Vision
To be the leader in library cooperation for resource sharing in public higher education in the State of Maryland.

Mission
To support effective access to library resources by providing and promoting a range of resource sharing services which support the objectives and maximize resources of the individual libraries of the member institutions.

Vision, Mission & Goals, University System Of Maryland And Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Libraries Consortium. (April 15, 2004). http://usmai.umd.edu/cld/Revised_Vision_040804.doc

These statements guide the deliberations of the USMAI Consortium of Libraries. In this second year of reorganization, the USMAI continues to create its development path based on these underlying principles. Over several years three major themes have emerged as areas of concentration for the consortium:

In the FY06 Development Plan, specific projects map into this three–part agenda.

• Patron/user empowerment
  
  • Continue to deploy self–check circulation terminals
  • Email library notices
  • Streamline authentication/authorization (e.g., Shibboleth)
  • List e-resources in A-Z order
  • Include NetLibrary resources in the catalog
  • Provide authorized headings in the catalog
  • Create interfaces that work, make sense, and support navigation
  • Display new materials added to the collection
  • Increase patron privacy (e.g., "anonymize" data, record retention policies)
  • Improve PPH
  • Offer self-service ILL
  • Unify reserves/e–reserves
  • Make government documents more fully available through the catalog
  • Correct errors in catalog
• Staff efficiencies
  • Reduce key entry and errors (e.g., patron loads, EDI)
  • Document policies and procedures (e.g., circ agreements, cataloging practice)
  • Identify and fulfill training needs
  • Build a data warehouse for reporting and analysis
  • Implement an Electronic Resources Management system
  • Develop cross–functional proxies that match staff responsibilities
  • Support consortial–hosted ILL services and management
  • Reduce barcode errors
• Scholarly communication
  • Support for open access materials and faculty education
  • Explore digital library collections
  • Preserve and make accessible scholarship and creative effort through institutional repositories

The FY06 USMAI Development Plan was constructed by ITD in collaboration with the campuses through their respective Campus Contacts and the Council of Library Directors. The resulting document has been available for review iteratively throughout the consortium. It includes work for ITD as well as a number of Task Groups and Committees. The focus of this year's plan has been to merge CLD directives with the top priorities of each campus so that by the end of the fiscal year everyone has seen progress in important areas.

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