RIT Libraries Strategic Plan
Special Collections Support
The Library proposes to provide enhanced support for its unique cultural collections—the RIT Archives, Cary Collection and Special Collections along with future collections. These growing collections provide the RIT community with a rich cultural heritage, including the Institute’s vast and vital history, but also unique collections in the graphic arts and photography. The RIT Cultural Collections contain untapped potential and resources for cross-disciplinary and scholarly engagement by faculty, students and staff.
Improvements in access, targeted marketing, and a unified managerial approach to these collections will go far to elevate public perception of the breadth and depth of RIT1s unique holdings. In this way the Library can better serve the needs of the RIT community and outside researchers whose interests lie in the subject disciplines supported by these unique collections.
To enhance support we propose to:
- Establish a special collection/archive of primary research sources on deafness.
- Promote digital access to special collection resources.
- Sponsor and promote student internship opportunities.
- Analyze and develop plan for projected space and acquisitions needs.
- Analyze and develop plan for access needs including arrangement, description and finding aids for Library special collections.
- Develop an Acquisitions and Records Management plan for RIT's institutional records.
Some of the elements of the RIT Strategic Plan addressed by this goal include:
Goal C3: RIT will increase the quality and quantity of scholarship in order to enhance both the education of our students and the reputation of our University.Goal C4: RIT will allocate resources to support scholarly activity, with particular attention to engaging students, adjusting workloads, and reducing barriers to cross-college collaboration in scholarship.
Goal A3: RIT will broaden its cooperative education and experiential learning options to place students in the most desirable learning environments available through any university.
