Memo

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES OF NOTRE DAME

To: Nathan Hatch, Provost

John Affleck-Graves, Associate Provost

From: Jennifer A. Younger

Edward H. Arnold Director of University Libraries

Re: Preliminary Report on University Libraries Strategic Planning

Date: August 19, 2002

The charge to academic units requests that we develop a strategic plan, thinking boldly and with vision as we do so, and that in submitting this plan to the University, we assess where we are today, describe our aspirations looking out ten years, and articulate the key means to achieve our goals. It is with pleasure that I convey the library report concerning our aspirations, assessment, draft strategic plan from the University Libraries, the right size for the library and resources (key means) that will be required. Within the library, a Steering Committee, which I chair, guided the development of the plan and planned the solicitation of input from the library as well as from academic units, which was subsequently collected by individual librarians and staff. A library consultant led the Steering Committee discussions which created this draft strategic plan. This preliminary report is presented in five sections: aspirations, assessment, a right sized library, strategic plan and resources.

Section 1: Aspirations

Not too many years ago, on the occasion of the rededication of the earthquake damaged library at Stanford University, President Casper spoke of the library as an integral part of the university mission, the preservation of our Western heritage and culture. In the age of electronic information resources and the Web, the library is even more visible and valuable as the means for selecting and organizing knowledge, creating and preserving access to that knowledge, and as a digital library, a Web-accessible information space where users not only find but also use information. Students and faculty depend on the information and knowledge resources of the library for their teaching, learning and research activities. Faculty and students value the library as a source of credible, reliable and non-commercially provided knowledge resources, personal assistance and instruction in how to find and use a wide range of information.

We aspire to be a great library, a great destination for learning and research. Greatness lies in distinguished research collections that attract international scholars and bring the best students and faculty to Notre Dame. The concept of “building to strength” has been influential at Notre Dame, and Notre Dame has sought to take its place as a research library of consequence by building premier collections in those subjects where strong foundations existed.. We will maintain our strong collections in Medieval and Byzantine Studies, Dante, Theology, Philosophy, Catholic Studies, Irish Studies, Sports, and Latin American Studies, so that the library at Notre Dame will be a destination of choice for scholars. We seek to digitize selected unique materials for global access and to preserve these materials in paper and digital formats. We will develop other library collections in concert with academic programs and university research aspirations.

Great research libraries have for years been defined almost entirely by their most distinguished, complete or unique collections. Today, however, greatness lies also in connecting faculty and students to the information resources in a timely manner. Greatness lies in easy-to-use catalogs, knowledgeable reference services and instruction in research skills for academic and lifelong learning. We aspire to be nationally known for delivering outstanding library services to faculty and students - services that increase their productivity, enhance their scholarship and endow them with research skills for finding and using information in all formats.

Library programs include a wide range of services. We seek to be a national exemplar among research library instruction programs. We seek to be a national leader in the development of digital access to library collections and information resources through the library catalog, web site, and subject-based portals tailored to the needs of specific groups of library users. We seek to be distinctive among our peers in our use of document delivery as well as library collections to meet the information needs of campus faculty and students in a timely manner. We seek to be among the elite group of university libraries providing information services to university alumni. We wish to be leaders in increasing the diversity of research librarians in North America.

Section 2: Assessment of library services, collections, information resources, and facilities

We have used multiple opportunities and methods for assessing library performance over the last five years. Formal planning for library renovation began with a series of focus group discussions with Notre Dame faculty and students in 1999. Their input on what is needed to make library space more accommodating and useful to them was incorporated into our stated objectives for the renovation (Master Plan, August 2000). Students regularly turn in their evaluations of library instruction workshops. They report positively on sessions held in the library computer lab where each student can work through the problems, though a physical orientation to library services is still appreciated by some, and point out a feeling on the part of some of being overwhelmed at the abundance and complexity of library resources. Their input has led to more sessions being offered “hands-on” sessions and expanding partnerships with teaching and research faculty for library instruction within individual courses. We have also sent a summary of that data to the University Coordinating Committee on Curriculum, together with best practices taken from current library instruction sessions in various courses.

In its role of providing oversight of the development of the library, the University Committee on Libraries (UCL) informs the library of problems or concerns, advises on courses of action, publishes its minutes in the Notre Dame Report, and, commencing with the just completed year, reports annually to the Academic Council. This year, the Committee will report on several issues, including the importance of searching the Law Library and University Library collections as one and of better access to the Center for Research Libraries collection, which need the attention of the library, and for the university, the need for continuing increases in the acquisition budget to meet inflation in the costs of books and journals and to capitalize new faculty with library funding.

