FLC Emphasis: Students at the Center

Improve all aspects of the Fort Lewis College student experience, from prospective students’ first interaction with FLC until graduates are established in their next phase of life. Create engaging, supportive, and inclusive structures across all aspects of the College that are vital to meeting the needs of our students. 

1. The Library provides access to essential course and learning materials vital to student achievement

a. The Library will lead the campus initiative for affordable educational resources

i. Access Services will investigate Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) to broaden no-cost material lending to users

ii. Collections will develop a textbook/course materials purchasing program to provide a cost-free, alternative form of access to learning materials

iii. Scholarly Communications will develop a plan to deeply embed an OER/AER culture into the educational framework of FLC by pursuing methods of growth in the transition to Open and Affordable Educational Resources 

b. Reed Library will support faculty in the creation of openly licensed course materials 

i. Scholarly Communications will develop copyright resources to inform faculty on the legal use of materials in courses

ii. Scholarly Communications will develop the FLC Digital Press as an open publishing platform for faculty   

c. Reed Library will use online systems to more seamlessly provide its resources to students and Library patrons

i. Access Services will institute the ability for patrons to place a hold on items that are On Shelf 

ii. Collections will seek out access points to integrate Library collections with other systems on campus

iii. Instruction and Online Learning will create an access point to library tutorials on the Library’s homepage to improve accessibility 

2. The Library offers a range of services and programs that support the well-being and educational advancement of students at Fort Lewis College

a. The Library will partner with Academic Affairs under the auspices of the Provost to create a centralized Academic Hub 

i. Academic Engagement will partner with the Peer Education Center to provide relevant Library training and resources to peer tutors

ii. Academic Engagement will explore ways to collaborate with writing center initiatives

iii. Research Services will look for opportunities to partner with the Undergraduate Research Center to better support students

b. Reed Library will create, develop, and deliver a variety of support services for students

i. Access Services will examine ways to expand niche services for students 

ii. Access Services will work with other library departments to incorporate a Love of Learning interactive board that highlights their services and resources

iii. Instruction and Online Learning will create tutorials adjacent to students’ library-specific needs to meet related needs, such as “how to make an end note”, “how to make a hanging indent”, “how to use citation managers”

c. Library Administration will create an inventory of services and programs provided by department and set up systematic reviews to assess the continued impact of these services

3. Library as place is crucial to student success

a. The Library will use it space to engage with students

i. Access Services will design creative micro-spaces in the library to engage students on a creative level, including interactive tabletop displays 

ii. Access Services will research other libraries’ library-as-place events to gauge whether they are appropriate for this organization. Example: Scavenger hunt night. 

iii. Access Services will provide the space and opportunity to campus organizations, such as the chess club, etc., to utilize the Library for its meetings and activities (book clubs, game night)

iv. Collections will investigate organizing and making available physical and/or digital collections in different, enhanced ways

• Annual collections highlight with outreach
• Collection that has a physical presence that invites activity

v. Instruction and Online Learning will explore ways to improve the Library teaching lab, RL 131

b. Reed Library will review the use of space and seating by its patrons and maximize usability of the space

i. Library Admin will work with its space partners and use its use-of-space data to ensure all interior spaces meet the need of each Academic Hub affiliate 

FLC Emphasis: Knowledge as Action

Promote, support, and inspire students to action through learning environments that foster interdisciplinary studies and produce graduates equipped to grapple with contemporary global and regional issues. 

4. Library pedagogy will match the needs of our diverse student body and align with campus practices

a. Reed Librarians will investigate current methods and tools used for online and in-person teaching to ensure we follow current best practices in the field, delivering engaging, informative content that complements the FLC curriculum

i. Academic Engagement will use programming to make meaningful connections with individual students, fostering community and demystifying the library

ii. Academic Engagement will meet students at their point of need to engage with relevant academic skills

• Examples might include Art + Feminism event during women’s history month, extra support during finals

iii. Instruction and Online Learning will take a critical approach to information literacy (IL) instruction, using students’ own experiences to guide class sessions.

