There is always some question about the utility of history, including the history of academic libraries. Is it likely that we can learn from the past?
It is interesting the early universities were organized by students who then hired faculty to teach. In a contemporary customer-driven society, we may return to a situation in which students have more power. Is that likely? What impact would that have on higher education? On the academic library?
Originally, text books were simply the teacher's lecture notes which were often sold lecture by lecture. Even today, many text books remain only slightly more than lecture notes. How important is the text book in higher education? To what degree does it lessen the need for the academic library?
Many early academic libraries were the result of gifts of private collections. For many years, distinctive gifts were responsible for the development of notable collections. How important are such gifts today?
Most of the early colleges were founded by Protestants with some concern for a religious education. How important are church-affiliated colleges and universities today? Would the library in a church-affiliated academy be different? How? Why?
Higher education is often conservative and resistant to new ways of doing things. This may be seen in the curriculum and the way that the academy is organized. Why is this so? Is higher education less conservative and more innovative today? Why?
Budd notes that during this time librarians were men and librarianship was not considered an appropriate career for those with intelligence and ambition. Has this changed? Why?
The Morrill Act in 1862 established land grant universities and dramatically advanced the study of agriculture and engineering. What is different about land grant universities? What difference have they made?
Johns Hopkins University was modeled on the German University. What was different about this model? How did it influence universities in the United States?
Budd mentions how a dominant university president shaped his institution,i.e. Elliot at Harvard. Is this possible today? What are the major barriers?
Complaints about growing bureaucracy were fairly common throughout the Century. Can a large university be run without a good-sized bureaucracy? What about the academic library?
As research became more important, the tension between teaching and research grew. While most universities claim that research improves teaching and that teaching shares research, there is little doubt that many faculty would rather do research than teach. The reward system is certainly better for those who publish frequently than for those who teach well. Some advocate increased emphasis on teaching by full-time faculty in comprehensive universities. What impact would this have on the academic library?
In theory, the academy provides education and NOT training. Define and discuss the difference between these two notions. Is it appropriate, for example, for a university to offer a degree in library service? What about courses in how to use MS Word?
Many research libraries grew substantially in the early and mid-Century. Collections became substantially larger and new libraries were built or extended. When does growth stop? Why? How?
Enrollment dramatically increased at this time with many nontraditional students entering the academy. Is it reasonable for enrollment to continue to grow or is there a natural stopping place? If many people have college degrees, does that diminish their value?
External funding has become increasingly important for higher education. One result could be that those with the funding will determine what is to be researched and thus what will be taught in the future. Is this a reasonable fear? What might the academy do about it? Impact on the library?