As part of the regular University academic unit review cycle, we conducted our self study last year. To complete the self study, a distinguished Review Committee, comprised of three library deans or directors from Columbia, Vanderbilt, and Washington (St. Louis) Universities, and Professor Greg Sterling, held interviews with deans, faculty, library faculty and staff, and university administrators and reviewed the full written report of the University Libraries. In its report dated November 26, 2001, the Review Committee made recommendations for developing library holdings, cultivating a greater role in the development of teaching and learning in the university, affirming the need for library space, and developing an experimental program with the faculty in the area of scholarly communication, all of which are “necessary for Notre Dame’s library to be in a position to support a strong program of research” (p. 1). These documents are available on the library web site at ...

Early in 2002, the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department, a new library department, explored user interests and needs for web-based access to library services and information resources through a series of focus groups. Their findings underscore the great popularity of web-based services, while at the same time, illuminate user frustration with the current access tools.

In spring of this year, 183 Notre Dame faculty, 308 undergraduate students, and 255 graduate students responded to a survey about the library, with an overall response rate of approximately 21%.. The LibQUAL+ Survey, developed at Texas A&M under a federal research grant with national testing and validation of the survey instrument, measures library user satisfaction on four dimensions: access to information (collections, information resources and interlibrary loan), affect of service (willing, dependable, knowledgeable attention to questions and problems), library as a place, and personal control (convenient and easy access to library services and information resources) LibQUAL+ is grounded in the gap theory of service quality, which measures the difference between user’s perceived and minimum score to determine performance adequacy.

Overall, with the scores from all groups average into one score, there is a solid level of satisfaction with the library. Not surprisingly, though, undergraduate students are the most satisfied and faculty are the least satisfied with the library. Neither undergraduate nor graduate students assessed library as below their minimum expectations on any dimension, though graduate students were noticeably less satisfied than undergraduates on the completeness of book and journal collections, timely delivery of material requested via interlibrary loan, and remote access to library electronic resources. Faculty, however, rated library performance as substantially below their expectations on three dimensions: access to information (the completeness of journal titles, comprehensive print collections, and interdisciplinary library needs), library as place (space for quiet study) and personal control (availability of electronic resources from home or office, a library website enabling location of information, easy to use access tools, and making information easily accessible for independent use).

While further analysis is required, several key observations will guide both further investigation and immediate action. The dimension of personal control is the most important to all library users. They appreciate the services and information resources accessible via the library catalog and web site, but want easier to use access tools and more desk-top delivery of full-text information resources. Library users believe the library is not yet a research library because the library collections and information resources do not adequately support their teaching or research. Library users perceive library staff to be helpful and service oriented, though service on weekends and evenings is not always as knowledgeable as it is on week days. Last, despite the desirable and real presence of the virtual library, the physical library has not gone out of style. Library users like to study and teach in the library, and want an appropriate mix of quiet and noisy, comfortable space for working.

In direct preparation for our strategic planning, library faculty and staff met with academic unit chairs to discuss the department’s aspirations for teaching and research and the role of library collections and services in supporting these aspirations. The overwhelming need identified by thirty seven units - across all disciplines - is to strengthen library collections and information resources. Twenty seven units identified the need for enhancing access, including easier renewal of books and improving the library catalog. Twenty one units called for better outreach to faculty as well as better partnering between the library and departments. Sixteen departments specified improved interlibrary loan and document delivery services. As the focus of remaining needs became more specific, the frequency of responses declined accordingly. Improving library instruction, improving library facilities with special mention of the audio-visual center, preserving print and digital collections, and exploring opportunities for intercultural and interdisciplinary work rounded out the list.

Library staff and faculty are central to the assessment process with a primary example seen in the self study, which was our assessment of and planning for library collections, services and programs. Ideas generated in recent brainstorming sessions reiterated by now familiar themes, such as improved communication within the library and with the University, enhancing marketing of library services and collections, the need for more bibliographic instruction programs, and improving access to library-supplied information resources, but also identified a wide range of new and additional services for library users and ways in which the library administration can support the initiatives of library departments. On a regular basis, library faculty and staff assess and incorporate the input of library users into their department goals and objectives.

