The summer is certainly upon us and I know that many of you are taking much needed time off this month but there are a few things I wanted to let you know about this week.
Health Library
We have been working throughout the last few months to begin to better integrate with our colleagues in the Health Library and we are starting to see some wonderful returns already. They hosted our last VPC meeting in Farmington and I know many of you had a chance to either attend or tune in. If you didn’t there were several presentations by staff on some of the programs they are working on and I found it very informative and quite interesting.
We learned about the Hartford Medical Society Historical Library (Powerpoint) which included a tour of eclectic ephemera such as glass eyeballs as well as a rich collection of resources about the evolution of medicine in Connecticut. We also learned more about the health information kiosk for patient education being coordinated out of HealthNet, the consumer health service offered by the library to the public. (Powerpoint) Related to this, just today Janice forwarded me the UConn Health online newsletter, The Pulse and this project was highlighted there. The Research and Information Services librarians are also integrated into the New Curriculum initiative focused on Team Based Learning and are creating targeted resources for this new direction in teaching.
Thank you to all of the staff from all locations who joined the meeting and especially to our hosts for the day – we appreciated the warm welcome (and the food too!) We also continue to work on the branding for the UConn Library as a system, with particular interest in how to brand the Health Library to best reflect its specialized function within the One Library and UConn Health.
The day following VPC Janice and I traveled to the UMass Medical School in Worcester to visit with Elaine Martin, the Director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) New England Region for which UMass is contracted through the National Library of Medicine. The NN/LM serves to improve public health by providing health care providers with access to biomedical information. One of their major goals is to improve access to this kind of information through outreach, funding, and training. This is an opportunity for the UConn Library to not only re-engage with the organization but also see the changes happening to the UMass Medical Library, which is quickly becoming primarily electronic and working to repurpose its spaces.
It is also with pleasure I announce that Jason Nicosia has accepted the position of Instructional Design Specialist. He will begin on July 22nd and will be located at the Stowe Library. Jason’s considerable background in Blackboard, 3D printers, and instructional software, and his relationship with faculty and students will make an important contribution to the development of new library services.
Purposeful Path Forward & Goal Setting
As promised in my last Mashup, Vice Provost Council reviewed the Purposeful Path Forward and the progress we made last year. Many of these accomplishments were outlined in the June Mashup which can be found here. Last year’s work had a common theme, which was a re-imagining of the library and how we see ourselves in the future. This year is about engaging that plan in meaningful ways. As you know the Path is ambitious, and we understand that there needs to be a balance with our resources to keep us on track and working in concert with one another. This year,VPC has agreed that the area, unit, and personal goals should relate to the following three strategic areas of emphasis:
Master Plan
Last year there was significant progress made in creating the plan for the actual facility changes that will take place in Homer Babbidge over the next few years. In the coming year we need to focus on programming what happens inside those spaces. We are asking staff to develop the partnerships, define the services, and utilize the renovations to support the vision of our Purposeful Path.
Public Presence/Promotion
What we do and how we present ourselves is important. From providing excellent customer service, to making our resources and services more discoverable, to adapting our services and programs in new and innovative ways, and sharing our vision with others helps tell the story of the UConn Library.
Integration of UConn Health in the One UConn Library
As I mentioned above, we have made great strides already in working with our colleagues in Farmington and in the coming year we need to realize more of the recommendations found in the One UConn Library report. These activities include the creation of functional teams, coordinated hiring, improved communication, and developing new and innovative ways to better serve all of our communities.
These themes are meant as an overview to start the conversation with your areas and units as you continue to develop your goals. I encourage you to keep an eye on the big picture. All contributions – seemingly big and small – move us successfully along the Path we have set for ourselves and our patrons.
A reminder that area and unit goals are due on July 15th and individual goals are due on August 1st.
Master Plan Space Programming
Antoneta has begun a series of focus groups designed to help us begin the process of programming the activities and services that will occupy the spaces in a renovated HBL. This started last week when a group gathered to talk about what we are calling the tech floor, which is our current Level 1. The attendees for the focus groups include a targeted invitation to stakeholders which includes library staff and other campus departments. The first meeting was in regards to classroom/seminar space needs for both the library and the campus. These focus groups will continue over the summer and extend into fall when we can incorporate feedback from students and faculty as well.