College and Research Libraries B y E D G A R W . K I N G Local W a r History Materials in College and University Libraries The librarian of Miami University has assembled a suggestive report on the treat- ment of local items relating to the war. WORLD W A R I I , surpassing all previous w a r s in scope and fury, promises also to be the most systematically documented w a r in history. T h e motion picture and sound recording, the microfilm camera, together w i t h the usual media of pen and press and typewriter, are leaving us w i t h w h a t threatens to be an embarrass- ment of historical riches." 1 Historical sec- tions have been organized f o r all branches of the armed forces and provision made f o r securing and processing all materials necessary to the compilation of extensive operational and administrative histories. C a n the same confident note, however, be sounded w i t h regard to the collection and preserving of local w a r history ma- terials by college and university libraries? In an effort to discover by sampling to w h a t extent local history materials are being preserved by these libraries, letters w e r e written to fifty representative c o l - leges and universities in all sections of the country. Communications also w e r e sent to some f o r t y state historical commissions, state departments of archives and history, and state libraries. A f e w national organi- zations, such as the A m e r i c a n Association 1 "Plans for the Historiography of the United States in World War II" in ". . . Notes and Sug- gestions . . ." American Historical Review 4 9 : 2 4 3 , January 1944. f o r State and L o c a l History, responded to requests f o r information. T h e replies received f r o m college and university librarians registered a w i d e variance in interest and activity, w h i c h was to be expected because the extent of a library's local w a r history collection is dependent on the size of the library and its nature and on the community and state in w h i c h it is located. A f e w libraries w h i c h had zealously collected the records of W o r l d W a r I only to see them unused and gathering dust are decidedly luke- w a r m about starting a similar project. O n e librarian even goes so far as to ex- press the opinion that such activity is "pure busy w o r k . " Others, h o w e v e r , are interested and are " d o i n g what they c a n , " but are handicapped by lack of staff and space. Some libraries report that they always have collected local history ma- terials and w i l l continue to do so but are making n o special attempt to pre- serve the records of this w a r . A f e w take c o m f o r t in the thought that other agencies on the campus, such as the alumni office and the publicity bureau, cover the field so well that little is left f o r the li- brary to do. Frequent mention is made of a strong public library in the same community w h i c h is collecting local w a r records, thereby leaving the college library responsible chiefly f o r obtaining the w a r records of its o w n institution. T h e local w a r history programs of the larger univer- 2 9 1 s i t i e s , s o m e o f t h e m w i t h r e g u l a r l y a p - p o i n t e d " w a r h i s t o r i a n s " o r " c u r a t o r s " o f t h e i r w a r l i t e r a t u r e c o l l e c t i o n s , a r e t o o a m b i t i o u s f o r t h e s m a l l e r c o l l e g e l i b r a r y t o e m u l a t e , b u t t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n f u n d a m e n t a l l o c a l r e c o r d s r e l a t i n g t o W o r l d W a r I I w h i c h i t w o u l d s e e m e v e r y c o l l e g e s h o u l d c o l l e c t a n d p r e s e r v e . A s e n s i b l e p r e l i m i n a r y s t e p m i g h t b e f o r e a c h c o l l e g e l i b r a r y t o c r i t i c a l l y s u r v e y i t s p r e v i o u s w a r c o l l e c t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h a t o f W o r l d W a r I , n o t i n g t h e i r o b v i o u s l a c k s a s w e l l a s t h e i t e m s o f m o s t i n t e r e s t a n d v a l u e . T o o b t a i n a p i c t u r e o f t h e n a t i o n w i d e c o l l e c t i n g a c t i v i t i e s d u r i n g t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r , L e s t e r J . C a p p o n ' s a r t i c l e o n " T h e C o l l e c t i o n o f W o r l d W a r I R e c o r d s i n t h e S t a t e s " 2 a n d W a l d o G . L e l a n d ' s " H i s t o r i a n s a n d A r c h i v i s t s i n t h e F i r s t W o r l d W a r " 3 m e r i t c a r e f u l r e a d i n g . E v e r y c o l l e g e l i b r a r y c e r t a i n l y s h o u l d b e i n c l o s e t o u c h w i t h i t s s t a t e h i s t o r i c a l c o m - m i s s i o n o r w i t h w h a t e v e r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a g e n c y i s h e a d i n g u p t h e w a r r e c o r d s p r o j - e c t i n i t s s t a t e ; i t s h o u l d a s c e r t a i n t h e e x t e n t o f t h e s t a t e , c o u n t y , a n d o u t s t a n d - i n g c o m m u n i t y c o l l e c t i o n s , a n d t h u s a v o i d u n n e c e s s a r y d u p l i c a t i o n o f e f f o r t . Initial Stimulus T h e i n i t i a l s t i m u l u s — o n a n a t i o n w i d e s c a l e — t o t h e f o r m a t i o n o f w a r r e c o r d s p r o j e c t s i n t h e s t a t e s w a s g i v e n , s h o r t l y a f t e r P e a r l H a r b o r , b y t h e S o c i a l S c i e n c e R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l ' s C o m m i t t e e o n t h e C o n t r o l o f S o c i a l D a t a , w h i c h l a t e r f u n c - t i o n e d u n d e r t h e s p o n s o r s h i p o f t h e C o m - m i t t e e f o r t h e C o n s e r v a t i o n o f C u l t u r a l R e s o u r c e s . T h e s e c o m m i t t e e s h a v e e n - c o u r a g e d t h e s t a t e h i s t o r i c a l c o m m i s s i o n s s Cappon, Lester J. " T h e Collection of World W a r I R e c o r d s i n t h e S t a t e s . " American Historical Review 4 8 : 7 3 3 - 4 5 , J u l y i ° 4 3 - * Leland, Waldo G. "Historians and Archivists in the First World W a r . " American Archivist 5:1-17, January 1942. a n d o t h e r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a g e n c i e s t o d i r e c t a n d a c t a s c o o r d i n a t i n g a g e n c i e s i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n a n d p r e s e r v a t i o n o f W o r l d W a r I I m a t e r i a l s i n l o c a l c o m m u n i t i e s . T h e A m e r i c a n A s s o c i a t i o n f o r S t a t