29 OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AND PRESS
Stakeholders are the heart of OSU Libraries and Press’ services
and mission. Many have chosen Oregon State University for their
education, research, and employment. We serve all students including
undergraduates and graduates on and off campus. We also support the
faculty who teach and produce scholarship. Our stakeholders include
significant supporters and advocates for OSU Libraries and Press,
including university administration, donors, friends, parents, and alumni.
They are also established collaborators or represent future strategic
partners. A series of focus groups with stakeholders, held in June 2012,
figured prominently in shaping the plan’s development. Working in
four writing teams, the committee used the responses collected and
analyzed from the focus groups to draft an initial plan.
OSU Libraries and Press’ greatest resource is its employees. This includes
full and part-time faculty and staff, student workers, interns, and
grant-funded staff who will be called upon to commit their creativity,
energy, and expertise to successfully launch and implement new
strategic initiatives. In August 2012, this early draft was vetted in an
open meeting inviting OSU Libraries and Press faculty, staff, and student
workers to interact with committee members, pose questions about the
draft’s components, and provide comments. The draft of the plan was
also available online for all personnel to review and provide comments
and suggestions.
Using this critical feedback from OSU Libraries and Press faculty and
staff, the writing teams revised the plan again in preparation for external
reviews scheduled in September and October 2012. Stakeholder groups
representing faculty leaders, university administrators, and donors, as
well as graduate and undergraduate students participated in multiple
review sessions led by pairs of committee members. The focus of these
sessions was to clarify mission, vision and values, prioritize issues and
challenges, and seek further insight about goals, strategies, and actions
as well as assessment measures. The committee incorporated input
from these groups to finalize the strategic plan in November 2012.
Overall, the OSU Libraries and Press strategic planning process
demonstrated the committee’s commitment to collaboration, reflection,
and analysis and open engagement with multiple communities. The
process strengthened partnerships within our organization and across
campus. Subsequent drafts improved on the previous iteration as the
committee focused our resources on four major goals and outlined ways
to assess the achievement of our objectives. The final plan reflects the
committee’s successful effort to establish a dynamic direction for OSU
Libraries and Press over the next five years.
OSU Libraries and
Press’ greatest
resource is its
employees.
