Marriott Library Academic Enterprise Plan Strategies and Goals

1. Strengthen support of student success through improved and increased spaces/services.

• Goal: Analyze, adapt, and implement recommendations from the Buro Happold report.
  • Status: In process. We have been able to implement many of the recommendations including moving the ProtoSpace and partners as well as putting in place a plan to reorganize the 5th floor.
• Goal: Continue to support free and low-cost course materials for students.
  • Status: Ongoing. In FY2027 we dedicated nearly $600k to licensing course materials. We have now joined the Open Education Network.
• Goal: Support students' technology needs through technology lending and creating a free laptop program for students in need.
  • Status: Ongoing. We continue to strengthen our technology lending program. In Fall 2026 we initiated the laptop scholarship program for students.
• Goal: Continued work with campus on coordinated student services.
  • Status: Ongoing. This work has morphed into the Student Experience Project. The Answer U project (see 2026 AEP) is an outcome of this work.

2. Support researcher and student success through strengthening our general collections budget and increased access to needed information resources.

• Goal: Maintain the current level of funding for the general collections budget.
  • Status: Complete. We have increased our level of funding through support from the Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Research.
• Goal: Increase access and better manage our current physical collections through the addition of a permanent 1.0 FTE.
  • Status: Complete. This position was not approved, but we were able to use a vacancy to fill this need.

3. Strengthen our research infrastructure support.

• Goal: Form a unit for research infrastructure support.
  • Status: Complete. The Open Scholarship and Data Unit was formed in 2025.
• Goal: Increase support for campus data science and AI efforts through a Data Science and Services Librarian (faculty position).
  • Status: In process. While this position was not approved as new funding, we were able to create a Data Services Librarian position through use of a line from a retirement.
• Goal: Increase technical support through an Open Research and Scholarship Developer.
  • Status: Not complete. The request for a new position was not approved.
• Goal: Invest in our repositories to ensure public access to publications and datasets.
  • Status: In process. In 2026 we successfully migrated the Hive from a Samvera instance to an Invenio instance. We are now reviewing the work needed to migrate our institutional repository.

4. Strengthen the stewardship and reach of our Special Collections both physical and digital.

• Goal: Planning for a Preservation Center (a second ARC).
  • Status: In process. In 2026, the campus completed a new feasibility study and submitted to the legislature a request to move to the design phase with an answer expected in early Spring 2027.
• Goal: Install an upgraded fire suppression system in our Rare Book Vault.
  • Status: In process. Expected to be installed in Fall/Winter 2026/2027.
• Goal: Continue to utilize our gift and endowment funds for Special Collections strategically.
  • Status: Ongoing. We have made changes in our regular reporting and expectations around use of gift and endowment funds.
• Goal: Fund a fellowship focused on Special Collections in collaboration with the College of Humanities.
  • Status: On hold.

5. Renewed focus on organizational health.

• Goal: Work with faculty to improve the workload policy and implement and assess new annual review, tenure and promotion, and tenured faculty review policies.
  • Status: In progress. Workload policy is under review. RPT and TFR policies have been revised and approved by campus.
• Goal: Provide mentorship and support to improve and enrich the research of our faculty.
  • Status: In progress. Research support through research retreats and library rounds are providing space for faculty to share their research.
• Goal: Complete a compensation analysis of our faculty. Increase compensation for staff with equity issues.
  • Status: Ongoing. We have a compensation benchmark of faculty based on ARL data and are in ongoing conversations with leadership on compensation. Staff compensation is an ongoing area of advocacy.
• Goal: Complete planned realignment of responsibilities for Marriott Library staff and faculty.
  • Status: Complete.

1. Support Student Success, Enrollment, and Belonging

• Goal: Formal recognition of the Marriott Library as the student computing center for the campus, accompanied by increased staffing and resources to meet the high student demand.
  • Status: On hold with ongoing changes in central IT leadership and support.
• Goal: Embark on a strategic space study encompassing the entire library, including public, staff, and partner spaces.
  • Status: Complete. The Buro Happold report was shared in 2025.
• Goal: Building upon the success of our inclusive restroom initiative on the first floor (during the semester, we see approximately 5,000 visits per week), we propose the construction of a second inclusive restroom on the second floor directly above.
  • Status: Abandoned. State building guidelines would not allow this.
• Goal: Collaborate with campus on the construction and opening of a Starbucks in place of the current café.
  • Status: Complete. Starbucks opened in Fall 2025.
• Goal: Explore how to sustainably expand enrollment in the Book Arts program given space constraints.
  • Status: In progress. In Fall 2026, a task force will be established to look at the space issues in Special Collections.

2. Support Research and Scholarship Advancement

• Goal: To align our collections budget with the University's aspirations and needs, we propose a gradual increase to $12 million over the next three years, requiring approximately $1 million annually.
  • Status: Complete. The current collections budget is over $13 million. However, we expect that to drop to approximately $11.2 million due to reliance on indirect funds.
• Goal: To address the severe space constraints for our Special Collections addressed in the weaknesses above, we ask that the campus move forward with our request to construct a second ARC into design and development.
  • Status: In process. In 2026, the campus completed a new feasibility study and submitted to the legislature a request to move to the design phase with an answer expected in early Spring 2027.
• Goal: Explore the establishment of a unified Research Services unit under the Associate Dean for Research to streamline these services, eliminate redundancy, and enhance coordination with the Office of the Vice President for Research.
  • Status: Complete. In 2025, we formed the Open Scholarship and Data unit.
• Goal: Pursue partnership between Digital Matters and the VPR Office to create a university-wide resource for faculty to pursue NEH, NEA, and other digital arts and humanities funding into our broader suite of programs and services.
  • Status: Abandoned. The cuts to NEH, NEA, and IMLS severely impacted the planned partnership. However, Digital Matters added a college (Social and Behavioral Sciences) in 2025.

3. Support Operational Excellence

• Goal: Invest in dedicated professional development funding for staff ($2,000 per FY for full-time staff) to increase expertise, prepare for future needs, and retain staff.
  • Status: Ongoing. We have some dedicated funding for professional development that we were able to increase in FY27. We are making active use of gift and endowment funds.
• Goal: Fill our 11 vacant positions in several core areas in the Library, including collections, resource description (cataloging), student services, special collections, and IT.
  • Status: Complete.
• Goal: We request campus support for four (4) new positions at $303,000 in ongoing funds in Student Computing Services (2), Cybersecurity Analysis (1), and Digital Preservation.
  • Status: Not funded. We were able to create a new position for Knowledge Commons through use of revenue funds and were able to repurpose a line from a retirement for the digital preservation position.

4. Support inclusive excellence and societal impact.

• Goal: Prioritize building a culture of assessment to better understand our impact on the university and adjust where necessary to ensure we appropriately allocate resources.
  • Status: Ongoing. We hired an assessment data analyst in late 2024 who has been able to get us on a path towards a culture of assessment.
• Goal: The University of Utah Press will increase its impact regionally and nationally through focused efforts to grow its title list and to increase its prominence in its areas of strength.
  • Status: Ongoing. The Press has continued to increase its output and continues to garner recognition through sales and awards for its publications.
• Goal: The Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access Strategy Group, a newly formed group, will connect and advance the library's efforts within the library, across campus, and at the regional/national level toward high-impact activities that will contribute to the U's focus on belonging and affirming all our unique characteristics across multiple backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences.
  • Status: Morphed. The EDIA Strategy Group has disbanded. The Marriott has established an Access, Belonging, and Community Strategy Group to continue important conversations focused on library culture and student belonging.