Introduction

Following on from the opening chapter, the present chapter continues our review of trends and developments shaping the social future of academic libraries with a particular focus on the evolving social roles of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the 21st century. The key trend over the past 50 years is the evolution from an elite higher education system serving a small minority of young people to a mass higher education model open, in principle, to a majority of the population at a time when the world has also experienced major demographic changes and unprecedented technological advances. The social purpose of higher education (HE) has thus become a matter of wider public concern that has come under renewed scrutiny as a result of the economic downturn, political challenges and social inequalities that have defined the period since the turn of the century. Governments in many countries expect universities to contribute to both economic recovery and social inclusion, to support their local communities and to compete in global markets by producing world-leading research and recruiting international students.

Expansion of the HE sector is a worldwide trend manifested in larger and more diverse student and faculty populations across the globe, increasingly recruited from other countries and resulting in the development and diversification of campus infrastructure and professional services. At the same time, HEIs have expanded their portfolios of activities beyond the campus and academy in response to economic and political challenges by engaging more actively with the commercial world of business and industry, on the one hand, and non-profit community organisations and the general public, on the other. Research and teaching activities have both been affected by both business and public agendas, with undergraduate curricula expected to incorporate both business acumen and civic education to prepare students for global citizenship, while research funding schemes push academics towards work with demonstrable social and economic benefits, such as the design of new products or services to improve health and well-being that have commercial potential. Academic activities and responsibilities have become more complex, making conflicts of interests, commitments and values more common in the HE workplace.