Title: AUBURN%20UNIVERSITY%20LIBRARIES%20STRATEGIC%20PLANNING
1AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESSTRATEGIC PLANNING
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
- SITUATION ASSESSMENT
- SUPPLEMENT
- JUNE 2007
2Introduction
- This draft document is a supplement to the
environmental scans produced in October 2006.
This document includes two chapters that extend
the information base for strategic planning.
More information can be found on the planning
website at http//lib.auburn.edu/summit. - The first chapter, Overview of the Libraries,
profiles the Libraries and the instruction,
research, and outreach support they provide for
faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and
other library users. It includes general
information about the Libraries, illustrations of
a number of key Library services, and brief
comparisons of Auburn with other Southeastern
Conference peers. - The second chapter, Auburn University
Libraries Situation Assessment, provides
detailed comparisons of Auburn data with
comparable data from Association of Research
Libraries (ARL) members among Four Year 1 SREB
(Southeast Regional Education Board)
Universities. - The third chapter presents a SWOT Assessment
of the Libraries.
3Contents
- Overview .... 3
- Situation Assessment ... 28
- Assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and
Threats (SWOT) .... 42 - Appendix
- Strategic Plan 2007 - 2012 .......
47
2
4AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES OVERVIEW
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
3
5- A university is just a group of buildings
gathered around a library. - - Shelby Foote
- Author/Historian
4
6Auburn University Libraries
- Member of the Association of Research Libraries,
which includes the top 114 university libraries
in the United States and Canada - Ralph Brown Draughon Library and branch libraries
located at the College of Veterinary Medicine and
the College of Architecture, Design and
Construction
5
7Auburn University Libraries
- Rare books and archives that give Auburn
University Libraries a distinct identity - Well-established and continuing collaborative
partnerships - Special Collections and Archives serves as the
official repository for Auburn University records
6
8Auburn University Libraries
- Advanced library technology providing support for
5 million virtual visits per year,
regional and statewide leadership for projects
such as Alabama Mosaic, and an IMLS funded
project to further digital archiving - State-of-the-art technology and specialized
assistance to students and faculty in the Digital
Resource Lab
7
9- Information Literacy Instruction that reaches
- almost 16,000 students per year in more than 600
sessions with additional special programming for - undergraduates, such as Tailgate _at_ the Library
8
10AU Libraries listens to our users.
- The Library is my lab. I could not do what I
do in the classroom or in my research without a
Library of this quality. - Paula R. Backscheider
- Philpott-Stevens Eminent Scholar
- Department of English
9
11Regular Assessment Activities
- Based on the Association of Research Libraries
LibQual Survey, we - Increased our hours of operation
- Added missing volumes of journals
- Improved the accuracy of the catalog and shelving
10
12Regular Assessment Activities
- SAILS
- (Standard Assessment of Information Literacy
Skills) pilot project - How well do Auburn students evaluate and use
information? - Focus groups
- Faculty
- Graduate Students
- Undergraduate Students
11
13AU Libraries responds to our users.
- To conduct competitively successful research
today requires ready access to the latest
scholarly literature delivered in an expeditious
manner. Without the state-of-the-art information
resources provided by the AU Libraries to keep me
abreast of my field of research, I would not have
been awarded more than 8.5 million in peer
reviewed federal research grants since coming to
Auburn in 1994. - -S.W. Schneller
- Dean, College of Sciences and Mathematics
- and
- Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Dean Schneller and his research group
12
14Databases Supporting Faculty Research
- Of the 200 databases the Libraries license, 12
premiere Science and Technology databases cost
almost 2 million per year, illustrating the
expense of research support. - AUL Total Library Materials Budget
- Researchers logged into these databases over
500,000 times in 2005.
These 12 databases cost 1,950,055 in 2005,
comprising 37 of the Library Materials Budget.
