Launch of GMIT Library Strategic plan 2013-16

GMIT Library Strategic plan 2013-16 was launched on Friday 21st February 2014 in Dublin Road library by GMIT's registrar, Michael Hannon.

Pictured (l-r) Michael Carmody, President; Margaret Waldron, Librarian; Michael Hannon, Registrar

The original library strategic plan heralded the development of an Information Skills Module that is now embedded in the Learning to Learn Module, a crucial element of the First Year Experience. The new strategic plan seeks to enhance and further develop the Information Skills component of the L2L module. Part of that enhancement will see the development of an Academic Writing Centre hosted by the library working in close collaboration with the academic staff to further develop the academic writing skills of our students. 

The library is reaching out to the academic staff to better serve the needs of the student. This notion of reaching out extends well beyond the walls of the library and the Institute. Ownership of learning materials is complemented by access to scholarly material facilitated by the advancements in technology. Since our original library plan, the library now has access to 80,000 e-books and over 30,000 online journals. Print journals are being phased out where possible in favour of electronic journals to serve the needs of our users who now expect a large proportion of learning materials to be available on a 24/7 basis. 

GMIT library is reaching out to other colleges and Institutes to develop collaborations and expand its collections. A reciprocal borrowing policy is now in place with NUIG, the Connacht Ulster Alliance (CUA) and the Marine Institute. This underpins the Collaborations and Alliances Pillar of the GMIT strategic plan. A research repository purchased jointly by the CUA is also part of our new strategy. While it supports the Collaborations Pillar it also supports the Research Pillar and provides a showcase of the research output of the CUA. The repository will raise the profile of the researcher and in turn increase the citations to their work. The library continues to weave its magic and act as an enabler of new knowledge providing answers to many questions. The library is proud to be part of that process. 

-From speech by Margaret Waldron