e a n d L o c a l H i s t o r y , t h r o u g h i t s s p e c i a l C o m m i t t e e o n S t a t e a n d L o c a l W a r R e c o r d s , a l s o is m a k i n g a n e f f o r t " t o e n c o u r a g e t h e v a r i o u s s t a t e w a r r e c o r d s p r o j e c t s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y a n d t o s e r v e a s a c e n t r a l c l e a r i n g - h o u s e . " T h i s c o m m i t t e e , u n d e r t h e c h a i r - m a n s h i p o f D r . C a p p o n , h a s j u s t i s s u e d a r e p o r t o n " W a r R e c o r d s P r o j e c t s i n t h e S t a t e s 1 9 4 1 - 1 9 4 3 " 4 a n d a l s o t h e first n u m - b e r ( M a r c h 1 9 4 4 ) o f t h e War Records Collector. S o m e o f t h e w a r h i s t o r y m a n u a l s i s s u e d b y t h e s t a t e h i s t o r i c a l c o m m i s s i o n s a r e h e l p f u l , a l t h o u g h o f c o u r s e t h e y c o n t a i n m a n y c a t e g o r i e s f o r c o l l e c t i n g t h a t a p p l y c h i e f l y t o p u b l i c a n d h i s t o r i c a l s o c i e t y l i b r a r i e s . T h e f o l l o w i n g s t a t e s a r e a m o n g t h o s e w h i c h h a v e d i s t r i b u t e d p u b l i c a t i o n s w h i c h s e e m p a r t i c u l a r l y u s e f u l : T h e I o w a S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t o f H i s t o r y a n d A r c h i v e s h a s i s s u e d a " W a r H i s t o r y M a n u a l " 5 a n d a l s o s e p a r a t e p u b l i c a t i o n s o n t h e c l i p p i n g f i l e , 8 v e r t i c a l f i l e , 7 a n d p r e s e r v a t i o n o f w a r r e c o r d s . 8 N e w Y o r k , t h r o u g h i t s d i v i s i o n o f a r c h i v e s a n d h i s t o r y , h a s p u b l i s h e d a f a i r l y e x t e n s i v e " W a r R e c o r d s H a n d - b o o k . " 9 T h e N o r t h C a r o l i n a O f f i c e o f C i v i l i a n D e f e n s e , i n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e s t a t e d e p a r t m e n t o f a r c h i v e s a n d h i s t o r y , h a s d i s t r i b u t e d a " W a r R e c o r d s M a n - * Cappon, Lester J. " W a r Records Projects in the S t a t e s 1 9 4 1 - 1 9 4 3 . " Bulletins of the American Asso- ciation for State and Local History i : 1 8 9 - 2 2 6 , M a r c h 1944. 5 Iowa State Department of History and Archives. " W a r History Manual." August 1943- 8p. 6 Iowa State Department of History and Archives. " A War Information Center Clipping File." August 1942. u p . 7 Iowa State Department of History and Archives. " A War Information Center Vertical File." Sep- tember 1942. 12p. 8 Iowa State Department of History and Archives. "Preservation of Materials for War Records World War I I . " September 1942. 8p. 9 New York. State Education Department. Divi- sion of Archives and History. " W a r Records Hand- book." 1943- 3iP- v 292 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES u a l " 1 0 a n d a l s o s p e c i a l b u l l e t i n s . T h e P e n n s y l v a n i a H i s t o r i c a l C o m m i s s i o n h a s a " W a r H i s t o r y M a n u a l , " 1 1 a n d t h e W i s - c o n s i n W a r R e c o r d s C o m m i s s i o n a " W a r R e c o r d s M a n u a l . " 1 2 B u l l e t i n N u m b e r S e v e n t e e n o f t h e M i c h i g a n H i s t o r i c a l C o m m i s s i o n is e n t i t l e d " W a r R e c o r d s W o r l d W a r I I . " 1 3 T h e O h i o W a r H i s - t o r y C o m m i s s i o n d i s t r i b u t e s t o i t s c o u n t y a n d l o c a l c h a i r m e n a m o n t h l y b u l l e t i n " C o m m u n i k a y " 1 4 i n s t e a d o f a m a n u a l . T h i s c o m m i s s i o n , m o r e o v e r , h a s a u s e f u l f o l d e r : " W h a t A r e Y O U D o i n g t o P r e - s e r v e O h i o ' s W a r R e c o r d s ? " 1 5 T h e f o r e - g o i n g a r e o n l y e x a m p l e s o f s i m i l a r m a t e r i a l w h i c h m a y b e s e c u r e d f r o m o t h e r s t a t e c o m m i s s i o n s . A n y l o c a l w a r h i s t o r y p r o j e c t , n o m a t - t e r w i t h w h a t h i g h e n t h u s i a s m it m a y h a v e b e e n s t a r t e d , is s u r e t o f a l t e r w i t h o u t t h e s u p p o r t o f a n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o m m i t t e e . F o r t h e s m a l l c o l l e g e , a c o m m i t t e e w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f r o m t h e f a c u l t y , a l u m n i , s t u d e n t b o d y , a n d l i b r a r y s t a f f m i g h t b e f e a s i b l e . S u p p o r t e d b y a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e c o m m i t t e e a n d g u i d e d b y m a n u a l s a n d b u l l e t i n s f r o m s t a t e a n d o t h e r a g e n c i e s , e a c h l i b r a r y t h e n m u s t d e t e r m i n e w h a t r e c o r d s s h a l l c o n s t i - t u t e i t s l o c a l w a r h i s t o r y c o l l e c t i o n . T h e m a t e r i a l s t h a t f o l l o w a r e s u g g e s t i v e o n l y . Records of Alumni and Former Students in the Armed Forces Service Records. T h e s e r v i c e r e c o r d s 10 North Carolina Office of Civilian Defense and State Department of Archives and History. " W a r Records Manual." 1942. 6p. 11 Pennsylvania Historical Commission. " W a r History Manual." 1942. u p . See also this com- m i s s i o n ' s Pennsylvania's First Year at War. 1943. loop. "Pennsylvania's Second Year at W a r " is in preparation. 13 Wisconsin W a r Records Commission. " W a r Records Manual." May 1943. i6p. 13 Michigan Historical Commission. " W a r Records of Michigan World War II." Bulletin No. 17. 1943. I5P- 14 Ohio W a r History Commission. "Communikay." V . 1, no. i, July 15, 1942 (In progress). 15 Ohio War History Commission. "What Are Y O U Doing to Help Ohio Preserve Her War Records?" 1942. 