Our Mission
Rutgers University Libraries advance academic excellence and foster engagement in the teaching, learning, research, cultural, and clinical work of our broad community by providing essential scholarly resources and services to Rutgers and beyond.
Our Values and Principles
Rutgers University Libraries’ values and principles inform our efforts to support and enrich the instructional, research, and public service missions of Rutgers University. Our values represent our core beliefs, while each of the supporting principles describes how these values can and should be manifested in our day-to-day work. Serving as a compass to guide our interactions and decision-making, these elements differ from our annual priorities, which describe the “what” of our work rather than the “how” and “why.” In this changing information environment, these “how” and “why” statements will help ensure that we provide the highest level of service to all library users and treat our colleagues with respect, fairness, and good faith.
Inquiry
Supporting and participating in the free pursuit and creation of knowledge through teaching and research.
- We foster the advancement of knowledge, intellectual curiosity, creativity, and information literacy through our people, spaces, collections, and programming.
- We uphold the principle of intellectual freedom, protect user privacy, and resist all efforts to censor resources and ideas.
- We support researchers at all levels, and across all the disciplines.
- We engage in research to advance library science and other disciplines.
Access
Providing a wide range of valued resources—information, service, and spaces.
- We respond to the growing research needs of our communities by providing, improving, and expanding access to virtual and physical resources.
- We champion open access and open educational resources.
- We provide cost-effective collections, services, and spaces to foster student success and support research, teaching, and learning.
- We acquire, preserve, make available, and showcase unique and rare collections that enhance the reputation and prestige of the university.
- We protect the resources in our stewardship to maintain access for future generations.
Service
Represents the myriad ways that the Libraries strive to provide superlative assistance to our users.
- We are guided by a user-centered philosophy. We provide responsive services that are tailored to user needs and endeavor to exceed their expectations.
- We are proactive and strive to anticipate the emerging needs of our user communities.
- We serve our users in an expert, timely, and respectful manner.
Collaboration
Building partnerships in the Libraries, across Rutgers, statewide, nationally, and globally.
- We regard collaboration as essential to the instruction, research, and service missions of the university. Through collaboration, we manage our resources strategically, create synergy, and expand our service model.
- We view each relationship as an opportunity for collaboration, building partnerships leading to community, innovation, and discovery.
- We pursue and develop collaborative relationships with students and colleagues within and beyond the university based on trust, collegiality, respect, and kindness.
- We strive for transparency of communication, internally and externally. Clear and open communication is the foundation of meaningful collaboration.