From these assessment efforts, we have learned that with the infusion of funds for collections and staff, the library has made very substantial progress toward supporting a robust research agenda at Notre Dame, but that additional and sustained efforts are required. We have learned we must expand our collaboration with other libraries, individually and through consortia, to be a successful research library. We have learned that access to information and knowledge, in the form of library collections, information resources, interlibrary loan and just-in-time acquisition of books and articles; easy access through library catalogs and web sites to information resources and library services; knowledgeable assistant; and useful, inviting space for study and teaching are very important to Notre Dame faculty and students. We see where there are gaps between what they want and what we deliver. We have collected many good ideas from ourselves about meeting library user needs and know that a better quality work environment, physically and organizationally, is a positive factor in supporting us as we work toward creating the best blend of library collections, information resources and services for Notre Dame. Last, but not least, we see that we can address and improve some problems using our own resources and expertise, with appropriate setting of priorities, development of new skills and/or redirection of resources, while more extensive progress, or meaningful progress in other areas, is dependent on new resources.

Section 3: Draft Strategic Plan, August 1, 2002

With clear ideas on our contributions to teaching, learning and research, aspirations of being a great library and a knowledge of what Notre Dame faculty and students need, we articulated four areas inclusive of all library responsibilities, within which to articulate strategic directions and initiatives. These areas put the library to work as a:

A. Facilitator of learning, teaching and research

B. Destination for information and scholarship,

C. Creative and inviting space for exploration and discovery, study and reflection, and exchange of ideas, and

D. Ideal working environment.

Draft Strategic Plan, August 1, 2002

A. The Library as Facilitator of Learning, Teaching, and Research

Direction 1. Assume a leadership role in enhancing services to support traditional and innovative ways of learning, teaching, and research

Initiative A. Enhance library instruction efforts to help users become skilled consumers of information

Initiative B. Promote interactive and collaborative learning

Initiative C. Facilitate intercultural and interdisciplinary learning

Initiative D. Partner with the General Counsel’s office to assist faculty with copyright issues

Initiative E. Partner with the Kaneb Center, the Office of Information Technologies, and other campus units to develop programs that incorporate new learning technologies and online information resources into classroom instruction through the use of creative teaching methodologies that are responsive to individual learning styles and needs

Initiative F. Develop distance learning services with particular emphasis on international initiatives

Initiative G. Enhance course management by incorporating links to library resources

Direction 2. Transform services to meet changing user needs and expectations

Initiative A. Employ a variety of assessment methods to learn about our various user groups and their distinct needs and redesign services to meet those needs

Initiative B. Aggressively identify and develop new services to meet our users’ evolving needs

Initiative C. Identify and offer training in new skills needed by current users

Initiative D. Adapt services to the changing behavior and lifestyle of students, including their use of technology

Direction 3. Create and support clear and seamless access to library services, collections, and other information resources

Initiative A. Redesign the Web catalog

Initiative B. Redesign the Web site to include a customizable portal

Initiative C. Seek maximum integration of the catalog and the Web site

Initiative D. Enhance ways to move easily between citations and full-text in all formats

Initiative E. Enhance access to audio and visual resources

Initiative F. Enhance the content of catalog records

Direction 4. Develop services to make users more productive

Initiative A. Expand campus document delivery services

Initiative B. Enhance “just-in-time” acquisitions

Initiative C. Develop and expand tables of contents, new acquisitions lists, and current awareness services

Initiative D. Develop an easily searchable FAQ database to explain library services, hours, etc., and to connect users to the most appropriate reference librarian, subject specialist, or topic specialist

Initiative E. Provide more efficient user-initiated electronic services that allow users to self-checkout, renew books, request Interlibrary Loan items, etc.

Direction 5. Assume a leadership role in promoting and teaching research and information-seeking skills as a basis for lifelong learning (no initiatives written yet)

B. The Library as a Destination for Information and Scholarship

Direction 1. Evaluate, develop, and align the library’s collections with current University programs and priorities, through collaboration and renewed outreach with schools, colleges, and academic departments.

Initiative A. Involve the various University constituents, i.e., library, faculty, and administration, in developing collections and resources

Initiative B. Align resources and allocations to reflect new research and teaching priorities and support University-identified centers of excellence.

