ABSTRACT
By virtue of their tax-exempt status, receipt of public funding from state appropriations, and their tripartite roles of teaching, research, and service, public universities have an implied contract to serve the public good. According to the Morrill Act of 1862, land grant universities have a special responsibility for educating the “industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life” and in technology transfer, originally focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts but now more broadly interpreted. Accordingly, citizens of each state have an expectation that their public universities serve a role beyond their primary clientele of faculty, students, and staff. As part of the university, libraries are held to the same standard for serving the public good. Because tax funds help support libraries, citizens expect research libraries in public universities to be available to them and to serve the larger goals of information delivery in the state.