8p. o f a l u m n i a n d f o r m e r s t u d e n t s u s u a l l y a r e k e p t i n t h e a l u m n i o f f i c e s o f c o l l e g e s a n d u n i v e r s i t i e s . T h e s e r e c o r d s , s e c u r e d f r o m p o s t a l c a r d q u e s t i o n n a i r e s o r s p e c i a l l e t t e r s , n a t u r a l l y a r e m o r e e l a b o r a t e i n t h e l a r g e i n s t i t u t i o n s . A c o m m o n p r a c t i c e is t o h a v e a m a s t e r f i l e w i t h a s e p a r a t e e n v e l o p e f o r e a c h i n d i v i d u a l ' s s e r v i c e r e c o r d a n d a l l o t h e r w a r i n f o r m a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g p i c t u r e s , l e t t e r s , c l i p p i n g s , a n d b i o g r a p h i c a l d a t a . F o r t h e m i s s i n g a n d t h e d e a d , a n e f f o r t u s u a l l y is m a d e t o s e c u r e a s c o m p l e t e i n - f o r m a t i o n a s p o s s i b l e b y w r i t i n g t h e n e x t o f k i n f o r b i o g r a p h i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n a n d p h o t o g r a p h s . M u c h o f t h e m a t e r i a l i n t h e s e m a s t e r files, n o d o u b t , w i l l r e m a i n p e r m a n e n t l y i n t h e a l u m n i o f f i c e s . I n s o m e c o l l e g e s a n d u n i v e r s i t i e s , h o w e v e r , a r r a n g e m e n t h a s b e e n m a d e f o r t h e l i b r a r y t o r e c e i v e l e t t e r s o f p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t o r s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r t h e i r m e m o r a b i l i a c o l l e c - t i o n s . Letters. W a r l e t t e r s h a v e p o u r e d i n t o c o l l e g e s a s a r e s u l t o f v a r i o u s a p p e a l s . T h e p r e s i d e n t ' s o f f i c e r e c e i v e s n u m e r o u s l e t t e r s t h r o u g h t h e i s s u a n c e o f s p e c i a l m e s s a g e s o r b u l l e t i n s t o a l u m n i i n t h e s e r v i c e s . 1 6 R e q u e s t s f o r l e t t e r s , l i k e w i s e , a r e m a d e i n t h e a l u m n i m a g a z i n e a n d t h e s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r . B e c a u s e o f t h i s l e t t e r - g a t h e r i n g a c t i v i t y i n t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d a l u m n i o f f i c e s , c o l l e g e l i b r a r i e s i n g e n e r a l a r e m a k i n g l i t t l e a t t e m p t t o c o l l e c t w a r l e t t e r s d i - r e c t l y . B u t it w o u l d s e e m t h a t t h e y m i g h t t a k e a m o r e a c t i v e p a r t , a n d t h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f w e l l - k n o w n s o u r c e s t h r o u g h w h i c h w a r l e t t e r s m a y b e o b t a i n e d . A f e w u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i e s , a m o n g t h e m M i n n e s o t a a n d N o r t h C a r o l i n a , h a v e s o u g h t l e t t e r s f r o m f o r m e r s t u d e n t a s s i s t - a n t s a n d s t a f f m e m b e r s . I n s o m e 18 Wilkins, Ernest H. "Ways of Keeping in Touch with College Men in Military Service." School and Society 55:362-64, M a r . 28, 1942. SEPTEMBER, 1944 293 i n s t a n c e s t h e s e l e t t e r s h a v e b e e n p a r t i c u - l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g i n t h a t t h e y f o r m a s e r i e s f r o m a s i n g l e i n d i v i d u a l f r o m t h e t i m e h e r e p o r t e d a t h i s i n d u c t i o n c e n t e r u n t i l h i s p r e s e n t p o s t o v e r s e a s . F a c u l t y m e m b e r s s h o u l d b e u r g e d t o t u r n o v e r e i t h e r t o t h e l i b r a r y o r t o t h e a l u m n i o f f i c e , l e t t e r s w h i c h t h e y r e c e i v e f r o m s t u d e n t s i n t h e s e r v i c e s . T o r o u n d u p l e t t e r s , a r e g u l a r l y d e s i g n a t e d m e m - b e r f r o m d i v i s i o n a l f a c u l t i e s o r d e p a r t - m e n t s w o u l d be h e l p f u l . C l a s s s e c r e t a r i e s f r e q u e n t l y r e c e i v e w a r l e t t e r s w h i c h a r e o f v a l u e a n d i n t e r e s t a n d w h i c h m i g h t b e g i v e n t o t h e l i b r a r y . F r a - t e r n i t i e s a n d l o c a l c l u b s o r s o c i e t i e s o n t h e c a m p u s a r e f u r t h e r p o s s i b l e s o u r c e s . T h e f a c u l t y s p o n s o r o f t h e " P o e t ' s C i r c l e " o n t h e M i a m i c a m p u s is c o r r e s p o n d i n g r e g u - l a r l y w i t h f o r m e r m e m b e r s n o w i n t h e s e r v i c e a n d a l r e a d y h a s a c c u m u l a t e d a m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g f i l e f r o m v a r i o u s w a r t h e a t r e s . M i n i s t e r s , n e w s p a p e r e d i t o r s , a n d o t h e r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e c i t i z e n s o f t h e c o m m u n i t y u s u a l l y a r e g l a d t o g i v e t o l i - b r a r i e s t h e l e t t e r s w h i c h t h e y r e c e i v e . T h e f a m i l i e s o f m e n a n d w o m e n i n t h e s e r v i c e s n a t u r a l l y a r e r e l u c t a n t t o g i v e u p p e r s o n a l w a r l e t t e r s a t t h i s t i m e , b u t a r - r a n g e m e n t s m i g h t b e m a d e t o h a v e t h e l e t t e r s , o r p a r t s o f t h e m , c o p i e d o r t o h a v e t h e m p r e s e n t e d a t s o m e t i m e a f t e r t h e w a r . Diaries T h e n e c e s s i t y o f c e n s o r s h i p , w h i c h o f t e n l i m i t s t h e i n t e r e s t a n d i n f o r m a t i o n i n o v e r s e a s l e t t e r s , w o u l d n o t i m p o s e t h e s a m e l i m i t a t i o n s o n d i a r i e s , a n d a n y o f t h e s e w h i c h c o u l d b e s e c u r e d — p r o b a b l y c h i e f l y a f t e r t h e w a r — w o u l d b e a m o s t i m p o r t a n t a d d i t i o n t o t h e l o c a l w a r h i s t o r y c o l l e c t i o n . T h e M i a m i U n i v e r s i t y L i - b r a r y o n l y r e c e n t l y s e c u r e d a C i v i l W a r d i a r y w h i c h g a v e a m u c h m o r e v i v i d a n d c o m p l e t e a c c o u n t o f t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e " U n i v e r s i t y R i f l e s " i n M a y 1 8 6 1 t h a n h a d a p p e a r e d i n t h e s t u d e n t p a p e r o r l o c a l n e w s p a p e r o f t h e p e r i o d . E f f o r t s m a d e d u r i n g a n d i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r a w a r a r e n e c e s s a r y t o p r e v e n t m a n y o f t h e s e v a l u a b l e m a n u s c r i p t s f r o m b e i n g l o s t . A n t i o c h C o l l e g e h a s u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n i n t e r e s t i n g p r o j e c t o f a s k i n g e a c h a l u m n u s , w h e n m u s t e r e d o u t , t o w r i t e a n a c c o u n t o f h i s w a r e x p e r i e n c e s . E v e n if o n l y a s m a l l p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e a l u m n i r e s p o n d e d , t h e c o l l e c t i o n w o u l d b e d e - c i d e d l y w o r t h w h i l e , p a r t i c u l a r l y if i t i n - c l u d e d t h e a c c o u n t s o f m e n a n d w o m e n i n t h e m a n y d i f f e r e n t b r a n c h e s o f t h e s e r v i c e a n d f r o m t h e v a r i o u s t h e a t r e s o f w a r . A m o s t e f f e c t i v e a p p e a l f o r l e t t e r s