Mission

The mission of the UW Tacoma Library is to help our students, faculty and staff achieve their goals. We accomplish this through exceptional services, resources, spaces, and technologies. We work at a systemic level integrating with the university’s curriculum and pedagogy, engaging in contemporary processes of scholarly communication, amplifying the reach of our faculty’s research, and by building partnerships within and beyond the university.

Vision

The UW Tacoma Library is a catalyst for the UW Tacoma community. We offer services, infrastructure, and environments designed to help students achieve their dreams and faculty to create new knowledge that positively impacts the local community and beyond. We provide a place for the community to come together around shared interests to learn, achieve, create, and reflect.

Guiding Principles

  • We offer student-centered service that relies upon friendly, professional staff to perform the Library’s complex functions on a dynamic, growing urban campus.
  • We build and maintain appreciative relationships with our patrons, colleagues, and partners at UW Tacoma, the UW Libraries, and in the South Puget Sound region.
  • We cultivate a welcoming environment that thrives upon curiosity, encourages collaboration, and sustains independent study.
  • We embrace established and emerging technologies that enhance learning and research.
  • We acquire, manage, and facilitate access to exceptional collections uniquely suited to the UW Tacoma curriculum.
  • We promote instructional partnerships that develop critical thinking skills and foster academic success.

Strategic Plan

Introduction

One library, three campuses. The UW Tacoma Library is pleased to be a part of a strategic plan that stakes out a contemporary vision for the library and its role across all campuses of the University of Washington.

Learn more about the UW Libraries' 2023 - 2026 strategic plan.

Our Equity Statement

Equity Statement

The University of Washington Tacoma Library strives to create an environment of intellectual freedom which protects the interests of all members of our diverse campus. Access to research, information, and technology is fundamental in identifying and dismantling social injustice. As a library we pledge to be an active partner in combating systemic discrimination on our campus and foster skills and resources that students, faculty, and staff can use to confront discrimination in our world.

UW Tacoma Library

  • Protects the privacy of our users.

  • Provides welcoming spaces to foster discovery and collaboration.

  • Provides access to diverse resources, including work by historically marginalized and silenced voices.

  • Is intentional in our practices and trainings to confront bias and be alert to the needs of our campus community.