The UO Libraries’ Strategic Design: A Five-Year Foundation for the Future (2023–28) gives us the opportunity to benchmark against peer libraries and to work collaboratively to achieve goals that will help us fulfill our purpose in ways that are sustainable and reflect our size and budget. Built on the engagement of hundreds of employees, students, faculty, Advancement Council, alumni, and university leaders, this plan reflects our unwavering commitment to a shared vision for the future.

Now that we have a robust plan in place—one that is specific enough to serve as guidance but flexible enough to allow for agility based on the professional judgment of our domain experts—we'll focus on how to advance and iterate this set of strategies.

I am so excited to continue working with library personnel, Advancement Council members, UO faculty and students, and community members to make the UO Libraries a model for the enduring impact that research libraries have on their academic and civic communities.

—Vice Provost and University Librarian Alicia Salaz

Read on to learn details of our mission, vision, values, and goals...

Mission

Informing research and learning breakthroughs for Oregon.

Vision

We will be a model for the enduring, positive impact that research libraries can have on their academic and civic communities.

Values

• We take a user-centered approach in everything we do.
• We foster diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion; confront institutional bias; and facilitate equitable access for everyone.
• We seek to create meaningful experiences for our university and civic communities.
• We effectively communicate internally and externally, setting clear expectations and practicing transparency.
• We sustain active and engaged partnerships to support the work of student success, employee fulfillment, and civic engagement.
• We advance systems that support broad participation in knowledge creation, including Open Access initiatives.
• We accelerate UO-wide initiatives and support the university at every level.
• We prioritize ongoing assessment, continuous improvement, and iteration.

Goals

• Enrich the student experience:
  • The libraries will support students in reaching their fullest potential by understanding their needs and providing transformative opportunities to connect, learn, and excel
• Accelerate university research:
  • The libraries will positively impact our evolving society through support for diverse, innovative research and scholarship
• Be a workplace where every employee can fulfill their potential:
  • The libraries will create and maintain working environments that foster growth at every career stage, sustained by professional autonomy, effective communication, collaboration, and transparency for all library employees
• Enable information discovery, access, and use:
  • The libraries will promote equitable information production, discovery, access, and use, powering collaborative learning and knowledge sharing
• Be a technology-forward organization:
  • The libraries will enable experimentation and innovation in learning and research through a user-focused perspective and robust and well-maintained technology platforms
• Align our facilities with our vision:
  • The libraries will leverage facilities to demonstrate our values and accomplish our goals
• Enhance community and civic outreach and engagement:
  • The libraries are a cultural heritage organization promoting access to a wealth of information for Oregon's rich and diverse communities

"We are more than a partner in activities we pursue and the research that goes on here. We are an accelerant!" —Genifer Snipes, Business & Entrepreneurship librarian and head of social science liaisons