On Tuesday, October 25th nearly 40 faculty, staff and students attended Make it Yours: Transforming Drexel University Libraries, to participate in a discussion about the future of the Libraries. After months of planning, and a July Future Search Conference, the Libraries presented a draft of the strategic initiatives that will help to shape its future. These initiatives were briefly presented by Dean of Libraries Danuta A. Nitecki, who then held an open discussion with attendees asking for suggestions and feedback. The passionate audience carried on a conversation for the remaining 45 minutes, asking for clarification on issues, agreeing with initiatives and presenting new ideas to be considered in the final draft. Among suggested distinctions faculty members made were that the Libraries provides access to ideas and authoritative information and that it guides students in use of technologies. For more information about the Make it Yours transformation, please visit www.library.drexel.edu/make-it-yours.

[caption id='attachment_245' align='alignleft' width='269' caption='The innovate new Library Learning Terrace'][/caption] The following is in excerpt provided to attendees of the 2011 Future Search Conference. The increasing role of technology and electronically accessible materials has caused many to question the role of the traditional library. With stacks of books, desks and chairs, held within a single physical space, the traditional library offers a place for individuals to quietly read and process information. Libraries, however, are no longer simply places to house books and offer quiet spaces to read, they are vibrant centers for learning where individuals can exercise their minds to build new knowledge from the information they discover. Libraries exist within the walls of buildings and online. They organize efficient and convenient access to information through managing shared use of books and journals as well as through licensing electronic resources. Libraries capture and preserve human memory and foster creation of new knowledge. In the academy, they are discipline neutral and supportive of all fields of inquiry, ether as learning coaches for the novice student or as a partner to scholars and teachers to strengthen research, instruction and scholarly communications. As more and more users choose immediately accessible digitized content over traditional printed materials, the future of brick-and-mortar libraries will continue to change to become less about what products a patron obtains at a library and more about the experiences the patron has while visiting. The focus of these libraries will be to provide social spaces where students can work together to derive meaning from their online and classroom experiences¹. At Drexel, the academy has been undergoing a fundamental transformation from a historically purposeful institute of technology education and is emerging as a comprehensive research institution, grounded in a tradition of experiential learning and an ambition for leading civic engagement in a global environment. Its neglected libraries are being reconceived as a learning enterprise with embedded environments around campus and through the Internet, and as an active educational program for assisting learners to develop information literacy skills and researchers in their pursuit of knowledge. Those interested in a broader perspective might wish to read a recent publication from the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy. Checking Out the Future: Perspectives from the Library Community on Information Technology and 21st-Century Libraries explores how many library professionals are recognizing the need to evolve during the digital revolution and are driving adaptations designed to ensure that libraries remain an integral part of our society's commitment to education, equity, and access to information. Authored by Jennifer C. Hendrix, OITP Consultant, Checking Out the Future, is based on a literature review conducted in 2008-2009 on the future of libraries, primarily of publications from within the library community. (Online at: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oitp/publications/policybriefs/ala_checking_out_the.pdf) Article by: Jenny James Lee and Danuta A. Nitecki. Photo by Jenny James Lee. 1. Hendrix, Jennifer C. Checking out the Future: Perspectives from the Library Community on Information Technology and 21st-Century Libraries. American Libraries Association. Washington, D.C. 2 February 2010. Print.

[caption id='attachment_204' align='alignleft' width='300' caption='Dean of Libraries, Danuta A. Nitecki, addresses attendees at the close of the conference.'][/caption] Philadelphia, PA (July 25, 2011) - Drexel University Libraries concluded a milestone event towards shaping the future of the organization on Thursday, July 21, 2011. The event, a Future Search conference, brought together nearly 60 people, representing the diverse stakeholders of the Libraries, at the Queen Lane campus of the Drexel University College of Medicine. Highly interactive, the process took a holistic look at the theme, The Future of Drexel's Libraries: Advancing the University's Strategic Transformation. Attendees reviewed shared past and present experiences to reach a common ground in identifying an exciting future for the Libraries. This new future emphasizes collaboration, leadership, integration of technologies and curation of information resources, as well as the development of innovative spaces to advance teaching, learning and scholarship at Drexel and in the broader communities. This was accomplished through working exercises, small group discussions and creative reporting of insights. The three-day conference concluded with dozens of strategies towards achieving the desired future for the Libraries and a high level of energy and enthusiasm among the participants. The room where the conference was held was papered with sheets documenting the process and ideas generated. These ideas will be transcribed and the results will lead to a major planning activity for the Libraries with direct implications towards the University strategic plan. Participants, before leaving the conference on Thursday afternoon, were asked to sign up for strategies they felt most committed to support. These dedicated individuals, through their support of these initiatives, will have an opportunity to become key contributors and ambassadors for the future of the Libraries. Trained future search consultants Gerry Gorelick and Suzanne Noll, Manager of Training and Development with Drexel University's Human Resources department, facilitated the conference. About Future Search Future search is a unique planning meeting, used worldwide, by hundreds of communities and organizations. It meets two goals at the same time: helping large diverse groups discover values, purpose, and projects they hold in common, and enables people to create a desired future together and to start working toward it right away. The meeting design comes from theories and principles tested in many cultures for the past 50 years. It relies on mutual learning among stakeholders as a catalyst for voluntary action and follow-up. The conference is designed with principles that enable people to work together without having to defend or sell a particular agenda and this opens new opportunities for creating a shared future. Images from the conference are available online at the Libraries' flickr page.   Article by: Jenny James Lee with contributions from Danuta A. Nitecki and Gerry Gorelick. News Contacts: Jenny James Lee, Library Marketing & Events Associate at 215-571-4095 or jennyjames@drexel.edu