The strategic plan outlines the goals and objectives of Randolph Library at Miami Coast University from 2012-2014. The plan aims to 1) increase the library's digital presence by redeveloping its website and digitizing more of its collection, 2) redevelop its physical space to encourage collaboration, and 3) support the university's environmental commitments. Key objectives include assessing database subscriptions, expanding access to online resources abroad, and creating new staff positions for an Electronic Resources Librarian and Oceanography Librarian. The plan provides details on implementation, including focus groups, department consultations, and evaluations, to accomplish its vision of developing the library as a global classroom.

1. Miami Coast University, Randolph Library Strategic Plan 2012-2014 1
Strategic Plan
Miami Coast University
Randolph Library
Miami, Florida
Group 8: Marion Couch, Ellie Gehman, Sarah Voels, Bingmei Yan

2. Miami Coast University, Randolph Library Strategic Plan 2012-2014 2
Contents Page
1 Executive Summary 3
1.1 Profile
1.2 A. Phillip Randolph
2 Environmental Scan 5
3 SWOT Analysis 6
3.1 Strength
3.2 Weakness
3.3 Opportunity
3.4 Threat
4 Mission Statement 7
5 Vision Statement 7
6 Core Values 7
7 Goals and Objectives 8
7.1 Increase digital presence
7.2 Redevelop physical presence
7.3 Be an active part in the University’s commitment to the environment
8 Action Plan 9
9 Position Description 12
9.1 Electronic Resources Librarian
9.2 Oceanography Librarian
10 References 16

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1 Executive Summary
1.1 Profile
Randolph Library is proud to be a part of the Miami Coast University tradition of
academic excellence and inclusion. So named for A. Phillip Randolph, the famous Floridian
civil rights activist, the library encourages the highest academics, engagement, and acceptance of
its diverse student body in support of the University’s overall mission. The library began its
humble beginnings with the University in 1891. The area’s churches donated the first collection
of books. The library also solicited books and print materials from area wildlife and agricultural
societies to bolster its collection of materials to support the University’s large biological and
natural sciences programs. These societies were especially generous with their print resources
for the library and encouraged the growth of the library’s collection as well as developed a
lasting partnership between the community and the University. That partnership began by
offering students the opportunity to learn about the local wildlife and agriculture by assisting the
local farmers and fish traders.This partnership continues today with a greater emphasis on ocean
life studies and local food production, which offers students hands-on experience in their fields
of interest while working with the community.Since then, the library has grown to serve its
University with a student population of nearly 40,000 students pursuing undergrad, graduate, and
Doctorate degrees on campus and online.
Randolph Library is situated in northwest Miami, Florida. Surrounding Randolph
Library is a vibrant urban community easily accessed by major interstates as well as the
Metrorail system. Nearby are numerous parks, museums, hospitals, restaurants, clubs, hotels,
and marinas, as well as the Biscayne Bay and Orange Bowl Stadium. The northwest area is

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home to Little Havana and other ethnic neighborhoods that offer abundant food, music, and
cultural experiences.
1.2 A. Phillip Randolph
Asa Phillip Randolph was born on April 15, 1889, the son of the Rev. James William
Randolph and Elizabeth Robinson Randolph, in Crescent City, Florida. The family moved to
Jacksonville in 1891 and took part in the already thriving African American community. The
Randolph familystrongly believedthat character and conduct were more important than race, a
lesson that Randolph carried with him throughout his life.He moved to New York City in 1911
as a young adult with the intent of becoming an actor, but he was not successful in this. He
married Lucille E. Green in 1914; she earned enough money as an entrepreneur to support them
both (they had no children).
Randolph considered himself a socialist and quickly became politically active with his
role as an editor for the Messenger (formerly Hotel Messenger, a publication from Headwaiters
and Sidewaiters Society of Greater New York, a local New York organization). This was an
opportunity for him to publicize his socialist views, which he considered to be more centrist than
existing socialist organizations. In 1925, he was asked to be the President of the newly formed
union, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, made up of African American car porters from the
Pullman Company. With the Selective Service Act of 1947, Randolph pushed for the
desegregation of the armed forces by the creation of the League for Nonviolent Civil
Disobedience Against Military Segregation. He encouraged whites and blacks alike to march on
Washington, D.C. as a show of civil disobedience protesting the segregation of the forces.
President Harry S. Truman ordered the end of segregation in the armed forces on July 26, 1948.
He was later elected Vice-President of American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial

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Organizations (AFL-CIO) in 1955. He died May 16, 1979 in New York City. The library is
named in honor of his work and dedication to desegregation and race relations (AFL-CIO, 2012).
2 Environmental Scan
According to US Census Bureau data from 2010, Randolph Library’s home city of Miami
has a city proper population of 399,457, which has grown 10.2% from 2000. The population’s
median age is 38.8 years, with 18.4% being under 18, 65.6% being ages 18-64, and 16% being
65 or older. Racial data indicates that 97.3% of people identify themselves as being of one race
alone (white 72.6%; black 19.2%); 70% identify their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
58.1% of the residents are foreign born (95.4% born in Latin America), and of those, 58.9% are
not US citizens. Spanish speaking residents make up 70.2% of those speaking a language other
than English and of these, 45.7% speak English “less than very well.” Of those 25 years or older,
only 28% have a high school degree or equivalency and 29.8% have an Associate’s degree or
higher. Only 11.4% of children over 3 are enrolled in a nursery school or kindergarten. Home
ownership rate is 35.6% in Miami, which is 34% lower than Florida overall. 27.3% of its people
live below the poverty level, which is twice as many as Florida overall. Of the 59.7% of the
population over 16 years of age who are employed, roughly 60% work in sales, service, or
transportation jobs. Only 2% work in information and 19.6% in professional services. Median
income for the area is $29,621, which is 40% of that of Florida as a whole (U.S. Census Bureau,
2010).
Randolph Library is a free-standing structure whose seven floors house four technology
and computer resource centers, three technology-equipped classrooms, quiet study and group
study areas, and a number of special collections including the Zora Neale Hurston Harlem
Renaissance Literature and Artifact Collection and the Voyage Room, a collection of literature

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and artifacts on the areas local wildlife. The library also houses over three million volumes of
print materials with access to over 500 databases. Professional staff office space is located on
the third floor with reference services located on the first. Randolph Library was built in 1970
and has undergone several renovations, the last being in 2006, to accommodate the changing
needs of the students and staff.
3 SWOT Analysis
3.1 Strengths:
A dedicatedand flexible staff and alumni community.
A university dedicated to its library services.
Continuing education and training programs for library staff and faculty.
Diverse resource collections and specialized staff.
3.2 Weaknesses:
Aging professional staff leading to a period of high staff turnover.
Environmentally friendly initiatives dependent on the entire library-visiting
community.
High costs of user database subscriptions and an underutilization of open source
software and open access publishing.
3.3 Opportunities:
Miami community represents a richly diverse population with opportunities for
creative learning.
Large population offersa high potential patronage year-round.
3.4 Threats:

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Competition from other area academic libraries.
Coastal location makes library susceptible to natural disaster.
Constant demand for services via multiple user interfaces.
4 Mission Statement
The mission of Randolph Library is to be an active part of the Miami Coast University
community by redefining the classroom through information literacy, collaboration, and
electronic resources.
5 Vision Statement
The vision of Randolph Library is to instill in the Miami Coast University community the
desire to become life-long learners by developing the library as a global classroom with a strong,
dedicated, diverse, and elite physical and digital presence. By working with students, staff,
faculty, alumni, and the community, we will strive to challenge one another to be a bolder, more
inquisitive presence in our communities through the sharing of ideas and opportunities.
6 Core Values
Everyone is capable of asking why, how, when, where, or what. Without prejudice.
Information can be found anywhere,whether in the library, the dorm, or on the other
side of the world through our digital presence.
Our physical location illuminates our diverse academic community through
multicultural aesthetics.
Our commitment to being environmentally friendly is reflective of our students’
commitment to improving the world around them.

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To make a difference in the local and global communities, we must work together
through the sharing of ideas, the utilization of technology, and the building of
collaborative workspaces.
7 Goals
7.1 Increase digital presence.
Redevelop library website to be as student-friendly as possible by meeting an 85%
approval rating via student surveys over the next eighteen months.
Increase publicity and use of digital resources by students, staff, and faculty over the
next two years.
Assess current database subscriptions and cancel those deemed not necessary by
evaluating electronically the number of uses each current subscription has received in
a six-month study.
Digitize 90% of the library’s physical collection(with respect to copyright and
intellectual freedom) over the next five years.
Increase accessibility of library e-resources by 50% to students, staff, and faculty
studying abroad over the next two years.
Reassess and expand the position description for the Electronic Resources Librarians.
7.2 Redevelop physical presence.
Host student focus groups every term to determine the best methods of reaching
students’needs.
Redistribute current library space to encourage collaborative learning over the next
three years.

