As a partner of the university and the state, a service provider for studies, teaching and research as well as our society, we provide innovative services oriented towards the current needs of our users. We regularly check and modify the focal points and goals defined in the scope of a strategy process in 2018. They serve as reference points for our further development and annual project planning. In that process, we consistently orient our efforts towards the requirements of our stakeholders, Schleswig-Holstein and additional important higher education and science policy committees, in addition to our contracting party, Kiel University.

The strategic goals we want to reach by 2024 are:

Further developing the information supply

Supplying information at Kiel University (agreed upon with the partners on campus and taking priority research areas into particular consideration) and in the transregional system of specialised information services (here the FID Northern Europe) and guaranteeing lasting usability of printed and electronic collections are among Kiel University Library's pre-eminent core tasks.
We are further expanding the range of e-media offered to improve user orientation and make information more readily available (taking new media formats into consideration as well), and we want to check new acquisition models in terms of value and efficiency and apply them, if relevant.

Expanding the Central Library as a learning location

Libraries are central locations that are used intensively. They are also places for concentrated work (individually or in groups) and exchanges for a variety of user groups and projects.
As the main place of learning and a meeting point on the CAU campus, we are increasing the range of ways people can work in the Central Library. We want to adapt them to different working needs and provide modern digital technology, and we also want to make them available to students, researchers and all citizens. We are further developing cooperative service offers with our partners from Kiel University and the region.

Further developing offers related to information skills

As one of the key qualifications of the 21st century, information skills contribute considerably to successful and efficient academic work.
We support the entire work process with custom offers on efficiently using and handling information - from researching and writing papers to presenting and publishing work results. With our cooperation partners at Kiel University and in the state, we are further expanding our digital offers and services directed at diverse target groups in this process.

Promoting Open Access and expanding publication services

Academic information benefits from digital dissemination and free provision in Open Access (OA).
By maintaining the OA publication server MACAU and providing our additional services (consulting, managing the OA publication fund of Schleswig-Holstein), we support the publication of academic information from Kiel University in OA. By further developing our publication services in OA, we are making an important contribution to increasing the amount of freely accessible academic information at the CAU.

Imparting cultural heritage / services for digital humanities

IT-based methods and tools are being used increasingly in the humanities and in cultural studies, especially for collaborative work with databases.
As the Competence Centre for Digital Humanities, we support research and teaching by indexing, digitalising and providing a variety of resources. When indexing our digitised historic collections, we will use IT-supported tools to involve researchers and interested members of the public in the sense of citizen science.
The organic connection of historic material, modern information indexing and technology is very important to us. We exercise responsibility for the original content of our collections as per the principles of the state concept for inventory conservation.

Services for Schleswig-Holstein

Kiel University Library has performed important tasks in managing the local library system for the university libraries in Schleswig-Holstein for many years and exercises the right to collect deposit copies of printed and electronic publications from Schleswig-Holstein.
As part of Schleswig-Holstein's digitalisation strategy, we shall contribute our infrastructures and skills in the areas of digitalisation and digital humanities to collaborations and projects with other commemorative institutions in the state that make important contributions to studies, teaching and research.