Mission and Strategic Plan

Mission

The UNO Libraries fulfill the UNO mission through our dynamic services, highly qualified and adaptive personnel, unique and extensive collections, and accessible learning spaces and environments.

Guiding beliefs:

The UNO Libraries;

1. Are inclusive and engaged centers for teaching, learning, research, and service.
2. Serve as an intellectual commons, with inspirational spaces for a responsive student and faculty centered experience.
3. Are the preferred UNO and community gateway to local and global information resources, positioning ourselves as a hub of scholarly endeavor, collaboration, creativity, and digital innovation.
4. Relentlessly assess the quality, relevancy, and sustainability of our services, collections, and environments.

Goal 1: Strengthen campus and community outreach, partnerships, and collaboration while fostering a library culture of innovation, respect, and inclusion. We will build an understanding to develop programs and foster partnerships that meet stakeholder needs.

• Strategy 1: Implement programs that support student priorities, academic initiatives, and university priorities.
• Strategy 2: Identify, engage, develop, and sustain new community partnerships.
• Strategy 3: Develop and promote library outreach, resources, services, and programming through consistent and effective communications.
• Strategy 4: Sustain a flexible organization with employees who are continually learning and adapting.
• Strategy 5: Promote awareness of issues related to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) through professional development for library employees

Goal 2: Cultivate, assess, and preserve our resources, as well as sustain and expand our financial base. We recognize that systemic inequities have created barriers to accessing information resources and will work to eliminate those barriers.

• Strategy 1: Demonstrate and expand the library’s centrality in Open Access (OA), Open Educational Resources (OER), and digital engagement.
• Strategy 2: Expand our digital resources and unique collections while sustaining general physical collections.
• Strategy 3: Grow collections that are reflective of the Omaha and campus communities.
• Strategy 4: Expand, leverage, and sustain financial resources.

Goal 3: Develop and evolve accessible and inviting library spaces to promote academic and creative pursuits. We will provide safe, accessible library spaces where visitors can be their authentic selves.

• Strategy 1: Establish library spaces to meet the needs of UNO’s students, faculty, staff, and community programmatic expansion.
• Strategy 2: Continually assess the use, technology, and accessibility of library spaces.
• Strategy 3: Continually assess the ambiance and comfort level of library spaces.

Goal 4: Develop and evolve accessible and approachable library services to promote academic and creative pursuits. We recognize that libraries are not neutral; therefore, we will strive toward equitable and inclusive services.

• Strategy 1: Develop services that are a source of inspiration for our users to achieve their diverse goals.
• Strategy 2: Actively communicate and promote current and new services.
• Strategy 3: Create equitable policies for access to service.

_{(Strategic Plan adopted 2020)}