Initiative C. Support interdisciplinary collections and programs

Initiative D. Develop collections from a user-centered perspective

Initiative E. Develop collections that distinguish Notre Dame as a Catholic university

Initiative F. Continue to develop selected collections to an internationally distinguished level

Initiative G. Establish an assessment process to evaluate collections

Direction 2. Identify strategic partnerships that support collection development and scholarly communication

Initiative A. Develop partnerships with the Graduate School and other University units to identify and support major purchases

Initiative B. Develop partnerships with appropriate library consortia and individual libraries to facilitate cooperative collection development

Initiative C. Develop partnerships with donors to secure long-term sources of financial support for selected collections

Initiative D. Lead campus efforts to promote the understanding of scholarly communications issues

Direction 3. Ensure a focused preservation program to ensure the long-term usefulness of library resources

Initiative A. Expand internal and outsourced preservation efforts

Initiative B. Establish a digital preservation re-formatting program

Initiative C. Continue preservation efforts for the various Catholic collections

Initiative D. Establish a digital archiving program for the creation of scholarly materials, in collaboration with other campus units

Direction 4. Inform the University’s academic units and faculty about the library’s ability to provide resources to meet their information needs and determine from them which programs are considered to be areas of strength and excellence

Initiative A. Improve collection development efforts through better communication with faculty about teaching and research emphases and through ongoing development of liaison relationships

Initiative B. Clearly define and communicate the extent of resources need to maintain our pre-eminent collections

Initiative C. Enlist the Office of Research and other campus partners to help with these efforts

Direction 5. Promote the library and its resources to increase visibility in the larger academic community. (no initiatives written yet)

C. The Library as a Creative and Inviting Space for Exploration and Discovery, Study and Reflection, and Exchange of Ideas

Direction 1. Make the libraries more comfortable and appealing

Initiative A. Remodel the Hesburgh Library interiors, with special emphasis on HVAC improvements which both make people more comfortable and help to preserve the collections

Initiative B. Improve all of the libraries looks and comfort through acoustical improvements, including carpeting, visual improvements, such as lighting, paint, and plants, and ergonomic improvements, such as sound furniture

Direction 2. Arrange collections and service points logically to facilitate their use

Initiative A. Arrange collections based on projected use, for example, quick access to frequently consulted materials, specialized environments for unique materials, and remote access for selected materials

Initiative B. Using principles of way-finding, locate service points so that they are highly visible and logically arranged.

Initiative C. Install a system of signs and maps to facilitate the use of collections and services.

Direction 3. Provide an appropriate variety of spaces for library users

Initiative A. Zone some areas for quiet study for individual users

Initiative B. Zone some areas for collaborative activities

Initiative C. Zone some areas for food and drink

Initiative D. Separate collection storage areas from service and social ones

Initiative E. Design flexible classroom spaces in consultation with the Kaneb Center

Direction 4. Develop staff workspaces that are efficient and logically arranged

Initiative A. Design a logical work-flow arrangement

Initiative B. Provide enough space for equipment and activities

Initiative C. Develop the most appealing work spaces on campus to aid in recruitment, morale, and retention of personnel

Direction 5. Develop a comprehensive infrastructure for proven leading edge technological needs

Initiative A. Expand wireless capabilities throughout the buildings in collaboration with the Office of Information Technologies

Initiative B. Develop a high-end laboratory for digital conversion of library materials

Initiative C. Bring current technological infrastructure of the libraries up to date

Direction 6. Address the space needs of the libraries. (no initiatives written yet)

D. The Library as an Ideal Work Environment

Direction 1. Recruit, train, and effectively utilize library employees in a flexible manner that acknowledges the evolving nature of our work and the changing demands of our users.

Initiative A. Create position descriptions that encourage and support changing environments and new responsibilities

Initiative B. Enrich current career path opportunities

Initiative C. Encourage individual, team, and departmental creativity to improve existing services or to develop new ones

Initiative D. Enhance current library training and development programs

Direction 2. Foster an organic culture that enables the library to adapt to the evolving University identity

Initiative A. Develop a reward system that recognizes individual and group accomplishments and activities based on risk taking, innovation, and flexibility

Initiative B. Enrich diversity programs

Initiative C. Build consensus around the desired library mission, vision, values, and culture

Direction 3. Optimize organizational structure to support library programs and initiatives

Initiative A. Link individual goals to department, library, and University missions and directions

Initiative B. Publicize the library mission and goals to users and library staff

Initiative C. Expand cross-functional teamwork

Initiative D. Partner with Human Resources and a library consultant to design position descriptions which include measurable expectations, clear responsibilities, and fair assessments

Initiative E. Obtain additional human resources expertise and support

Direction 4. Develop a user-centered culture that guides the library and informs all library policies, procedures, and decisions. (no initiatives written yet)

Section 4: What is the right size for the research library at Notre Dame?

The strategic plan provides a visionary, flexible and responsive guide for the University Libraries in setting goals and establishing priorities on an annual basis. It takes into account the question of what is a right sized research library at Notre Dame in setting directions and initiatives, but does not explicitly speak to the question of what is the right size for the research library at Notre Dame.

