Library Assessment Plan

By providing essential research support and resource access, the Research and Circulation Services department serves as the Pace University Library's primary support system, facilitating scholarly research and knowledge exchange among the university's community. By embracing the university's guiding principle of Opportunas, the department fulfills Pace University's mission: to provide a potent blend of professional expertise and real-world experience. This allows students to reach their full potential as creative thinkers and proactive problem solvers.

Departmental Mission and Strategic Vision

The department aims to enhance the university community's capabilities by offering comprehensive professional research support. This includes conducting detailed reference interviews to understand individual needs, delivering informative demonstrations, providing extensive training sessions, and ensuring convenient access to essential resources. The goal is to equip students, faculty, and staff with the tools and knowledge they need to excel in their academic and research endeavors.

Research and Circulation Services Departments' Guiding Ideas

The departmental philosophy is rooted in a comprehensive understanding of academic systems and their complexities. The department envisions library services as repositories that store scholarly materials and as vibrant, dynamic spaces that foster knowledge production, encourage critical inquiry, and stimulate intellectual innovation. We aim to create environments where scholarly engagement thrives, allowing individuals to collaborate, explore new ideas, and advance their understanding of various disciplines.

This service model is built on three key principles that combine modern information management with user-focused design:

• Provide flexible access to information that adapts to user needs and situations.
• Support users in building their research skills through engagement and assistance.
• Use technology effectively to help researchers share and communicate their work.

These point-of-service (POS) learning outcomes recognize learning as a continuous and context-driven process and introduce a forward-thinking strategy for academic support. This perspective fosters a dynamic ecosystem that enhances the experience for faculty, staff, and students. By framing library interactions as valuable pedagogical moments, we create opportunities for deeper engagement and collaboration, ultimately enriching the educational environment.

This approach recognizes that significant academic skill development happens through strategic interventions tailored to individual research needs and goals. Whether assisting a first-year student or a senior researcher, these interactions empower users with transferable and adaptable research competencies.

Strategic Implementation To effectively implement these learning outcomes, the departments will:

• Provide continuous professional development for faculty and staff to increase productivity and knowledge
• Develop reflective practice mechanisms to assess and improve POS learning strategies
• Create internal documentation to track and share successful intervention approaches
• Collaborate with academic departments to foster partnerships to support students

This student and faculty-centered, interaction-based learning framework positions the Research and Circulation Services department as a critical partner in skill development, transforming routine library interactions into meaningful educational experiences.