Strategy
LIBER Strategic Plan 2013-2015
"Re-inventing the Library for the Future"
Paul Ayris The Library Strategy from LIBER for 2013-15 presents an ambitious plan for development and growth to support LIBER members’ activities. LIBER has undertaken a full review of its strategic planning process and the result is to be seen in the present document. This LIBER Strategy presents three Key Performance Areas (KPA), which encapsulate the main emphases on which LIBER will concentrate in its strategy for growth in 2013-15. These Key Performance Areas are:
The objectives of these Key Performance Areas are captured in Implementation Plans, to be overseen by the LIBER Board, supported by a comprehensive Communications Strategy. The Strategy itself, and the Implementation Plans, will be reviewed regularly by the Board to ensure that they reflect current LIBER strategies and priorities.
The Strategy has been produced at a time of unprecedented challenge in the European Higher Education sector, which has changed following the current economic crisis being experienced in many parts of Europe. These changes are being observed in many European countries – both by Universities and by the European Commission. It is a challenging time in which to produce a new strategy.
What LIBER has done is to take the challenges identified by a PEST analysis (looking at Political, Economic, Social and Technological developments) and to identify the opportunities, which are considerable, that this analysis has offered for growth and development in facilities and services to support LIBER Participants. This new Strategy builds on the successes and learning of the previous LIBER Strategy and the past work and experience of the Steering Committees and Board members to raise LIBER’s profile as a European library organisation.
Infusing the whole of the strategy are the concepts of collaboration and prioritisation of resources. LIBER has identified and defined the areas in which it feels it can best work in the period 2013-15. Alongside the 3 Key Performance Areas, LIBER will also work in partnership and collaboration with other groupings and library organisations in Europe to deliver a library infrastructure which meets the growing needs of library users.
LIBER libraries are many and varied: National Libraries, University Libraries, State Libraries, Special Libraries and Library Consortia. All these categories of libraries are encompassed within LIBER’s new strategic plan. |
Vision
In the period 2013-2015, LIBER will support the academic mission of its members by building on existing strengths and balancing resources to maintain and improve a quality of service that befits the European researcher.
By 2015, LIBER will:
- Increase its provision of services and resources that meet the changing profile and increasingly high expectations of users based in LIBER institutions
- Serve existing users and engage new audiences, using best of its collections, expertise and spaces
- Strengthen its partnerships with the EU, European University Associations and a number of cognate organisations and consortia
- Increase its advocacy activity on behalf of European libraries to the EU, LIBER member institutions, research funders, sponsors
- Help build a workforce in LIBER member institutions whose skills continue to keep pace with change
Mission
- To provide an information infrastructure to enable research in LIBER institutions to be world class
- To enhance the experience of users in LIBER institutions, which is enriched by the facilities and services which LIBER can offer
- To promote and advocate for European libraries in all European and national fora where the voice of LIBER needs to be heard
- To develop library and information professionals who are innovative and can offer leadership to LIBER and to the national/international library community
Values
LIBER is committed to:
- High-quality services for all users of library and information services
- Intellectual freedom and access to scholarship
- Collaboration with campus, local, national, European and global partners
- Stewardship of collections and institutional resources, in the most appropriate format
- Leadership, innovation and a willingness to embrace opportunities for change
- Inclusivity, equality of opportunity and fulfilment of potential
Key Performance Areas and Implementation Plans
The Strategy identifies 3 Key Performance Areas (KPA) in which LIBER should concentrate its activities. These are:
· Scholarly Communication and Research Infrastructures
· Reshaping the Research Library
· Advocacy and Communications
Each KPA is accompanied by an Implementation Plan which sets out detailed goals, structures for achieving the goal, and Key Performance Indicators, by which success will be judged.
· For the Scholarly Communication and Research Infrastructures Steering Committee, the focus will be on new developments in Scholarly Communication, primary research data and new, emerging information research infrastructures
· For the Reshaping the Research Library Steering Committee, topics will include digitisation, the role of digital heritage collections in the digital age, digital curation, re-designing library spaces and leadership
· For the Advocacy and Communications Steering Committee, work will fall into two broad areas – the marketing of LIBER and the benefits of membership to Europe’s libraries; and advocacy to EU organisations, research funders and others of the important role that libraries play in the European information chain.
Accountability Framework
Purpose
This Framework marks LIBER’s recognition that it is accountable to its members for the delivery of the strategic goals, which have been agreed by the LIBER Participants. It identifies who is responsible for measuring what elements of the strategy and when. It encompasses:
- The role of the LIBER Board and the family of LIBER Committees in the delivery of the Strategy
- Implementing the Strategy through Implementation Plans
- Communicating implementation progress to a variety of stakeholders
- Using a variety of management and feedback data to inform the Strategy and to provide evidence as to progress and success
LIBER Board and the family of LIBER Committees
The Framework is owned by the LIBER Board, which is ultimately responsible, with the LIBER Executive Director, for accounting for Strategy progress. At its regular meetings, it will monitor progress and the various lines of accountability reporting and make reports to the LIBER Participants. The new LIBER Committee structure can be seen here.
Implementation Plans
LIBER’s vision for 2013-2015 will be delivered in 3 Key Performance Areas (KPA). Each KPA is assigned a Leader, who will oversee progress towards strategic goals by means of KPA Implementation Plans, which measure progress by means of success criteria.
KPA Leaders will be accountable to the LIBER Board for progress, and will provide regular progress reports against Implementation Plans.
To aid implementation, each KPA Leader will establish a Steering Committee, and such Working Groups as necessary, which will be charged with implementing the plans agreed for that Key Performance Area. The LIBER Finance Committee will oversee LIBER’s financial performance, ensuring that income is raised and funds are spent to support LIBER’s strategic aims. The LIBER Conference Programme Committee will oversee the academic Programme for each LIBER Annual Conference.
Accountability activity will be co-ordinated by the LIBER Executive Director, as Strategy Co-ordinator.
Communications Plan
The 2013-15 Strategy will be accompanied by a separate communications plan, drawn up by the Advocacy and Communications Steering Committee, which will establish who needs to know what and when. Critically, this includes advocacy and co-ordination with the committees, individuals and institutions of the European Commission, Parliament and Council. It also identifies who will communicate this information at an appropriate time and in an appropriate format. In terms of accountability, it establishes the frequency and dissemination of progress reports on KPA Implementation Plans.
The communications plan is owned by the LIBER Board.
Management Data
The LIBER Board will, as part of its remit, facilitate the collation of management information and statistics, plus feedback data (from surveys and comments/complaints), necessary both to monitor the implementation of strategic goals and to inform the development of the strategy over time.
Next Steps
Implementation Plans for each of the three Key Performance Areas are being constructed by the new Steering Committees charged with overseeing these activities. These will be signed off by the LIBER Board in February 2013 and placed on the website. At this point, the remainder of the Strategy pages on the website will also be edited to reflect the adoption of the new LIBER Strategy.
November 2012
Photo: Image of a skylight (photo credit).
