Mission
We advance the academic mission of the University and enrich the intellectual life of the people of Texas by fostering information discovery, enabling teaching and research, nurturing creativity, partnering in the development and dissemination of new knowledge, and contributing to the intellectual growth and fulfillment of the individual.
Vision
A community of learners enjoys unfettered access to a universe of information, enabling all to enrich their lives and transform their worlds.
Strategic Intent
We will be the preeminent public academic library in the country.
Values
Agility -- We believe in and foster agility, flexibility, and responsiveness in our planning, operations, and services.
Collaboration -- We value the increased capabilities that result when we act collaboratively on and off campus.
Diversity -- We value diversity and strive to ensure diversity in our information resource offerings and in our staff.
Ethics -- We act ethically as individuals and as an organization, upholding laws and the highest standards of civil conduct in our interactions externally and internally, respecting our users' and employees' individuality, privacy, and autonomy, and creating an ethical environment both physically and virtually.
History -- We participate in preserving the long cultural and intellectual heritage of human endeavor and in building the future with new information resources and services.
Learning -- We further the teaching, learning, research, and scholarship activities of our global society.
Service -- We demand quality and excellence from ourselves, especially in our service ethic to support and facilitate learning and research.
Action Priorities 2006-2007
Strategic Theme 1: Access and Services
THE BROADEST ARRAY OF INFORMATION RESOURCES, SYSTEMS AND SERVICES, ACCESSIBLE ON DEMAND, ENABLES USERS TO SATISFY THEIR INFORMATION NEEDS.
Build our collections of record by adding key resources.
Purchase more electronic information, by transforming spending patterns, to provide library users with immediate access to information at the point of need.
Ensure intellectual and physical access to all collections in campus libraries.
Advance the current information literacy program to develop user competencies in information seeking and critical inquiry, emphasizing point-of-need instruction in online environments as appropriate to various academic disciplines and departmental cultures.
Develop and maintain a robust digital infrastructure capable of providing multi-channel access to our electronic information at the point of need, supported by adequate staff and resources.
Advance UTOPIA as the universally accepted portal to the University's intellectual content.
Strategic Theme 2: Leadership
LIBRARY LEADERSHIP RESULTS IN EFFECTIVE SERVICE PROVISION AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS.
Develop a sustainable business model for library operations, collections, and spaces.
Effect the advancement plan, including activities of the advisory council, fundraising activities, and collaboration with others on campus.
Improve policies and procedures in human resources matters for library staff in cooperation with the UT Office of Human Resources.
Become a more integral actor in the academic community of UT Austin.
Advance collaboration with UT System libraries, other research libraries in Texas, and other state and regional institutions and organizations.
Enhance and expand national and international collaborative efforts with libraries, scholarly societies, and foundations.
Improve managerial and administrative practices to facilitate continuous improvement in services and operations.
Organize the libraries around products and services most valued by our users, and retrain and realign staff to deliver those products and services more effectively.
Develop and implement an internal communication plan.
Strategic Theme 3: Spaces
LIBRARY SPACES ENABLE AND SUPPORT EVOLVING LEARNING BEHAVIORS BY CREATING COMFORTABLE AND FUNCTIONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS.
Re-engineer library public spaces to accommodate modern technologies and user behaviors.
Improve user seating and group study spaces within library facilities.
Continue to collaborate with other campus units to refine the Flawn Academic Center's role as an integrated student learning facility.
Redesign public areas in the Perry-Castañeda Library to enable users to use spaces and services more productively.
Advance collaboration with the College of Fine Arts to redesign the Fine Arts Library to be an integrated student learning center and destination location on the east side of campus.
Refresh public areas in the Life Science Library and promote the facility as an advancement opportunity.
Accomplishments 2004-2005
Transformed the Flawn Academic Center into an expanded learning commons designed to enhance the undergraduate experience.
Initiated an advancement program for the University of Texas Libraries, by forming an Advisory Council and a national Advisory Board for UTOPIA, and hiring two experienced development officers.
Restructured services and service points on the main floor of PCL and added Prufrock's, a coffee shop, in answer to student requests.
Acquired the archive of noted author, scholar, and cultural theorist Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa for the Benson Latin American Collection.
Completed customer service training for all library staff.
Improved access to and delivery of library resources from remote storage.
Obtained approval for expanded storage for little-used research materials.
Funded library management system and brought it to the stage of implementation.