The question of what is the right size for the library is an important one. In 1994, the Ad Hoc Committee on Libraries addressed that question and concluded the library at that time was “too small” on all dimensions: library faculty and staff, collections and information resources, and space. That assessment resulted in a substantial increase in the annual budget between 1994/95 and 2000/01. Since then, as is known, further assessment and input has come from the Self Study Review Committee and the Notre Dame faculty. Their recommendations emphasize that continued growth in funds is critical to strengthen library collections and to provide information resources, which together are requirements for nourishing graduate programs and faculty research. Today, we have looked at the question of what is the right size by thinking of what we want to achieve and what resources will be needed. Particularly for library collections and information resources, we have included consideration of current library collection strengths, college priorities and graduate studies programs, especially the Ph.D. programs, and university aspirations to grow research programs at Notre Dame.

The only national ranking of research libraries is that of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), which reflects university investments in libraries. Over the last decade, the University Libraries and Kresge Law Library together have risen noticeably, and are now ranked 47^th of the 112 university research libraries. This additional investment has most assuredly resulted in a higher level of faculty and student use and satisfaction with library services, collections and information resources. Our aspirations suggest that Notre Dame libraries should continue to rise in the rankings because the aspirations of Notre Dame to attain greater stature as a teaching and research university will continue to require that additional funds into library collections, information resources, services, people and space.

On the matter of library collections, it is important to state that library collections are not defined by the format in which the information is stored, accessed or delivered. Electronic books and journals are as much a part of the library collection as are the paper books and journals. Library collections also by definition include any kind of data: text, image, numeric or spatial. Library collections define their boundaries by the knowledge and information resources selected and acquired for current and future use. Though a good segment of our library collection is in digital format and web-accessible, we have selected and paid for that information to be accessible to Notre Dame faculty and students, and by definition, these “information resources” are part of the library collection. To make the nature of library collections clearer in this regard, we have adopted the phrase “library collections and information resources” when referring to library collections.

Also, we have considered the nature and purpose of library collections as they are used by scholars. In some fields of study, faculty consider the library collections to be their laboratories where the building of a “just-in-case” collection takes on great significance because the laboratory, i.e., the library collection, is the focus; it is important to have a systematically and comprehensively developed collection in which any number of scholars can work. In other disciplines, faculty use the library collections to find information or knowledge, but while they want to find information within the collection, the library collection as a whole is not their laboratory. And, in these cases, while there must be some collection in place to provide the frequently-requested information, the focus is less on building a comprehensive and systematic collection for all information needs, but rather more on ensuring timely access to and delivery of the desired information.

As Maureen Gleason stated in her 1999 report on Notre Dame collections, the library collections exist to meet user needs. The only question is how this should be accomplished and what standard should be used in judging the resulting library collection. She described two standards, one a client-centered and one a collection-centered measure of quality. The client-centered standard meets information needs through collections in print or on-line, and through timely and effective access mechanisms, interlibrary loan or just-in-time purchases of individual items.. The collection-centered standard focuses on meeting information needs through an ideal, complete on-site collection. Neither is right and neither is wrong, though she points out that many still regard the second standard as the “best guarantee of quality.”

The University Libraries addresses the building of library collections through collection development policies, which sometimes reference the use of interlibrary loan or the purchase of an item through document delivery as a means along with the on-site library collection for meeting user information needs. The points on the continuum from a basic to comprehensive library collection are many and the appropriate balance between the two end points is determined separately for each subject area. In general terms, we can categorize the arts, the humanities, and some social sciences, and even an occasional science or two, math comes to mind, as areas where the emphasis is more likely to be on the “library as laboratory” and where a more comprehensive library collection is more necessary. Some social sciences, engineering, other sciences, and business lean toward the other end of the continuum, requiring significant amounts of information in all formats, but with a focus on timely access to and delivery of information at the time of need, a “just-in-time” approach. We work in partnership with the faculty in delineating the intended uses of library collections.

Of course, in looking at document delivery in meeting information needs, it is important to state that the size of the user base and the frequency of requests for information units are critical factors in determining the scope and size of library collection needed for meeting information needs in a cost-effective manner. Though often criticized too big or too expensive, where heavily used, a library collection is more cost effective than the purchase and delivery of an information item on request.

Section 5: Resources

This section on resource priorities is written in the context of our strategic plan and in anticipation of some specific goals and priorities where major new funding will be required for their realization. We used the charge from the Provost together with the input from academic units to identify goals, yet we recognize that further discussion of college and university priorities is still needed.

