Our Purpose
CARL provides leadership on behalf of Canada’s research libraries and fosters local, national, and international collaboration to enhance the library’s role in research and higher education.
Our Context
CARL actively engages in a dynamic global research landscape characterized by digital culture, changing user expectations, evolving scholarly activities, technological change, and an increasing emphasis on inclusion.
Our Vision
Canada’s research libraries are widely recognized as leaders and partners in ground-breaking, inclusive library practices and in advancing innovative research.
Our Core Principles
These principles are woven into all that we do:
Leadership
- CARL supports leadership and workforce development across the broad spectrum of competencies required for success in contemporary research libraries.
- CARL shares expertise and builds coalitions with partner associations, networks, and consortia across Canada to advance our shared goals.
- CARL leverages international peer collaboration to profile Canada’s contributions to the research library landscape.
Inclusion
- CARL, through the principles and practices of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA), is committed to fostering and supporting a diverse community of library practitioners and users.
- CARL is committed to embedding decolonization, anti-oppression, and anti-racism practices throughout our work.
- Led by, and in partnership with, Indigenous communities and peoples, CARL is committed to honouring the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in its journey to Truth, Reconciliation, and responding meaningfully to the TRC Calls to Action.
Influence
- CARL is an essential national voice for the interests of the academic community and the critical work of libraries.
- CARL represents the interests of Canadian research libraries in the federal and pan-Canadian information policy arena to achieve broad access to, and effective management, of Canada’s information assets.
- CARL strengthens and mobilizes national and international relationships and initiatives across and beyond the library and research sectors to advance common policy objectives.
Impact
- CARL develops strategies to demonstrate and promote the impact and the value of research libraries.
- CARL facilitates, strengthens, and communicates ongoing qualitative and quantitative library assessment on a pan-Canadian basis.
Our Three-Year Plan
During the next three years, CARL will focus on the complementary priorities of Advancing Scholarship and Enhancing Access.
Advancing Scholarship
Canada’s research libraries play pivotal roles in the creation, discovery, management, and use of the scholarship produced at our universities and cultural institutions. CARL strengthens the role of libraries in the expansion of open science and in knowledge creation, curation, dissemination, and mobilization.
Enhancing Access
Canada’s research libraries enable access to local and global information resources for researchers, learners, and communities. CARL advances research library collaboration to expand the diversity of collections, descriptions, and the library workforce; to optimize accessibility; and to ensure preservation in an evolving digital environment.
Areas of Work
To support these priorities, CARL will engage in areas of active investigation such as:
- Advancing national open infrastructures (e.g. shared repositories)
- Advocating for public policy that supports and protects educational, research, and creative activities
- Building leadership succession capacity
- Collaborating to expand open science in Canada
- Developing national initiatives that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Improving programs and tools to support assessment priorities
- Enabling new digital access models (e.g. controlled digital lending)
- Expanding professional research ability
- Mobilizing and stewarding knowledge and information to support decolonization efforts
- Shaping libraries’ engagement in the research data management ecosystem
- Spearheading digital preservation at scale
- Supporting shared print initiatives
