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Strategic Plan 2020-2025

Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries » About the Library » Strategic Plan 2020-2025

From Buildings to Builders: Transforming the University and the Research Library

Purpose: Led by a dynamic team of information science experts, the Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries form the interdisciplinary academic hub of campus. Open to all, we bring together the people, places, and information resources you need to spark creativity and generate new ideas.
Welcome to the University Libraries: your destination to get connected and be transformed.
Our Values: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Access, Excellence, Boldness, Mutual Respect and Shared Success, Sustainability, Wellbeing, Academic Freedom

THEMES:

  1. Empowering Student Learning and Ensuring Quality Teaching: TMU Libraries teach core critical research skills necessary for academic success and engaged citizens. We are sites for students to synthesize in and out of classroom learning and to be inspired and challenged by new ideas. The Libraries are key partners in providing high quality and unique teaching and learning approaches. We are leaders and innovators in openness, accessibility and experiential learning.
  2. Creating Space and Spaces for Change: TMU Libraries provide unique and essential academic, scholarly, research and creative spaces that challenge, inspire, and enable students, instructors, researchers and community members to build understanding and share new ideas.
  3. Leading Creative Collaborations: Collaborators and relationship builders by nature and design, TMU Libraries are a nexus of creative exploration and a source of expertise that spans programs, disciplines, and communities of knowledge.
  4. Transforming Scholarly, Research and Creative Activities: TMU Libraries are active leaders and participants in the global scholarly eco-system – from ideation to dissemination. We bring a deep expertise and a creative approach to knowledge creation and creative endeavours, knowledge dissemination and translation and preservation, access and open scholarship in all its forms.
  5. Embracing Equity Diversity, Inclusion, and Access: TMU Libraries take action to build equity, diversity, inclusion and access across all our programs, services, spaces and practices. We commit systemic and critical attention to this work, to support our team, our students, and the University community in these efforts, and recognize that it is a journey that requires constant critique and an unwavering commitment to change that results in positive outcomes.
  6. Building Relationships, Highlighting Indigenous Knowledge and Supporting Resurgence: TMU Libraries are committed to working with and learning from Indigenous communities, knowledge holders, and experts to act on our responsibilities to the TRC Calls to Action and the Indigenous priorities of the University. We commit to critically recognizing and dismantling the colonial histories of academic libraries and to respectfully supporting Indigenous resurgence.

Theme 1: Empowering Student Learning & Ensuring Quality Teaching


Achievements 2020 – 2023

  • Created and expanded new experiential learning opportunities for students through spaces including the Digital Media Experience (DME), Collaboratory, Immersion Studio, Materials Connexion Research Collection, and the Media Production Studio.
  • New curriculum requirements addressed by increasing collections, expanding library expertise and teaching and adding learning spaces.
  • Expanded our teaching presence to students through online and in-person in-class sessions and workshops, supplemented by research guides and instructional videos.
  • Invested over $4 million to meet the need for online digital collections
  • Developed and delivered new workshops to meet emerging needs of faculty and students (e.g., RDM, RShare, Fake News).
  • Integrated with curriculum of new academic programs (e.g., 2SLGBTQ+ minor, law)
  • Increased capacity to serve students in a hybrid environment
    • Increased scheduled hours and numbers of service providers of online chat research help service.
  • Support creative teaching
    • Collaboratory support for Immersion Studio projects that enhance learning and highlight creative approaches to teaching
    • Set up the Material ConneXion Research Collection to enable experiential learning about current trends in design, and materials research

Goals (planned or in process)

  1. Evolve programs and services, including a new statistical consultation service for students, to provide higher level information and digital fluency
  2. Highlight learning pathways and offer students an opportunity to display their skills development via the introduction of digital badging incentives.
  3. A fully launched Media Production Studio will create exceptional experiential learning for students in audio and video recording and streaming, bringing together library expertise, space, and materials in collaboration with faculties.
  4. Explore meaningful collaboration opportunities and the intersections of services with Student Learning Support, and support innovative and creative teaching through deepening partnerships with CELT, the Academic Support Centre and the Digital Media Projects office.
  5. Invest in high quality professional development opportunities in Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) and machine learning and other important areas (e.g. propaganda and disinformation, new teaching modes such as hybrid and high flex) to innovate best of class services and programming that responds to evolving student needs and the broader learning, teaching and research environment.
  6. Prioritize actionable and meaningful data to focus our teaching and outreach work strategically.

Theme 2: Creating Space and Spaces for Change

Achievements 2020 – 2023

  • New and innovative spaces and programming
    • We continue to provide innovative spaces that facilitate the exploration of emerging technologies and material.
      • Immersion Studio
      • Collaboratory – new programming and membership
      • Materials Connexion Research Collection
  • Improving student spaces
    • We have completed major renovations on the 4th and 8th floors of the library, and have created a new media production facility in SLC 508.
    • Completed incremental improvements to other library floors in the stacks refresh project and expanded the variety of library furniture types in response to student focus group findings
    • Address accessibility challenges in specific spaces (e.g. Library DME) based on student need.
  • Development of Law Library and refinement of space
    • We launched and expanded a new Law Library and services.

