Mission & Vision

Mis­sion

DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library is a place to grow. The library enlight­ens and enrich­es the peo­ple of DeKalb Coun­ty by pro­vid­ing respon­sive, dynam­ic ser­vices that meet the chang­ing infor­ma­tion­al, edu­ca­tion­al, and recre­ation­al needs of a diverse population.

Vision

The library plays a pri­ma­ry role in cul­ti­vat­ing a lit­er­ate and eco­nom­i­cal­ly strong DeKalb Coun­ty, enhanc­ing the qual­i­ty of life for every­one in the community. 

Val­ues Statement

The DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library pro­vides excel­lent ser­vice to res­i­dents based on the fol­low­ing values:

• Cus­tomer Ser­vice: We wel­come every­one and treat them with open­ness and respect.
• Access & Inclu­sion: We work to ensure equal access for all. We build, fos­ter, and main­tain an envi­ron­ment that is inclusive.
• Com­mu­ni­ty Ser­vice & Part­ner­ships: We pro­vide indis­pens­able resources and ser­vices to meet com­mu­ni­ty needs. We part­ner with oth­er orga­ni­za­tions to max­i­mize our local resources.
• Intel­lec­tu­al Free­dom: We pro­vide infor­ma­tion rep­re­sent­ing all points of view. We rec­og­nize each individual’s right to access infor­ma­tion and respect the pri­va­cy of library patrons.
• Cre­ativ­i­ty & Inno­va­tion: We sup­port cre­ativ­i­ty and inno­va­tion to bet­ter serve the com­mu­ni­ty. We use tech­nol­o­gy to increase access to infor­ma­tion and to work more efficiently.
• Stew­ard­ship: We are good stew­ards of the public’s resources and look to pro­vide both effec­tive and effi­cient ser­vices to the community.

Equi­ty, Diver­si­ty and Inclu­sion Statement

Many inequities in our soci­ety have been brought to the fore­front over the last few years in ways that can­not be ignored. Each of us has a role to play in address­ing changes that need to hap­pen. DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library rec­og­nizes equi­ty, diver­si­ty and inclu­sion as inte­gral to achiev­ing our mis­sion of being a place to grow. That growth can­not hap­pen with­out respect, hard work and com­mu­ni­ty empow­er­ment. We under­stand our com­mu­ni­ties are strength­ened when all are allowed to thrive. 

Equi­ty is the qual­i­ty of being fair and impar­tial, with free­dom from bias or favoritism. Diver­si­ty is the vari­ety of things that make us unique includ­ing cul­ture, beliefs, eth­nic­i­ty, gen­der and sex­u­al ori­en­ta­tion. Inclu­sion is feel­ing val­ued and hav­ing a sense of belonging. 

Equi­ty, diver­si­ty and inclu­sion are at the root of our deci­sions:

• We will pro­vide print and dig­i­tal mate­ri­als to give voice to a broad range of ideas and perspectives.
• We will devel­op pro­grams and ser­vices that edu­cate and enlighten.
• We will fos­ter civic engage­ment to strength­en empa­thy and understanding.
• We will help build resilience in our communities.
• We will work towards address­ing sys­temic bar­ri­ers along­side our com­mu­ni­ty partners.
• We will lis­ten to our com­mu­ni­ty to under­stand their needs.
• We will nur­ture a respect­ful and sup­port­ive work environment.

DeKalb Coun­ty Pub­lic Library will con­tin­ue to make thought­ful and delib­er­ate steps to infuse the fun­da­men­tals of equi­ty, diver­si­ty and inclu­sion with­in our library culture.