13
15User-requested Services
Digital Resource Lab for multimedia projects
Movies, Music and More for AV collections
14
16User-requested Services
- Online referenceAsk a Reference Librarian
- Chat reference
- Email reference
15
17User-requested Services
- Responding to requests for additional access to
the library as study space - extended hours
- Up All Night
16
18User-requested Services
- Partnering with other campus units
- Study Partners tutoring service
- Office of Information Technology Help Desk
17
19User-requested Services
- Partnering with other campus units
- Food Service with Stacks Café
- Student Government Association Advisory Group
18
20Digital Collections
- The Auburn University Digital Library currently
has more than twenty digital collections,
including... - Auburn University Photographs
- Alabama Cooperative Extension Service (ACES)
Photographs - Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection
- Auburn Football Program Covers from the
1930s-1950s - Minutes of the Auburn University Board of
Trustees, 1856- - The Glomerata, 1897-
- Eddie V. Rickenbacker Collection
19
21The Caroline Dean Wildflower Collection
20
22Eddie V. Rickenbacker Collection
21
23Auburn Football Programs from the 1930s-1950s
22
24So Where Does Auburn Rank?
- Near the top in the Princeton Survey
- for Library services
- But during the last ten years, 100th or lower out
of the 114 members of the Association of Research
Libraries
23
25SEC Peers
- 2005 ARL RankingTotal Materials Expenditures
- 33. Georgia (11,013,996)
- 35. Florida (10,698,308)
- 38. Tennessee (10,146,013)
- 43. Vanderbilt (9,967,495)
- 48. Kentucky (9,413,427)
- 80. LSU (6,932,439)
- 91. South Carolina (6,364,082)
- 93. Alabama (6,274,306)
- 110. Auburn (5,261,396)
24
26SEC Peers
- Average 2005 library material expenditures
- Per SEC university--8,442,384
- Auburn--5,261,396
25
27Auburn vs. Alabama
- Auburn Alabama
- Total expenditures
- 12,251,864 13,587,699
- Materials expenditures 5,261,396 6,274,306
- Book expenditures
- 891,275 1,712,729
- Serials expenditures
- 3,440,754 4,515,297
- Total Professional Support Staff
- 108 141
26
28Service
Auburn Alabama Reference
Transactions 103,850
92,600 Interlibrary Loans 10,500
12,000 Circulation 244,000
229,500 Number Instructed
16, 600 10,800 Door Count 1.6
million 1.1 million Students
19,700 17,000 Library Dollars Per Student
620 780 Faculty
1,100 800 Library Dollars Per Faculty
11,000 17,000
27
29AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES SITUATION ASSESSMENT
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
28
30Situation Assessment
- Funding for AU Libraries is the lowest among 22
ARL/SREB peers. This is true of total library
expenditures (Chart 1), library materials
expenditures (Chart 2), and salaries and wages
(Chart 3). - In the number of books or serials added, AU
Libraries ranks in the bottom three among 22
ARL/SREB peers (Charts 4, 5 and 6). - AU Libraries budget increases rank in the lowest
tier among 22 ARL/SREB peers (Chart 7). - AU Libraries ranks 14th of 22 ARL/SREB peers for
the number of presentations given and 10th for
the number of reference questions answered
(Charts 8 and 9). - Auburn spends fewer dollars per student and per
faculty on Library expenditures than most of 22
ARL/SREB peers (Charts 10, 11 and 12).
29
31Total Library ExpendituresAuburn ranks 22nd with
total expenditures of 12,251,864.
Chart 1
TEXAS
VIRGINIA
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS AM
FLORIDA
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
GEORGIA
TENNESSEE
MARYLAND
VANDERBILT
TEXAS TECH
KENTUCKY
OKLAHOMA
SOUTH CAROLINA
HOUSTON
DELAWARE
FLORIDA STATE
OKLAHOMA STATE
LSU
ALABAMA
VIRGINIA TECH
AUBURN
million
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
30
NOTE As a point of reference, Yale has total
library expenditures of 68,789,335 and Dartmouth
has total expenditures of 16,735,903.
