Mary and Jeff Bell Library
Vision, Mission, Values, Service Philosophy, & IDEA Statements
The Mary and Jeff Bell Library is committed to serving the TAMU-CC community and the south Texas region today and in the years to come. We hold to and celebrate our shared values, which include dedication to the highest standards of service and the principles of inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
We value...
Our users. We strive to provide collections, services and spaces that are user-centered, accessible, inclusive, and welcoming for all students, faculty, and staff of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi as well as members of the wider community.
Collaboration. We actively seek opportunities to collaborate with other entities both on- and off-campus to benefit the Library, the University, and the wider community.
Discovery and Access. We are committed to offering access to all forms of information and the digital tools needed for discovery. We actively support open and equitable research and education.
Diversity. We respect diversity among individuals, ideas, and information sources. We are committed to providing equitable, inclusive, and accessible physical and virtual environments that promote and celebrate diversity.
Innovation and Experimentation. We constantly strive to find ways to improve the Library’s collections, services, and spaces, while celebrating and supporting the creativity, curiosity, and entrepreneurial spirit of ourselves and our users.
Inquiry and Knowledge. We provide pathways to existing knowledge as well as resources that support the creation of new knowledge through research, innovation, creativity, and curiosity. We strive to preserve the knowledge and unique history of our campus and local community.
Intellectual Freedom. We respect everyone’s right to seek and receive information without restriction and resist efforts to censor resources and ideas. We value and protect privacy, autonomy, and freedom of inquiry.
Professionalism and Collegiality. We strive to hire and retain highly qualified faculty and staff who share these values and are dedicated to professional growth. We are committed to engaging with and supporting each other as colleagues while caring for one another’s well-being.
At the Mary and Jeff Bell Library we are proud to offer a welcoming, inclusive environment that provides an exceptional learning experience and facilitates research excellence. We take personal responsibility in providing professional service that is convenient, efficient, and tailored to meet your needs.
In striving to deliver the highest quality service possible, all library personnel will exert every effort to:
- realize that those we serve come first;
- listen and respond to feedback;
- proactively approach tasks and processes to improve our services;
- investigate alternative solutions and engage experts for a productive outcome;
- follow through with tasks and requests in a timely manner.
While academic libraries aspire to an ideal of democratic access, the Mary and Jeff Bell Library acknowledges that, historically, access has been a privilege denied to many due to systemic and systematic racism. Furthermore, additional identities such as gender, ethnicity, nationality, class, cognitive style, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation have also been oppressed. These diverse voices have been silenced and denied access to knowledge for far too long, and we endeavor to support, spotlight, and unite these voices through our physical and virtual collections, programs, services, and spaces.
Bell Library is dedicated to creating an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible (IDEA) environment for our users and employees. We believe it is important to provide language and definitions (eXtension Foundation Impact Collaborative, 2021; Ferris State University, 2021; American Alliance of Museums, 2021):
- Inclusion is ensuring that differences are welcomed and acknowledged to the degree to which diverse communities can participate fully in the decision-making processes and development opportunities within an organization or group. An inclusive university promotes and sustains a sense of belonging: it values and practices respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and lifestyles of its members.
- Diversity is the range of human differences, which may include but is not limited to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, language, (dis)ability, age, religious commitment, or political perspective. This includes populations that have been, and remain, underrepresented in higher education and marginalized in the broader society.
- Equity is promoting justice, impartiality, and fairness within the procedures, processes, and distribution of resources by institutions or systems. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society.
- Accessibility is giving equitable access to everyone along the continuum of human ability and experience. Accessibility encompasses the broader meanings of compliance and refers to how organizations make space for the characteristics that each person brings.
Bell Library acknowledges that our collections and spaces have reflected a broader system of inequality. We believe it is imperative that library work includes a sustained commitment to creating an inclusive atmosphere for our diverse community, including a dedication to diversify our collections, services, spaces, and programming. As the library of both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI), we recognize the diversity of the users that walk through our doors, and we are dedicated to empathizing and to understanding their needs.
We recognize that nurturing IDEA values is vital to enhancing the mission of the University and to furthering understanding and mutual respect. We commit ourselves to continued learning and improvement. The Bell Library recognizes that the work to become more inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible must be ongoing. Our goal is to provide inclusive and welcoming spaces where members of our community can be their full, authentic selves, seeking knowledge and growth without barriers.
eXtension Foundation Impact Collaborative. (2021). What is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)? Diversity, equity, and inclusion: A professional development offering of the eXtension Foundation Impact Collaborative. https://extension.org/portfolio-item/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-2nd-edition/
Ferris State University. (2021). Diversity and inclusion definitions.Ferris State University. https://www.ferris.edu/administration/president/DiversityOffice/Definitions.htm
American Alliance of Museums. (2021). Definitions of Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. American Alliance of Museums. https://www.aam-us.org/programs/diversity-equity-accessibility-and-inclusion/facing-change-definitions/