Dean's Message
It’s a pleasure to introduce the 2025-2030 strategic plan of the Penn State University Libraries. It checks all the necessary boxes to align our goals with the University’s, identify areas of growth and development; pursue ways to adapt and gain agility; and address changes and trends across the higher education landscape.
This strategic plan presents our opportunity to define future directions and focus resources (personnel, time, money, and technology) in key areas, rather than doing everything for everyone, AKA a “peanut butter manifesto.” We have articulated five priority areas where we seek meaningful results and long-lasting and profound impact for our communities and stakeholders, notably our user and employee communities.
Reflecting on our five goal areas, I envision a top research library that seeks to:
- Define our teaching program and become the engine of literacy at Penn State University, providing the power to enable student success in multiple arenas.
- Elevate library experiences and be distinguished as the “go to” place for student engagement; in other words, the intellectual heart of our campuses;
- Empower researchers and contribute to global knowledge creation, sharing, discovery, and preservation;
- Transform our workforce to prepare us for persistent change, and, most importantly, to succeed at achieving all other goals and objectives.
We also acknowledge the important priority to:
- Evolve the Penn State University Press so that it remains a distinct strength of the University and continues to expand its ability to publish.
Our vision/mission, “University partners amplifying learning and research,” speaks to our proactive pursuit of collaborations and partnerships. These partnerships will leverage collective strengths so together we and our partners may achieve a greater purpose and affect positive change for the communities we serve. Let me emphasize proactive pursuit of partnerships. We will boldly create and seek partnerships to achieve our goals, not waiting to be invited to strengthen and enrich the learning, teaching and research environments at Penn State University.
Faye A. Chadwell, Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications
Values
University Libraries Foundational Values serve to guide our actions, decision-making, and interactions with stakeholders and communities.
Equity of Access
The University Libraries promote the freedom, discovery, openness, and sustained affordability of information
Diversity and Inclusion
The University Libraries is committed to diversity in all of its forms, embracing differences with acceptance and respect.
Ethics and Integrity
The University Libraries operates on a strong foundation of ethical principles and professional integrity.
Sustainability
The University Libraries supports the simultaneous pursuit of human health, happiness, environmental quality, and economic well-being for current and future generations.
Empathy
The University Libraries have a service orientation that seeks to understand and meet the needs of others.
Organizational Excellence
The University Libraries strives for organizational excellence by using consistent, flexible, creative approaches to support progress, deploy effective and agile processes, and ensure its infrastructure aligns with its mission and vision.
Goals
Goal 1: Define our Teaching Program
University Libraries is uniquely situated to make a difference in students’ academic success and enhance faculty instructional practices at Penn State. It is essential that we make careful choices and intentional investments to maximize and demonstrate our impact. We will advance a well-defined instructional program that prepares students to navigate our complex information environment, empowers Penn State colleagues to create innovative learning experiences, and lowers barriers to affordable and accessible course materials.
Lead: Rebecca Waltz, Associate Dean for Learning and Engagement
Co-Lead: Jennie Knies, Associate Dean for Commonwealth Campus Libraries
Objectives
Develop Strategies for Equitable Learner Success
The University Libraries’ longstanding commitment to equity of access as a foundational value must transition to advancing “equity of success.” This transition will focus our teaching efforts on the needs of specific learner groups. As our formal instructional efforts become more intentional, we can help close student achievement gaps and guide where we invest our time, resources, and programs.
Advance a Cohesive Instruction Model
Our goal is to strengthen our instruction program to improve student outcomes, demonstrate the impact of library instruction, showcase areas of expertise, and better manage Librarian workloads. To accomplish this objective, the University Libraries will develop a clear, cohesive Penn State University Libraries program with defined goals that support information literacy, AI literacy, digital fluency, and related skills. Flexible teaching models will increase capacity across instructional contexts while we strategically expand and/or create course-related and for-credit curricular offerings critical to students’ success at Penn State and beyond.
Lead the Way in Affordability and Access
We aim to develop and lead a coordinated, programmatic, and collaborative approach to providing equitable access to course-related educational resources at Penn State. We will scale up existing successful initiatives geared toward lowering costs and simplifying access to educational resources, including course materials, technologies, and tools, for students, faculty, and staff. By scoping our work, including a focus on the creation and maintenance of course materials, we concretely remove systemic barriers to student learning and student success.
Goal 2: Elevate Library Experiences
The University Libraries serve as the “heart of campus,” providing welcoming, inclusive, and engaging spaces for study, research, collaboration, access to academic collections, and programming for students and faculty. Libraries are built upon the ideas of intellectual freedom, literacy, and lifelong learning. The library's traditional role is as a gateway to knowledge through access to databases, print materials, and through services such as information literacy instruction and reference and research services. It also serves as a “third space.” A “third space” is often described as a space that is neither home nor class, where the university community comes to learn by using information resources, receiving academic assistance from library professionals, utilizing spaces equipped for productivity, and being around others who are similarly focused. The Penn State University Libraries will elevate library experiences by focusing on programming, partnerships, and employment opportunities that enhance academic success and foster belonging outside of a formal instructional setting.
Lead: Jennie Knies, Associate Dean for Commonwealth Campus Libraries
Co-lead: Pam Hough, Senior Director of Administrative and Financial Services
Objectives
Cultivate a Culture of Inquiry
By leveraging our expertise as information specialists, our role as the University’s primary knowledge repository, and forming intentional partnerships within our organization and across the University, we aim to help students succeed outside the classroom. Library programming contributes to this success by cultivating critical thinking, intellectual growth, a lifelong appreciation of learning, and a sense of belonging through active engagement with library services, resources, and spaces.