a n d d i a r i e s is a s i n g l e s h e e t " r e p r i n t e d w i t h v a r i a t i o n s " f r o m t h e Michigan Alumnus, 1 9 4 3 , u r g i n g t h e a l u m n i o f o n e i n s t i t u t i o n t o s e n d s u c h m a t e r i a l s t o t h e u n i v e r s i t y w a r h i s t o r i a n . T h e f o l l o w i n g l i n e s a r e q u o t e d f r o m t h i s a p p e a l : S o l d i e r s a n d s a i l o r s a r e p r o v e r b i a l l y g i v e n t o l e t t e r and d i a r y w r i t i n g ; t h e y a r e e f f e c t i v e e p i s t o l a r i a n s . E x a m p l e s of t h e i r p r o f i c i e n c y in this r e s p e c t d u r i n g C i v i l W a r and W o r l d W a r I d a y s a b o u n d in t h e M i c h i g a n H i s - t o r i c a l C o l l e c t i o n s . . . . T o r e a d t h e s e c o m - p o s i t i o n s is t o g a i n a r e a l i s t i c c o n c e p t i o n of w a r w i t h its m a n y i m p l i c a t i o n s ; t h e y i m p a r t t o t h e w a r t h e e a r t h i n e s s of t h e A r m y , t h e s a l t i n e s s o f t h e N a v y . O n e m a y a n t i c i p a t e the b r e e z i n e s s of the A i r F o r c e s as w e l l in t h e W o r l d W a r I I d i a r i e s and l e t t e r s w h i c h t h e c o l l e c t i o n s h o p e t o a c q u i r e . O t h e r m a n u s c r i p t r e c o r d s t o b e s e c u r e d w o u l d i n c l u d e u n p u b l i s h e d a d d r e s s e s , r a d i o s c r i p t s , s e r m o n s , a n d t h e p r o c e e d i n g s o f w a r d i s c u s s i o n g r o u p s a n d f o r u m s . Civilian Contributions of Faculty and Alumni M o s t o f t h e c o l l e g e a n d u n i v e r s i t y l i - v 294 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES b r a r i e s r e p o r t i n g s t a t e t h a t t h e y a r e m a k - i n g n o e f f o r t t o s e t u p s p e c i a l c o l l e c t i o n s o f f a c u l t y a n d a l u m n i c i v i l i a n c o n t r i b u - t i o n s t o t h e w a r e f f o r t . T h e y f e e l t h a t o u t s t a n d i n g c i v i l i a n a c h i e v e m e n t s a r e s u f f i - c i e n t l y r e c o r d e d i n a l u m n i m a g a z i n e s , t h e s t u d e n t a n d l o c a l n e w s p a p e r s , a n d a n n u a l r e p o r t s o f t h e c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t , a s w e l l a s t h r o u g h t h e c l i p p i n g s e r v i c e s s u b s c r i b e d t o b y m a n y c o l l e g e n e w s b u r e a u s . I t is t r u e t h a t m o s t o f t h e s c i e n t i f i c a n d t e c h n i c a l w a r r e s e a r c h is a t p r e s e n t c o n - f i d e n t i a l ; i t s s t o r y c a n n o t b e t o l d f u l l y u n t i l a f t e r t h e w a r . I t w o u l d s e e m , h o w - e v e r , t h a t a l u m n i a n d f a c u l t y , n o w o n l e a v e , e n g a g e d i n r e s e a r c h o r c a r r y i n g o n o t h e r w o r k i n g o v e r n m e n t a n d i n d u s t r y s h o u l d b e e n c o u r a g e d t o r e c o r d t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s u p o n r e t u r n t o t h e i r f o r m e r p o - s i t i o n s w h e n t h e w a r is o v e r . F a c u l t y m e m b e r s , " r e t r e a d e d " t o c a r r y o n t h e i n s t r u c t i o n a l p r o g r a m s i n m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e u n i t s o n t h e c a m p u s , h a v e m a d e a v i t a l c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e w a r . F o r t h e m o s t p a r t t h e i r w o r k is a l l t h e m o r e r e - m a r k a b l e b e c a u s e o f t e n i t h a s b e e n f a r r e - m o v e d f r o m t h e i r c h o s e n f i e l d s . P e r h a p s a F r e n c h p r o f e s s o r is t e a c h i n g a i r c r a f t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o r a G e r m a n p r o f e s s o r , m e t e o r o l o g y . A p a p e r r e a d r e c e n t l y a t a c i v i l i a n m e n ' s c l u b b y a m e m b e r o f t h e E n g l i s h d e p a r t m e n t , e n t i t l e d " F r o m E n g - l i s h L i t e r a t u r e t o P r a c t i c a l N a v i g a t i o n , " r e c o r d e d in a m o s t a m u s i n g a n d y e t i n - f o r m a t i v e m a n n e r t h e s t o r y o f a t r a n s - p l a n t e d i n s t r u c t o r i n t h e N a v y V - I 2 p r o - g r a m . A c o p y o f t h i s p a p e r s u r e l y s h o u l d b e f o u n d i n t h e w a r h i s t o r y f i l e s . Curriculum Changes A c c e l e r a t e d p r o g r a m s i n t h e c o l l e g e s a n d u n i v e r s i t i e s a n d s w e e p i n g c u r r i c u l u m c h a n g e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e o f f e r i n g o f m o r e s c i e n t i f i c a n d t e c h n i c a l c o u r s e s , q u i c k l y f o l l o w e d o u r e n t r y i n t o t h e w a r , as h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a t t e m p t - e d t o a d a p t t h e m s e l v e s t o w a r n e e d s . I n m a n y c o l l e g e s , b e c a u s e t h e w a r h a d b e e n a n t i c i p a t e d , s p e c i a l c o u r s e s w e r e a d d e d e v e n b e f o r e P e a r l H a r b o r . A s e a r l y a s 1 9 3 9 s t u d e n t s w e r e t a k i n g p i l o t t r a i n i n g o n m a n y c a m p u s e s u n d e r t h e s p o n s o r s h i p o f t h e C i v i l A e r o n a u t i c s A u t h o r i t y . T h e A r m y a n d N a v y s u c c e e d e d t h e C . A . A . a s s p o n s o r s o f t h e s e c o u r s e s i n 1 9 4 2 , w h e n t h e y b e c a m e k n o w n as t h e W . T . S . p r o - g r a m . E a r l y in 1 9 4 1 c o l l e g e s a n d u n i v e r s i - t i e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e c o u n t r y b e g a n t o o f f e r c o u r s e s u n d e r t h e E n g i n e e r i n g , S c i e n c e , a n d M a n a g e m e n t W a r T r a i n i n g P r o g r a m i n i t i a t e d b y t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s O f f i c e o f E d u c a t i o n . T h e s e E . S . M . W . T . c o u r s e s , t a u g h t i n n e a r b y i n d u s t r i a l c i t i e s b y f a c u l t y m e m b e r s , a r e c o n t i n u i n g . T h e r e c o r d s o f t h e C . A . A . a n d E . S . M . W . T . p r o g r a m s c a n b e o b t a i n e d a f t e r t h e w a r f r o m t h e f i l e s o f t h e f a c u l t y o f f i c i a l s i n c h a r g e o f t h e m . T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f M i c h i g a n w a r h i s - t o r i a n , H o w a r d P e c k h a m , r e c e n t l y h a s w r i t t e n a b u l l e t i n o n " T h e U n i v e r s i t y i n t h e W a r , " 1 7 w h i c h s u r v e y s M i c h i g a n ' s s e r v i c e s t o t h e a r m e d f o r c e s a n d t h e h o m e f r o n t . I t is v e r y s u g g e s t i v e o f t h e d i f f e r e n t l o c a l m a t e r i a l s w h i c h o u g h t t o b e p r e - s e r v e d . T h e r e p o r t s o f t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d f a c u l t y c o m m i t t e e s o n w a r t i m e c u r r i c u l u m c h a n g e s — e s p e c i a l l y c o m m i t t e e r e p o r t s o n p o s t w a r p l a n n i n g , o f w h i c h v o c a t i o n a l r e - h a b i l i t a t i o n is o n e a s p e c t — c e r t a i n l y s h o u l d b e i n c l u d e d i n t h e c o l l e g e ' s w a r h i s t o r y c o l l e c t i o n . 