders both within and beyond the greater Puget Sound area, the University Libraries has a responsibility to provide access to critical information resources for all citizens of Washington State. It is incumbent upon the University Libraries’ staff to play a leadership role in
cooperative library programs within the state.
The University Libraries will continue to find innovative ways to leverage its assets so that we can provide access to the information resources required to support faculty, students, staff, and programs of the University of Washington. In keeping with our responsibilities as a state leader, we will also investigate the feasibility and desirability of promoting a statewide seamless electronic library.
To achieve this goal, the Libraries will employ the following strategies:
a) Foster increased cooperative long-term collection development, preservation, and archiving
relationships with other institutions.
b) Assume a leadership role in the Washington Cooperative Library Project, especially in the
areas of shared databases and digitization initiatives.
c) Strategically identify and attract new donors to take advantage of unique opportunities for
both cash and non-cash gifts.
d) Develop and implement a Libraries-wide preservation plan.
e) Participate in the planning of new academic programs.
f) Change the Libraries’ existing funding strategies for information resources in
order to align with our priorities, including funding of major interdisciplinary electronic resources.
g) Leverage our purchasing power in a variety of ways, including consortial
arrangements.
Goal Two
Increase information and technology literacy in order to build a community of lifelong learners.
Individuals in our global, information-rich environment are faced with increasingly diverse and abundant information choices. The uncertain quality and expanding quantity of information, combined with rapid changes in technology, require that individuals be highly sophisticated in their ability to locate, critically evaluate, and use information. The sheer abundance of information will not in itself create a more informed user community without a complementary cluster of abilities to use
information and technology effectively.
Information literacy is a key component of lifelong learning and is central to the mission of higher education. Information and technology literacy is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. It enables students to master course content and extend their investigations beyond the classroom, become more self-directed, and assume greater control over their own learning. As users increase their fluency with information and technology, become engaged in using a wide variety of information sources to expand their knowledge, ask informed questions, and practice critical thinking, they multiply their
opportunities for self-directed learning. These skills provide students with a foundation for continued growth throughout their careers, as well as in their roles as informed citizens and leaders of their communities.
The saturation of our daily lives with information organized and transmitted via information technology, and the way in which public issues and social life are increasingly being shaped by issues such as intellectual property and privacy require an information curriculum that is multidimensional. This multidimensional approach demands that the widest range of educators collaborate with each other. Articulation with K-12 and community college educators has taken on new importance as we seek to create an information literate community.
University Libraries staff are committed to ensuring that our users acquire the information and technology skills that will enable them to make well-informed
decisions, increase research productivity, continue learning, and create new knowledge. As national leaders in information and technology literacy through UWired and other initiatives, we will work with faculty and staff to provide students with a conceptual framework and systematic approach for managing information, using technology, and developing abilities needed to become lifelong learners.
In order to achieve this goal, the Libraries will employ the following strategies:
a) Lead campus-wide information and technology literacy efforts and collaborate with faculty,
schools, colleges and departments in course planning and curriculum design.
b) Design and teach information and technology literacy courses and workshops.
c) Increase opportunities for Libraries staff to develop or improve their teaching and
instructional design skills.
d) Provide campus and state-wide leadership in the assessment of information and technology
literacy, including taking a leadership role in the Washington Council of Presidents’ Information Literacy and Distance Learning initiatives.
e) Develop and implement a plan for working with K-12 and community college librarians and
teachers to create information literacy programs that will prepare students for work at the university level.
Goal Three
Acquire, organize, and deliver information resources rapidly and responsibly to enhance access to knowledge for our users.
The information environment today is richer and more diverse than ever before. It also can be much more confusing, even for experienced researchers. Students and faculty can find themselves awash with information but unable to locate the specific materials necessary to answer their questions. Expert staff members must provide users with the personalized reference advice and guidance necessary to find the information they need, both within the library and beyond. Experience has shown that the cost of creating, managing and maintaining integrated digital information resources that lead users more quickly to resources is often higher than that of traditional print resources.
The University Libraries will take advantage of new technologies to provide
transparent, user-friendly gateways to information services and collections that will integrate access to our rich electronic and print information resources. Staff will
continually reexamine the ways in which we do business and will pursue continued excellence in this changing environment. We will seek to make the Information
Gateway our user’s first choice for information. We will strive to deliver information to users more quickly, responsibly, and cost-effectively and to provide anytime, any- place access to Libraries services and information resources.
To achieve this goal, the Libraries will employ the following strategies:
a) Expand and promote welcoming and efficient remote and in-person services.
b) Create and improve discovery methods and tools that enhance and expand access to knowledge and that exceed user expectations and incorporate popular functionalities of non- library sources.
c) Continue to streamline the acquisition, cataloging, bindery, and shelving cycles to allow
materials to reach users more quickly.
d) Explore and introduce new technologies, standards and processes to more effectively
acquire, organize and deliver information resources.
e) Regularly assess user needs and how well we are meeting those needs with such tools as
surveys and focus groups, including participation in ARL New Initiatives.
f) Enhance users' awareness through publicity efforts and proven experience that Libraries'
staff can be their "personal information shoppers" to expertly guide them through the information maze.
g) Improve access to resources not held by the Libraries and improve access to our collections
by remote users.
Goal Four
Increase organizational agility and accountability and empower staff in order to anticipate and respond to the evolving needs of our users.
Major challenges will face the University Libraries and its staff in the coming years. User needs and expectations are shifting rapidly as technological change occurs. Tight financial circumstances may become even more constrained due to recently passed statewide budget initiatives. Private industry often exceeds our public pay scale and benefits, attracting high quality staff away from the Libraries.
To thrive in such conditions, increased flexibility and accountability will be crucial. We will establish priorities and reallocate resources to meet changing needs.
To achieve this goal, the Libraries will employ the following strategies:
a) Continue to recruit, develop, and retain a motivated, high quality, expert, and diverse staff.
b) Create opportunities for multiple models for staff success, including increasing
opportunities for participation in cross-divisional activities, projects, and positions.
c) Develop an electronic management and statistical system with data meaningful for decision
making and reporting.
d) Forge and cultivate strategic relationships with other institutions, including K-20, regional,
national and international organizations.
e) Refocus and strengthen the Libraries liaison program between academic departments and
Libraries staff.
f) Reallocate staff resources to our highest priorities and cut or reduce lower priority activities
in order to fund the higher.
g) Re-examine and align our organizational structure to enable us to achieve our strategic
goals.
Goal Five
Participate fully in the intellectual life of the University.
Libraries staff have particular responsibilities and expertise in the areas of information
retrieval and use and in scholarly communications. In addition, the Libraries can contribute to the intellectual life by organizing exhibits, sponsoring programs and lectures and providing a venue for lectures, performances and displays of public art.
Scholarly communication encompasses the lifecycle of knowledge creation in higher education. Major changes in scholarly communication are still taking place that have significant impacts on the University community, including researchers, scholars and the Libraries. These include Web-based electronic publishing, sharply escalating prices for
published scholarly resources, modified copyright law and intellectual property protection, and the rise of academy-assisted knowledge-distribution methods that compete with expensive commercially-provided ones.
The Libraries must provide leadership to the campus community and higher education overall so that knowledge and data made possible through research and scholarship can be disseminated as openly and cost-effectively as possible.
To achieve this goal, the Libraries will employ the following strategies:
a) Initiate campus discussions and take leadership roles, both locally and nationally, on setting policy and direction on scholarly communication, information policy and intellectual property.
b) Collaborate with the University Attorney General's Office, Office of Technology
Transfer and the Copyright Officer to inform the University community about copyright and other intellectual property issues.
c) Provide resources and expertise to researchers and scholars, in collaboration with
other institutions and organizations, to provide viable channels for dissemination and archiving of research and scholarship.
d) Create and implement a structured, coherent plan to explain our services and
effectively bring our expertise to the University community.
e) Collaborate with the School of Library and Information Science and others to
perform original research and create new knowledge.
f) Organize exhibits and provide a forum for campus lectures, performances, and
displays of public art to promote the dissemination of knowledge.
