AIS STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2010

© 2007 Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/benchilada
 2

Content

Executive summary: Library vision and strategies 3

Achievements of the previous plan strategic plan 4
Introduction 5
Mandate 6
Vision, mission and values 7
Library strategies 8
Library budget allocation (available on request) 32

Impact on UP strategic objectives 33

Conclusion 9
 Vision We strive to be a world-class modern academic research library thereby enabling the 3
University of Pretoria to become an internationally recognized research university

LIBRARY LIBRARY STRATEGIES UP

STRATEGIC STRATEGIC
AREAS 2007
2006 2008
2007 2009
2008 2010
2009 2010 THRUSTS

Information Redefine the information collection to meet the

Academic
challenges of the new information environment
Collection excellence

Information Enhance information literacy for academic success

and lifelong eLiteracy
learning by using an integrated People centered
Literacy Teach Students & Life-long
approach
Learning Skills institution

Enable research Impact positively on research and

e-research
& eResearch Excellence in
Develop Research Implement Research Support core functions
Learning & Strengthen
Support the role of the AIS in the
Strategy facilitation of
Strategy
learning and teaching
teaching Excellence in
excellence Develop new Research Support Role for support
Information Specialists functions
Community Contributing to community
development
development Local impact

Technology Develop a Library 2.0 service

Open Access to Scholarly Material
model
Transformation
exploitation
Interfaces
HR Align with UP people centered strategy as it relates to staff

Sustainability
Sustainability Ensuring the sustainability of the AIS: Financial issues,
Quality assurance, Physical facilities, Marketing,
Risk management
 4
Achievements of the previous
strategic plan
• Development and implementation of UP digital
research repository, UPSpace (https://
www.up.ac.za/dspace/)
• Google Scholar and Scholar SFX as global search
engine of the library's electronic sources. (
http://0-scholar.google.com.innopac.up.ac.za/)
• We are the first library in South Africa to buy the
Digibook10000RGB scanner. We also obtained
scanners for microfiche / microfilm and slides (
http://www.ais.up.ac.za/aisintranet/aisnewsjan1/).
• Creation of the eService unit as that part of the AIS
primarily responsible for the implementation of the e-
Information strategy.
• Implementation of the Learning Centre phase 2
• Organisational redesign
 5
Introduction
This strategic plan has been drafted in the context of a
thorough understanding of the challenges facing the
University and academic libraries in both the South
African and the global context. The University’s
strategic plan emphasises the role of the library.

The strategic plan aims to support the University in its

striving to become an internationally recognized South
African research university. It is designed to make a
major contribution to the following UP strategic thrusts:
• Academic excellence
• People centered institution
• Excellence in core functions
• Excellence in support functions
• Local impact
• Transformation
• Interfaces
• Sustainability
 6

Mandate

The Academic Information Service

is responsible for the management
of academic information and
knowledge, and for leading the
University in information and
knowledge innovation
 7
Vision, Mission, Values
Vision We strive to be a world-class modern academic research library enabling the
University of Pretoria to become an internationally recognised research
university

Mission The vision will be achieved by:

•    Developing a well balanced and relevant information collection
• Providing access to information in all formats nationally and
internationally
•    Taking responsibility for information literacy
•    Enabling research and e-research
• Contributing to learning and teaching excellence
• Exploiting new technologies and continuously developing facilities for the
advancement of learning and research
• Contributing to community development

Values We value:
• Positive energy for success
• Professional and ethical behaviour
• Diversity as an asset
 8
LIBRARY LIBRARY STRATEGIES UP
STRATEGIC STRATEGIC
AREAS 2007
2006 2008
2007 2009
2008 2010
2009 2010 THRUSTS

Information Redefine the information collection to meet the

Academic
challenges of the new information environment
Collection Focus 1 excellence

Information Enhance information literacy for academic success

and lifelong eLiteracy
learning by using an integrated People centered
Literacy Teach Students & Life-long
approach
Learning Skills institution

Enable research Impact positively on research and

e-research
& eResearch Excellence in
Develop Research Implement Research Support core functions
Learning & Strengthen
Support the role of the AIS in the
Strategy facilitation of
Strategy
learning and teaching
teaching Excellence in
excellence Develop new Research Support Role for support
Information Specialists functions
Community Contributing to community
development
development Local impact

Technology Develop a Library 2.0 service

Open Access to Scholarly Material
model
Transformation
exploitation
Interfaces
HR Focus 2 Align with UP people centered strategy as it relates to staff

Sustainability
Sustainability Ensuring the sustainability of the AIS: Financial issues,
Quality assurance, Physical facilities, Marketing,
Risk management
 9
Conclusion
The primary responsibility of an academic library is to
service and uphold the academic institution of which it is a
part. This is in line with the generally accepted fact that
academic libraries are the heart of their respective
institutions. Therefore, by striving to become and to
deliver a world-class Library Service the Library will be
enabling the University of Pretoria to attain its primary
strategic objective, viz.: that of becoming an internationally
recognised South African teaching and research university.

