1 UCL Qatar Library Operational Plan 2014 – 2018
UCL Qatar Library Operational Plan
2014 – 2018
1. Background Information
UCL Qatar Library is a UCL Library Services international site library, which is located within and is part
of UCL Qatar.
The Library opened in late 2012 and has been growing and developing steadily ever since. It currently
provides a focused range of library and information collections, services and resources to postgraduate
taught course students, research students, teaching and research fellows, lecturers, academic visitors,
and professional services staff at UCL Qatar. Library items that are procured and made available locally
are also augmented by a wide range of electronic resources, e.g. databases, journals, e-books, that are
provided centrally through UCL Library Services.
UCL Qatar Library (along with UCL Qatar as a whole) is currently physically co-located with Georgetown
University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) in their building in Education City, Doha. In
addition to sharing a building, UCL Qatar Library also benefits from shared access to and use of
Georgetown Library’s management systems and also service support from Georgetown Library staff.
This is the first operational plan for UCL Qatar Library. The Plan seeks to embed and build upon the
work that has already been undertaken since the Library opened in 2012 and, critically, to guide the
continuing growth and development of the Library over the next four years.
2. Mission
UCL Qatar Library is integral to UCL Qatar’s stated aim of being the leading centre of excellence in the
Gulf region for the study of archaeology, conservation, museology, and librarianship, and of working
with the community to bring cultural heritage to the forefront.
UCL Qatar Library, in common with UCL Library Services as a whole, is therefore committed to
supporting the excellence of teaching, learning and research at UCL Qatar by providing a high quality,
integrated and innovative service. Specifically our mission is:

To build a world-class research resource focused on the cultural heritage of the Arab and
Islamic World, for the benefit of regional and international scholars.

To provide, preserve, develop and promote collections in the most appropriate formats and to
act as a gateway to both printed and electronic resources in an integrated way.

To collaborate with other institutions at local, regional, national and international levels for
mutually beneficial resource sharing and access provision whilst fulfilling the Library's role in
areas of specialisation.

To maximise the effectiveness of library staff, through the promotion of training and
development, enabling them to anticipate and react to changing user foci and service needs.

To establish and deliver a model, founded on evidence of good practice, for enabling all library
users to acquire and practise excellent information seeking and retrieval skills; and to promote
the training role of Library Services in partnership with teachers across all disciplines.
2 UCL Qatar Library Operational Plan 2014 – 2018
3. Vision
UCL Qatar Library shares the aims and aspirations of UCL Library Services as a whole by seeking to
continue to develop its partnerships with academic departments, and build bridges to regional and
national agendas through innovative leadership and support. Specifically our vision is:

To place UCL Qatar at the centre of national and regional policies and practices in both
collaborative collection management and resource sharing.

To provide high standard library accommodation that caters for all of our users’ needs.

To offer innovative forms of electronic delivery.
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To lead and participate in the development of new methods of teaching, learning and research.

Through continuing professional development, to produce library staff who are confident,
innovative and dynamic facilitators and communicators within UCL Qatar and further afield.
4. Overview of Operational Plan
The goals that will be targeted and the priorities that will be focused upon and delivered by UCL Qatar
Library during the period September 2014 to September 2018 have been designed to meet the
anticipated future, short-to-medium term information needs and requirements of UCL Qatar students,
staff and visitors.
Particular attention has been given to tasks and activities that will need to be undertaken in order to
move UCL Qatar Library forwards from its initial set-up phase from 2012 to 2014 to the next phase of
its development from 2014 to 2018, when it is expected that the Library will begin to grow into a fullyfunctioning, mature library and information service.
However, the Plan also has a wider purpose as it seeks to align closely with and actively support the
wider strategic objectives of both UCL Qatar and UCL Library Services. As such the goals and priorities
that are being set for UCL Qatar Library will directly relate to the development goals that have been
set by both UCL Qatar and UCL Library Services for the period 2014 to 2018.
The goals that will drive UCL Qatar Library forwards over the four year timeframe of this plan are set
across six key activity areas:
1. Improve the User Experience
2. Enhance Learning Opportunities
3. Support Research Activities
4. Develop Library Collections
5. Maximise Engagement and Outreach
6. Build Operations and Infrastructure
It is anticipated that by September 2018, when this plan will have been implemented, a far more
complete, appropriate and robust set of library services and resources will be in place. This will not
only positively impact upon UCL Qatar Library’s ability to meet its own stated goals, but also boost the
ability of the Library to support the goals of both UCL Qatar and UCL Library Services more broadly.
The goals and priorities set out in this plan will be assessed and prioritised at the start of each academic
year. Those activities that are considered most urgent will be undertaken during the first two years of
the Plan with the rest to be completed during the final two years of the Plan.
3 UCL Qatar Library Operational Plan 2014 – 2018
The Plan will be regularly monitored and periodically reviewed with progress against goals being
reported to relevant UCL Qatar and UCL Library Services committees. The Plan may change to reflect
adjusted or emerging priorities during this period, and in any event it will be checked annually to
ensure that all goals and priorities are still relevant and realistic.
5. Operational Objectives
The following section outlines the six core operational goals that will be targeted and the specific
priorities that will be focused upon and delivered by UCL Qatar Library during the period 2014 to 2018.
These will be undertaken in addition to the Library’s business as usual operations and activities.
Objective 1 – Improve the User Experience
Goal
To provide an excellent user experience through the provision of world class, userfocused library services and resources that efficiently and effectively meet the
information needs of all of our students, staff and visitors, and that are delivered in
modern, well equipped and comfortable library facilities.
Priorities 
Improve the physical environment and the navigation of our collections so that they
better support learning, teaching, research and collaboration activities.

