Please note: the appendices referred to in the text and the Revised Strategic Plan Budget Summary are not available online. Copies are available at the Reserve Desks of McKeldin Library and Hornbake Library, University of Maryland, and also from the University Archives serviced in the Maryland Room of McKeldin Library.

INITIATIVES AND GOAL STATEMENTS

Initiative One: Offering High-Quality Education to Outstanding Undergraduates

Initiative Two: Building Cornerstone Programs of Excellence in Graduate Education and Research

Initiative Three: Increasing the University's Contribution to Society

Initiative Four: Encouraging Entrepreneurship

Initiative Five: Rationalizing Resource Allocation and Administrative Operations

FUNDING IMPLICATIONS/SOURCES

Initiative I

Initiative II

Initiative V

INTRODUCTION

In 1996, the University Libraries were designated as a key area in the UMCP strategic plan. The Dean of Libraries was charged with the responsibility of revising the Libraries' strategic plan by the Spring of 1997 elaborating the needs, levels of funding and time lines for implementation. In this report, the Libraries are responding to each of five strategic initiatives of UMCP with a series of strategic goals. Each goal is described briefly in Section I and "Funding Implications/Sources" are established. A detailed statement of planning is provided in Section II and Section III which includes descriptions of the Implementation Responsibility, Implementation Time Frame, Funding Implications/Sources and Additional Documentation for Goal. For each goal the funding section indicates an expected source for the funding. Amounts requested as an addition to the Libraries' budget are indicated in bold and "e-programmed" resources are shown in plain text and will come from established Libraries funding.

The Libraries Strategic Plan (December 1994) provides a still accurate assessment of the planning environment and a general set of strategies that serve as guideposts to action. On the other hand it does not provide the specific goals that will over the near term implement the plan. The present revision of the plan is really an elaboration of the specific strategic goals necessary for the UMCP Libraries to make concrete progress towards implementing the plan. The plan emphasizes three fundamental areas of resource needs:

• Human resources, or simply where do Libraries need people most and what do people most need to do their jobs well. It will come as no surprise that several key issues must be addressed including the level of dependence on contract positions for permanent library work, the need to establish a competitive promotion and pay plan for librarians and where the Libraries can best use new positions. Part of addressing these issues is re-examining the current use of human resources--are staff doing the right things and are people where best advantage can be made of their brains and experience? One thing is certain--by any measure Libraries are short-handed and must think hard about the opportunities of re-allocation of staff as well as growth in staff (see Appendix I, Table IV).
• Information resources--or the print and electronic resources needed to rebuild our capability of answering the critical information needs of this campus. Building information resources today means both just-in-time and just-in-case collection development, balancing emerging electronic resources with the still dominant print resources and exploiting networked access more as time passes. However, UMCP must also expand its vision of the mission for University Libraries to include the role it must play as "Maryland's Research Library." As the flagship public research institution, UMCP carries with it this broader external obligation, which at the same time is the one of the key elements in making the case for strong University and state commitment to build library information resources (see Appendix I, Table II and Table III).
• Capital resources--which means two things, information technology (IT) and buildings. As things stand now, the Libraries do not have a budgetary foundation for continuously improving the IT infrastructure. It is well understood that the Libraries are not going to effectively manage the paradigm shift in scholarly publishing without a permanent capability of upgrading old IT and acquiring the new technology that will be the foundation for future success of the University of Maryland. Libraries will also have to contend with the need to improve facilities and this means working closely with University Planning. It also means adopting innovations that have been used effectively by other research libraries, like compact and offsite storage. All evidence indicates that it will be many years before the much talked about digital libraries will obviate this classic problem.

Equally important, the Libraries' original Strategic Plan had no provisions for implementation and review. This revision corrects that lacuna by the establishment of a new "Office of Libraries Planning, Research and Grants." Finally, this planning document is predicated on the University's plan "Charting a Path to Excellence..." (March 1996) with the specific intent of directing the Libraries efforts toward the campus strategic initiatives.

In recent years, the analysis of need to strengthen the Libraries has been focused primarily on comparison with other members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to demonstrate relative weakness (see Appendix I). Progress on this criteria is difficult because we are so far behind" and because the "overall" ARL rankings (published annually in the Chronicle of Higher Education) are computed from a set of multi-collinear variables that reflect "history." Although it is essential to pay attention to this analysis, the long-term strategy for UMCP Libraries should emphasize doing what needs to be done now to support classroom teaching and research with scholarly information. Taking this perspective, over time the problem of rankings will take care of itself.

