Library Strategic Directions Consultation

The University Librarian Invites the Concordia Community to Participate in the Library Strategic Directions Consultation

This is a time of change for Concordia University Library. Academic libraries are embracing digital culture in all aspects of their mission: collections, services and space. Major achievements do not happen by chance. Therefore, it is essential that we, as students, faculty, support staff, librarians, all members of the Concordia community, determine what kind of library we want and what we need to do to get there. This planning exercise is part of the Concordia University Strategic Directions process that started at the beginning of 2015.

I invite all members of the Libraries’ team and the Concordia community in general to participate in the strategic directions consultation. Everyone has valuable ideas and comments to contribute as we determine the vision and the roadmap for the future of our Libraries. Join the discussion!

Please attend one of the consultation sessions listed below, and send any comments, questions, or suggestions to the Library's Strategic Directions Advisory Committee at
lib-strategicdirections@concordia.ca

Guylaine Beaudry
University Librarian

Timeline of Library Strategic Directions Consultation

Date	Event
April 1, 2015	*What fundamental shifts do next-generation libraries (and universities) need to make?* Presentation by James Neal, University Librarian Emeritus, Columbia University Presentation slides
April 1, 2015	Presentation by James Neal to All Library Staff Presentation slides Storify event recap
April 14, 21, and 23, 2015	Focus Groups with Undergraduate Students Questions How do you use the Library? What else could the library be doing to support your success? What do you see as future trends? Summaries of discussions Vanier Library: Summary of April 14 discussion Mural Webster Library: Summary of April 21 discussion Summary of April 23 discussion Mural Thank you to Rosemary Reilly, Professor in the Department of Applied Human Sciences, for facilitating these focus groups.
April 21, 2015	Open Session with Faculty Questions How well are we supporting your teaching and research activities? What can we improve? What are we not doing that we could be doing? How can we better serve interdisciplinary needs and research? What do you expect from the Library? How are you using the Library? View the summary of the discussion
April 23, 2015	Focus Group with Graduate Students Questions How do you use the library? How can the library assist you? What do you see as future trends? Summaries of discussion View the summary of the discussion Mural Thank you to Rosemary Reilly, Professor in the Department of Applied Human Sciences, for facilitating this focus group.
May 6 and 20, 2015	Ideas Café Library Staff Sessions Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Loyola Campus View the summary of the discussion Mural Wednesday, May 20, 2015 SGW Campus View the summary of the discussion Mural Thank you to Rosemary Reilly, Professor in the Department of Applied Human Sciences, and her team for facilitating the Ideas Cafés.
June 3, 2015	All Staff Retreat: Identifying Main Directions Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Location: GN E. 104 (Grey Nuns) View the notes View the identified themes Staff picture Thank you to Rosemary Reilly, Professor in the Department of Applied Human Sciences, and her team for facilitating the Staff Retreat.
June 2015	University Strategic Directions Finalized and Approved
June 23, 2015	Draft of Library Strategic Directions View the Strategic Directions: Themes (draft version prepared by the Library Administration Team)
July - September	Identification of Goals for Each Strategic Direction Library Umbrella Committees will plan and coordinate events to be announced.
October 2015	Draft of Proposed Goals for Each Strategic Direction Library All Staff Meetings for discussion of draft and feedback to be announced. The Concordia Community will be asked to comment and provide feedback on the Libraries' Draft Strategic Directions.
November – December 2015	Library Umbrella Committees Identified Objectives and Activities for Each Goal
December 11, 2015	Strategic Planning Consultation with Library Staff Friday, December 11, 2015 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. S-LB-322 Multifunctional Room Staff feedback and LAT responses
January 2016	Library Strategic Directions Plan with Goals, Objectives and Activities Completed Draft Version 0.11 Please send feedback to lib-strategicdirections@concordia.ca
March 2016	Inspiring Success: Concordia University Library Strategic Plan 2016/21

Concordia Library: Statistical Highlights

Below are highlights of the major services trends at Concordia Library. We invite you to explore them and to also view our interactive charts.

Services

Many traditional library services such as borrowing and reference have been decreasing in the last 15 years. This trend has been reported by most North American academic libraries.
There was a total of 2,200,000 library visits in the last academic year (2013-2014), a slight increase (2%) form the previous year and 20% increase compared to 2009-2010.
Some 150,000 borrowing transactions were made in 2013-2014 academic year and another 150,000 instances of books used in the library were registered. Borrowing and in-house use of physical collection decreased 40% and 67% respectively, compared to 2009-2010.
Course textbooks and course packs were borrowed approximately 100,000 times in 2013-2014, a 5% increase from the previous year, and 2.5 times (250%) more than in 2009-10.
Some 11,000 books were shipped from one campus to the other upon students or faculty requests.
Interlibrary Loans received over 14,000 requests form Concordia faculty and students for items not available at Concordia Library and 3660 requests from other libraries for items in Concordia Library collections. This represents a drop for each of these activities of some 25% compared to 2009-2010.
Reference & information services desks received in 2013-14 over 60,000 questions from our students and faculty. This represents 40% decrease in activity compared to 2009-2010.
The Library’s online reference service received 3700 questions in 2013-2014, 13% less than in 2009/10.
In 2013-2014, Concordia librarians delivered 322 classes on how to use, interpret, or manage information sources, to 10,457 students. This represents a drop of 18% in the number of classes and 7% in the number of students, compared to 2009-2010.
In 2013/14, librarians provided 1460 consultations to students and faculty in support of their research. Compared to 2009-2010, this represents a decrease of 28%.
Laptops were borrowed 86,000 times, 92% increase compared to 2009-2010.
The use of the Library’s electronic resources in 2013/14 was close to 30 million, 71% more than in 2009-2010.

Readings

We’ve put together a list of articles and reports that provide some thought-provoking ideas.

Library's Strategic Directions Advisory Committee

The Library's Strategic Directions Advisory Commitee is composed of:

Guylaine Beaudry
Sonia Poulin
Aline Sorel
Jared Wiercinski

We would love to hear from you. Please send us your comments, questions, or suggestions at
lib-strategicdirections@concordia.ca

Strategic Directions

Strategic Directions

Library Strategic Directions Consultation

The University Librarian Invites the Concordia Community to Participate in the Library Strategic Directions Consultation

Timeline of Library Strategic Directions Consultation

Concordia Library: Statistical Highlights

Services

Collections and expenditures

Personnel

Study spaces

New trends

Readings

Major trends and environmental scans

Brief summary articles

Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) "New Roles for New Times" series

Futures thinking and change

Library's Strategic Directions Advisory Committee