The strategic objectives and goals contained in the Library’s

Plan have been carefully selected not only to support its
vision of becoming world-class, but also to enable it to
actively participate in the important task of shaping the
future of academic and research libraries. The UP Library
Service sees itself as strategically positioned to make a
major contribution towards the successful attainment of this
task, viz.: that of shaping and defining the future of
academic and research libraries.
 10
Information collection strategy:

Redefine the information collection to meet the

challenges of the new information environment

• Strategic objectives:
Marketing and management of client perceptions (Hilda &
Head of Special Unit; period; budget; staff involved:
information specialists)
Implement digitisation and preservation (Heila & Hilda; 2007-
2008; budget: staff involved: eService; information
specialists; Special Collections; IMPS – cataloguers; IT)
Create a new framework for the development of the
information resources collection e.g. implementing
benchmarking tools to improve the collection (Hilda; period;
budget; staff involved: IMPS; shelvers; information
specialists; IT)
Establish new role and focus of Special Collections (Hilda;
2007; budget; staff involved: Special Collections; eService)
 11
Information literacy strategy:

Enhance information literacy for academic success

and lifelong learning by using an integrated approach
(Hilda; staff involved: Learning Centre; information
specialists; eService; Quality unit)

• Strategic objectives:
Policy formulation
Alignment between all role players e.g. AIS,
Departments of of Information Science and Informatics,
Faculties
Integrated information literacy program for AIS (and
Head of Special Unit)
Online training
Better integration into academic programs
Revamp management information system
 12
Learning and eLearning facilitation strategy:

Strengthen the role of the AIS in the facilitation of

learning and teaching (Hilda; staff involved:
information specialists; IMPS; IT)
• Strategic objectives:
Strengthen interface with Education Innovation (EI)
Integration with academic programs
Improved support of information resources to
undergraduates
Multi-media production laboratory in the Learning Centre
 13
Research and eResearch enablement strategy:

Impact positively on research and eResearch

• Strategic objectives:
Physical space for researchers (Hilda; needs analysis; period; budget)
Adapting the role of the information specialist to the changed
environment (Hilda; period; budget: staff involved: Executive; Heads of
branch libraries; information specialists)
Buy and implement commercial link resolver (Heila; 2007; budget; staff
involved: IMPS; eService; information specialists)
To bring openUP (open access journals) and associated initiatives to
maturity (Monica; period; budget; staff involved: eService; information
specialists)
To populate the UP digital research repository, UPSpace (Heila; 2007-
2010; budget; staff involved: eService; Special collections; information
specialists; IMPS - cataloguers)
Undertake a trusted repository evaluation of UPSpace (Heila; 2007-
2010; budget: staff involved: eService)
Investigate digital curation practices for UP (Heila; 2007; budget: staff
involved: eService)
Investigate the viability of a VRE (virtual research environment) for UP
(Heila; 2007-2008; budget: staff involved: eService)
Develop a model for an eResearch centre for UP (Heila; 2007; budget)
Investigate library’s capacity to accommodate eResearch (Heila; 2007-
2008; budget)
To develop and implement a post-graduate strategy in consultation with
other UP role players (Hilda; period; budget)
 14
Federated search engine R0.8M

Library
Catalogue
Databases

E-journals

Theses
 15
Open Access: another route for scientific publishing

Characteristics of open access publishing

• Content must be free of charge for all
users with an internet connection.

• The copyright holder must consent in

advance to let users "copy, use,
distribute, transmit and display the
work publicly and to make and
distribute derivative works, in any
digital medium for any responsible
OA Journals (1666)
purpose”.
http://www.doaj.org/

• Peer review is implied.