Raise Awareness of Libraries as Partners in Education, Research, and Student Engagement
The University Libraries will promote our role as a partner in education, research, and student engagement. The work of the University Libraries is often seamless to library users. For example, students may download journal articles or videos for a class without realizing they are visiting the University Libraries. We teach courses, conduct research consultations, and provide access to resources that guide our users through the information ecosystem.
Prepare Student Employees for (future) Workplace Success
The University Libraries employs hundreds of students each year to fill vital roles, including staffing information desks, maintaining collections, and providing technical support. The University Libraries is often a student’s first employment experience, and engaged students often encourage their peers to utilize library services. We will incorporate skills and competencies for career readiness into our student library worker programs and create high-impact, meaningful employment experiences that emphasize experiential learning, enhance academic outcomes, and prepare them for professional success in any field.
Goal 3: Empower Researchers
Penn State and the research landscape are faced by a combination of old problems that require new strategies and new challenges that require agility. We will strengthen University Libraries’ role in the research enterprise by leveraging our strengths in information management and policy to develop collections, services, and an infrastructure that advance Penn State research. We will also increase University Libraries’ capacity for funded research to advance academic library practice. Outcomes will include a higher percentage of open knowledge, increased access to critical information resources, and continued and renewed success in sponsored programs.
Lead: Nathan Hall, Associate Dean for Distinctive Collections and Digital Strategies
Co-lead: Rebecca Waltz, Associate Dean for Learning and Engagement
Objectives
Advancing Open Scholarship
Despite decades of progress in the open knowledge movement, systemic barriers, including inertia in research dissemination practices—continue to limit adoption. Other challenges include misconceptions about open scholarship, rising costs amid flat budgets, fragmented data systems, and limitations in current infrastructure. Penn State research will become more open, visible, and valuable to internal and external audiences, by removing systemic barriers, leveraging educational programming, and pursuing strategic partnerships.
Transforming Collections for Sustainable Access
Budget constraints and high inflation inhibit our ability to collect as broadly and deeply as we have in the past. Evolving business models, funding models, and technologies present new constraints and new opportunities. We will develop and implement a unified collections strategy that aligns collection development, acquisitions, interlibrary loan, and intentional, forward-looking stewardship with institutional values, budget realities, and user needs.
Advance University Libraries Research and Scholarship
Penn State University Libraries has some of the most consistently prolific authorship. However, most library science programs do not provide training in research methods. Grant seeking has slowed in recent years, and the elimination of federal funding opportunities has made it essential to adopt new strategies for supporting research. To address this challenge, we will actively pursue funding from private foundations and philanthropic sources. At the same time, we will strengthen the capacity of UL researchers by providing enhanced training and resources, enabling them to secure research support more effectively and to collect and disseminate data using a range of methodologies.
Goal 4: Transform our Workforce
A focus on efforts to develop, retain, and recruit a skilled, engaged, and diverse workforce, while emphasizing professional health and well-being, is core to our success achieving our vision. We will ensure that our organization is agile and equipped to meet the evolving needs of the academic community. We will prioritize targeted professional development; flexible, well-outlined pathways for career development; intentionally enhanced collaboration; and commitment to inclusivity and/or belonging.
Lead: Pam Hough, Senior Director of Administrative and Financial Services
Co-lead: Nathan Hall, Associate Dean for Distinctive Collections and Digital Strategies
Objectives
Strengthen Employee Retention & Growth
Improve employee retention and growth by strengthening the Libraries’ internal workplace environment and by connecting personnel to university provided career pathways, competency models, and development opportunities.
Align Practice and Roles to Achieve Efficiency and Demonstrate Accountability
To free capacity for mission-critical work, improve operational efficiency while adapting to evolving organizational needs, capacity limitations, and foster a supportive/collaborative work environment, we will refine policies, streamline processes, reimagine roles, and update staffing models to align with program and service demands, while maintaining accountability to our constituents and stakeholders in the face of a shifting university landscape.
Goal 5: Evolve the University Press
Penn State University Press (PSUP) will implement forward-thinking publishing strategies to keep pace with a rapidly evolving publishing ecosystem and meet the needs of authors, readers, and partners, by adopting new technologies, strengthening partnerships, and refining workflows across the publishing lifecycle.
Lead: David Aycock, Executive Director of Penn State University Press
Objectives
Leverage Partnerships for Long-Term Success
PSUP will adopt strategic publishing industry partnerships to increase efficiency and scalability, reducing manual work and optimizing publishing workflows across departments.
Enhance Open Access Practices
PSUP employs best practices for creating and disseminating OA content by formalizing policies and workflows, to align with author and institutional goals.
Expand Digital Capabilities through Emerging Technologies
PSUP will expand its digital capabilities and operational flexibility to position itself for long-term relevance and efficiency in a changing scholarly communications landscape by experimenting with AI and other novel technologies, enhancing platform partnerships, and implementing tools that improve workflows, content discoverability, and constituent services.
Acknowledgement
We appreciate the contributions of the following individuals, whose insights and efforts helped shape our strategic plan:
David Aycock, Racine Amos, Anne Behler, Cori Biddle, Steve Borrelli, Faye Chadwell, Dan Coughlin, Angela Dick, Clara Drummond, Carmen Gass, Monica Gingerich, Kristin Green, Nathan Hall, Mihoko Hosoi, Pam Hough, Jennie Knies, Nathan Piekielek, Andrea Pritt, Kristi Addleman Ritter, Kevin Seeber, Leigh Tinik, Rebecca Waltz, and Sarah Zipf.
Their thoughtful engagement and collaboration were instrumental in developing this plan, and we value their time and expertise.