Under each source of funds, I have identified critical program needs. These needs are listed in categories, including the undergraduate experience; premier library collections; library collections, information resources and document delivery; endowed positions; building renovation; and diversity. Within these categories, we will need to expand the descriptions and create smaller, more specific needs within these categories in order to develop an appropriate list of program priorities. At this juncture, however, it is most important to provide a comprehensive statement of scope that will support further delineation.

Endowments

* Endow the undergraduate learning experience at 5 million. ($250,000 annually)

The industrial age has given way to the information age, which with its preferential treatment to those skilled in the use of information, mandates that universities further integrate the learning of information-seeking and research skills into the curriculum. A university education must prepare students with the ability to find, effectively use and critically evaluate information resources in print or digital format as well as to be skilled in the analysis and use of numeric, spatial and image data. The University Libraries must become leaders in developing strategies for teaching information-seeking skills and interactive learning modules, and partners with the teaching and research faculty for ensuring these opportunities within the curriculum. There is keen student interest as well as faculty interest in creating research opportunities and an inquiry-based curriculum, both of which will increase students’ use of information resources. There are partnering opportunities with the Kaneb Center, OIT, and individual academic departments.

We can build on current success and develop an exemplary research library program. Our user education coordinator was selected for national three week study program. Four librarians are participating in a University of Michigan grant on incorporation of multi-media into library education programs. There could be opportunities for students to participate in the development of interactive learning modules.

Critical resource needs for program expansion include staff, library classroom space and equipment, and development tools to provide greater support for expansion of instruction activities across disciplines.

Modest additional resources would result in a narrower focus of program expansion. With no additional resources, we would continue the program as is with expansion opportunities limited to special opportunities made possible by small gifts for particular projects or by the elimination of some other activities.

* Endow premier library collections and information resources - $20 million ($1,000,000 annually)

There is strong faculty and library interest in the continuing development of our strongest research collections, which are in Medieval and Byzantine Studies, Dante, Theology, Philosophy, Catholic Studies, Irish Studies, Sports, and Latin American Studies. Such collections will attract internationally renowned scholars for study and recruit distinguished faculty and students. The Research Committee set a high priority on research at ND and previous fund raising campaigns have been very successful.

The critical needs encompass the acquisition, cataloging, and preservation of these collections. In addition, for particular unique collections, there is a compelling need to digitize the collection for web-based access by students and faculty located at other universities. Without significant new resources, there is no possibility of program enhancement.

* Endow library collections, information resources and resource delivery at $20 million ($1,000,000 annually)

There is a strong faculty-expressed need for continuing to increase the collections and information resources immediately available. Previous campaigns have been very successful in generating funds for some library collections and information resources, which must now be expanded by subject, by type of resource, and by document delivery on request as a method of delivery. Faculty are requesting not only books and journals, in print or electronic formats, but also numeric, spatial and image data files. Access to knowledge resources through subscriptions, purchase or document delivery will positively all research on campus, including the sciences where information costs are very high. The sciences and engineering are expanding current areas of research and are asking for timely delivery of information in many areas, including critical technologies, information sciences, bio-engineering, chemical engineering, life sciences (interdisciplinary emphasis), and cancer research, Though our goal does not lie in developing extensive on-site library collections, the cost of single of journal articles or other documents on request is regularly in the one hundred dollar range.

Funds would be used for acquisition, cataloging, or document delivery. While funds for specific subjects lend high visibility to those subjects, the interdisciplinarity and general applicability of information resources, as well as the aggregate packaging now preferred by some publishers, make it highly desirable to attract broadly supportive endowments. Such endowments would make resources available to acquire, catalog, create access to, or deliver information resources across a wide range of subjects, including the sciences, business, engineering, humanities, social sciences and the fine arts.

* Endow library faculty positions in areas of university priorities, especially in support of interdisciplinary programs: Irish Studies, Catholic Studies, Peace Studies, Latino Studies, Ethics, Medieval/Byzantine Studies, Latin American. These positions have responsibilities for a broad range of functions relating to the subject area, which include one or more of the following: collection development, reference, development of special services, user instruction, cataloging and promotion of library services or collections component of these academic programs to visiting scholars. The library component is sometimes very strong in the area of collection development, while at other times, the focus is more on developing customized services.

* Establish a library component for each new endowed ND professorship. $250,000 ($12,500 annually) Other research universities have done this. Johns Hopkins University has clearly linked scholarship to the presence of library collections and information resources. Johns Hopkins announced its new policy in November 2000 of including a $250K library collection endowment as an integral piece of new endowed professorships and put it into motion with the creation of the Blum-Iwry Professorship in Near Eastern Studies.

