1. What responsibilities/tasks are core/central to your unit?

The Library’s role is one of service to support and strengthen learning, research and teaching at the University of Waterloo. An overarching goal is to facilitate getting the right information into the right hands at the right time. To carry out this goal, the Library provides and maintains stable information services and resources while also seeding and promoting new and enhanced services; provides instruction to help users develop the skills needed to use library services and resources effectively; provides and maintains physical and virtual space for those wishing to access and use its services and resources. 

The Library provides its services and resources in an evolving and increasingly complex and rich scholarly information environment. We select, acquire, organize, maintain, preserve and provide access to information resources in a variety of formats. The resources include, for example, books, journals, numeric data, and maps, as well as primary and unique resources such as manuscript, archival and photograph collections unduplicated elsewhere.

Library services and resources support University of Waterloo students and faculty as well as national and international scholarship in areas which reflect the University's academic programmes.

2. What support does your unit provide to the academic enterprise?

The Library supports and strengthens learning, research and teaching by:

Evaluating, selecting, acquiring, and providing access to information resources.

• Assigning a liaison librarian to work with each academic department on matters related to collection development and course-related library instruction/information literacy, and to provide specialized assistance in meeting the information needs of students and faculty members.
• Understanding and anticipating current and evolving information needs of faculty and students.
• Developing collections in support of new or emerging areas of scholarly interest.
• Responding to changing approaches and trends in scholarly communications and publishing.

Working collaboratively with students and faculty members, other UW departments, and other libraries and other organizations

• To develop clear understandings of needs, to identify programmes and innovations that might best meet those needs, and subsequently to develop and introduce new services.

Providing and maintaining physical space

• So that students and faculty members have a place to locate and use resources, and to consult with librarians and other staff when they need assistance.
• For students to study, both individually and in groups.

Providing and maintaining virtual space

• So that students and faculty members have ready “anytime/anywhere” access to resources and services available electronically.
• Supporting the information needs of those wanting or needing to work outside of the Library, including those on sabbaticals and work-terms or who are enrolled in distance education courses.

Fostering the evolving electronic information environment by

• Acquiring an increasing number of electronic information resources and developing services to facilitate access to, and use of, such resources.
• Supporting e-learning and e-research in this new environment. 

The Library supports the University’s outreach to the wider community by:

Enabling community members and alumni to use resources, print and electronic, on site, and to borrow select materials

• Providing assistance to high school teachers planning class visits.
• Serving as a depository for federal and Ontario government publications which must be made available to the community at large.

3. How does this work add value to the academic enterprise? 

Note: In order to aid the Senate Long Range Planning committee and others in the use of this document, we have in sections such as this used numbered items to indicate priority order; in other sections where providing a priority was not needed or appropriate we have used bullets.

The Library’s work adds value to the academic enterprise by:

1. Providing an organized collection (print and electronic) to expedite timely access to information resources necessary for learning, research and teaching.
2. Optimizing access to information through effective use of current and emerging technologies.
3. Fostering the development of information literacy by providing advice and direction to students needing help in locating and using information resources specific to their needs.  This, in turn, fosters the development of information literacy skills needed for life-long learning.
4. Collaborating with other libraries and agencies to provide access to resources not available directly from our collection.
5. Maximizing our buying power by participating in provincial and national consortia purchases of electronic resources.

4. What work does your unit do not directly related to the academic enterprise?

For purposes of this question, we have defined the “academic enterprise” to mean learning, teaching and research by UW faculty, students and staff.  Using this definition, the services listed below do not directly relate to the academic enterprise.  If, however, we were to broaden the definition to include services that may have an indirect benefit to the University by enhancing its reputation, these activities would not be included here.

• Making information resources available to the community and alumni, providing unauthenticated internet access (conference attendees, walk-ins), and some web services.
• The Industrial and Business Information Service (IBIS).

Staff

Have a strong service ethic and

• Are experienced and knowledgeable.
• Are recognized and called upon by others outside the library for their skills and expertise.
• Work well in a team environment.
• Are comfortable with a consultative and collaborative decision making process.
• Are creative, innovative, flexible, and responsive to change.
• Are willing to learn new skills and approaches and to assume new responsibilities.
• Are provided with ongoing opportunities for training and development.
• Are supported by managers who have sound project management and facilitation skills.

