Mission
We encourage discovery and inspire curiosity in the pursuit of knowledge and truth by connecting our community to scholarly resources and expertise in a welcoming learning environment.
Vision
We aspire to help our community successfully navigate an increasingly complex information landscape as engaged and informed citizens.
Values
We embrace the Benedictine Catholic values of hospitality, stability, work, care, and learning:
- by providing a welcoming and positive learning environment,
- by helping researchers with respect, levity, and good will,
- by engaging and collaborating with campus and community partners, and
- through conscientious stewardship of funds and resources.
We are friendly, approachable, and helpful. We experiment with new ideas and seek to make meaningful change. We are curious, love to learn, and nurture discovery and growth.
Strategic Plan
We foster a welcoming and positive environment that encourages individuals to seek out new knowledge and perspectives. Through our spaces, services, and resources we empower individuals with the confidence to seek, discover, and explore in the acquisition of new information. We connect people and resources within a facility that promotes meaningful collaboration and personal growth.
Objectives
- Assess the effectiveness of existing library signage in order to implement improvements in the access and use of library services and resources.
- Evaluate library display spaces in order to improve their aesthetics and functionality.
- Explore, design, and implement customer service training for library staff and students working at service desks in order to enhance our welcoming atmosphere and culture.
- Seek to implement the Lavallee | Brensinger Library Space Study recommendations, especially for the lower level, in order to create a more attractive and conducive atmosphere for community needs.
We promote meaningful academic, spiritual, and cultural explorations through programmatic collaboration with campus and community partners. We encourage academic discovery and discourse outside of the classroom through programming and information resources that offer varied perspectives and ideas.
Objectives
- Promote distinctive collections in order to improve access and discoverability.
- Establish traditions, events, and programs in order to cultivate a community of research and scholarship.
- Collaborate with on and off-campus partners in order to develop and promote programming that facilitates study, research, and service within and for our community.
- Improve internal communications in order to effectively coordinate programming, activities, and services.
- Revitalize the library's Friends Group in order to cultivate support for library programs and projects.
We are experts in the effective selection, acquisition, organization, integration, and accession of print and electronic information resources. Because understanding and navigating our current information environment becomes more complex every year, it is critical that we remain up to date with evolving practices and technologies within our field. Continuous opportunities for professional development are paramount in our ability to innovate and respond to change.
Objectives
- Explore staff training and development programs, and policies in order to enhance our disciplinary knowledge and customer-focused culture.
- Support staff participation in professional development activities such as attendance and presentations at conferences, specialized training programs and seminars, and public recognition of research and publication in order to expand college brand identity and mission.
- Communicate to the campus community the value of library staff expertise and student worker contributions to the college in order to demonstrate the extent to which they impact faculty scholarship and teaching, as well as student development, success, and retention.
- Practice effective stewardship of human, fiscal, and operational resources in order to keep abreast of changing community needs and experiment with new initiatives.
- Evaluate the library liaison program in order to refine and improve the role of professional librarians in supporting the college-wide information literacy outcome, faculty and student research, and developing collections.
We contribute to the college's academic distinction by providing access to scholarly communication, preserving access to the scholarly record, and collecting and promoting scholarship created by faculty, staff, and students. Through ongoing evaluation of our collections and facility, we seek to meet the present and future needs of our community.
Objectives
- Collaborate with the Office of Information Technology to improve the quality, functionality, and performance of technologies in the building in order to support the needs of our community.
- Coordinate with Physical Plant on the implementation of the Lavallee | Brensinger Library Space Study in order to add and/or update group and individual study and teaching spaces, HVAC, electrical, and rest room facilities.
- Coordinate the creation and implementation of an institutional repository in order to promote and support research, teaching, and learning.
- Expand and formalize the assessment of library resources and services in order to make strategic, evidence-based decisions.
- Evaluate the existing collection review processes of new courses and academic programs in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of communications and acquisitions planning.
- Explore donor development opportunities with the Office of Advancement in order to create new pathways of financial support for improved resources and services that enhance teaching and learning.