Developing a strategic plan for the University Library of St. Petersburg : a project within the EU's Tempus Tacis Program

Abstract

The Library of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands has developed a project, together with the State and University Library of Aarhus, Denmark, and the University Library of Graz, Austria, in order to support the Library of the University of St. Petersburg, Russia. The main goal of this project, which is financially supported within the EU's Tempus Tacis Program, is to improve the capacity of the St. Petersburg library to serve the university and the region in a effective and efficient way. The intended output of the project is a strategic plan for the library, which defines a clear mission, describes the main goals and objectives and defines a number of high priority projects which are to be realised in order to obtain the objectives. The project runs from January 1997 until July 1998. Evaluating the project it can be observed that there are real possibilities to solve the problems of a Russian university library by using modern technology, even in a continuing financial uncertainty. It is, however, important to emphasise access to currently relevant information is more essential than the ownership of a physical collection. This requires a shift in the attitude of the library staff.