Imperative
7
7
Increase
Access to Knowledge Resources
Despite
recent progress, the intellectual assets represented
by Texas A&M University library holdings are
underdeveloped and must be increased. Coincidentally,
we must recognize that the technology related
to the storage, access, and distribution of
knowledge resources has changed as much in the
last decade as in the 550 years since the invention
of movable type. Texas A&M University must invest
rapidly, but wisely, to gain parity with its
academic peers. It must lead, not just grow,
in forcefully developing new methods and measures
of success in this rapidly changing arena. The
wedding of communications and computer technology
will, no doubt, yield the most formidable change
in academe by 2020. Texas A&M University must
lead the adaptation.
P
R E C E P T: P R O V I D E K N O
W L E D G E R E S O U R C E S
The library
and its allied information technologies are
key components of the future of Texas A&M University.
Our university is now better than its library.
We must view this as an aberration. The very
best universities and their libraries are of
equal excellence. Our goal is to make our library
as good as our university. That will mean a
critical assessment of the kinds of resources,
both traditional and electronic, that are required
to create the symbiotic relationship between
resources and discovery that mark the best universities
of the world. It will also mean significant
outlays of capital. Further, the processes by
which scholars communicate and research activity
is reviewed, archived, and disseminated are
changing. Texas A&M University should be among
the leaders in redefining those processes.
Great
universities have great libraries. For Texas
A&M University to be rightfully recognized
as one of the premier institutions in the
world, it must be able to ensure that its
students and faculty are without peer in their
ability to access information in the 21st
Century.
T
A S K F O R C E I D E A
-
Achieve a research
library that is outstanding in its support
for learning and scholarship. Library ranked
within the top 20 public and private libraries
on Membership Index 2019- 2020 of the  Association
of Research Libraries.
-
Lead the development
of alternative modes of scholarly communication
and measurement of quality. In promotion and
tenure process, electronically disseminated
scholarship should be valued the same as traditionally
disseminated scholarship.
-
Provide significant,
sustained investment over time for library
development. Have library expenditures per
student equivalent to the best institutions.
-
Continue working
to make all libraries in the System a seamless
unit. Provide all students at System schools
access to all intellectual resources within
the System.
P R E C
E P T: L E A D I N I N F O
R M AT I O N T E C H N O L O G Y
The role of information technology
becomes more important to faculty, students, staff,
and administrators as both knowledge and information
continue to multiply. The best universities will
always be at the forefront of advances in information
technology. Premier institutions will lead the
ways in which information is transferred and used.
Texas A&M University will be a leader in the application
and development of information technology that
improves on-site and off-site instructional approaches,
provides access to intellectual resources, increases
the delivery of services to students and faculty,
and facilitates excellence in all facets of institutional
life.
Information
technologies are increasingly important to all
parts of the university. The aspirations of
Vision 2020 cannot be realized without a high-quality
information technology infrastructure. Not too
many years ago, computing and computer networking
were of importance primarily to the sciences,
engineering, and the business operations, but
today all segments of the university depend
on desktop computing, the computer network infrastructure,
and strategic administrative systems. They will
continue to do so.
T
A S K F O R C E I D E A
-
Maintain
computing, telecommunication, and electronic
connectedness that enables our faculty, students,
and administrators to process, synthesize,
and refine information into knowledge and
provide state-of-the-art administrative services.
Have state-of-the-art information and computing
systems available to students, faculty, and
administrators.
-
Provide appropriate computer technology to
all classrooms, laboratories, and residence
halls. Have electronically-assisted instruction
used in all courses on campus to increase
the frequency and quality of faculty-student
interaction.
-
Establish a Texas A&M University Digital Library
as a premier facility to scan, digitize, access,
and store image data for the university community.
Have the Digital Library recognized as
a national leader.
-
Provide facilities that tie into system-wide
distance learning efforts and provide convenient
locations for pooling expensive digital communication
technologies for academic studies, continuing
education, and production requirements of
the university. Create a cost-effective
infrastructure for electronic communication
that enhances student-faculty interaction.
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T
H E U N I V E R S I T Y ’ S F
U T U R E I S A B O U T
T E C H N O L O G Y:
The
21st Century will be one of technology,
with continued dependence on the capabilities
of engineers, computer scientists, and
technologists. Texas universities will
place more emphasis on these areas, and
the flagships will further develop world-class
programs. The Look College of Engineering,
already highly ranked and one of the largest,
will meet the challenge and be recognized
as a national and international leader
in engineering. It will include faculty,
staff, and students of the highest quality,
supported by excellent facilities and
powerful outreach to the rest of the university
and beyond.
The
Look College of Engineering, Vision for
2020
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