The Library of the Future at Virginia Commonwealth University 

The purpose of this document is to set forth the means by which the staff of University Library Services will meet the future. It describes goals for several key areas and gives examples of some strategies for beginning to meet those goals. It describes the environment which will shape the way we deliver resources and services. 

This document focuses on six strategic areas
the collections (which contain knowledge)
how we organize knowledge to gain access to the collections
services to the university community
funding
the worker of the future
leadership and organizational change.

A challenge for the short term will be to help members of the university community to navigate widely varying systems of communication for scholarly knowledge. These systems encompass priceless artifacts of early technologies of knowledge such as manuscripts, drawings, photographs, and print, as well as interactive multimedia, and digital information residing locally or beyond the library's walls. The library will continue to acquire information and serve as a conduit to information in all its forms to meet the needs of the university community. Librarians will be challenged to provide systems which will support convenient and coherent access to an increasingly diverse collection of resources and services. As change accelerates, the over arching goal will be to create an environment which offers a seamless interface to materials in all disciplines. The library of the future will require the traditional valuative skills of librarians in addition to new technological sophistication. Increasingly crucial is the library's role in teaching the novice researcher to be analytical and discriminating in his use of information. 

ULS Futures Document Committee: Diane S.Hollyfield (Chair), Jan Lewis, Susanna Bartmann Pathak, Lynne Turman 

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1. Knowledge Resources Environment: Collections are paramount to achieving the mission of future libraries. ULS will be responsible for selecting, acquiring, organizing, managing , and ensuring continued access to the materials and resources it offers to support the teaching and research activities of our users. Collections of depth and breadth will be developed and managed by a team of professionals possessing subject expertise, technological expertise, and an understanding of changing patterns of scholarly communication in the disciplines. Rapidly changingtechnologies and multiple formats and access modes make the process ofdeveloping collections more complex. Thus, building and managing futurecollections will continue to be a staff-intensive process placing greaterdemands on ULS's human resources and budget. 

Print based collections will be dominant in many disciplines for atleast a decade, but the increasing availability and the costs of digitalmaterials may account for half or more of the total acquisitions budget inthe next five years. As costs increase, the development and management ofrelevant collections are even more dependent on network access and thequality of navigational tools. The gap between what is published and whatuniversities can acquire will continue to grow. To meet needs for expandedaccess to information resources in a timely, convenient and cost effectivemanner, ULS will pursue multiple, consortia-based relationships. The costsof publishing and acquiring scholarly journals remain high; thus, theprovision of article- length materials will pose the greatest challenge tocollection management in the immediate future. 

Goals: 
Aggressively pursue the acquisition of relevant digital materials inall disciplines;
Develop preservation strategies, including consortia-based planning,which will ensure future access to recorded information;
Plan for the coordinated expansion and strengthening of ULS'scollections by participation in consortia-based relationships includingthe Virtual Library of Virginia, the Richmond Area Library Cooperative,the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, the National Networkof Libraries of Medicine and others;
Redefine librarians' roles based on the challenges and opportunitiespresented by selecting and servicing networked information resources;
Respond to the University's changing information needs in a balancedway, within the context of ULS's mission, goals, collection developmentpolicies, and other planning documents;
Develop budgeting processes which give the library sufficientflexibility and adequate support to meet the changing needs andexpectations of users.

Strategies: 
The success of consortia-based relationships will be dependent on ourability to promote higher levels of collaboration and cooperation toachieve effective resource sharing arrangements;
Libraries should collaborate and share expertise with publishers andproducers of scholarly information to develop alternative models ofdelivering articles and other materials which demand rapid disseminationand which are dependent on fees for use rather than ownership andsubscription;
Alternatives to owning journals include expedited interlibrary loanarrangements, interlibrary loan subsidies, and document deliveryoptions;
Alternatives to owning print (full text) materials include: access tofull text collections; GPO access; VCU's digital library, andcooperative collection development initiatives which ensure access tocore collections as well as research materials that are important butless frequently used;
Develop policies and organizational structures that sustain anenvironment in which the benchmark of quality will be network access toa growing volume and diversity of scholarly information in all itsforms;
Develop strategies for sharing responsibility for developingcollections and evaluating collection -related services with additionalmembers of the university community.
2. Organization of Knowledge

Environment: One of the Library's primary roles is to organizecollected items into a system of knowledge, applying standard andcoordinated retrieval points that make collections accessible and useful.This has traditionally been done through print and computer-basedcatalogs, locally produced and commercially acquired indexes, and otherfinding aids. Providing such tools is essential to exploiting thecollection fully. Applying international cataloging standards andemploying bibliographic utilities (such as OCLC),. Have allowed for thegrowth and development of shared and cooperative cataloging arrangementsamong institutions, further increasing access to information. 

With digital formats proliferating, the library will need to devise newmethods for organizing and retrieving full-text, non-text, multimedia, andother electronic resources. At the same time, the library must continue toprovide access to traditionally formatted materials. The dynamic nature ofelectronic resources challenges accepted cataloging standards andpractices. While current MARC-based cataloging standards will persist formany years, it is likely they will evolve in response to the specialdemands of digitized materials. Along with the adaptation of currentstandards, it is probable that a distinct system to organize and retrievedigital information will emerge. 

Goals: 
Continue to develop the catalog as the preeminent resource forproviding access to the collections;
Integrate retrieval tools into a comprehensive system for exploitingcollections;
Develop consistent user interfaces for disparate databases;
Increase the scope and depth of objects under bibliographic control;
Develop technologies for managing digital collections.

Strategies
Integrate the catalog and the Web as an umbrella technology tocontrol and provide access to collections;
Promote the Z39.50 protocol as the common bond for searching alldatabases, even as native proprietary interfaces also coexist within thelibrary;
Investigate and implement technologies that enhance access to thecollections;
Focus on organizing resources that may be outside the library'sphysical control, but which are accessible through networks;
Orient staff resources for bibliographic control toward themanagement of large sets of cataloging records rather than he creationand maintenance of individual records;
Cooperate with other institutions to develop methods that increasethe volume and depth of cataloging.
3. Service to the University Community

Environment: ULS faces the challenge of continuing to provideservices to the University community within the four walls of the library,while providing both parallel and new services to users outside thelibrary building. A number of factors are driving the demand foradditional services, including the globalization of scholarship andlearning, the generation of knowledge in an increasing variety of nonprint formats, the growing sophistication of information systems, theproliferation in the number and variety of interfaces to databases, theburgeoning number of users who own or have access to the equipment neededto use library resources remotely, the growth of distance education, andusers' desire for anytime, on-demand services. Limited funds and staffwill necessitate ongoing evaluation and prioritization of services, withthe result that some existing services may be eliminated or reduced.Fee-based services (ranging from charging for printing from librarycomputers to student technology fees) are also an alternative. 

Goals: 
Anticipate the information needs of the University community;
Meet the scholarly information requirements of the Universitycommunity by providing a range of resources and services which arecohesive, integrated flexible and responsible to user needs;
Enable users to become more information -literate and self-sufficientin the knowledge environment of the 21st century.

Strategies: 
Identify the information needs of the University community andanalyze how members of the community use information;
Rethink existing services and prioritize existing and anticipated newservices;
Increase services available to remote users; Expand patron-initiatedservices;
Continue to offer a wide variety of instructional and outreachactivities, while experimenting with new technologies for providingthese services in an efficient and effective manner;
Implement new technologies and user interfaces that provide improvedservices;
Maintain software and hardware infrastructure necessary to supportthe needs of a research university;
Play an integral role on a campus-wide basis in planning anddecision-making involving the electronic infrastructure.
4. Funding & Development

Environment: The cost for supporting a research level librarysystem in an institution such as Virginia Commonwealth University willincrease as the cost of information, equipment, qualified personnel andservices continue to rise in the future. The means of accessinginformation will multiply and become increasingly complex, requiring ahigher proportion of the library's resources for education, both tomaintain the skills of knowledge workers within the library and to pass onthose skills to contribute to the information literacy of the students,faculty and staff, of the university. While costs of some currenttechnologies may stabilize, as yet un-imagined technology will bedeveloped. Conversion to newer technologies must be supported whilemaintaining access to necessary research materials in earlier formats.

Goals: 
Manage funds so as to support the transition to digital resourceswhile maintaining core traditional collections and meeting the variedand changing information needs of a growing University community;
Acquire increased funding to support major new academic initiativesin the institution;
Leverage finite resources to best support the mission of theUniversity;
Acquire supplemental funding through campus collaboration, externalpartnerships, grants, and gifts.

Strategies: 
Provide funds which can be amplified through resource sharing inlocal, state and regional consortia;
Continuously analyze and revise priorities within the context of themission of the University and the library, and re-allocate resourcesaccordingly;
Remain flexible in choosing information providers and negotiate forbest advantage to the institution;
Work with campus development entities to develop aggressivestrategies to acquire supplemental funding;
Promote accomplishments as a basis for future funding;
Monitor the developments in the economics of access to information,scholarly publishing and information exchange, and share this knowledgewith campus colleagues and administrators.
Fund the staff training which will be increasingly necessary.
5. Worker of the Future

Environment: The library's ability to meet the future withsuccess depends on many factors, but none is more important than thecontributions of a talented and dedicated staff. The library's humanresources are valued as much as any material resources and attention mustbe focused on providing an environment that enhances job satisfaction,learning and productivity. To prepare and develop a workforce ready totake on new roles, fiscal and human resources must be continually investedtoward recruitment, training and an infrastructure to support staff needs.The library of the future will require a highly trained workforce withskills for effective communication, a talent for problem solving, and theability to apply technology appropriately. 

Goals: 
Cultivate a diverse workforce with the skills, knowledge andexperience to manage the library of the future;
Create an environment conductive to learning, creativity andproductivity for all employees;
Ensure a workforce committed and empowered to implement change inresponse to user needs.

Strategies: 
Commit library resources for training and reorientation of staff.
Develop annual budget lines for staff development activities.
Pursue grants and endowments to provide new sources of income forstaff training.
Provide time for employees to attend educational programs and gainnew skills.
Maximize staffing by continually rethinking services.
Utilize process improvement tools to evaluate library operations anddevelop new models to increase productivity.
Develop opportunities for cross-training to achieve a blending andexpansion of jobs beyond traditional departmental boundaries.
Equip all workers with adequate resources to accomplish theobjectives of their job.
Ensure that appropriate physical facilities, information resources,equipment and network infrastructure are in place to support the work ofthe staff.
Recruit and retain an outstanding and diverse staff.
Develop strategies to attract qualified candidates for librarypositions.
Work with VCU's Human Resource Division to revise and reclassify jobpositions to reflect current work requirements.
Participate in efforts to develop a library line of classifications.
Encourage and reward creativity, innovation , and risk-taking.
Recognize and promote the future oriented projects and achievementsof groups and teams.
6. Leadership & Organizational Change

Environment: ULS's future will be created by every member of theorganization as they participate in an ongoing envisioning process. Thisprocess will involve the evolution of philosophies of service and a sharedunderstanding and acceptance of the values which shape those services. Ourvalues and philosophies will be articulated in dialogues about workprocesses and desired outcomes. Broad participation in these dialogueswill ensure that our visions match our capabilities and that ourstrategies for achieving our goals are vital, realistic and well timed.The Library's success will depend on the wisdom, integrity and influenceof those in leadership roles. 

Process of change within ULS will evolve from a culture of learning.This culture will be fostered by the sharing of knowledge and experienceto facilitate the learning, unlearning, relearning and teaching necessaryfor change at all levels. 

Goals: 
Create a seamless, coherent organization positioned to identify anddeliver relevant resources and services to users in a networkedenvironment which is also coherent and can be navigated with efficiency;
Establish a workplace where people are at ease collaborating andwhere the work and knowledge of various groups and individuals overlapto add quality and efficiency;
Encourage leadership and responsibility for planning and implementingchange at all levels;
Develop broad-based strategies which assist in defining the contextsfor decision-making;
Enhance ULS's working relationships with university divisions,departments, and administrators so that the library's mission and goalsare understood and supported.

Strategies: 
Develop proactive decision making patterns;
Base activities on projects rather than discrete tasks;
Facilitate peer-to-peer networking to accomplish tasks;
Create a culture of learning by expanding access toinformation/communication wherever it is located;
Support and reward creativity and risk-taking;
Utilize individuals who possess relevant knowledge, talents andinterest to create issue-or process- focused work groups;
Establish a process for evaluation and adjustment of the library'sorganizational structure which will support these new ways of workingtogether;
Enable individuals to share learning, insights, and challenges sothat visions will be shared and renewed.

Last updated: 28 August 1998