Vision and Mission Statements

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Vision and Mission Statements
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Taken Together...

• Our Vision is ... our dreamwhere we are headed
  ...what we aspire to be
• Our Mission is ... our purposewhy we exist

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A Vision Statement for the University Libraries

• Karla Block
• John Butler
• Jerilyn Veldof

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A vision is a ...
... compelling conceptual image of our desired
future
Its about greatness. It electrifies and
invigorates. It is the ultimate standard toward
which progress is measured.
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A Vision Statement Answers These Questions

• What are our aspirations?
• What is our ideal future?
• What do we desire to accomplish?
• What will our organization look like in the
  future?
• How do we wish to be known by our customers,
  members and our community?
• How will our organization enhance the quality of
  life for those who use our services/products?

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A Vision Statement Should Be

• Brief
• Memorable
• Inspiring
• Challenging

• Descriptive of the ideal
• Appealing to all stakeholders
• Descriptive of future service levels

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Who should a Vision Statement be for?

• Us?
• Our community?
• All stakeholders, but how its pitched reveals a
  truth about our aspirations.

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Vision Statement Sampler
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Vision HealthPartners

• We will be the best and most trusted provider of
  health care, health promotion, health care
  financing and health care administration in the
  country.

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Vision U Washington Libraries

• We envision a library
• Responsive to the diverse needs and expectations
  of the University community with users at the
  center of all that the library does
• Inviting, comfortable, accessible, and safe for
  all
• Rich in resources and collections both within and
  beyond the walls of the library
• Joining with others to develop collaborative and
  innovative teaching, learning, and research
  environments.

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Vision North Carolina State U

• The Libraries
• NC State's competitive advantage.

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Vision Minneapolis Public Library

• The Minneapolis Public Library, an essential
  public institution for the active exercise of
  democracy and intellectual freedom, helps shape a
  future...

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Vision Minneapolis Public Library

• where
• people of all ages successfully navigate
  information for work, study, and play
• the city, its businesses, and residents prosper
• each library is a vital center in dynamic and
  diverse neighborhoods
• cultural life is rich and varied
• literacy is widespread
• everyone is enlivened by the joy of discovery,
  reading, and lifelong learning.

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The U Libraries Current Vision Statement

• The University Libraries is the center of choice
  at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for
  immediate access to high quality information.

• The Libraries' knowledgeable, innovative, and
  service-oriented staff
• Integrates information resources and skills into
  the broader teaching, research, and service
  mission of the University
• Develops unique digital resources and services
• Collaborates in creating an economically
  sustainable model of scholarly communication.

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A proposed vision for discussion...

• We will provide our community with an
  extraordinary information experience...

that is

• is integral to and highly valued by the
  University
• provides a model for research libraries
  throughout the country
• brings the Libraries recognition as a world
  renown resource for scholarship

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Do either of these

• Inspire you? Energize you?

• Do these communicate to you
• what our aspirations are?
• our ideal future?
• what our organization will look like in the
  future?
• how we wish to be known by our community?
• how we will enhance the quality of life for
  those who use our services/resources?

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Vision Groups Inspiration Sources

• A library -- University of Arizona
• A health care organization -- HealthPartners
• An ice cream company -- Cold Stone Creamery

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A Mission Statement for the University Libraries

• Beth Kaplan
• Shane Nackerud
• Judy Wells

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Developing a Mission Statement

• Criteria for an effective mission statement
• Is short and sharply focused
• Is clear and easily understood
• Defines why the organizations exists
• Does not prescribe means
• Is sufficiently broad

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Criteria for an effective mission statement

• Provides direction for doing the right things
• Addresses our opportunities
• Matches our competence
• Inspires our commitment
• Says what, in the end, we want to be remembered
  for

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Questions to ask when drafting a mission statement

• Who is the audience for the mission statement?
• Library Staff
• Faculty, Students
• Library Users
• University Administration
• Community, State, World

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Questions to ask when drafting a mission statement

• Whom does the library aim to serve?
• What term do we use to describe library users?
• Customers, Library Users, Patrons
• User Community
• Students, Faculty, Staff
• Community, State, World

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Questions to ask when drafting a mission statement

• What action do we take with/for our library
  users?
• Connect Support
• Partner Enhance
• Enable Collaborate
• Enrich Deliver
• Create Provide access
• Advance Meet information needs

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Questions to ask when drafting a mission statement

• What qualities or characteristics come to mind
  when you think about the library?
• Why is the library important --to individuals,
  the community, the parent institution?

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About the Mission Statement...

• Does it communicate the most important thing you
  want people to know and remember?
• Does it inspire enthusiasm?
• Is it simple and memorable? Does it pass the
  T-shirt test?

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About the Mission Statement...

• Are the language and content current?
• Does the tone complement the image you wish for
  the library?

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University of Minnesota Libraries Existing
Mission Statement

• The mission of the University of Minnesota
  Libraries is to enhance access to and maintain
  the public record of human thought, knowledge,
  and culture for current and future users. The
  University Libraries support the Universitys
  threefold mission of research and discovery,
  teaching and learning, and outreach and public
  service through the development of collections,
  delivery of services, and creative applications
  of information technologies.

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Mission Statements from Other Academic Libraries

• We connect our customers to information that
  furthers their education and research goals.
• University of Arizona Libraries

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Mission Statements from Other Academic Libraries

• The University of Washington Libraries enriches
  the quality of life and advances intellectual
  discovery by connecting people with knowledge.
• University of Washington Libraries

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Mission Statements from Other Academic Libraries

• The Ohio State University Libraries are committed
  to meeting the diverse and changing information
  needs of the Universitys students, faculty, and
  staff, and to participating in resource sharing
  programs throughout Ohio and the world.
• Ohio State University Libraries

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Mission Statements from Other Academic
Libraries

• The University Library exists as an archive of
  accumulated knowledge, a gateway to scholarship,
  and a catalyst for the discovery and advancement
  of new ideas. In fulfilling its obligation to
  provide knowledge to the University and the
  scholarly community at large, the University
  Library collects, organizes, and provides access
  to recorded knowledge in all its formats. The
  Library Faculty initiate discussions and propose
  creative solutions to the information challenges
  facing the University and the scholarly
  community. The University Librarys faculty and
  staff actively participate in providing quality
  service, access, instruction and management of
  scholarly information.
• University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

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A Starting Point for Discussion...

• We connect our users to the resources that
  support their education and research goals and
  advance intellectual discovery throughout the
  University of Minnesota community and beyond.

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Sources

• Drucker Foundation Self-Assessment Tool Content
• How to Develop a Mission Statement
• http//www.pfdf.org/leaderbooks/sat/mission.html
• Wallace, Linda K. Libraries, mission,
  marketing writing mission statements that work
  / Linda K. Wallace. Chicago American Library
  Association, 2004. vi, 82 p. 23 cm.TC Wilson
  Library Z678 .W327 2004 Regular Loan