Strategic Plan

Mission

The Libraries are at the center of academic life at Michigan State University, providing expertise, collections, and infrastructure for discovery and creation. We facilitate connections that support research, teaching, and learning in our local and global communities.

Vision

The Libraries promote equal access to information and spaces for all. We lead meaningful initiatives in accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We work in a culture of transparency, experimentation, and growth.

Core Values

User Engagement

We place users at the forefront of our work. We engage with and learn from our users and adapt to meet their evolving needs.

Inclusivity

We provide welcoming spaces where everyone can work, discover, and create. We advance accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace and in the services and resources we provide.

Staff Empowerment

We trust each other to do our best work. We celebrate and create opportunities for growth, experimentation, and feedback. We cultivate respect, open communication, and connection.

Partnership

We invest in collaborative relationships. We actively build positive connections and lead with mutual respect by sharing our expertise and valuing the contributions of our partners.

Expertise

We are leaders in our field. We use our collections, resources, dynamic skills, and knowledge to help our community. We are approachable, informed, and engaged in our work.

Stewardship

We are responsible caretakers of our collections. We recognize the power of information collection and description. We consider the impact of our work on creators, researchers, and communities.

Strategic Directions

Center of Activity & Engagement

• Revitalize our physical spaces
• Optimize our digital spaces
• Act as a connector of people, services, and resources
• Increase our visibility and presence in the MSU community

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

• Cultivate a climate of safety, empathy, and respect
• Create inclusive and accessible spaces and resources
• Emphasize underrepresented perspectives in collections and descriptive practices
• Contribute to a more diverse profession via recruitment and retention efforts

Organizational Vitality

• Empower staff and supervisors with quality training, tools, resources, and spaces
• Encourage experimentation, feedback, and change; expect and learn from failures
• Make decisions based on shared dialogue and applicable data
• Expand transparent communication, policies, and shared documentation
• Promote opportunities for connections across the Libraries

Student Development & Support

• Strengthen teaching, learning, and curricular partnerships across campus
• Advance pedagogical innovations to increase research and critical thinking skills
• Create spaces for a variety of learning needs
• Prioritize creation and adoption of open and affordable course content to support student success
• Build collections that support the curriculum

Transformative Research Activities

• Contribute expertise to evolving research activities as partners and consultants
• Build collections and infrastructure to support specialized research
• Lead strategies for open access and scholarly communication
• Improve discovery of collections