During the 2016-2017 academic year, the University of Miami Libraries undertook a participatory planning process to the align the Libraries’ vision, mission, and strategic priorities with the University’s Roadmap to Our New Century, and with relevant trends in the higher education and research library environments. Four principles guided this process:

1. focus on broad participation and engagement;
2. build a culture that embraces change and fosters achievement;
3. deepen organizational capacity; and
4. rely upon shared leadership.

As a result of this work, the Libraries adopted a new vision, mission, and values statement, as well as five high-level goals and twenty-one closely aligned strategies that have guided the Libraries’ work and have helped to define the organization’s direction in the present and into the future. The Libraries have realized significant milestones across each of the plan’s goals: building the Kislak Center as the home of Special Collections and University Archives and a space for public dialog; opening the first phase of the Learning Commons with several partners offering students a space for learning and study; implementing the Scholarship@Miami repository built on the Clarivate Esploro platform to facilitate and promote discovery of UM-based research; creating a Research Data and Open Scholarship unit providing UM researchers and students with a broad range of digital scholarship support; finalizing a Master Plan for Richter Library based on extensive engagement with students and faculty; and establishing the Hemispheric University Consortium’s Library Network. The Libraries have also incorporated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into the plan, thereby connecting the Libraries’ work to this important global initiative.

The Libraries are celebrating the successful conclusion of the 2017-2025 Strategic Plan, and are in the initial phase of developing a Strategic Plan for 2026-2030. As the Libraries undertake this work, we commit to advancing work on the following three transitional strategic priorities: (1) growing our Care and Well-Being programming; (2) renewing Richter and subject specialty library facilities; and (3) enabling the evolving workforce with a focus on professional development.