Strategic Plan

View the plan as a color PDF, as a text-only PDF, or as a slide presentation.

Land Acknowledgement

We respectfully acknowledge that the UAA/APU Consortium Library and UAA Community Campus Libraries are located on the traditional, unceded lands of the Dena’ina, Ahtna, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, and Eyak/dAXunhyuu Peoples.

Alaska Native knowledge, traditions, and actions have been integral to the continued stewardship and understanding of these lands. We respect the Indigenous ways of knowing and value storytelling and wisdom sharing in all its forms.

A Note From the Dean

I am pleased to introduce the Consortium Library’s new strategic plan outlining our mission, vision, values, directions, and strategies. We spent the past year gathering information, seeking input, and engaging in critical, thoughtful discussions about the current and future higher education and information landscape. We discussed how it is evolving and how we will meet the needs of our learning community and Alaska. The process allowed us to focus our attention and review the essential elements of what we do.

As new technologies, modalities of learning, and pedagogies affect the creation, use, and understanding of information, academic libraries continue to evolve while keeping their core values. We are committed to ensuring access in ways that engage different learning styles, abilities, and ways of knowing; to encouraging curiosity, inquiry, collaboration, and knowledge sharing; and to valuing diverse viewpoints and discourse.

It is through the dedication and expertise of our library faculty and staff, in collaboration with existing and new partners, that we will effectively put this plan into action. We will actively use this plan to ensure we continue to meet the education and research needs of our community. I very much look forward to what lies ahead.

--Tom Rosko, Dean of the Consortium Library

Our Mission

The UAA/APU Consortium Library provides collections, services, and spaces that advance the educational and research programs of the University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University. We prioritize student success, foster intellectual and academic freedom, promote Alaska’s cultural heritage, and encourage curiosity, inquiry, and collaboration

Our Vision

We are a welcoming and vibrant intellectual hub for scholarship, innovation, and community engagement.

Our Values

Scholarship

We are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, research, and inquiry. We advocate for intellectual and academic freedom, provide access to curated resources, and facilitate the navigation of an ever-changing information landscape.

Service

We endeavor to uphold people-centered practices that empower library users to successfully discover and utilize our resources. We apply our expertise to meet the information needs of our communities.

Community

We strive to maintain a welcoming environment that honors the value of our students, staff, faculty, and public patrons. We are dedicated to creating spaces and opportunities for diverse individuals to connect, belong, and thrive together.

Innovation

We encourage intentional exploration, experimentation, and the ethical use of new technologies. We are empowered to evaluate existing practices, identify novel solutions to complex problems, and implement new knowledge, tools, and approaches.

Integrity

We foster a culture of respect, transparency, and professional ethics in the face of evolving demands. We are committed to the responsible stewardship of our collections and work to provide accurate information resources to our communities.

Strategic Directions

Prioritize Student Success

Students advance in their academic goals when we emphasize student-centered collections, services, and policies.

Strategies

• Utilize our professional expertise as a resource to our students to support their research, learning, and growth.
• Promote student awareness of library resources and services through outreach, tutorials, and instruction.
• Deliver information literacy instruction in a variety of modalities.
• Collaborate with faculty and staff to provide relevant academic resources for students.

Foster Intellectual & Academic Freedom

Our academic community thrives when we encourage curiosity, hold space for nuanced, complex, and diverse viewpoints, and work to protect the right to access and share ideas without fear of restriction, censorship, or retaliation.

Strategies

• Promote information literacy, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.
• Inform our community about the role of intellectual and academic freedom in a democratic society.
• Educate our university communities on the ethical and practical use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in academic research.
• Strive to protect and respect personally identifiable information and keep the use of library content and services confidential.

Engage & Collaborate with Community

Alaskans benefit when we use our expertise to build and maintain reciprocal partnerships within the university, across our campuses, and throughout the state.

Strategies

• Collaborate with the campus community through events, projects, and instruction.
• Maintain and strengthen community campus library partnerships.
• Foster knowledge sharing opportunities with local and statewide communities.
• Leverage our collections, including the Alaska Leaders Archive, to support community research and relevant university programs.

Create Welcoming Spaces, User-Oriented Services, & Representative Collections

Students, staff, faculty, and public patrons look to us to provide spaces, services, and collections that demonstrate respect for varied cultures, viewpoints, and lived experiences.

Strategies

• Encourage community engagement by hosting educational forums, displays, and events.
• Enhance user experience through holistic, empathy-driven training to cultivate a safe environment and improve library service.
• Select resources for the library's collections that are inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible.
• Support Indigenous scholarship and language initiatives, such as implementing reparative metadata and description, to reflect local Alaska Native peoples, cultural values, and knowledge traditions.

Empower Library Employees & Strengthen Our Organization

Our users are better served when we have the support to grow professionally and contribute meaningfully to the library’s goals. Our organization is strengthened when we advocate for our mission and tell our story.

Strategies

• Foster a culture of respect, collaboration, and communication among employees.
• Develop an advocacy plan to effectively share the library’s impact and share our story.
• Invest in professional development that empowers employees to experiment with new technologies, explore innovative practices, and refine skill sets and expertise.
• Assess staffing and technology needs for the library and explore options for sustainable funding.

Acknowledgements

The UAA/APU Consortium Library would like to thank all of the students, staff, and faculty from University of Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Pacific University, including our Library Advisory Committee, Community Campus Libraries, and other partners who provided input and feedback. We would also like to thank the library faculty and staff who participated in planning sessions and surveys, especially members of the Library Strategic Planning Committees: Becky Butler Gallegos, Margaret Cosgrave, Christie Ericson, Mercedes Harness, Gwen Higgins, Jodi Jacques, Taylor Keister, Tom Rosko, Cody Swanson, Lauren Wallace, D.L. Womble, and Elana Yanusz.