This Strategic Plan update reflects strongly these objectives and is intended to specify just how this may best be done. In the end the "bottom line" of net expenditures requested will move the Libraries ahead of one peer institution, the University of Arizona, and from 47th into the top 30 in total expenditures in the Association of Research Libraries (see Appendix I). The University has made an unequivocal commitment to strengthen Libraries. The recent Middle States visitation strongly confirmed this decision and emphasized several themes, most notably:

• Strengthening the role of Libraries in undergraduate education by implementing the CQI report "Undergraduate Services in the 21st Century" which the Middle States visitation team recommended be included as part of "The Educational Mission of a Public Research University: The Middle States Self-Study, February 1997."
• Strengthening the Libraries' ability to support research and graduate education with access to scholarly information by increasing its acquisitions budget and sustaining the increase against inflation.
• Increasing the fiscal support for the Libraries' IT infrastructure to improve its capability to deliver the increasing amounts of electronic information.

INITIATIVES AND GOAL STATEMENTS

Initiative One:
Offering High-Quality Education to Outstanding Undergraduates

The two goals (nine sub-goals) established for this initiative are based on a year long study conducted by a CQI team and expressed in its report on "Undergraduate Library Services in the 21st Century" (February 1997, Appendix II) which has received wide distribution and comment on campus. The report of the CQI team is a powerful incentive and important opportunity to address the first priority issue of the University's strategic plan.

Among the most important elements in the report is the closely reasoned analysis of the changing face of scholarly information and how that affects the use of libraries. The two most important features expressed in the report are obviously the emergence of the use of IT to mediate scholarly publication and the transformation of scholarship by multi-disciplinary approaches. A close second is the many changes in the way education is being delivered to undergraduates such as the use of team projects and of teaching technology as well as the increasing requirement for students to do some real research during their undergraduate years. It is critically important for the University of Maryland Libraries to re-examine the way we provide scholarly information within this context. The CQI report does that extremely well.

What these changes require from the Libraries is to provide the services and organization of information which present the fewest obstacles to getting at the information quickly and effectively. We recognize that students do not want to become librarians in order to be effective in gathering the information they need for learning. Accordingly, librarians must effectively organize information. In this regard, the report points up the weaknesses in the presentation of information to the campus, and this set of goals is intended to remedy them and create a "leading edge" capability for the Libraries to provide information services to undergraduates and the campus in general.

I Goal 1. Responding to the CQI Team's Recommendations--the Libraries will consolidate research services at a refurbished site in McKeldin and alter the provision of information services to respond to changes in scholarly information delivery and the instructional needs of undergraduate students.

It is essential to recasting the Libraries' support of undergraduates that we "re-engineer" the provision of all basic educational and reference services. The objectives of the report are reflected in several sub-goals which taken together will enable the Libraries to better utilize current resources and establish the level of need for new resources to accomplish this goal. It is extremely important that the reorganization be planned so that basic reference services and the Square One service in McKeldin are closely related. In particular librarians and staff must not be compartmentalized, but rather used in a variety of roles. Similarly, as these new services are developed they must be logically and consistently interrelated with existing services for graduate students.

I Goal 1.1. Reorganization of Information Services for Undergraduate Support--the Libraries will institute changes outlined in the CQI report including relocation of undergraduate information services from Hornbake to McKeldin and training and organization of staff to provide reorganized services. Some departments now located in McKeldin will be relocated to Hornbake to provide needed space.

I Goal 1.2. Blending Information Services with Instruction--requires implementation of two critical service recommendations of the CQI team, the Square One Project Planning Center and the Undergraduate Academic Center.

I Goal 1.3. Leadership in Educating Undergraduates for an Information Enabled World--the Libraries will establish improved programs to work cooperatively with faculty in teaching information literacy skills. The improvement requires an upgrading of librarian skills and the provision of information rich environment in the projected Undergraduate Academic Center.

I Goal 1.4. Collection Analysis Program (CAP) for Undergraduates--following the CQI recommendations, the collections currently located in Hornbake will be merged into a single collection. To maintain the quality and quantity of resources needed in McKeldin, the CAP will be used.

I Goal 2. Implementing the CQI report "Undergraduate Library Services in the 21st Century"--Building Seamless Access to Networked Digital Resources.

The Libraries' IT infrastructure has evolved over the last decade to provide a rich array of digital resources--including bibliographic access, full text, numeric data and licensed network access to important scholarly information on the Internet. At the same time these resources have been added gradually creating a confusing number and variety of access points that can easily defeat a user. The CQI report calls for a much needed reorganization of this infrastructure which will be achieved by several sub-goals. The description of these sub-goals provides a top level view of the plans for accomplishing this seamless access and avoids technical details that may be found in Appendix IV.