* Endow the librarian-in-residence and diversity program at $1.5 million. The Librarian in Residence Program is a joint initiative of the University Libraries and the Kresge Law Library to attract librarians who can contribute effectively to the diversity of the profession and the university. Our program offers a recent library school graduate the opportunity to experience various aspects of academic librarianship by spending two years at Notre Dame. Attracting candidates of color to Notre Dame, no matter the academic discipline, is a continuing challenge. The Librarian-in-Residence effort is a singular effort to meet this challenge. Our first librarian, Hector Escobar, a Latino, will be joining the library faculty as a regular faculty member this fall. We have just hired our second resident librarian, a superbly qualified African-American and Catholic woman. In addition, we have just begun a program to bring four local area high school students, who contribute to diversity as well in our student work force, to work for a summer in the library for the purpose of introducing them to a research library.

The funds are needed for the librarian-in-residence position: salary, benefits, computing and professional support.

* Establish an endowment for library research grants to provide partial, short-term support for costs relating to travel and living expenses to scholars whose projects would benefit from use of the collections housed in collections of any of the University Libraries. Library research grants would provide partial, short-term support for costs relating to travel and living expenses to scholars whose projects would benefit from use of library collections and information resources. Establish criteria and administer program in collaboration with academic departments and/or the Graduate School.

Major Gifts

* Renovate library space in the Hesburgh Library ($40 million), the Chemistry/Physics Library ($500K), the Engineering Library ($500K), the Life Sciences Library ($500K), and the Business Information Center ($500K)

In planning for the renovation of Hesburgh Library, we imagined the library the University of Notre Dame will require in the 21st century. There is a Master Plan for the Theodore M. Hesburgh Library which documents program objectives and requirements, a phased approach to the renovation of the complete building and a budget for all phases. The dollar figure for the Hesburgh Library is taken from that document.

While the Master Plan set in the context of the Hesburgh library building, this framework is descriptive of the needs for all of the libraries (perhaps excepting specific Hesburgh Library building needs, such as the HVAC for special collections, and the general HVAC/electrical overhaul). The Architecture Library and the Math Library have been recently been renovated, thus their exclusion from this list.

Each of the branch libraries listed above has unique but also overlapping characteristics. Inquiry- based education and the introduction of the critical use of information sources into students development of theses and supporting arguments means greater integration between course work and library resources, and for collaboration between teaching and library faculty. We note, even now, an increase in group assignments which also involve intensive use of data. A library building which encourages these developments by appropriately equipped and designed training labs and study spaces will contribute much to the teaching mission of the University. The necessity for providing space for print collections in the branches exists, although there is a regular transfer of volumes to the Hesburgh Library. Provision of uncomplicated and swift access to needed resources regardless of location and assistance in their use is part of the Libraries vision statement, and should govern the layout of a renovated library. Knowledgeable, efficient staff operations, both at the service points and behind the scenes make achievement of the Libraries goals possible, and so cannot be neglected in designing space.

* Seek a major gift for a digitization center and institutional repository

Institutional repositories are digital collections that capture and preserve the intellectual output of university and scholarly communities. In their most familiar form, they are natural extensions of the library’s role as a repository of published scholarship as well as the institution’s role as a generator of primary research. Increasingly, they are critical components in the evolving structure of scholarly communication. Many authors already self-post their research. According to Herbert VanDeSompel, coordinator of Digital Library Research at the Research Library of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, co-founder of the Open Archives Initiative, and professor of computer science at Cornell University, “institutional repositories provide a logical component in a global network of interoperable research repositories. Fundamental components of the technical and standards infrastructure to support the proliferation of such repositories are already in place today.” What is needed are concrete actions by universities.

There is emerging interest on campus in the library, the Graduate School, OIT, the University Press, and faculty journal editors, visual resource collections, curriculum support. One of the library’s responsibilities lies in digitizing unique collections for global access and preservation, the latter of which will require an institutional repository infrastructure. .

Grants

* Preservation in paper or microform of premier collections, e.g., in Catholic Studies, Medieval and Byzantine Studies, Dante, Southern Cone literature and history. The library was successful in getting an NEH endowment for preservation of important Medieval collections. NEH continues to support preservation of unique and/or important scholarly resources

* Digitization (for access and/or preservation) of premier collections, e.g, in Medieval and Byzantine Studies. The Mellon Foundation has made many grants in this area.

* Collaborative digitization and/or preservation, e.g., digital visual resources collections, with Snite Museum. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is particularly interested in collaborative endeavors involving libraries and museums. Its grants are not limited solely to digitization or preservation activities, but it has a good record of grants in this area.

