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Andover College in Portland recently opened an additional campus in Lewiston.

Librarian Martha Ott with the early childhood children's book collection.

Criminal justice and paralegal studies are a major focus at Andover.

Andover College Library – Empowering students to become lifelong learners

Andover College, a private school accredited by NEASC, now has two Maine locations.

Andover College is a private, proprietary school offering associate degrees and certificates. It is a member of Kaplan Higher Education group and regionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). There are two Maine locations – Portland and Lewiston.

Associate degrees are available in accounting, business administration, criminal justice, early childhood education, medical assisting, paralegal studies, and travel and hospitality management. Classes are offered day and evening throughout the year, within a structure of six eight-week terms.

Students

The College enrolls approximately 1100 students who are mainly non-traditional, 82% female, work either full or part time and have children. Many are the first in their families to attend college.

Library Mission and Staff

The Library serves students, faculty, and staff at both the Portland Campus and an instructional site in Lewiston. At both locations, professional librarians support and enhance the education of students in all aspects of the College’s curriculum by providing appropriate resources and related services. Importantly, librarians strive to empower students to become lifelong learners by promoting and teaching information literacy skills. Teaching to classes and in one-on-one situations is an important component of the Library’s service.

One full-time professional librarian is on staff at each location. In addition, part-time librarians work evenings to provide service to evening students (approximately 50% of the entire population).

Collections

The Library collections include over 12,000 books, more than 1,300 videos and DVDs, and subscriptions to more than 150 magazines, journals and newspapers. Subject areas encompass all of the programs offered by the College, with particular strengths in business, criminal justice, early childhood education, law, and medical assisting. Another collection focus is career and job hunting materials. As the College continues to develop new courses and programs to provide students with additional opportunities, the Library strives to develop and maintain collections to support the needs of the entire College community.

Library Services

Each location provides reference and periodical collections. Circulating books and videos are considered as unified collections housed in two places. Minerva and the van delivery system enable and expedite resource sharing between campuses as well as within Minerva and MaineCat. Electronic resources, including Facts.com and CQ Researcher, as well as the powerful, legal-oriented database, Westlaw, are shared, as well. Most recently, the library acquired NoodleTools, an online MLA and APA bibliographic citation composer which has been favorably received by both students and faculty.

History of the College

Andover College can trace its roots back to 1967 when it was established as the Andover Institute of Business in Portland, Maine. There were only 40 students at its location in the Congress Square Building on High Street. It was renamed Andover Institute in 1974 after being acquired by Educational Associates, Inc., a Maine company. The Institute soon outgrew its Congress Street location and moved to 335 Forest Avenue, where a very small library was housed.

Another name change occurred in 1977 when it became Andover College. In that year it received accreditation as a Junior College of Business by the Association of Independent Colleges and Schools. Due to increasing enrollments, in 1983 the College moved to its current Portland location at 901 Washington Avenue. The tiny one-room library suddenly doubled in size. Ten years later, it doubled once again.

In 1998, Andover College became the first school of its kind in Maine to receive accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). In 1999 it acquired the assets of Casco Bay College and introduced several new programs.

In late 2003, Andover College added an instructional site in Lewiston at 475 Lisbon Street and enrolled its first class in March 2004. A small library was established that would continue to grow and develop to service the rapidly growing student population. At this time, the Lewiston site enrolls approximately the same number of students as the Portland campus.

In January 2005, the College was purchased by Kaplan Higher Education Corporation (KHEC). KHEC is a division of Kaplan, Inc., a leading education and career services company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Washington Post Company.

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