Mission formulation and organisational objective-setting have received much more attention in the information and library press recently. This area is relevant to marketing because you can only set priorities for your marketing plan, if you know your overall priorities. For example, if a local authority has set ethnic minority needs as a priority, or if a company is focusing on a particular sector of its business, this will need to be reflected in the information centre's marketing plan.

As well as general textbooks focusing on business strategy and mission-setting, there are some aimed at information and library professionals, for example:

Corrall, Sheila. Strategic planning for library and information services Aslib, 1994. ISBN 0-85142-330-2.

Bluffers will want to include in their mission statement words and phrases such as: 'maximise', 'access', 'passionate', '(networked OR lifelong)learning', 'cost-effective', 'quality', 'empower', 'customer-focused', 'foster and develop', 'support and promote', 'facilitate informed decision-making', 'anticipate information needs', 'enable X to achieve its business objectives' and, last but not least, 'e'. 'e' is for 'electronic', of course, and can be added to a number of the forgoing words (e.g. e-access and e-learning) as well as additional ones like e-citizen. Words and phrases to avoid include 'books' and 'library collections'.

Public libraries

• UNESCO Public Library Manifesto includes a Mission statement. There are two articles about the Manifesto: the first Revision of the Unesco Public Library Manifesto, presented at 62nd International Federation of Library Associations: General Conference, 1996 and the second The model library project - a way to implement the UNESCO Public Library Manifesto presented at the 64th International Federation of Library Associations: General Conference, 1998. There is also a report on a meeting held by the IFLA Section on Public Libraries saying that "The Unesco Public Library Manifesto was clearly proving to be a valuable weapon in the fight to develop services".

• Northamptonshire Public Libraries (England, UK)statement:

  Our mission is to serve the people of Northamptonshire by delivering the vision of Northamptonshire Libraries and Information Service through the development and maintenance of a coherent range of policies and services, understood and valued by the community.

  can be viewed in their library plan (Adobe Acrobat pdf document)

• Wakefield Libraries and Information Services ("Opening the door to knowledge and imagination")

• Brent Libraries (England, UK) has a mission statement (select Brent Library Service and then Mission Statement, Priorities & Scope of the Service

• Richmond Public Library (USA).

• Ceredigion Libraries (Wales, UK) mission statement.

• St Louis Public Library (USA)

• South Ayrshire Libraries (Scotland, UK) mission is stated about halfway down their page.

• There are various statements of policy from UK public libraries archived on the EARL website

Academic libraries

• In the USA, the association of College and Research Libraries has produced (1987) The Mission of a University Undergraduate Library: Model Statement

• The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford has a Mission Statement.

• University of Central Lancashire Library: Library Mission Statement

• Edge Hill University College

• The University of Wales Swansea Library has a charter.

• University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library: Mission Statement

• Florida International University Library: The Library Mission (in pdf only) and they have various other policy and record documents including some user surveys.

• Manchester Business School

• Queen Margaret College library mission statement

Specialist libraries

• The Science Museum Library with its Vision statement drawn up in 1995 (they are working on a new one)

• Gerber Hart Library & Archives Mission Statement

• The Nutrition Library

• If you are a member of the US Special Libraries Association, see also the Strategic planning page on their site.

National Libraries

• National Library of Australia Directions 2000-2002 includes statements of their goals.

• The British Library states its mission in its Strategic Directions document: "To foster the pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of scholarship, research and innovation, and encourage the broadest possible awareness and accessibility of the Library’s collections for the benefit of the citizen"

• The Library of Congress provides its mission statement ("The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. ") and information on Strategic Priorities.