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Initiatives

The UW-Madison Libraries are currently focusing on several ongoing initiatives:

General Library System Diversity Task Force

The task force was charged with planning for a long-term strategic way to manage, integrate and sustain efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity in library staffing and services. They worked to prioritize projects/initiatives and recommended structure for sustained management including assessment and accountability and reporting of diversity efforts.

Strategic Planning

The Libraries are in the initial stages of a strategic planning initiative with the participation of the UW Office of Quality Improvement. A strategic framework will be developed for all libraries on campus to address issues such as management of data curation, collection content and management, preservation and storage, and instructional components and modes of service delivery. This plan will help to develop specific strategies and initiatives for the next five years to support the mission and priorities of the university.

Maintain Modern Information Services

As we strive to provide the expertise and resources needed to advance the teaching, learning, and research needs of the campus community the Libraries will:

  • Develop institutional strategies for the management, curation, and preservation of university resources, including physical collections, digital collections, and research data
  • Lead efforts to implement sustainable and affordable campus IT solutions for networking, storage, and hosting
  • Expand our role to support campus needs for data services, particularly with respect to data curation and the use of data sets (across all disciplines)
  • Continue to advance efforts to disseminate/deliver information resources to our patrons—increasingly, our resources are acquired, delivered, and preserved using digital strategies and tools

Educational Innovation and Support of MOOCs

The Libraries are developing services and resources to support the campus EI efforts and have identified key areas to address as EI involvement grows: licensing, authentication, copyright, course design consultation, e-textbooks, and plagiarism. There is a designated EI Point person, and three librarians have been assigned to the design team supporting the UW-Madison MOOC courses. This is a fast-moving and evolving issue that will require continual assessment of both opportunities and challenges. The Libraries are highly engaged in exploring the best ways to support and contribute to this campus priority.

Instructional and Active Learning Spaces

The Libraries are participating in new partnerships and collaborations to create multipurpose learning spaces for the campus:

  • WisCEL (The Wisconsin Collaboratory for Enhanced Learning) provides blended learning and flipped classroom support by offering active learning space with break-out rooms and informal study seating both in College Library and Wendt Commons
  • The Media Studios, located in College Library, provide flexible classrooms designed to serve courses that are media rich and emphasize collaborative learning
  • The DesignLab is a digital composition center located adjacent to the Media Studios that provides students with advanced design consultancy in new media forms
  • The Bio-Commons Project is a partnership between Steenbock Library and the Institute for Biology Education to create a biology community and learning space within Steenbock Library

Print Management and Storage

As we respond to teaching and research needs, both current and future, we continue to develop and grow our collections, adding over a mile of print material per year on average. The Libraries are firmly committed to retaining and curating unique content, regardless of format. Furthermore, we recognize and acknowledge our role as stewards long into the future.

A unified plan has been developed to address opportunities for retaining materials and challenges for space. Strategies include:

  • Reducing redundancy and duplication of materials across campus libraries
  • Re-articulating and supporting the immediate needs for browseable physical collections
  • Creating efficiencies for quick retrieval and delivery of material
  • Partnering with BTAA and other libraries to insure the long-term availability and preservation of print materials

Construction on a new shelving facility (Verona Shelving Facility) began in 2013 and we are further building upon BTAA collaborations and other collaborations to safeguard materials.