Strategic Plan

April 2001 Revision

Preface
Introduction
Environmental Scan
Mission and Vision
Reading the Plan
Developing and Carrying out the Plan
Strategic Plan

Preface

It is my pleasure to present this 2001 revision to the University of Maryland Libraries' Strategic Plan. This updated plan is a work in progress. The library staff and the University Library Council have reviewed and advised on the full range of goals and objectives we set for ourselves in the UM Libraries. The Provost will examine our plan for the extent to which it helps fulfill the campus plan, as well as for the specific items in the campus plan for which the UM Libraries are responsible.

A strategic plan by definition does not include all the projects and programs in the library. However, the natural hierarchy of a plan, with its initiatives, goals and objectives, shows how things fit. Therefore, all library staff should be able to see how their work fits in the plan and helps make progress on the plan's objectives.

This matter of seeing how ones job and contributions fit is necessary in part because individual work plans (performance review and development, or PRD) are connected to the Libraries' strategic plan. See the section "Developing and Carrying out the Plan," for information on how this connection will evolve in 2001. That section also outlines the process for input and further development of the plan.

I commend the process and the plan itself to your careful and thoughtful attention. We will all benefit from each other's ideas and contributions.

Charles B. Lowry, Ph.D.
Dean of Libraries
April 2001

Introduction

The Strategic Planning Task Force from 1998-99, minus Lauren Brown and plus Carlen Ruschoff, re-grouped in the fall of 2000 to revise the Libraries' April 1999 strategic plan to serve these purposes:

• synchronize with the May 2000 new campus plan,
• reflect changes in the Libraries since April 1999,
• serve as a context for the new PRD cycle for library staff, starting January 2001.

The group met twelve times from October 2000 through February 2001 to produce various drafts of this revised strategic plan, with changes as recommended by library staff and the Library Executive Council.

Task force members realized early on how much has changed in only a year and a half since the last plan revision. The informal environmental scan following this section is a quick summary of some of the major changes.

The group also was mindful of updating the plan so that the goals and sub-goals are stated as actively, clearly and inclusively as possible. One aim is that each library staff member can see how his/her job contributes to the whole.

The Strategic Planning Task Force has helped produce this final document to guide individual and corporate work and trusts that it will be useful for everyone concerned.

Betty Day
Irma Dillon
Patti Longenbach
Yalan Qi
Carlen Ruschoff
Warren Stephenson
Cindy Todd, facilitator
Jane Williams, chair

Environmental Scan

The Library last updated its Strategic Plan in April 1999. Since that time both the University and the Libraries have continued to change. Clayton Daniel (Dan) Mote, Jr. became president of the University in April of 1999. That change in leadership has already pushed the University toward increasing its efforts to participate in our civic community and toward closer ties with existing and new corporate affiliates.

State and Campus
The State's economy has dramatically improved from the early 1990's; consequently the State has substantially increased its financial support of the University. The Libraries have been the beneficiary of some of this increase. In 1999 the General Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to the University as the Flagship Institution of the State. Certainly the University continues to evolve. In its May 2000 publication "Building on Excellence: The Next Steps", the University defined its new strategic plan. The University couples aspirations to excellence as a research institution with high aspirations to recruit, develop, and graduate excellent undergraduates. The efforts place greater demands on the Libraries for services, collections, and expertise. The University continues to place high value on racial and cultural diversity. In that spirit, the Libraries have spent a great deal of energy since April 1999 in this area including completion of a staff diversity survey.

Institutional Peers
The State's General Assembly has redefined our peers within the academic community. We now compare ourselves to UCLA, University of Illinois—Urbana, University of California—Berkeley, University of North Carolina, and the University of Michigan. This re-definition provides us with not only a powerful tool for establishing our comparative position among those peers, but also provides us with benchmarks as we define our goals and objectives.

Measures and Assessments
Comparison, when taken to include assessment and measurement, grew more important in the last couple of years generally and within the community of research libraries as well. The Association of Research Libraries undertook significant new programs in which the UM Libraries are participating, including New Measures and LibQUAL+.

Facilities
The Libraries' physical condition continues to require our attention, even though some of our facilities have changed over the past two years. One conspicuous change is that the Performing Arts Library moved out of Hornbake into its beautiful new home in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. That move brings us closer to completing the renovations that will allow the Hornbake facility to house some of the Libraries' extensive special collections. The Hornbake move in turn makes renovation of McKeldin possible. Collection space is an ongoing challenge. Our collections continue to grow and several of the Libraries' buildings are at capacity.

