Göttingen State and University Library’s Strategy 2018-2021

In the coming years, Göttingen State and University Library will raise its profile as a reliable institution for high-class scholarly information and as an indispensable partner for digital services on the Göttingen Campus. As a place, it will be open, helpful and innovative; at a local, national and global level, it will foster knowledge as a public good.

Strategy as a continuous practical activity

To implement our strategy, we have established an annual cycle that allows us to plan specific projects for the year ahead. We publish all our projects on the internet, where they are open to comments and suggestions to enable interaction. Our strategy for 2018-2021 provides the basis for an effective innovation process with stakeholders from inside and outside of the library. Thus, Göttingen State and University Library becomes a learning institution continuously integrating upcoming user needs into its services that evolve around learning, teaching and research.

Overall goal: Quality of Service as a trademark

Our overarching goal for the years 2018-2021 is to further develop our trademark of service quality. Together with students, teachers and researchers we will develop an understanding of how to measure service quality in the 21st century. Firmly enshrined expectations around the printed book and the library building are key factors for the trust that libraries enjoy. Göttingen State and University Library has established itself as a driving force in digital transformation. In an active dialogue with our stakeholders, we will develop (a) a simple and comprehensible service description, (b) service quality and key performance indicators, and (c) models on how to implement and advance these indicators and services.

We have defined five specific strategic goals:

1. Learning and Research Environments ‘Enhancing open spaces for working and information’

Our goal is to increase the range and accessibility of individual workspaces and information delivery services in our library buildings and on the internet.

Results 2021

Learning locations / infrastructure supporting learning locations

  • Dismantling of service and cash desks / expansion of self-service desks
  • Improvement of WLAN equipment in the reading room of the Waldweg Library
  • ‘Digital Creative Space’ in the Central Library as a platform for interdisciplinary cooperation: structural completion
  • ‘Creative Space’ for collaborative work in the Cultural Studies Divisional Library: opening
  • Further development of the Divisional Libraries of Natural and Life Sciences: mobile work cubicles, test phase treadmill desk (Medical Library), wood sample collection (Forestry Divisional Library), physical teaching objects (Physics Divisional Library)

Provision of literature / research tools

  • New search for scientific literature (‘Discovery Service’): Introduction of GöDiscovery
  • Partial revision of open access holdings (Central Library, Cultural Studies Divisional Library, Economics and Social Sciences Divisional Library)
  • Simplification of access to library services for university staff by linking the local library system to the uniform staff account

Information competence / counselling

  • Expansion of offers in the area of information and digital skills: Virtualisation of offers (e. g. crash course in literature research); creation of new, purely digital offers in ILIAS and StudIP for literature research and administration, audio tours; virtual tours via app in the Central Library, etc.

2. Provision of academic literature ‘maximizing open access’

By further developing local, national and international services, we will increase the ratio of open access in scholarly information.

Results 2021

  • Negotiation, conclusion and offer of 6 new national framework agreements for the Open Access transformation of books and journals in the humanities and social sciences (publishers DeGruyter, Olms, transcript), including free publication opportunities for researchers from the University of Göttingen in the journals of the publisher DeGruyter (please see Publishing Agreements).
  • Provision of 3 further national licences from the area of responsibility of the SUB Göttingen in self-hosting by the SUB Göttingen
  • Relocation of the holdings of the Department of Musicology to the Cultural Studies Divisional Library and integration into the holdings of the SUB Göttingen
  • Development of the prerequisites for reforming the management of the literature budget and the publication fund (‘Integrated Information Budget’)
  • Successful application to the DFG funding programme ‘Open Access Publication Costs’: Approval of 1.922 million Euro for 2022 - 2024 for article publications in genuine Open Access, in transformation contracts and for Open Access monographs
  • Migration of the administration of consortial licences to the national ERMS LAS:eR

3. Publication Services ‘Foster visibility for Göttingen research results’

Foster services for high-class publications with international impact and develop useful KPIs for conventional and innovative scientific communication.

Results 2021

  • The repository ‘The Stacks’, which was established within the framework of the Anglo-American Culture Specialised Information Service, was certified by DINI. The certification of further repositories is being pursued on an ongoing basis, drawing on the experience gained in the assessment process.
  • Due to the major changes in platform technologies, data sources and demand, a concept for the presentation of metrics has to be rethought from scratch.
  • The launch of the New American Studies Journal marked the beginning of the implementation of the concept for academic journals in the university publishing house and in the service portfolio of the Göttingen State and University Library.
  • The expansion of the OA ecosystem presents research institutions with new challenges in the responsible evaluation of OA publications using bibliometric indicators. The BMBF-funded indi:OA project will contribute important insights into the use of bibliometric indicators in the evaluation of primary OA publication venues.
  • The application in the ‘Open Access Publication Costs’ programme for the University of Göttingen was successful. 1.922 million was approved for the years 2022 - 2024 for article publications in genuine OA, in transformation contracts and for OA monographs.
  • The concept for the business model for the allocation of persistent identifiers will be published at the beginning of 2022.
  • With the transfer of the full texts by the end of the year, most of the publications collected in Goescholar will become accessible via the GRO.publications service, thereby significantly expanding the range of functions.

4. Research Services ‘Shaping digital research together’

Systematically establish and innovatively develop Göttingen State and University Library's participation in research and teaching on digital content and methods on Göttingen Campus. We pursue this goal in the eResearch Alliance.

Results 2021

  • Create business model for PI allocation at the Göttingen site
  • Link GRO.data more closely with GRO.publications
  • Populate GRO.instruments with departmental data. Make available university-wide
  • Launch GRO.plan
  • Standardise XML data for different publication formats at Göttingen State and University Library
  • Develop a concept for the technical linking of EPIC handles and DataCite DOI
  • Continuation of cooperation with the Academy of Sciences and Humanities
  • Expand CLARIAH services for humanities research infrastructures in Germany by granting Text+

5. Cultural Heritage ‘Disseminate Digital Collections’

Deeper development of the historic collection of the library (prints, manuscripts, unpublished works) for research and teaching by providing metadata, digitisation and digital services.

Results 2021

  • Exhibition on the 250th anniversary of the donation of Johann Friedrich Armand von Uffenbach (1687-1769)
  • Development of a conservation plan (and corresponding policies) for all locations of the Göttingen State and University Library
  • Expansion of database services on the SUB website (Anonymen-Lexikon, Catalogus Professorum)
  • Establishment of a workflow ‘Provenance indexing in the Special Collections’
  • Digitisation of medieval manuscripts

Political goal: “Contributing to a global information commons”

Göttingen State and University Library leads and participates in many third party funded projects that are part of the fulfilment of its strategy for 2018-2021 and contribute to a global information commons. We are invested in political groups on scholarship and in scientific management to learn from others, share valuable experience and master the digital transformation together. Our commitment for a research-friendly information infrastructure will be further developed – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.