32Total Library Materials ExpendituresAuburn ranks
22nd with total materials expenditures of
5,261,396.
Chart 2
LSU
TEXAS
VIRGINIA
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS AM
FLORIDA
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
GEORGIA
TENNESSEE
MARYLAND
VANDERBILT
TEXAS TECH
KENTUCKY
OKLAHOMA
SOUTH CAROLINA
HOUSTON
DELAWARE
FLORIDA STATE
OKLAHOMA STATE
ALABAMA
VIRGINIA TECH
AUBURN
million
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
31
33Total Salaries and WagesAuburn ranks 22nd with
total salaries and wages of 4,583,327.
Chart 3
TEXAS
VIRGINIA
TEXAS AM
FLORIDA
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
GEORGIA
TENNESSEE
MARYLAND
VANDERBILT
TEXAS TECH
KENTUCKY
SOUTH CAROLINA
HOUSTON
DELAWARE
LSU
ALABAMA
VA TECH
AUBURN
NORTH CAROLINA
OKLAHOMA
FLORIDA STATE
OK STATE
million
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
32
34Volumes Added (2005)Auburn ranks 21st with
37,370 volumes added.
Chart 4
VIRGINIA
KENTUCKY
TEXAS
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS AM
FLORIDA
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
GEORGIA
TENNESSEE
MARYLAND
VANDERBILT
TEXAS TECH
OKLAHOMA
S CAROLINA
HOUSTON
DELAWARE
FSU
OKLAHOMA STATE
LSU
ALABAMA
VA TECH
AUBURN
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
33
35Monographs (Books) Purchased (2005)Auburn ranks
20th with 23,579 monographs purchased.
Chart 5
VIRGINIA
KENTUCKY
TEXAS
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS AM
FLORIDA
NC STATE
GEORGIA
TENNESSEE
MARYLAND
VANDERBILT
TEXAS TECH
OKLAHOMA
S CAROLINA
HOUSTON
DELAWARE
FSU
OK STATE
LSU
ALABAMA
VA TECH
AUBURN
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
34
36Current SerialsAuburn ranks 20th with 29,355
current serials.
Chart 6
VANDERBILT
FLORIDA
VIRGINIA
NORTH CAROLINA
TEXAS AM
SOUTH CAROLINA
TEXAS TECH
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
OKLAHOMA STATE
FLORIDA STATE
GEORGIA
OKLAHOMA
TEXAS
LSU
KENTUCKY
TENNESSEE
VIRGINIA TECH
MARYLAND
ALABAMA
HOUSTON
AUBURN
DELAWARE
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
35
37Increase in Materials Budgets Since 1996Auburn
ranks 18th with a 53 materials budget increase.
Chart 7
VT
OKLAHOMA
TEXAS AM
LSU
ALABAMA
HOUSTON
VANDERBILT
TEXAS TECH
TEXAS
FLORIDA
NC STATE
GEORGIA
FSU
MARYLAND
N CAROLINA
VIRGINIA
AUBURN
DELAWARE
USC
TENNESSEE
OKLAHOMA STATE
KENTUCKY
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
36
38Library Instruction PresentationsAuburn ranks
14th with 690 presentations.
Chart 8
VIRGINIA
TEXAS
FLORIDA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS AM
MARYLAND
LSU
FSU
NORTH CAROLINA
HOUSTON
TEXAS TECH
VA TECH
VANDERBILT
GEORGIA
KENTUCKY
ALABAMA
AUBURN
NC STATE
OKLAHOMA
DELAWARE
OKLAHOMA STATE
SOUTH CAROLINA
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
37
39Reference Questions (2005)Auburn ranks 10th,
answering 103,844 reference questions.
Chart 9
MARYLAND
TEXAS
NORTH CAROLINA
VAN
GEORGIA
NC ST.