Information Technology and Electronic Resources
Academic libraries are among the most intensively IT-networked organizations within higher education. They are subject to the transforming effects of networked IT in the ways other organizations have been. It follows that academic libraries --- which deal with scholarly information content -- will change. Needs for access to electronic materials to support scholarly research will continue to increase. The UM Libraries strive to balance collections with an array of electronic resources across the disciplines, including indexing/abstracting databases, e-journals and e-books. The Libraries must also deal with the transition from print to electronic in ways that continue to serve users well.  The UM Libraries are the second-highest library in the Association of Research Libraries in the percentage (20%) of total acquisition expenditures on electronic resources.

The most recent change to the Libraries' environment that will affect our goals and objectives is the new integrated library system that the Libraries will be implementing. This change will certainly affect our users. It may also have an impact on the way that we do our work, and on how we are organized. The opportunities of new technology will dramatically alter the way that our resources are delivered.

Organizational Structure
Parts of the Libraries' organization have undergone fundamental structural changes over the past two years. In summer of 1998, in an effort to expand the range in which we are an important presence, we organized many of the librarians into subject teams to better serve the faculty and students and scholarly community in general. Outreach and instruction in the use of our resources have increased as a result. We are expanding that structural change into other areas by creating additional new teams in our Public Services and Collection Management and by a program review of our entire Technical Services Division.

Our goal with these structural changes is to improve our ability to serve the campus and scholarly community. In order to accomplish that, we are going beyond examination of our work and our organizational structure. We are developing measurement tools to see if our efforts are achieving our goals for effective service to the University community. In addition we are continuing to develop our own skills through staff training.

As we re-examine our strategic plan it is important that we recognize some of the changes in our environment that may affect our goals and objectives.

MISSION and VISION

For context, the core mission and vision statements in the April 1999 plan are repeated below. The 1999 plan has other useful and pertinent statements as well – on values, service philosophy, and so forth. The document is on the Web and can be viewed at:
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/preface.html
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/mission.html
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/goals.html

VISION

The University of Maryland Libraries will be an innovative leader and partner in the research library and scholarly information communities. We will be a model for client-centered service excellence, providing information resources that enhance learning and teaching in an environment both physical and virtual that is inviting and user-friendly. We will hold ourselves to high standards of expertise, performance and contribution to the larger effort, in an organization that will enable and reward achievement of these high standards.

Reading the Plan

As noted in the Introduction, this present revision was undertaken in part because of the University’s new plan, "Building on Excellence: The Next Steps," issued in May 2000. The campus plan still has five initiatives, but they are different from those in the 1996 plan, which were as follows:

1. Offering high-quality education to outstanding undergraduates
2. Building cornerstone programs of excellence in graduate education and research
3. Increasing the University's contribution to society
4. Encouraging entrepreneurship
5. Rationalizing resource allocation and administrative operations

The May 2000 University plan offers these five initiatives:

1. Continue to elevate the quality of undergraduate education in order to provide all students an enriched and challenging educational experience.

2. Build a strong, university-wide culture of excellence in graduate and professional education, research, scholarship, and the creative and performing arts.

3. Ensure a university environment that is inclusive as well as diverse and that fosters a spirit of community among faculty, staff, and students.

4. Engage the university more fully in outreach and collaborative partnerships with the greater community.

5. Ensure an administrative, operational and physical infrastructure that fully supports a first-class university.

In its strategic plan the library continues to combine the first two initiatives, because of the 1998 the merger of library services to undergraduate and graduate students. Phrasing and placement of some other goals or objectives are so done to be consistent with the University plan.

The hierarchy for planning is

On this campus, "initiative" is important and may be viewed as a broad goal. Initiatives are the major organizing factors for the campus and thus the Libraries' plans.

The 1999 library plan had goals and sub-goals for human resources and staff development to improve our services to the University community throughout the plan. The 2001 plan consolidates those goals and sub-goals in Initiatives 1-2 and 5.

A "leader" is designated for the sub-goal level, where objectives are specific enough to assign responsibility. A "leader" is an individual or group with the responsibility and authority to move an objective forward. The leader's role is necessary for the success of the objective. Leaders are also responsible for full and appropriate communication and consultation.

Terms like customer and information literacy appear in this plan, both to be consistent with the university plan and to incorporate what is now standard language in discussing library services.

The reader of this 2001 plan may wish to compare it with the 1999 plan, at these URLs:
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/preface.html
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/mission.html
http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/ASD/goals.html

The 2000 University plan is also on the Web at:
http://www.inform.umd.edu/provost/Strategic_Planning/

DEVELOPING AND CARRYING OUT THE PLAN

Below are significant dates for the plan and its development and application.

Contributor: the person/s and/or group/s supporting or working with the leader to accomplish the objective. The contributor's role is necessary for the success of the objective.

Timetable: outline of beginning-middle-end schedule to achieve the objective, if it is a project with an end-date or is a one-time activity. If ongoing, then benchmarks (points of reference from which measurements may be made) or milestones (significant points in any progress or development) should be projected.

Resources: people, material and/or funds in the Libraries, on campus or elsewhere, required for the success of the objective. The resources may already be available or may need to be acquired.

Accountability for progress on the plan will be measured in part by the following:

• Leaders and contributors will work together to develop and carry out strategies to meet the plan's objectives.
• Leaders should incorporate strategic plans in their PRDs, for action planning, performance measurement, actual outcomes and evaluation. Contributors may as well, depending on the priority of an objective with the contributors' other plans for the year.
• Leaders will review progress on their objectives at all-staff meetings.
• Divisions will report on progress in their annual plans.

University of Maryland Libraries
Strategic Plan 2001 Revision

INITIATIVE ONE:

Continue to elevate the quality of undergraduate education in order to provide all students an enriched and challenging educational experience.

INITIATIVE TWO:

Build a strong, university-wide culture of excellence in graduate and professional education, research, scholarship, and the creative and performing arts.

Initiatives One and Two are fundamental to the Libraries' mission, which is twofold: providing access to and assistance in the use of the scholarly information resources required to meet the education, research and service missions of the University.

The UM Libraries have consolidated general information and research services for all levels of students. Therefore, for the purposes of this plan, Initiatives One and Two of the University's plan are shown together.

Specific steps:

1. Continue to provide and refine access to collections and services to respond to changes in information delivery and the instructional and research needs of the university community.

1.(A) Address specific needs of faculty and students through cooperative programs with each college.
Leaders: Subject teams

1.(B) Deliver effective and responsive core public services in person and electronically.
Leaders: Information and Research Services Team; Access Services Team

1.(C) Organize and maintain library collections for efficient access by library users. This includes the layout of book stacks, shelving accuracy, signage, etc.
Leader: Access Services Team

1.(D) Enhance delivery of reference and information services and inform the user population as new technologies are adopted.
Leaders: Information and Research Services Team; Information Literacy Team

1.(E) Take a leading partner role with the Dean of Undergraduate Studies to establish and achieve information technology fluency and information literacy requirements for all undergraduates.
Leaders: Public Services Director; Information Literacy Team

1.(F) Engage customers in evaluating the Libraries' user education program and act on the results.
Leaders: Information Literacy Team; Library Assessment Review Committee

1.(G) Develop and carry out divisional plans to address each division’s objectives related to this plan.
Leaders: Division Directors

2. Develop networked, technology-based resources to support cutting-edge research, scholarship, teaching and learning.

2.(A) Contribute to building the Maryland Institute for the Humanities (MITH) into a national model for integrating cutting-edge technology into the liberal arts.
Leader: Digital Library Program

2.(B) Guide the implementation of a new library information management system (LIMS) for the USM and affiliated libraries.
Leader: Information Technology Division

2.(C) Implement LIMS3 for the College Park campus through active participation in the Implementation Working Group and related functional groups and with the broad involvement of Library and University staff and customers.
Leaders: Directors of Public Services and Technical Services

2.(D) Expand electronic reserves from the 2000 pilot.
Leader: Access Services Team

2.(E) Expand and promote the digital library activity within UM Libraries designed for digitizing collections, cooperative ventures, etc. to improve electronic access to materials.
Leaders: Digital Library Program

2.(F) Proceed with Research Port for the UM Libraries, in partnership with University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions and Maryland Digital Library.
Leader: Information Technology Division

3. Ensure that the Libraries have, cultivate and retain the human resources essential to a research library of the first rank.

High-quality services depend on a well trained, effectively functioning library staff. The Libraries must be able to attract and retain qualified people and must provide for the continuing development of staff skill and knowledge in a constantly changing environment. Further, fully involving staff in organizational change and decision-making is essential to advance the Libraries' mission.

3.(A) Expand self-managed teams for adaptable and responsive library operations and services.
Leaders: Library Executive Council; Assistant to the Dean for Organizational Development; Staff Training and Development Office

3.(B) Begin an ongoing training and educational curriculum (i.e., the Libraries' learning curriculum) for staff at all levels so they can better serve the users' needs
Leaders: Staff Training and Development Office; Assistant to the Dean for Organizational Development.

3.(C) Provide the necessary facilities, equipment, training and technical support for staff to perform their jobs and review such provision regularly.
Leader: Library Executive Council

4. Research, develop, evaluate and implement best practices for acquiring, organizing, delivering and preserving information resources in all forms.

4.(A) Implement allocation mechanisms, collecting strategies and staffing plans for effective use of funds and for maximum impact on university programs.
Leader: Collection Management Team (in concert with advice of University Library Council)

4.(B) Continue to invest in increased access to online journals and commercial, scholarly databases for use by faculty, students and staff.
Leader: Electronic Resources Committee

4.(C) Determine and carry out strategies for a transition from print to electronic holdings when and where appropriate.
Leader: Electronic Resources Committee

4.(D) Build better and timely access to information resources (including electronic resources) by streamlining workflow through Technical Services.
Leader: Technical Services Division

4.(E) Develop and carry out a permanently maintained plan and appropriate actions that preserve library collections.
Leader: Preservation Department

5. Develop and implement a library-wide assessment and measurement program.

5.(A) Review all quantitative and qualitative goals periodically, to assess progress and develop new goals as required.
Leaders: Planning and Administrative Services Division; Management Information Systems Office

5.(B) Participate in ARL New Measures program including measures for use of electronic resources and LibQUAL+ survey.
Leaders: Management Information System Office; Electronic Resources Committee; Library Assessment Review Committee

5.(C) Advocate with the Campus Assessment Working Group and with other campus departments to include the Libraries' impact on student success in assessment/measurement tools.
Leader: Management Information Systems Office

5.(D) Continually monitor faculty and student customer satisfaction.
Leaders: Management Information Systems Office; Library Assessment Review Committee

6. Improve the Libraries' physical facilities to address the needs of onsite customers for better access to print and electronic resources, reference and instructional services, and study space.

Libraries will continue to be important places for study and research.  Ever-growing collections require space.  New technologies require areas designed and equipped for them.  On-site users require well-lit, comfortable work spaces for individual and group study.  Significant effort is continually required to meet the traditional and changing needs for library buildings.

6.(A) Complete the multi-year renovation of Hornbake and McKeldin libraries.
Leaders: Library Executive Council; Space Planning and Implementation Team; Facilities and Services Department

6.(B) Develop options and seek campus/USM/state backing for improved housing and access to scientific and technical resources to provide first-class service to the engineering and scientific communities on campus and beyond.
Leader: Library Executive Council

6.(C) Pursue merger of the art and architecture libraries in a state-of-the-art facility.
Leader: Dean

6.(D) Seek campus, system and/or state backing of a recommended course for off site storage and move forward to implement.
Leaders: Dean; Planning and Administrative Services Division

INITIATIVE THREE:

Ensure a university environment that is inclusive as well as diverse and that fosters a spirit of community among faculty, staff and students.

Specific steps:

7. Actively participate in the programs and events of the University Diversity Initiative.
Leaders: Planning and Administrative Services Division; Diversity Committee

8. Improve library work climate by addressing the findings and recommendations of recent library surveys and studies.
Leader: Library Executive Council

9. Diversify workforce, by meeting targeted objectives in an updated library-wide diversity plan.
Leader: Library Executive Council

10. Build a greater sense of community among faculty, staff and students through projects such as a McKeldin café, exhibits, speaker series, scholarly communication initiative, etc.
Leaders: Friends of Libraries Director; Dean

11. Promote and recognize contributions by Libraries' staff to University service, professional organizations, scholarly disciplines and to society generally.
Leaders: Appointment, Promotion and Permanent Status Committee; Dean

INITIATIVE FOUR:

Engage the university more fully in outreach and collaborative partnerships with the greater community.

Specific steps:

12. Support economic development and all levels of education in the state through expansion and operation of the Maryland Digital Library.
Leaders: Information Technology Division Director; Dean

13. Explore mechanisms to support faculty and graduate students in the distribution of new knowledge and learning by collaboration with enterprises that are innovating in electronic scholarly communication.
Leader:  Collection Management Team

14. Build mutually beneficial relationships with state and federal government agencies to enhance staffing and deliver services.
Leader: Public Services Director

15. Build strong relationships with other research libraries and professional organizations to enhance local and reciprocal services.
Leader: Dean

16. Survey the market for fee-based services to business and industry. Expand such enterprise services if survey results and other library priorities warrant.
Leader: Grants Manager

17. Respond to opportunities for international collaborative partnerships with libraries to enhance educational and teaching opportunities for students and teaching and library faculty.
Leader: Library Executive Council

18. Seek and respond to opportunities for collaboration with schools (K-12) and other community organizations in activities for information literacy.
Leaders: Public Services Director; Information Literacy Team

19. Exploit opportunities provided by new or renovated facilities for exhibits and other outreach efforts.
Leaders: Planning and Administrative Services Division; Dean’s Office

INITIATIVE FIVE:

Ensure an administrative, operational and physical infrastructure that fully supports a first-class university. A pervasive element of this infrastructure is a strong customer orientation that provides the highest quality of service to internal and external customers.

Specific steps:

20. Build the Libraries' human resources infrastructure to enable recruiting, retention and first-class support of the University's academic mission.

20.(A) Participate in and support University efforts to implement Regents' policies to achieve staff salaries that are at or above the market average.
Leader: Library Executive Council

20.(B) Eliminate large-scale dependence on contract positions for permanent support.
Leader: Library Executive Council

20.(C) Build adequate budgets, assignment mechanisms and incentives to recruit reward and retain student assistants, including graduate assistants.
Leader: Library Executive Council

20.(D) Strengthen and expand the Libraries' graduate assistantship program.
Leader: Library Executive Council

20.(E) Carry out cycles of work planning and performance review that embody best practices and most productive outcomes for all staff.
Leader: Library Personnel Office

20.(F) Investigate and implement new methods of handling peak, seasonal or other unusual workloads - including consolidation of service points, job rotation, job sharing, outsourcing, floaters, etc. - for flexible and responsive staff assignments.
Leaders: Divisional Directors

20.(G) Develop and implement governance and other policies and procedures for librarians to function fully as non-tenured faculty.
Leaders: Appointment, Promotion and Permanent Status Committee; Plan of Governance Committee

20.(H) Constructively engage the development of unions on campus.
Leader: Library Executive Council

21. Establish a top-performing library development operation for public communications, prospect management, partnership development, fund-raising and grantsmanship.
Leaders: Dean; Director of External Relations; Friends of Libraries Director; Grants Manager

22. Create and maintain an electronic networking infrastructure providing the levels of connectivity and data throughput required for library customers and staff.
Leader: Information Technology Division

23. Continue re-design of individual jobs and organizational processes throughout the Libraries for increased flexibility, accountability and performance.
Leaders: Dean; Divisional Directors; Assistant to the Dean for Organizational Development

23.(A) Conduct cost-benefit analyses regularly to determine if re-designs are efficient and/or effective.
Leaders: Dean; Management Information Systems Office; Divisional Directors; Assistant to the Dean for Organizational Development

23.(B) Prepare for and take maximum advantage of campus electronic workplace initiative.
Leaders: Staff Training and Development Office; Information Technology Division

24. Keep current data on the Libraries' status and needs, for fact-based decision-making and planning, for informing campus officials and others, and for supporting funding requests.

24.(A) Examine the adequacy of library operating budgets and staffing levels for fulfilling the university and library missions, and quantify the gap between the UM Libraries and peer institutions.
Leader: Library Executive Council

24.(B) Develop strategies for increasing university contribution for library acquisitions.
Leaders: Dean; University Library Council

24.(C) Evaluate trends in building programs, renovation programs, branch/departmental libraries and off-site storage at peer institution libraries.
Leader: Planning and Administrative Services Division

24.(D) Articulate the library budgeting process in the context of shared governance.
Leaders: Library Executive Council, Library Faculty Assembly

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