Vision

The CSU Libraries are recognized as a strategic asset that informs, educates, and enriches the learning environment and transforms knowledge and scholarship by connecting people and ideas.

Mission

The CSU Libraries collaborate, innovate, and leverage opportunities to advance learning, discovery, knowledge creation, and the public good through the provision of equitable services, expertise, and information resources.

Values

The CSU Council of Library Deans:

• Honor the library’s role in the centrality of student learning;
• Pursue excellence in support of the intellectual needs of Library users;
• Collaborate for efficiency and increased access to information;
• Leverage resources to improve upon existing models of scholarly communication;
• Steward resources in a responsible and transparent manner;
• Exercise mutual respect and share information broadly;
• Advance the creative thinking and infrastructure necessary for innovation; and
• Strive for continuous improvement to meet the changing requirements of the information environment and needs of Library users.

Goals

1. Shared Content

In support of existing and emerging research activities, the CSU Libraries acquire, preserve, and provide equitable access to shared information resources for all students and faculty regardless of campus. This is accomplished through the collaborative selection and organization of materials and through the negotiation of shared content rights.

The CSU Libraries will also use shared content to:

• Reduce duplicative costs
• Capitalize on storage efficiencies
• Maximize buying power for both common and local collections.

2. Digital Collection of CSU Works

The CSU Libraries advance research, scholarship, teaching, and learning by collaboratively collecting, organizing, preserving, curating, and sharing scholarly, creative, and unique collections produced by the CSU community.

3. Assessment

The CSU Libraries leverage analytics and engage in assessment activities (student learning assessment, evaluation of services, user experience studies, and more) to make evidence-based decisions that support excellence in CSU teaching, learning, and scholarship.

In support of this goal, the CSU Libraries will:

• Demonstrate that library instruction and usage leads to student success
• Connect libraries with institutional research offices
• Review recent value-related research methodologies to identify the most promising approaches
• Share knowledge about additional assessment strategies and tactics

4. Resource Sharing

The CSU Libraries leverage the ability of 23 libraries to optimize efficiencies in support of the research and learning needs of CSU students, faculty, and staff by:

• Sharing print and digital collections quickly and efficiently
• Sharing expertise, skills, and knowledge both virtually and physically
• Sharing Online Learning Tools
• Sharing scripts or apps that facilitate the discovery and delivery of library resources
• Sharing metadata

5. Unified Library Management System (ULMS)

The CSU Libraries collectively maintain a unified library services platform that provides the critical technological infrastructure needed to support COLD’s mission and goals through the collaborative administration of acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, and analytics systems.