Strategic Plan

Note from the Head of Library Resources

Hello and thank you for your interest in our strategic plan!

The plan linked here was launched during the summer of 2023 and is intended to be completed in 2027. It’s an ambitious plan built upon our foundational goals of professionalism, excellence in instruction and collections, and engagement with our community. The plan describes the ways in which Library Resources will provide expertise in teaching critical information literacy, curating information sources, and prioritizing library services. Our goal is to provide partnership to support the needs of researchers, fulfill departmental learning goals, and meet or exceed accreditation standards for the programs of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) and the College of Nursing and Professional Disciplines (CNPD).

If you have thoughts to share, I welcome your call or email.

Sincerely,
Erika M Johnson, Head of Library Resources

Mission

We empower evidence-based health care, intellectual discovery, lifelong learning, and engagement with our diverse communities by facilitating curricula-embedded learning of information literacy competencies and skills.

Ideal Vision

A future where every healthcare practitioner in North Dakota is empowered to access and create knowledge to practice evidence-based healthcare.

Values

Learning — We value learning that is outcomes-based, intentionally scaffolded, learner-centered, and collaboratively embedded within disciplinary curricula.
Affinity — We value our role as a member of and collaborative partner with our campus and our regional community. In our work we recognize the important role of community and disciplinary perspectives and values in the creation and dissemination of information.
Curiosity — We value curiosity expressed through a spirit of inquiry and the formation of new ideas expressed through evidence-based practice.
Intellectual Freedom and Safety — We value and protect the privacy of our community members as they access high-quality resources and information. We value and create a safe space in which to explore and share new ideas.
Professionalism — We value personal and professional ethics, growth, and integrity in all of our endeavors.
Equity — We create and support environments that are inclusive, accessible, and rich in diversity.

Goals and Initiatives

Professionalism (Departmental Excellence)

Library Resources staff will continue to build excellence through fostering a growth mindset, through collaboration within the department and beyond, and by supporting all staff with clear policies and best practices.

Foster a culture of collaboration

Foster intra-departmental collaboration
Foster collaboration within the SMHS
Foster collaboration and relationship-building with SMHS and CNPD clinical/community faculty
Foster collaboration and relationship-building with the Chester Fritz Library and Thormodsgard Law Library
Foster collaboration and relationship building across UND
Explore outreach as health sciences library experts to statewide institutions

Foster a culture of professionalism

Exhibit professionalism in internal and external interactions
Foster professional development of staff

Foster a growth mindset

Craft a mission, vision, and values
Encourage creative problem solving

Enact best practices in recruitment and retention

Research and implement best practices for recruitment in libraries
Research and implement best practices for onboarding new staff

Learning (Instruction)

Librarians will strive for ongoing advancement in teaching competencies. Librarians will foster connections with departmental faculty to understand curricula and priorities. With this understanding, librarians will integrate critical information literacy with course objectives and assignments.

Engage in opportunities to improve teaching competencies

Peer instruction on teaching topics
Professional development focused on elements of teaching

Develop stand-alone workshops, turtorials, etc. (not embedded or course-specific)

Craft a common theory-based information literacy curriculum (competencies common to all SMHS disciplines)
Develop a bank of learning objects
Develop synchronous seminars/workshops on various topics
Create a bank of video tutorials to provide instruction on common competencies

Increase librarian and information literacy integration with departmental curricula

Develop theory based SMHS LR recommendations for how to integrate information literacy competencies into program curricula
Attend departmental / faculty meetings to gain understanding of departmental priorities and plans

Develop and implement assessment of information literacy competency

Explore faculty’s interest in assessment data
Collect assessment data from individual library instruction sessions
Collect assessment data at the course and/or department level
Collect programmatic assessment data; are graduates from SMHS information literate?

Intellectual Freedom (Collections & Access)

Library Resources staff will develop policies and procedures to define priorities. The department will maintain a collection that is relevant to SMHS and CNPD curricula and will promote access to information to support student and employee information needs.

Develop collection policies

Create collection policies for CNPD and SMHS
Create collection development policy for SMHS collections in Scholarly Commons
Develop a policy for departmental resources (i.e. professional development collection)
Collaborate with Chester Fritz Library to develop policy(ies) for library resources

Improve accessibility

Create an accessibility policy for SMHS Library Resources
Implement accessibility guidelines and user experience best practices in construction of the Library Resources website
Establish a committee to review collections on a schedule determined by the committee
Identify and participate in opportunities to communicate about collection development at University level

Affinity (Marketing)

Library Resources staff will develop and implement a cohesive marketing plan to elevate the awareness of human expertise and high-quality resources.

Establish marketing committee

Rename the department

Develop and implement a marketing campaign

Research other libraries’ and departments’ marketing plans/committees
Formalize LR marketing policies and procedures
Develop a cohesive plan for publications and digital objects (i.e. logos, layout, colors, fonts, language, etc.)
Share departmental achievements with campus
Craft and share a Library Resources annual report

Promote resources

Market services
Develop a plan for participation in campus committees
Develop a plan for presence at campus events
Create an online form for anonymous feedback form

Establish a presence in SMHS tours and marketing materials

Share library description with departments (tour guides)

Increase departmental visibility within SMHS

Librarian attend the SMHS Research Committee
Investigate possibility of serving on the campus IRB Committee
Elevate library visibility on websites