History of Systemwide Library Planning
The UC libraries began their first comprehensive joint planning process in 1976, triggered by duplication among campus collections, competition among campuses to increase collection size, and concerns about the cost of housing growing collections. The libraries made strategic use of emerging technologies by developing an online union catalog and automating circulation and cataloging operations. They also created a shared physical infrastructure (two regional library facilities) in order to maintain and improve services while containing costs.
In 1996, faced with reduced funding, the UC libraries launched the Library Planning and Action Initiative (LPAI), the next long-range planning process. Recognizing a problem with hyper-inflation in the cost and rate of scholarly publishing, the LPAI recommended the establishment of the California Digital Library to create a shared digital collection and to support alternative models for scholarly publications.
In 2000, work began on the Collection Management Initiative, a UC-wide research project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. From October 2001 through September 2002, selected print journals in UC libraries for which electronic access was available through the California Digital Library were temporarily removed from the shelf. During the study, researchers relied primarily on the electronic version of these journals. If a researcher needed to consult the print version, the volume was temporarily brought back for use or a photocopy was provided.
The latest UC Libraries strategic plan was released in 2004. The five core strategies adopted by the University Librarians were:
- Collection Management and Coordination
- Shared Services and Infrastructure
- Shared Facilities
- Scholarly Communication
- Persistent Access to Digital Information
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