I Goal 2.1. Build Better Access Through a Common Graphical Interface at all Workstations--the Libraries' user interface will be dramatically improved with the use of a GUI that provides access to all electronic resources.

I Goal 2.5. Develop "Smart" Classrooms and Total Network Access for Nonprint Media--in response to the CQI report the Libraries will work with faculty to integrate new media into classroom use.

Initiative Two:
Building Cornerstone Programs Of Excellence in Graduate Education and Research

II Goal 1--Graduate Education and a Research Collection for Maryland--build the print, electronic and networked resources required for a "Tier I" institution.

If the Libraries are to successfully support the high quality graduate programs of the university, it is essential that collections be made a significant priority. Indeed, it is this need that has made the Libraries a consensus priority in the University's Strategic Plan. It is evident from reviewing the ARL statistics of our peer institutions that there is a need (see Appendix I). Using any available quantitative yardstick, the collections of the UMCP Libraries, while collectively adequate for undergraduate instruction, are significantly less extensive than even those of our lowest-ranked peers. It is clear that a strong research collection gives any university a comparative advantage. It improves graduate education and research. It strengthens the position of faculty in competing for research funds.

In addition, "The Educational Mission of a Public Research University: The Middle States Self-Study, February 1997" (page 52) elaborates another significant responsibility that the Libraries play--"as the library of the flagship institution, the University's Libraries carry the additional responsibility of serving as the State's research library." This is not merely an assertion. Data show that other UMS libraries borrow five items from UMCP for every one they lend to us. Similarly, samples of library users indicate that on a typical weekend 50% are non-UMCP and during the week 24% are not members of the campus community. This very high use by students from other schools and the community at large is indicative of the obligation that the Libraries fulfill beyond the campus. When the other universities or people of the state need advanced scholarly materials, if they are not found at College Park then they are essentially unavailable.

II Goal 1.1. Fund a Research Collection to Implement the Research Goals and Graduate Curriculum of the University--the Libraries will put into place the appropriate allocation mechanisms, collecting strategies and necessary staffing to ensure effective use of the vital funds and ensure a high level of confidence that these will have a large impact on the University programs.

Three basic goals are outlined here to create a stronger capability in the Libraries and ameliorate longstanding staffing problems.

II Goal 2.1. Promotion & Pay Plan for Librarians--implement the UMS Regents mandated 1996 plan for librarians' promotion in place to improve recruitment, retention and development of librarians.

Initiative Three:
Increasing the University's Contribution to Society

The goals for Initiative Three are supported fiscally by activities in the other initiatives or by external fund raising from grants and development. However, the Libraries have a significant impact on the state of Maryland. Indeed, Special Collections are gaining an international reputation as a scholarly resource.

III Goal 1. UMCP as Maryland's Research Library--develop the practical implementations that will provide the appropriate services needed to serve the state's research library needs.

Initiative Four:
Encouraging Entrepreneurship

The goals for Initiative Four are also supported fiscally by activities in other initiatives. The Libraries have limited, but highly important opportunities to undertake entrepreneurial activities that will strengthen the resources of the University.

Initiative Five:
Rationalizing Resource Allocation and Administrative Operations

There are five goals set for initiative V, but only three involve a request for funding, which is related to recovering some human resources lost over the last six years.

V Goal 1. Strengthen the Libraries Staff Resources to Improve Support of all basic services--the Libraries will stabilize the staff funding and create a funding base that will minimize the frequent turnover of staff positions.

The Libraries employ approximately 300 professional and support staff in an industry that is undergoing rapid changes, both in how it conducts business and in the products and services offered. We need to actively seek out developmental opportunities that have the potential of significantly improving the effectiveness of our services and to develop training initiatives that will incorporate these changes into the day-to-day activities of the Libraries.

V Goal 2.1. Training Coordinator--establish a new position to manage peer training, exploit campus training opportunities, direct the Libraries' training program, identify and coordinate extra-campus training.

V Goal 5. Re-engineering the Library Organization to Provide Better Services.