17 P e c k h a m , H o w a r d . " T h e U n i v e r s i t y in the W a r . " U n i v e r s i t y of M i c h i g a n Official P u b l i c a t i o n 45, no. 54, Jan. 12, 1944. 15P. See also, by the sa-^ie "ut Vior. " U n i v e r = ' t v W a r R e c n r d s . " War Rec- ords Collector 1:9-10, M a y 1944. T h e most e x t e n s i v e s u r v e y is, of course, E v e l y n S. L i t t l e ' s " W a r A c - t i v i t i e s of College and Research L i b r a r i e s . " College and Research Libraries 4 : 1 7 9 - 2 1 1 , J u n e 1943. SEPTEMBER, 1944 295 Army and Navy Specialized Training Programs M o s t of the records of the military service units on the campus, of course, cannot be obtained at the present time. A s one librarian points out, " I t is a ques- tion first of all what to ask for, and furthermore officers are much too busy to have time to sort out what printed ma- terial could be given." T h e difficulty of securing these records is further compli- cated by the swiftly changing personnel which heads the service organizations. However, in the case of some units cer- tain records can be obtained at once. For example, the A i r Force requires of each unit that it write its history; a copy of this, up to date, can be secured now. T h e daily activities of all service organizations are recorded in their regular bulletins, papers, and yearbooks. These are avail- able, and complete files, of course, will be kept. A f t e r the war the historical records, at least, of all the units will be available. Directives, syllabi, and text- books of the specialized training programs could be included in the collection. Be- cause the faculty liaison officer in charge of these training programs is in daily con- tact with the service officers, naturally he is in a strategic position to make arrange- ments for securing the records. T h e faculty member directing one N a v y V - I 2 program has promised to give the library any desired material from his files after the war, beginning with an account of his indoctrination course. Wartime Organizations on the Campus A l l college campuses abound with war- time agencies, some of them permanent like the Red Cross, some temporary like the U . S . O . , and some defunct like the Finn- ish W a r Relief. In the case of defunct agencies, their records should be secured at once from the local chairmen or secre- taries ; and in the case of organizations still operating, definite arrangements should be made to secure their records at the close of the war. Faculty and students alike have contributed to the success of these organizations, upholding the reputation of the U . S . O . as an effective morale builder, taking their part in the local civilian de- fense group, submitting themselves as first aid "patients," and contributing their pint of blood many times over. Red Cross drives, war bond and war stamp sales are examples of other war- time activities of which there should be a written record, along with posters and pictures to make them vivid. Newspapers and Periodical Publications The Local Newspaper. F e w librarians would be likely to dispute a sentence that occurs again and again in articles on col- lecting war materials: " T h e local news- paper is the most important single record of the war." T h e college library probably would wish to keep complete files of local newspapers even though they might be available also in the local public library, because the papers would have articles on the war ac- tivities of the college treated in a different way from those in the college newspaper. M o s t college librarians seem to feel that if a complete file of the local paper is kept, a newspaper clipping collection of the files would not be necessary. A s has often been stated: " T h e future writer of history will be much more interested in complete files than in clippings." O n e li- brarian writes: " A s to clippings, I per- sonally see no advantage in a collection of them if good files of local papers are kept. Such a collection is of little value unless v 296 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES it is very complete, carefully preserved, and thoroughly indexed, and I have found that even large and well-organized li- braries have not enough time and help to do the job well." Probably the ideal pro- cedure would be to make a careful index of the local papers, such as the newspaper indexes prepared under the direction of the W . P . A . , but unfortunately few li- braries have the staff to undertake this task. If it is desired to maintain a news- paper clipping file in addition to the com- plete file of the local paper, obviously a duplicate subscription will have to be entered. Clippings, of course, may be treated in various ways. O n e method is to place them, loose or mounted, in manila folders, to assign subject headings, and to file them in the vertical file. Another common practice is to paste them in a loose-leaf scrapbook. For both methods, a chronological arrangement under subject should be adopted. T o be usable the clipping file, whether in folders or a scrap- book, must be indexed. T h e Sept. 3, 1943, Bulletin of the North Carolina Historical Commission gives a brief procedure for indexing newspapers, with a suggested subject heading list. These instructions also could be used for indexing the clipping file and might be useful to the library without experience in such work. Other state historical commissions likewise treat the handling of newspaper clippings. Stanley Erikson, in his article on the "Preservation of Community W a r Rec- ords,"18 discusses in some detail the possi- bilities of the newspaper clipping collection and of scrapbook files. Scrapbooks— often containing programs, leaflets, and other material in addition to clippings— 1 8 E r i k s o n , S t a n l e y . " P r e s e r v a t i o n of C o m m u n i t y W a r R e c o r d s . " Illinois Libraries 2 6 : 1 0 - 1 1 , J a n u a r y 1944. probably will be kept chiefly by the smaller libraries which are unable to undertake any ambitious program of collecting war materials but wish to record in some way the war activities of their institutions. Alumni and Student Publications Complete files of student, alumni, and administrative publications, of course, will be kept by all libraries. M a n y of these publications are mimeographed sheets, issued only during the war, and are some- what elusive. A s in the case of local newspapers, duplicate files of the more important publications probably should be secured to permit clipping if desired. U.S. Camp and Overseas Publications O n l y a selected number of the largest li- braries in the country could hope to ap- proach any degree of completeness in a collection of the United States camp and overseas newspapers of this war, and apparently not many of them are attempt- ing it. One of the largest university libraries reports that during the first months of W o r l d W a r II, it wrote to every camp and similar organization which published a paper but received a reply in only 2 per cent of the cases and then only a few of the papers. Another great university library, however, reports ex- tremely good results in obtaining both U . S . camp and overseas newspapers, stat- ing that " C a m p editors have been very generous in response to requests for their publications, have placed the library on their mailing list, and have sent back files of their publications." It has been pointed out that the prob- lem of securing the publications of camps and service units for this war is "com- paratively greater than the problem for the last, because of the lack of a stand- SEPTEMBER, 1944 29 7 ardizing influence like the Y . M . C . A . and the Stars and Stripes in the last war, and the prevalence in this war of mimeo- graphed and similarly duplicated periodi- cals." State historical societies naturally will attempt to secure complete files of all camp publications originating in their own states, while a few of the great public and university libraries, no doubt, will attempt to obtain as many as possible of the overseas papers. However, probably any college library will be interested in the files of a camp paper if edited by an alumnus or in a special issue if it happens to record the noteworthy war service of a local student. One librarian makes the per- tinent warning that the paper on which these publications are printed is so inferior that they would have to be microfilmed if there were any thought of permanent preservation. Books and Pamphlets Copies of locally published books and pamphlets dealing with the different phases of the war usually have a limited circula- tion; if they are to be saved at all, they probably will have to be saved by the local library. T h e number of these publi- cations will not be very great in the aver- age college community. However, the writings of faculty and alumni on the war and on national and international problems arising from the war, issued by nationally known publishers, in all like- lihood will be much more numerous. They, too, should form a part of the col- lege's World W a r II collection. T h e photographic section of a college's local war history collection surely would include individual and group pictures of alumni and former students in United States camps and in overseas units. Some of these photographs are now in the alumni offices or in the offices of the publicity di- rectors, but many will find their way to the library after the war and others are now coming directly to the library. Pictures recording the many-sided war activities of the campus should be gathered in at every opportunity. Fortunately, alumni magazines, college newspapers, and especially yearbooks record pictorially the college life in wartime. Colleges usually have an official photographer who is par- ticularly busy these days, and to his photo- graphs should be added the contributions of the numerous amateur camera fans who inhabit all college campuses. One librarian reports good results from visits to the local photographic studios, a source that easily might be overlooked. M a n y colleges and universities have made moving picture films showing the ac- tivities of the wartime campus. Some of these are made frankly for advertising purposes, but, nevertheless, they will be graphic records for the war history collec- tion. T h e photographic record of the Army and N a v y service units on the campus probably will be unusually complete be- cause their classes, drills, parades, and athletic contests are filmed on every possible occasion. It is hardly necessary to add the cau- tion that the persons in the photograph and the place and date should be noted carefully on the back of the picture. W e all have had the experience of attempting in vain to identify some "native" from an early campus "shot," because such in- formation was lacking. Posters, Dodgers, Leaflets, and Music Posters. A l l libraries are deluged with posters from the Office of W a r Informa- tion and other agencies, but it is those of local origin which each college library v 298 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES should make a determined effort to pro- cure for its war collection. These should include organizational posters, such as those of the local civilian defense group, special posters made under the direction of the art department to aid in the countless war "drives" on the campus, as well as the hundreds of everyday varieties thumb- tacked onto college bulletin boards throughout the school year. Posters must be snatched in time or they will be gone forever. A l l campus organizations should be asked to save their posters for the li- brary collection. It probably will be necessary to weed out the stacks of local posters rather carefully, because, as one librarian remarks: "Posters are decorative and interesting but they are expensive to preserve." It is essential to have special oversized cabinets or files to care for them properly. Dodgers, leaflets, and special bulletins unquestionably comprise a graphic and often entertaining side of a war history collection, even if they are of themselves of no great importance. T h e library "res- cued" one special notice from the presi- dent's office which is amusing to read now but seemed serious enough at the time. Shortly after Pearl Harbor the faculty on many campuses were "jittery" about rumors that the college would be taken over in entirety by the Army or N a v y and that everyone would lose his job. O n the Miami campus the faculty started stream- ing in panic to the president's office for some official word. Finally, in despera- tion, the president issued an official notice which he tacked up outside his door; the conclusion was the comforting reminder, "Someone has said that most of our troubles never happen." Already the dodgers announcing blackouts and air raid drills seem to belong to a strangely remote past. Music. W a r , as always, stimulates the writing of countless songs. Copies of any war songs composed by the alumni or faculty naturally would be secured. Pho- tostats of the original music manuscripts would add interest to the items. There is a decided lack of enthusiasm among college and university librarians for collecting museum material, such as war relics and trophies. These definitely have their place but, since they will be sought and cared for by state and local museums, they probably have little fitness in the average college library. However, a few trophies of the war undoubtedly will be presented to all college libraries and in many cases will be accepted. It is true that they do add a certain amount of "window dressing" to special exhibits. Miami has one service flag which is, to say the least, unique. A certain member of the faculty, rejected for military service because of a stomach ailment, was pre- sented with a strange service flag by his colleagues, on which the "heraldry" con- sisted mainly of a large " 4 - F " together with a graphic representation of the afflicted organ. Arrangement of Collections T h e methods of arranging the local his- tory materials of World W a r II naturally vary with different libraries. T h e tend- ency seems to be in some of the smaller institutions where the collection is not large to keep them together as a unit or to incorporate at least a large part of them in the college memorabilia collection. In many of the larger universities, however, no such attempt is made. Books and pamphlets are cataloged and sent to the regular stacks, periodicals go directly to the periodicals room, and archives to the archives division. T h e great mass of miscellaneous publications, including clip- SEPTEMBER, 1944 299 p i n g s , l e a f l e t s , a n d m i m e o g r a p h e d r e l e a s e s , a r e a r r a n g e d , u s u a l l y b y s u b j e c t , i n v e r t i c a l files o r p a m p h l e t b o x e s . O n e l a r g e l i b r a r y , h o w e v e r , is u s i n g n o t a s u b j e c t b u t a n a l p h a b e t i c a l a r r a n g e m e n t w h i c h is in m o s t c a s e s a l p h a b e t i c a l b y p r o d u c i n g a g e n c y . B e c a u s e of i t s e n o r m o u s q u a n t i t y , it is n o t p o s s i b l e t o c a t a l o g m u c h of t h i s m i s c e l - l a n e o u s m a t e r i a l a t p r e s e n t . C e r t a i n l i - b r a r i a n s s t a t e f r a n k l y t h a t t h e y a r e n o t r e a d y t o s a y w h a t t h e final d i s p o s i t i o n o f i t w i l l b e . I t m a y b e k e p t t o g e t h e r as a u n i t o r m a y be d i s t r i b u t e d , d e p e n d e n t s o m e w h a t u p o n h o w a n d b y w h o m it w i l l b e u s e d . T h e l i b r a r i e s w h i c h h a v e s e r v e d as w a r i n f o r m a t i o n c e n t e r s , o f c o u r s e , h a v e a c - c u m u l a t e d l o c a l , as w e l l as s t a t e a n d n a t i o n a l , w a r m a t e r i a l s . T h e s e w a r in- f o r m a t i o n c o l l e c t i o n s m a y n e v e r b e b r o k e n d o w n i n t o l o c a l i t i e s . L i b r a r i e s m a y f e e l t h a t t h e y a r e m o r e s i g n i f i c a n t u n d e r s u b - j e c t a r r a n g e m e n t s . M o u n t H o l y o k e r e p o r t s t h e f o l l o w i n g a r r a n g e m e n t , w h i c h s e e m s t o h a n d l e t h e d i s p o s i t i o n o f t h e l o c a l w a r h i s t o r y c o l - l e c t i o n r a t h e r n e a t l y : W e h a v e a l r e a d y set up t w o c o l l e c t i o n s of m a t e r i a l r e l a t i n g to the h i s t o r y of e v e n t s and people connected w i t h the c o l l e g e , one f o r m a n u s c r i p t and one f o r p r i n t e d m a t e r i a l . T h e s e h a v e t h e i r o w n c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s c h e m e s w h i c h i n c l u d e definite places f o r the w a r s w e h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d . T h e m a t e r i a l w e r e - ceive a u t o m a t i c a l l y f a l l s into those assigned places. Archives and Libraries19 h a s h a d h e l p - f u l a r t i c l e s o n t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n o f l o c a l h i s t o r i c a l m a n u s c r i p t s a n d a r c h i v e s w h i c h a r e s u g g e s t i v e , e v e n f o r s m a l l c o l l e c t i o n s w h e r e o n l y t h e s i m p l e s t c a t a l o g i n g is n e c e s s a r y . 1 9 S e e i n p a r t i c u l a r Archives and Libraries f o r the y e a r s 1938 a n d 1939. I t s h o u l d be e m p h a s i z e d t h a t o n l y t h o s e t y p e s of m a t e r i a l h a v e b e e n l i s t e d w h i c h i t s e e m e d e v e r y c o l l e g e a n d u n i v e r s i t y l i - b r a r y m i g h t w i s h t o h a v e r e p r e s e n t e d in t h e W o r l d W a r I I c o l l e c t i o n of its o w n i n s t i t u t i o n . I f , as s u g g e s t e d b y D r . C a p p o n , t h e c o l l e g e l i b r a r y s h o u l d b r o a d e n its l o c a l h i s t o r y a c t i v i t i e s t o i n c l u d e a l s o t h e r e c o r d s o f t h e l o c a l c o m m u n i t y , as d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e c a m p u s , t h e n m a n y m o r e t y p e s of r e c o r d s w i l l n e e d t o be a d d e d t o t h e l i s t . D r . C a p p o n ' s v i e w s a r e s t a t e d in a r e c e n t l e t t e r i n w h i c h h e s a y s : I think e v e r y h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s h o u l d be u r g e d to t a k e the responsibility f o r p r e s e r v i n g n o t only its o w n r e c o r d s but a l l m a t e r i a l s p e r t a i n i n g to the t o w n , city, o r c o u n t y in w h i c h it is l o c a t e d . B u t , a s w a s s a i d e a r l i e r , t h e d i f f e r e n t s t a t e w a r h i s t o r y m a n u a l s l i