4. Objectives, issues, and key strategic initiatives 2008-2010

Key Area 2: Information Services

Objective: To enable the Monash community to discover and use resources for learning, teaching and research, and to support staff and students’ development of skills for independent and lifelong learning through mediated, timely and flexible information services.

Ongoing Activities:

To provide co-ordinated, proactive services under the 'one Library' banner while still meeting individual campus and faculty needs;
To advise and assist academic staff and students in the use of services and collections;
To engage and liaise with faculty members and students about the development of services and collections;
To develop academic staff and student information literacy;
To improve help services;
To promote the research strengths of the collection;
To work with faculties to provide support for teaching and research activities.

Issues: The University is progressively moving to a teaching methodology that focuses more on student-centred and research-led learning. This approach affects the methods of service delivery and assistance provided by librarians to Library users, in particular in relation to information literacy. Also of significance is the Library’s new responsibility for learning support services, which provides an opportunity to develop connections between information literacy and learning skills programs. A key challenge is to attain appropriate inclusion of learning skills and information literacy programs into curricula.

New courses, the movement of subjects, courses and, in some instances, faculties, between campuses have impacts on service delivery and planning.

Postgraduate students and researchers have particular information needs which differ from undergraduates. Targeted programs need to be developed to support research activities.

Technological advances in information delivery have an impact on the way services are being delivered. The help publications usability study identified key behaviours that significantly affect the use of the Library’s help services. The Resource Discovery Framework recommendations reflect changing user needs and behaviours and technological advances. These need to be investigated and implemented as appropriate.

Key Strategic Initiatives

Strategies	Actions	Measures/Targets/KPIs	Responsibility
2.1 Encourage and support the development of information literacy throughout the University.	Work with academic staff to further embed the development of information literacy and learning skills programs within undergraduate and postgraduate coursework curricula.	Number of programs embedded.	University Librarian; Directors, Client Services; Information Literacy Librarian; Subject Librarians; Learning Skills Manager.
	Establish evaluation processes to measure the effectiveness of information literacy programs.	Evaluation process developed.	Information Literacy Librarian; Subject Librarians.
	Improve collaboration across the Library and with the Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT), Careers and Employment, Information Technology Services (ITS) and Monash Research Graduate School (MRGS) to ensure broad adoption of effective teaching methods and improved learning support.	Effective information literacy education methods developed. Information literacy addressed in teacher / supervisor training	Directors, Client Services; Director, Central Services; Information Literacy Librarian; Subject Librarians; Learning Skills Manager.
	Initiate, share and build on successful liaison / communication practices across faculty teams and Learning Skills Unit.	Demonstrated improved liaison between faculty teams and Learning Skills Unit. .	Information Literacy Librarian; Subject Librarians; Faculty Teams; Learning Skills Manager.
2.2 Review and improve information services.	Implement recommendations from the usability study to improve online support services, help and self-help services.	Recommendations prioritised and implemented.	Director, Central Services; Directors, Client Services; Subject Librarians; Faculty Teams.
	Investigate innovative options for creating an ‘information desk’ for users who don’t visit a library	Options investigated and recommendations made.	Directors, Client Services; Director, Central Services.
	Ensure quality of responses at physical service points is maintained.	Regular training takes place.	Directors, Client Services; Information Services Supervisors; Information Services staff.
	Collaborate with other key centres and faculties of the University, such as CALT and ITS to establish co-ordinated assistance for students and staff.	Integrated services created. Online learning environment opportunities identified and exploited.	Directors, Client Services; Director, Central Services; Information Literacy Librarian; Learning Skills Manager; Subject Librarians; Faculty Teams.
2.3 Implement Support Plans.	Implement Research Support Plan.	Research Support Plan is implemented across the Library.	Directors, Client Services; Director, Information Resources.
	Implement Education Support Plan.	Education Support Plan is completed, submitted to the Education Committee, and implemented across the Library.	Directors, Client Services.
	Investigate the future need for the plans within the suite of Library planning documents.	The future of the plans is articulated and understood by the Library.	Directors; University Librarian.
2.4 Engage new technologies for Information Services.	Develop a methodology for evaluating and testing new technologies for Library service applications.	Methodology for testing and evaluation completed.	Directors, Client Services; Director, Central Services.
2.4 Engage new technologies for Information Services.	Review the Monash University Lectures Online service and benchmark against other products. .	Review and benchmarking completed.	Director, Central Services. .
2.5 Facilitate the development of Learning Skills within the Library.	Encourage interaction, planning and implementation of complimentary and integrated programs by librarians and Learning Skills Advisers.	Increased number of programs or activities that address both learning skills and information literacy.	Directors, Client Services; Branch Managers; Learning Skills Manager; Information Literacy Librarian; Subject Librarians; Learning Skills Advisers; Reference Librarians
	Accommodate and support Learning Skills Advisers within branch libraries.	Learning Skills Advisers are accommodated and processes in place to deliver the services.	Directors, Client Services; Branch Managers; Subject Librarians; Learning Skills Advisers.