iv. Instruction and Online Learning will support online learning initiatives by creating engaging and interactive online modules that can independently cover the IL skills taught in a typical in-person class session

v. Instruction and Online Learning will explore gamified learning techniques used in libraries to determine if there is a method that can improve asynchronous services for the FLC community

vi. Instruction and Online Learning will coordinate the Library Pedagogy Team with a focus on creating a more unified approach to instruction among librarians

vii. Instruction and Online Learning will more closely match our IL learning objectives to the larger aims established in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education

viii. Instruction and Online Learning will create its learning materials, particularly online materials, with a focus on accessibility and universal design principles

ix. Scholarly Communications will encourage and participate in the practice of open pedagogy to engage students and advance open education practices

b. The Library’s collections will reflect the pedagogical needs of the college curriculum and student body

i. Collections will conduct a participatory diversity audit where students will learn about diversity in collections and conduct the audit in a shared learning experience

5. The Library supports different ways of knowing and understandings of knowledge that are relevant and important to our students, faculty, and staff, incorporating basic tenets of intellectual freedom

a. Academic Engagement will explore programming that promotes discussion about information access, information privilege, and the digital divide

b. Collections will develop criteria for evaluating and making decisions related to the diversity and interdisciplinarity of its collections

c. Collections will develop data management services relevant for faculty

d. Instruction and Online Learning will use the ACRL framework’s statement that “authority is constructed and contextual” to explore, validate, and engage with different ways of constructing knowledge and creating information.

e. Instruction and Online Learning will cultivate the diversity of ideas by actively encouraging research as a strategic exploration. This might include materials and discussions about identifying confirmation bias and misinformation, breaking out of information filter bubbles, and engaging with algorithmic bias, among other topics.

f. Instruction and Online Learning will focus on assessing and addressing student information access and privilege at the college, exploring ways this could impact student research performance.

g. Instruction and Online Learning will explore opportunities for collaboration with the new campus pedagogy center and Indigenous languages revitalization project

h. Library Admin and all staff will create a DEI and Values statement to guide its approach to library development

i. Scholarly Communications will highlight the use of OER/AER as opportunities to contribute to equity and inclusion through the incorporation of diverse representation in course materials

FLC Emphasis: Community and Regional Partnerships

Build programs and initiatives that respond to and support regional labor market demands. Create additional internship and experiential learning opportunities for students and maximize the impact of FLC. 

6. The Library develops students’ personal and professional skills in preparation for future careers

a. The Library will offer a meaningful student work experience that commits to student personal and professional development

i. Access Services will develop the Canvas Library Training for Student Workers into a professional development tool

ii. Access Services will demonstrate to student workers how to translate current job skills into skill sets on resumes and establish a progression to Career Services to review their resumes 

iii. Access Services will partner with the Instruction and Online Learning Librarian and/or Research Services Librarian to extend library resource and research training to student workers

iv. Access Services will expand student worker opportunities to develop special skills, including leadership and mentoring, that will be applicable to post-graduation jobs by fostering their development of special projects (displays, social media, etc.)

v. Instruction and Online Learning will explore avenues for student worker-created tutorials focused on promoting library spaces and practical library skills

vi. Research Services will train student staff on research services resources

vii. Research Services will explore the feasibility of different reference models that incorporate Library student employees

b. The Library will curate and preserve the work of the College’s students

i. Scholarly Communications will develop the student works repository, STRATA, in consultation with Undergraduate Research

c. Reed Library will promote information literacy beyond academia

i. Academic Engagement will create programming and materials to inform students on how to conduct research post-graduation, when access to Library databases is lost

ii. Instruction and Online Learning will aim for integration into higher level courses, such as senior seminars. By meeting with students at this level, we hope to promote information literacy skills that relate directly to the students’ majors and potential future careers.

