Library Mission Statement

The Library as an academic department is central to the educational mission of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. It aims to inspire students to develop skills of critical thinking and effective communication. As the knowledge center of the College community, the Library serves as the gateway to the world of criminal justice and related information. We collect extensively and comprehensively in criminal justice and related areas of public safety and public service. Our collections are an indispensable resource for the worldwide Criminal Justice community. We provide scholars with access to our Library and we lend materials to other institutions both in the US and abroad.

By collecting, describing, arranging and managing print and electronic information resources, we facilitate student learning, and support and encourage scholarship and research. Reference librarians work collaboratively with students and faculty on research projects, assisting with identifying and locating appropriate information. We use modern technology to bring the virtual library and remote reference to our students and faculty off campus.

The uniqueness of our collection is demonstrated by the large amount of original cataloguing created at the Library. Our resource sharing partnerships with CUNY, bibliographic utilities, consortia and other institutions enable us to provide access to materials outside our mission area.

We are committed to supporting the college's goal of ensuring that our students gain the information competency skills they require in successfully navigating the increasingly complex information environment. We endeavor to educate our students and prepare them for a changing world by teaching information skills, promoting critical thinking, and encouraging lifelong learning. We do this through workshops, classes and individualized instruction at the reference desk. Virtual reference service is provided through email. As an integral part of our bibliographic instruction program, we create research guides, bibliographies and other instructional resources, making them available on-line and in paper.

Library faculty maintain full involvement in the life and development of the college and the profession. This includes original cataloguing, publishing in scholarly journals, serving on college and university committees, and involvement in professional organizations. We collaborate with our CUNY colleagues in developing tutorials, policies, choosing shared resources, and organizing and participating in conferences and seminars.

Faculty and our students are invited to read our Collection Development Policy