Explaining our mission and vision

Mission

Helping people advance knowledge to enrich lives

• We believe in the power and value of knowledge: it brings cultural, social, intellectual and economic benefits to society.
• It is not enough just to preserve knowledge; our task is to enable it to be used now and in the future. When knowledge is used, it adds to the sum of human understanding
• We bring direct benefits to those who use our collections and services because we help them advance their own knowledge, and the whole body of knowledge, through their research
• We bring indirect benefits to all UK citizens whose lives are enriched through the fruits of the work we have enabled

Young learners take part in our 'Journeys of Discovery' programme.

Vision

We play a leading role in the changing world of research information

• As the national library, we’re a central resource in the UK research infrastructure, and underpin world-class UK research across all disciplines
• The research information environment is undergoing rapid transformation. As a great library our evolution must keep pace, not only so we remain able to fulfil our users’ needs, but also to demonstrate the vision, innovation and leadership that helps the library network in the UK and overseas adapt in order to remain relevant to the new generation of digital adepts

'Turn the Pages' of the teenage Jane Austen's wryly humorous 'History of England' on our website.

We exist for everyone who wants to do research – for academic, personal or commercial purposes

• Our collection and expertise can help researchers answer an infinite number of questions. We support the research chemist in a multinational drug company, the postgraduate completing a PhD in musicology, the entrepreneur wanting to expand the family business, the journalist filling in the background to a story, and the local historian researching medieval land use
• Different types of research require different resources, with access provided in different ways
  We tailor our services to support varied approaches

We promote ready access to our collection and expertise through integrated services which are increasingly time and space independent

• We’re a hybrid library – that is, our collection includes print, digital and other media – and we strive to provide access to all information formats seamlessly, through interconnecting services
• The expectations of the Google generation require that we give people access to information wherever they are, whenever they need it. This is a tough requirement but an important goal to focus on

We also connect with the collections and expertise of others, and work
in partnership to fulfil our users’ needs

• In a world so rich in information, it’s not appropriate or possible for us to hold everything. Much better for us to harness our strengths to others’ capabilities and co-ordinate joint approaches that serve the gamut of researchers’ needs
• Where we’re not best placed to help a researcher, we’ll connect them to the relevant resource
• We collaborate with new and established organisations in the information environment, across the public and private sectors, with the goal of enhancing the research process and advancing knowledge

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