Auburn University Libraries
Strategic Plan 2013-2018
Priority 2. Build and maintain a technological infrastructure that is responsive to new opportunities and the changing needs of the Libraries’ users and employees. This infrastructure will support increased flexibility in the description, discovery and delivery of resources needed for teaching, learning, and research.
Rationale: Information Technology (IT) is radically changing academic librarianship and higher education in general. Studies confirm what we observe in our daily work: that students overwhelmingly use Google and Wikipedia in preference to the traditional information resources that we offer. Today, students live, study, and socialize online, relying on handheld devices and social media sites to seek, receive, and share information. Technology is also changing the classroom. Online course management systems are the order of the day, student e-portfolios are gaining popularity at Auburn and other universities, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are already undermining the university’s traditional identity—and its traditional business model. One point has emerged pretty clearly from this welter of technological change: the library is no longer perceived as the sole or ultimate source of authoritative information, or of guidance on how to use it. Still, the library does appear to be the preferred venue for study, collaboration, social interaction, and access to specialized expertise and specialized resources (e.g. the Media and Digital Resource Laboratory). Our job is to build on our comparative advantage in these areas to ensure that the library remains the intellectual center of the university.
When it comes to IT, the mission of the Auburn University Libraries is twofold: to build and maintain a flexible technical infrastructure that supports the Libraries’ activities and initiatives; and to identify, deploy, manage, and support information technologies that will help Auburn faculty members teach and Auburn students learn. Consequently, the Libraries finds itself at the intersection of the technology-driven trends mentioned above. On the one hand, this is a good thing: it represents a valuable opportunity to help shape teaching and learning at Auburn University. On the other hand, it poses a challenge that will require agility, foresight, prioritization, planning, and investment. It will also require risk-taking and flexibility.
Goals, Commitments, and Action Items
1. Use technology to organize information for effective discovery, access, and delivery. (AUSP#1: Enhance Student Success and Diversify Enrollment; AUSP#3: Enhance Research, Scholarship and Creative Work)
a. Identify, evaluate and implement products and processes to increase seamless access to electronic resources.
b. Improve discovery and access to all resources through accurate description, using commonly accepted industry standards.
i. Identify potential access problems before they arise and quickly rectify problems that do occur.
c. Extend the Libraries’ catalog by developing integrated interfaces that provide direct and seamless access to library resources in diverse formats and from a variety of sources; participate in collaborative open-source projects aimed at extending the OPAC and developing new resource-discovery tools.
i. Review VuFind and Classic Catalog functionality.
ii. Monitor collaborative open-source projects that extend and enhance the Libraries’ discovery systems.
d. Monitor and explore possible applications for Linked Data.
2. Use technology to support the University’s strategic teaching and research objectives. (AUSP#1: Enhance Student Success and Diversify Enrollment; AUSP#3: Enhance Research, Scholarship and Creative Work)
a. Evaluate, apply, and support innovative technologies for teaching, learning, and research
i. Work with faculty, students, and other campus units to develop, assess, and promote technologies used in teaching, learning, research, and the production of creative works (e.g. e-books, e-journals, and online textbooks).
ii. Create continuing education courses and/or tutorials to teach patrons how to use new and existing technologies (e.g. apps)
iii. Support the University’s ePortfolio initiative (e.g. through the Media and Digital Resource Lab)
b. Support the University’s research data management initiative.
i. In compliance with government policies/directives, assist faculty with the public access archiving of publications and data from federally funded research; assist research faculty with the preparation of data management plans.
c. Create, evaluate, and promote library resources for Auburn University’s course management system
d. Develop and implement instructional technologies that support distance education.
e. Maintain a digital or virtual space where librarians, students, and faculty members can experiment with new information technologies.
f. Work with other campus units to promote and expand the institutional repository for Auburn University.
g. Identify opportunities to leverage OIT resources (e.g. the Data Center, hosted services) (NEW)
3. Support digital projects, digital collection building, and digital preservation. (AUSP#1: Enhance Student Success and Diversify Enrollment; AUSP#3: Enhance Research, Scholarship and Creative Work; AUSP#4: Enhance Public Engagement)
a. Expand the Libraries’ digital collections.
i. Add at least one major collection to the Auburn University Digital Library (AUDL) each year.
ii. Work with faculty to identify digitization projects and promote the use of digital collections in teaching and research.
iii. Develop and implement a plan for digitizing pre-1923 and out-of-copyright imprints and making them publicly available through the Internet Archive (IA), the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), or another public venue.
b. Play a leading role in maintaining and extending distributed digital preservation networks for Alabama and the Southeast.
4. Work with other campus units to promote and support new forms of scholarly communication, including open-access scholarly publishing and digital scholarship. (AUSP#3: Enhance Research, Scholarship and Creative Work; AUSP#4: Enhance Public Engagement)
a. Position the Libraries as a place to experiment with new technologies for digital scholarship and digital publishing (e.g. electronic textbooks).
b. Utilize, monitor, and support alternative scholarly communication opportunities afforded by social media and academic social networks.
5. Use technology to improve patron use of virtual and physical spaces. (AUSP#1: Enhance Student Success and Diversify Enrollment; AUSP#3: Enhance Research, Scholarship and Creative Work)
a. Make the Libraries’ Web site and its tools and services easier to navigate and use effectively.
i. Institute a program of formal usability testing for the Web site and related services, drawing on campus resources and expertise where appropriate (e.g. the LUCIA lab in Haley Center).
b. Provide individualized assistance to users via multiple platforms (e.g. handheld devices).
i. Provide users with resource guides that offer multiple points of entry to information.
6. Be the state leader in the innovative application of library technology. (NEW) (AUSP#3: Enhance Research, Scholarship and Creative Work; AUSP#4: Enhance Public Engagement)
a. Take the lead in exploring an open-source integrated library system (including an open-source electronic resource management [ERM] module) for the state. (NEW)
b. Take the lead in exploring an open-source patron-initiated borrowing system for the state. (NEW)
c. Explore the use of gameification and cloud-based crowdsourcing (“cloudsourcing”) for promoting the Libraries’ resources and services. (NEW)
Assessment and Measurement Tools
· Measure use, service quality and user satisfaction with discovery, access, production and other technology services (e.g. LibQual+).
· Benchmark technology with peer institutions.
· Capture systems data to analyze use and effectiveness of information technology systems, including discovery and access services.
· Collect use data for online resources, including digital collections.