About Us
Mission, Vision, and Strategic Directions
Yale University Library is made up of almost 600 staff, over a dozen libraries and locations, vast physical collections, extensive electronic resources, and a suite of user-focused services. These elements are activated and connected by technology and deep expertise in the service of teaching, learning, research, and practice.
Yale Library’s unique collections, amassed over three centuries and widely used in teaching, are a distinctive feature of a Yale education, alongside the holdings of Yale’s museums. In continuing to build and steward these collections, we are committed to preserving and disseminating human knowledge, and to finding new ways to make our collections accessible to the Yale community and to the world.
Our shared work is guided by Yale Library’s mission, vision, and strategic directions. Our staff also contribute to and collaborate widely across the library profession, including through many professional associations and memberships.
We have made a deep organizational commitment to values-based approaches to our work. Our library staff values set the tone for our community and our engagement with library users. We invite you to embrace and practice these values in community with us.
We are committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining an excellent and values-driven staff community, grounded in integrity and mutual respect. Learn more about employment opportunities at Yale Library.
Mission
Vision
Strategic Directions
1. Cultivate community. Build and sustain a diverse and inclusive library community that fosters personal growth and a sense of belonging for library staff and users alike. Embed support and welcome for diverse identities and cultural experiences in our actions and discourse. Ensure our collections, programs, spaces, and services reflect our commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
2. Focus on service to library users. Center the needs and goals of library users in the ongoing development of our physical and online environments, instruction, and services. Continuously assess and improve the library experience of students, faculty, researchers, practitioners, and visitors.
3. Ensure broad access to the scholarly and cultural record. Build and sustain collections that inspire research and teaching, stimulate new knowledge and creativity, and preserve a diverse record of human experience and scholarship. Innovate and collaborate as responsible stewards of intellectual heritage. Make collections more open and accessible.
4. Accelerate the creation of new knowledge. Expand access to research and scholarship to accelerate discovery and amplify research outcomes. Evolve services for digital humanities, data science, and computational scholarship to support research innovation and knowledge production. Develop programs to inspire curiosity and engage broader audiences.
5. Catalyze student success. Spark student innovation, intellectual development, and creativity with technology-rich services, supportive spaces and staff, and opportunities for experiential learning and knowledge production. Partner with faculty and other Yale colleagues to enrich student research and information skills.
Revised: June 2022
Staff Values
The staff values, developed by and for Yale Library staff, are intended to set the tone for our collaborative work, communication, and interactions with library users. Yale Library patrons and visitors are invited to embrace and practice these values in community with us.
We commit to cultivating a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hold ourselves and each other accountable for embodying these values in our shared work:
- Access We champion equitable, ethical access to the record of human thought and experience.
- Diversity We value our differences and promote inclusion and mutual respect in our community, discourse, and spaces.
- Creativity We nurture a culture of curiosity and innovation.
Revised: August 2022
