Your mission describes the purpose of your library. It is part of your strategy on how to achieve your vision. It tells your users who you are and what value you have to offer. It tells them what you stand for in an inspiring and active, yet plausible and specific way. What do you do, for whom, and how?

Here are 10 mission statements that are all slightly different: some highlight their user-centredness or their adaptability, or themselves as facilitators. Whereas others emphasise what they strive for, e.g. excellence or how they will contribute to making students or researchers better scholars.

1. “The Harvard Library advances scholarship and teaching by committing itself to the creation, application, preservation and dissemination of knowledge.” Harvard Library, Harvard University, US
2. “We are a user-centered organization that provides scholarly resources and advanced information services in an adaptable environment equipped to meet the changing needs of Caltech’s research and education programs in a timely, cost-effective manner.” Caltech Library, Caltech, US
3. “To help prepare HKUST students to be successful global citizens and life-long learners; To enhance intellectual discovery, scholarship and exchange of knowledge; To meet the information and whole-person development needs of the HKUST community.” HKUST Library, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
4. “As the academic commons of Western University, Western Libraries provides the library and archival experience and infrastructure – information resources, technology, people, and spaces – required to cultivate and mobilize knowledge, and accelerate excellence in teaching research and scholarship.” Western Libraries, Western University, Canada
5. “…We provide pathways to enrich learning and research experiences that enable engagement with the University and the wider community.” UQ Library, The University of Queensland, Australia
6. “The mission of the MIT Libraries is to create and sustain an evolving information environment that advances learning, research, and innovation at MIT. We are committed to excellence in services, strategies, and systems that promote discovery, preserve knowledge, and improve worldwide scholarly communication.” MIT Libraries, MIT, US
7. “To enable people in higher education, further education and skills in the UK to perform at the forefront of international practice by exploiting fully the possibilities of modern digital empowerment, content and connectivity.” Jisc, UK
8. “The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is dedicated to supporting the transformative promise of digital information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity.” CNI, US
9. “To enrich people’s lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.” BBC, UK
10. “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Google, US

If you have a mission statement, that you particularly like, please share it below.