Library and Information Access - Mission, Vision, ValuesMISSION To provide quality information services that will enable the Charles Darwin University to achieve its vision of being a thriving university that dares to be different and takes advantage of its unique geography and demography to benefit the whole community through education, research and community engagement. VISION The information services provided by Library and Information Access will be integral to the teaching and learning activities of the university, and highly valued by the university community. To support the high value Charles Darwin University places on freedom of inquiry, Library and Information Access will continue to play a major role in development of information literacy, which is seen as a means of personal and national advancement in today's information dependent society. The staff of Library and Information Access will have a strong client focus, emphasising fairness and respect in our dealings with clients. They will be committed to the integral nature of library and information services, highly trained to provide these services, and contribute to local, national and international developments. The operations of Library and Information Access will be driven by the principles of quality: documentation, measurement, benchmarking, continuous improvement and innovation. VALUES In providing information services to clients, Library and Information Access will adhere to the university's current, emerging and desired values which are to be personal, professional, unique, bold, savvy and recognised. Library and Information Access is committed to the principles of affirmative action, equal opportunity and access in the provision of information services. FUTURE DIRECTIONS The university's Strategic Directions will guide Library and Information Access in the development of its future directions, with particular attention being paid to the Teaching and Learning, Research and Information Enabling Plans. In line with the university's commitment to the development of flexible learning, the library has implemented a number of electronic library services that we will continue to develop. We recognise there is a current debate on the impact of the technological revolution on the need for physical space and the value of printed materials. The Learning Precinct has been implemented to support the move to learner centred approaches in teaching and learning. In supporting the teaching and learning of the university, the library will continue to invest in electronic services. We will increase the number of electronic resources we hold, as well as continuing to extend our activities in digitisation through such initiatives as E-Reserve and digital theses. We will continue to explore options to enhance access to electronic resources such as federated searching and will continue to provide assistance in the use of appropriate software applications. We will capitalise and expand upon our web presence to promote and deliver our services. We will continue to develop and extend the Information Literacy program, incorporating it into the curriculum as much as possible and offering online self paced modules as well as face to face instruction. We will provide assistance to clients in ways that will increase client satisfaction with our services: face-to-face, phone, fax, e-mail, and online, and the production of self help guides in both print and electronic formats. We will ensure library staff are adequately trained to operate in this environment. We will encourage the uptake of opportunities that will provide our staff with the means to increase their knowledge, be noted as innovative and forward thinking, and share in the professional life of the academic library world. As ease of access to the library's collections is important to our clients, we will continue to develop the library's catalogue as the single access point for information resources relevant to study and research at Charles Darwin University. Ruth Quinn, Director |
