Academic Library Services Alignment Plan Overview

Academic Library Services (ALS) is the intellectual heart of East Carolina University. We connect people to information and empower their lifelong learning by developing robust collections, superior services, and people-friendly spaces.

Mission

Our library is the intellectual heart of East Carolina University. We connect people to information and empower their lifelong learning by developing robust collections, superior services, and people-friendly spaces.

Vision

Joyner Library will be a dynamic leader among academic libraries. We will engage students, faculty, and staff in their campus learning environments and daily lives. Through our quality collections, innovative services, and collaborative workspaces, we will remove barriers between people and information. Library services to distance learners will be a national model. Joyner Library will acquire and preserve unique collections, including those documenting regional history and culture, and our digitization program will make them available worldwide. Through strong partnerships with libraries, educators, and the private sector, Joyner Library will be a catalyst for positive change in Eastern North Carolina.

Summary of Unit Strategies

M1.1: Academic Library Services will strengthen graduation and retention strategies while closing equity gaps to advance opportunity for all by providing instructors with resources to encourage and support their creation or adoption of free and low-cost textbooks and related materials for course use to reduce costs and increase accessibility for students.

M1.1: Academic Library Services will strengthen graduation and retention strategies that contribute to a healthy student success ecosystem by providing excellent resources and services to students, measuring our success by student survey results.

M1.3: Academic Library Services will align university programs to meet the demands of a dynamic, innovative economy and an evolving workforce by positioning the library as a key source for student education and experimentation with generative artificial intelligence to help prepare them for careers that incorporate its use. This may include workshops, modeling hands-on experience, online learning modules, resource guides, and support for instructors.

M1.3: Academic Library Services will align university programs to meet the demands of a dynamic, innovative economy and an evolving workforce by helping self-help and work-study student employees in ALS consciously assess how their ALS jobs can help them prepare for their future careers and how they can document these professional skills and competencies on their resumes.

M2.1: Academic Library Services will increase public engagement with and access to educational and cultural offerings by developing and promoting diverse educational and cultural programming that is accessible to the community.

M2.1: Academic Library Services will increase public engagement with and access to educational and cultural offerings by increasing the size of ALS Digital Collections through the addition of the Daily Reflector, Minority Voice, and other publications that reflect ECU and regional communities.

M2.1: Academic Library Services will increase public engagement with and access to educational and cultural offerings by increasing the use of ALS Digital Collections through improved access, usability features, and awareness.

M3.3: Through leadership and investments in open and sustainable scholarship, Academic Library Services will provide opportunities for ECU researchers to make the output of their scholarship publicly available and thereby contribute to the knowledge base required for regional economic prosperity and sustainability.

V1.2: Academic Library Services will bolster online courses and program offerings by providing electronic resources that support students in online courses.

V1.2: Academic Library Services will bolster online courses and program offerings by providing online assistance to students and instructors via Canvas modules, online tutorials, videos, research guides, consultations, and other services.

V1.2: Academic Library Services will bolster online courses and program offerings by supporting Project Kitty Hawk.

V2.3: Academic Library Services will prepare its employees with the knowledge and competencies required for successful career journeys through meaningful evaluations, goal setting, and creation of work plans that include a development element, and through training and professional development within the unit, ECU (e.g., OFE sessions, HR workshops, Cornerstone, and LinkedIn Learning), and external opportunities (e.g., webinars, conferences, workshops).

V2.3: Academic Library Services will prepare its employees with the knowledge and competencies required for successful career journeys by providing a robust mentoring program.

Brief Targeted Narrative

Academic Library Services has outlined a comprehensive set of unit strategies designed to enrich the educational experience and create a lasting impact on both students and the broader community. It builds upon the library’s leadership in areas such as textbook affordability, sustainable scholarship, technological innovation, collection development, customer service, and programming while focusing on the future with strategies that are critical to a healthy student ecosystem, the university’s expanding research portfolio, and our commitment to improving the lives of people in our community and beyond.

Academic Library Services will advance opportunities for all students while closing equity gaps. Free and low-cost textbooks reduce student costs and increase accessibility. The library will provide instructors with the necessary resources to create or adopt such textbooks. Recognizing the growing importance of online education, the library will provide electronic resources and assistance to support students in online courses.

The plan recognizes the need to align university programs with the demands of an evolving workforce. It positions the library as a key source for student education and experimentation with generative artificial intelligence. This includes a range of activities such as workshops, hands-on experiences, and support for instructors. Additionally, ALS is committed to helping its student employees develop professional skills and competencies that will help them be competitive in the job market.

The library aims to enhance public engagement by developing diverse educational and cultural programming accessible to the community. This includes increasing the size of digital collections and improving access and usability features. By adding publications like the Daily Reflector and Minority Voice, the library ensures that its digital collections reflect the diversity of ECU and regional communities.

The library will further expand its leadership role in advancing open and sustainable scholarship by providing infrastructure, open access publishing support, and more. Making ECU researchers’ scholarship publicly available not only contributes to the global knowledge base but also supports regional economic prosperity and sustainability.

Academic Library Services is committed to helping its employees reach their full potential in the workplace through supervisor support, mentoring, training, and professional development.

In summary, Academic Library Services is committed to student success, research growth, and community engagement through a range of strategies that empower learners, support faculty, promote open scholarship, and serve the broader community. These initiatives embody the library’s dedication to excellence, innovation, inclusivity, and the advancement of knowledge.

Contact Jan Lewis with questions or opportunities to collaborate.