The Kansas State University Library Strategic Plan 2011-2013 outlines priorities and an action plan to guide the library system over three years. The library recently reorganized into four divisions and consolidated services at a single help desk. Key priorities include careful stewardship of resources through updating collections policies, enhancing user services and systems, and fostering collaborative partnerships across campus. The action plan details goals and objectives to address each priority, such as moving more collections online, strengthening outreach, and creating an institutional repository through Digital Commons to showcase faculty research and support open access publishing. Metrics and timelines are established to monitor progress in achieving the strategic goals.

1. Kansas State University Library
Strategic Plan 2011-2013
Panayiotis Stathopoulos
Stephenie Heinz
Patricia Peterson
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2. Table of Contents
Executive Summary …………………………..……………….. 3
Introduction ………………………………………….…..……….. 4
Organization ………………………………..……………..4
Vision, Values, Mission ............................................. 4
Planning Team …………………………………………………… 5
Planning Factors ..………………………………………………..5
Current Reality ……………..……………………………………..6
Environmental Scan………………….………………….6
SWOT Analysis…………………………………………….6
Organizational Performance………………………...7
Gap Analysis………………………………………………..7
New Priorities…………………………………………………..…..8
Strategic Profile…………………………………………...8
Future Vision……………………………………………….8
Action Plan……………………………………………………...…….9
Priority A………………………………………………….….9
Priority B……………………………………………………10
Priority C……………………………………………………11
Timeline……………………………………………………..12
Contingencies……………………………………………..14
Budget……………………………………………………………........15
Concluding Remarks………………………………….…...…...16
References………………………………………………...…………17
Appendix…………………………………………………...…………18
Summary Report of Team Activities……………………..20
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3. Executive Summary
Kansas State University (K-State) located in Manhattan, Kansas, serves a population
of over 23,000 students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries. The university has a
library system that includes the main campus library as well as specialized libraries in the
fields of Architecture, Engineering, Math, and Veterinary Medicine.
Within the past year the K-State library system has completed the final steps of a
multi-year reorganization project designed to align the library system more closely with
current and future trends in technology and educational delivery systems. This
realignment effort created four separate divisions within the library system:
 The Content Management Scholarly Communications Division
Contains such things as the functional aspect of collection development, interlibrary
loan, metadata and digital development.
 The Research, Education, and Engagement Division
Arranged by academic level rather than discipline with categories for
undergraduate/community service, graduate/faculty and archives/special collections.
 The Administrative and IT Services Division
Contains technology, financial, human resources and building services.
 The Assessment and Public Relations Division
Handles matters related to events and exhibits as well as external communication and
research and development support.
Hale Library as the main campus library is the site of much of the activity within the
library system and as such must be designed to provide the maximum amount of service
possible to all students and faculty members. With this in mind the library help desk was
redesigned to replace the multiple access points that were previously used to deliver
various services throughout the library. Services such as interlibrary loan, circulation,
reference and reserve requests that were previously handled at separate locations within
the library have all been consolidated into a single help desk location. Another redesign
project to completely reconfigure the 2nd floor InfoCommons area is currently in progress
with an anticipated completion date of summer 2011.
The Purple Academics committee has established the following priorities to be
addressed by the strategic plan we are proposing:
 Priority A: Careful stewardship of resources
 Priority B: Enhanced systems to ensure user success in library
 Priority C: Collaborative partnerships across the university based on analysis of
environment and innovative approaches to critical inquiry and knowledge
production.
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4. The committee is attempting with this plan to more closely align the K-State
libraries with the service deliver options required to provide competitive services to all
students, staff and faculty members.
Introduction
The expectations of university library users are changing rapidly along with their
level of technological competence. Added to this is the rising cost of maintaining print
collections and subscriptions. For these reasons it is becoming imperative that university
libraries investigate fully the possibilities of digital materials in regards to collection
development and maintenance.
The Organization
The K-State libraries are organized into four separate divisions. A complete organizational
chart is included. (Table 2, Appendix)
Vision
We aspire to be a leading intellectual and learning environment that anticipates and
creatively fulfills the needs of our communities by funding, acquiring, and organizing a
diverse array of resources and providing personalized expert assistance.
Values
We respect and protect the right to explore all points of view and the right to privacy. We
encourage interaction with any individual or group and treat all people with respect,
dignity, and courtesy. We consider many viewpoints before making decisions and
encourage creativity, risk-taking, and innovation. We spend our money wisely and in ways
that afford the broadest benefit to our users. We create an environment that promotes
ongoing learning for ourselves and our users.
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5. Mission
We guide our community in its quest for intellectual discovery and lifelong learning. We
advance the creation, sharing, and preservation of knowledge at Kansas State University.
