Library Strategic Plan

Welcome to the Southwestern College Library's Strategic Plan for 2025–2030.

Introduction

This plan is the first of its kind for the Library and is the culmination of a two-year process that involved all Library faculty and staff. Together we revised the Library’s mission statement, created brand new values and vision statements, drafted strategic goals, and developed initiatives that will guide our work over the next five years. These goals and initiatives tie directly to, and aim to extend the impact of, the Southwestern College Strategic Plan and the Educational Vision Plan.

This document lays out our blueprint for supporting the evolving needs of our users while centering the core functions of the Library:

Maintaining research collections that support college curriculum and narrow equity gaps;
Contributing to student success through essential information literacy instruction, library services and spaces;
Establishing impactful collaborations between the Library and other academic support resources; and
Planning for a library that is reliable and resilient.

The Library’s Strategic Plan will serve as the foundation for ongoing planning and evaluations, with our initiatives being reassessed and refined annually to ensure advancement toward our vision.

Strategic Areas

Area 1: Stewardship of Resources
(SWC Strategic Goals 2B, 3A, and 3C)
Teaching and learning outcomes are advanced by our commitment to selecting and ensuring reliable access to responsive, curriculum-focused collections.

Area 2: Holistic Student Experience
(SWC Strategic Goals 2B, 3A, and 3C)
Our instruction, services and spaces support academic achievement, reduce equity gaps, and provide students with a meaningful connection to the campus community.

Area 3: Campus Engagement
(SWC Strategic Goals 1E, 2A, 3A, and 3C)
Collaboration across campus enhances our ability to meet the needs of current and prospective students, make data-driven decisions, and promote the use of library services.

Area 4: Operational Sustainability
(SWC Strategic Goals 3B and 3C)
To fulfill our mission and respond to the evolving needs of our users, we must leverage our existing expertise while we plan for the future.

View the full SWC Library Strategic Plan 2025-2030 for more!

Strategic Initiatives

The strategic initiatives listed in the Strategic Plan are how we intend to put action behind our goals. Each initiative showcases the Library’s commitment to growth and delivering measurable benefits to students, faculty, and staff—reinforcing our role as a vital partner in advancing institutional goals.

Learn more about the initiatives currently in progress:

The overarching goals of this project are twofold: to assess the current state of data collection in the Library, and to identify improvements that will help us use our data more effectively. We will look holistically at what statistics the Library currently collects, analyze the methods used for data collection and storage, and how these metrics are used or reported out.

SWC Library Strategic Goals
- Area 1: Stewardship of Resources
  - Goal 1B: Employ statistics and collection management strategies to maintain relevant and timely collections.
- Area 4: Operational Sustainability
  - Goal 4B: Strengthen internal communication to foster strategic decision-making and an effective working environment.
Southwestern College Priorities
- Student Success
- Teaching and Learning
Intended Outcomes
- Identify and remedy gaps and inefficiencies in our data collection.
- Implement COUNTER/SUSHI analytics.
- Centralize the statistics needed for external reporting.
- Create public dashboards to showcase how our students are using Library resources.
In order to create positive change for our students, we need to know what they need from the Library. We will conduct a large-scale, one-time survey directed at SWC students that will improve our understanding of how they currently use the Library as well as collect data that will help inform future changes.

SWC Library Strategic Goals
- Area 2: Holistic Student Experience
  - Goal 2A: Create inclusive library spaces that welcome users and prioritize students' academic needs.
  - Goal 2C: Develop timely and relevant library programming that addresses the evolving needs of our users.
Southwestern College Priorities
- Student Success
- Teaching and Learning
Intended Outcomes
- Understand use of Library spaces and services.
- Identify gaps in current services.
- Evidence to prioritize improvements and support resource allocation.
Our website is the digital front door to the Library and is an essential service point and instructional tool. It is imperative that users can easily and effectively navigate and and access the content provided on our website. We will conduct a study that will incorporate observation of real users as they complete tasks on the site in order to analyze user behavior and identify areas for improvement.

SWC Library Strategic Goals
- Area 1: Stewardship of Resources
  - Goal 1A: Improve the discoverability and access to our print and digital collections.
Southwestern College Priorities
- Teaching and Learning
Intended Outcomes
- Identify pain points, confusing navigation, or design flaws that hinder usability.
- Make the site more intuitive and user-friendly.
- Ensure the website meets accessibility standards for users with disabilities.
- Use insights from user behavior and feedback to guide future design updates.

Introduction

Strategic Areas

Strategic Initiatives

Let's get started.