Heard Library Strategic Plan 2004/2005

 

Appendix

Major Issues

Four key systemic issues face today's research libraries, and their resolution will take the concerted effort of many sectors of higher education.

First, the rate of increase in the cost of research materials continues to exceed significantly that of general inflation. This ongoing problem is driven by a number of factors: an increase in the amount of research and publication; the consolidation of publishing to a few commercial scientific, technical and medical publishers; and in recent times, the decline of the dollar against other currencies.

The second issue is the changing legal landscape, in which the "fair-use" copyright standard is at risk, and licensed information is becoming the norm. Legislation in the digital age increasingly tends to limit access to information as publishing and entertainment industries demand increased penalties for what they see as infringements of their distribution rights. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a prime example of overly aggressive limitations on access to scholarly information.

Third, the role of libraries as archives of society's accumulated knowledge is threatened. In the digital age, libraries increasingly license, not own, information. The curatorial role is thus shifting to publishers, who do not necessarily see their role as preserving knowledge. To date, there are no accepted standards for or methods of assuring the future existence of these digital assets, and much of what is published in digital form is at risk.

Finally, resources in paper are a significant concern. Libraries are faced with the disintegration of their huge paper collections, often published on acidic paper with a relatively short life expectancy. Many of these materials have not yet been (and may never be) converted to digital format. As noted above, such conversion is itself problematic.

Planning Process

The Library's strategic planning process began early in 2004 with the establishment of task forces that focused on user groups, digital libraries, metadata, and organizational structure. Each task force conducted an environmental scan, gathered data, and compiled recommendations for change. A steering committee oversaw the process, evaluated the recommendations, and created the strategic plan.

Forty-six members on six task forces interviewed 78 faculty members and contacted over 70 others; they interviewed 21 graduate and undergraduate students in focus groups, and met with 55 library staff members. Twenty-three University administrators were interviewed, as well as seven alumni and six members of the museum community. Surveys were sent to 294 alumni, both recent and long-term graduates, and responses were received from 46 percent of those solicited. As part of the environmental scan process, task force members reviewed 200 Websites (from ARL libraries and from other institutions of higher learning) to gather information.

Library staff responded to the task force reports at three "town meetings." Seventy-six staff members attended the sessions, where they discussed and ranked the recommendations. Staff members brainstormed about their vision of the "ideal library" and their concerns were integrated into the strategic plan.

Listed below are the results of the Library's SWOT analysis.

Strengths:
· Specifically tailored collections and services keyed to each school
· An extensive array of digital databases, journals, and books
· A well-trained, knowledgeable and responsive staff
· An increased emphasis on quality of service

Weaknesses:
· Disparate policies, services, and programs due to the independence of the divisional libraries
· Lack of clear connection to the University direction or strategic plan
· Poor communication of our services and resources to users
· No clearly articulated digital library program
· No organized grant-seeking capability

Opportunities:
· To develop a deeper working relationship with other campus units (such as the Center for Teaching and the Office of Innovation through Technology) that support the academic enterprise
· To improve the alignment of our activities with key University initiatives and goals
· To leverage best practices of individual divisional libraries to all libraries
· To become an important element of the Residential College Program
· To emphasize our trans-institutional nature in support of University initiatives
· To preserve, organize and make accessible information to faculty and administrators
· To participate in the national and international restructuring of scholarly communication
· To create new tools for scholarly communication
· To provide a desirable physical environment for scholarly activities

Threats:
· Google will become the de facto access point to information for students and faculty
· The Library will continue to be seen as a collection of books rather than the provider of services vital to the pursuit of research, teaching, and learning
· The cost of scholarly information will continue to increase faster than University budget increases, thus limiting learning, scholarship and research

Library Mission and Vision Statements

Mission Statement (1996)

The Library's unique and vital role is to further the University's mission of generating and disseminating knowledge through teaching, learning, research, and service. The Library is an essential academic center that serves as a place of discovery, exchange, and advancement of ideas through its commitment to accessing new scholarship and archiving accumulated knowledge.
Staff are dedicated to offering the highest level of service in responding to the information needs of its diverse users and in helping users understand and effectively use new and traditional forms of information delivery.
The first priority of the Library is to provide these services to Vanderbilt faculty and students through active outreach across the campus. Secondarily, the Library is a resource for the larger academic and scholarly community through its participation in cooperative and collaborative local, regional, and national partnerships.

Vision Statement (2004)

The library is an academic center for learning, intellectual discovery and exploration as both a physical place and a virtual space. The Library is a strategic partner of the University in pursuing academic excellence among the top-ranked educational institutions of the nation.

We will enable our users, empower our staff, and embrace the digital present. Our users will gain access to what they need, when and where they need it, and in the form that is most useful to them. Our staff will have cutting edge knowledge and skills and be empowered to offer the highest quality of service possible. We will continue to enhance and preserve our print collection while fostering digital collections and services to give our faculty and students every opportunity to succeed in their academic ventures.

Other academic support units are invited to partner with the Library in creating a new "center for academic life" to provide a wide range of academic services in support of learning, teaching and research. Hallmarks of this new center will be: collaboration with students and faculty in their teaching and research projects; building long-term relationships and awareness among the partners and those they serve; seamless access and minimal barriers to resources and staff; excellence of service regardless of college affiliation; and a balance between resources and commitments, fostered by a climate of evaluation and assessment.

Updated 3/29/2005