Strategic Objectives FY15

July 1, 2014 brought an unplanned change to Z. Smith Reynolds Library. Its Dean, Lynn Sutton, was invited to take on the role of Vice Provost of Wake Forest University. During this year-long transition as a search is conducted to find a new Dean, ZSR Library wants to keep its forward momentum going, while recognizing that a new dean will want to set his/her own agenda. To that end, for FY15, the Library leadership team has established this set of objectives that will build on the 2012-2014 priorities, keep the Library as the hub of campus intellectual life and prepare for the future Capital Campaign renovations. Above all, these are designed to keep the Library focused on its primary mission to help faculty, students and staff succeed.

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At the close of FY 2015, most action items have been completed as noted below.

Engaging Through Outreach

  • Develop and deliver the LSTA grant-funded online course “RootsMooc,” in partnership with the North Carolina State Library complete
  • Develop a systematic approach to leveraging social media and the web to tell the Library’s story complete
  • Participate in the faculty house calls program in August 2014 complete
  • Engage the wider Wake Forest and Winston-Salem communities through events that better integrate the Library’s Special Collections & Archives (SCA) with the campus community, including Global Programs and Study during Archives Month, October 2014 and a semester-long exhibit of University Photographer Ken Bennett’s ZSR Library photographs complete
  • Hold the 2nd annual Dean’s List Gala in February 2015 complete
  • Plan and implement “Rush ZSR” event for new students in Spring 2015 deferred
  • Digitize the WFU publications Wake Forest Magazine and The Student in Spring 2015 in process Summer/Fall 2015

Improving the ZSR Experience

  • Partner with the CHARGE student group to create a space for students to take a relaxing break from studying – the ZieSta Room. complete
  • Create a touchscreen display in the main lobby that provides a way finder and other services to people entering and leaving the library complete
  • Identify supportable models for maintaining and upgrading public workstations; run a Chromebox pilot with two OPAC workstations in Fall 2014. complete

Supporting Teaching and Research

  •  Build the Digital Scholarship Unit capacity to support diverse digital projects of faculty, students and ZSR Library ongoing
  • Develop a framework for designing and implementing faculty digital projects through partnership between the Digital Scholarship Unit and the Library’s web developer. complete [Build.ZSR]
  • Develop a sustainable strategic direction for structuring content in WakeSpace to facilitate its use by current and future communities in process
  • Implement DMPTool, a platform for facilitating the creation of data management plans, increasingly required for grant funding exploring additional options in FY16
  • Complete the development of an online LIB100 to be offered in Summer 2015 complete
  • Submit an application for ALA/Folger Library First Folio Traveling Exhibit, in collaboration with Humanities Institute complete [not funded]
  • Secure Provost’s Fund for Academic Innovation grant and additional funding for St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church 75th anniversary, a Winston-Salem community oral history project (SCA, in collaboration with History professor, Michele Gillespie) complete
  • Complete and implement a ZSR web site redesign, featuring new home page and re-invented search box complete
  • Create an online environment to showcase and provide tiered technology support to campus offices and departments (WordPress, web development, Omeka, programming) with tiered pricing options for cost recovery complete
  • Submit grant application to LSTA for digitizing Baptist microfilm complete [awarded]
  • SCA collaboration with Wrought Iron Productions to create oral history video interviews with significant WFU community members in process
  • Increase availability of commercially-produced streaming video in collections in process
  • Improve collection searching by refining tools (VuFind and Summon) and enhancing bibliographic records in the catalog ongoing

Investing in People

  • Recruit an outstanding candidate to become the new ZSR Library dean complete
  • Explore the creation of a student assistant mentoring program starting with continuing student development/training program and student blog ‘Beyond the Desk’ ongoing
  • Customize and focus the content of inclusive customer service training to become more meaningful for ZSR student assistants. complete
  • Include staff development goals for all library employees in their annual review complete

Building the Future

Renovation

  • Install the first phase of compact shelving in Wilson 1 and shift collections into the space complete
  • Assess print collections to prepare for conversion of some current “stack space” to “people space” ongoing
  • Determine capacity of future stack space to accommodate print collection in relation with future space renovation complete
  • Finish the Atrium renovation with newly designed layout of the space and installation of furniture complete
  • Work with Facilities to implement next phase of HVAC upgrade in December 2014 complete
  • Partner with Facilities to identify building deficiencies that can be repaired and improved independent of future renovation projects ongoing

Fundraising

  • Meet established fundraising goals
  • Increase membership in the ZSR Library Council of Advocates to 20 by their winter 2015 meeting ongoing [18 members]

Assessment Activities

  • Administer LibQUAL+ survey in Fall 2014 complete
  • Develop and implement overall assessment plan for ZSR Library complete
  • Conduct ACRL Assessment in Action Project complete
  • Participate in University-wide SACSCOC reaffirmation process ongoing
  • Develop LIB100 assessment pre-test/post-test deferred to AY16
  • Fully implement Google Universal Analytics across ZSR web sites, to provide more granular data for assessing use of our online services and content ongoing