Christopher Brist, Millicent Frazier, Becky Pugh, Dixie Shoemaker

Part Two: Media Center Mission Statement Analysis

Current Mission Statement: The media center is here to support all teachers and students by providing a
wide variety of resources to supplement the instructional goals of our school.
This mission statement has both positive elements and things that need to be improved or
added to make it a more suitable mission for a 21st Century library. To begin with, this mission statement
has a clearly expressed purpose, to support teachers and students, but fails to mention and include
other key players such as administration, parents, or surrounding community. The mission statement
should be expanded to include these other important people. The stated purpose is the strongest
element, even though it still needs improvement, of the mission statement as it is currently written.
After its purpose, the library seeks to find the need to provide access to information in this mission
statement. The statement above does explain that the media center wishes to provide a wide variety
of resources to supplement the instructional goals of our school. There is an implied need to provide
access in this wish to support the school, but its vague and not very descriptive. There should be a brief
list or description of what a wide variety of resources is, and how they will be delivered to those who
need them, without being overly wordy or long.
The mission statement does not really address the idea of providing a positive learning climate
to patrons of the library. The statement should be expanded to express the need to be a positive
influence on learners and other patrons who utilize library resources and facilities. In reference to the
community, the mission statement does not reach out beyond the students and staff of the school, and
should consider its impact on administration, parents, community and other library stakeholders, and
explain how it is going to collaborate with and support these people in the mission statement.
This mission can be described as a starting point, not a finalized mission declaration. Like so
many other mission statements of libraries stuck between the past and the future, it does reflect a
desire to be a part of the digital world and the new idea of what a library/media center is and should be,
but it does not truly understand, or at least does not put into words, what it means to be a library of the
future. It expresses the desire to work with teachers and students, and to offer and use a "wide variety
of resources," which implies digital materials in addition to print materials, but does not specifically
state their use or type. The mission statement should be updated and revised to reflect the changes
stated above so that it is more comprehensive, more detailed, and more oriented towards becoming a
21st century library.
For a frame of reference, other mission statements were sought out to compare to this one.
One found stated: It is the mission of the Wilder Elementary School Library Media Center to inspire a
passion for knowledge, appreciation for literature, and a love of reading. The library seeks to create a
safe, nurturing environment in which students will acquire the literacy skills necessary for success in the
21st century. This statement has more of the elements of a succinct, well rounded mission statement
that includes more of the four elements that the first element is missing. This one still needs work, but
shows a way that the missing elements can be added to the statement that currently exists.

Christopher Brist, Millicent Frazier, Becky Pugh, Dixie Shoemaker

New mission statement: The Creekside Elementary Media Center seeks to create a safe, nurturing
environment for students, teachers, staff, and community members, in which all can have free access to
information. The library wishes to inspire a love of reading and a passion for knowledge, to support the
instructional goals of the school, and to provide students with the literacy skills needed for success in
the 21st Century through the support of the media staff, books, media, technology, and other various
resources.