The new mission will be to move more of the collection and services online.
Planning Team
The Purple Academics Planning Committee team was responsible for drafting, revising
and finalizing the strategic plan. The committee consists of the following members:
 Panayiotis Stathopoulos
Project Leader, compiled the new priorities and action plan sections of the
document.
 Stephenie Heinz
Secretary, compiled the current reality section of the document and meeting
minutes.
 Patricia Peterson
Team Member, compiled the organizational profile and preparation/planning
sections of the document.
Planning Factors
The K-State libraries system has already made significant progress towards creating
and maintaining digital content which makes this aspect of strategic planning much easier.
The library currently maintains two different web sites dedicated to digital content. The
research and extension department website has a collection which includes the following
subject areas: 4H, Crops, Economics, Environment and Natural Resources, Equipment and
Structures, Food, Forestry, Health and Safety, Home and Family, Insects, Lawn and Garden,
Livestock and Research and Extension. The K-State Research Exchange (K-REx)
http://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/ is a service to preserve and provide permanent access to
scholarly materials created by K-State faculty and students. Materials available in K-REx
include journal articles, conference papers, technical reports, white papers, electronic
thesis/dissertation/reports (ETDR) and other digital resources. Part of the strategic plan
proposed by the Purple Academics team involves moving the K-State Research Exchange
website from DSpace to Digital Commons for increased efficiency and functionality.
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6. Current Reality
Environmental Scan
 Money/Funding
Hale Library at Kansas State University is located in a smaller metropolitan area that
has been influenced by the recent economic recession. However, the university and the
presence of Fort Riley military base nearby allow for much of the economic stability in the
community. The area is rural agrarian, with significant agricultural influence both on the
university and the city as a whole.
 Space
Collection growth is essential to maintaining the library’s stance as an information
stronghold for the campus and the community. In order to keep up with the larger,
wealthier libraries of Kansas University in Lawrence, KS and the libraries of metropolitan
Kansas City, Hale library must adapt its space to accommodate the growing collection. Also
digitization and cooperation with other libraries through interlibrary loan services are an
essential area for future growth as well. Refusal to concentrate on collection development
and digital services will decrease student recruitment for the university and cause
information seekers to look elsewhere.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
 The library’s strengths lie in its ability to function as a team unit in
progressing towards goals and objectives.
 Outstanding interlibrary loan services, reference librarian services,
information and computer technological services
Weaknesses
 Facility updating and modernization,
 Lack of space, inability to expand current buildings and storage spaces
 Minimal specialized programming and community outreach activities
Opportunities
 Our current external opportunities include continuous growth in student and
community participation through awareness workshops, constant presence
at university and community functions.
 Hale wishes to remain relevant to the student body as well as to the larger
academic research community and can do so through increasing our online
collection of information resources.
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7.  The library can improve by incorporating more team organization and group
management styles to increase employee input in the decision-making
process.
Threats
 Budget cuts and funding always present a threat to the library system.
 Lacking multicultural and bilingual services
Organizational Performance
Performance analysis will be undertaken to monitor and document progress
towards library goals and objectives to ensure alignment with library’s mission and vision
statement, guiding values. Inventory will be taken of the current assessment methods
while evaluating their effectiveness and integration with institutional and library planning
and decision-making processes. Design and implementation methods to assess library
performance and customer value, highlighting a set of key outcome-based performance
measures such as digitization of library collection and community and student outreach
goals.
Gap Analysis
The results of the performance analysis will show a gap between the goals of the
strategic plan and the current realities of the library and staff performance. Improvements
in current acquisition policies as well as the movement towards increasing our digital
collection will enhance the resource selection process and information access in the future
and increase quality and quantity of resources provided to the library’s patrons. The
current reference tools and librarian services are adequate for the present capacity of the
library, however, as technology moves forward, so must the library’s ability to reach the
patrons and vice versa through the use of user-friendly access tools. The performance
analysis will also conclude that increasing collaborative partnership between departments
is necessary to improve the flow of knowledge production within the library.
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8. New Priorities
Strategic Profile
The future of libraries resides in the digital realm. Successful libraries across the
country and around the world are focusing their efforts on providing access to their users,
through collaboration and via licenses, to online journals, books, and other print materials.
In addition, successful libraries recognize the wealth of information at their own
universities and strive, through data curation programs, to connect the work of scholars
across the disciplines. Data sets of all kinds are uploaded into searchable university
databases that encourage collaborative efforts in the areas of pedagogy and research. One
means is by an institution joining the Digital Commons. Currently Kansas State University
participates in DSpace, but plans to join Digital Commons because of the latter’s enhanced
features for connectivity across universities and options for establishing open access self
publishing in the form of refereed (supported by software) online journals. In addition, it
will enhance user access to materials around the world as the university refocuses its
acquisition efforts toward online materials.