Systems (automated, manual, process) 

“In the words of a senior university officer, the Library now has ‘a strong, vibrant [and] literate IT culture.’ ”
(2002 External Review of the Library)

 The Library:

 Has a history of innovative and effective use of information technology and

• Has an established program for ongoing renewal of its IT infrastructure (e.g. workstation hardware and software) to meet staff and public needs.
• Collaborates with other IT units on campus to enhance services and leverage common resources.
• Strives to provide integrated access to its resources and services.

Regularly reviews, assesses and retools its systems and services as needed and

• Strives to find and take advantage of opportunities to streamline processes and services.
• Proactively re-engineers workflow and processes to maximize efficiency and effectiveness by making use of new technologies to give the University value for its money.

Collaborates well

• With other departments on campus to improve workflow (e.g. Central Stores, Finance).
• With external partners in the provision of shared resources and services. Such partners include TUG, OCUL, CARL, CRKN (see glossary).

Working environment/working relationships

The Library

1. Strives to create and foster a working environment:

• which is comfortable and respectful for staff
• where all staff are valued
• where staff have opportunities to take on challenges
• which encourages staff to be creative and innovative and take risks
• which recognizes the varying needs and interests of staff at different times in their lives and careers, and provides support through programmes such as flextime and leave opportunities

2. Is committed to providing training and development opportunities for staff.
3. Provides for continual upgrades of IT and other resources so that staff have the tools necessary to work effectively and efficiently.
4. Promotes a consultative approach to problem solving and decision making.
5. Hires co-op students who bring fresh ideas and energy.
6. Strives to develop and maintain effective working relationships with other UW support departments, with the faculties, and with external partners such as TUG, OCUL.
7. Collaborates with departments such as the Safety Office, Human Resources and Plant Operations to address workplace concerns and to provide appropriate working conditions, e.g. ergonomic furnishings and systems.

Leadership

1. Leadership is distributed throughout the Library.
2. Library staff are encouraged to assume leadership roles.
3. Knowledgeable and committed managers work collaboratively to determine policy and strategic direction.
4. The Library provides leadership on campus and with its external partners, e.g. OCUL, CRKN.

Staff

The number of staff has dwindled continuously during the last decade.  At the same time, the information environment has become increasingly complex, largely because of the impact of ever evolving technology. Although technology provides significant opportunities for new and vibrant ways of delivering information and services, taking advantage of such opportunities requires a considerable investment of staff time.  In a hybrid environment, we must have the staff necessary to develop and provide services related to both print and electronic information resources.  Some resulting challenges or weaknesses are:

1. Workloads for many staff have grown continuously and have become unmanageable. We still strive to provide top quality service, but we are doing so in an increasingly stressful environment.
2. It has become increasingly difficult to assess our current services and to plan, develop and promote new services.
3. The Library has become increasingly dependent on casual and contract staff as a means of dealing with funding uncertainties.
4. With fewer staff, in several cases only one person has the expertise that is critical to the effective operation of a specific function.

Systems (automated, manual, process)

1. The Library’s ability to provide for the ongoing renewal of its IT infrastructure is in jeopardy because of uncertainty of funding in the mid- to longer-term.
2. Maintaining an awareness of technological advances and incorporating such advances into our services in a timely and effective manner. We have not, for example, been able to devote much time to digitizing some of our archival collections.
3. The lack of an electronic security system remains a public perception liability and irritant for many students and library users.
4. Despite significant increase of access through wireless infrastructure and docking stations, students make such heavy use of public workstations that more are needed.

Working environment/working relationships

1. A growing concern is the lack of adequate space for print collections, for students to work individually and in groups, for group instruction, and for staff is a growing concern. A particularly pressing manifestation of this concern is the alarming speed at which the Annex is filling up.
2. Aging buildings require ongoing attention to address major matters such as repairs to the heating system and more aesthetic concerns such as the replacement of tattered carpets and window coverings.
3. While collaboration with other units, partners and organizations helps us provide richer services it also adds layers of complexity and requires considerable time and skill.  Collaboration can also inhibit our ability to act independently and expeditiously.

