For-profit schools constitute the fastest-growing sector of higher education institutions in the United States.1 Yet accompanying the phenomenal growth of these proprietary colleges and universities has been considerable controversy over the role that the profit motive should play in higher education.2 The literature of higher education contains increasingly more works about proprietary schools. The library literature, however, offers little in this arena. Through this article, the authors seek to introduce the library readership to U.S. for-profit colleges and universities. We summarize their history and their characteristics, and we explore reasons for their success and present areas in which these schools appear to excel. With regard to their library services and resources, we focus on issues of concern based specifically on our experience with academic libraries in proprietary schools operating in the state of Ohio. Finally, we suggest ways in which these for-profit institutions can address the challenges faced by their libraries.
Academic libraries face an increased challenge in attracting
qualified librarians. The author analyzes available data to determine
the validity of explanations offered for this shortage. Despite the
shortage, he does not anticipate significant salary increases for
academic librarians. However, he believes that academic librarianship
will continue to attract individuals, many later in life, because of the
positive attributes of the profession. Increased emphasis on recruitment
is vital in sustaining the profession.
Although library-use instruction programs have become popular during the 1970s, they are often not given the same type of support by library and college or university administrators as the more traditional library services. The paper contends that appropriate evaluation is an important element in gaining this support and describes the development and results of a systematic assessment of library-use instruction at DePauw University. All social institutions or subsystems, whether medical, educational, religious, economic, or political, are required to provide "proof' of their legitimacy and effectiveness in order to justify society's continued support. 1
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