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Cornell University Mission: To serve society as a major university of the first rank.

Cornell University Library Mission: To support the instructional, research and service goals of the University by working collaboratively, creatively and efficiently to:

• Provide services that support physical and intellectual access to information resources in fulfillment of the present and anticipated needs of Cornell students, faculty and staff and, as appropriate, to alumni and the broader public.
• Provide assistance and instruction on how to locate and use these resources.
• Provide facilities and space to accommodate the library's collections and services as well as research and study.

Vision: Leadership through excellent, innovative library service.

Cornell University Library Priorities

I. Service to the Public

Provide outstanding service to the University in support of Cornell's information needs by integrating traditional and digital resources and services.

II. Collection Development and Preservation

Build and preserve the collections required of a major university according to a rational collection policy.

III. Organization

Organize the collection for effective use.

IV. Staff

Foster a productive and collegial work environment in which staff have the flexibility and support to achieve their assigned responsibilities.

V. Funding

Promote more efficient use of existing Library resources and add new resources to advance the Library's mission.

Goals and Objectives

I. Provide outstanding service to the university in support of Cornell's information needs by integrating traditional and digital resources and services.

• 1.1 Work with faculty, students, and staff on their needs for the library of the 21st century.
• 1.2 Continue to provide and enhance information services as appropriate to the broader community in support of our extension and land grant mission.
• 1.3 Assess information needs to support lifelong learning.
• 1.4 Assess distance learning needs, undertake a systematic evaluation of the costs to the Library of establishing an effective distance learning program, and develop a strategy for Library support.
• 1.5 Improve cooperation between CUL Ithaca and the Cornell Medical School Library.
• 1.6 Review and systematize processes by which we distribute information about Library services; decide which information should be distributed in paper, and which online.
• 1.7 Increase the gathering of information about CUL user needs and perspectives; improve methods of disseminating that information within CUL; review services to ensure that they are responding to identified needs.
• 1.8 Increase emphasis upon innovative instruction and outreach programs; increase collaboration in teaching among staff in different units, and between staff and faculty.
• 1.9 Take steps to ensure continued interaction between staff and users despite the increasing use and provision of remote access to Library services.
• 1.10 Continue efforts to assist users in assisting themselves, such as user-initiated recalls, renewals, annex requests, and ILL requests.
• 1.11 Provide for the maintenance of the Library Gateway, and allocate resources for that purpose.
• 1.12 Implement an effective Web-based Z39.50 interface to the library catalog and to other core networked bibliographic resources.
• 1.13 Continue and accelerate the development of digital resources and services, where content is fully integrated with bibliographic finding tools, within the context of campus-wide, intercollegiate, national and global initiatives; such resources and services should be available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
• 1.14 Select and implement a library management system that adheres to evolving standards.
• 1.15 Explore electronic publishing options and recommend viable alternatives for Cornell.
• 1.16 Upgrade and provide for the ongoing maintenance of public computer workstations and other equipment needed to access information in electronic form.

II. Build and preserve the collections required of a major university according to a rational collection policy.

• 2.1 Complete the team-based Cornell Primary Collection Responsibilities (CPCRs), and consolidate these into a unified collection description for CUL.
• 2.2 Review and update the CUL collection policies, and consider how these can be more effectively related to the CPCRs.
• 2.3 Identify goals, priorities and values that drive cooperative agreements regarding access to digital resources.
• 2.4 Expand access to electronic resources in a variety of formats (audio, visual, numeric, spatial, geospatial and text) through purchase, license, local creation, or collaborative projects, through the acquisitions of necessary software, and through the provision of training in a collaborative manner.
• 2.5 Assist in the improvement of University record keeping and retention practices and provide for the long-term preservation of those records in all formats deemed to have legal or historical value.
• 2.6 Create a digital preservation program and explore digital archiving alternatives.
• 2.7 Establish a short-term access and archiving policy for CUL images.
• 2.8 Continue and expand conservation efforts to ensure long-term physical access to the collections in all formats.

III. Organize the collection for effective use.

• 3.1 Provide for the ongoing growth of the collections and reduce the inefficiencies resulting from the overcrowding in the library stacks by building the expansion to the Library Annex and moving into it lesser-used materials from campus libraries.
• 3.2 Review and strengthen measures required to secure the collections from theft, harm, or deterioration.
• 3.3 Develop a library-wide assessment of spatial needs taking accepted standards into account and estimate the cost of renovation or addition in cooperation with the colleges and university facilities management.
• 3.4 Insure bibliographic access to electronic resources through metadata, cataloging, and other means.
• 3.5 Enhance access to the collections by means such as adding table of contents data or abstracts to bibliographic records.
• 3.6 Improve bibliographic access to microform materials.
• 3.7 Initiate efforts to complete the retrospective conversion of manual files for bibliographic records.
• 3.8 Increase cooperative cataloging programs with other institutions, especially in order to catalog materials provided through database aggregators.

IV. Foster a productive and collegial work environment in which staff have the flexibility and support to achieve their assigned responsibilities.

• 4.1 Refine decision-making processes and structures to ensure effective and routine communication and coordination among all Library functions and units.
• 4.2 Ensure that CUL underlying values and goals are broadly shared, while allowing the expression or attainment of those values and goals to vary from one unit to another.
• 4.3 Strive for greater collaboration and coordination in the development and provision of Library services.
• 4.4 Review standards for performance and service; review methods used to measure performance against those standards.
• 4.5 Foster staff development by providing opportunities for training and continuing education programs; encourage and support participation in professional activities.
• 4.6 Redesign staff workspaces to provide efficient, functional, attractive, and ergonomically sound environments.
• 4.7 Upgrade and provide for the ongoing maintenance of staff computer workstations and other equipment needed to create information in electronic form.
• 4.8 Increase affirmative action efforts: recruit underrepresented categories with the goal of increasing staff diversity at all levels.
• 4.9 Encourage staff to be visibly involved in the intellectual life of the campus and the profession.

V. Promote more efficient use of existing Library resources and add new resources to advance the Library's mission.

• 5.1 Review Library operations and services to determine their effectiveness and recommend ways to improve services (e.g., decentralize preservation services, serials check-in), reduce current costs (through either more efficient or alternative processes), and reallocate existing resources (financial, human, spatial) to meet new service demands.
• 5.2 Link development activities to Library priorities and create a plan to increase private donations to the Library, working with Alumni Affairs and Development to harmonize with University initiatives.
• 5.3 Identify opportunities for funding from private foundations and public agencies and prepare proposals to solicit funding for Library priorities.
• 5.4 Evaluate Library funding needs and prepare a financial plan for the University Administration with a realistic assessment of Library financial needs.
• 5.5 Encourage more selectors to become actively and regularly involved in fundraising for collections.

September 1, 1998

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dih 8/27/98