* Research centers and programs at Notre Dame may, as they have done in the past, partner with the library to meet the research needs of scholars at Notre Dame. In the last several years, the library has collaborated with the Kellogg Institute and ISLA in the College of Arts and Letters in acquiring important collections for the library.

* Individual benefactors are also receptive to matching current funds held by the libraries, a special form of matching grant opportunities.

Rationalization and redirection of existing resources

While we believe some modest growth in library faculty and staff over the next decade is necessary, we also see significant potential to redirect our time and talents into those activities most important to us as well as to library users. We have identified four major avenues of pursuit that will help us redirect our collective energies to more important activities. I cannot with certainty point to specific whole positions that can be reassigned to other library activities; however, it is my firm belief that these strategies will lead to the recovery of some time from many library faculty and staff positions, and in that mode, with appropriate training for the development of new skills, we will be able to redirect some of our energies into new areas.

* Reduce processing activities associated with handling print or microform journals, government documents, such as serial check-in, binding of serials to areas and redirect staff resources to activities associated with processing digital/electronic library materials, or into areas where more activity is desired, such as processing of document delivery requests, creating and maintaining access to electronic resources, creating and preserving new digital resources.

* Leverage technology to increase library staff and faculty productivity, thus allowing greater use of their expertise and different uses of their time. There are many examples to be cited. Redesign the library web site to incorporate relational database ... Use improved software for web page creation. Use

EDI-based services for invoicing books and journals. Implement online ordering for books, journals and other library purchases. Send articles requested by library users via ILL to them electronically instead of scanning, then photocopying for delivery. Use ALEPH to generate gateway subject headings.

* Expand library services that empower users, such as the ability to check the status of ILL requests, to renew books checked out, to check-out books independently of library staff, to capture bibliographic citations from other library catalogs for immediate creation of ILL requests. Empowering library users creates more timely and effective library services. Empowering library users also increases our ability to redirect library staff time into other important activities, e.g., to redirect their time from answering telephone queries about status of ILL to creating new services or trouble shooting access problems on an even- more timely basis.

* Create a culture of assessment within the University Libraries not only for the purpose of regularly evaluating the usefulness of library services, but also for the purpose of regularly evaluating how library operations can be made more cost-effective. Such assessment will also include regular evaluation of library staff and faculty skills with a view to identifying areas where more or new training and education is required in support of new

New University money

Add funds on a regular basis to address inflation in the costs of books, serials and other information resources. Peer institutions face the same challenge on this front as does Notre Dame; institutions included he University of Chicago, Cornell, and get others ...?, have made it a priority to provide at least some additional funding to meet the costs of inflation.

Capitalize new faculty for library resources for faculty research. When new faculty are hired, and especially in cases where they are bringing in new strengths and areas of research, capitalize faculty not just with laboratories, research assistants or graduate students, but also with funds for the purchase of books or journal articles. The College of Arts & Letters already recognizes the significance of this for new faculty and provides A&L funds for such purposes. However, the need is not simply for “library collections,” often identified as the laboratories for the humanities, but also for “electronic information resources” in the form of journals and articles.

Add $25,000 to library base budget for support of a residential program that brings librarians or masters degree students to the libraries at Notre Dame for professional experience or study. This program would encourage the exchange and development of new ideas and perspectives in any aspect of library operations or librarianship, or in the theoretical underpinnings of the field. There is no master’s degree program at Notre Dame; however, there are two programs in Indiana as well as programs in adjacent states from which students could be drawn. The program would also provide Notre Dame with the regular means for supporting library professionals already in other libraries, in North America or in other countries, to gain experience or pursue their study. Most recently, w hosted a librarian from Spain for 6 months. We hosted a preservation intern from the University of Texas at Austin.

Add one new position for the development of library services to Notre Dame alumni. This program already under discussion with Alumni Association and the Graduate School.

Add $45,000 to library base budget over a five year time period to cover costs for housing and preserving 500,000 Notre Dame-owned print volumes in cooperative off-site book depository. Housing and preserving half a million volumes off-campus will extend the life of current library space for five years beyond the current projection of 2015. The cost estimate is based on current operating costs of Indiana University, Bloomington, where the second module of the Harvard-style depository is expected to be built. The cost of building a local depository would likely be about $3-5 million dollars at present costs, and would generate annual operating and maintenance costs to the university as well.

Closing remark

We are setting important strategic directions for the University Libraries and I am confident of our ability to create a great library at Notre Dame. We are a knowledgeable and creative library faculty and staff, committed to excellence at Notre Dame.