To see a list of current strategic priorities, visit our current priorities page. You can also return to our strategic directions page.
Empower Knowledge Creators
Digital Scholarship that supports both Research and Teaching has grown in interest for the last decade in higher education. For libraries, this work has provided opportunities for users to work with library collections and collaborate with librarians in new and exciting ways.
Leads: Leigh Bonds, Digital Humanities Librarian, Meris Longmeier, Head of Research Services and Dan Noonan, Digital Preservation Librarian
An integrated Arts Library, incorporating services and collections support for art, design, music, and dance creates a vibrant research and experimentation destination for the study of the arts within the new Arts District, placing a stimulating aggregation of resources within a hub of active teaching, learning, research, creative practice and community engagement.
Leads: Alison Armstrong, Assistant Dean for Research & Education and Lisa Patton-Glinski,Chief Administrative Officer and Assistant Dean for Planning and Administration
The leaders of the libraries within the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), publicly committed to coordinated stewardship of the print scholarly record and endorsed a vision for a “collective collection” released September 2019.
Lead: Karla Strieb, AD for Content & Access
University Libraries is engaged with other BTAA partners to build out a shared print serial collection housed at partner facilities. More than 250,000 volumes are in the collection (Feb 2018). Roughly 250,000 additional volumes will be added over the next four years. Coordination with the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance and HathiTrust Share Print Program is planned. Analysis of microforms and monographs also took place.
Lead: Tony Maniaci, Head of Access Services
Through this initiative, University Libraries engage a range of experts and stakeholders across the organization to develop a plan for building digital book collections that supports sequencing within and across existing digitization streams.
Leads: Amy McCrory, Preservation & Digitization Strategist and Gene Springs, Collections Strategist. This project was conceptualized in part by Miriam Centeno, Preservation & Digitization Strategist through July 2023.
Leveraging Thompson Special Collections
Thompson Library Special Collections is deeply committed to activating their distinct, diverse primary source collections as active “laboratory” tools for teaching and learning across the university’s undergraduate and graduate curricula, as well as in a wide range of educational outreach activities in support of Ohio State’s broader land-grant mission.
Lead: Lisa Iacobellis, Special Collections Program Coordinator
University Libraries engaged in an exploratory process with key partner libraries in the state to conceptualize a last copy program to accept collections from interested partners. The partners support the build out of an expansion of the current University Libraries Book Depository. This exploration process is occurred in tandem with an exploration of University Libraries financing construction of an expansion to the current Book Depository.
Lead: Karla Strieb, AD for Content & Access
University Libraries partnered with the Association of American Universities (AAU), Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and the Association of University Presses (AUPresses) on an open access digital monograph publishing initiative that advances the wide dissemination of humanities and humanistic social science scholarship. Under this initiative, over five years 15 Ohio State-authored, peer-reviewed university press monographs will be funded and published as open access digital editions, available at no cost to the public.
Lead: Maureen Walsh, Scholarly Sharing Strategist
Making the research and scholarship of Ohio State’s faculty, staff and students openly available allows us to live our land grant mission – sharing knowledge and culture with the people of Ohio, the nation, and the world. The new scholarly publishing model removes barriers for researchers while also ensuring researchers have access to the tools crucial for their work.
Lead: Maureen Walsh, Scholarly Sharing Strategist and Gene Springs, Collections Strategist
Engage for Broader Impact
In partnership with the Expanding Visions Foundation, University Libraries hosts a cohort of high school students in a nine-week career course to provide practical tools and critical resources to prepare for securing employment and succeeding in the workplace.
Leads: Quanetta Batts, Director of Outreach & Engagement and Nena Couch, Head of Area Studies & Thompson Special Collections
University Libraries provides professional development for Columbus City Schools (CCS) librarians and staff. This supports CCS staff in their roles and impacts the student experience in CCS libraries and college academic libraries. Through this collaboration between academic librarians and school librarians, we can help prepare students make the transition to college.
Leads: Quanetta Batts, Director of Outreach & Engagement, Amanda Folk, Head of Teaching & Learning and Jane Hammons, Teaching & Learning Engagement Librarian
Model Excellence
University Libraries aims to effectively capture and communicate value and impact to stakeholders through expanded marketing and communications capacities. By developing and executing a focused communications strategy, University Libraries has built out its capacity to tell stories of value and impact that are clear, consistent and compelling, tailor messaging appropriately to different audiences and engage and inspire internal and external stakeholders to share University Libraries’ message.
Leads: Lisa Patton-Glinski, Chief Administrative Officer and Assistant Dean for Planning and Administration and Nancy Colvin, Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications
University Libraries planned and implemented a new advancement infrastructure that enables fundraising for transformational change, including the creation of an external advisory council, an internal stakeholders team, and expanded prospect research and donor stewardship capacities.
Leads: Julie Beroukas Snyder, Senior Director of Development and Damon Jaggars, Vice Provost and Dean of University Libraries