Mission: “The mission of the Chesterfield County Public School libraries is to empower students and staff through the direction and guidance of certified school librarians to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers and ethical users/creators of information in support of student achievement in a global environment” (Chesterfield County Public Schools, 2020)
Vision: CLS Office Mission and Vision CLS provides support for CCPS Library Services and School Librarians by:
- assisting School Librarians in integrating library resources and services into the curriculum and programs by helping align library resources and services for digital age literacy;
- providing information resources and services for School Librarians;
- increasing awareness for library resources and services for administrators;
- facilitating improvement of library facilities and working with school librarians to manage physical collections to use space more efficiently and plan for future needs;
- collaborating with external partners and vendors to provide better services for school libraries;
- managing and updating library software.
(Chesterfield County Public Schools, 2018)
Reflection:
I chose the library at my high school, Clover Hill, in Chesterfield County. My librarian shared the above mission statement as well as the mission and vision of the Central LIbrary Services for Chesterfield County.
I do believe that the mission effectively describes why the library exists. It is broad enough to encompass many activities but focused on the purpose of the library. Likewise, the mission discusses its purpose and ultimate goals, indicating that students and staff will become more effective users of information in the future. It tells the “who”, “what”, and “how” Moran and Morner reference in a clear way (2018, p. 91). Furthermore, the Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas indicates that a mission “explains the fundamental outcomes your organization is working to achieve” (2019). The library strives to develop lifelong learners, which is part of Chesterfield County Schools’ mission. Overall, I like the mission. I believe that it does a good job providing individual libraries with their own means of reaching their goals, while still delineating a clear cohesive mission for all libraries within the organization.
Unfortunately, there is not an established vision for the libraries in the county. The closest thing I was able to find (listed above) is the vision for the Central Library Services of Chesterfield County Public Schools, which provides support for county school libraries and librarians. Moran and Morner state, “The vision statement is aspirational and not likely to be achieved. It holds out what the organization could be in the best possible world” (2018, p. 89). The vision statement appears to be more of a job description. It indicates the role of the Central Library Services within the libraries in the county schools; however it does not show direction or aspiration. I do not see a clear vision for the future of the organization. While the list contains valuable actions, it does not suggest a cohesive goal or ideal for libraries.
I would love to see a vision statement that discusses the future aspirations of the libraries in Chesterfield County schools. I believe they could find a lot of value in discussing where they see libraries developing and other more library specific goals. The county has a very clear vision for its schools in the future; adapting this to focus on libraries would be a great place to start.
References:
Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas. (2019). Proclaiming your dream: Developing vision and mission statements. Retrieved January 26, 2020, from Community Tool Box website: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/strategic-planning/vision-mission-statements/main
Chesterfield County Public Schools. (2020, October 1). Chesterfield county public schools library services page. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://libguides.ccpsnet.net/ccps_libraries
Chesterfield County Public Schools. (2018, October 8). CLS office mission and vision. Retrieved February 12, 2021, from https://sites.google.com/a/ccpsnet.net/cnet/home/technology/library/announcements/clmsofficemissionandvision
Moran, B. B., & Morner, C. J. (2018). Strategic planning, decision making, and policy. In Library and Information Center Management (9th ed.). ABC-CLIO.