University Libraries

Introduction

Together, the University of Dayton Libraries, comprising Roesch Library, Marian Library, the International Marian Research Institute, and University Archives and Special Collections, form an academic focal point, enriching the intellectual and cultural life at and beyond the University.

Our faculty and staff are recognized for seamlessly connecting information and services to users, contributing to the educational mission, and preserving the history of the University of Dayton. We actively participate in the campus community and the wider communities, reflecting the University’s Catholic and Marianist traditions and its international interests and engagements. Informed by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we foster the search for truth in order to fulfill the University’s mission of transformative education. We provide resources, services, and spaces conducive to scholarly inquiry, discovery, and learning for all members of our vibrant and diverse communities.

The strategic plan provides a context for our work. Achieving our goals is evidence that we are a dynamic and effective organization. Five organizational assets and mechanisms form the foundation of our plan: assessment, communication, diversity, effectiveness, and professional development.

Assessment: We foster a culture of assessment and continual improvement.

Communication: We recognize that consistent and high-quality internal and external communication leads to better relationships and builds trust.

Diversity: We are committed to a framework of inclusive excellence that informs every aspect of our work and our spaces, ensuring that all learners are welcome and empowered to succeed.

Effectiveness: We strive for meaningful impact through our people, our processes, and our structure while responsibly stewarding our resources.

Professional development: Our organization is a community of learners, leading through service and committed to educational and professional development.

Mission

As a dynamic organization that thrives in relation with our community, the Libraries respond to diverse and changing user needs. We exemplify the characteristics of Marianist education and leadership, which inform our models for innovative and sustainable collections, discovery, and service so that we can empower learning, scholarship, and creative expression.

Vision

The Libraries are an intellectual fulcrum,

opening doors, activating scholarship, inspiring creativity.

Values

Collaboration     Curiosity     Inclusion     Respect     Service     Sustainability 

Our Foundation

Assessment    Communication    Diversity    Effectiveness    Professional Development       

Strategic Directions 2017-2020

Supporting scholarship throughout the research cycle

Libraries have long been a partner in the research process, serving both students and faculty. We will maximize our partnership with faculty to educate students in information literacy and other competencies necessary for the acquisition and creation of knowledge. We will also extend the Libraries’ role in the faculty research process with special attention to data management, research metrics, and the visibility of UD scholarship.

1. Improve discovery and delivery of library resources.
2. Develop a structure for supporting the research cycle for that includes assistance with data management planning and implementation.
3. Take a leadership role in the Academic Senate plan for information literacy.
4. Collect, disseminate, and preserve UD-generated scholarship.
5. Support the visibility and use of tools for research metrics.
6. Educate the campus community on author rights, fair use, and open-access publishing.

Advancing student learning

The Libraries take an active role in student learning through curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular learning experiences. We will expand our collaborations with campus and community partners to provide students with opportunities to extend their classroom experiences, spark their creativity, build their leadership skills, experience a diversity of thought, and achieve success.

1. Study the role of the Libraries in student learning and persistence and use this knowledge to enhance and articulate the UD Libraries’ value to student success.
2. Ensure diverse perspectives in the Libraries’ programs.
3. Examine course- and program-level curricula and partner with faculty to find opportunities to positively impact student learning.
4. Develop exhibits, events, and other learning opportunities that connect to the University’s student learning outcomes.
5. Create structured, dynamic professional development and leadership training for Libraries’ student employees.

Stewarding a 21st-century collection

It is no longer feasible for individual libraries to build comprehensive, just-in-case print collections. Twenty-first-century collections are a mix of traditional, electronic, and other emerging formats made available on site and increasingly online or shared with partner institutions. We will work with all areas of campus to facilitate the discovery of and provide access to knowledge needed to support research, teaching, and learning in the most appropriate formats, methods, and media.

1. Focus resources on collections that align with the University’s identity, research priorities, programmatic strengths, and curriculum.
2. Balance local and shared collections appropriate to different disciplines and usage.
3. Enhance data gathering and analysis to inform collection decisions.
4. Ensure appropriate internal and external communication around issues of collection stewardship.

Highlighting our Catholic, Marian and University special collections and programs

The Libraries are uniquely qualified to help raise UD’s reputation and affirm its identity as a Catholic research university by promoting our collections and programs related to the U.S. Catholic experience, the Virgin Mary, and the University. We will enhance the creation, preservation, discovery, and use of our special collections and archives and expand the prominence of the International Marian Research Institute and its research.

1. Building on IMRI’s strengths, enhance its ability to promote and facilitate research and scholarship on the Blessed Virgin Mary.
2. Assess the Libraries’ digitization efforts in order to develop a sustainable structure and staffing model.
3. Develop a sustainable plan for long-term preservation of digitized and born-digital materials.
4. Increase the use of rare and unique materials in the undergraduate and graduate curricula. 
5. Develop strategies to increase the visibility of special collections.
6. Improve capacity for the use of special collections and archival materials in teaching and learning.

Leveraging the renovation

The Library is a busy place. More than 2,000 people pass through Roesch Library each day during the academic year. They come to learn, search, create, teach, interact, study, and engage with our materials, exhibits, and programs. We will use the renovation of Roesch Library’s first and second floors as an opportunity to think critically about collections, space, services, programs, and partners as we strive to create a dynamic and flexible learning environment that is a destination for the entire campus.

1. Ensure library spaces are welcoming and safe for all, using accessibility, universal design, and inclusive excellence as frameworks.
2. Create spaces that facilitate and enhance dialogue among members of our campus community.
3. Ensure that the renovation plan aligns with evolving needs and workflows, maximizes the knowledge creation process, leverages staff resources, and results in a flexible environment.
4. Through the renovation, actively collaborate with existing and new campus partners to enhance student learning and faculty scholarship.
5. Establish a system to ensure that user feedback is incorporated into the planning and remains a priority.
6. Ensure that our technological infrastructure meets current and future needs and provides seamless discovery and delivery of resources and services.