Strategic Plan: Priority 1

Create welcoming physical and virtual spaces for our increasingly diverse campus community

The library will redesign our spaces to welcome diverse users and foster their sense of belonging, representation and well-being. We will inspire an increasingly diverse campus community to leverage the library as a “third space” for inspiration and creation. Our physical environment and our online environment will be inviting, accessible, and easy to use. Our spaces will reflect the university’s mission as a land-grant institution and our attendant commitments to inclusion, responsible stewardship, and the ongoing development of agriculture. We will shift the library away from “a place to get things done” to a place where “everyone can find something meaningful that helps them grow.”

Goal 1.1: Redesign strategic parts of the library to welcome a diverse student population

Objectives:

• Study the Shields Library entrance, lobby, and circulation area for potential improvements. 
• Identify ways to create a more inclusive environment in other key areas of Shields Library for a broad community of users.  
• Adopt best practices for public-facing employees on issues of inclusion, accessibility, and customer service. 
• Audit all art displayed in Shields Library with representation in mind. 

Supports the idea to “Create a state-of-the-art library and learning center to support student learning” in Goal 1 of the UC Davis Strategic Plan, To Boldly Go.

Goal 1.2: Ensure website and virtual communications are accessible, use inclusive language and reflect the diversity of the campus

Objectives:

• Identify and address representation issues throughout the library’s website, social media, and catalog.
• Audit the library’s website for accessibility.

Goal 1.3: Make library materials and services easier to find through improvements to our website and other digital communication channels

Objectives:

• Redesign the library website to help users find the services they need.
• Enhance the library’s presence on social media and other emerging channels to reach and engage more library users, particularly students.
• Explore opportunities to use digital tools to make it easier to navigate library buildings and find library materials and services.

Goal 1.4: Promote sustainability as part of our stewardship of campus buildings and a dimension of equity

Objectives:

• Promote sustainable practices by the library. 
• Develop a sustainability initiative to encourage environmentally responsible behaviors among library users. 

Supports the idea to “Encourage a culture of sustainability and take pride in our identity as a green campus” in Goal 3 of the UC Davis Strategic Plan, To Boldly Go.

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