Vision, Mission, Priorities, Initiatives
Vision
The Washington Research Library Consortium will be a catalyst creating synergies among the partner universities to enable the success of learning and scholarship.
Mission
The Washington Research Library Consortium is a collaborative partnership providing proactive and responsive, innovative, cost-effective access to shared information resources, services and expertise.
- Approved by the WRLC Board of Directors, December 1, 2010
Strategic Priorities
- Creating coordinated collections
- Creating a robust infrastructure for discovery and access
- Ensuring the long-term preservation of physical and digital information resources
- Sharing expertise
WRLC Initiatives for FY 2020
Creating Coordinated Collections
- Explore the benefits of a shared print approval plan or other opportunities to share the acquisition of print books. Evaluate the feasibility of potential models and make a recommendation on coordinating the acquisition of print monographs.
- Conduct the five-year review the Memorandum of Understanding on Shared Collection Print Monograph retention and determine what, if any, changes should be made. Consideration should be given to including print holdings for material published between 2005 and 2015, the number of retained copies and how our retention commitments are recorded and made available to libraries outside the WRLC.
Creating Robust Discovery & Access
- Develop and implement policies and procedures for bibliographic records for all formats and for database maintenance in the WRLC Alma Network Zone.
- Improve user discovery by collaborating with Ex Libris on continued development of Primo VE; optimizing the platform by considering issues and impacts related to cataloging, systems, and the user experience; collecting data on usability, accuracy and consistency of search results and response time.
- Optimize resource sharing and fulfillment workflows and processes for and in the Alma environment.
- Determine and implement a new data model for managing the materials located in the Shared Collections Facility (SCF) that simplifies user discovery, fulfillment and inventory control.
Preserving Physical and Digital Resources
- Identify single copies of print journal titles in the WRLC Shared Collections Facility and in the campus libraries. Select titles for retention and make retention commitments for the WRLC, Scholars Trust and the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance.
- Investigate the best options for marking retention and permanent retention commitments within Alma. (Using location codes, as we did in Voyager, may not be optimal in Alma.)
Sharing Expertise & Setting Direction
- Take advantage of our new membership in the Open Textbook Network (OTN) to:
- Host a one day-long workshop provided by OTN.
- Contribute textbook reviews resulting from faculty workshop to OTN.
- Designate two WRLC representatives to attend and participate in the Open Textbook Summer Institute at the University of Minnesota.
- Create an ongoing open textbook program that benefits the WRLC libraries.
- Implement the Textbook Affordability Task Force’s recommendation to create a Textbook Affordability Toolkit and community of practice to support WRLC libraries in creating Textbook on Reserve Programs.
- Investigate Open Educational Resources (OER) and determine how WRLC can incentivize and support faculty in the creation and adaptation of open and affordable textbooks.
- Identify needs across the consortium to use Alma and Primo efficiently and effectively and contract with Ex Libris Professional Services using funds budgeted for FY 2020 to optimize Alma workflows.
- Develop a new framework for our shared effectiveness and pilot different ways of working together so that we are ready to implement a revised organizational structure in 2020.