2024-28 Strategic Plan


Four students walking in front of Watson Library

The world of libraries has changed in remarkable ways over the past few years and continues to transform at a rapid pace — accordingly, KU Libraries 2024-28 strategic plan is aspirational, dynamic, and a living work in progress. Developed through a vigorous, multi-layered collaborative process, these goals and objectives empower faculty and students in evolving ways, shaping the future of learning and research at KU as the world continues to change.

Goal 1 / Student Success

Forge partnerships and experiences that equip students as engaged, critical thinkers who thrive in the classroom and beyond.

Two students sitting in Anschutz Library with laptops conversing
  • Objective 1: Continuously adapt existing space and shape direction for future transformations that meet evolving, emerging curricular and cocurricular needs.

  • Objective 2: Formally integrate and intentionally scaffold library instruction across the undergraduate and graduate curricula. Expand library instruction to include new and emerging literacies to support students as critical thinkers.

  • Objective 3: Establish and assess a coordinated instruction program with particular emphasis on scaling to expand support across other physical campuses and virtual learning environments.

  • Objective 4: Formally integrate and embed the libraries into more KU courses and experiences.

  • Objective 5: Propel, energize, and celebrate undergraduate research.

  • Objective 6: Expand Open Educational Resources (OER) offerings and utilization, both at KU and globally.

  • Objective 7: Reduce other expenses to strengthen affordability for all library users.

Goal 2 / Healthy & Vibrant Communities

Elevate our communities by fostering individual wellbeing, sparking interpersonal connections, and advancing society.

Three people chatting in Haricombe Gallery
  • Objective 8: Develop a broader diversity of perspectives for our organization, our communities, and the discipline of academic librarianship.

  • Objective 9: Support community wellbeing through our spaces, resources, and platforms.

  • Objective 10: Cultivate a culture of belonging through intentional strategies that support recruitment, retention, and the health and wellbeing of the library team.

  • Objective 11: More fully connect the libraries team to the campus and community by raising profiles and accessibility of individuals, units, and cross-unit functions/workflows.

  • Objective 12: Increase engagement, cultivating broad community platforms and the recognition of KU Libraries as premier partners for research and teaching collaborations.

  • Objective 13: Lead and engage in partnerships that serve to expand connectivity across the university and advance broader community engagement goals.

  • Objective 14: Expand and promote awareness and use of the libraries’ creative makerspaces.

  • Objective 15: Build leisure collections and develop targeted creative collections to meet community interests and needs.

  • Objective 16: Collaboratively develop and balance the fiscal, environmental, historical, functional, and aesthetic sustainability of KU Libraries' facilities.
  • Objective 17: Build momentum around a shared vision of a holistic, library-wide program plan that guides the transformation of new and innovative library spaces to propel university goals.

  • Objective 18: Partner with campus leadership to propel a complete renovation of Watson Library, transforming the environment to elevate accessibility, belonging and wellness; advance research and discovery; and promote academic success.

  • Objective 19: Diversify funding sources to support innovative library initiatives and talent development.

  • Objective 20: Create intentional strategies for the library team to dedicate more time to the exploration and pursuit of new and emerging trends.

Goal 3 / Research & Discovery

Amplify researcher impact through expertise, community, and diverse resources that propel knowledge creation and sharing.

Librarians and faculty member collaborating
  • Objective 21: Develop resources to increase capacity for digitization and open delivery of resources.

  • Objective 22: Strategically expand capacity for and adoption of open access (OA) publishing of KU scholarly output.

  • Objective 23: Lead the development of an institutional strategy for public access to research data.

  • Objective 24: Upgrade and maximize the value of our core technology platforms.

  • Objective 25: Integrate and enhance the user experience of our public-facing technology platforms.

  • Objective 26: Clarify the libraries’ role in ongoing campus efforts to establish records management practices for electronic records.

  • Objective 27: Contribute to the access of diverse perspectives to strengthen and enrich research at KU.

  • Objective 28: Expand initiatives contributing to economic development and technology commercialization.

  • Objective 29: Prepare for and cultivate expertise in new and emerging specializations for librarianship.

  • Objective 30: Develop new and expanded capabilities to advance, showcase, and celebrate research at KU.

  • Objective 31: Lead new consortial and cooperative strategies in the university, state, region, and beyond.

  • Objective 32: Develop initiatives, services, and resources to advance campus internationalization goals.

  • Objective 33: Broaden the culture of impact-informed librarianship, encompassing effective library assessment and impactful storytelling.

  • Objective 34: Implement workflows and processes to manage and streamline significant library initiatives. Evaluate internal library operations and systems for enhanced performance.