Leadership

The continuing decline in staff is undermining the Library’s ability to lead. In particular, it is recognized and felt throughout the Library that the reduction in the number of senior managers has hampered our ability to be pro-active and innovative. Managers increasingly devote much of their time to maintaining the status quo, with less and less time available for long-term planning or for developing new initiatives.

1. What is peripheral to your unit’s core functions that might be discontinued or done elsewhere

As noted in question 4 of the relevance section, the Library provides various services to the community at large and to Waterloo alumni.  If necessary, these services could be discontinued without any direct impact on services provided for UW faculty, students and staff.

2. How can your unit streamline administrative practices by reducing high volume, low value activities so that it can focus on high value activities?

Note: We have not identified any activities that are high volume and low value.  We have, therefore, identified high volume activities that might be targets for streamlining.

•  Explore the use of vendor systems for book acquisitions, e.g. the system available from Blackwell.
• Develop innovative methods of library instruction in new ways, e.g. online tutorials.
• Where possible, integrate library processes with processes used by other campus departments, e.g. patron registration/address records to reduce duplication of effort.
• Reduce staffing at service points during non-peak hours, or reduce service hours that are outside the core-hour range.
• Explore the implementation of a campus wide records management system.
• Employ radio frequency identity tags (RFID) to reduce time spent on shelf reading and searching for missing books.

3. How might your unit re-deploy existing resources to better deliver support?

In light of changes in areas such as user needs, technology, and scholarly communication and because of staff reductions and turnover, the Library continually evaluates workflows and processes and redeploys resources in order to maximize efficiency. There has, for example, been a considerable shift in the way we deploy staff because of the on-going shift from print to electronic information resources. 

4. What changes would have to occur to allow your unit to better fulfill its mission both within the unit and elsewhere in the university?

1. An increase to our complement of full-time staff would enable us to anticipate and meet user needs more quickly, effectively and efficiently.
2. Increased space for library services is also desirable.  There is a constant tension between having adequate space for collections and adequate space for study and research.  We are constantly re-locating lower use material to the Annex in order to create additional space for study, and students frequently spend time wandering around in the hope of finding a vacant space.  Students also want more group study space than is currently available.
3. Our low-tech security system is a source of constant irritation for many students and does not reflect well on a university that prides itself on, among other things, being technologically advanced.  An electronic detection system would be welcomed by many.
4. We could better help students develop information literacy skills if there was a University-wide requirement to incorporate information literacy into the curriculum.
5. Upgrades to the physical facilities would be advantageous for our users.  Students frequently complain about buildings being too hot, too cold or airless and stuffy.
6. Upgrades to furniture and equipment would also be advantageous. The study carrels, for example, were designed well before anyone anticipated laptops and should be replaced with ones designed for contemporary use.   Another example is public workstations. Because we do not have sufficient workstations to meet peak demand, students -- already under considerable time pressure -- frequently have to wait for one to become available. 

1. Other than resources, what prevents your unit from getting the job done?

Note: We have prepared our response here understanding “threats” to be “challenges” we are often called upon to address.

Some challenges facing the Library are:

1. The temptation to try to do everything for everyone:  Library staff have a strong service ethic and so, particularly in a time when users have high expectations and when time and resources are constrained, we need to manage the laudable desire to go that extra mile.
2. Understanding and anticipating evolving user information needs and expectations: To prepare for the future we must understand and anticipate what students and faculty need and want. This requires a considerable investment of time and talent.
3. Managing information in the “hybrid library”: We need to provide services in an environment where for example resources are available in print and electronically; there is a need to provide for physical and virtual space; the IT environment is both wired and wireless; information resources are available on-site and off-site; and users require support in person and remotely.
4. Balancing competing needs for physical space:  The Library needs to balance collections space, staff space, and public space for study and consultation and to address the different ways that people want to use library services and resources. We need to plan for the renovation and maintenance of our buildings and to ensure that they can be retrofitted as new technologies emerge.
5. Electronic security system: Facilities are often a symbol of the institution. In this context, the lack of an electronic security system is an on-going irritant for students and leaves them with a negative perception.
6. New academic programmes and satellite campuses: These provide significant challenges, as well as opportunities. While largely a funding and resources issue, it is also a communications and planning matter. The Library has a key responsibility to ensure that the information needs of UW students and faculty are identified and met when new programmes and campuses are introduced. A key challenge is ensuring that the new programmes do not result in a degradation of services and resources already in place. 
7. Anticipating emerging opportunities for service enhancement:  The Library has a history of anticipating the importance and potential of developments such as the World Wide Web, the shift from print to electronic information resources, and the shift from a wired to a wireless environment. We have taken advantage of such developments by creating and adapting services so that faculty and students have faster, easier access to increasingly rich information resources.  Staying aware of emerging opportunities for service enhancement, and then adjusting services accordingly, requires a considerable investment of time and talent.
8. Anticipating and responding to changes in scholarly communication: Libraries have always provided services and resources which overlap and complement those provided by commercial suppliers. As new commercial services emerge, e.g. Google Scholar and Google Print, and alternative forms of scholarly publishing arise, e.g. “open access” models, the challenge will be to determine how we can take advantage of such systems and services, and adjust our services accordingly. 
9. Collaboration with others, both on and off campus:  Collaboration is a crucial component in how we develop and deliver services.  Collaboration helps us build on complementary strengths, avoid unnecessary duplication, and resist the temptation to do it all ourselves. Collaboration does not, however, come without a price – it requires special skills and a significant investment of time.

The following points are of a general nature and apply to many other areas on campus but are nonetheless noteworthy. 

Uncertainties in the planning environment: This includes many factors, such as: evolving technology; government legislation and regulations; economic indicators such as the value of the Canadian dollar and inflation; publishers’ pricing structures for information resources (e.g. electronic resources subscription rates based on usage instead of a fixed rate); and shifts in how scholarly information is published and made available.

Complying with and understanding the impact of new government legislation and regulations: for instance the new Ontarians with Disabilities Act and federal Copyright legislation which is now under review.

Change is a constant: Building this reality into our planning process is crucial. Changes in technology, funding, staffing, and legislation are ongoing and have an impact on how services are provided and developed. Such changes can often result in the need for additional or reallocated expenditures, ongoing training, and revised services and systems.

2. How might this be remedied?

Continue to:

• Stay connected and regularly engage with UW faculty and students so we can anticipate and provide for their information needs.
• Be pro-active in support of their information needs as new programmes are developed.
• Provide for and encourage ongoing staff development and training.
• Provide for routine assessment of Library services and systems (e.g. focus groups, usability studies).
• Stay focused on our core business - providing access to information resources.
• Develop partnerships to enhance that core business.
• Keep aware of legislative developments and advocate with others where appropriate and useful, e.g., the current review of Copyright legislation.
• Maintain a strong service ethic but do not try to be all things to all people.

3. If lack of resources is impeding your unit’s success, what is needed to remedy the situation?

1. Increases to “Operating” base budget, with increases identified, if possible, three years in advance to provide for longer term planning of services.
2. Increases to “Acquisitions” base budget, with increases identified, if possible, three years in advance to provide for longer term planning. (Because of uncertainties in the planning environment, we have in recent years limited the number of new subscriptions since they require on-going funding. To avoid cancelling subscriptions, we have focused on new resources for which there is clear demand and which can be purchased on a one-time only basis.)
3. Additional revenue generated through initiatives such as Campaign Waterloo.

1. What does “pursuit of excellence” mean to your unit?

• Understanding, anticipating, meeting, and sometimes exceeding client needs.
• Fostering creativity, innovation and leadership among staff.
• Taking a leadership role in service provision.

Excellence is not perfection - it’s an ongoing pursuit, in the Library’s case, to provide exceptional service.

