University Libraries Strategic Plan 2024-2027

Strategy 1: Expand Information and Digital Literacy

In this age of disinformation, teaching students to find, evaluate, use, and produce credible information as they navigate a multitude of digital technologies is critical. Building information and digital literacy provides students with fundamental skills for academic and career success, as well as a strong foundation for life-long learning. Libraries faculty and staff both play a role, and this strategy envisions greater recognition and coordination among all library employees.

Our three-year activities include:

• Broadening our information literacy program by expanding into new areas
• Working with key partners to integrate information literacy and critical thinking competencies strategically into the WCU learning experience
• Implementing an evaluation framework that regularly assesses student acquisition of information and digital literacy skills and identifies instructional improvements

Strategy 2: Amplify Research, Scholarship, and Creative Expression Productivity

Our Libraries are well-positioned to contribute to the vibrancy of research, scholarship, and creative expression among faculty and students on campus. Earning R2 classification in 2021 presents an opportunity for University Libraries to enhance our support of the scholarly output of our students and faculty.

Our three-year activities include:

• Assisting faculty, administrators, and committees in evaluating research, scholarship, and creative activities.
• Increasing awareness, ability to find, and use of resources.
• Expanding research skills, activities, and capacity.
• Exploring opportunities to engage students in University Libraries’ research activities.
• Showcasing research, scholarship, and creative expression across the University, including by Libraries faculty.

Strategy 3: Enhance the University’s Leadership on Sustainability

WCU advances environmental, social, and economic sustainability to ensure that all people can live in healthy and integrous communities. As the University positions itself as a leader in local, regional, and global sustainability efforts, University Libraries will support campus-based and more broadly focused efforts to move the needle toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as stated in the campus strategic plan.

Our three-year activities include:

• Partnering with faculty incorporating sustainability in curriculum and scholarship activities.
• Contributing to WCU efforts in achieving sustainability literacy and practices.
• Promoting and enhancing the WCU Sustainability Council’s Green Office Program.

Strategy 1: Promote Our Libraries

Participants in our strategic planning process underscored how our Libraries remain one of WCU’s “hidden gems.” Few people outside our Libraries could explain the full extent of our programs and services, which have broadscale impact across the University. Our impact reaches student learning, faculty teaching, research productivity, and our institutional reputation. We aim to strengthen engagement and raise awareness with our campus community by effectively communicating library happenings, initiatives, and successes.

Three-year activities include:

• Developing a communication plan for diverse target audiences.
• Designing and implementing innovative programming and outreach initiatives.
• Upgrading University Libraries’ web presence.
• Raising awareness of our events in the Libraries.
• Expanding our marketing reach to strategically promote our activities.

Strategy 2: Partner to Strengthen the Libraries as a Student Success Hub

Our Libraries serve as the place to come for a range of student success activities. Building and sustaining strategic partnerships to position University Libraries as a student success hub has great potential to nurture students’ creative and intellectual growth and improve University-wide student success outcomes.

Our three-year activities include:

• Enhancing our campus partnerships that provide easy access to resources within our Libraries.
• Positioning our Libraries as informational experts on the various WCU academic and non-academic support services.
• Expanding career development opportunities for students.

Strategy 3: Develop Dynamic Spaces

Our Libraries are slated for major renovations in the coming years to improve our infrastructure and enhance our spaces. While we await these larger-scale improvements, students, faculty, and staff participating in our strategic planning process shared many ideas for how we could more immediately establish flexible and responsive environments that inspire creativity, collaboration, learning, and engagement.

Our three-year activities include:

• Conducting a thorough review of our spaces and their uses.
• Investigating current trends to inform campus-wide master planning in designing library spaces and assessing the needs of our users and staff.
• Identifying opportunities to improve accessibility and usability of our physical spaces.
• Outfitting spaces to promote learning and a sense of community.
• Clarifying different zones within our libraries for socializing, collaborating, and quiet studying.
• Updating the configuration of our current service desk spaces.

Strategy 1: Reduce Barriers to Library and Collections Access

Being committed to equity requires us to start from within. While other strategies across goals in our plan will also advance DEI, this strategy identifies equity-focused approaches that improve physical and digital access to our resources and services. University Libraries faculty and staff will take a critical stance to review our policy positions and strategies to remove barriers.

Three-year activities include:

• Creating a user-friendly experience.
• Curating a more approachable physical collection
• Colocating collections of similar material types for easier access.
• Expanding access to technologies that support student success.
• Improving access to our collection, services, and resources.

Strategy 2: Cultivate a Diverse and Relevant Collection

This strategy advances DEI by aligning our collection purchases with educational needs and taking an inclusive approach toward collection development. Reparative collection practices will encourage equity and justice to support groups that have been marginalized.

Our three-year activities include:

• Assessing University Libraries’ current collections to identify priority areas for acquisition to represent.
• Promoting our Special Collections and distinctive resources that amplify unique and diverse voices.
• Engaging with student groups, faculty, and West Chester community partners.

Strategy 3: Collaborate on Campus-wide DEI-related Initiativess

DEI-related initiatives are well underway at the University. This strategy positions University Libraries as a strategic and collaborative partner in campus initiatives that seek to narrow equity gaps.

Our three-year activities include:

• Improving affordability and reducing financial barriers to education by promoting Open Educational Resources (OER) among faculty and instructors.
• Exploring ways our spaces and services can support DEI initiatives across campus.
• Strengthening employment opportunities within the Libraries for students from underrepresented groups

Strategy 1: Cultivate Libraries Employee Professional Growth and Well-Being

Through this strategy we will elevate one of University Libraries’ greatest assets, its employees. Employees will be encouraged to innovate, collaborate, and seek out intellectual growth and skill development opportunities.

Three-year activities include:

• Structuring evaluation of existing positions, personnel needs, and the professional landscape.
• Implementing consistent standards and practices across library units.
• Offering ongoing staff training and development initiatives.
• Supporting and encouraging student employees’ professional growth and pathways.
• Examining University Libraries’ hiring practices.

Strategy 2: Improve Internal Communication

Libraries employees participating in listening sessions that led to the creation of this strategic plan often suggested improving internal communications. This strategy identifies ways to move from an ad hoc to a systematized approach with an emphasis on Libraries employee engagement and feedback.

Our three-year activities include:

• Soliciting input from Libraries employees to standardize our internal communication and documentation structure.
• Examining current workflows to establish well-documented best practices, processes, and standards.
• Developing and implementing an adaptive internal communication plan

Strategy 3: Develop Our Culture of Assessment

Connecting assessment data to decision-making regarding organizational development and resource allocation is not just good practice, it is required by WCU’s accreditors. Through this strategy, the Libraries will build our assessment infrastructure for our programs, services, and budgeting.

Our three-year activities include:

• Creating an assessment framework and plan.
• Organizing and coordinating assessment activities across the Libraries.
• Establishing a University Libraries advisory group.
• Building our evidence base for data-driven decision-making.

Strategy 4: Identify Strategic Budget Optimization Measures and Advancement Opportunities

Being proactive about optimizing our budget and raising money is critical to our long-term sustainability. Through this strategy, we will look for ways to reduce costs via consortial relationships and develop foundational elements of an advancement approach that improves our long-term sustainability.

Our three-year activities include:

• Identifying potential measures to optimize our budget by leveraging consortial relationships.
• Increasing financial and in-kind donations by cultivating a network of individual donors.
• Seeking additional campus and external grants.
• Partnering with the WCU Foundation and other strategic campus departments to increase fundraising opportunitie.