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Construct a caféin the library within the next year where students, staff, faculty, and
the community are welcome to purchase drinks and light snacks for their time in the
library.
7.3 Be an active part in the University’s commitment to the environment.
Encourage responsible student printing by publicizing double-sided printing options
on the website print page and at print stations.
Purchase 10 containers during the next fiscal cycle in order to double the number of
recycling containers available around the library.
Develop a partnership during the next year with the earth science departments on
campus to use student grown produce in the library café food options.
Increase community involvement by utilizing Miami’s natural offerings with the
immediate creation of an Oceanography Librarian position.
8 Action Plan
8.1 Summary
An action plan is an opportunity to provide as much detail as possible about the
upcoming process of attaining each previously set goal. Our three primary goals have been
previously stated and then expanded with objectives as to how we intend to accomplish that goal.
Here we have further deconstructed our objectives into the individual processes that will allow us
to accomplish each objective as a part of the larger goal.
8.2 Increase digital presence.
Redevelop library website to be as student-friendly as possible by meeting an 85%
approval rating via student surveys over the next eighteen months.

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- Host three student focus groups within the next three months to determine
what web services and information students would like to have access to on
the library website.
- Ask faculty over the next six months via departmental meetings what
resources they would like to have available to their students.
- Involve technology-oriented students in the physical development of a new
website.
- Unveil new website within the next eighteen (18) months.
Increase publicity and use of digital resources by students, staff, and faculty over the
next two years.
- Redevelop library website to be as student-friendly as possible and unveil in
the next eighteen (18) months.
- Invite faculty over the next six months via departmental meetings and e-mails
to hold library instruction sessions on their term schedule to educate students
on library resources.
- Keep daily statistics of Internet traffic to library webpage and its sub-pages.
- Advertise library website around the library with posters located at entrances,
exits, and computer stations.
Assess current database subscriptions and cancel those deemed not necessary by
evaluating electronically the number of uses each current subscription has received in
a six-month study.

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- Ask for input on what databases each department regularly usesor would like
to have access to as part of previously scheduled visits to departmental
meetings over the next six months.
- Evaluate which databases are currently receiving the most traffic over a six-
month time span.
- Cancel subscriptions to databases not being used or not regularly used at end
of six month study.
- Purchase subscriptions to requested databases on a trial basis.
Digitize 90% of the library’s physical collection (with respect to copyright and
intellectual freedom) over the next five years.
- Redevelop library website to be as student-friendly as possible and unveil in
the next eighteen (18) months so that any digitized collection would be readily
accessible.
- Determine, through consultation of copyright and intellectual freedom laws,
what materials can be digitized throughout the five-year process.
- Begin the process of obtaining digitization rights for our most-used items.
- Instruct interested student employees and interns on the digitizing process and
provide a supervisor as the students digitize the library collection throughout
the five-year process.
- Consult with technology services on campus and in community to determine
if an increase in bandwidth allotted will be necessary once the library website
has been redeveloped and new services are offered.

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Increase accessibility of library e-resources by 50% to students, staff, and faculty
studying abroad over the next two years.
- Redevelop library website to be as student-friendly as possible and unveil in
the next eighteen (18) months so that any digitized collection would be readily
accessible.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the connection to university resources from off-
campus networks by requesting input from students, staff, and faculty with
first-hand experience accessing the network from outside its domain within
the next two years.
- Consult foreign academic institutions to determine what needs to be done to
allow our students, staff, and faculty abroad access to library services.
- After consultation with foreign institutions, implement the solutions
determined to make online access easier and more effective.
Reassess and expand the position description for the Electronic Resources Librarians.
- Update the position description for the Electronic Resources Librarian to
include web development immediately.
- Immediately begin the search for a highly qualified Electronic Resources
Librarian so that we will have someone qualified to assist with the redesign of
the library’s digital resources.
8.3 Evaluation
We will evaluate our action plan through patron and staff surveys. These surveys will be
placed electronically on our redeveloped website and physically at our reference desk.
9 Position Description

