UC Libraries Systemwide Plan & Priorities, FY 2012-2015

September 19, 2011

Vision

In direct support of the University of California’s mission of instruction, research, public service, and patient care, the UC libraries will be leaders in providing access to the world’s knowledge and developing innovative services, strategies, and technological systems that promote discovery and preserve knowledge.

Mission

The UC libraries are agile, focused, efficient, and knowledge-based organizations that provide information resources and services to UC faculty, students, and staff to support teaching, learning, research, public service, and patient care by:

• Enabling seamless discovery and access to scholarly information sources,
• Managing knowledge, including content created by UC scholars,
• Offering expert support and education to find, evaluate, use, and manage information resources,
• Creating and sustaining high-quality spaces for learning, collaboration, and research, and
• Leading and actively participating in partnerships for national and global initiatives that inform and shape the future of libraries and scholarly communications.

Goals

1. Enrich the systemwide library collection: The print, digital, data, and archival collections of the University of California are fundamental building blocks for the University’s teaching, research, patient care, and community service programs. Building collections that provide access to a broad array of information resources to support these activities remains one of the highest priorities for the UC libraries.

Priorities:

1. Expand the UC library collection to embrace new content types and formats produced at all stages of the information and scholarly record life cycle.
2. Acquire and ensure persistent access to digital formats whenever possible.
3. Identify, gather, and preserve cultural and scholarly heritage materials that will contribute to both the UC and national research agendas.

2. Capitalize on technological opportunities to accelerate the transition to a primarily digital environment: Technology is driving far-reaching changes in the methods of research, scholarship and teaching. The effects are manifesting themselves differently and adoption rates vary among academic disciplines. In response to these changes in student and faculty information-seeking behaviors, the UC libraries must create and utilize technological tools to enhance discovery and access.

Priorities:

1. Maximize digital library service capacities.
2. Maximize long-term access to digital content.
3. Maximize library processing efficiencies.

3. Maximize learning opportunities, discovery and access to information resources: Faculty and staff are adopting new techniques to identify, find, use, and preserve information resources. As user behaviors evolve, library services must adapt to provide better, faster, and broader access and support.

Priorities:

1. Enhance library delivery systems (text, media, images, etc.) to share all types of information resources across the system.
2. Offer enhanced user services to make discovery and access intuitive and easy.
3. Provide just-in-time assistance by developing and providing shared instructional materials and tools at the network level.

4. Optimize and repurpose physical library space: An emerging need for the UC libraries is to provide a variety of library spaces that allow students and faculty to utilize cutting-edge tools in comfortable, safe spaces that facilitate individual study and research as well as collaborative activities.  The UC libraries will take advantage of increased efficiencies in management of print collections to create opportunities for the libraries to repurpose existing space.

Priorities:

1. Develop sustainable collection development and management strategies.
2. Create and update library spaces to support emerging modes of teaching, learning, and research.

5. Expand engagement in scholarly communication: The UC libraries continue their efforts to work with publishers and vendors to keep inflationary increases in the prices of scholarly publications to a reasonable level, but rapid escalation continues. UC faculty could bring their influence to bear to change the model for scholarly communication since they are the true owners of the system. UC librarians must support faculty in their efforts to foster change.

Priorities:

1. Support new modes of research that are more data-driven.
2. Assist and support faculty as they explore and use alternatives to traditional methods of scholarly publishing.

6. Build and leverage expertise: As the size of the UC libraries’ staff diminishes, libraries must enhance existing systemwide programs to identify gaps in knowledge and expertise and to implement efficient and effective mechanisms to share proficiencies across the system.

Priorities:

1. Share expertise (e.g., subject, language, and/or technical) and develop centers of excellence.
2. Collaborate on staff recruitment, development and training, and succession planning.
3. Invest in R&D as a systemwide strategy.

 

View the Internal (UC Libraries) version of this document [PDF], which includes specific initiatives.