Institutional and Subject • Authorship must be properly

Repositories attributed.
for individual articles
 16
Technology exploitation strategy:

Develop a Library 2.0 service model

• Strategic objectives:
Investigate and apply Library 2.0 applications (Heila; 2007-
2009; budget: staff involved: eService; information
specialists; IT etc)
Align library IT department with UP IT service department
(ITS) (Library executive; 2007; budget; staff involved: IT)
Sorting out support, relationship and interaction with ITS
(Library executive; 2007; budget; staff involved: eService; IT)
Find solutions for pressing problems e.g. bandwidth and
wireless (Robert; period; budget; staff involved: IT;
executive)
Integrate with objectives from all other strategies and vice
versa (Library executive; 2007; budget; staff involved: library
staff)
“emphasize online collaboration
and sharing among users”
 18

The Information Revolution:

Web 2.0 Software development

• Web 2.0
Social networks, tagging for sharing e.g. e.g.
Flickr, Del.icio.us, MySpace, MyTube, Wikipedia …
Wikis, Blogs, RSS-feeds, folksonomies …

• Software delivered as a service

Google Scholar & Scholar SFX
Windows Live Academic
Mashups

© 2006 Richard Wallis

 19

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Web20_en.png
 20

Enable (e) Research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:L2-meme2.gif#file
 21
Mashup example

© 2006 Richard Wallis

© 2006 Richard Wallis
 22
Mashup example

secondlife.com © 2006 Richard Wallis

 23
Community development strategy:

Contributing to community development (Head of

Special Unit; staff involved: library staff)

• Strategic objectives:
Sharing expertise
Ceatup (ce@up) courses e.g. a digital repository
course (Heila; 2007; budget)
Involvement with faculty initiatives
Taking initiatives to contribute to community
development e.g. VETBOOKS for Africa
 24
Human resources strategy:

Align with UP people centered strategy as it relates

to staff (Robert; staff involved: HR unit; executive and
management)
• Strategic objectives:
Staff development plan to support the strategic
plan and linked to performance management
Fill vacancies
More posts for identified areas
“the right people on the bus”
Procure post of HR practitioner at professional level
Make sure staff see the bigger picture and the
changing environment
 25
Sustainability strategy:

Ensuring the sustainability of the library:

Financial issues, Quality assurance,

Physical facilities, Marketing, Risk
management
 26

Financial issues strategy:

To optimise income and expenditure (Robert; staff

involved: Finance unit; executive)
• Strategic objectives:
Develop the external market
Exploit opportunities obtaining external funding
Information resources budget and related IT issues e.g
bandwidth to be explored
Optimising expenditure
 27

Quality assurance strategy:

To be a quality driven organisation (Monica; staff

involved: Quality unit; library staff)

• Strategic objectives:
Investigate activity based costing (ABC)
HEQC: prepare staff; implement recommendations
into strategies; retain momentum; promote quality
consciousness
Upgrade management information collection and
presentation – make it more accessible;
Regular client surveys
Develop library performance indicators
Revise policy framework and foster the concept of
policy as an empowering governance mechanism
 28
Physical facilities strategy:

Physical facilities must support library strategies

(Robert; staff involved: Physical facilities unit; management;
executive)
• Strategic objectives:
Research facilities in the library
Explore the possibility of a science library as part of the UP
proposal to build a new science and engineering building
Multi-media production lab
Physical space audit, including IMPS
Expand music library
Take final decision re Mamelodi into account
Access control for main library; branch libraries; post-graduate
facility
Budget for Education library air-conditioning
Create conditions in Africana conducive to preservation
Level 2 (Management & Economics branch library) upgrade
Carpets for Medical and Education branch libraries
New computer lab for Medical library
 29
Marketing strategy:

Reposition library as essential in minds of

stakeholders (Robert: staff involved: Special unit;
eService)

• Strategic objectives:
Branding
Web site
Recruit qualified person for special unit
Marketing plan
 30

Risk management strategy:

To minimise risks (Robert: staff involved: executive

and management)

• Strategic objectives:
Revisit and manage risk management plan
 31
UP Centenary Strategy / Activity:

To contribute meaningfully to the UP centenary in

2008
(Monica: staff involved: library staff)

• Strategic objectives:
Organise the following events
Create a legacy
1. Event 1: Book Fair = UP flagship event
(In diens van kennis)
Date: March/April Wednesday – Saturday or Sunday
2. Event 2: 100 years of library service
Date: May
3. Event 3: World Literacy Day Date: 8 September
4. Event 4: Mortenson Leadership Programme
Date: November
 32
Library budget allocation 2007
 33
LIBRARY LIBRARY STRATEGIES UP
STRATEGIC STRATEGIC
AREAS 2007
2006 2008
2007 2009
2008 2010
2009 2010 THRUSTS

Information Redefine the information collection to meet the

Academic
challenges of the new information environment
Collection Focus 1 excellence

Information Enhance information literacy for academic success

and lifelong eLiteracy
learning by using an integrated People centered
Literacy Teach Students & Life-long
approach
Learning Skills institution