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9.1 Electronic Resources Librarian
Date Prepared: February 2012
Division: Technical Services
Title: Electronic Resources Librarian
Category: Non-tenured faculty, full-time 12-month appointment
POSITION DESCRIPTION: The Electronic Resources Librarian will be responsible for the
procurement, licensing, and management of the electronic information resources of Randolph
University. The librarian will be responsible for managing metadata and access to the library’s
electronic resources via an online public access catalog and the website. The librarian will also
be responsible for developing licensing policies and renewing and/or licensing new library
resources as needed. The Electronic Resource Librarian will report to the Director of Library
Technical Services.
DUTIES AND RESPOSIBILITIES (include, but are not limited)
Works closely with staff and faculty on administration of existing electronic resources
and development of new resources. Maintains database for tracking licenses and
licensing expressions. Works with the University to resolve licensing and contract issues.
Performs cataloging of electronic resources according to CONSER guidelines,
AACR2rev, and MARC record format as well as local and national standards. Manages
bibliographic record sets for new and ongoing materials for quality control and process
integrity.
Resolves electronic access problems reported by providers, users, and library personnel.
Communicates with stakeholders for purpose of problem resolution, decision making,

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and gathering statistical information on usage. Keeps library staff informed on issues
impacting electronic access.
Manages services offered through Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) and other
linked resources to maintain integrated patron access to electronic resources.
Maintains knowledge of current local and national standards in electronic resources and
automation by participating in regional and national meetings and professional groups.
Maintains and compiles statistical data and analysis for usage, cost, and other studies as
scheduled and on request.
Work with staff on designing and implementing a user-friendly website for the library
that increases accessibility to electronic resources for on-campus and international
students.
Develop a marketing plan to increase use of the library’s e-resources.
Works with the Randolph Library staff to serve as a part of the professional reference
staff assisting all users.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Master’s degree in Library Science from an ALA-accredited program.
At least one year’s experience in AACR2rev, MARC, and LC rules.
Demonstrated knowledge of HTML and web design.
Ability to receive directions and provide directions to others.
Must have excellent problem solving skills.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
Ability to set priorities and adhere to deadlines.
Excellent written and oral communications skills.

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9.2 Oceanography Librarian
Date Prepared: February 2012
Division: Special Collections
Title: Oceanography Librarian; Liaison to Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
Category: Non-tenured faculty, full-time 12-month appointment
POSITION DESCRIPTION: The Oceanography Librarian will be responsible for enhancing the
teaching, learning, and research of Marine and Atmospheric Science through Randolph Library
resources. The librarian will be responsible for the development of library collections related to
oceanography with particular emphasis on Florida, the Caribbean, and Latin American marine
environments. The position will also require the collection of information and resources on
oceanographic and fisheries literature from around the world. Besides common oceanography
literature, the Oceanography Librarian should focus on the collection, storage, and usage of
atlases, maps, nautical charts, expedition reports, and other pertinent print and electronic
resources. The Oceanography Librarian will report to the Head of Preservation and Special
Collections.
DUTIES AND RESPOSIBILITIES (include, but are not limited)
Works closely with staff and faculty on administration of existing marine science
resources and development of new resources. Works with the Electronic Resources
Librarian to procure the necessary databases to serve the research needs of the Marine
Sciences students, staff, and faculty.
Manages the oceanographic print resources collection including the expansion and
collection of such resources.

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Serves as the official Randolph Library liaison to the Marine Sciences program at Miami
Coast University.
Maintains knowledge of current local and national standards in marine science by
participating in regional and national meetings and professional groups.
Works with the Randolph Library staff to serve as a part of the professional reference
staff assisting all users.
QUALIFICATIONS:
Master’s degree in Library Science from an ALA-accredited program.
Master’s degree or higher in Biology, Oceanography, Marine Science, Marine Biology,
Ocean Science or other related field from an accredited program.
At least two years professional experience with oceanography or ocean science
collection.
Ability to receive directions and provide directions to others.
Must have excellent problem solving skills.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
Ability to set priorities and adhere to deadlines.
Excellent written and oral communications skills.
10 References
AFL-CIO. (2012). Asa Phillip Randolph (1889-1972). Retrieved from
http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/history/history/randolph.cfm
Google Maps.(2012).Miami, Florida.Retrieved from: http://maps.google.com/
Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Public Library System.(2011). About Us. Retrieved from
http://www.mdpls.org/info/aboutus.asp

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University of Miami Libraries.(2006). Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Library.Retrieved from http://www.library.miami.edu/rsmaslib/.
U.S. Census Bureau (2010).State and County QuickFacts for Miami, Florida.Retrieved from
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/1245000.html
U.S. Census Bureau (2006-2010). DP02 Selected Social Characteristics in the United States
2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved from
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
U.S. Census Bureau (2006-2010). DP03 Selected Economic Characteristics in the United States
2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Retrieved from
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk