Jumpstarting the Heart of Campus Revitalizing Connections Through a Strategic Plan

Joyce Meldrem, Library Director, Loras College

It all began in June 2009

The New Planning for

Results: A Streamlined

Approach by Sandra Nelson

―Excellence is a moving target.‖ Charles R. McClure and others in Planning and Role-Setting for

Public Libraries

Starting the Process

Our first several staff meetings were spent

discussing the book – chapter by chapter – We began with ground rules for discussions

– We gathered background information

• A priest talked to us about being a library on a

Catholic campus and a library director shared

|with us how they proceeded with their

strategic plan

– We wrote down our reasons for doing

a strategic plan

Environmental Scan

• We created an environmental scan for

the campus group

– Loras Fact Book

– Dubuque Census Information

– Library Annual Report

– Overview of Current Library Services

– Readings about current trends and the

future of academic libraries

Campus Planning Committee

• The composition of our campus group:

– Student employee, student library users, student

library non-users, student success staff, long-time

professors, new professors, student life staff,

admissions staff, technology staff, alumni, Catholic

Identity Committee member

– Facilitator – Head of Human Resources who had

done a lot of strategic planning in the business world

• They met on March 4, March 25, and April 28, 2010.

Strategic Themes

Strategic themes of their visioning process

• More digital resources/fewer books

• Alterations in the Library’s infrastructure

• Shift the physical environment

• Extend radical hospitality to the larger

community

• Shift the role of the librarian

Enabling Strategies

• Funding

• Administrative and Regents education and support

• Connect Loras’ experiential learning with the library vision

• Maintain face-to-face contact

• Increase number of librarians and their work-methods toward

a more consultative approach

• Focus on those aspects of the strategy that are unique and

innovative

• Research to identify libraries with leading edge operations

and then Loras should push the edge of the envelope

Campus Planning Committee

Importance and Capacity

• Their envisioning process

developed 53 items

concerning what their library

of the future would look like,

feel like, and be like.

• The Library staff reviewed the

53 items to indicate their

importance to us and our

capacity to accomplish them.

Library Committee

Importance and Capacity

• There were items on our list of

– High Importance/High Capacity

– High Importance/Low Capacity

– Low Importance/High Capacity

– Low Importance/Low Capacity

• We used these designations to help us create the goals

that the Library eventually ended up placing in our

strategic plan.

Capacity

Importance

13 High Importance/

High Capacity Items

1. The library will still need books, should continue its collection weeding,

send those less frequently used to offsite storage to expand the space

available for other learning activities. (Hi/Hi)

2. A ―News Room‖ where students could sit and put on headphones to listen

and watch current events. (Hi/Hi)

3. A room dedicated to Faculty Development. A place where they have the

opportunity to learn about the latest instructional technologies and the best

practices in using them e.g. move the Center for Learning and Teaching to

the Library. (Hi/Hi)

4. An exhibit area that would host the work of local artists, travelling exhibits

on a specific them, or archival objects from the college’s collection(s). This

would be linked with current curricular offerings (e.g. J-Term, MOI, etc.)

(Hi/Hi)

24 High Importance/

Low Capacity

1. An ―Advanced Media Lab‖ equipped with the latest technology where

students would have the ability to create experimental digital projects

(Hi/Lo)

2. A ―reading room‖ with tables, chairs, coffee and baked goods, to allow

students to gather and talk or sit and read—much like the Barnes & Noble

―Seattle’s Best‖ stations. This room should be open 24/7 to encourage

gathering at will and spontaneity. (Hi/Lo)

3. A ―Demo‖ room where students and faculty could experience new

technology, perhaps even borrow it (Hi/Lo)

4. An outdoor area with a cabana or a porch equipped with wireless

capability and electrical outlets. (Hi/Lo)

6 Low Importance/

High Capacity

1. A ―laptop‖ room where students can plug in and work (Lo/Hi)

2. An electronic study area with carrels containing equipment to enable

watching videos, DVDs etc. (Lo/Hi)

3. A print center equipped with FAX machines, copiers, printers, scanners,

and charging stations to support student work while there – e.g. hotel or

airport ―business center‖ (Lo/Hi)

4. Actively work to engage external experts and alumni to share knowledge

(Lo/Hi)

5. Make the library welcoming and easily accessible for commuters and

community members (parking is an issue) as long as this can be done

without taking advantages away from tuition-paying students (Lo/Hi)

10 Low Importance/

Low Capacity

1. Users will need immediate and easy access to all information in all

disciplines across different kinds of technologies. (Lo/Lo)

2. Some of the periodical and other informational archives could be moved

to the building housing the disciplines with which the materials are

affiliated as long as they can be kept securely. (Lo/Lo)

3. The goal will be to provide learners with skills in using the cutting edge

technologies (e.g. 3D technology, voice activated computers to

accommodate special needs etc., etc.) that will be required of them in

the workforce. (Lo/Lo)

4. Quiet rooms and ―Dead Room‖ where electronic media won’t work.

(Lo/Lo)

Previous Mission Statement

• The Loras College Library exists to support the mission of Loras College by providing library services, collections, and

facilities that enhance the curriculum and meet the informational and lifelong learning needs of Loras College students,

faculty, and staff. The Library serves as both a physical and intellectual locus for scholarly activity by providing a place for

interaction, consultation, study, and reflection, and by supplying access to resources that comprise a current and

retrospective record of human knowledge.

