Knowledge for all: our vision for 2030
Our ambitious vision for the future of the Libraries will enrich academic and cultural life for the University and our communities.
Knowledge for all: University of Leeds Libraries Vision 2030 sets out how we will better support open education, improve our digital offer, and cultivate a culture of innovation – in order to showcase our Library as one of the greatest in the world.
There are four strategic programmes outlined in the vision document; digital futures, open higher education, sustainable environments and enriched experiences.
Digital futures
The rapid transition towards digital engagement means that we must change the way we operate in order to meet the digital demands of the future.
We will need to be more agile, automated, distributed and networked so we have the infrastructure in place to be able to support the digital needs of our users.
We will build and develop our services to better support online teaching, research and engagement, and widen digital access to our collections.
Open higher education
Through open higher education, we will foster an open culture that will bring world-class information resources for students and academics, while also sharing the University’s exceptional research outputs to a global audience.
Research carried out by members of the University has been instrumental in changing global policy and prolonging life around the world. Through the development of partnerships with scholarly communities, we can take this further and make our research outputs and collections available for global discovery, reuse and innovation.
Sustainable environments
We know that our buildings are critical to both students and staff as places for learning and research that foster a sense of belonging and shared endeavour, with over 2.75 million visits annually.
Through development and integration of our physical and digital environments in line with the University’s seven climate principles, we will continue to provide an outstanding user experience while also supporting the University in developing a sustainable, low-carbon future.
Enriched experiences
As our users and communities continue to grow and diversify, we will take a multi-faceted approach to meet their expectations.
To achieve this we will develop our user experience and behavioural analytics to develop bespoke experiences for our users, increase discoverability of our resources, improve access to materials for alumni, and provide accessible, inclusive experiences for all.
The vision is underpinned by three themes which will help us to become the Library that we want to be.
Cultivating a culture of innovation that celebrates experimentation and learning, taking us beyond our comfort zones to add value and putting our users at the heart of our activities.
Offering opportunities for all will build on our existing diversity to drive positive action opportunities for under-represented communities and development for our staff.
We will develop meaningful partnerships within the University, and with external organisations and institutions, to further establish our local and national position – as well as help us to advance the aims and ambitions of the University.
Our work on these ambitious strategic priorities and themes between now and 2030, will create the best opportunities for study, learning and research, to enable access to knowledge for all, and to be recognised as one of the greatest libraries in the world.
