Close
Introduction
Diana Mercer
This Annual Report provides the first opportunity since the launch of the new Strategy in August 2011 for the Leaders of the Key Performance Areas to provide a short summary on progress in their areas, linked to the Library's strategic goals.
Each KPA Leader focuses on the achievements for which they are responsible; however, many of these complement each other. For example, the success of our first ever participation in Open House London in attracting visitors to view the Flaxman Gallery (Widening Participation & Public Engagement) preceded the glazing over and reopening of the oculus in the Flaxman (Space Management), which will in turn enhance the experience for visitors in subsequent years. The range of electronic resources available to staff and students at UCL has been very significantly increased (Research Support), while our NHS colleagues are now benefiting from a UCL-led London-wide initiative to extend access to a substantial range of e-resources not previously available to NHS staff (Support for Healthcare). While our success in obtaining funding to extend opening hours in the Main and Science libraries is reported under the Student Experience, all members of UCL are of course able to benefit from easier access to our wealth of print material.
The five KPA reports focus on highlights and so are necessarily selective. However, these are now being supplemented with more detailed reports on particular developments. All readers can find information on topics such as planning for the Cruciform Hub and the launch of the ReadingLists @ UCL in the Library's online newsletter, as well as elsewhere on our web pages and via social media, with alerts being sent out via Twitter, subject-specific blogs and Facebook pages devoted to individual library sites. Sources of information aimed specifically at the UCL community include Faculty Library Bulletins, The Week@UCL, and the Provost's Newsletter.
The Staff Conference is now firmly established as a forum for colleagues
to hear about initiatives both within UCL and beyond that support and
inform our current strategic operating plan, as well as planning for the
next strategy, due to be launched in 2014. Nova Larch, who leads the
organising committee, provides a brief overview of all the hard work
that goes on behind the scenes to make the conference such a success:
" "The UCL Library Services Staff Conference is held annually during the summer vacation period. The Staff Conference is an opportunity for as many Library Services colleagues as possible, from across all sites, to come together for a training and development day which includes a mixture of strategic and team building sessions. The Staff Conference Organising Committee comprises 8 Library Services staff who organise the conference in addition to their day to day work. Around 200 Library Services staff attend the conference, and the challenge each year is to organise a variety of sessions that will be relevant and interesting for all colleagues. The Organising Committee typically meets once a month throughout the year, but as the conference day draws nearer, the team meet more frequently. The Organising Committee arrange all the details for the conference from booking speakers to room, equipment and catering arrangements. After the conference day the work for the Organising Committee continues with feedback analysis and then planning for the next conference."
Nova Larch, UCL Library Services