• The Loras College Library will advance the goals of the college by:

– Selecting, acquiring, organizing, maintaining, and providing access to a collection of information resources

regardless of format, for the current and future members of the Loras College community: when they need it, where

they need it, in the format they need it, at a reasonable cost to the college;

– Forging partnerships with faculty for the purpose of assisting with assignment development, staying abreast of

curricular changes and maintaining resources that support the curriculum, and developing programs and services

that are most useful to students, faculty, and staff;

– Attracting and retaining highly-skilled, intellectually-engaged, dedicated, and service-oriented staff, sufficient in

number, who are able to assist library patrons in effectively navigating the wealth of information attainable from the

Library;

– Anticipating and responding to the diverse and changing information needs and expectations of the Loras College

community;

– Providing formal and informal instruction in research skills, encouraging students to become self-reliant information-

seekers and lifelong-learners, and preparing students for a changing workplace;

– Participating in cooperative ventures on the regional, state, and national levels to provide our patrons access to the

broader universe of information; and

– Respecting academic freedom and diversity of ideas as expressed in the American Library Association’s Library Bill

of Rights and Freedom to Read statements.

Current Mission Statement

The Loras College Library is a welcoming center dedicated to

fostering the intellectual development and personal growth of

the Loras community in support of the college’s mission.

Strategic Themes

Strategic themes of visioning process

• More digital resources/fewer books

• Alterations in the Library’s infrastructure

• Shift the physical environment

• Extend radical hospitality to the larger community

• Shift the role of the librarian

Library Goals

• Shape the Loras College Library’s collection to support the

informational needs of Loras College’s faculty, staff, and

students

• Seek new and increased funding for the Library

• Ensure the library space is inviting, adaptable, and configured

to enhance learning, research, and collegial interaction.

• Promote awareness of the value of the Library in the lives of

the Loras community through our publicity and promotional

efforts

• Maintain and develop services and relationships that enhance

faculty teaching, student learning, and research

Sample Goal and Objectives

Shape the Loras College Library’s collection to support the

informational needs of Loras College’s faculty, staff, and students

• Objective 1: Improve data collection and usage statistics for our digital

and physical collections to drive collection development decisions and

marketing efforts

• Objective 2: Weed the physical collection according to the ―MUSTIE‖

criteria

• Objective 3: Increase our e-book collection to reflect expressed needs

and current best practices

• Objective 4: Pilot a project to digitize selected unique holdings to

determine feasibility of future digitization projects

• Objective 5: Examine the feasibility of hiring a collection management

librarian or assigning collection management duties to current staff

Sample Goal, Objectives

and Activities

Goal: Shape the Loras College Library’s collection to support all the informational needs of

Loras College’s faculty, staff, and students

Objective 3: Increase our e-book collection to reflect expressed needs and current best practices

Person(s) Responsible Timeline Deliverable

Activity 1: Evaluate current e-book holdings by discipline &

format

Heidi, Kristen June-Aug

2012

Report

Activity 2: Survey the Loras community to determine

whether they have an e-reader and what kind, as well as e-

book needs by: Subject area, Demographics, Technology,

Type of book – e.g. reference, novel, textbooks, etc.

Report on e-reader types and e-book needs.

Suzanne, Julie Oct – Nov

2012

Survey

Report

Activity 3: Identify e-book vendors for subjects and formats

identified in survey

Heidi, Julie, Kristen Feb – Apr

2013

Report

Activity 4: Survey other libraries for best practices and do a

literature search to gather information to determine how to

support an e-book collection and report on:

Software and hardware needed, troubleshooting support,

Vendor options, Cataloging options

Heidi, Kristen Apr – June

2013

Survey

Literature Search

Report

Activity 5: Establish procedures for e-book collection

development

Heidi, Julie, Kristen July – Sep

2013

Procedures

Announced to campus

March 7, 2012

Strategic Plan

January 2012 – May 2015

Timeline

Achievement Chart

Loras College Library staff

diligently working on our

strategic plan and earning stars!

(The end – thank you!)