ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries May 1985 / 241 S ta n d a rd s fo r c o lle g e lib ra ries, 1 9 8 5 P rep a red by the C ollege Library S ta n d a rd s C om m ittee Jacquelyn M. Morris, Chair This draft will be presented to the A C R L Board and to the library profession at Annual Conference in Chicago. T he Standards for College Libraries were first prepared by a com m ittee of ACRL, approved in 1959, and revised in 1975. This draft was prepared by ACRL’s Ad Hoc College L ibrary Standards Committee. Members are Jacquelyn M. Morris, University of the Pacific (chair); R. Anne Commer- ton, State University of New York at Oswego; Br- ian D. Rogers, C onnecticut College; Louise S. Sherby, Colum bia University; David R. W alch, California Polytechnic State University; and Bar- bara Williams-Jenkins, South C arolina State Col­ lege. Foreword If approved as policy by the Hoard of Directors of the Association of College and Research L i­ braries, these Standards will supersede the 1975 “Standards for College Libraries” (C&R L News, October 1975, pp.277–79, 290-301). The purpose of publishing the revised Standards in draft form is to give the library profession an op­ portunity to com m ent on the proposed changes to the 1975 docum ent. The ACRL Ad Hoc College L i­ brary Standards Com m ittee encourages the library profession to review the following docum ent and com m unicate its reactions to the Com m ittee in one or both of the following ways: 1) Attend the hearings to be held at the Annual ALA conference in Chicago on July 7, 1985, from 2:30-5:30 p.m . Location: Mars Room, Holiday Inn City Centre. 2) Send w ritten comments by June 28 to: Jac­ quelyn M. Morris, C hair, Ad Hoc College Library Standards Com m ittee, UOP Libraries, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211. The Ad Hoc Com m ittee was appointed in 1982 to examine the 1975 College Library Standards w ith particular attention to the following areas: a. N on-print collections and services; b. Collections (Form ula A), Staff (Form ula R), and Rudget (% of Education & General); c. Networking and cooperative associations; and to recommend revisions which will bring them up to date and make them more generally useful. The Com m ittee studied each standard in terms of the charge and reviewed several recent studies on the subject of Standards, including: L arry Hardesty and Stella Rentley, The Use and Effectiveness o f the 1975 Standards fo r College L i­ braries: A Survey o f College Library Directors (1981). Ray L. C arpenter, “College Libraries: A C om ­ p arativ e Analysis in Terms of the ACRL S tan­ dards,” College & Research Libraries 42 (January 1981):7-18. “An Evaluative Checklist for Reviewing a Col­ lege Library Program , Based on the 1975 Stan­ dards for College Libraries,” C& RL News, No­ vember 1979, pp. 305-16. The Com m ittee also published a call for com ­ ments on the 1975 Standards (C&RL News, D e­ cember 1983) and held hearings at the 1984 ALA M idwinter conference. Over 35 people attended these hearings and addressed various issues related to the Standards. One of the prim ary issues w ith which the Com- 242 / C &RL News mittee has dealt is the effect of new technology on the Standards. While no one predicts the immedi­ ate demise of books as we know them, one cannot ignore the multiplicity of formats in which infor­ mation appears. For example, will the emerging body of online reference tools eventually make it possible for libraries to provide comparable or im­ proved service with smaller book collections? Access to the major bibliographic utilities is an­ other issue related to technology and libraries. In an information-rich society, does lack of access to these utilities have a detrim ental effect on the scholarly programs college libraries are attem pting to support? How should the Standards address this concern? A related issue centers on resource sharing and networking. Through access to the emerging “N a­ tional D a ta b a s e ,” (defined as th e to ta lity of OCLC, RLIN, WLN, and LC) we have greatly in­ creased our knowledge of other libraries’ collec­ tions. Online identification and location of needed material has shortened the retrieval time. Elec­ tronic mail will have a similar impact on resource sharing. Since even the largest libraries find it diffi­ cult to collect comprehensively, resource sharing has become an increasingly common fact of life. The 1975 Standards placed a very high value on browsability and immediate access to materials, whereas resource sharing is somewhat contradic­ tory to this concept. On the other hand, coopera­ tive agreements allow for exposure and access to vastly more extensive resources than was hitherto possible. The Committee discussed extensively the topic of performance measures. While the library direc­ tors surveyed and reported in the Hardesty-Bentley article stressed the need for performance measures in the College Library Standards, the Committee concluded that providing them at this point is be­ yond the scope of its charge. Obviously, however, this is a concept whose time has come: the ACRL Task Force on Performance Measures appointed by Carla Stoffle and chaired by Robert Burns has been succeeded by a new com m ittee, appointed by Sharon Rogers, to take action on the recommenda­ tions of the Task Force. This Ad Hoc Committee on Perform ance Measures for Academic Libraries, chaired by Virginia Tiefel, has received a five-year appointm ent which gives some indication of the complexity of the task. The library profession should monitor and support the work of this new committee. Some sentiment has been expressed for standards with less emphasis on quantitative measures, p at­ terned after the more abstract “Standards for Uni­ versity L ib ra rie s” (C &FRL N ew s, A pril 1979, pp. 101-10). While there are certain advantages to standards written in this way, the vast majority of those expressing opinions to the Committee sup­ ported the quantitative measurements provided for in the College Library Standards. Most who ex­ pressed this view cited C arpenter’s findings, noting that a very large percentage of college libraries fail to meet minimum standards in terms of collection size, staff size or budget. Consequently, prescribed goals continue to be regarded by librarians as an im portant component of the Standards. While many statements have been modified in these Standards, certain important points should be noted. For example, while the 1975 Standards ad­ dressed collection size, they did not address serial subscriptions, on which it is not unusual now for a library to spend half or more of its annual materials budget. Each Standard has been reviewed in the light of library technology, networking and resource sharing, and audiovisual materials. The inclusion of these aspects of libraries has been addressed in al­ most every standard. For example, AV materials have been addressed in Standard 2, Collections; Standard 3, Organization of Material; Standard 6, Facilities; and Standard 8, Budget. Introduction to the standards Libraries have long been considered an integral and essential part of the educational programs of­ fered by colleges. Their role has included collecting the records of civilization and documentation of scientific pursuit. An equally im portant role is to offer various programs to teach or assist users in the retrieval or interpretation of these records and doc­ uments. These information resources are essential for members of the higher education community to pursue their academic programs successfully. To­ tal fulfillment of these roles is, however, an ideal goal which continues to be sought and is yet to be attained. Expectations as to the degree of success in achieving this goal vary from institution to institu­ tion, and it is this diversity of expectations that prompts the library profession to offer standards for college libraries. The Standards seek to describe a realistic set of conditions which, if met, will provide an adequate library program in a college. Every attem pt has been made to synthesize and articulate the library profession’s expertise and views of w hat constitutes adequacy in a library’s budget, resources, services, facilities, administration, staffing, and organiza­ tion. These Standards are intended to apply to li­ braries supporting academic programs at the bach­ elor’s and master’s degree levels. They may be ap­ plied to libraries at universities which grant a small number of doctoral degrees, say, fewer than ten per year. They are not designed for use in two-year colleges, larger universities, or independent profes­ sional schools. The eight sections of the 1975 College Library Standards have been retained, and include: 1. Objectives 2. Collections 3. Organization of Materials 4. Staff 5. Services Man 1985 / 243 6. Facilities 7. Administration 8. Budget E ach stan d ard is followed by com m entary in ­ tended to amplify its intent and assist in its imple­ mentation. W henever appropriate, the term inology and definitions in the ANSI Z39.7 Standards published in 1983 have been used. Standard 1: Objectives 1 The college library shall develop an explicit statem ent of its objectives in accord w ith the goals and purposes of the college. Commentary The adm inistration and faculty of every college have a responsibility to examine the educational program from time to time in light of the goals and purposes of the institution. Librarians share this re­ sponsibility by seeking ways to provide collections and services which support those goals and p u r­ poses. Successful fulfillment of this shared responsi­ bility can best be attained when a clear and explicit statem ent of library objectives is prepared and prom ulgated so th at all members of the college community can understand and evaluate the ap­ propriateness and effectiveness of the library pro­ gram. 1.1 The development of library objectives shall be the responsibility of the library staff, in consul­ tation w ith members of the teaching faculty, ad­ ministrative officers, and students. Commentary The articulation of library objectives is an obli­ gation of the librarians, w ith the assistance of the support staff. In developing these objectives the li­ brary should seek in a formal or structured way the advice and guidance of its prim ary users, the fac­ ulty and students, and of the college adm inistra­ tion, in particular those officers responsible for ac­ ademic programs and policies. 1.2 The statem ent of library objectives shall be reviewed periodically and revised as necessary. Commentary In reviewing the objectives of the library, careful attention should be paid to ongoing advances in the theory and practice of librarianship. Similarly, changes occurring within the education program of the parent institution should be reflected in a timely way in the program of the library. Standard 2: The collections 2 The library’s collections shall comprise all types of recorded information, including print m a­ terials in all formats, audiovisual materials, sound recordings, materials used w ith computers, graph­ ics, and three-dimensional materials. Commentary The records of intellectual behavior appear in a wide range of formats. Books represent extended reports of scholarly investigation, compilations of findings, creative works, and summaries prepared for instructional purposes. The journal communi­ cates more recent information and is particularly im portant to the science disciplines. Reports in machine–readable form are an even faster means of research communication. Government documents transm it information generated by or at the behest of official agencies, and newspapers record daily activities throughout the world. Many kinds of communication take place pri­ m arily, or exclusively, th rough such m edia as films, slide-tapes, sound recordings, and video­ tapes. Microforms are used to compact many kinds of information for preservation and storage. Re­ corded information also exists in the form of m anu­ scripts, archives, databases, and computer soft­ w are packages. Each medium of communication transmits information in unique ways, and each tends to complement the others. The inherent unity of recorded information and its importance to all academic departments of an institution require that most, if not all, of this infor­ m ation be selected, organized and m ade available for use by the library of th at institution. In this way the institution’s information resources can best be articulated and balanced for the benefit of all us­ ers. 2.1 The library shall provide as prom ptly as pos­ sible a high percentage of the materials needed by its users. Commentary W hile it is im portant th at a library have in its collection the quantity of materials called for in Form ula A, its resources may be augmented with an interlibrary loan service and, when feasible, by reciprocal-use arrangements with nearby institu­ tions. A library th at meets part of its responsibili­ ties in these ways must ensure that such sharing of resources does not weaken a continuing commit­ ment to develop its own holdings. There is no sub­ stitute for a strong, immediately accessible collec­ tion. Moreover, once a collection has attained the size called for by this formula, its usefulness will soon diminish if new materials are not acquired at an annual gross growth rate of from two to five per­ cent. The proper development of a collection includes concern for quality as well as quantity. A collection may be said to have quality for its purposes only to the degree th at it possesses a portion of the bibliog­ raphy of each discipline tau g h t, appropriate in quantity both to the level at which each is taught and to the num ber of students and faculty members who use it. While it is possible to have quantity w ithout quality, it is not possible to have quality w ithout quantity defined in relation to the charac­ 244 / C&RL News teristics of the institution. No easily applicable cri­ teria have yet been developed, however, for m ea­ suring quality in library collections. The best way to preserve or improve quality in a college library collection is to adhere to rigorous standards of discrim ination in the selection of m a­ terials to be added, w hether as purchases or gifts. The collection should contain a substantial portion of the titles listed in standard bibliographies for the curricular areas of the institution and for support­ ing general fields of knowledge. Subject lists for college libraries have been p repared by several learned associations, while general bibliographies such as Books fo r College Libraries are especially useful for identifying im portant retrospective ti­ tles. A m ajority of the appropriate, current publi­ cations reviewed in scholarly journals and in re­ viewing m edia such as Choice and Library Journal should be acquired. Careful attention should also be given to standard works of reference and to bib­ liographical tools which describe the broad range of inform ation sources. Institutional needs for periodical holdings vary so widely th at a generally applicable form ula can­ not be used, but in general it is good practice for a library to own any title th at is needed more than six times per year. Several good lists have been pre­ pared of periodical titles appropriate or necessary for college collections. Katz’s Magazines fo r L i­ braries describes 6,500 titles, of which approxi­ m ately ten percent m ay be regarded as essential to a broad liberal arts program for undergraduates. To this estimate must be added as m any titles are deemed necessary by the teaching faculty and li­ brarians to provide requisite depth and diversity of holdings. It may not be necessary to subscribe to certain less frequently used titles if they are avail­ able at another library nearby, or if needed articles m ay be quickly procured through a reliable deliv­ ery system or by electronic means. The lib rary collection should be continually ev alu ated against s ta n d a rd bibliographies and evolving institutional requirem ents for purposes both of adding new titles and identifying for w ith ­ draw al those titles which have out-lived their use­ fulness. No title should be retained for which a clear purpose is not evident in terms of academic programs or extra-curricular enrichm ent. Although the scope and content of the collection is ultim ately the responsibility of the library staff, this responsibility can be best fulfilled by develop­ ing and m aintaining a w ritten policy in coopera­ tion w ith th e teac h in g faculty. M oreover, the teaching faculty should be encouraged to partici­ pate in the selection of new titles for the collection. 2.2 The am ount of print material to be provided by the library shall be determ ined by a form ula (See Formula A) w hich takes into account the na­ ture and extent o f the academic program o f the in­ stitution, its enrollment, and the size o f the teach­ ing fa c u l t y . T he r e la tio n s h ip o f a u d io v is u a l collections and resource sharing activities to print collection size should be taken into account. C om m entary A. Print resources A strong core collection of print m aterials, aug­ m ented by specific allowances for enrollm ent, fac­ ulty size, and curricular offerings, is an indispensa­ ble requirem ent for the library of any college. The degree to which a library meets this requirem ent m ay be calculated w ith Form ula A. B. Audiovisual resources The range, extent and configuration of nonprint resources and services in college libraries varies widely according to institutional needs and charac­ teristics. Although audiovisual m aterials may con­ stitute an im portant and sometimes sizable p art of a library collection, it is neither appropriate nor FORMULA A— 1. Basic collection 85,000 vols. 2. Allowance per FTE faculty m em ber 100 vols. 3. Allowance per FTE student 15 vols. 4. Allowance per undergraduate m ajor or m inor field 350 vols. 5. Allowance per m aster’s field, when no higher degree is offered in the field 6,000 vols. 6. Allowance per m aster’s field, when a higher degree is offered in the field 3,000 vols. 7. Allowance per 6th year specialist degree field 6,000 vols. 8. Allowance per doctoral field 25,000 vols. A “volume” is defined as a physical unit of a work which has been printed or otherwise repro­ duced, typew ritten, or handw ritten, contained in one binding or portfolio, hardbound or paper- bound, which has been catalogued, classified, and/or otherwise prepared for use. Microform hold­ ings should be converted to volume-equivalents, w hether by actual count or by an averaging formula which considers each reel of microfilm, or five pieces of any other microform, as one volume- equivalent. May 1985 / 245 possible to establish a generally applicable pre­ scriptive formula for calculating the num ber of such items which should be available. Audiovisual holdings may be counted as Biblio­ graphic Unit Equivalents and combined with the num ber of print volumes and volume equivalents in measuring a library’s holdings against Formula A. These materials include sound recordings, vide­ ocassettes, videodisks, films, film strips, loops, slides (50 slides = 1 BUE), slide-tape sets, maps and other graphic m aterial, and computer soft­ ware packages. If some or all of this material is housed in an administratively separate media cen­ ter or audio-visual facility, it may be included in the grade determination if properly organized for use and readily accessible to the college commu­ nity. C. Resource sharing The extent of resource sharing through formal cooperative arrangements among libraries should be recognized in any assessment of the ability of a library to supply its users with needed materials. Similarly, the use of online databases or other m ar­ keted information sources may be included in this assessment. Annual statistics of resource sharing and the use of information services may be com­ piled for this purpose, as follows: 1. Number of books or other items borrowed via ILL channels. ________ 2. Num ber of articles acquired from outside sources. ________ 3. Recorded num ber of items borrowed from a nearby library with which a formal resource shar­ ing arrangem ent is in effect. ________ 4. N um ber of online database searches p e r­ formed. ________ Total ________ D. Determination of grade Libraries which can promptly provide 90 to 100 percent of as many volumes or volume-equivalents as are called for in Section A, augmented with an­ nual statistics from Sections B and C, shall be graded A in terms of library resources. From 75 to 89 percent shall be graded B; 60 to 74 percent shall be graded C; and 50 to 59 percent shall be graded D. Standard 3: Organization of materials 3 Library collections shall be organized by na­ tionally approved conventions and arranged fo r ef­ ficient retrieval at time of need. Commentary The acquisition of library materials comprises only part of the task of providing access to them. Collections should be indexed and arranged sys­ tematically to assure efficient identification and re­ trieval. 3.1 There shall be a union catalog o f the library ’s oldings that permits identification of items, re­ ardless of form at or location, by author, title, and ubject. ommentary The union catalog should be comprehensive and rovide bibliographic access to materials in all for­ ats owned by the library. This can best be accom­ lished through the development of a catalog with tems entered in accord with established national r international bibliographical conventions, such s rules for entry, descriptive cataloging, filing, lassification, and subject headings. Opportunities of several kinds exist for the coop­ rative development of the library’s catalog. These nclude the use of cataloging information produced y the Library of Congress and the various biblio­ raphic utilities. It may also include the compila­ ion by a num ber of libraries of a shared catalog. atalogs should be subject to continual editing to eep them abreast of modern terminology and con­ em porary practice. 3.1.1 The catalog shall be in a form at that can be onsulted by a num ber of users concurrently. ommentary A public catalog in any format can satisfy this tandard if it is so arranged that the library’s users ormally encounter no delay in gaining access to it. hile this is rarely a problem with the card cata­ og, the implementation of a microform, book, or nline catalog requires that a sufficient num ber of opies (or terminals) be available to minimize de­ ay in access at times of heavy demand. 3.1.2 In addition to the union catalog there shall lso be requisite subordinate files to provide biblio- ' raphic control and access to all library materials. ommentary Proper organization of the collections requires he maintenance of a num ber of subordinate files, uch as authority files and shelf lists, and of com­ lem entary catalogs, such as serial holdings rec­ rds. Inform ation contained in these files should lso be available to library users. In addition, the ontent of library materials such as journals, docu­ ents, and microforms should be made accessible hrough indexes in printed or computer-based for­ at. 3.2 Library materials shall be arranged to pro­ ide maximum accessibility to all users. Certain ategories of materials may be segregated by form or convenience. ommentary Materials should be arranged so that related in­ ormation can be easily consulted. Some materials uch as rarities, manuscripts, or archives, may be egregated for purposes of security and preserva­ ion. Materials in exceptionally active use, refer­ nce works, and assigned readings, may be kept eparate as reference and reserve collections to fa- h g s C p m p i o a c e i b g t C k t c C S n W l o c l a g C t s p o a c m t m v c f C f s s t e s 246 / C&RL News c ilita te access to them . A udiovisual m aterials, maps, and microforms, are examples of resources th a t m ay be aw kw ard to integrate physically be­ cause of form and m ay need to be segregated from the m ain collection. Fragm entation of the collec­ tions should be avoided wherever possible, how ­ ever, w ith the bulk of the collections shelved by subject in open stack areas to perm it and encourage browsing. 3.3 Materials placed in storage facilities shall be readily accessible to users. C om m entary M any libraries or groups of libraries have devel­ oped storage facilities for low-use m aterials such as sets or backruns of journals. These facilities m ay be situated on campus or in rem ote locations. The m a­ terials housed in these facilities should be easily id en tifiab le and readily av ailab le for use in a timely fashion. If direct user access is not possible, a rapid retrieval system should be provided. Standard 4: Staff 4 The sta ff shall be o f adequate size and quality to m eet the library’s needs fo r services, programs, and collection organization. C om m entary The college library shall need a staff composed of qualified librarians, skilled support personnel, and part-tim e assistants to carry out its stated objec­ tives. 4.1 Librarians, including the director, shall have a graduate degree fro m an ALA-accredited pro­ gram, shall be responsible fo r duties o f a profes­ sional nature, and shall participate in library and other professional associations. C om m entary The librarian has acquired through education in a graduate library and inform ation science school an understanding of the principles and theories of selection, acquisition, organization, interpretation and adm inistration of library resources. Moreover, developments in com puter and inform ation tech­ nology have had a m ajor im pact on librarianship requiring further th a t librarians be well inform ed in this developing area. L ib ra ria n s shall be assigned responsibilities which are appropriate to their education and expe­ rience and which encourage the ongoing develop­ m ent of professional competencies. Participation in library and other professional associations on and off campus is also necessary to further personal development. 4.2 Librarians shall be organized as a separate academic unit such as a departm ent or a school. They shall administer themselves in accord w ith A C R L “Standards fo r Faculty Status fo r College and University Librarians” and institutional poli­ cies and guidelines. C om m entary L ibrarians comprise the faculty of the library an d sh o u ld o rg a n iz e , a d m in is te r, an d govern themselves accordingly. The status, responsibili­ ties, perquisites and governance of the library fac­ ulty shall be fully recognized and supported by the parent institution. 4.3 The num ber o f librarians required shall be determ ined by a form ula (See Formula B) and shall fu rth er take into consideration the goals and ser­ vices o f the library, programs, degrees offered, in­ stitutional enrollment, size o f fa cu lty and staff, and auxiliary programs. C om m entary Form ula B is based on enrollm ent, collection size, and growth of the collection. O ther factors to be considered in determ ining staff size are services and programs, degrees offered, size of the faculty and staff, and auxiliary programs. Examples of ser­ vices and programs include reference and inform a­ tion services, bibliographic instruction, com puter- b ase d services, c o lle c tio n d e v e lo p m e n t, an d collection organization. In addition, auxiliary pro­ grams, e.g., extension, com m unity, and continu­ ing education, as well as size and configuration of facilities, and hours of service, are factors to be considered for staff size. 4.4 The num ber o f FTE support sta ff required shall be 1.75 per librarian not including student as­ sistants. Support sta ff and part-tim e assistants shall be assigned responsibilities appropriate to their qualifications, training, experience and capabili­ ties. C om m entary Full-tim e and part-tim e support staff carry out a wide variety of paraprofessional, technical, and clerical responsibilities. A productive working re­ lationship between the librarians and the support staff is an essential ingredient in the successful op­ eration of the library. In addition, student assis­ tants provide m eaningful support in accomplishing m any library tasks. 4.5 Library policies and procedures concerning sta ff shall be in accord w ith institutional guidelines and sound personnel m anagem ent. C om m entary The staff represents one of the library’s most im ­ p o rtan t assets in support of the instructional pro­ gram of the college. Its m anagem ent must be based upon sound, contem porary practices and proce­ dures consistent w ith the goals and purposes of the institution, including the following: 1. Recruitm ent methods should be based upon a careful definition of positions to be filled and objec­ tive evaluation of credentials and qualifications. 2. W ritten procedures should be developed in accordance w ith ACRL and institutional guide­ lines, and followed in m atters of appointm ent, pro­ m otion, tenure, dismissal and appeal. May 1985 / 247 3. Every staff m em ber should be informed in w riting as to the scope of his/her responsibilities. 4. Rates of pay and benefits of lib ra ry staff should be equivalent to other positions on campus requiring com parable backgrounds. 5. There should be a structured program for ori­ entation and training of new staff members, and career developm ent should be provided for all staff. 6. Supervisory staff should be selected on the b a ­ sis of job knowledge, experience and hum an rela­ tions skills. 7. Procedures should be m aintained for periodic review of staff perform ance and for recognition of achievement. For references, the following documents may be consulted: “ G uidelines and Procedures for the Screening and Appointm ent of Academic L ib rari­ ans,” C& RL News, September 1977, p p .231-33; “Model Statem ent of C riteria and Procedures for Appointm ent, Prom otion in Academic Rank, and Tenure for College and University L ibrarians,” C & R L N e w s, S e p te m b e r a n d O c to b e r 1973, pp. 192-95, 243-47; “Statem ent on the Term inal Professional Degree for Academic L ib ra ria n s,” Chicago: ACRL, 1975. Standard 5: Service 5 The library shall establish and m aintain a range and quality o f services that w ill promote the academic program o f the institution and encourage optim al library use. C om m entary The prim ary purpose of college library service is to prom ote and support the academic program of the parent institution. Services should be devel­ oped for and m ade available to all members of the academic com m unity, including the handicapped and non-traditional students. The successful fulfill­ m ent of this purpose will require th a t librarians work closely w ith classroom faculty to gain from them a clear understanding of their educational objectives and teaching methods and to com m uni­ cate to them an understanding of the services and resources which the library can offer. W hile re­ search skills and ease of access to m aterials will both serve to encourage library use, the prim ary m otivation for students to use the library originates w ith the instructional methods used in the class­ room. Thus, close cooperation between librarians and classroom instructors is essential. Such cooper­ ation must be a planned and structured activity and requires th at librarians participate in the aca­ demic planning councils of the institution. They should assist teaching faculty in appraising the ac­ tu a l and p o te n tia l lib ra ry resources available, work closely w ith them in developing library ser­ vices to support their instructional activities, and keep them inform ed of library capabilities. 5.1 The library shall provide inform ation and in­ struction to the user through a variety o f techniques to m eet differing needs. These shall include, but not be lim ited to, a variety o f professional reference services, and a bibliographic instruction program designed to teach users how to take fu ll advantage o f the resources available to them. C om m entary A fundam ental responsibility of a college library is to provide instruction in the most effective and efficient use of its materials. Bibliographic instruc­ tion and orientation m ay be given at m any levels of sophistication and m ay use a variety of methods and m aterials, including course-related instruc­ tion, separate courses with or w ithout credit, and group or individualized instruction. Of equal im portance is traditional reference ser­ vice wherein individual users are guided by librari­ ans in their appraisal of the range and extent of the library resources available to them for learning and research. Professional services should optim ally be available all hours the library is open. Use patterns should be studied to determ ine those times when lack of professional help would be least detrim en­ tal. The third m ajor form of inform ation service is the delivery of inform ation itself. Although obvi­ ously inappropriate in the case of student searches which are purposeful segments of classroom assign­ FORMULA B— The num ber of librarians required by the college shall be com puted as follows (to be calculated cu­ mulatively): For each 500, or fraction thereof, FTE students up to 10,000 1 librarian For each 1,000, or fraction thereof, FTE students above 10,000 1 librarian For each 100,000 volumes, or fraction thereof, in the collection 1 librarian For each 5,000 volumes, or fraction thereof, added per year 1 librarian For additional factors to be considered, see Standard 4.3. Libraries which provide 90–100 percent of these form ula requirem ents can, when they are supported by sufficient other staff members, consider themselves at the A level in terms of staff size; those that provide 75-89 percent of these requirem ents may rate themselves as B; those w ith 60-74 percent of requirem ents qualify for a C; and those with 50-59 percent of requirem ents w arran t a D. 248 / C&RL News ments, the actual delivery of inform ation—as dis­ tinct from guidance to it—is a reasonable library service in almost all other conceivable situations. Many of the services suggested in this com m en­ tary can be provided or enhanced by access to com ­ puterized forms of inform ation retrieval. In fact m any inform ation sources are available only in com puterized form at, and every effort should be m ade to provide access to them . Services m ay be provided in person or by other measures such as vi­ deocassette, com puter slide tape, or other appro­ priately prepared programs. 5.2 Library materials o f all types and form ats that can be used outside the library shall be circu­ lated to qualified users under equitable policies w ith o u t jeopardizing their preservation or avail­ ability to others. C om m entary C irculation of library m aterials should be deter­ mined by local conditions which will include size of the collections, the num ber of copies, no m atter w h at the form at, and the extent of the user com ­ m unity. Every effort should be m ade to circulate m aterials of all form ats th a t can be used outside the library w ithout undue risk to their preservation. C irculation should be for as long a period as is rea­ sonable w ithout jeopardizing access to m aterials by other qualified users. This overall goal m ay prom pt some institutions to establish v aria n t or unique loan periods for different titles or classes of titles. W hatever loan policy is used, however, it should be equitably and uniformly adm inistered to all quali­ fied categories of users. The accessibility of m ateri­ als can also be extended through provision of inex­ pensive means of photocopying w ithin the laws regarding copyright. 5.2.1 The quality o f the collections shall be en­ hanced through the use of interlibrary loan and other cooperative agreements. C om m entary Local resources should be extended through re­ ciprocal agreements for interlibrary loan accord­ ing to the ALA codes. Access to m aterials should be by the most efficient and rapid m ethod possible, in­ corporating such means as delivery services and electronic mail in addition to, or in place of, tra d i­ tional forms of delivery. First consideration must always go to the prim ary users but strong consider­ ation should be given to fostering the sharing of re­ sources. 5.2.2 Cooperative programs, other than tradi­ tional interlibrary loan, shall be encouraged fo r the purpose o f extending and increasing services and resources. C om m entary The rapid growth of inform ation sources, the availability of a m yriad of autom ation services, and the developm ent of other technologies such as laser beam , videodiscs, m icrocom puter systems, etc., m ake new dem ands on budgets. Cooperation w ith o th e r in stitu tio n s, and p a rtic u la rly w ith m ulti-type library organizations, often becomes a necessity. It must be recognized th a t this does not only involve receiving but dem ands a willingness to give or share on the p a rt of each library. This may m ean a com m itm ent of tim e, money, and person­ nel, but it is necessary if it is the only w ay to provide m odern services to users. C areful weighing of costs and benefits must be undertaken before such agree­ ments are pu t into effect. 5.3 The hours o f access to the library shall be consistent w ith reasonable demand. C om m entary The num ber of hours per week th a t library ser­ vices should be available will vary, depending upon such factors as w hether the college is in an u r­ ban or rural setting, teaching methods used, condi­ tions in the dorm itories, and w hether the student body is prim arily resident or com m uting. In any case, library scheduling should be responsive to reasonable local need. In some institutions users m ay need access to study facilities and to the collec­ tions, in whole or in p art, during more hours of the week th an they require the personal services of li­ brarians. However, during the norm al hours of op­ eration the users deserve com petent, professional service. The high value of the library’s collections, associated m aterials, and equipm ent, etc., dictates th a t a responsible individual be in control at all times. The public’s need for access to librarians m ay range upw ard to one hundred hours per week, whereas around-the-clock access to the library’s collection and/or facilities m ay in some cases be w arranted. 5.4 W here academic programs are offered at off- campus sites, library services shall be provided in accord w ith A C R L ’s “Guidelines fo r E xtended Campus Library Services. ” C om m entary Special library problems exist for colleges th at provide off-campus instructional program s. Stu­ dents in such program s must be provided w ith li­ brary services in accord w ith ACRL’s “Guidelines for Extended C am pus L ib rary Services.” These guidelines suggest th a t such services be financed on a regular basis, th a t a lib ra ria n be specifically charged w ith the delivery of such services, th a t the library implications of such program s be consid­ ered before program approval, and th a t courses so taught encourage library use. Services should be designed to m eet the different inform ation and bibliographic needs of these users. Such services, w hich are especially im p o rtan t at the g rad u ate level, must be furnished despite their obvious logis­ tical problems. Standard 6: Facilities 6 The library building shall provide secure and May 1985 / 249 adequate housing fo r its collections, and ample w ell–planned space fo r users and staff and fo r the provision of services and programs. Com m entary Successful library service presupposes an ade­ quate library building. Although the type of build­ ing will depend upon the character and purposes of the institution, it should in all cases be functional, providing secure facilities for accommodating the library’s resources, sufficient space for their adm in­ istration and m aintenance, and comfortable read­ ing and study areas for users. A new library build­ ing should represent a coordinated planning effort involving the library director and staff, the college adm inistration, and the architect, with the direc­ tor responsible for the preparation of the building program. The needs of handicapped persons should re­ ceive special attention and should be provided for in compliance w ith the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-480) and the R ehabilita­ tion Act of 1973, Section 504 (Public Law 93-516) and their amendments. Particular consideration must be given to any present or future requirements for equipm ent asso­ ciated with autom ated systems or other applica­ tions of library technology. Among these might be provision for new wiring, cabling, special climate control and m axim um flexibility in the use of space. Consideration should also be given to load- bearing requirements for compact shelving and the housing of mixed formats including microforms. 6.1 The size of the library building shall be deter­ m ined by a form ula (see Formula C) which takes into account the enrollment of the college, the ex­ tent and nature of its collections, and the size of its staff. 6.2 In designing or managing a library building, the functionality of floor plan and the use of space shall be the paramount concern. C om m entary The quality of a building is measured by such characteristics as the utility and comfort of its study and office areas, the design and durability of its furniture and equipm ent, the functional interrela­ tionships of its service and work areas, and the ease and economy with which it can be operated and used. 6.3 Except in certain circumstances, the college library’s collections and services shall be adminis­ tered w ithin a single structure. FORMULA C — The size of the college library building shall be calculated on the basis of a formula which takes into consideration the size of the student body, the size of the staff and its space requirements, and the num ber of volumes in the collections. To the result of this calculation must be added such space as may be required to house and service nonprint m aterials and microforms, to provide bibliographic instruction to groups, and to accommodate equipm ent and services associated with various forms of library technology. a. Space fo r users. The seating requirem ent for the library of a college where less than fifty percent of the FTE enrollment resides on campus shall be one for each five students. T hat for the library of a typical residential college shall be one for each four FTE students. Each study station shall be assumed to require 25 to 35 square feet of floor space, depending upon its function. b. Space fo r books. The space allocated for books shall be adequate to accommodate a convenient and orderly distribution of the collection according to the classification system(s) in use, and should include space for growth. Gross space requirements may be estimated according to the following formula. Square Feet/Volum e For the first 150,000 volumes 0.10 For the next 150,000 volumes 0.09 For the next 300,000 volumes 0.08 For holdings above 600,000 volumes 0.07 c. Space fo r sta ff. Space required for staff offices, service and work areas, catalogs, files, and equip­ ment, shall be approximately one-eighth of the sum of the space needed for books and users as calculated under a) and b) above. This formula indicates the net assignable area required by a library if it is to fulfill its mission with maximum effectiveness. “Net assignable area” is the sum of all areas (measured in square feet) on all floors of a building, assignable to, or useful for, library functions or purposes. (For an explana­ tion of this definition see The Measurement and Comparison of Physical Facilities fo r Libraries, American Library Association, 1970.) Libraries which provide 90 to 100% of the net assignable area called for by the formula shall be graded A in terms of space; 75-89% shall be graded B; 60-74% shall be graded C; and 50-59% shall be graded D. 250 / C&RL News Commentary Decentralized library facilities in a college have some virtues, and they present some difficulties. Prim ary among their virtues is their convenience to the offices or laboratories of some members of the teaching faculty. Prim ary among their weaknesses is the resulting fra g m en tatio n of the unity of knowledge, the relative isolation of a branch li­ brary from most users, potential problems of staff­ ing and security, and the cost of m aintaining cer­ ta in d u p lic a tiv e services or fu n ctio n s. W hen decentralized library facilities are being consid­ ered, these costs and benefits must be carefully compared. In general, experience has shown th at decentralized library facilities may not be in the best academic or economic interest of a college. Standard 7: Administration M atters pertaining to college library adm inistra­ tion are treated in the several other Standards. Matters of personnel adm inistration, for example, are discussed under Standard 4, and fiscal adminis­ tration under Standard 8. Some im portant aspects of library m anagem ent, however, must be consid­ ered apart from the other Standards. 7 The college library shall be administered in a manner which permits and encourages the fullest and m ost effective use o f available library re­ sources. C om m entary The function of a library adm inistrator is to di­ re c t a n d c o o rd in a te th e co m p o n en ts of th e lib rary —its staff, services, collections, building and external relations—so th at each contributes ef­ fectively and imaginatively to the mission of the li­ brary. 7.1 The statutory or legal foundation fo r the li­ brary’s activities shall be recognized in writing. Commentary In order for the library to function effectively, there must first be an articulated understanding within the college as to the statutory or legal basis under which the library operates. This may be a college bylaw, a trustee minute, or a public law which shows the responsibility and flow of author­ ity under which the library is empowered to act. 7.2 The library director shall be an officer of the college and shall report to the president or the chief academic officer of the institution. Commentary For the closest coordination of library activities with the instructional program , the library direc­ tor should report either to the president or the offi­ cer in charge of the academic affairs of the institu­ tion. 7.2.1 The responsibilities and authority o f the li­ brary director and procedures fo r appointm ent shall be defined in writing. C om m entary There should be a document defining the re­ sponsibility and authority vested in the office of the library director. This document may also be statu­ torily based and should spell out, in addition to the scope and n a tu re of th e d ire c to r’s duties and powers, the procedures for appointm ent. 7.3 There shall be a standing advisory com m ittee comprised of students and members o f the teaching faculty which shall serve as a channel of form al communication between the library and its user com m unity. Commentary This com m ittee—of which the library director should be an ex officio m em ber—should be used to convey both an awareness to the library of its users’ concerns, perceptions and needs, and an under­ standing to users of the library’s objectives and ca­ pabilities. The charge to the committee should be specific and in writing. 7.4 The library shall maintain w ritten policies and procedures manuals covering internal library governance and operational activities. C om m entary W ritten policies and procedures manuals are re­ quired for good m anagem ent, uniform ity, and consistency of action. They also aid in training staff and contribute to public understanding. 7.4.1. The library shall maintain a systematic and continuous proqram fo r evaluating its perfor­ mance, fo r informing the com m unity o f its accom­ plishments, and fo r identifying needed im prove­ ments. C om m entary The library director, in conjunction w ith the staff, should develop a program for evaluating the library’s performance. Objectives developed in ac­ cordance w ith the goals of the institution should play a m ajor p art in this evaluation program . Sta­ tistics should be m aintained for use in reports, to dem onstrate trends, and in perform ance evalua­ tion. In addition, the library director and staff members should seek the assistance of its standing library advisory committee and other representa­ tives of the community it serves. 7.5 The library shall be administered in accord w ith the spirit of the A L A “Library Bill o f Rights. ” C om m entary College libraries should be impervious to the pressures or efforts of any special interest groups or individuals to shape their collections and services. This principle, first postulated by the American Li­ brary Association in 1939 as the “Library Bill of Rights,” (amended 1948, 1961, and 1967 by the ALA Council) should govern the adm inistration of every college library and be given the full protec­ tion of the parent institution. May 1985 / 251 Standard 8: Budget 8 The library director shall have the responsibil­ ity fo r preparing, defending, and administering the library budget in accord w ith agreed upon ob­ jectives. Com m entary The library budget is a function of program planning and defines the library’s objectives in fis­ cal terms. The objectives form ulated under Stan­ dard 1 should constitute the base upon which the library’s budget is developed. 8.1 The library’s appropriation shall be six per­ cent of the total institutional budget fo r educa­ tional and general purposes. Com m entary The degree to which the college is able to fund the library in accord w ith institutional objectives is reflected in the relationship of the library appro­ p ria tio n to th e to ta l e d u c a tio n a l and general budget of the college. It is recommended th at li­ brary budgets, exclusive of capital costs and the costs of physical m aintenance, not fall below six percent of the college’s total educational and gen­ eral expenditures if it is to sustain the range of li­ b rary program s required by the institution and meet appropriate institutional objectives. This per­ centage should be greater if the library is attem pt­ ing to overcome past deficiencies, or to meet the needs of new academic programs. Factors which should be considered in form ulat­ ing a library’s budget requirements are the follow­ ing: 1. The scope, nature and level of the college cur­ riculum; 2. Instructional methods used, especially as they relate to independent study; 3. The adequacy of existing collections and the publishing rate in fields pertinent to the curricu­ lum; 4. The size, or anticipated size, of the student body and teaching faculty; 5. The adequacy and availability of other library resources; 6. The range of services offered by the library, for example, the num ber of service points m ain­ tained, the num ber of hours per week th at service is provided, the level of bibliographic instruction, online services, etc.; 7. The extent of autom ation of operations and services, w ith attendant costs; 8. The extent to which the library already meets the College Library Standards. 8.1.1 The library’s appropriation shall be aug­ m ented above the six percent level depending upon the extent to which it bears responsibility fo r ac­ quiring, processing, and servicing audiovisual m a­ terials. C om m entary It is difficult for an academic library th at has not traditionally been purchasing audiovisual m ateri­ als to accommodate such purchases w ithout some budgetary increase. The level of expenditure de­ pends upon w hether or not the institution has an audiovisual center separate from the library th at acquires and maintains both audiovisual materials and hardw are. 8.2 The library director shall have sole authority to apportion fu n d s and initiate expenditures w ithin the library budget and in accord w ith institutional policy. C om m entary Procedures for the preparation and defense of budget estimates, policies on budget approval, and regulation concerning accounting and expendi­ tures vary from one institution to another. The li­ brary director must know and conform to local procedure. Sound practices of planning and con­ trol require th at the director have sole responsibil­ ity and authority for allocation—and w ithin col­ lege policy, the reallocation—of the library budget and the initiation of expenditures against it. De­ pending upon local factors, betw een 35% and 45 % of the library’s budget is normally allocated to acquisition of resources, and between 50% and 60% is expended for personnel. 8.3 The library shall maintain internal accounts for approving its invoices fo r paym ent, monitoring its encumbrances, and evaluating the flo w of its ex­ penditures. Com m entary Periodic reports are necessary and provide an ac­ curate account of the funds allocated to the library. They should be current and m ade accessible for fis­ cal accountability. Appendix Other works cited American Library Association, Ad Hoc Com ­ m ittee on the Physical Facilities of Libraries. Mea­ surement and Comparison of Physical Facilities fo r Libraries. Chicago: ALA, 1970. “ [ACRL] G uidelines and Procedures for the Screening and Appointm ent of Academic L ibrari­ ans.” C& RL News, September 1977, pp. 231-33. “ [ACRL] Guidelines for Extended Campus Li­ brary Services.” C& RL News, March 1982, pp. 86-88. “ [ACRL] Model Statement of C riteria and Pro­ cedures for Appointm ent, Promotion in Academic Rank, and Tenure for College and University L i­ brarians.” C &RL News, September and October 1973, pp. 192-95, 243-47. “ [ACRL] Standards for Faculty Status for Col­ lege and University L ib raria n s.” C &R L News, May 1974, pp. 112-13. “ [ACRL] Statem ent on the Term inal Profes­ sional Degree for Academic L ibrarians.” Chicago: 252 / C&RL News ALA/ACRL, 1975. “Library Bill of Rights” (ALA Policy M anual, Section 53.1). In the ALA Handbook o f Organiza­ tion 1984/85. Chicago: ALA, 1984, pp. 217-18. Library Education and Personnel Utilization: A Statem ent o f Policy. Adopted by ALA Council. Chicago: ALA/OLPR, 1970. [RASD/IFLA] Interlibrary Loan Codes, 1980; International Lending Principles and Guidelines, 1978. Chicago: ALA, 1982. ■ ■ Cooperative Collection Development About 180 librarians and representatives of state higher education and library agencies from 40 states and C anada gathered at Chicago’s Bismarck Hotel on April 1-2 to p articip ate in building a model statewide plan th at can be used in coordi­ nating library cooperative collection development. Supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the symposium fea­ tured speakers from every identified formalized state, regional, or national plan. Following every two or three speakers, the audi­ ence took p art in a discussion of the plans w ith fa­ cilitators who had read the papers in advance. The discussion leaders were members of the Illinois As­ so c ia tio n of C ollege an d R esearch L ib ra rie s (IA C R L )/Illin o is B oard of H ig h er E d u c a tio n (IB H E) C o o p era tiv e C ollection D ev elo p m en t Com mittee, and it was this group th at developed criteria for a model statewide plan at the end of the symposium. Speakers at the sym posium included R obert W allhaus, deputy director for academic affairs at the Illinois Board of Higher Education, who de­ scribed the Illinois experience; and Paul Mosher, director of resource services at Stanford, who pro­ vided b ac k g ro u n d on th e R esearch L ib rarie s G roup/N orth American Collection Inventory Proj­ ect effort to coordinate collection development and m anagem ent on a national level. O ther speakers described the state plans in Indiana, Illinois, Colo­ rado, California, and New York; intra-state plans, such as the Triangle Research Libraries Network and th e H am pshire In te r-L ib ra ry C enter; and inter-state plans, such as the Alaska Cooperative Collection Development Project and the Pacific Northwest Collection Assessment Project. The proceedings of the symposium, including the IACRL/IHBE Com m ittee’s model statem ent, will be published in RESIN (Resource Sharing and Inform ation Networks) and as a monograph by the H aw orth Press, scheduled to appear by the end of this year. According to Wilson Luquire, symposium coor­ dinator and dean of library services at Eastern Illi­ nois University, another symposium may be held two or three years from now to chart the progress of the various state and regional plans. ■ ■ Sandra Donnelly is ACRL’s new C E officer Sandra Donnelly has been appointed ACRL continuing education program officer effective April 23. Her most recent position was as m anager for c o n tin u in g e d u c a ­ tion programs in health and hum an services at the College of DuPage, D o w n e rs G ro v e, I l l i ­ nois, where she assessed the training needs of the health and hum an ser­ vice audience and devel­ oped and implemented seminars in technology. She also sp e n t a five- m onth internship at the C ity C olleges of C h i­ Sandra Donnellycago planning programs in non-credit adult con­ tinuing education. She holds a m aster’s degree in adult continuing education from N orthern Illinois University. In her work for ACRL, Donnelly has three re­ sponsibilities. She supervises the development and production of courses given at ALA and ACRL conferences. She is also staff liaison for ALA’s Divi­ sional Leadership Enhancem ent Program , the fi­ nal phase of which will be held at Annual Confer­ ence in Chicago. And she serves as co-director of th e p ro jec t on h u m a n itie s p ro g ra m m in g , co­ sponsored by the National Endow m ent for the H u­ m anities, the Public L ib ra ry Association, and ACRL. ■ ■ Erratum In Table I of Richard Smith’s article, “Mass Deacidification Cost Com parisons,” on page 123 of the March 1985 issue of C& RL News, the original equipm ent cost for the Library of Con­ gress system should have been $11,500,000.