Goals (planned or in process)

  1. Challenge the status quo through innovation in the School of Medicine (SoM) library and Law Library space planning.
    • Exemplifying SoM values and delivering on its technology pillar for student and faculty exploration and experiential learning.
    • Develop a space program for the new Law Library currently in the planning process as part of the project to establish a new Law School location at 277 Victoria St
  2. Ensure our spaces are welcoming and inclusive, reflecting our broader Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access goals through: accessible and inclusive signage; art and other imagery that represents our diversity, incorporating Indigenous elements in Library design; selecting furniture that supports inclusive design such as different abilities, body sizes, and working preferences; and continuing to go beyond the AODA and other code requirements to reduce barriers and create greater equity of experience across our spaces.
  3. We will actively engage our communities in assessment for actionable and representative feedback to inform continuous improvements and space planning exercises
  4. Expand SRC spaces for interdisciplinary research and community engagement via a redesigned and potentially expanded 3rd floor research commons that collocates and creates synergies across library research expertise, library SRC supports, equipment, and Partnerships including the Centre for Digital Humanities and Black Archives
  5. Redesign and update the University Library’s main level to highlight more of all the Libraries have to offer and encourage increased use of the services and resources most needed by our community

Theme 3: Leading Creative Collaborations

Achievements 2020 – 2023

  • Collaborations with other units
    • The Yeates School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for the delivery and planning of workshops that rely on librarian expertise, on topics like citation management, research data management, and scholarly publishing etc.
    • Collaborations with VPFA on a workshops series for faculty on topics that rely on Librarian expertise such as copyright, bibliometrics, knowledge mobilization, research data management etc.
    • CELT and library collaboration
      • support for OER creation of multiple OER projects supporting the eCampusOntario Virtual Learning Strategy grants. Library specific support in the areas of Pressbooks, and copyright support. Collaborated on Open Education Week activities
      • Collaborated on workshops that shared librarian expertise with faculty in areas such as copyright and academic integrity, indigenization of curriculum etc.
    • UCE Cairo global partnership and initiative planning and development work to ensure appropriate levels of access to library resources and expertise; liaison librarian onsite visit to foster partnerships at the Cairo campus
  • Collaboratory supported creative projects that enhance knowledge and discovery of the community and community-led initiatives
    • Collaborations with VPFA and external partners such as the Aga Khan Museum)
    • Creation of Stolpersteine: Stories Through Generations with the German Consulate
    • Collaborations with researchers and community on the creation of a new Drone learning program
  • Archival and Special Collections collaborations
    • with external partner library UCLA on the Kashmir Valley Archive project
    • collaboration with CDH on the Yellow 90s project
    • display the Alcuin Society’s award winners for excellence in book design in both 2022 and 2023
    • partnership with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) to make accessible their Toronto Regional Collection of books authored or illustrated by Canadian creators since 1979
  • Ongoing support for the Centre for Digital Humanities
    • Supported when requested the new facilitator for the Digital Wahkohtowin & Cultural Governance Lab

Goals (planned or in process)

  1. In addition to the teaching and learning collaborations described in Goal 1, we will explore meaningful opportunities to collaborate with other units on campus including: working with OVPRI on research assessment and open access; leading and partnering with the Accessibility Office to expand access to accessible course reachings; expanding our shared work with the Centre for Digital Humanities; and exploring ways the Libraries can support collaboration with other units regarding education in responsible Generative AI use.
  2. Transform student and faculty research experiences through the launch of OMNI, a collaborative Ontario-wide library technology platform that will increase discoverability of our collections and dramatically expand TMU access to print collections available to scholars across the province.
  3. Expand and create more innovative learning programs like the Drone learning program led by the Library
  4. Facilitate collaborative research projects through connecting faculty, librarians and researchers with expertise, technology and spaces
  5. Increase support and collaboration for entrepreneurs and TMU Zones by leveraging Librarian expertise
  6. Build on our success collaborating with the GLAM sector (e.g. Aga Khan collaborative projects) by deepening existing relationships and adding new community partners in non-profits, museums, and the broader GLAM sector, with academic library consortia, and with university research partners (e.g. the Yellow 90s)

Theme 4: Transforming Scholarly, Research and Creative Activities

Achievements 2020 – 2023

  • Took leadership roles in the area research data management and the deposit of research outputs
    • Created and recruited the RDM Librarian role
  • Librarian expertise was instrumental on RDM working group and in the mandated creation of a draft TMU Institutional Research Data Management Strategy
  • Created the new Research Impact Assessment Librarian role which will provide coordination, education and leadership in the area of research impact assessment
  • Recruited and filled the new Associate Dean for SRC position to provide strategic leadership and oversight to library services for institutional SRC initiatives
  • Institutional repository development that supports numerous open access outputs, including data and creative outputs such as audiovisual works.
    • Migrated to new RShare;
    • Outreach to populate RShare to over 1000 faculty, increasing Rshare membership by 261% and increasing deposits by 42%.
  • OA infrastructure, partnership and support (transformative agreements, Erudit support, HathiTrust, OA education)
  • Explore collaborations to improve discovery services and access to materials
    • Pursued a more in depth collaboration with the Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) to improve services
    • Initiated planning for OMNI / Alma collaboration
  • Digital publishing support for the TMU community including providing support for Open Education Resources (OER) grants, and OER and scholarly publishing
  • Creating a research lifecycle framework for workshops in both teaching and research
  • Support creative activities, spaces and inspiration (MCX, Immersion Studio)
    • Set up dedicated space in the Library for an Immersion Studio

Goals (planned or in process)

  1. Establish a research department dedicated to consolidating existing research-intensive activities, including scholarly communication, institutional repository management, research data management (RDM), copyright oversight, research impact assessment, ORCID integration, tools that support the research lifecycle, and more. This initiative aims to broaden and strengthen the libraries’ involvement in the university’s research agenda while delivering unified and comprehensive services.
  2. Explore capacity and a strategy to support systematic reviews for faculty
  3. Developing strategies and identifying priorities for the library role in supporting Generative AI and emerging technologies as they relate to SRC activities
  4. Expand on an open strategy encompassing open publishing, SRC outputs and educational resources, and build digital publishing capacity for student-created journals, faculty research publications and other outputs.
  5. Increase faculty SRC engagement with the Libraries as a site for SRC activities by promoting inspiring use cases of library resources (e.g. the Immersion Studio).
  6. Develop a digital preservation strategy for the Library that incorporates the use of our newly acquired digital preservation system, Permafrost, and preserves and promotes the use of A&SC digital collections and other valuable research data created and stewarded by the Library.

Theme 5: Embracing Equity Diversity, Inclusion, and Access

Achievements 2020 – 2023

  • Creation of the Library’s Social Justice Collective
  • Access to textbook
    • Developed textbook print reserve collection
    • Implemented licensing options for etextbooks where possible
    • OER development for online course support
  • Created resources to promote access to EDIA content, and updated resources to include EDIA material
    • Research guides
    • Course guides
    • Exhibits on EDIA related topics
    • Provided essential expertise to faculty in researching materials to assist in decolonizing curriculum
  • Support and foster an inclusive research ecosystem through deepening access to content
    • ongoing work to address harmful metadata
    • create new access points for diverse content and perspectives
  • Support and foster an inclusive research lifecycle
    • Enhance the effectiveness and enrich the Dimensions Program through librarian participation and support heading to the construction stage
    • Creation of a Responsible Use of Bibliometrics Statement
  • Address accessibility challenges in specific spaces based on student need
    • Addressed specific issues in DME.
  • Partnered with OVPECI Accessibility coordinator for professional development and initiation of joint projects aimed at increasing access
  • EDIA Training for all staff held in 2023-4.
  • Developed an EDIA statement for the Library website incorporating consultation and advice from VPECI colleagues

Goals (planned or in process) : Activities in next 2 years

  1. Develop a brave culture that centres openness, civility, and respect in the library environment that demonstrates the value of diversity and inclusion.
  2. Dedicate support for belonging, authentic self, and onboarding and mentorship support to set up new hires for success
  3. Explore workshops and other community events with EDIA in mind (i.e. citizenship, newcomers, international students, Indigenous book wrapping)
  4. Continue efforts to increase accessibility and respect diverse communities by addressing harmful terms and making language accessible in recognition that acronyms and jargon may act as barriers to our users
  5. Continue collaboration and support for Black Archives at TMU (space, grants, expertise, etc.)

Theme 6: Building Relationships, Highlighting Indigenous Knowledge and Supporting Resurgence

Achievements 2020 – 2023

  • Archives contribution to Standing Strong Task Force
    • Assisted in many research projects including Appendix D: Life and Legacy of Ryerson
  • Engagement / liaison in campus community of practice (including events, teaching)
    • Most recent events included Treaties Recognition Week (Nov 2023)
  • Hired Indigenous advisor
    • In 2022-23 we hired a part-time Indigenous Advisor Jeremie Caribou to assist with the development of an Indigenous engagement plan (work is incomplete).
  • Speaker events hosted
    • ○ Jeremie Caribou
    • ○ Research discussion series with Dr. Robin Gray (2 separate sessions)
  • Art installation
    • The Library led the installation of a large Indigenous themed art piece (photograph) over the Reference Help room facing into the SLC Atrium.

Goals (planned or in process)

  1. Build and foster reciprocal relationships between the Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections and Rebirthed Teachings and others to guide development of respectful and appropriate lending process for wampum belt teaching activities.
  2. Hone strategies for recruitment and retention for Indigenous-designated positions including an Indigenous Librarian, contract staffing, or student roles to meet interim needs regarding our work to decolonize Library practices, collections, and spaces.
  3. Develop framework(s) for respectful engagement with Indigenous knowledges.
  4. Work with indigenous stakeholders to explore and collaboratively address research data sovereignty.
  5. Participation in the Canadian Library book-wrapping project to remember murdered and missing Indigenous women and children.