(See, in particular: Jean-Gabriel Bankier and Irene Perciali, “The Institutional Repository Rediscovered: What
Can a University Do for Open Access Publishing?” http://works.bepress.com/jean_gabriel_bankier/1)
Future Vision
In the coming years, Kansas State University will connect both its mission as a
university and its digital collection to the goal of global service in agriculture, science, and
technology. Thus, the library and its staff will serve the university both at the local and
global level, accessing materials from other places and making the products of K State
accessible to the world.
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9. Action Plan
Mission/Vision:
To acquire, organize, and preserve the scholarly record and to provide services and tools
for users to access this information for purposes of teaching, learning, and research, that is,
the creation of knowledge.
Priority A:
Careful stewardship of resources
Goal: Address rising costs of print and electronic serial publications and books
through updated prioritization and selection system (see Table 1, “K State Library
Collections,” Appendix)
Objective 1A: Review and revise current collection acquisition practices
Strategies:
o Study the usage of our collections, the current and future needs of users, and
make informed decisions about collections development and management
o Implement a comprehensive development and management policy for
collections in order to base future acquisitions on user needs and
institutional strengths
Metrics:
 Product: Collection usage (print materials circulation report and online
database usage report for last five years) and user survey report by The
Content Management Scholarly Communications Division
 Product: Updated collections development and management policy by The
Content Management Scholarly Communications Division
Objective 2A: Move more of our collection and services online.
Strategies:
o Expand the use of consortia, collaboration, and outsourcing in order to
contain the cost of selecting, purchasing, processing, housing, and preserving
collections
o Expand cooperative relationships in which other institutions provide
materials in areas outside our strengths
o Assess acquisitions/collections services to reallocate resources and eliminate
services no longer needed
o Establish criteria for long range maintenance and storage of collections
o Work with vendors for licensing terms that maximize cost-effective
access to the electronic scholarly resources needed by users
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10. Metrics:
 Product: Consortia/Collaboration/Outsourcing report by The Content
Management Scholarly Communications Division
 Product: Vendor/Licensing Terms report by acquisitions divisions team
 Product: Acquisitions/collections services personnel report by division
heads team and director
 Product: Physical space usage report by director and division heads team
 Product: Revised budget that institutes a 5% overall decrease in annual
expenditures for library collection by reallocating funds toward electronic
journals and e-book access and away from print journal subscriptions and
print copies of books
Priority B:
Enhanced systems to ensure user success in library
Goal: Strengthen the ability of library personnel to address user needs through
streamlined services and user-friendly tools.
Objective 1B: Revitalize the Libraries’ relationship with and ability to deliver
services to students and faculty.
Strategies:
o Strengthen outreach activities so users know about Libraries’ services
o Expand Libraries’ role on University multidisciplinary research teams,
contributing experience as professional information consultants
o Review and revise library services delivery approach, focusing on library
web page usage and ease of use
o Publicize Libraries’ mission and services to university
Metrics:
 Product: Report on current and proposed outreach activities by The
Research, Education, and Engagement Division
 Product: Report on outreach efforts, current assistance provided by
librarians to faculty research, and survey of faculty on current
multidisciplinary research projects across campus by The Research,
Education, and Engagement Division
 Product: Report on library services (including web page services) with
proposed revisions by division heads and The Research, Education, and
Engagement Division
 Product: University-wide marketing campaign on library services developed
by division heads, library director, and The Assessment and Public Relations
Division
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11. Priority C:
Collaborative partnerships across the university based on analysis of environment
and innovative approaches to critical inquiry and knowledge production
Goal: Establish connections with all departments and divisions, gathering
information on teaching, learning, and research challenges connected with library.
Objective 1C: Revise library instructional practices for users.
Strategies:
o Enhance users’ understanding of the complexities of the information
environment and help them become more adept at conducting effective
searches, evaluating information sources, analyzing information needs, and
using information effectively
Metrics:
 Product: Report on current practices and proposed revisions to instructional
services to library users, focusing on underrepresented groups by The
Research, Education, and Engagement Division
Goal: Create interdisciplinary connection opportunities for scholars via digital
collection project.
Objective 2C: Discover, capture, preserve, and make available digital, research,
knowledge, and information assets created or collected by users.
Strategies:
o Enhance the Libraries’ role in the University digital information
environment, particularly the role in the creation, maintenance, preservation,
storage, and sharing of the University’s digital information and scholarship
by shifting K-State’s participation in DSpace to a membership in Digital
Commons
o Revise faculty members’ understanding of institutional repositories from
static archives into an active place for scholarly activities by introducing
SelectedWorks (integrated within Digital Commons) which makes faculty
members’ websites the points of entry, controlled by the faculty member, for
showcasing their personal—and ongoing—research
o Support open access publishing by serving as an online, open access
Publisher of faculty created, refereed online journals via Digital Commons
rather than DSpace
o Review the University’s special collections, records management, and
University archives programs and develop recommendations to address the
lifecycle management and long-term preservation of University records and
personal papers in all formats
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12. Metrics:
o Product: Data Curation Committee (a team within The Content Management
Scholarly Communications Division) will identify and articulate the Libraries’
changing role in the University digital information environment (i.e.,
creation, maintenance, preservation, storage, and sharing of the University’s
digital information and scholarship) via a web presence and outreach
workshops. Further, the committee will address, as part of its mission, the
strategies above. The committee will be comprised of representatives from
each library division and will address the following metrics.
o Product: Report on shifting K-State’s open access publishing and other
digital efforts from DSpace to a membership in Digital Commons
o Product: Outreach workshops and documents for faculty members on the
opportunities for and benefits of hosting and promoting (as well as
archiving) active research endeavors
o Product: Report on joining VIVO (“an open-source semantic web application
that enables the discovery of research and scholarship across the disciplines
at an institution”).
From: VIVO: Enabling national networking of scientists: Reference guide for manual data
input. V. 1.1., p. 2
Timeline for Completing Strategic Plan
Year One
Teams addressing Priorities A, B, & C begin work of gathering and analyzing data.
Teams for Priority A: The Content Management Scholarly Communications Division
Teams for Priority B: The Research, Education, and Engagement Division and The
Administrative and IT Services Division
Teams for Priority C: The Research, Education, and Engagement Division, The
Content Management Scholarly Communications Division (with representation from
each library division)
Completion of Priority A at end of Year One: Careful stewardship of resources
 Product: Collection usage (print materials circulation report and online
database usage report for last five years) and user survey report by The
Content Management Scholarly Communications Division
 Product: Updated collections development and management policy by The
Content Management Scholarly Communications Division and division heads
 Product: Consortia/Collaboration/Outsourcing report by The Content
Management Scholarly Communications Division
 Product: Vendor/Licensing Terms report by The Content Management
Scholarly Communications Division
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13.  Product: Acquisitions/collections services personnel report by division
heads team and director
 Product: Physical space usage report by director and division heads team
 Product: Revised budget that institutes a 5% overall decrease in annual
expenditures for library collection by reallocating funds toward electronic
journals and e-book access and away from print journal subscriptions and
print copies of books
Year Two
Completion of Priority B at end of Year Two: Enhanced systems to ensure user success
in library
 Product: Report on current and proposed outreach activities by The
Research, Education, and Engagement Division
 Product: Report on outreach efforts, current assistance provided by
librarians to faculty research, and survey of faculty on current
multidisciplinary research projects across campus by The Research,
Education, and Engagement Division
 Product: Report on library services (including web page services) with
proposed revisions by division heads and The Research, Education, and
Engagement Division
 Product: University-wide marketing campaign on library services developed
by division heads, library director, and The Assessment and Public Relations
Division
Year Three
Completion of Priority C at end of Year Three: Collaborative partnerships across the
university based on analysis of environment and innovative approaches to critical
inquiry and knowledge production
o Product: Data Curation Committee (a team within The Content Management
Scholarly Communications Division) will identify and articulate the Libraries’
changing role in the University digital information environment (i.e.,
creation, maintenance, preservation, storage, and sharing of the University’s
digital information and scholarship) via a web presence and outreach
workshops. Further, the committee will address, as part of its mission, the
strategies above. The committee will be comprised of representatives from
each library division and will address the following metrics.
o Product: Report on shifting K-State’s open access publishing and other
digital efforts from DSpace to a membership in Digital Commons
o Product: Outreach workshops and documents for faculty members on the
opportunities for and benefits of hosting and promoting (as well as
archiving) active research endeavors
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14. o Product: Report on joining VIVO (“an open-source semantic web application
that enables the discovery of research and scholarship across the disciplines
at an institution”).
From: VIVO: Enabling national networking of scientists: Reference guide for manual data
input. V. 1.1., p. 2
Contingencies
A variety of factors, anticipated and un-anticipated, will impact the strategic planning of the
Kansas State University libraries. The following list, though not exhaustive, illustrates
potential challenges for and responses to this strategic plan:
Anticipated Contingencies
Based on reports from the chief academic officer of the university, budget lines for all
academic divisions will remain flat in the coming year (at minimum), requiring creative
solutions to acquisitions, delivery systems, and staffing of services.
Following the midterm elections, federal and state funding for university programs and
student aid will be under review; cuts in all areas are expected. Realignment of budget
priorities at the university level will follow.
Acceptance, rejection, or request for resubmission of proposals for external grant funding
for library projects that are in the “pipeline” will occur in the next twelve months.
A new university-wide fund raising initiative, focused on supporting academic divisions,
will not be launched until August 2012.
Unanticipated Contingencies
In the event that library staff members depart from the university (none expected), their
lines will not be replaced, requiring creative solutions to staffing issues in the affected
department(s).
On occasion, gifts to the university (sometimes given anonymously and without advance
notice) are directed toward supporting the library.
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15. Budget
Hale Library
______________FY 2010 FY2011
SLRY/BN OOE Total SLRY/BN OOE Total
7,002,053 6,690,590 13,692.643 $ 7,119,576 6,631,074 13,750,650
Legend:
FY (Fiscal Year) SLRY/BN (Salary & Benefits) OOE (Operations & Other Expenses)
$ (Dollar amounts in millions)
For complete K-State Budget: http://www.k-state.edu/budget/mc1.pdf
As the Table above indicates, from the 2010 to 2011 fiscal years, there has been an annual
total increase of approximately $57,000. In the 2011 fiscal year, the need to increase Salary
& Benefits by approximately $117,000 resulted in a decrease from the 2010 fiscal year, in
the Operations & Other Expenses line of fiscal year 2011, of approximately $59,000.
Current Library Budget
Automation
Books &
3%
Binding
Digital Content 12% Salaries and Fringe Benefits
3%
Collections
Salaries and Digital Content
Fringe
Collections Benefits Automation
30% 52% Books & Binding
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16. Proposed Budget Changes
Books & Binding
Automation 9%
3%
Digital Content
6%
Salaries & Fringe Benefits
Collections
Digital Content
Salaries & Fringe
Collections Benefits Automation
30% 52% Books & Binding
Concluding Remarks
Implementation of this strategic plan is vital to the continued success of the K State
library system. The changes proposed by the Purple Academics team will allow the library
system to increase the relevancy and currency of library systems and services. In
particular the expansion of digital content and improved service delivery will assure that
Kansas State University remains in a strong position nationally and is positioned to expand
internationally.
The goals set forth in the strategic plan are achievable even within the context of the
current economic climate. Although budget constraints will certainly present challenges
the overarching goals should be obtainable even within those parameters.
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17. References
Bankier, J.G. & Perciali, I. (2008). The institutional repository rediscovered: What can a
university do for an open-access publishing? Serials Review, 1-12.
doi:10.1016/j.serrev.2007.12.003
Retrieved from
http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=jean_gabriel_bankier
Kansas State University. (2010). Collection/summary statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.lib.k-state.edu/geninfo/docs/currentsummarystats.pdf
Kansas State University. (2011). FY2011 annual budget summaries. Retrieved from
http://www.k-state.edu/budget/mc1.pdf
Kansas State University. (2010). Organizational chart. Retrieved from http://www.lib.k-
state.edu/depts/prmc/orgchart.pdf
VIVO: Enabling National Networking of Scientists (2010). Reference guide for manual data
input (Version 1.1) [Software]. Available from
http://vivoweb.org/files/UserGuide_ManualDataEntry_V1.1.pdf
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18. Appendix
Table 1: Strategic Plan Library Collection Information
Kansas State University Libraries
COLLECTION INFORMATION
FY2010 FY2009 FY2008
VOLUMES IN LIBRARY 2,725,187 2,495,213 2,258,247
Net volumes added 298,425 184,589 458,268
Titles 1,333,057 1,325,320 1,290,687
Volumes 1,351,644 1,342,207 1,303,154
Ebook Titles 644,216 470,830 394,213
SERIALS 63,643 58,191 44,157
Number of e-serials patrons have access to 57,358 46,546 32,957
MICROFORM UNITS 1,641,887 1,572,254 1,52,287
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS 24,328 24,300 24,034
COMPUTER FILES 7,210 6,939 6,824
MANUSCRIPTS & ARCHIVES 25,402 25,232 24,100
AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS TOTALS
Cartographic 90,126 90,756 30,497
Graphic 4,242 2,752 3,853
Audio 24,384 22,215 19,261
Audio (emusic) 7,129 5,679 4,619
Video 10,501 9,234 8,218
Video (evideo) 453 3 n/a
AV NON PRINT TOTAL 136,835 130,639 66,448
Table 2: Strategic Plan Library Usage Information
MISCELLANEOUS USAGE
ILL USAGE
Yearly ILL Loaned 22,486 21,127 23,942
Yearly ILL Borrowed 44,473 37,129 32,847
YEARLY CIRCULATION 121,821 119,756 122,818
PRESENTATIONS
Attendance 12,475 11,694 10,481
Sessions 600 550 585
REFERENCE TRANSACTIONS
Reference Transactions 40,293 29,382 27,183
BOOK REPAIR 2,219 3,124 2,176
Adapted from: http://www.lib.k-state.edu/geninfo/docs/currentsummarystats.pdf
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19. Figure 1: Kansas State University Libraries Organizational Chart
Larry
Johnson
Dean
Cynthia Robert Violet Kathryn Daniel Janet
Dickens Stevenson Williams Vanderbilt Russell Schuler
Assistant Assistant Dean Human Technical
Resources Assistant Dean Assistant
Dean Content Research & Services
Director Student Director Dean
Management Education Services
Marcia Jennifer
Terri O'Neal Dalloway Stanley Collins McMillan
Head, Content Head, Special Head, Graduate Head,
Development & Collections Services Undergraduate
Acquisitions Services
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20. Summary Report of
Team Project Activities
Stephenie Heinz, Patricia Peterson, Panayiotis Stathopoulos
Emporia State University
LI 805
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21. Team Narrative
Bruce Tuckman’s group development theory of the 1960’s has long been the
foundation for studies and literature reviews concerning how multi-person teams interact,
create, and perform within the organizational and business infrastructure. In Library and
Information Center Management, Stueart and Moran explain Tuckman’s theory of group
development and also group management structures. They write, “people who are asked to
work together for the first time have to get to know each other and learn how to work
together” (Stuert & Moran 2007). The stages of the group development, forming, storming,
norming, performing, and adjourning are basic concepts upon which to build if a group is to
succeed in its goals and objectives. Within our own group, The Purple Academics, each
stage of Tuckman’s theory is represented as we progressed towards our end goal of
producing the strategic plan document and presentation.
Tuckman’s initial stage in which the introductions, and initial reactions to other
individuals occurs is called forming. It is the stage in which the group dynamic is
established and the hierarchical structure is beginning to form. In our group, the forming
stage is where we decided where we would be on the hierarchical structure. Stephenie
volunteered to do the work of the secretary for the group, while Panayiotis agreed to
become the group’s leader. The initial discussions of the forming stage included ideas about
which direction to go in deciding how the Strategic Plan would come to fruition as well as
how the group would communicate. As research has shown, the forming stage is the most
uncomfortable of the five stages because it is where the personalities of the individuals
begin to arise. For example either natural leaders take over the group or there is a lack of
decision-making due to suppressive societal instincts and a wish to please or gain approval.
In our group, the forming stage was a tentative one in which each of us was ‘getting a feel’
for one another and gathering ideas on how each would contribute to the group.
The second stage of Tuckman’s theory, storming, is one in which patience and
tolerance are important factors in the success of the team. The members of the group are
beginning to open up to each other and express their inner feelings and personal opinions
as to how to approach the goals and directives of the project. For our strategic plan group,
this stage began around the second meeting. Individual brainstorming had occurred and
we began to decide the uncomplicated initial factors such as location, library type, and size.
We also felt more comfortable with each other so we could express how we really felt
about each of these topics and could discuss more openly how we were going to proceed
through the strategic plan. This storming stage is important in setting the tone for the rest
of the group’s time together and we realized that members of our group work well
together, are agreeable and open to new ideas and differing perspectives. These factors
allowed us to progress successfully forward to the norming stage of group development.
The norming stage begins as the group decides on one goal and one plan as to how
to carry out its objectives. This stage allows for a certain amount of individual autonomy
concerning their sections of work, while providing opportunities for feedback by the group.
Individuals are trusted to work without constant feedback and supervision by other
members. During this stage, our group divided the plan rubric into sections and decided on
a time to have our individual sections completed. We also allowed time for group review
and feedback. The members were also flexible and understanding of each other if other
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22. parts of our busy lives interfered with our deadlines. The group’s ability to work
individually toward our common goal and produce results efficiently and on time were
important to the success of our team.
The fourth stage of Tuckman’s theory, performing, involves cooperation and
progressively working towards the group’s end goals. It is here that the group is inherently
independent and motivated, as well as able to make decisions autonomously. Our group
reached the performing stage around our third and fourth meetings. We had reached a
level of comfort with expressing our ideas and each had trust that the other individuals
within the group were working diligently and would make good on their promises to post
their respective sections by the deadline. We could see the results of our efforts and as our
strategic plan came together, Patti remarked that although the strategic plan assignment
seemed daunting at first, she was surprised at how quickly the group was able to assemble
the working document and was overly pleased with the work the group had accomplished
thus far.
