The Hoover Library's primary mission is to support the students and faculty of McDaniel College. As part of the college, we are guided by our First Principles, which compel us to place students at the center of a humane environment and demand that we respect others and share responsibility for the common good.
As professionals, we are also guided by:
The American Library Association's principles of diversity and code of ethics:
- Recognizing the critical need for access to library and information resources, services, and technologies by all people, especially those who may experience language or literacy-related barriers; economic distress; cultural or social isolation; physical or attitudinal barriers; racism; discrimination on the basis of appearance, ethnicity, immigrant status, religious background, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression; or barriers to equal education, employment, and housing. (ALA Policy Manual: B.3 Diversity)
- Affirming the inherent dignity and rights of every person. We work to recognize and dismantle systemic and individual biases; to confront inequity and oppression; to enhance diversity and inclusion; and to advance racial and social justice in our libraries, communities, profession, and associations through awareness, advocacy, education, collaboration, services, and allocation of resources and spaces. (ALA Code of Professional Ethics)
and by:
The Association of College and Research Libraries Standards for Libraries in Higher Education:
Professional Values: Libraries advance professional values of intellectual freedom, intellectual property rights and values, user privacy and confidentiality, collaboration, and user-centered service.
- The library resists all efforts to censor library resources.
- The library protects each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality.
- The library respects intellectual property rights and advocates for balance between the interests of information users and those of rights holders through policy and educational programming.
- The library supports academic integrity and deters plagiarism through policy and education.
- The library commits to a user-centered approach and demonstrates the centrality of users in all aspects of service design and delivery in the physical and virtual environments.
- The library engages in collaborations both on campus and across institutional boundaries.
