4. Objectives, issues, and key strategic initiatives 2007-2009

Key Area 2: Information Services

Objective: Assist the Monash community to discover and use resources for learning, teaching and research, and 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 with 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’s information literacy;
To provide relevant guides to services and collections;
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 teaching that focuses more on student-centred learning and research led learning. This approach affects the methods of service delivery and assistance provided by librarians to Library users.

The movement of subjects and courses between campuses is something that needs to be monitored as it will have impacts on service delivery planning.

A key challenge is to attain appropriate inclusion of information literacy programs into curricula.

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 service can be delivered. These need to be investigated and acted upon 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 programs within undergraduate and postgraduate coursework curricula.	Number of programs embedded.	Directors, Client Services; Information Literacy Librarian; Subject librarians.
	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), 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 is addressed in teacher / supervisor training.	Information Literacy Librarian; Subject librarians.
	Share and build on successful liaison / communication practices across faculty teams.	Demonstrated improved liaison between faculty teams.	Information Literacy Librarian; Subject librarians; faculty teams.
2.2 Review and improve inquiry services.	Review and improve online support services, help and self-help services.	Reviews completed, identified improvements implemented.	Director, Information Systems; Directors, Client Services; Subject librarians / faculty teams.
2.2 Review and improve inquiry services.	Collaborate with the Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT), Information Technology Services and Student and Staff Services to establish consistent co-ordinated assistance for students and staff.	Consistent service model created.	Directors, Client Services; Director, Information Systems; Information Literacy Librarian; subject librarians / faculty teams.
2.3 Implement Support Plans.	Implement Research Support Plan.	Research Support Plan is implemented across the Library.	Director, Client Services SHE.
	Complete and implement Education Support Plan.	Education Support Plan is completed, submitted to the Education Committee, and implemented across the Library.	Director, Client Services, HSS.
	Complete and implement Client Services Plan.	Client Services Plan is completed, submitted to the Academic Board and implemented across the Library.	Directors, Client Services.
2.4 Embrace technological advances in Information Services Delivery.	Work with the Education Technology Committee to draft a framework for the implementation of new technologies (e.g. podcasting) for the University.	Draft framework developed.	Director, Information Systems.
	Develop technologies for Library service application e.g. RSS feeds project.	New Library service technologies applied as appropriate.	Directors, Client Services; Director Information Systems.
	Review the Monash University Lectures Online service and benchmark against other products.	Review and benchmarking completed.	Director, Information Systems.
	Investigate extending Monash University Lectures Online to international campuses	Investigation completed and recommendation made.	Director, Information Systems.