FLORIDA
SOUTH CAROLINA
LSU
VT
VIRGINIA
OKLAHOMA STATE
FSU
AUBURN
DELAWARE
ALABAMA
TEXAS TECH
TENNESSEE
KENTUCKY
AM
HOUSTON
OKLAHOMA
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
38
40Dollars Per Student Total Library
ExpendituresAuburn ranks 17th with 620.91 per
student.
Chart 10
TENNESSEE
VIRGINIA
TEXAS TECH
ALABAMA
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
TEXAS
FLORIDA
TEXAS AM
MARYLAND
LSU
FSU
NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTH CAROLINA
HOUSTON
VA TECH
VANDERBILT
GEORGIA
KENTUCKY
AUBURN
OKLAHOMA
DELAWARE
OK STATE
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
39
NOTE As a point of reference, Yale has total
expenditures per student of 6,172.77 and
Dartmouth has total expenditures per student of
3,009.51.
41Dollars Per Faculty Total Library
ExpendituresAuburn ranks 18th with 10,409.40.
Chart 11
TEXAS
FLORIDA
TEXAS AM
VIRGINIA
LSU
HOUSTON
ALABAMA
OKLAHOMA
TENNESSEE
MARYLAND
FLORIDA STATE
NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTH CAROLINA
TEXAS TECH
VA TECH
VANDERBILT
GEORGIA
KENTUCKY
AUBURN
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
DELAWARE
OK STATE
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
40
NOTE As a point of reference, Yale has total
expenditures per faculty of 39,625.19 and
Dartmouth has total expenditures per faculty of
21,428.81.
42FacultyAuburn ranks 17th with 1,177 Faculty.
Chart 12
MARYLAND
TEXAS
NORTH CAROLINA
OKLAHOMA
VANDERBILT
TEXAS AM
TEXAS TECH
TENNESSEE
GEORGIA
NORTH CAROLINA STATE
FLORIDA
SOUTH CAROLINA
HOUSTON
LSU
KENTUCKY
VIRGINIA TECH
VIRGINIA
OKLAHOMA STATE
FLORIDA STATE
AUBURN
DELAWARE
ALABAMA
Rank of 22 ARL Libraries 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
41
43AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES SWOT ASSESSMENT
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
42
44Assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)
- STRENGTHS
- AU Libraries consistently receives high ratings
for services from undergraduate students,
graduate students and faculty. - AU Libraries has ongoing and collaborative
partnerships with other campus units, as well as
other libraries and organizations, to improve
teaching and learning. - AU Libraries is a member of the Association of
Research Libraries.
43
45Assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)
- WEAKNESSES
- AU lacks a mechanism that links Library support
to price increases or to the new costs associated
with expanding programs or branching disciplines. - AU Libraries funding is last among 22 ARL/SREB
peers, putting faculty at a disadvantage. - AU Libraries adds fewer books and journals
annually than 20 of 22 ARL/SREB peers so each
year we fall further behind.
44
46Assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)
- OPPORTUNITIES
- Improve funding for AU Libraries by gaining
increased support from Auburn University and by
building a donor base for fundraising. - With adequate levels of funding, AU could
redesign the Library space for growing
collections and better services, establish the
Libraries as a model for new teaching methods and
technology-centered services, and continue our
leadership role in developing technology
solutions.
45
47Assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)
- THREATS
- The lack of a link between price increases and
the Library budget could further weaken
collections. - Inadequate resources could impact staff and
infrastructure adjustments in a rapidly-changing
information environment. - Continued redirection of resources may erode
service strengths. - Taken together, these threats could undermine
Auburn Universitys larger goal of establishing
itself as a major research university with a
strong graduate program.
46
48- INSERT TABBED DIVIDER HERE LABELED Appendix
49AUBURN UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES APPENDIX
DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION
47
5048
5149
5250
5351
5452
5553
5654
5755
5856