Enable research Impact positively on research and

e-research
& eResearch Excellence in
Develop Research Implement Research Support core functions
Learning & Strengthen
Support the role of the AIS in the
Strategy facilitation of
Strategy
learning and teaching
teaching Excellence in
excellence Develop new Research Support Role for support
Information Specialists functions
Community Contributing to community
development
development Local impact

Technology Develop a Library 2.0 service

Open Access to Scholarly Material
model
Transformation
exploitation
Interfaces
HR Focus 2 Align with UP people centered strategy as it relates to staff

Sustainability
Sustainability Ensuring the sustainability of the AIS: Financial issues,
Quality assurance, Physical facilities, Marketing,
Risk management
© 2007 Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cliffmichaels/
 35
ESTIMATED COSTS FOR SFX® FOR THE
UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

- hosted at The University of Pretoria

Software license US$35,000 Capital
Implementation & two days of US$ 4,200 Capital
training*
Annual maintenance – including all US$ 8,750 Recurrent
support, and KnowledgeBase and
software updates**

ASP -hosted by Ex L ibris***

Implementation & two days of US$ 4,200 Capital

training*
Annual subscription – including all US$21,100 Recurrent
support, and KnowledgeBase and
software updates, plus backups
and operating system maintenance
 36

University of Pretoria
New Strategic Plan
2006 – 2010
The Innovation Generation:
creating the future
 37

Structure of Plan
• Part A – Strategic Plan
– Vision and Mission
– Broad approach to key issues
• Part B – Implementation Plan
– Quantifying estimates of UP’s development
– Prioritising key issues
– Identifying implementation strategies
• Part C – Working Plan
– Summary
– Assignment of responsibilities
• Part D – Performance indicators
 38

Strategic plan: Main theme

• Over the past 10 years, UP has made

excellent progress in changing from a
‘local university’ to becoming visible on
the international academic stage.
• The next step is for UP to become
“an internationally recognised
teaching and research university”
 39

Part A – Strategic Thrusts

• Academic • Local impact
excellence • Transformation
• People centred • Interfaces
university • Sustainability
• Excellence in core
functions
• Excellence in
support functions
 40

Part B - Prioritisation
Key performance areas Strategy areas

1. Ensuring that the 1. Human resource strategies

University’s people are 2. Management strategies
academically excellent 3. Student recruitment and success
strategies

2. Optimising the Univer- 4. Teaching and learning strategies

sity’s core functions 5. Research strategies

3. Providing the required 6. Information technology strategies

levels of support to 7. Institutional infrastructure strategies
achieve these objectives 8. Institutional advancement strategies
 41

1. The plan very explicitly spells out

certain roles and expectations for the
AIS, providing us with a mandate to
strengthen existing functions and to
develop new areas. Support is
mentioned pertinently.

2. Between the lines more action is

implied to keep the AIS well aligned
with UP strategy
 42

AIS: Explicit
1. Executive summary:
“development of e-research capacity within
the AIS”
2. A: Objective 3.1: Teaching

“..excellent academic information services

are fundamental for creating a resource-rich
environment for learning. The University’s
libraries will increasingly manage knowledge
obtained from a wide range of sources and
derived from across the globe, making it
accessible to undergraduates in addition to
researchers”
 43
A: Objective 4.1: Providing excellent support services

“The sound management of information through our

library system is cardinal to our vision of being an
internationally recognized research university. New
technologies have made it possible to access academic
information here and abroad more efficiently than in the
past. Furthermore, increasingly information sources are
being received in digital format by the University’s
Academic Information Services. We believe it to be
essential that the opportunities afforded by these
developments should be fully exploited. We intend
ensuring that this is the case.
Provision will be made in the University’s libraries for
services to postgraduate, particularly research,
students, ranging from assistance in accessing
information to reserved areas in which to work
undisturbed.”
 44
B 5.3 AIS learning centre.

“The Academic Information Service (AIS) is one

of the University’s very valuable resources,
aspects of which should be incorporated into
every module. Many of the AIS materials are
now obtained in electronic format. Although in
principle, these materials can be accessed from
computers situated anywhere, it has been
shown internationally that having computers in
libraries, where trained librarians can lend
assistance, is the best way of getting students
to use these resources effectively. A learning
centre, consisting of work areas fitted with
computers and served by dedicated information
specialists, will be constructed in the Main
Library.”
 45

“B5.4 Postgraduate Centres.

A critical step in developing an academic
culture at the University is to raise the profile
and importance of postgraduate students. The
development of postgraduate centres on the
University’s campuses to provide such
students with venues to meet, interact and
socialise, will form a key component of the
University’s commitment to postgraduate
students and research. In addition to such
centres, a postgraduate students’ committee
will be formed to interact with University
authorities on matters of interest to
postgraduate students.”
 
 46

“B5.4 Postgraduate facility in the

Academic Information Services (AIS).
Giving postgraduate students preferential
access to the Academic Information Services,
including physical space in the (main) library is
critical to fostering research students. The AIS
will be tasked with extending services to
postgraduates and developing a dedicated area
where postgraduates can work undisturbed.”
 47

“B 6.6. E-research and the Academic

Information Service 
Facilitating access to information (for research
purposes) is a primary function of the
Department of Academic Information Services
(AIS). With the advent of the new information
and communication technologies, acquiring
information swiftly from across the globe has
become commonplace. However, these
technologies have resulted in further
developments that are of increasing importance
for research.”
 
 48

“B 6.6. E-research and the Academic

Information Service (cont.)
Firstly, the digitisation of rare sources, to which
in the past access has been restricted, is
opening up new fields for researchers. The
electronic versions of such sources can be
viewed by students and researchers on-line,
obviating the need for handling the originals
which are often already brittle. The University
of Pretoria has many important collections,
often of importance to researchers in the
Humanities, that will be digitised in the coming
planning period by the AIS.”
 49

“B 6.6. E-research and the Academic

Information Service (cont.)
Secondly, archiving the published research
papers and conference proceedings of UP staff
and students and making them available to the
international research community will integrate
the University with the international open
access movement. This will ensure enhanced
visibility for UP research and its greater impact.
The Academic Information Service will manage
this initiative and guide researchers towards
contributing. During the period under review,
policy on copyright practices and the possible
mandatory submission of articles will be
developed.”
 
 50
B 6.6. E-research and the Academic Information
Service (cont.) 
Similarly, archiving research data, in ways that are
secure, is becoming of increasing importance. Some
modern research procedures require prodigious
amounts of information, e.g. genome research in the
biological sciences. In order for research results to be
tested, verified or refuted by subsequent researchers,
the original data must remain incorruptible. The
facilities for doing this will be created in the coming
years. (See section B7.7 below.) The University of
Pretoria, in line with international best practice, has
implemented an institution-wide academic digital
repository, which will be developed further in the
coming planning period.
The viability of developing Virtual Research
Environments (VREs) for the University will also be
investigated in the coming planning period.
 51

What else should we

read between the lines
and act on?
 52

Key Performance Areas

1. People centered university

…attracting the right people to the

University and thereafter retaining
them: the best possible academic and
administrative staff and students with
exceptional potential
Emphasis on Science Engineering and
Technology, postgraduate expecting
more research publications , M & D
 53

2. Emphasis on academic excellence

1) An internationally recognised research

university
2) Ensuring quality; being innovative
3) Excellence in
a) Teaching
b) Research
c) Community engagement
4) AIS as primary academic support
mechanism
 54

An internationally recognised research university

1) Contribute to international scholarship and the

development of our nation and continent
2) Build on UP strengths:
NAS, Engineering, Human Rights Law
Expand:
Health, Veterinary Science, Economics and
Commerce
3) Emphasis will shift to postgraduate work. Particular
emphasis will be made to attract science,
engineering and research students, both locally and
abroad
4) Excellent undergraduates should be assisted to
become postgraduates
5) Exceptional computer and information literacy skills
 55

Ensuring quality:
 distinguishing feature,
 external evaluations, accreditation to
be stepped up,
 key performance indicators developed,
 advisory boards for support services
 56

Being innovative

 making our students and staff

aware of and competent to deal
with the demands of the modern
knowledge society
 57

Excellence in Research

 the scholarship of integration (linked to

data archiving)
 ..we intend becoming world leaders in
the academic issues of importance to
developing nations, especially those of
Africa, e.g. research on malaria, HIV-
AIDS, veterinary tropical and wildlife
diseases, establishing just legal systems
and efficient water use in arid regions
 58

Performance Indicators
(for discussion)

The University is in the process of

developing a set of performance
indicators. Currently this is listed for
the AIS
No.26 % of budget allocated to AIS
 59

Finally

• Funds and other resources are needed to turn

plans into action, and ensuring that what
takes place in practice corresponds to what
was intended, means that budgets must map
academic and support sector priorities. We
therefore intend using the annual budget to
ensure that University activities are financed
according to their relative priorities as
determined in the strategic plan.
• The University will institute a training
programme … to equip all staff … to manage
staff diversity and differences of social
customs…
• Language issues are important for everyone