As you know from our last Hangout, we recently completed and submitted our annual Library budget report. This was an opportunity to reflect on the past year and to highlight for university leadership some of the ways in which our expertise and our strengths can be further engaged across campus. Although the report also draws attention to the pinch and pressure we feel financially, I’m pleased (though not surprised) to find that what is sticking with me are the possibilities and the opportunities.

Now it’s time to think about other plans. As you know, the university will be finalizing a strategic plan soon, and we need a refreshed plan for the Library too. I’m accumulating a list of what I have variously called big ideas, big topics, pain points, cross-cutting needs, and probably 10 other things: these are sparks that you all have lit in my mind and that I hope we’ll be able to focus on in the coming year. I hope you all are carrying such a list, and if not, I hope you’ll think about starting one. I am committed to a planning process (or, more likely, a set of processes) that is highly engaged and collaborative.

More soon on that, but a few other quick update items: first, as you will have seen, Beth Lewis is now organizing the agenda and taking minutes at our Senior Administrative Team meetings. Our plan moving forward is to send out agenda items before these meetings, and to get detailed minutes included with future Library Office Notes (starting with the March 2024 edition). Second, I’m delighted to share that we have a new wordmark for the Library and new branding guidelines (announcement coming soon). MANY kudos and thanks to Heather Murphy for her persistence on this project!

Last but certainly not least, please SAVE THE DATE for our summer social, which will be held from 4-7pm on Thursday, May 23! Many more details to come.

Claire Stewart
The Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian