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Sample Library Policies for the Small Public Library

I. Mission and Goals

A. The mission of the _________ Public Library is to provide quality materials and services which fulfill educational, informational, cultural, and recreational needs of the entire community in an atmosphere that is welcoming, respectful, and businesslike.

[A mission statement should generally lay out a purpose and direction for your library in one or two sentences.]

B. The general library goals of the _________ Public Library shall be:
  1. To serve all residents of the community and the surrounding region.
  2. To acquire and make available to all residents of the above area such books, periodicals, pamphlets, and other services as will address their needs to a) become well informed, b) locate answers to important questions, c) cultivate the imagination and creative expression, d) develop skills for career and vocational advancement, and e) enjoy leisure by means of reading and other media services.
  3. To acquire the means to provide the most frequently requested material locally and upon demand.
  4. To maintain a program of service which locates information, guides reading, organizes and interprets material for people of various backgrounds, and stimulates thinking and intellectual development in individuals of any age.
  5. To strive consistently to discover new methods and improvements for better service for the library's customers.
  6. To review regularly these goals of the _________ Public Library and, if necessary, revise them in the light of new developments.

[Goals should be targets which may or may not be fully attainable, but which will lead to a benefit for library customers and development of library services. Goal statements are usually further defined by objectives which are specific, quantifiable tasks and strategies that lead towards satisfaction of the goal. Goals and objectives related to specific categories of services or facilities are usually specified in a long range planning document rather than in the policy manual. For a policy manual, a goal statement is used only to suggest a broad philosophical framework for the establishment of the policies that follow.]

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