The Cooper Union Library Mission Statement(s)

   New York City can claim 3 of the nation's most prestigious schools devoted entirely to teaching Fine Arts, Design, and Architecture. They are:

The School of Visual Arts (SVA), The Schools of the Pratt Institute, and The Cooper Union.

   I was curious to see how much of an online presence each school's website had committed to the libraries that supported its programs, and I wanted to compare the libraries' mission statements. Of the three, I was surprised and bemused to see that the library for SVA has been relegated to a mere facet item of the drop-down list under the main menu heading Student Life. The library neither possesses its own gateway for searching the school's two OPACs nor displays any centralized overview of the library's mission, history, or services rendered. In fact, the most visible evidence of its existence is a link daring students/faculty to Ask a Librarian  -- ANYTHING! Here's the link http://www.sva.edu/student-life/library
 
 In sharp contrast, the SVA Archives enjoy a much greater prominence that includes having their own webpages describing who and what they are, displaying their mission statements, and providing links to images of some notable items in their collections! Here are the links http://www.glaserarchives.org/  and http://www.svaarchives.org/
 

   The Pratt Institute Library plays an appreciably more robust role online as a core support and resource to its schools. It has its own webpage(s) and a customized OPAC search portal. What's more, it prominently displays its mission statement at the top of the About page https://library.pratt.edu/about/ and again at the head of the Pratt Libraries Welcome Guide:

"The mission of the Pratt Institute Libraries is to provide outstanding service and access to a resource-rich environment that facilitates critical thinking and creative teaching and learning in the Pratt community." 
   
While it is a perfectly respectable sentiment and motto, this statement doesn't really give much insight into the collection development policy, nor does it list any benchmark goals governing its present and future services to its primary user groups. And it pales in comparison to The Cooper Union Library mission statements. 
In the Pratt Institute Library's defense, however, these mission statements are a tough act to follow. It is my opinion that The Cooper Union Library sets the standard by which all library mission statements should be measured  -- a paradigm of clarity and eloquence in defining how it sees itself vis-à-vis whom it serves, and in describing how its role remains integral to the continued success of The Cooper Union across all of its endeavors.

Please take a look at this link and see what sets these statements apart:
http://library.cooper.edu/statements_frameset.html