Re-envisioning CUL with Reduced Resources (2009- )
CUL Strategic Planning
STATUS AND FACTS
Library Strategic Planning:
January 2010 Summary
There has been a lot of activity since December 18, when the Provost shared his response to the various strategic plans, including the Library’s.
1. Library Internal Planning: The Managers’ Council held productive meetings on January 12 and 26 to initiate the next phase of strategic planning in the Library. The focus of this phase is to address the Provost’s six directives related to Library planning. After the first meeting, a process and tentative timeline for addressing each of the directives was developed and sent to the Provost. Managers’ Council members formed six groups accordingly, and Library Executive Team members were assigned as leads for each of the groups. They will address these directives over the next 3-4 months with other stakeholders around the Library.
At the second meeting, members of Managers’ Council brought each other up to date on several planning processes initiated within the colleges and schools that impact library units. Anne Kenney and Janet McCue are meeting with appropriate deans and respective library directors to ensure that the college/school reviews and library planning coordinate effectively.
2. Bain Administrative Review: The detailed Bain report and recommendations have first been made available only to the University administration. At the University level, a recently announced Program Management Office <http://www.cornell.edu/statements/2009/20091216-pmo-announcement.cfm> will oversee and coordinate the process of reviewing the recommendations with university constituents, tracking progress and monitoring implementation of the savings that will ultimately be identified.
Five areas have been targeted for further review <http://www.cornell.edu/reimagining/initiatives.cfm>: procurement; facilities; information technology; finance, human resources, and communications; and organization and management of support activities. Anne, Lee Cartmill, and Julie Delay met with Cathy Dove and Mark Finlan (from Bain) on January 19, as part of the coordinated university review and validation process. In the next few weeks we will meet with leaders of the five area review teams to validate data and learn more about how the findings may impact the library.
3. Academic Computing Review: Support for academic computing is an area that appears to have duplicate efforts and gaps in service across the university. The Library and CIT are seen as key players, along with the respective schools and colleges.
On January 13, Anne Kenney met with Steve Schuster, Interim Executive Director of CIT, and agreed to engage in developing a joint plan for academic computing that includes a review of current services and resources; identification of stakeholders’ current and potential needs; and an assessment of the mission, strengths, and resources of CIT and CUL to determine the best organizational realignment to support academic computing needs on campus.
The goal is to submit a combined recommendation from CUL and CIT to the Information Technology Governance Council (ITGC) by April 30. This responds to the Provost’s sixth directive: “Participate with CIT, under the leadership of the new Information technology Governance Council (ITGC), to develop a plan for academic computing.”
4. Budget Review: The executive summary of the university’s budget planning task force was released to the Cornell community on January 19 <http://www.cornell.edu/reimagining/docs/budgetmodel-taskforce-summary-1209.pdf>. A paper version of the full report is available at the Dean of Faculty’s office.
This report and recommendations will have an impact on the Library’s planning as we respond to the Provost’s third directive #3: “Proceed with the design of a plan for an appropriately-integrated budget process managed by the University Librarian which maintains effective participation by the colleges and schools.” It is important to note that the Library is classified as a direct mission unit (DMU) rather than a service unit (SU) in the Budget Task Force Report. DMUs will include the colleges and other core-mission units that add intrinsic value to the institution.
The next step is for Lee Cartmill to meet with Paul Streeter and Cathy Dove, the chairs of the budget planning task force. He will confirm our understanding of the Budget Task Force recommendations and seek their thoughts on how the Library can best proceed in the design of the “appropriately-integrated budget process” plan. Lee will work with other college business officers, the University Budget Office, and the Division of Financial Affairs through spring 2010 to understand the current situation and the new model. With their help, as well as help from the unit library directors, we will develop several budget process proposals and scenarios to present to stakeholders. This process will take some time; the goal is to implement a new budget model in FY 2012.
5. Reorienting the Library Campaign: In response to the Provost’s first directive, “Develop a concrete plan to enhance resources devoted to collections and other scholarly resources,” Jennifer Sawyer began developing a plan to reorient the remainder of the Library’s campaign toward establishing endowments for collections. The Library has $32.2 million remaining to raise toward its $60 million goal in the “Far Above…” campaign. We will need to work closely with faculty to articulate the importance of collections and scholarly resources to their work.
We will also reallocate resources from the existing budgets whenever we can (as was the case in redirecting an endowment toward collections that supported a staff member in the Physical Sciences Library). We are reviewing existing expenditure and benchmarking data to understand our relative ranking among our peer institutions and to define the target for enhancing scholarly resources to remain competitive.
6. Faculty Engagement: On December 9, the Faculty Senate passed a resolution on the Library <http:/www.theuniversityfaculty.cornell.edu/meetings/agendas_minutes/09_10/120909/UFCResLibTskRpt.htm>. It called on the Provost to delay the implementation of the Library's strategic planning recommendations until the Senate deliberated its findings and considered alternatives. The University Faculty Library Board (FLB), a committee of the Faculty Senate, is charged with conducting this review and presenting its findings and recommendations to the Senate.
Anne is working closely with Mary Beth Norton, the FLB chair, to provide the Board with appropriate input and involve the Board in the ongoing planning process. The Board will be a key channel to communicate with the Faculty Senate, and its members can offer advice about how best to communicate with faculty. Faculty members will be heavily engaged in addressing the six directives from the Provost, including increasing support for library collections, considering unit consolidations, and developing partnerships with other universities.
7. University’s Strategic Planning for the Future: A parallel process to the budget review is under way to develop a university-wide strategic plan for the future. Professor Ed Lawler, the Martin P. Catherwood Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations, chairs this effort. On January 27, the university shared the first draft of this plan <http://www.cornell.edu/reimagining/docs/012510-strategic-plan-final-draft.pdf>. It identifies the goals, strategies, tactics, and metrics that will define Cornell. As part of the process for developing the plan, all academic units, including the library, were asked to complete a unit plan, following a standard template.
8. Training for Employees and Supervisors: In partnership with the HR Organizational Development office, Library Human Resources (LHR) will offer training in support of individuals and groups throughout the spring and beyond. This includes existing training such as Crucial Conversations, Managing Transitions, and Workplace Safety. In addition, LHR is working closely with University HR in developing new training, tools and resources for leading change. Please visit <http://www.library.cornell.edu/Adminops/libhumres/llo/learning.html> for upcoming programs.
For more information about the next CUL strategic plan, see CUL Strategic Planning: Toward 2015.