MIU LIBRARY
Vision
We aspire the MIU library to be:
A place for enlightenment, for creativity and enjoyment.
A vibrant hub of ideas, resources and expertise.
A union of safe, accessible and attractive spaces, conducive to seeking and developing solutions for local and global challenges.
Mission
We continuously grow in our capacity to advance MIU’s commitment to academic excellence and scholarship by empowering and inspiring our scholars and learners to discover, access, create, share, and preserve knowledge.
Values
Our mission is in pursuit of the University’s mission and so are our values. We contribute to creating a problem-free harmonious and nourishing educational environment putting emphasis on:
Student centered
We adjust our services to the needs of our students in an endeavor to create shared ownership of the library.
We accomplish this by:
Optimizing for learning: applying user-centered and universal design principles to our services, spaces, and resources and appropriate media for our students and faculty.
Making learning visible: seeing students in the process of learning empowers and increases engagement of others with more time skills and energy.
Flexible and permissive: by creating intuitive procedures and policies, we empower our students by giving them choice and control, allowing them over time to find the library’s natural order and to create comfortable individual and group study spaces.
Actively promote library’s services and resources to our students and researchers.
Collaboration
We engage in partnering with academic departments across the university and consortia of academic libraries in Iowa to achieve shared goals of increasing the impact of education, research and the advancement of knowledge.
We accomplish this by:
Leveraging our campus position as diverse ways of knowing and creating to be increasingly collaborative;
Blending our competence and resources with associates to augment and extend the impact of the unique education system (CBE) implemented at our University.
Listening and communicating openly and effectively with our colleagues, students, researchers and faculty.
Equity
We aspire to become inclusive and equitable, actively supporting our University in sustaining diversity and creating inclusive experiences for the MUM community at large.
We accomplish this by:
Acting with integrity to reinforce liberty and democracy by protecting intellectual freedom and the right to privacy.
Fostering deep respect and understanding for all human beings inside and outside our University and the communities in which they live;
Aiming to provide equitable service to all people, regardless of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, or national or ethnic origin.
Emphasizing services that are welcoming and inclusive of members of groups who are currently and/or have been historically marginalized or denied full participation in society.
Creativity
We envelope a culture of research, investigation and observation to improve services, foresee needs and manage change.
We accomplish this by:
Creating a culture of openness to alternative solutions
Providing spaces, services, resources and tools which facilitate interactive communication and creativity among our students and researchers.
Approaching our work holistically, balancing individual creativity with the overall goals of our library.
Fostering work which is creative, and which advances coordination of body, mind and heart to find solutions to problems and grand challenges.
Sustainability
We are committed to preserving and developing our physical and digital resources.
We accomplish this by:
Engaging in holistic decision-making, balancing current needs, resource allocation and long-term goals
Preserving and conserving resources of cultural value and historical significance to the communities we serve;
Aligning our resources and decisions with values, strategic priorities, user needs and institutional mission and goals.
Goals, Objectives, and Actions
Goal 1: Boost student success with library services, collections, and spaces that meet students’ needs for education, research, and information in equitable and inclusive ways.
Objective 1.1: Develop physical environments to meet students’ various needs for them to succeed.
Action: Improve the proportion of study, technology, group, individual, quiet, silent, and social spaces.
Objective 1.2: Make resources that students need more accessible and affordable.
Action: In collaboration with key partners evaluate and implement plans to reduce student costs for textbooks and course materials through open access policy.
Objective 1.3: Enhance access to and awareness of the Library’s information resources and services to better serve students.
Action a: Prioritize resources, collections, and services.
Action b: Assess and improve the Library’s collections to better serve students.
Goal 2: Promote and support in equitable and inclusive ways instructional and research activities.
Objective 2.1: Engage with faculty regarding instruction, curricular support, and course design.
Action a: Work with faculty to develop LibGuides for courses and programs.
Action b: Guide faculty in incorporating library materials and open educational resources in instruction and course design.
Objective 2.2: Provide guidance and expertise to faculty regarding library resources and services.
Action a: Within the context of the campus community develop and define our role regarding copyright guidance.
Action b: Increase awareness and use of online resources offered by the Library.
Objective 2.3: Improve research support.
Action a: Analyze current research trends and use of resources.
Action b: Increase awareness of data management and scholarly communication services.
Action c: Evaluate and address research needs of academic units.
Objective 2.4: Increase faculty satisfaction with collections and services.
Action a: Assess and analyze faculty collection and service needs.
Action b: Increase awareness of existing library services, as well as new and evolving services.
Action c: Create a long-term collection development plan.
Goal 3: Develop our virtual spaces to facilitate use and discovery of library resources and services by a wide range of users.
Objective 3.1: Create a more cohesive user experience.
Action a: Create tools to provide streamlined integration of library resources and services.
Action b: Improve the usability of the Library’s virtual presence.
Action c: Integrate and promote the Library’s virtual presence into campus systems.
Objective 3.2: Develop online instructional services and materials to better serve learners.
Action: Maintain and increase the quality and relevance of library online learning objects.
Goal 4: Create a welcoming library space uniquely focused on academic uses and support.
Objective 4.1: Evaluate and adjust the balance between user spaces and collection spaces.
Action a: Conduct use and condition studies of the physical collection.
Action b: Optimize the physical space devoted to collections, including off-site locations.
Objective 4.2: Evaluate and improve the experience of the building environment for all users.
Action a: Prioritize physical maintenance and conditions of the building. Action b: Conduct a study of physical space use and user experiences.
Action c: Consider the Library’s relationship to and impact on other student spaces.
Action d: Create a safer library environment and be better prepared for potential emergencies.
Action e: Assess and enhance the space to ensure we are meeting the needs of diverse students and groups.
Action f: Explore furniture options that are comfortable, sustainable, modular, and accessible.
Action g: Advocate for and develop long-term renovation plans and capital improvements.