UO Libraries Campaign Toolkit Copy
V1 by George Evano for review by Keri and library staff 10/6
For inclusion in online campaign proposal toolkit
1. UO Libraries Overview
Boilerplate and Brag Points
Each day, thousands of students pass through the doors of the eight libraries that make up
the University of Oregon Libraries. Many thousands more, including faculty members and
outside scholars, visit the library virtually through its website. They all have one thing in
common: they seek the learning, knowledge, and information provided by our librarians
and the many resources, services, and collections we make available to them.
Each year, more than 16,000 students consult with UO librarians to gather information for
their research and classwork. Many others use the library as a place for reflective study and
group learning; the library’s classrooms and group-study rooms are frequently booked to
capacity.
Hundreds of students work at the UO Libraries to develop professional skills
both solidify their defray the rising costs of their education. The library is the largest
academic employer of students on campus, providing job experience and wages to offset
the cost of tuition for hundreds of Ducks each term.
The library oversees Scholars’ Bank, an online archive that provides full access to research,
publications, and supporting materials generated by the UO community. Scholars’ Bank
provides worldwide visibility to the university’s intellectual output and showcases some of
the extraordinary accomplishments of both faculty and students.
The library preserves and makes accessible Oregon’s rich history through Special
Collections, which houses rare books, pioneer journals, author manuscripts, and half a
million historical photographs. Special Collections is the repository for much of the heritage
of the state and region. In addition, University Archives, which is part of Special Collections,
preserves and provides access to historical material from throughout the 138-year history
of the University of Oregon.
The UO libraries serves as the research library for the entire state, with free borrowing
privileges to all Oregonians ages 16 and above.
Among the collections that have lasting impact for our state is the Ken Kesey Papers, a
literary and cultural treasure of irreplaceable typewritten manuscripts, artwork, collages,
photographs, and correspondence. More than a well-known author, Kesey represents the
state’s literary heritage and is considered a founding father of the 1960s counterculture.
The library is an integral part of the academic experience and one of the major contributors
to student success. A gift to the library has the broadest possible impact on campus because
the library serves all students across all disciplines.
Teaching is one of the library’s core responsibilities. Librarians serve as mentors and
guides, helping students access and understand content sources and become sophisticated
and responsible information consumers and producers.
As the only member of the prestigious Association of Research Libraries in the state, the
library is vital to research activity on campus and throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Gifts to the UO Libraries touch each and every student and support the library’s’ efforts to
make resources available to researchers throughout the state and the world. From the
Rippey Library at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology Library in Charleston to Knight
Library at the heart of campus, each of the libraries serves our students, faculty, and the
community at large.
2. Campaign Objective
Campaign Goal:
$36 million
The nature of information students and faculty members are seeking is changing rapidly
and growing exponentially.. Our strategy is to build capacity to adapt quickly to these
changes, provide leadership in the use of emerging information technologies, acquire the
resources needed to address interdisciplinary research and global collaboration, refresh
our physical facilities, support new services, and o develop the capabilities and expertise
that will define the 21st-century research library.
We aim to be the center of inspiration and knowledge for every member of the community.
We are recognized internationally for our innovation and are an essential partner in
developing UO students for 21st-century citizenship. We serve as a showcase for the UO’s
physical and virtual environment. With your help, we can fulfill our goals.
3. Giving Opportunities
Strengthen and Diversify Collections
BACKGROUND
The University of Oregon Libraries supports faculty research efforts through the purchase
of print resources, licensing of databases and electronic content, and working with donors
to build unique and diverse special collections.
While collections remain a focus of our development efforts, and within the past few years
we have been able to add many important research databases, we are falling short of the
resources that our faculty needs.
Top scholars recruited from peer institutions expect to arrive on campus and gain access to
information resources needed for their specialized research. Too often they discover that
these expensive products are not in the UO Libraries’ collections. The lack of resources also
has a detrimental impact on the research and productivity of their graduate students as
well.
