Mission & Vision
In alignment with Cornell University’s mission of promoting scholarship, Research & Learning Services is a critical partner in the University’s teaching, learning, and research mission. We anticipate and support the information and research needs of faculty and students, particularly those in the humanities and social sciences, as well as our broader community of users including staff, alumni, visiting scholars, and the local community.
We value and maintain a standard of excellence in our services. Our subject experts select and acquire scholarly materials in a variety of formats. As stewards of the library’s local and global resources, we provide digital, in-person, and telephone reference consultations, in addition to creating and delivering a variety of instruction-related services including print and online reference guides, course-related and group instruction, and video-based tutorials.
Through collaboration with colleagues in the library and beyond, we are flexible in responding to our users at their point of need and via their preferred mode of contact. We strive to be available 24/7, and constantly explore new technologies and strategies for sharing our expertise.
Values
In all of our actions, we are guided by these values:
- We are dedicated to providing exemplary personal service
- We are passionately committed to integrity of service: dedicated, reliable, and trustworthy
- Intellectual curiosity and a respect for all forms of knowledge and avenues of research are the hallmark of RLS.
- We share our varied subject expertise to enrich the Library, the University, and the learning experience of those we assist
- We are approachable, flexible, accessible to, and engaged with the public we serve
- We approach our work with enthusiasm, creativity, and ingenuity
Creativity and Flexibility
- We creatively meet the evolving needs of our users through innovative solutions, practices, and services in a creative work environment that encourages flexibility, collaboration and risk-taking.
Integrity
- We display a strong work ethic, taking responsibility for our actions and following through on our commitments
- We are passionately committed to integrity of service: dedicated, reliable, and trustworthy
- We adhere to the highest standards of our profession, including intellectual freedom and open access to information
Expertise
- We are dedicated to providing exemplary personal service
- We share our varied subject expertise to enrich the Library, the University, and the learning experience of those we assist
Approachability
- We are approachable, flexible, accessible, to and engaged with the public we serve
Communication
- We share information that keeps stakeholders (both within the Cornell University Library and campus-wide) actively involved in decisions and actions that affect the success of the Cornell University Library.