Supporting 21st Century Academic Inquiry
May 2005 Revision
Since its completion in April 2002, Supporting 21st Century Academic Inquiry has guided library development. Specific goals have been fully realized, others are works in progress, several are new to this revision, and others are no longer being pursued. These goals are systematically revised annually. The Shapiro Library Annual Report documents these activities.
This most recent revision indexes goals and objectives to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Standards for Accreditation (2005 Revision).
Goal 1: Plan a library for the future through reconfiguration of Shapiro Library and pressing the case for a University library facility.
1.1 Continue to articulate campus-wide the need for a new library that will rectify the inadequacies of the present library facility and realize our vision for a breadth of information resources and services supportive of Southern New Hampshire University’s academic mission. - NEASC 7.1
1.2 Develop a case statement that provides the comparative evidence of the need for a new library facility that provides “an atmosphere conducive to study and research.” - NEASC 7.10
1.3 Provide support for the institution to “regularly and systematically” evaluate “the adequacy, utilization, and impact of its library [and] information resources.” - NEASC 7.11
1.4 Develop alliances with faculty and students in support of a new library facility.
Goal 2: Ensure sustained institutional financial support befitting a University library while optimizing the benefits realized through consortial alliances.
2.1 Demonstrate the need for additional faculty and operational staff in order that the library fulfills both its strategic goals and the mission of the University.
2.2 Emphasize to the University administration that in order to maintain acceptable levels of service and adhere to NEASC Standard 7.4, additional financial support for personnel is required.
2.3 Develop an ongoing analysis of the relationship between the demand for library services and annual levels of funding. - NEASC 7.2
2.4 Continue the process of extending consortial partnerships with other institutions or organizations beyond the NHCUC and NELINET affiliations.
Goal 3: Develop the rationale and mechanisms that will integrate information literacy into the curriculum in order “to move students from beginning to sophisticated levels of information use.” - NEASC 7.5
3.1 Provide leadership for the vision of Shapiro Library as a facilitator of teaching, learning, and research, focused initially on development of a university-wide information literacy program extended to networked students both near and far.
3.2 Promote student information literacy through both formal and informal collegial involvements in university-wide curriculum development.
3.3 Contribute to a university-wide culture of evidence to demonstrate student mastery of the skill sets that constitute information literacy. - NEASC 7.8
3.4 Extend efforts (e.g., through workshops, the development of persistent links, etc.) to increase faculty awareness of new library products and services.
3.5 Continue to respond innovatively to increasing demands for library instruction.
3.6 Explore with library faculty the applications of an “Informatics” component in the curriculum of the various Schools.
Goal 4: Expand the collections and strengthen the resources available within the library and through its electronic
gateway. - NEASC 7.7
4.1 Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the collections through peer comparison, comparisons with core lists, and progressive analysis of database use.
4.2 Continue the migration from paper-based resources to online equivalents and assess the effectiveness of online versus print resources.
4.3. Acquire significant core print collections and deaccession resources that are no longer reflective of the evolving curriculum.
4.4. Continue to expand access to appropriate information resources for distance education students and faculty. - NEASC 7.9
Goal 5: Develop strategies to ensure that cutting-edge technologies are used to improve library services. - NEASC 7.3
5.1 Continue investigating the feasibility of migrating to an integrated library system that offers improved academic functionality.
5.2 Further enhance the technological expertise of library personnel.
5.3 Continue to explore ways to better integrate the library automated systems with the University administrative and academic technologies.
5.4 Implement and customize document software to enable articles to be secured elsewhere and delivered electronically to the desktop.
5.5 Extend the electronic distribution of library resources by partnering with classroom faculty in the Blackboard environment.
5.6 Continue investigating the online library instructional methods at other institutions, refine assessment strategies, and modify appropriately our online tutorials in light of these assessment findings. - NEASC 7.8
5.7 Prepare annually strategic recommendations for technology growth.
5.8 Improve interaction between the library and its communities through extension of its web-based services.
5.9 Collaborate with other institutions in the application of technology initiatives. - NEASC 7.3
5.10 Negotiate, monitor, and police database licensing agreements to ensure that appropriate use of electronic resources is being adhered to. - NEASC 7.6
Goal 6: Promote improved campus understanding of rapidly evolving library services.
6.1 Develop occasional library-centered events (brown bag workshops, exhibits, faculty discussions, etc.) and partner with others to promote the University mission.
6.2 Continue to generate, administer, and analyze periodic surveys of University constituencies in order to be more responsive to their resource and service needs.
6.3 Retain the “What’s New” feature of the library web site as a central tool for external library communication and investigate new technologies for the exchange of information.
Goal 7: Develop initiatives that exploit the resources and services of Shapiro Library in order to provide content or services to expanding campus constituencies and external constituencies. - NEASC 7.9
7.1 Continue to develop new strategies for supporting faculty research and scholarship.
7.2 Plan new reference service assessment strategies.
7.3 Incrementally build curriculum-centered discipline-specific web resource guides.
7.4 Develop paper and online brochures and guides to library services and collections.
7.5 Promote greater student and faculty utilization of federal government documents.
Third Revision: May 9, 2005