Our Mission
Rutgers University Libraries advance academic excellence and foster inclusion in the teaching, learning, research, cultural, and clinical work of our diverse community by providing essential scholarly resources and services to Rutgers and beyond.
Our Aspirations
• We advance teaching, learning, research, and health care to foster meaningful participation for all in a diverse global society.
• We offer welcoming, inspiring, and creative spaces that catalyze dynamic exchanges of ideas which further our collective aspirations for the common good.
• We demonstrate that transformation is possible and serve as a model of cultural competence, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• We are essential to the Rutgers University mission, renowned for our innovative and inclusive leadership on campus, in the profession, 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.” We also acknowledge the difficult truth that not all of these values fully reflect our current reality. For this reason, we have chosen to foreground our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in recognition that we must do more to create a workplace that embraces individuals with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and roles. Moving forward, we pledge to strive toward these standards of thought and behavior so that we may become an organization distinguished by a culture of fairness, respect, and opportunity for all.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Respecting and fostering perspectives that reflect varying backgrounds, identities, and their intersections. Creating and supporting structures and behaviors that promote equality, fairness, and justice. Promoting an environment of belonging, respect, opportunity, and empowerment.
- We promote diversity of personnel, resources, programming, and services to strengthen the university, deepen inquiry, and better serve our communities.
- We foster an inclusive environment, both internally and externally, that respects, appreciates, and embraces differences in ideas, perspectives, backgrounds, roles, identities—any of the myriad qualities that reflect the diversity of the human experience.
- We strive to offer equitable access to resources and facilities to give agency and power to our diverse communities of users.
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.