Goal Six
Improve the quality of library facilities to support the needs of people, services, and collections.
Even as Libraries staff work to develop the virtual library and virtual commons, the concept of the library as place remains key to the services we provide and the role of the library within the University community.
The many facilities of the University Libraries form the intellectual commons of the University, in which scholars and students come together to explore ideas and issues, or engage in solitary inquiry and reflection. University Libraries facilities also provide the platform from which staff provide innovative library services that reach beyond our physical walls.
As with the rest of the University, the Libraries’ physical infrastructure is aging and
replacement and renovation costs loom large. At the same time, the print collection continues to grow and space for shelving is increasingly tight. The situation is exacerbated by new
technologies that make current facilities outmoded for both library users and staff. We are faced with having to accommodate a larger physical collection, embrace the virtual
environment, optimize the use of current facilities, and expand off-campus shelving.
To achieve this goal, the Libraries will employ the following strategies:
a) Update the Libraries Facilities Master Plan to reflect strategic priorities.
b) Articulate to our stakeholders the need for accessible space to accommodate a growing
collection and increased library services including an expanded role in teaching.
c) Document the need for and obtain a permanent off-campus shelving facility.
d) Carry out renovation project planning and implementation to make the best and most
creative use of existing space.
e) Develop effective, appealing, and intellectually engaging spaces for both collaborative and
individual work.
f) Expand the Libraries’ web presence as an extension of our role as the University of
Washington intellectual commons.
Strategic Themes
During the strategic planning process, the University Libraries identified four common threads that ran throughout the course of our planning discussions. We will emphasize these themes as we pursue each of the University Libraries' six goals.
1. Assess and evaluate the effectiveness of our programs and services.
Academic libraries everywhere are being required by their institutions to demonstrate the outcomes and efficacy of funded programs. The rapid pace of change and increasing
expectations of users necessitate continuous examination of library programs and the internal practices and resources that support them.
An ongoing assessment program not only provides valuable information with which we can plan for innovative and cost-effective new library services, but it also responds to our commitment to ensuring that public money is spent wisely and effectively.
2. Participate actively in the University’s decision-making and planning processes.
The Libraries serves all programs and campuses of the University of Washington, and is a dedicated partner in the educational process. As the University initiates new strategic directions, such as the University Initiatives Fund proposals, it is especially vital that the Libraries be actively involved at all levels. Active participation in the campus decision-making and planning process will help the Libraries to achieve its goals within the University of
Washington community and assure that the Libraries' mission, vision and goals are in harmony with that of the University as a whole.
3. Present a focused and coherent message about the Libraries and its services to the University community and our constituents.
Never before has the responsibility for an informed citizenry seemed so central to the mission of libraries. Changes in information technology are reshaping the world of learning and of
scholarly communication. These same changes are allowing commercial and self-published sources to flood the information environment with undifferentiated information sources of varying degrees of quality and reliability.
This challenging environment provides an excellent opportunity for the University Libraries to clarify its unique role. We will distinguish the Libraries as the center of expertise in information management throughout the life cycle of scholarly communication. By articulating directly to our constituents the wide array of services and professional expertise that we bring to the educational enterprise, we will position the Libraries as the intellectual commons of the University community.
4. Pursue diversified financial and material support to fund priorities.
The proportion of university budgets going to libraries at both private and public research institutions has shrunk dramatically over the past decades. In the future, it is likely that few institutions will see increased revenues from higher enrollments, federal research funding, or state appropriations. Most institutions will need to live with low-growth or no-growth
budgets. At the same time, student enrollment is rising and the demand for library services is higher than ever before.
In an environment of flat or dwindling state support, we will pursue financial and material support in the form of grants, partnerships, gifts, donations, and cost-recovery services to meet our strategic goals. We will also continue to seek adequate state funding and to reallocate resources to meet higher priorities. We will strengthen alliances with faculty, administrators, state agencies, and lawmakers.
