Some refer to strategic plans as “static documents” that are created then left on-the-shelf to gather dust. SLU’s University Libraries Strategic Plan is anything but static! It is a document that provides us with a framework. The plan is a blueprint giving us parameters within which to work. However, it is also designed to be flexible so that we may respond to changes around us that impact our work — the information resources and library services that we provide.
The flexibility of our Plan has been put to the test as the Vatican Library in Rome, Italy has closed its doors for the next 3 years as their facility undergoes major renovation. Saint Louis University’s Vatican Film Library is the one location outside of Rome that is home to approximately 37,000 manuscripts or about one-half of the manuscripts held in the Vatican Library itself. The closing of the Library in Rome in mid-July 2007 resulted in an immediate influx of requests from scholars worldwide seeking information about the VFL and how they might revise their travel plans from Rome to Saint Louis, Missouri.
Goals within our Strategic Plan address the need for optimizing access to information and providing suitable facilities for scholarship and research to occur. The timeline for this activity was originally mapped out over two years. The unanticipated closing of the Library in Rome and the immediate rise in requests from scholars to use the VFL at SLU has required us to compress the timeline in order to meet users needs. We needed to kick into high gear — fast!
Putting our heads together, we identified actions that could be implemented immediately. A PR campaign was put into place to spread the word that SLU houses duplicates of almost half of the manuscripts in the Vatican Library and that scholars are welcome to visit the Vatican Film Library in St. Louis to conduct their research. Spreading the word began with obtaining permission from the Vatican Library to include information about the VFL on the Vatican Library’s web site. From there, media outlets were contacted while, simultaneously, others with interest in this topic shared the news on blogs, listservs, newsletters, etc. We are grateful that international news outlets, such as The New York Times and AP newswire picked-up the story. Additionally, we are in the process of refreshing the VFL website to improve browsability as well as responding to scholars’ requests for what the collection holds and how to access the information most effectively.
Long-term, our goal continues to be creating suitable conditions for the preservation, access, use, and promotion of the University Libraries’ rare and unique research collections including Rare Books, manuscripts, University Archives, and the Vatican Film Library. We are in the process of researching best standards for Special Collections storage environments and have obtained temperature/humidity data loggers for all current storage areas to determine present conditions. With the increased use of the VFL facility, we will be able to obtain information from users on their experience doing research in the VFL — what worked for them in terms of the facility and obtaining access to the collection? and what areas are in need of improvement?
This is just one example of how a blueprint for action can be modified quickly to meet a need created as a direct result of outside, non-planned-for circumstances.
