Library Vision
In support of the Milwaukee School of Engineering's mission, principles, and goals -- and featuring an inviting, friendly, interesting, service-oriented, customer-responsive environment that encourages collaboration and the exchange of ideas, intellectual curiosity, learning, and discovery, in addition to quiet study -- the Walter Schroeder Library provides resources and services that meet the informational needs associated with the educational, research, professional, social, and recreational activities of its customers.
Specifically, the library seeks to provide recorded knowledge and information -- or access to recorded knowledge and information -- consistent with present and anticipated documented information needs at MSOE.
At all times, the library works to contribute to the overall mission of MSOE. A number specific mission statements currently support and define the library's vision. These mission statements may be classified into one of three broad categories:
- The library serves the intellectual and social needs of people.
- The library is a place.
- The library makes available resources and services.
Mission Statements
People
Mission A: To support the mission, principles, and goals of MSOE and to build interdepartmental cooperation, communication and collaboration.
Mission B: To be customer-driven, customer-responsive, and service-oriented, and to regularly evaluate who are customers are and what they need.
Mission C: To regularly evaluate that customers are changed as a result of contact with the library, and to regularly verify that the library provides value to MSOE.
Mission D: To recruit and retain a highly qualified, effective and numerically sufficient staff.
Mission E: To motivate library staff to high levels of achievement, encouraging continuing development and staff enhancement.
Place
Mission F: To house the library’s print and other physical collections in adequate facilities conducive to the use and preservation of the collections.
Mission G: To provide a well-maintained and safe environment.
Mission H: To provide an inviting, welcoming, interesting, aesthetically-pleasing multipurpose physical environment that enhances both collaboration and quiet study, and facilitates the provision of multiple services.
Mission I: To evaluate -- from time to time, as institutional and library-related strategic exigencies necessitate -- the library physical plant, and to implement change as appropriate to meet the needs of customers.
Resources/Services
Mission J: To acquire materials -- and to acquire access to materials -- in appropriate formats and in sufficient quantity, depth, and diversity to support teaching, education, research, and study in the subject areas of the MSOE curriculum, in addition to documented information needs consistent with the professional, social, and recreational activities of the library’s customers.
Mission K: To provide bibliographic, physical, and intellectual access in the library and outside of the library to recorded knowledge and information consistent with the teaching, research, educational, professional, social, and recreational activities of the library’s customers.
Mission L: To meet the informational needs of its customers by providing access to information resources, such as books, journals, databases, DVDs, and other formats and types of information. In serving the informational needs of our customers, the library will facilitate access to local, national, and international resources, and will make information readily available, with an emphasis on electronic information, and with a recognition that formats can change or evolve.
Mission M: To respond to the changing state of knowledge, the MSOE curriculum, and the information needs of our customers by evaluating collections, services, and resources necessary for meeting the needs of customers, and to implement change as appropriate.
Mission N: To guide and to instruct our customers in the identification, interpretation, and use of library materials, information, resources, and equipment.
Mission O: To provide appropriate library-related research services to library customers.
Mission P: To ensure the preservation and availability of official records and other materials which document the history of MSOE.
Mission Q: To maintain adequate equipment and technology consistent with the strategic goals of the library and the needs of customers.
Mission R: To embrace innovation, new technology, and new practices in order to become an information producer of unique materials and resources online, including scholarship, research results, and other types of information produced by MSOE students, faculty, and staff.
Mission S: To promote the library and to employ appropriate technology, methods, and practices to enhance customer awareness of the library’s resources and services.