The final stage of Tuckman’s theory is adjourning. This process can include
happiness or sadness, as well as anger and frustration depending on how successful the
team was at achieving its objectives. Members of the group can feel a sense of
accomplishment and can also feel sad about the ending of a productive alliance. Our group
has mixed feelings about the adjournment and conclusion of this project. We are optimistic
about the work we put into the strategic plan document and presentation, encouraged by
the knowledge that we have each learned from the other members of our group, confident
about future group projects, and perhaps even a little sad that such a great group
experience is ending. Furthermore, the application of Tuckman’s group development
theory to our own group’s progress over the last six weeks has presented us with the
opportunity to review how a group interacts with one another to progress towards their
goals. We realize that cooperation and a willingness to embrace new perspectives is key to
a successful team interaction.
Stueart, R.D. & Moran, B.B. (2007). Library and information center management. Colorado:
Libraries Unlimited.
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23. MINUTES OF MEETING 1
Date: Saturday January 22, 2011 1:30 PM Venue: ESU Classroom
Attendees: Panayiotis Stathopoulos, Patti Peterson, Stephenie Heinz
Minutes Taken By: Stephenie Heinz
Issues By Discussion & Decision Responsible Deadline
Type of library All  Academic-all signed up for an All- each look up 3 2/07/2011
Academic vs. academic library group, Patti-Washburn,
other  Decision to model after nearby JCCC, WSU
Private vs. larger academic Stephenie-KU, KSU,
public universities/libraries, look at MU
how strategic/budget issues Panayiotis-UNO,
are addressed. UNL, UofI
Location, size, Panayiotis,  Location-Kansas/undecided all 2/07/2011
w/ library Patti discussed include isolated,
school, degrees centralized near other major
offered libraries.
 Size- 20,000+. No library
school, full range of degrees
 Community size and
demographic
Current Realities all  Drivers, trends facing all 2/7/2011
academic librariesgoals for
our academic library plan
Goals for library Stephenie  Community outreach all 2/07/2011
plan  digitization
 provide information access
Future All  File exchange posts All 1/22/2011
Communications  Discussion board
 Adobe connect
 Email, Text/phone calls
Goals for next Stephenie  Post info on nearby All 2/2/2011
meeting institutions to file exchange by
2/2/11
Team Name all Undecided All 2/7/2011
Date of Next Meeting: 2/7/2011 7:30 PM
Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Conclude at 3 PM.
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24. MINUTES OF MEETING 2
Date: Monday February 7, 2011 7:30 PM Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Attendees: Panayiotis Stathopoulos, Patti Peterson, Stephenie Heinz
Minutes Taken By: Stephenie Heinz
Issues By Discussion & Decision Responsible Deadline
Goals for Panayiotis  Decide library all 2/7/2011
Meeting  Discuss mission statement
 Assign sections of paper
 Set next meeting/deadline
Name all  Discuss -near other schools, all 2/7/2011
and wanted library to be sole
location source of info for
of library surrounding communities
 Discuss-Demographics of
KSU
 Decided Kansas State
University; isolated, not near
other schools; work with
Hale, central library only
Mission Panayiotis  Agreed upon mission all 2/07/2011
Statement statement from Panayiotis’
observations of other libraries
on discussion board.
Division Panayiotis  Suggest division as follows: all 2/21/2011
of Work Patti-Overview,
Organizational profile,
Preparation & Planning.
Stephenie-Current Realities,
minutes. Panayiotis-New
priorities, Action plan.
 Budget, Contingencies,
conclusion, presentation, and
Tuckman’s theory to be
decided.
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25. Goals & Patti  Discuss- further discuss of all 2/21/2011
priorities digitization and community
for outreach as goals to
library accomplish.
 Discuss Panayiotis’ ideas
from discussion board based
on nearby libraries
 Agreed to review Panayiotis’
submission of goals and
action plan on 2/21
Team All  Tria librarians, Purple all 2/9/2011
Name Academics, Manhattans
Format of Stephenie  Panayiotis suggests word all 2/21/2011
Strategic template through discussion
Plan board
 All-agreed on the use of a
word template
Goals for Stephenie  Panayiotis to email word all 2/21/2011
next template to group
meeting  Post individual portions of
plan to file exchange by 2/20-
2/21 to review before
meeting on 2/21.
 Email instructor team name
asap
Date of Next Meeting: 2/21/2011 7:00 PM
Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Conclude at 8 PM.
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26. MINUTES OF MEETING 3
Date: Monday February 21, 2011 7:15 PM Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Attendees: Panayiotis Stathopoulos, Patti Peterson, Stephenie Heinz
Minutes Taken By: Stephenie Heinz
Issues By Discussion & Decision Responsible Deadline
Goals for Stephenie  Budget all 2/28/2011
Meeting  Appendices
 Contingencies
 Concluding Remarks
 Tuckman’s theory
 Time management
Format of all  Discuss-review of individual’s all 2/28/2011
Strategic plan work is satisfactory; Patti’s
template is agreed upon.
