Library Mission and Goals

Mission

The mission of the J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State is to empower its University constituency with lifelong learning skills to identify, find, evaluate, use and communicate information in promotion of excellence in scholarship, knowledge and understanding.

Goals

To fulfill its mission within the context of the missions of the San Francisco State University and the California State University (CSU) system, the Library is committed to the following goals:

  • Collaborating with departmental faculty in incorporating information competence into the curriculum to ensure that all SF State graduates are competent in locating, retrieving, organizing, critically evaluating, analyzing, synthesizing, and communicating information in a cohesive, logical and ethical manner;
  • Creating a learning environment that promotes study, research and scholarly interaction in the context of a diverse campus community;
  • Supporting excellent teaching and learning by providing equally for all university constituents on-site and remote access to relevant materials in support of the curriculum in any format, whether owned by/at JPLL or elsewhere;
  • Encouraging through collections and access exploration of the broadest spectrum of viewpoints, constructs, cultures, beliefs and methodologies;
  • Evaluating, selecting and teaching information sources and search strategies relevant to the SF State curriculum;
  • Providing leadership to the University community in exploring and incorporating changing information technologies and formats;
  • Supporting an understanding and appreciation of diversity through collections, programs, and instruction; and through recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff;
  • Preserving cultural heritage through our unique primary source materials;
  • Promoting, supporting and encouraging the transfer and sharing of information and knowledge within the broader community, and the sharing of intellectual and creative resources locally, regionally and internationally.