Through our partnerships and strategic initiatives, we're building community and transforming scholarly communication.
Carnegie Mellon University Libraries Strategic Direction
For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has reshaped the world by leaning into the unknown. The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries has grown in parallel, guided by the same spirit of experimentation and drive to innovate. Long before a central library existed, our work was carried out across scattered departmental spaces and improvised collections. That early foundation laid the groundwork for a culture of adaptability and creativity that continues to define us.
The university is now undergoing a period of rapid transformation. The rise of artificial intelligence, the move toward greater openness and accountability in research, and the evolving needs of a global student body are redefining how knowledge is created and shared. Through it all, the Libraries remains a steady point of connection: a destination for discovery, a source of expertise, and a partner in the university’s most forward-looking work.
In recent years, we have invested in our team, expanded access to digital tools and collections, deepened stewardship of our rare and archival collections, and introduced new ways to support research across disciplines. These efforts have prepared us for what comes next. As CMU imagines its future, the Libraries continues to lead through bold ideas, strong partnerships, and a clear vision for the future.
Charting the Libraries’ Next Chapter
The following Three Bold Steps represent our commitment to this vision. They are the pillars upon which we will deepen our impact and strengthen the intellectual heart of our campus.
- The Libraries as a Connector in an AI-Infused Future
- The Libraries as a Force for Open Knowledge and Public Impact
- The Libraries as a Center for Community and Connection
Read more about the Three Bold Steps and the areas of focus for the year.
Sustainability Initiative
The Sustainability Initiative fuels Carnegie Mellon University’s collective commitment to sustainability in the pursuit of a more sustainable future for all. This is achieved by incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or Global Goals, into education, research, and practices across the campus community. As an unwavering commitment of the Office of the Provost, we partner with the University Libraries to amplify our efforts toward environmental protection, social equity, and economic justice.
The Sustainability Studio, housed on the first floor of Hunt Library, is a collaborative space meant to promote this initiative. It is an area designated for resources, guidance, connection, and discussion across disciplines to bring the community together in pursuit of a more equitable future.
Spring 2023 programming will feature weekly office hours with staff, faculty, and community members, open studios focused on different facets of sustainability, and more. Stay up to date with all of the events on the Instagram page @sustainablecmu and find more information on the Sustainability Initiative website.
Addressing Local and Global Challenges with the Sustainable Development Goals
Carnegie Mellon University is leading innovative work on Sustainable Futures. The focus is on addressing local and global challenges including socioeconomic needs and demographic disparities using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework. We will leverage AI to close data gaps and data lags. CMU’s Sustainable Futures plans to collaborate with global partners and local communities to design people-centered data systems that reveal pressing local needs, and where possible, identify local solutions as well as recommend policies that drive tangible social impact. The work is meant to elevate new models to help democracies deliver and inspire new approaches to solving critical socioeconomic needs.
Ambassador Sarah Mendelson, Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy and Director of Sustainable Futures, leads this work in partnership with Helen and Henry Posner, Jr. Dean of the University Libraries Keith Webster and Executive Director of the Open Forum for AI (OFAI) Sayeed Choudhury.
Open Initiatives
The term open access describes materials that are freely accessible online and quickly discoverable in an Internet search. Open access is strategic for Carnegie Mellon, disseminating as broadly as possible works authored by the CMU community, encouraging use, and increasing citations and impact. It also enables the CMU community to access works authored elsewhere around the world, many of which the University Libraries cannot afford to purchase. Providing open access to research and scholarship has become a worldwide movement serving the mission of higher education and the Libraries have a number of initiatives to support this movement.
- Open Access Publishing Support (APC Fund) provides funding opportunities, processing discounts, and individual author members so that scholarship and research produced by CMU authors can be published open access.
- CMU Open Access Licensing Agreements with Publishers: As a world-leading research institution, Carnegie Mellon is a major creator and consumer of scholarly materials. Through the Libraries' efforts to champion new forms of scholarly communication, we have focused on building relationships with publishers that prioritize open access and sustainability through licensing agreements that ensure CMU publications are published open access by default.
- The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries Publishing Service (LPS) provides an infrastructure to publish and host born-digital scholarly content to maximize open and free access to scholarly publications and products in a sustainable fashion for the benefit of scholars, students, and the general public.
- The Libraries' Open Science and Data Collaborations program provides services and infrastructure for open research at CMU through digital tools, training opportunities for research tools and practices, collaboration opportunities on data science projects, special events and advocacy, and a team of experts available as research consultants and collaborators.
- The CMU KiltHub Institutional Repository, collects, preserves, and provides stable, long-term global open access to a wide range of research data and scholarly outputs created by faculty, staff, and student members of Carnegie Mellon University in the course of their research and teaching.