SUGGESTED LANGUAGE
[Donor,] as we have discussed, your gift will help to give our faculty immediate access to
the latest journals, publications, and digital assets so that they can perform the kind of
research that will lead to citations, publications, and innovations. This quest for knowledge
in turn elevates the UO’s standing and attracts further interest from prospective students
and faculty.
THE ASK
Every gift makes a difference in our ability to facilitate research, learning, community
engagement, and prestige. We respectfully request that you consider a gift of [$XXXXX] to
build on the endowment for the Special Collections Fund. You will not only touch students
and scholars but will also create a far-reaching impact through their discoveries and
achievements.
Exploiting the Power of Technology
BACKGROUND
Students and faculty members expect the latest technology. In response, the library sees
technology as a critical and fundamental component of the services it provides.
The library is an electronic mecca with more than 600 workstations, plus scanners,
printers, digital cameras, and videoconferencing equipment. The UO Libraries is
responsible for designing, purchasing, installing, and maintaining technology in all the
general-use classrooms. It also holds a full inventory of media tools for student use.
Many of our rare manuscripts and photographs are digitized for research and made
available through integrated networks. This requires reformatting equipment, digital
storage, and sophisticated content management systems.
The exponential rate of change in information technology requires ever-increasing
investments in hardware, sophisticated software applications, online learning modules,
reliable and ubiquitous network connections, well-designed user interfaces, and human
expertise.
Furthermore, additional investment is needed to help the UO achieve its needs in
accommodating the emergence of “big data,” which can improve performance in areas such
as student computing, research infrastructure, and digital scholarship.
SUGGESTED LANGUAGE
[Donor,] by contributing to the library’s technology fund, you will help us prepare for a new
age of learning and allow us to provide even greater online access to resources on campus
and worldwide. You will expand the library’s ability to share knowledge and enrich lives.
THE ASK
[Donor], every gift makes a difference in our ability to meet the technology needs of our
students and faculty members. As essential as these tools are, what’s more important is
how they create new learning opportunities, expand possibilities for teacher-student
communication, and foster productive collaboration. We respectfully request that you
consider a gift of [$XXXXX] to build on the endowment for the Technology Fund.
Student Success—Student Employment Endowment Fund
BACKGROUND
The UO Libraries is the university’s largest academic student employer. Students provide
services that are essential to every member of the university community.
Through their library employment, they also acquire valuable skills—and habits—that
contribute to their lifelong success.
We need about seventy-five more student workers than we have funds to employ. Each
year we must turn away more than 100 qualified students who need jobs, even though
most have federal work-study grants that pay 75 percent of their wages.
The library wants to ensure that students who qualify for federal work-study funding have
the opportunity to use it.
The library also wants to provide meaningful employment opportunities for the increasing
number of students who do not qualify for federal work-study grants but must nontheless
work in order to pay for their education.
SUGGESTED LANGUAGE
Through your gift, you will:
1. Provide more students with meaningful work experience in the library’s academically
supportive environment.
2. Enable the library to increase the number and range of student employment
opportunities and provide assistance to those who have need.
3. Contribute to student retention and academic success.
4. Have your gift matched 3:1 by federal funds available to students who qualify for the
Federal Work-Study Program.
5. Deepen a love for and commitment to the UO Libraries by students who are directly
helped by your gift
As an example, an outright gift of $250,000 would enable us to employ an additional XX
students for the entire academic year.
THE ASK
[Donor,] your gift of [$XXX,XXX] would build on an endowment established to support
student library workers and help ensure that students in the future will have the
opportunity to work in the academic heart of the UO, the library. By gaining valuable
experience, these students are reducing their debt burden while getting a head start on
their working life.
The Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library (naming opps available)
BACKGROUND
The growth in the number of science majors at the University of Oregon has been
explosive—a 72% increase since 2000. These students are attracted to the UO by the
exciting possibilities of working side by side with research faculty to change the world.
