University Libraries seeks feedback to meet diverse needs

As OHIO faculty, staff, and students adjust to the new reality facing the nation, University Libraries is beginning work on a new strategic plan to build a sustainable future. Recognizing how this strategic plan will be weaved into everything over the next several years, the Libraries asks the University community to submit feedback by completing this short anonymous survey.

“The survey asks about a range of services and how useful they are to the survey taker, such as our online resources and our physical space, our website, our collections, and our workshops—drilling down to all the specific services we offer—and gauges if we are meeting needs,” explained Katy Mathuews, head of collections assessment and access and interim head of regional library managers. “Or if we can, identify unmet needs that we can help to support [the OHIO community] moving forward.”

The last question on the survey asks for volunteers to participate in small focus groups, via Microsoft Teams, with the idea of holding informal conversations guided by questions about the Libraries’ services, and how the Libraries can best support students, staff, faculty, and partners in the community. 

For Ryan Spellman, a public service desk coordinator who in a typical day spends half his time working the Libraries’ service desk, “this really is the perfect time” to initiate change, he said.

Even in a world of business as usual, strategic priorities lay the groundwork for informed decision making about forthcoming initiatives and projects that support the diverse needs of OHIO’s teaching, learning, and research.

“As the Libraries embarks on creating new strategic priorities, we also commit to imbuing diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout those priorities,” said Neil Romanosky, dean of University Libraries, “And recognizing that these are not aspects of our work: they are the heart of it.”

The survey can be completed here.

For more information about the survey or focus groups, contact Katy Mathuews or Ryan Spellman.