Mission Statement
In keeping with the University’s mission of teaching, research, and service, the mission of the University of California, Merced Library is to achieve excellence by meeting the diverse research, teaching, and public service needs of UC Merced researchers (students, faculty, and staff) with targeted, quality collections and relevant services which effectively and efficiently support the research life-cycle of finding, using, creating, and managing information.
Definition: A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives. Projects stand in contrast to operations, which are the permanent, repetitive efforts of a business or organization.
Goal A Projects - leverage physical resources
2012-2013
2013-2014
Goal B Projects - user communication & instruction
2012-2013
Goal C Projects - collaborations to increase usability & accessibility of resources
2012-2013
Goal D Projects - sustain information resources
Goal E Projects - positive work environment
2012-2013
2013-2014
Goal F Projects - digital curation and data management
2012-2013
Definition: Operations are the permanent, repetitive efforts of a business or organization. Operations stand in contrast to projects, which is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives.
Goal A Operations - leverage physical resources
Goal B Operations - user communication & instruction
Goal C Operations - collaborations to increase usability & accessibility of resources
Goal D Operations - sustain information resources
Goal E Operations - positive work environment
Goal F Operations - digital curation and data management
The library will leverage its physical resources (space, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and IT infrastructure) to provide for the common good of the UC Merced Library user community, with a non-exclusive bias towards meeting the needs of undergraduate students.
Outcome A1:
Provide accessible, functional, comfortable, and productive spaces that support a variety of academic needs, including quiet study, group study, social interaction, and campus meetings and events.
Outcome A2:
Make decisions about library public and staff spaces based on user assessment and professional judgment of library staff to achieve the greatest efficiency.
The library will sustain—in the face of a growing community of students and faculty—current quality of user communication and instruction services by optimizing our resources, collaborating with partners, leveraging technology, and diversifying our instruction models.
Outcome B1:
Support and develop scholar's ability to find, use, and manage information in support of their academic needs.
Outcome B2:
Create and target communications to specific academic audiences in order to increase their awareness of library services and resources.
The library will actively pursue innovative solutions and worthwhile collaborations that increase the usability and accessibility of information resources to support users' course work, research, and service.
Outcome C1:
Provide clear online pathways to library services and resources.
Outcome C2:
Deliver responsive, helpful, and satisfactory customer service to its users.
The library will sustain the current quality of library information resources in an environment of rapidly increasing numbers of users and growth of programs.
Outcome D1:
Provide information resources as appropriate in any format as appropriate with a preference for resources in electronic form.
Outcome D2:
Maintain commitment to, and investment in, non-ownership-based information-access strategies, such as:
- Interlibrary loan
- Supplemental course resources
- UC systemwide strategies (e.g. UC Shared Print in Place)
- Regional/national/international strategies (e.g. WEST, HathiTrust)
- Transformative strategies (e.g. open-access publication)
The library will maintain a positive work environment for all employees at all levels, providing regular opportunities for both individual and organizational development.
Outcome E1:
Support effective recruitment, training, and professional development opportunities as key elements in the success of the library.
Outcomes E2:
Support effective recruitment and training of library student employees to enhance the success of the library and to foster their academic, professional, and personal growth.
The library will serve as the campus clearinghouse for digital curation to promote discoverability and access of research assets over the long-term.
Outcome F1:
Support UC Merced researchers in addressing and fulfilling the data management requirements of funders and in meeting preservation and access needs.
Outcome F2:
Foster a culture of good data management practices on campus to increase researchers’ effectiveness and to promote long-term access and discoverability of scholarly output.
