Listening Sessions (January thru February 2025)

• 2 x Student Success (Mixed Undergraduate and Graduate Students)
• Student Success (Admin, faculty and staff who work in student support roles)
• Student and Faculty Success, Engagement and Belonging (admin and staff who work in these roles)
• Faculty Success (Kent and Regional Campus Faculty Members)
• Faculty Success (Admin, Faculty and Staff who work in faculty support roles)
• Research Success (Faculty, staff and administration)
• Campus and Community Partners (Faculty, staff, admin and alumni in these roles)
• The Provost

Strategic Planning Retreat (March 2025)

• Listening Session Report Shared
• Strategic Planning Values Survey
• Seven Lightning Talks
  1. Enshitification
  2. True Champions Cheer For Each Other
  3. Improv(ing) in a Flash
  4. Digital Archives (Ecosystem)
  5. The Rise of Evidence Sythesis
  6. Critical Hope
  7. AI: Artificial Intelligence
• SOAR Exercise

Core Values (March thru April 2025)

• All-Staff Living Your Values Exercise
• Living Your Values Survey Administered
• Core Values Drafted and Formalized

KSUL is:

A Community of Care

We support our users and each other through interactions rooted in humility, respect and kindness. We do this by…

• Fostering a sense of belonging through our actions, people and environments while recognizing that each individual is unique
• Embracing and living our community agreement which includes encouraging, listening to, and supporting each other (needs to have a link to the community agreement)
• Providing events that educate and support our community

Adaptable

We strive to be resilient and flexible in responding to the needs and challenges of the community, aspiring to be active agents of change. We do this by…

• Regularly evaluating and refining established procedures and best practices to meet ever-changing circumstances and expectations
• Exploring advancements and innovations in our profession to create solutions to meet new challenges and fulfill emerging needs
• Engaging our users by welcoming ideas, critiques, and feedback through easily accessible and interactive channels.

Collaborative

We build and maintain intentional partnerships that achieve shared goals and support the success of all those we serve. We do this by…

• Combining expertise from both inside and outside Kent State University Libraries to create optimal user experiences
• Seeking opportunities for outreach and engagement with existing and potential on-campus and off-campus stakeholders
• Maintaining effective communication with internal and external stakeholders

Curious

We create a learning environment for our users and ourselves that supports new ideas, knowledge, and growth. We do this by…

• Fostering a continuous learning environment for our community
• Providing innovative spaces and encouraging our users to take advantage of our leading technology and creating and offering events that encourage exploration and expose users to library spaces and services
• Offering collections, exhibits and opportunities that highlight a variety of historical and educational topics.

Sustainable

We commit to being responsible stewards of our resources, balancing current needs, available resources and long-term aspirations. We do this by…

• Promoting all things open: education resources, access, data and service.
• Continuously assessing our use of physical, financial, and human resources to support the values, strategic priorities, and mission of Kent State University.
• Preserving resources of cultural value and historical significance to our institution and the communities we serve.

User-Centered

We design our services and programs to meet the needs of our users and empower them through the resources they need for academic and research success. We do this by…

• Providing clear instructions to guide users through our resources and services
• Regularly inviting user engagement to include many voices and needs as we make decisions
• Using evidence-based and user experience data to examine user preferences, make responsive decisions, and maintain accessibility.

Mission and Vision (May 2025)

• Develop New Mission and Vision Statements

Strategic Directions (June thru July 2025)

• Four to five strategic directions developed
• Lead goals identified
• Community Goal Mapping and Sharing Meeting
• Strategic Framework Complete