36 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 294 — 2018 will exercise their leadership responsibilities through the articulation of broad goals/objectives for RPT leads and provide direct traditional oversight for the library’s core functional areas (for example, cataloging, acquisitions) and shared services utilized by multiple RPTs (for example, GIS services, fiscal services, human resources). In this brave new world of decentralization, the USF Libraries leadership will focus on ensuring constant communication and careful coordination. Conclusion At the time of writing (May 2018), the first RPT has been launched. Led by a librarian with a graduate certificate in environmental studies and complemented by a newly hired ABD subject expert in geoscience education, that team is focused on the School of Geosciences (including the more traditional disciplines of geology, environmental studies, and geography). Three Research Platform Teams will be in place by fall 2018. They are the result of existing strong collaborative relationships with the departments and represent a translation of these relationships into a more formalized arrangement. The USF Libraries’ five-year hiring plan includes 10 additional RPTs hired at a rate of two per year. The department chairs and departmental faculty (geosciences, English, and history) have expressed high levels of enthusiasm for working with the library to forge a new kind of partnership centered around increased support for faculty and graduate students. As the discussion progressed, the chairs from the departments circled areas of Figure 1 that were most interesting to them as an indicator of their interest in, The department chairs and departmental faculty (geosciences, English, and history) have expressed high levels of enthusiasm for working with the library to forge a new kind of partnership centered around increased support for faculty and graduate students.