Revisiting Library Mission, Vision, and Values Statements

At a recent panel on book banning, Emily Knox, professor at School of Information Sciences at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and author of Book Banning in 21st Century America, discussed the importance of Library Mission, Vision, and Values Statements in light of neutrality (University of Chicago, 2024).  Through our experience working on Leonard Lief Library’s Mission, Vision, Values Statement, we wondered (as an aspiring R2 institution) how our vision and values (Leonard Lief Library, 2021) related to urban-region R2 academic library statements.  We also examined overall visions from national and international professional organizations such as American Library Association (ALA) and International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Leonard Lief Library’s Mission, Vision, and Values Statements align with the College’s SEEDS values (Social Justice, Excellence, Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion, and Service), but are specific to what the Library does.  In reviewing the R2 library statements, we observed library visions, as well as statements about libraries as spaces, research institutions, community-serving institutions, and in support of student success.

Vision statements situate the library within the campus ecosystem, the information world, and the lives of individuals served by the library:

• Libraries are “essential” (Kent State University Libraries, 2024) and “integral” (Jackson State, n.d.) to the college campus
• Cleveland State University Library brings “information and people together” (2024)
• Rutgers Newark serves as a “user-focused intellectual hub” (Rutgers University Libraries, 2024)
• At Lehman we aspire to “see members of our community as individuals, recognizing their strengths to help them imagine and enact their goals, expand their vision, and develop habits of inquiry through our collections and library services” (Leonard Lief Library, 2021)

The word welcoming appears across several libraries’ statements and echoes the role they play in supporting inclusion:

• “Leonard Lief Library provides a welcoming haven for learning and community” (Leonard Lief Library, 2021)
• Florida Atlantic, Boca Raton provides a “welcoming, safe and effective place for people to explore, study, create, and collaborate” (Florida Atlantic University Library, 2024)
• Michigan State provides “welcoming spaces where everyone can work, discover, and create. We advance accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace and in the services and resources we provide” (Michigan State University Libraries, n.d.)

This leads us to communities we serve, both on campus and beyond:

• At Lehman “the Library is committed to fulfilling the needs of a diverse urban community, helping empower and foster personal and professional development, inspiring lifelong learning and social mobility” (Leonard Lief Library, 2021)
• Kent State suggests being “open to ideas, thoughts, and opinions that may differ from our own” (Kent State University Libraries, 2024)
• Some campuses also provide direct library service to the community beyond the campus (Idaho State University, 2024; Jackson State Community College, n.d.)

And finally, a few statements about research and student success:

• Kent State serves to “deliver unparalleled opportunities for success in learning, research and discovery” (Kent State University Libraries, 2024)
• Arizona State (Downtown Phoenix Campus) “advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice” (Arizona State University Library, 2024)
• And at Lehman, we promote and support “ethical and engaged research and the concurrent values of academic freedom and respectful discourse reflecting the progressive spirit of the College’s namesake, Herbert H. Lehman” (Leonard Lief Library, 2021)

Looking to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, IFLA endorses “the principles of freedom of access to information, ideas and works of imagination and freedom of expression” (IFLA, n.d.), and a “belief that people, communities and organizations need universal and equitable access to information, ideas and works of imagination” (IFLA, n.d.).  Along with IFLA, ALA’s Core Values stress issues of access, equity, and intellectual freedom.  ALA also emphasizes privacy, public good, and sustainability (American Library Association, 2024).  Here at Lehman, along with libraries globally, we provide a platform, virtual or onsite, for exploration and community around research, discovery, and discussion.

Alison Lehner-Quam and Martha Lerski

References

American Library Association. (2024). About ALA & our mission. American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/aboutala

Arizona State University Library. (2024). Downtown Phoenix campus library. Arizona State University. https://lib.asu.edu/downtown

Cleveland State University Library. (2024).  Library mission, purpose, & vision statements. Cleveland State University. http://library.csuohio.edu/information/mission.html

Florida Atlantic University Library. (2024). FAU Libraries strategic plan. Florida Atlantic University. https://library.fau.edu/administration/strategic-plan

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). (n.d.). Vision. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. https://www.ifla.org/vision/

Idaho State University. (2024). Library mission statement. Idaho State University Library. https://www.isu.edu/library/about/mission-statement/

Jackson State Community College. (n.d.). Library. Jackson State Community College. https://jscc.edu/academics/academic-services/library/

Kent State University Libraries. (2024). Mission, vision, & values. Kent State University. https://www.library.kent.edu/about/departments/administration/mission-vision-values#:~:text=Our%20Mission,they%20are%20in%20the%20world.

Leonard Lief Library. (2021). Mission. Lehman College. https://www.lehman.edu/library/mission.php

Michigan State University Libraries. (n.d.). Strategic plan. Michigan State University. https://lib.msu.edu/strategic-plan

Rutgers University Libraries. (2024). About Dana Library. Rutgers University. https://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/newark/about-dana-library#:~:text=The%20John%20Cotton%20Dana%20Library,technologies%20into%20our%20user%20community.

University of Chicago Library. (2024, August 12). Confronting book bans: A panel Discussion. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/HYew3aApC8w?si=_SRTchLrtRrld-cC