Research & Instructional Services Mission Statement


UConn Health Library
Farmington, CT 06034-4003
phone (860)679-2942 - fax (860)679-1068
ref@uchc.edu

The mission of the Research & Instructional Services (RIS) Department is to plan and provide public services that support the patient care, education and research objectives of UConn Health. Public services provided by RIS staff include reference consultation, expert mediated searching, bibliographic instruction and outreach program services.

Goal I

To design and deliver effective services.

 

RIS staff evaluate the information needs of its clientele and the ability of its information resources to meet those needs.

 

RIS staff offer substantial support to researchers by using new technologies to organize, synthesize and filter scholarly information.

 

RIS staff serve as system specialists or expert search intermediaries when accessing complex or unusual databases.


Goal II

To provide staff development programs and opportunities to meet the service goals of the department and to offer opportunities for career advancement. The RIS department will offer orientation sessions for new staff members.

 

The RIS department will plan inservices for other library staff members.

 

The information literacy of RIS staff will be gauged through the use of incremental skill checklists.

 

As new products, services and systems are introduced, inservice training sessions will be planned and provided.

 

RIS staff members are encouraged to partake in continuing education opportunities, within and outside UConn Health.

 

RIS staff members are encouraged to read library literature.

 

RIS staff broaden the ability of departmental personnel to meet changing needs and improve expertise through recruitment, training and continuing education.

 

Goal III

RIS staff will continuously assess and monitor the quality of services offered.

 

Through the use of such tools as the suggestion box, reference e-mail, user surveys, evaluation reports, performance appraisals and the like, staff members will measure the quality of services offered.

 

RIS staff will conduct studies on information-seeking behavior in order to improve library operations issues and in order to plan responsive information management education programs.

 

RIS staff will gather data related to critical incidents for quality assurance and public relations purposes.

 

Goal IV

RIS staff will form partnerships with various hospital departments to achieve informatics goals.

 

RIS staff participate actively in institutional meetings and committees.

 

RIS staff extend their partnership roles throughout the state of Connecticut and throughout the New England region by planning and implementing policies and proceduresrelated to the management of academic information and the coordinated use of technology.

 

In partnership with other library staff and computing personnel, RIS staff provides leadership and guidance in the selection, development, application and distribution of information resources.

 

To establish a regular schedule of orientation sessions, bibliographic instruction and end user training.

 

To increase participation in institution-wide committees.

 

To meet with faculty staff and students on a regular basis to foster collaboration and cooperation.

 

Goal V

RIS staff will position themselves to act as leaders in the fields of information management and education.

 

RIS staff members design and provide instruction in the use of technology for accessing, collecting, managing and evaluating information resources.

 

RIS staff promote, locate and network access to information resources.

 

RIS staff design its information managment education programs to reflect technological changes.

 

RIS staff meet the needs of specific clinical areas through targeted information services including synthesis of information from various sources, quality filtering and data transfer.

 

RIS staff utilize appropriate technologies and methodologies to access information, regardless of format or location, and supplies that information to local and network sites.

 

Goal VI

To effectively promote the use of library services and to increase departmental revenues.

 

RIS staff develop promotional materials and public relations programs that market library services.

 

RIS staff produce print and electronic versions of publications that discuss and promote RIS services.

 

RIS staff offer orientations and promotional presentations related to the use of the library and future program planning.

 

RIS staff promote local and network access to information resources.

 

Goal VII

To effectively manage the operations of the information services department including reference services, mediated searching, bibliographic instruction, staff development and program planning.