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North Hall Library Vision Statement
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Philosophical Statement of the North Hall Library Information serves as the lifeblood of the academic community. As the cultural center of the university we will strive to create a fervor for learning. We will invest in both the technological and intellectual capabilities needed to extend our presence beyond the library’s walls. At the same time, we will emphasize our traditional role as mentors to instruct users in the critical skills necessary for utilizing diverse information resources and strategies appropriately. Individual faculty and staff will continually strive to improve their own skills, serve patrons, and anticipate future needs. While maintaining significant holdings of paper-based materials, liaison librarians will develop growing collections of electronic resources capable of reaching greater numbers of users through the campus network and other methods of document delivery. Faculty and staff will continuously pursue a spirit of cooperation and partnership with the administration, teaching faculty, bargaining units, and others to achieve all goals outlined in the Library and University mission statements. At all times the overriding objective of library activity remains steadfast: quality service to the information seeker. To meet future challenges, then, the library endeavors to realize the following objectives. Technology For the first time in history, technology promises isolated rural communities, such as Mansfield, 24-hour access to worldwide information resources. Ideally, faculty, staff and students should be able to search any online catalog or index from their own homes, dorm rooms or offices. Such convenient, patron-oriented service, regardless of location of facilities or ownership of materials (books, journals, recordings, etc.), is often referred to as the "Virtual Library." Insofar as new technologies empower the Mansfield Community with increased access to information, we seek to support our customers with appropriate applications such as full image databases, wide area networks, client-server computing, multimedia, etc. By utilizing network resources, authorized users and guests will then be able to access a wide variety of information and data, from numerous sources ranging from universities, governments, and commercial enterprises. Staffing People are essential and irreplaceable assets of the library. Library faculty and staff collect and will continue to collect materials and make them accessible to the campus community. These same people will also utilize new technologies to access remote sources of information and will lead and teach students and faculty to access these sources as well. As emerging technologies and techniques create a greater diversity of demands, library faculty and staff must be afforded every possible opportunity to sharpen their skills and knowledge. The entire library staff will continue to strive to serve and educate patrons in a friendly, responsive, and helpful manner. Outreach and User Instruction Library services will continue to be necessary and relevant to the goals of education, and with the advent of a largely information-based economy, increase in importance. We will proactively reach out to the campus community to assess their information needs. While traditional services continue and evolve, we are also committed to greater networked access. As there are more and more resources available to the MU campus because of network connections, we anticipate increased demand at the reference desk for one-on-one instruction in using a greater variety of formats and search strategies. Reference will not only imply face to face encounters, but inquiries via phone or e-mail as patrons use remote access. An increase in the types of sources and methods of access may generate greater demand for Library User Instruction (LUI). Librarians view the growing use of electronic databases as an opportunity to instruct users on the value and efficiency of a well-defined search strategy. LUI can emphasize efficient use of technologies, while also enhancing the image of the library as the best resource for learning how to successfully navigate the seemingly uncharted waters of the "New Information Age." Internal Governance The use of task groups can best meet the challenges of the future. As innovations and needs arise, small task groups can quickly form to study and recommend actions to the library faculty and staff. Additionally, the Director, Automation Manager, and department heads can keep the entire library staff informed of imminent changes, trends, and innovations in library operations. Long range goals should involve a maximum of coordinated planning. External Relations The Library cannot operate in a vacuum. Close relations with the Computer Center are vital for continuing growth in networking, use of the Internet, and computerization. The role of information crosses many boundaries, with little distinction between formats or media. The Library and Computer Center should present to the campus a unified approach to computerized information access: technology serves people. We shall also educate the administration and teaching faculty on the interrelationship between education and information, and the role the Library plays in that process. Realizing that budgets do not keep pace with the demands for information access, we will seek cooperation with neighboring libraries. In particular, collection development and ILL can be coordinated with partner institutions. |
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