About the UCSC University Library

The UCSC University Library, founded in 1965, is both the smallest general library in the University of California system and the largest research library between Stanford and Santa Barbara. Our relative youth and manageable size have allowed us to grow responsively with the campus and its programs and to innovate and adapt with agility to new information technologies.

We share with other academic libraries a commitment to intellectual freedom and the widest possible access to information. This commitment is reflected in our open stacks, our active Inter Library Loan service, our online catalog, and our robust Web site linked efficiently to other sites and databases.We have mutually beneficial partnerships with libraries at other University of California campuses, local California State Universities, community colleges, and public libraries. Our active participation in the California Digital Library promises to enhance this collaboration to a new level.

We have already developed a distinctive identity both in our interdisciplinary collections, and through our profound commitment to service, outreach and library use instruction, especially to undergraduates. The high quality of these services depends on an outstanding staff, which, because of its relatively small size, is versatile, broad and deep in its subject and technical expertise. Our size allows us to be directly and personally responsive to donors, whose gifts and endowments have a more obvious positive impact on our collections than they would on larger libraries.

The library's collections and services will soon outgrow the buildings which currently house them. The next phase of architectural expansion will be consistent with the values which informed the existing structures: the creation of new space to foster scholarship in an environment of unrivaled natural beauty.

UCSC University Library Mission Statement:

The University Library fulfills its mission by:
 

• developing, organizing, preserving, and securing its collections
• providing public service, instruction, and outreach to the UCSC academic community and beyond
• forging effective partnerships with the campus community and other institutions and organizations
• encouraging innovative and skilled staff to capitalize on new and evolving advancements in information technology

• supporting intellectual freedom and an individual's right to privacy ¹
• providing public service that is inclusive and available to all UCSC students, staff and faculty.
• creating and maintaining systems which provide accurate, reliable, useable, and up-to-date information
• educating users inside and outside the Library  through a  program of information literacy to locate, critically assess, and manage information resources
• investing in library staff through training and development, and fostering the creativity, expertise, and outstanding performance of library employees

UCSC University Library Vision:

• The Library, as the primary information provider to the University Community, will provide leadership in information policy development, information technology application and information research.
• The Library will maintain an excellent collection that is notable for the depth and breadth of its holdings and will be recognized as a primary regional resource.
• The Library will enhance access to knowledge, promote scholarly communication and provide information to the academic community in support of research and instructional programs.
• Library users will benefit from inclusive and outstanding instruction, outreach, and public services including access to user-friendly information systems.
• The Library' s collaborations with university-wide, campus, and community partners will increase intellectual access, complement instructional activities, and promote resource sharing.
• The campus community will recognize library staff for their expertise, technological competence, solid traditional library skills, and as leaders in information management.
• The University Library's physical facilities will accommodate and protect existing collections and archives, and provide room for long term planned growth, securing space that is conducive to study, research, and the exploration of new technologies.