FUNDING IMPLICATIONS/SOURCES

I Goal 1.1. Funding Implications/Sources:

• One time funding is being requested (see Appendix III) from available university physical plant renewal budget including $500,000 to move and do renovations in McKeldin and Hornbake and $350,000 to upgrade Hornbake HVAC. In addition, a request has been made to refurbish the Shriver Laboratory as an offsite Library storage facility to be used for the next ten years. It will be used also as "surge space" during the McKeldin/Hornbake changes.
• Year two and three costs for processing moves in the VICTOR database will be $125,000/year, or a total of $250,000 one time costs.
• It is estimated that the McKeldin Reference services will require reallocation of four of the professional positions from Hornbake. In addition, two of the classified positions will be reallocated to Reference. We are requesting that two new professional librarian positions be created as an addition to the Libraries budget of $80,000.
• Staff training costs (amount to be determined) will be drawn from the Libraries training budget (see V Goal 2.2).

I Goal 1.2 Funding Implications/Sources:

• Facilities renewal will be funded as described in I Goal 1.1.
• Five professional positions are needed for the Square One Project Planning Center. Three will be reassigned from Hornbake. We are requesting that two new professional librarian positions be created as an addition to the Libraries budget of $80,000 (this is in addition to the positions for I Goal 1.1).
• Staff training costs (amount to be determined) will be drawn from the Libraries training budget (V Goal 2).
• Planning costs for the Academic Center in Hornbake Library will be $50,000. This is a one-time cost that will be used for benchmarking and some consulting services. However, it should be added to the Libraries budget as a minimum down payment on the continuing costs for the Academic Center once it is started in year 2.
• The graduate student program defined in Initiative II Goal 2.3 will also be a source of support. Graduate students will be trained to serve as peer instructors in the Square One Center and ultimately the Academic Center.

I Goal 1.3. Funding Implications/Sources:

• Training of librarians in instructional techniques will cost about $5000/annum and will be drawn from the Libraries Training Budget which is provided for elsewhere in the plan.
• Upgrading library instructional facilities will cost in the vicinity of $120,000 and will be drawn from the IT Budget which is provided for elsewhere in the plan.
• New staff may be required, but funding cannot be established at this time since planning has not been undertaken.

I Goal 1.4. Funding Implications/Sources:

The Libraries anticipate the need for additional funding to support the collection needs of undergraduates. This collection development emphasis will be accomplished within the budget requested for developing research collections (see Initiative II Goal 1). In addition to current Hornbake acquisitions funds, during year 1, $150,000 will be targeted for undergraduate focused collecting and in year 2 an additional $100,000. These will be continuing/additive commitments to support undergraduate education.

I Goal 2.1. Funding Implications/Sources:
The lack of a specific line item in the Libraries budget for annual IT expenditures must be corrected by an addition to the base budget.
Total funding for Goal 2.1--an add to the Libraries budget of $200,000 for IT equipment. This is a minimum amount and will not answer all needs and the Libraries will contribute $50,000 annually through reallocation for the next five years.

I Goal 2.2. Funding Implications/Sources:
Cost of providing this service (using SiteSearch as a point of price comparison, see Appendix II):

• SiteSearch System Package and one-time License Fees: $56,000
• Annual Maintenance (15%): $8,475.
• Webmaster position, approximately $30,000.

I Goal 2.3. Funding Implications/Sources:
The base funding for equipment upgrades will come from the Libraries new IT equipment budget. In addition, some software costs and new licensing fees will come from $150,000 in funding expected as a result of the University's 1% reallocation under the strategic planning process.
Total funding for Goal 2.3--$22,000 one time and $150,000 continuing funding already requested from the University's strategic plan reallocation (see Appendix V).

I Goal 2.4. Funding Implications/Sources:
A thorough benchmarking is required to determine if this expenditure is needed. Appendix IV provides an analysis of cost for E-Reserves based on a "stand alone" effort starting from scratch. Other sites already using E-reserves may find that networked access means that students use machines at many sites. Large scale printing is anticipated and must be metered for charges. If we acquire the SiteSearch software from OCLC, the potential of using their image component and Web capabilities for this work should be investigated rather than purchasing another software IT. Additionally, the reassignment of Hornbake staff to circulation and reserve units in McKeldin will be the source of the personnel time needed to manage the E-reserves activity.
Total funding for Goal 2.4--at this time the Libraries cannot establish a cost factor for this activity because it is dependent on other planning factors. The best case expectation is that the E-Reserves may be funded out of resources allocated to IT equipment (I Goal 2.1), SiteSearch software (I Goal 2.2) and reallocation of staff.

I Goal 2.5. Funding Implications/Sources:

• The Libraries will absorb the necessary staff effort for this work.
• The Libraries request a one-time assistance for the funding of the equipment base to move from analog to digital transmission and formats, including: video file server computer $75,000- $100,000, microcomputers @$2000 each and 20/year for three years--total $120,000, and DVD Players @=>$750--10/year for 5 years is $7500/year.
• The Libraries will sustain the ongoing equipment maintenance costs.