Measure A1
The library will annually compare its opening hours with those of other UC Libraries with the goal of being at or above the UC Systemwide median for total hours open.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure A2
The library will measure building occupancy rates, tying measured occupancies to day of the week, time of day, and library locations. The Library Access Services Unit will conduct daily occupancy counts on nights and weekends; it will conduct weekday counts from 2 to 3 times per semester. The library will analyze this data and consider it in planning the scheduling of operating hours, staffing levels, and furniture acquisition.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure A3
The UC Merced Library will collect data on the number and type of events hosted in the library with the goal of creating a longitudinal record of the use of the library.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure B1:
90% of the students who received library instruction in a WRI 10 class will refer to the the library (instruction, resources, space, and services) as helping them to complete their academic work. [biennial]
Measure B2:
90% of selected WRI 10 students receiving library instruction will use appropriate resource types for their WRI 10 annotated bibiographies. [biennial]
Measure B3:
90% of the bibliographies from selected capstone papers will reflect a variety of relevant resources. [biennial]
Measure B4:
80% of students' writing (capstone completion) about the research process will reflect a highly developed understanding of the research process. [biennial]
Measure B5:
90% of students who respond to a UCCUES question on library research skill will report that their current ability is "good," or "very good," or "excellent." [biennial - even years]
Measure B6:
90% of the students responding to the graduating senior campus survey who received library instruction will "agree" or "strongly agree" with the statement "The library research instruction I received helped me find suitable information resources for my papers and projects." [annual]
Measure B7:
80% of focus group participates will report on two or more communications and explain how these made him/her aware of library services and resources. [biennial]
Measure B8:
65% of graduate students responding to the Graduate Student Survey will report that they frequently use the library. [annual]
Measure B9:
Graduate student association members will discuss the communications and services offered by the library that have proved most useful to them in the previous year. [annual]
Measure B10:
Of the committee members on the upcoming library advisory committee, 80% will indicate that they have become increasingly aware of available library services and resources.
Measure B11:
85% of graduate students responding to the Graduate Student Survey will report excellent or good quality of experience with the library facilities.
Measure C1:
90% of individuals will be able to complete 100% of assigned tasks via the library's website during usability testing. [biannual]
Measure C2:
90% of students responding to the Graduating Senior survey will indicate that they received satisfactory assistance (strongly agree or agree) from library staff when they asked for help finding information for their papers and projects. [annual]
Measure C3:
90% of students of the on the Graduating Senior survey will indicate that they received satisfactory assistance (strongly agree or agree) from library staff when they asked for help at a library service desk. [annual]
Measure C4:
90% of those using the DigRef service and receiving help from UC Merced staff will indicate that the quality of the library staff in answering their request was excellent or good. [annual]
Measure C5:
Based on a random sample, 90% of DigRef transcripts analyzed will reveal that UC Merced library staff are, at a minimum, satisfactorily answering digital reference questions. [rubric analysis, biannual]
Measure C6:
90% of those who respond to a survey regarding their in-person reference experience will report that they received excellent or good assistance. [biannual]
Measure D1:
Seventy-five percent of students in focus groups will respond that they are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the library's information resources.
Responsibility: Sara Davidson
Measure D2:
Upon the formation of a committee to advise the library, the University Librarian will work with that committee to get additional faculty input on information resources.
Responsibility: Donald Barclay
Measure D3:
Review 2012 systemwide ILL Customer Satisfaction Survey to establish a baseline for future assessment.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure D4:
The library will achieve a 95% fill rate for direct requests from faculty to purchase books or DVDs.
Responsibility: Jim Dooley
Measure D5:
UC Merced Library will be at or above the median for percentage of total budget expended on information resources as compared the other UC Libraries.
Responsibility: Jim Dooley
Measure D6:
Technical service staff will put all physical materials (books, DVDs, etc.) on the shelf and load records into OCLC WorldCat within five working days of receipt.
Responsibility: Jim Dooley
Measure D7:
For the library's Supplemental Course Resources (SCR), library staff will prioritize and fulfill all requests in order to meet instructional needs in a timely manner.
Responsibility: Emily Lin
Measure D8:
Co-invest with the California Digital Library in support of open-access publishing by UC Merced faculty and/or graduate students.
Responsibility: Susan Mikkelsen
Measure E1:
UC Merced Library annual participation in staff training/professional development will be maintained at or above the level of previous year.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure E2:
The library will host at least three in-service activities for library staff during the fiscal year.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure E3:
When surveyed about their satisfaction with the training and professional development opportunities they receive, at least 75% of library staff will report that they are "satisfied" or "highly satisfied."
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure E4:
100% of student employees will receive the following minimum amount of training, which will be tracked.
- 4 hours of classroom training
- 4 hours of additional individual training
- 4 hours of coaching per year
- complete a post-training assessment
A 90% attendance and completion rate will be considered successful.
In addition, public service student employees will complete all Question of the Week assignments.
Responsibility: Eric Scott
Measure E5:
The UC Merced Library will achieve a retention rates among student employees of 85% (excluding students who separate due to graduation, transfer, or by otherwise separating from the university).
Responsibility: Eric Scott
1) Library will work with the Office of Research to review all data management plans for projects funded by federal agencies with data management requirements in place for any necessary follow-up action.
2) Library will review and consult on data management plans for all proposals to funding agencies with data management requirements in place.
3) Library will provide support for 2-3 projects to curate/archive research assets that are determined to be of value to the university.
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