Library News for the Faculty

From University Librarian Gary E. Strong

The Library recently completed its strategic plan for 2006-09, and although it was an extremely challenging process, it was very rewarding as well. Teams of librarians and staff members researched and developed different sections of the plan, and the final product incorporates statements from library users and selected accomplishments to outline six major goals: transform the collection, collaborate on scholarly publishing, make specialized collections accessible, enrich services, improve research skills, and enhance library spaces.

I encourage you to read the plan. I also encourage your questions and comments; you can reach me by telephone at extension 51201 or by email.

In the meantime, I'd like to pull out a few highlights.

The Library's collection has traditionally been built as a stand-alone, comprehensive research collection, but with rising costs, increasing numbers of publications, and the demand for access to new forms of knowledge, that model is no longer sustainable. So the plan presents a series of strategies to create a collection that is interdependent with and complementary to other collections, yet continues to sustain scholarship and teaching at the highest levels. Among the Library's strategies will be collaborations with other academic libraries on everything from collection assessment and management tools to licensing strategies and business models to conservation plans and digitization projects.

The dysfunctional marketplace of scholarly publishing has been created by the commercialization of publishing, the requirement that authors sign away their copyrights, and the focus by promotion and tenure committees on traditional, prestigious -- and high-priced -- journals. The Library's plan contains strategies that improve both the economics of acquiring scholarly information and the access to it. These include systemwide licenses to journal packages; services for faculty such as copyright management, self archiving, and advice on open-access journals; and measurement techniques for journal articles to inform faculty and administrators about the costs, value, and impact of traditional and open-access options.

With general holdings increasingly duplicated across libraries, the UCLA Library's rare and specialized holdings assume an even greater importance in defining excellence. But many remain hidden from researchers because they have been acquired more quickly than they can be processed. Strategies that utilize technology, create and implement new policies and procedures, and support and expand the operations of the Center for Primary Research and Training will improve access to these materials and create new opportunities for research, teaching, recruitment, and retention.

Refinements and new developments in educational technology have created new needs and expectations among faculty and students for services in support of research, teaching, and learning. Strategies to enrich services include focusing on anytime/anywhere access, user independence, ongoingassessment to gather user feedback and input, and collaborations with faculty committees.

Familiarity with information and communication technologies enables researchers and students to master conceptual and practical skills for gathering, evaluating, and ethically using information to enrich their academic and personal lives and to become effective lifelong learners. Strategies will include alliances with faculty and campus information technology groups, collaborations with academic and administrative departments, and the development of learning options in a variety of online formats, including tutorials, research guides, integration into course management systems, blogs, and podcasts.

One of the Library's most significant challenges in the coming years will be to develop spaces that build upon the library buildings' histories and heritages and at the same time meet the diverse academic and social needs of today's users. Strategies will include assessment of user needs and current space configurations, prioritization of needed changes, use of existing funding to create multifaceted learning environments, and identification and cultivation of donors and prospects for specific capital projects as well as ongoing annual fund contributions targeted for facilities enhancements.

Finally, the strategic plan proposes new programs that would utilize the increased funding for libraries contained in the final year of the governor's compact with the UC system. These include substantial allocations for collections in three new areas of academic focus, funding for Library staff and resources in support of campus technology and digital initiatives, and major capital projects including new Performing Arts and Science and Engineering libraries and an addition to the Charles E. Young Research Library.

The Library is an essential element of UCLA's excellence, and its strategic plan seeks to secure, maintain, and advance its competitive standing among the great research libraries of the world.