7. The Library offers programs and services that enrich and inform the experience of non-student campus and community patrons

a. Access Services will develop displays that partner with campus-wide foci to provide information and increase interactivity and discussion

b. Access Services will, in conjunction with the Library Director, solicit feedback from campus and community members on desired services, materials, and spaces

c. Collections will systematically highlight library resources on a cyclical basis, to further inform the campus community of resources offerings

d. Instruction and Online Learning will work with Access Services on the possibility of developing a program for hosting student-led library tours on a regular basis

e. Instruction and Online Learning will create tutorials focused on higher level information literacy concepts to be used to generate discussion in a variety of modalities

i. IL topics may include things like algorithmic bias, information access and privilege, misinformation, confirmation bias, etc.

f. Research Services will collaborate with other library departments on marketing the user experience to patrons with easy to understand displays of the data for different areas of the library

g. Reed Library will develop a series of book discussion kits, the topics of which address current issues impacting our campus community and the community-at-large

h. Scholarly Communications will develop and offer outreach materials and workshops on OER/AER and copyright

FLC Emphasis: Systems to Facilitate Success

Design systems to implement and assess progress and impact of strategic initiatives. Use data and results to drive decision making about how best to allocate and leverage human, financial, and physical resources. 

8. The Library has structures in place to assess the efficacy of our programs and services

a. The Library will develop a comprehensive strategy to collect and present assessment data on the contributions and impact of Library strategic directions on College objectives

i. Each Library department will develop a departmental strategic plan to direct and guide its efforts in a strategic, comprehensive manner

ii. Each Library department will develop an assessment plan for departmental activities

• Academic Engagement will assess student interests and/or needs and use this information to guide programming
• Access Services will create an assessment structure for the major departmental tasks, including student worker training
• Collections will perform an inventory of its collections to determine how closely the catalog reflects its actual holdings
• Instruction and Online Learning will explore ways to further assess both librarian instructors and students in information literacy instruction
• Instruction and Online Learning will plan and implement a peer-observation model so librarians can learn from each other for improved overall instruction
• Library Admin will assess the use of space, particularly shared spaces that house other academic activities
• Research Services will create an assessment plan for research services and strengthen data-informed decisions
• Scholarly Communications will collaborate with Institutional Research and the College AER Committee to create a comprehensive OER/AER assessment plan

iii. Library Admin will structure assessment data into an informative report that identifies successes and areas for improvement and distribute to all Library staff and College Administration

9. The Library effectively communicates its services and resources

a. Instruction and Online Learning will collaborate with library departments to communicate with our community in fun and interesting ways.

i. Examples might include sharing shorter, high-concept IL videos on social media, or having students create library-related memes and social content

b. Library Admin will create a communication grid that identifies and documents its outreach communications efforts via multiple formats: website; social media; listservs; etc.

c. Scholarly Communications will review and update OER/AER websites and guides

d. Scholarly Communications will collaborate with FLC’s Marketing department to plan a campus-wide, comprehensive OER information campaign

10. The Library invests in its employees to provide inclusive, equitable and meaningful work experience

a. Reed Library will develop diversity, inclusivity, and equity strategies for recruiting and retaining employees

i. Library Admin will form an ad hoc working group to develop policy and procedures that reflect our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion

b. As well as offering individual professional development opportunities, Reed Library will develop an organization-focused approach to professional development and growth

i. Library Admin will utilize All Staff meetings to provide training opportunities at the organizational level

ii. Library Admin will update its review process to include periodic review of goals over the course of the academic year to see if any additional support is needed

iii. Library Admin will look for ways to provide a system for feedback from peers

iv. Library Administration commits to ensuring that the role of each librarian involves collaborative work that supports campus initiatives in meaningful ways

v. Library Admin will seek out and apply for appropriate funding to support the efforts of programs and services that need additional funding for development and implementation

c. Departmental Contributions to Peer Development

i. Collections will find ways to keep Library staff abreast of collections initiatives and provide opportunities for input

ii. Instruction and Online Learning will work to facilitate conversations that will engage all library staff in discussions about higher level concepts in All Staff meetings.

iii. Instruction and Online Learning will use relationships across campus to contribute to the professional development of library staff

iv. Research Services will create learning outcomes for reference training and provide opportunities for ongoing training of R&I desk and circulation staff.

v. Research Services will develop a community of practice around research services to support shared learning for all R&I desk staff

vi. Scholarly Communications will provide colleagues with copyright training and assistance