Strategic Priorities

Spaces and People

Create inclusive and supportive Library spaces, services, and resources for student, employee, and community use.

Remove barriers to access within the Library spaces, creating a welcoming environment for all users.
Sustain relationships with Cowichan and tiwšεmawtx^w campuses to ensure they have access to necessary services and collections.
Prioritize wellness and encourage professional development among the Library team.

Enhance access and preservation to support research and knowledge creation.

Promote the adoption of open educational resources and practices and open access collections, and when practical and appropriate, open source technologies and solutions.
Apply VIU’s research data management strategy to support faculty and student research.
Build collective capacity and a culture of copyright awareness that empowers the VIU community to create and use materials for teaching, learning, and research activities.
Maintain and build the Library’s resources to support both current and future scholars including through web archiving and digital preservation efforts.

two people sitting in comfy chairs in front of library shelves full of books.

Cultivate student success through the delivery of timely, resonant, and impactful services.

Provide high quality research help services in alignment with principles of Universal Design for Learning.
Develop and implement targeted initiatives and supports for specific student populations to support academic transition and retention.
Prepare students in an increasingly complex and evolving landscape by fostering technological and digital literacy skills.
Design and deliver, in collaboration with faculty and academic service partners, collections and learning resources that promote essential research skills and encourage a deep understanding of information literacy.

Advance Indigenization initiatives in the work we do.

Nurture meaningful relationships with Indigenous employees, partners, and communities, VIU Elders, and Indigenous students.
Continue to decolonize collections and services.
Work with community partners and vendors to build respectful, responsive, and representative collections and services that support student success.
Promote Indigenous language revitalization by providing opportunities to engage with Hul’q’umi’num’ in the Library.
Provide responsive and targeted support for the Indigenous student community at VIU.

People gathered around a table smiling and learning.

Create and foster relationships with students, employees, and community partners.

Engage K-12 students with the aim of helping increase enrollment.
Participate in international, national, and regional collaborations to share knowledge and resources, and work on commitments that strengthen the academic library sector.
Engage aligned community partners, including those in the galleries, libraries, archives, and museums (GLAM) sector, in projects and practices that are mutually beneficial.
Prioritize collaborative relationships both internally among Library teams and also with faculty, instructors and campus partners to identify shared priorities and enhance teaching and learning strategies.
As secretariat of Digital BC, with the GLAM working group, plan for the launch and financial sustainability of the project to ensure cultural collections across the province are accessible in a single place.

Tell our stories in a meaningful and engaging way.

Actively engage with VIU employees and the wider community in multiple ways to ensure that collections and Library services align with their needs and effectively support their endeavours.
Promote Library resources and services intentionally; determine appropriate channels and messaging for students, employees, and community.
Engage with other service and academic departments and continue to develop the Library as an information hub for students and the broader campus community.

Students walking through the Library lobby smiling and holding books.