Strategic Priorities

Having just concluded an ambitious, four-year Libraries Strategic Plan, and building on findings from our successful 2024-25 Academic Program Review, the JMU Libraries’ Dean’s Council has developed a set of high-level objectives to guide our work over the next two years.

Staff and faculty are now engaging in the development of more granular goals and steps toward these objectives — anticipating the Libraries’ crucial role in campus-level strategic planning to come. A more articulated version of this plan will be shared when it is ready.

JMU Libraries Plan: 2025-2027

Informed by our guiding statements and in a framework of shared governance, the JMU Libraries develops and regularly tracks progress toward a set of strategic goals.

#1: Connected Spaces, Common Purpose

We will position the Libraries as a unified, understandable, and impactful entity advancing the teaching and research mission of the university through a cohesive, navigable system of campus-wide physical and digital spaces.

#2: Leadership in Literacies

We will apply our expertise in librarianship, educational technology, archives, and instructional design to the challenges of data-, AI-, media-, civic and information literacy: supporting critical thinking, informed and ethical decision-making, and continuous learning among our students, colleagues, and selves.

#3: Organizational Excellence

We will pursue internal organizational excellence: working to realize our statement of aspirational culture and live our expressed values fully, as we provide Libraries users with high-quality, sustainable services and resources.

#4: Inclusive Excellence

We will prioritize accessibility and representation throughout the work of the Libraries, striving to create more equitable knowledge ecosystems, foster a sense of belonging, agency, and opportunity, and help all segments of our community feel supported in their learning and growth.

Last refreshed, August 2025.