- What are they?
- What is the difference?
- What to include?
- Does my Collection Development Policy need both?
- What does all this have to do with the CDP rationale?
When looking at simple definitions of the two terms, I can see that ‘mission’ has more of an ‘action’ connotation where synonyms are words like ‘journey, assignment, pursuit’ whereas, definitions for ‘vision’ are more abstract concepts to do with imagining and planning for the future.
Members of the Government Libraries Section of The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) released a publication on this topic. The article begins by defining both vision and mission statements, outlines the difference between mission and vision statements and whether both are needed, then explains the purpose and necessity of such statements and lists examples from government libraries worldwide. According to this publication, the two statements differ slightly from one another; the mission statement is an overarching set of specific expectations strategically directed with the purpose of aligning library employees to a united goal, whereas, the vision statement aligns the goals and objectives of the library to its parent organisation, and provides direction to employees to meet said goals and thus the mission of the parent organisation (IFLA Government Libraries Section, 2011, p. 2). I do recognise that this document is referring to public libraries and I know that there might be different requirements for organisations outside of the education sector,but I think the concepts can be easily transferred to school libraries.
Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Schools and Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians (VCTL) collaborative manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centers document does not contain a section on vision or mission statements in its templates. However, the section outlining the Collection Development Policy rationale links the library collection policies and vision to the school values and refers to ‘equitable access to resources and the development of lifelong learners and responsible citizens’ (ALIA Schools & VCTL, 2017, p. 8). To me, this sounds similar to some of the aspects of both vision and mission statements which makes me question what a rationale is and how that differs from vision and mission statements and whether all three are needed?!
When I think about the definition of a rationale, I think that a rationale is the principles that provide the basis or reasons for actions/beliefs. So I think in a school library Collection Development Policy context, the rationale refers to the reasons why the collection needs to exist.
The IFLA School Library Guidelines do specify vision and mission statements for school libraries. According to the Guidelines, a vision statement ‘projects the future state desired for a school library where the library acts as a multi-functional learning space and plays a central role in education’ (IFLA, 2015, p. 18). They also highlight that the vision statement should incorporate 5 key trends identified in their 2013 report outline which can be found here.
The guidelines then go on to define the mission statement of a school library and outline what is to be included in this statement. The text states that ‘the mission is a definition of the nature, purpose, and role of the school library as part of the school’s shared purpose and commitment’ (IFLA, 2015, p. 19). This mission must align with the School Library Manifesto written by IFLA and UNESCO in 1999 by linking the library to the goals of its wider educational context. The mission statement must also state a commitment to serving the needs of its user base and define the focus of the collection in addressing those needs whilst achieving the outcome of creating future-prepared young people (IFLA, 2015, p. 19).
My own school library ‘Collection Development and Management Policy’ was written by the previous librarian and given to me when I commenced the role at the start of the year (not available online). It contains an introduction explaining what the document is and who it is intended for. Then there is a mission statement and a vision statement before the general policy statement section.
Conclusions:
Overall, I think that the definitions do overlap in areas. However, I think the key takeaways for me are that whilst the terms rational, vision statement and mission statement might vary in their usage across organisations and policy documents, the important thing is that the kinds of information and content carried in those headings is present, regardless of which heading/s have been used. That is, that the library policy has a statement regarding the purpose of the library within the larger school environment, statements regarding how it will achieve said purpose. and statements regarding the goals, priorities and future and aims of the library, and how it will work towards those goals. It should therefore connect the missions of the school library to the larger educational aims of its school and the educational context of its governing bodies(s). That being said, I think I like the idea of including a vision statement and a mission statement rather than a rationale because the terms are clearer to me and the connotations of the terms more closely align to their intended purpose – this is our vision for the library and this is our mission.
References:
Australian Library and Information Association Schools. & Victorian Catholic teacher Librarians. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in australian school library resource centres (2nd ed.). ASLA. https://asla.org.au/policy-development-manual
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2015, August). IFLA school library guidelines (2nd ed.). IFLA repository. https://repository.ifla.org/handle/123456789/58
Members of the Government Libraries Section of the International Federation of Library Associations. (2011, August). Mission and/or vision statements of government libraries worldwide. IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/publications/mission-and-or-vision-statements-of-government-libraries-worldwide/