2. What does “service-oriented culture” mean to your unit?

Knowing that we are here first and foremost to meet the needs of our users, and:

• Always striving to meet those needs quickly and competently.
• Responding to users in a welcoming and respectful way.
• Being proactive about identifying and overcoming service obstacles.
• Staying connected to and engaging with users so we can anticipate and provide for their information needs.
• Providing alternative ways for users to access resources and services (e.g. reference service is available on-site or via telephone and email; borrowed materials may be renewed on-site or on-line).  
• Taking a leadership role in service provision – be at the cutting edge as much as possible.

3. How does the work of your department reflect “pursuit of excellence” and “service-oriented culture” and how will you engender the highest performance standards necessary to achieve these objectives?

We reflect “pursuit of excellence” and a “service-oriented culture” through the things listed immediately above in section 2.

We engender the highest performance standards by:

• Hiring the best staff possible.
• Ensuring that staff receive the training necessary to carry out their immediate responsibilities.
• Ensuring that staff have opportunities to participate in training and development activities that are not necessarily directly job-related but that may lead to increased job satisfaction and growth.
• Providing staff with the tools and systems they need to do the job.
• Actively engaging staff in discussions leading to decisions related to the work they do.
• Striving to keep lines of communication open and to share information.
• Celebrating successes and milestones reached.
• Helping staff balance their personal life with their job responsibilities through, for example, flex time.
• Taking calculated risks; being willing to make mistakes and learn from them.
• Developing a clear understanding of our roles and defining what we want to accomplish and how and how we will do it.
• Partnering with others, both on- and of-campus, to leverage the resources available.

1. The Library has a history of leadership both on and off campus in several areas. For example, we have:

• led the way nationally in the radical shift from print to electronic journals
• been a trend-setter in fostering strong partnerships to support the delivery of information resources and services regionally, provincially and nationally (e.g. TriUniversity Group of Libraries, Ontario Council of University Libraries, Canadian Research Knowledge Network)
• supported and seeded new initiatives at the University of Waterloo, in collaboration with both academic and academic support units (e.g. wireless computing, web content management services, web accessibility design, and innovative facilities such as the Adaptive Technology Centre, the LT3/Library Flex Lab and the RBC Information Commons)

Regrettably, we are simply not keeping up in significant areas, largely as a result of expenditure reductions over the last few years. As noted earlier, an increase to our complement of full time staff would enable us to anticipate and meet user needs more quickly, effectively, and efficiently. We would be in a better position to assess our current services and plan, develop and promote new services. If the Library’s budgets were restored to appropriate levels, we would be positioned to take a leadership role by, for example:

Providing

• access to broader information resources through ongoing subscriptions
• a state of the art library security system
• a digitization programme for Special Collections print materials
• an effective programme for the assessment of Library resources and services

Investigating

• emerging commercial services, e.g. Google Scholar and Google Print
• a digital publishing and archiving system in collaboration with other units on campus
• preservation of electronic resources
• “open access” models of obtaining information resources

Enhancing

• our efforts in information literacy
• partnerships with regional research institutes and initiatives such as the Perimeter Institute, CIGI, and IGLOO

2. Lack of physical space is both a campus-wide and Library issue. The Library has always maintained a delicate balance between collections space, staff space, and public space for study and consultation.  With the increasing numbers of students and the erosion of public spaces elsewhere on campus, library space has become increasingly popular for individual and group study, as well as a place to socialize for faculty and students alike.  In addition, despite the increase in electronic resources, the library’s print collection will continue to grow. The need for collections, study and research space is ongoing. The campus needs to address space related issues in a collaborative fashion.

The Library supports such an approach and has been pro-active both independently and in partnership with others in investigating and implementing new space models, such as the LT3/Library Flex Lab, the RBC Information Commons, the Musagetes Architecture Library, and the Porter Special Collections, 1st and 4th floor renovations.

Pressing concerns:

• The TUG Annex is filling up far faster than anticipated, and the need for space to store low use research material continues
• Demand for study space in Davis and Porter during peak periods is beyond capacity

Opportunities for the future:

• The Library anticipates significant opportunities for campus units to work together as UW addresses the following:
  • plans for more graduate students
  • a campus need for individual and group study spaces
  • flexible instructional facilities
  • a continuing need for space for Library resources and services