 Panayiotis suggests pictures
from KSU to supplement
document-Stephenie
volunteers to take pictures.
Appendices Patti,  Discuss-what is to be all 2/28/2011
Panayiotis included in appendices.
 Decided-2 appendices:
organizational chart of our
library, KSU collection
informaion
Further Division Stephenie  Patti-combine all parts into all 2/28/2011
of Work one draft document, draft
concluding remarks
 Stephenie-draft of Tuckman’s
theory and take picture of
campus library for document
 Panayiotis- draft contingencies
Format for Stephenie  Discuss-Powerpoint as all 2/28/2011
presentation medium for presentation
 Decided- Agreed on
powerpoint, to be discussed in
upcoming meetings.
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27. Budget all  Discuss-fictional vs actual all 2/28/2011
budget
 Decided-each look up budgets
from similar institutions to get
an idea on what to include
Goals for next all  Budget 2/28/2011
meeting  Review individual parts
 Time management
 Discuss presentation
Further all  Discussion board postings all 2/21/11-
communications  File exchange 2/28/11
 Email
Date of Next Meeting: 2/28/2011 7:00PM.
Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Conclude at 8:05 PM.
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28. MINUTES OF MEETING 4
Date: Monday February 28, 2011 7:00 PM Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Attendees: Panayiotis Stathopoulos, Patti Peterson, Stephenie Heinz
Minutes Taken By: Stephenie Heinz
Issues By Discussion & Decision Responsible Deadline
Goals for Panayiotis  Powerpoint Presentation all 3/6/2011
Meeting  Division of future work
 Budget
Budget all  Discuss-fictional or actual Patti 3/6/2011
budget, what to include, what
to omit, line-item budget?
 Full budget is overwhelming,
hard w/ limited time,
 Decide-Stephenie suggests to
leave overall budget as is,
supplement with line-item for
changes from plan. All agreed.
Patti agrees to put together
budget w/ help from group.
Presentation Patti  Discuss-division of slides for all 3/7/2011
presentation
 Decided-each do own part for
slides, Stephenie will complete
Contingencies slides also,
powerpoint slides to be
completed by Monday, Plan
parts to be completed by
Monday 3/7
Appendices Panayiotis  Discuss-organizational chart all 3/7/2011
for library, library collections
information, Patti reminds us
to include tuckman’s theoy in
appendices & presentation
 Decide-all will be included in
presentation, Stephenie to
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29. complete slides.
Goals for next all  Presentation slides to be done 3/7//2011
meeting by Sunday/Monday.
 See what progress we have
made by Sunday
Further all  Discussion board postings all 2/28/11-
communications  File exchange 3/7/2011
 Email
Date of Next Meeting: 3/7/2011
Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Conclude at 8:10 PM.
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30. MINUTES OF MEETING 5
Date: Monday March 7, 2011 7:00 PM Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom
Attendees: Panayiotis Stathopoulos, Patti Peterson, Stephenie Heinz
Minutes Taken By: Stephenie Heinz
Issues By Discussion & Decision Responsible Deadline
Goals for Panayiotis,  Finalize Plan document, all 3/9/2011
Meeting Stephenie discuss finishing touches and
submission information
 Further discuss Powerpoint
Presentation
Powerpoint Stephenie  Discuss-Stephenie copied into all 3/9/2011
presentation one powerpoint document.
 Decide-Patti to choose color
scheme, fonts and background
design; group decides to
finalize plan, then work on
presentation
Plan document Patti  Discuss- Finishing touches: all 3/8/2011
reference list, page numbers,
appendices, photo placement
 Decided- finish individual
changes by 3/8
Submission of Panayiotis  Discuss-submission time, who Panayiotis 3/9/2011
document will submit
 Decide-all will finish sections
by evening of 3/8, Panayiotis
will post final version for
review 3/8 and submit
assignment Wednesday 3/9.
Appendices Stephenie  Discuss-order of appendices, Stephenie 3/8/2011
inclusion of Tuckman’s theory
and minutes
 Decide-Stephenie will decide
order of appendices
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31. Goals for next all  Presentation design 3/9-10//2011
meeting  Meet through adobe connect
Thurs. 3/10 or in Emporia
3/11 to finalize powerpoint
Further all  Email all 3/7/11-
communications  File exchange 3/12/2011
 Phone
Date of Next Meeting: 3/9-11/2011
Venue: Adobe Connect Classroom or ESU Classroom
Conclude at 8:20 PM.
SLIM LI 805 31