April 2012

The Digital Strategies Group supports and provides direction for the activities of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries with regard to the unique digital content that it creates and collects, the services that grow from these collections, and the skills and infrastructure required to support them.

UMass Amherst Libraries are vital partners in providing the campus and community with the services and support required to create, curate, disseminate, and preserve significant ¹⁾ digital scholarship. To achieve this vision, the UMass Amherst Libraries will fully adapt to the changing research and teaching environment by developing digital competencies throughout the organization. Departments that currently process and provide services primarily for print-based material will expand their scope over time to develop workflows and provide services for a primarily digital future.

This vision of the Libraries is forward looking. To reach our goal of developing a new model for the academic library, a period of transition must, in the short term, be embraced. The Digital Strategies Group’s role is to initiate this transition through educational, coordinative, advocacy, and communication activities that are focused specifically on digital content that the library collects and creates.

While guided by a Vision that encompasses the whole library, this plan targets the Libraries’ unique digital collections ²⁾, the work areas that steward them, and the services that evolve from these collections. Other digital activities within the Libraries, such as e-resources, e-reserves, streaming, e-acquisitions, etc., fall under the purview of Senior Management Group and are not directly addressed in this document. The objectives and priorities of this plan will be integrated into the Libraries’ organizational strategy in concert with the priorities of SMG.

The Digital Strategies Group is an advisory group to the Director of Libraries. While this document is created for the Director of Libraries, it is an open document intended to inform overarching library priorities and foster awareness of the ways in which the Libraries can keep pace with the changes in digital scholarship.

The digital research environment is transforming library practice in significant and lasting ways ³⁾. Although digital activities and projects exist throughout the Libraries ⁴⁾, there is an urgent need to enhance skillsets to accommodate and support new and emerging forms of scholarship. The Libraries must develop new modes of staff involvement in digital scholarship that will have systemic impact on both the creation of digital content on campus and the quality of collections that the Libraries actively build.

At the same time, we choose to pursue a decentralized model for digital scholarship support. A decentralized approach allows the Libraries to build competencies across the organization rather than create units where digital expertise would be isolated. It creates opportunities for creative collaboration among units and develops important redundancies across the organization, preventing the attrition of critical skills and positioning the Libraries for future expansion, innovation, and growth.

Further, this approach builds upon the organizational structure that is already in place. In this way, existing work areas will increasingly develop the skills required to support the creation, acquisition, curation, and dissemination of a broad range of digital content. While the Digital Strategies Group acknowledges that this approach places a great deal of responsibility on a handful of units and Working Groups ⁵⁾ to initiate important changes, we believe that the infusion of skills will ultimately benefit the organization as a whole.

The creation of high-quality unique digital content in the Libraries continues to be a priority for the Digital Strategies Group. In addition, research data management and digital preservation are two areas where the Libraries are uniquely positioned to take a leading role on campus. The objectives of this plan are designed to enable the Working Groups to pursue the goals of their Vision Statements while focusing those efforts on activities that will engender the integration of skills throughout the organization.

The activities outlined in this plan directly support three of four strategic areas of the Libraries’ Three-Year Plan 2008 – 2011: information resources; user-centered environment; and organizational development ⁶⁾.

To achieve our vision of becoming a vital partner in scholarship for the University community, the Digital Strategies Group will develop the technical and cultural environment for digital content to thrive in the Libraries and on campus. While part of this work lies in refining our processes and performance with our existing digital collections, part also lies in helping to position the Libraries as active partners in digital scholarship activities on campus. Digital Strategies and Working Groups adopt the following goals:

1. Collect and create more digital content: The Digital Strategies Group will support and promote the acquisition, by creation and collection, of additional unique digital content in multiple formats.
2. Manage the Library’s digital collections well: By ensuring that our own collections are well-described and standards compliant, our capacity to accommodate new content and provide support services will be increased.
3. Ensure continued access to Library collections in an environment of technological change: We must build flexibility into the technical and administrative management of our digital collections to reflect and respond to the changes in digital scholarship.
4. Provide support to the university community in the creation and management of digital content: We must develop comprehensive services that meet the needs of faculty, staff and graduate students who create, use, and manage digital content on campus.
5. Develop the organizational capacity to support these activities: We will work to realign the organization to the changing environment, and develop digital fluency throughout the organization.