Response to SUNY's Strategic Plan draft

SUNY has just put out a draft Strategic Plan, and as long-time library advocate Bill Drew rightly points out, there is not a single mention of libraries or librarians in it. As such, here is the hastily written response I sent to the Strategic Planning team's call for feedback:

Dear SUNY Strategic Plan team,

As a librarian for the last seven years in the SUNY system, it is disheartening to read through the SUNY Strategic Plan document, with it's emphasis on the "knowledge economy," "core values" and on creating "involved citizens", and not see a single reference to the contributions and value of SUNY libraries and librarians. In my view, the ongoing fight to improve "information literacy" (the ability to effectively interact with information, in any form, to solve needs or problems) lies at the core of all these SUNY values. The basic ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information is one of the key structures that allows a knowledge economy to flourish, and these abilities are what librarians fight to instill in our students every day. Indeed, librarians could be viewed as essential in the struggle to have a more informed and effective citizenry in any democracy. I believe SUNY libraries have a role to play in this plan, and request their voices be added to this document. Thank you for your time and consideration.