s t t h e t y p e s of l o c a l c o m m u n i t y r e c o r d s so c o m p l e t e l y t h a t i t d o e s n o t s e e m w o r t h w h i l e t o r e p e a t t h e m h e r e . I n a n a r t i c l e o n " T h e L o c a l H i s t o r y M u s e u m a n d t h e W a r P r o g r a m , " 2 0 A r t h u r C . P a r k e r r e m a r k s t h a t " C o l l e c t - i n g is a n a r t t h a t o n l y a t r a i n e d p e r s o n s h o u l d a t t e m p t t o p r a c t i c e . A n y o n e c a n c o l l e c t p r o m i s c u o u s l y b u t it t a k e s c l e a r t h i n k i n g t o c o l l e c t s y s t e m a t i c a l l y w i t h a n e n d in v i e w . " M o s t c o l l e g e l i b r a r i a n s p r o b a b l y w i l l find t h a t t h e y h a v e d o n e a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f " p r o m i s c u o u s " c o l - l e c t i n g in a s s e m b l i n g t h e i r W o r l d W a r I I m a t e r i a l a n d t h a t t h e y h a v e o n t h e i r h a n d s m a n y " t h r o w a w a y s , " t h e b e s t p l a c e f o r w h i c h is t h e w a s t e b a s k e t . D r . O v e r m a n h a s s t r e s s e d t h a t i n t h i s w a r w e s h o u l d n o t r e s o r t t o t h e c o m m o n p r a c t i c e of W o r l d W a r I w h e n r e c o r d s (Continued on page 330) 20 P a r k e r , A r t h u r C . " T h e L o c a l H i s t o r y M u s e u m and the W a r P r o g r a m . " Bulletins of the American Association for State and Local History 1 : 8 4 , O c - tober 1942. v 300 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES I t is hoped t h a t the success of this in- itial v e n t u r e w i l l e n c o u r a g e f u r t h e r co- o r d i n a t i o n in the serial field a n d even- t u a l l y l e a d to a c o o p e r a t i v e u n i o n c a t a l o g of a l l h o l d i n g s . F o r the time being, h o w - ever, the l i b r a r i a n s r e a l i z e t h e r e is y e t m u c h to be done w i t h serials. W o r k m a y n o w begin on a l l o c a t i n g b r o k e n files to those l i b r a r i e s t h a t need t h e m m o s t ; d r a w - i n g p r o p e r lines of d e m a r c a t i o n f o r f u t u r e p u r c h a s i n g ; e l i m i n a t i n g unnecessary du- p l i c a t i o n s of both subscription a n d bind- i n g ; b u i l d i n g up a d e q u a t e c o l l e c t i o n s of titles w h i c h are not n o w a v a i l a b l e in the r e g i o n ; and of g e n e r a l l y p e r f e c t i n g plans f o r s m o o t h l y c o o r d i n a t e d systems of acquisitions i n t e r c h a n g e and i n t e r l i b r a r y loans. Local W a r History Materials (Continued from page 300) o f t e n w e r e c o l l e c t e d o n l y t o be stored h a p h a z a r d l y in c a r t o n s . B u t if a c o l l e g e l i b r a r y is so u n d e r s t a f f e d t h a t it can d o n o t h i n g e x c e p t store its w a r m a t e r i a l s at present,- it w o u l d be advisable, n e v e r t h e - less, to c o n t i n u e c o l l e c t i n g t h e m , h o p i n g that they m a y be processed a f t e r the w a r . T h e i m p o r t a n c e of c o n t i n u i n g the task in the p o s t w a r period s h o u l d be empha- s i z e d . A v e r y real d a n g e r is t h a t a f t e r t h e w a r there w i l l be a s u d d e n l e t d o w n . T h e d i s i n t e g r a t i o n of the w h o l e w a r ma- c h i n e r y a f t e r the armistice in W o r l d W a r I has been c o m p a r e d to the dispersion of a c r o w d a f t e r a f o o t b a l l g a m e . T h e ex- c i t e m e n t is o v e r and e v e r y o n e is e a g e r to g e t h o m e . Y e t it is o n l y a f t e r the w a r t h a t m a n y of the m o s t i m p o r t a n t r e c o r d s c a n be o b t a i n e d , such as w a r diaries, let- ters, and files of w a r t i m e service o r g a n i - z a t i o n s . O n e should r e m e m b e r , too, t h a t it is a l o n g - r a n g e p r o g r a m , " T h e collec- tion of research m a t e r i a l s is a c o n t i n u o u s task. . . . W e s h o u l d a v o i d the n a r r o w v i e w p o i n t t h a t g e n e r a l l y p r e v a i l e d . . . ( d u r i n g W o r l d W a r I ) of dissociating m a t e r i a l s of the w a r y e a r s f r o m those b e f o r e or a f t e r w a r d . " 2 1 21 Cappon, Lester J. " A Plan for the Collection and Preservation of World W a r I I Records." Social Science Research Council, October 1942. 9p. v 330 COLL T h e d a y - a f t e r - d a y a s s e m b l i n g of w a r history m a t e r i a l s o f t e n m a y seem u n i m - p o r t a n t and b u r d e n s o m e to the s m a l l col- l e g e l i b r a r y , " b o u n d to be hit h a r d e r t h a n a n y o t h e r l i b r a r y by this w a r and its a f t e r m a t h . " 2 2 B u t the e v e n t s w h i c h are recorded in these m a t e r i a l s a r e n o t u n i m - p o r t a n t . C e r t a i n l y no m o r e a c t i v e or in- t e r e s t i n g l o c a l h i s t o r y period is l i k e l y to o c c u r f o r m a n y g e n e r a t i o n s . H i s t o r i a n s of the f u t u r e w i l l d r a w h e a v i l y on l o c a l w a r h i s t o r y collections, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r the h u m a n and personal side of the con- flict. 22 Hirsch, Felix E. "Smaller College Libraries and t h e W a r . " Library Journal 6 8 : 1 9 2 , M a r . 1 , 1 9 4 3 - References The following additional references, not included in the footnotes, have been found helpful: Beeson, Lewis. "Collecting War Records." Chronicles of Oklahoma 2 0 : 1 7 4 - 7 6 , J u n e 1942. Blegen, Theodore C. " T h e Problem of Local His- t o r y . " Archives and Libraries, 1939, p. 34-41. ( A good background article.) Erikson. Stanley. " T h e W a r Records Program of t h e I l l i n o i s W a r C o u n c i l . " Illinois Libraries 2 5 : 307-11, October 1943. Iowa State Historical Society. "Collection and Preservation of the Materials of W a r History." Its Bulletin of Information Series No. 8, 2d rev. ed., Iowa City, 1919. iop. (Originally published during World W a r I but still one of the best general state- ments.) Overman, William D. " T h e Ohio W a r History Commission." American Archivist 6:28-33, January 1943. S'Hth. G. Hubert. " T h e Local Historical Society in Wartime." Minnesota History 23:16-19, March 1942. Stevens. Sylvester K . "Local History and Win- n i n g t h e W a r . " Bulletins of the American Associa- tion for State and Local History 1 : 2 7 - s o , J a n u a r y 194*. EGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES