In 2016, the University of Michigan Library (U-M Library) began the process of transforming physical and virtual spaces to serve the emerging needs of our research community and taking care to ensure that, whatever form our buildings and web presence take, it will follow the function and intent of our services. The U-M Library is a large, complex library with nearly 500 staff and librarians, millions of collections, and hundreds of unique services. Although the library has a decentralized organizational structure, the benefits of such a structure include the ability for departments to be nimble, responsive, and find creative solutions that are more personalized and that take advantage of unique expertise. However, when each division, department, and unit can act independently, it can be a real challenge to move forward large, important, library-wide initiatives. Implementing large-scale change that directly impacts the culture and physical space, as well as conducting meaningful assessment, becomes a complicated endeavor.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.