INITIATIVE II

II Goal 1.1. Funding Implications/Sources: The Libraries' need an addition of $3 million to the base budget over a two year period. Such an addition must be made with an understanding that it brings additional need for processing costs (II Goal 1.2).
Total funding for Goal 1.1--year 1, $1,000,000 addition to the base budget; year 2, $2,000,000 addition to the based budget; year 3 through year "n" $300,000 for serials plus 5% (approximately $150,000) of the non-serial acquisitions budget added annually to the base budget.

II Goal 1.2. Funding Implications/Sources:
Calculations indicate that approximately 18 cents is required to process materials for every new dollar spent or $180,000 for every $1 million allocated as follows:

• Cost of bibliographic records via PromptCat and the addition of a line position for 1 LT-II clerk for processing $50,000, Binding $40,000 (assumes many purchases will be foreign language paperbacks, but if electronics are purchased need is same but used elsewhere).
• Add four line positions for staff support for bibliographic records not available via PromptCat $90,000.

II Goal 1.3. Funding Implications/Sources:
This effort should be funded as an ongoing commitment. This will have the effect of building a critical capacity which will always be needed by UMCP Libraries. Plainly, the increasing reputation of our Special Collections is constantly attracting new materials which reflect its stated collection goals and University planning initiatives. The Libraries expect to chip away at the processing of these collections over an extended period of time. These funds will be devoted to contract positions and/or outsourcing work. The investment is small for the amount of work that will be accomplished here.
Total funding for Goal 1.3 --Add to base of $90,000.

II Goal 2.1. Funding Implications/Sources:
The estimates of the cost of a two year implementation cannot be made with exact precision since they depend on final designation of ranks for all librarians at UMCP. Appendix IX provides the base proposal for the pay plan and the estimates for implementation costs.
Total funding for Goal 2.1--year 1, $457,000 added to the base budget and year 2 $500,000 added to the Libraries' budget.

II Goal 2.2. Funding Implications/Sources:
The funding will be an add to budget (@ $31,205 based on current minimum salary for a bibliographer) for the creation of four subject bibliographer positions.
Total funding for Goal 2.2-- The Libraries request $185,000-200,000.

II Goal 2.3. Funding Implications/Sources:
The Library Graduate Assistantships are part-time, 12 month, 20 hours per week (1,040 hours per year) appointments, requiring a two year commitment. Initial appointments are for one year with additional year based on performance.
Total funding for Goal 2.3--$280,000 add to Libraries' budget.

II Goal 3. Funding Implications/Sources:
Staffing for the center will be provided for in part through graduate assistantships (II Goal 2.3). Graduate students from the College of Arts and Humanities will provide assistance in use of electronic resources and software and in text preparation and encoding. Equipment and software is needed for startup and will be funded from this request for one-time support. The Libraries will draw on the IT equipment budget for replacement in the future (see I Goal 2.1 above).
Total funding for Goal 3--one time support of $175,000-200,000.

II Goal 4. Funding Implications/Sources:
The Libraries propose establishing a permanent line within the budget to create a continuous deacidification program for the foreseeable future and a program for other special preservation project using technologies like xerographic and microform preservation.
Total funding for Goal 4--add to the Libraries base budget of $100,000 for deacidification and $100,000 for special projects.

II Goal 5. Funding Implications/Sources:
The UMS/LIMS and CIRLA efforts are presently fully funded. It is expected that CIRLA may establish a secretariat to better manage its efforts and that the UMCP contribution will come out of the Libraries budget.
Total funding for Goal 5--use currently available funds, approximately $20,000.

INITIATIVE V

V Goal 1.1. Funding Implications/Sources: The Libraries are requesting that 22 contract positions be converted to State lines. The Libraries currently have $570,000 committed to contracts and will continue to commit these funds. This request will have an impact on fringe benefits to be supported by the University. Total funding for Goal 1.2--fringe benefits coverage transferred to University benefits pool.

V Goal 1.2. Funding Implications/Sources:
The Libraries are requesting an addition to the base budget in order to accomplish this goal.
Total funding for Goal 1.2--$219,000 added to base budget for student wages.

V Goal 2.2. Funding Implications/Sources:
The Libraries request an addition to the budget of $50,000 from which the funding for technology training and other needs will be drawn.
Total funding for Goal 2.2--$50,000 added to the Libraries budget.

Copies of the budget summary of the revised strategic plan are available at the Reserve Desks of McKeldin Library and Hornbake Library, University of Maryland, and also from the University Archives services in the Maryland room of McKeldin Library.