Libraries and Liberal Arts Colleges: Tough Times in the Eighties

Th~ 1980~ ~ill be a diffi~ult per~od for liberal arts colleges. Fiscal support will be ~ns~fftct~nt t~ meet tnstttutwnal needs. Private colleges will suffer, and the~r ltbrartes wlll suffer particularly. Ironically , this will occur at a time in wht~h th~ g~owth of scholarly publication will declineproviding these librartes wtth mcreased opportunity, if they can preserve their fiscal support to a~quire the mat~rials that they need. Although the prospects are grim, strdtegtes for adaptatwn and successful survival exist, and they must be undertaken by colleges and their libraries in the difficult years ahead.