The purpose of higher education in the United States is for people to learn and prepare for their jobs and/or career. There are different purposes for the different kinds of colleges. Those who go to a liberal arts college may want to have a career in humanities with the benefits of getting a good education. Those who go to college that has a science/technology background (such as MIT) may want to further their careers by inventing a new technology or vaccine. They may possibly also want to pursue advanced libraries. For-profit colleges and those who are mostly based online (like University of Phoenix) are for people who are working full-time and juggling other responsibilities. The technical libraries have several different purposes. There are students who are just out of high school who are either just want an
associate's degree or taking classes to eventually transfer to a four-year school. There are people who have had jobs, but want a second career. And those who want to learn a trade to improve their job skills.
The roll the library plays for all of the different libraries is to provide the information that the students, the faculty that teaches them and the support staff need to make learning possible. The role of the librarians that work at these libraries is to help provide information to those people that will benefit their learning. They are also there to teach them how to research and figure out which information will be the best for them.
Organizational models/structures for academic libraries does make a difference in the quality of life work for those who work in a library. What may work at a smaller college library may not work at Thomas Cooper and the other way around. Too much work can fall on one person and it may be too much for them to handle. The people who come in the library will notice that and it can affect the overall feel of the library. I am a planner and I consider things carefully. That has worked for me in the past and I hope it will continue to work.
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