But the building that should be the center of this collaboration—the Science Library—is
outdated and outmoded, hidden away in a cramped, leaky basement. The last renovation of
the 45-year-old facility was more than 20 years ago.
Thanks to UO benefactor Lorry I. Lokey, we have the opportunity to reimagine the science
library as an active, energetic hub that will foster inquiry across many disciplines and serve
a wide body of users ranging from undergraduates to faculty superstars.
Lokey’s $8 million lead gift honored the late Allan Price, the visionary UO vice president
who championed the UO’s team approach to science in the university’s last comprehensive
campaign.
The individual gifts of Lokey and others matched $8.375 million in state general obligation
bonds approved by the Oregon legislature in 2013.
Planned to open in 2016, the Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library will:
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Reimagine and expand the library’s role, transforming it into a highly visible, high-tech
24-7 academic and social hub for UO scientists and their students.
Create more space for students to work collaboratively or in quiet study areas.
Totally renovate the existing basement-level (34,200 square feet).
Add a new, light-filled addition at street level (4,900 square feet).
Install a “big data” visualization center for data sets so large and complex that they
overwhelm conventional computers.
Provide a “makerspace” with access to technologies used to create prototypes, scale
models, and other materials needed for teaching and research.
To build the transformative new science commons and library as envisioned, we need to
reach total funding of $X.Y million.
SUGGESTED LANGUAGE
The new Allan Price Science Commons and Research Library is the centerpiece of a master
plan to unite the university’s entire community of science students, faculty members, and
researchers. We need your help to fully realize, outfit, and equip the new library so that
students and faculty members in the sciences can can continue to innovate and discover.
THE ASK
[Donor], you can make a lasting contribution to support innovation at the University of
Oregon. We respectfully request a gift of $X.Y. to name the [donor name] [naming
opportunity in the science library]. Your gift will have a long-lasting impact, uniting
students and scientists together across disciplines to apply creative thinking to solve the
challenges of today and tomorrow.
Head of Special Collections and University Archives
BACKGROUND
While all research libraries have similarities in their mission, resources, and services, they
all have distinctive signifiers of excellence found in their special collections.
For the UO Libraries, its special collections represent an unmatched and irreplaceable
record of Northwest history, politics, art, and society. Special Collections and University
Archives maintains and makes available to the public historical records and papers of Ken
Kesey, Wayne Morse, Bill Bowerman, Native Americans, and Latino immigrants, with
correspondence, writings, and more than half a million digitized photographs.
To effectively serve as the state’s curator of these treasures requires special knowledge,
sensitivity, experience, and leadership. What’s more, the head of special collections at the
state’s flagship university also plays a key role in instruction and research support.
For those reasons, and because of the position’s broad responsibility and impact,
individuals in such positions often hold endowed chairs. The security, prestige, and assets
made possible by an endowment ensure that the library would attract and retain the
strongest possible candidate.
SUGGESTED LANGUAGE
[Donor], as we have discussed, an endowment for the head of Special Collections and
University Archives relates to many elements of the university’s academic plan. Supported
by library resources, this key individual is ultimately responsible for helping preserve
Oregon’s past and serving as a public partner in promoting and cultivating access to
important historical materials in support of high-achieving faculty members and students.
THE ASK
[Donor], I respectfully request you to consider a gift of $1.5 million to create and endow the
[Donor Name] Head of Special Collections and University Archives.
Your investment at this level will increase the library’s visibility and reputation by enabling
us to recognize and reward a distinguished academic authority whose presence on our
campus acts as a magnet for top scholars and researchers while serving in a leadership role
for the entire state.
Through this gift, you have the ability to touch the future. Generations of scholars, working
in your name, will create the conditions for students, faculty members, and citizens to learn
great lessons from the past and apply them to a more fulfilling future. Your gift will stand as
a lasting statement about your belief in the essential role of libraries in guiding our neverending quest for knowledge.