Present and promote all library services and resources to users in clear and intuitive
ways that help them better understand the connections to their needs.

Develop an integrated library and information help, enquiry and advice service for
users that is available face-to-face, by telephone, email, and via the web.

Put in place formal evaluation mechanisms to develop a better understanding of
user needs and priorities and foster more extensive collaborations and feedback.
Objective 2 – Enhance Learning Opportunities
Goal
To expand and strengthen the teaching and learning support role of the Library by
developing and delivering a complete range of programmes and activities that help
students, researchers and staff achieve their learning outcomes, particularly in the field
of information skills development.
Priorities 
Develop and deliver a suite of information skills courses that are fully integrated
with the teaching programme and learning priorities of UCL Qatar.

Exploit online training and tutorial systems to enhance provision of information
support on campus and to support students at a distance.

Create a series of subject focused web guides that provide links to a range of
internally provided and externally available information resources.

Produce a series of video tutorials that cover information skills development topics
at all levels, as well as the use of specific tools and resources, e.g. EndNote.
4 UCL Qatar Library Operational Plan 2014 – 2018
Objective 3 – Support Research Activities
Goal
To enhance the provision of library support for UCL Qatar researchers and academic
visitors through the identification of the specific information needs and requirements
of researchers and the development and deployment of a portfolio of research focused
information support services and resources.
Priorities 
Establish dedicated library liaison activities with research students and research
active staff to identify and respond to their research needs in a more effective way.

Develop a range of web based research information guides and resources covering
information skills topics of specific relevance to researchers.

Working closely with UCL Library Services in London, build capability within the
Library for providing expert guidance and support in areas relating to scholarly
communication, e.g. open access publishing, copyright.

Working closely with UCL Library Services in London, build capability within the
Library for providing expert guidance and support in areas relating to research data
management, e.g. data curation, digital archiving.
Objective 4 – Develop Library Collections
Goal
To improve the range and quality of UCL Qatar Library’s collections and other learning
resources, in both print and digital form, so that we can better support UCL Qatar’s
research, learning and teaching agenda, and so that we may develop a pre-eminent
library collection for cultural heritage resources in the Middle East region.
Priorities 
Continue to build world class teaching and research collections in key subject areas,
providing electronic access wherever possible.

Proactively target and seek to acquire rare or unique collections where they are in
scope and where they will add significant value to our existing collections.

Ensure availability of and access to sufficient reading list materials, including core
print and digital texts, in a timely and efficient manner.

Enable access to scholarly collections not held locally through the procurement and
implementation of an automated inter-library loan and document delivery system.
5 UCL Qatar Library Operational Plan 2014 – 2018
Objective 5 – Maximise Engagement and Outreach
Goal
To support UCL Qatar’s stated ambitions for community engagement and outreach and
to build wider knowledge and awareness of UCL Qatar Library through the
development of a dedicated programme that targets key external audiences, e.g. Qatari
families, schoolchildren, museum and library visitors, expatriate workers.
Priorities 
Create and implement a range of communication and information tools and
resources for the Library, e.g. website, Facebook site, Twitter account, newsletter.

Work with the UCL Qatar Outreach and Marketing Teams to integrate UCL Qatar
Library information and/or collections into planned activities and events and to
host physical / virtual exhibitions of library materials.

Develop close working ties and an exchange of knowledge with a range of local
institutions, notably Qatar National Library and the Museum of Islamic Art Library.

Initiate a community library membership scheme that allows different levels of use
and access by the public to UCL Qatar Library’s printed collections.
Objective 6 – Build Operations and Infrastructure
Goal
To increase our capacity and capability for delivering a world class library and
information service that meets the requirements of all of our users at the time and
place that they need it by ensuring we put in place and maintain a relevant and fit-forpurpose set of systems, processes, resources and infrastructure.
Priorities 
Undertake a gap analysis for all UCL Qatar Library plans, policies and procedures
and produce and implement any that are currently missing but deemed required.

Improve collections management operations by fully activating relevant
functionality available through GOBI 3; and by developing and implementing a
departmental online repository for the management of digitised content.

Establish a UCL Qatar Library Committee, comprising user representatives, to
discuss and to provide advice and recommendations on library related issues.

Prepare for the eventual move of UCL Qatar Library into a new library facility by
carefully planning for all anticipated staffing, space, systems, and facilities needs.