College and Research Libraries By ·R. E. BUCHANAN The Development and Function of a Research Library, 1922~46 THE PRESENT PAPER is an attempt on the part of one who has long played the role of bystander and friend to make some observations relative to the develop- ment , of a r·esearch library on the campus of a technical institution. This development was largely the result of the efforts of one Charles Harvey Brown who came to Iowa State College as librarian in 1922. Th~ li- brary which he then headed was mediocre. In less than a quarter of a century he built it into an outstandihg service and research organization. A satisfactorily functioning research li- brary must contain the material most likely to be needed by the researchers, it should render prompt and efficient service, it should be suitably housed, and it must have a clien- tele eager to press the use of its facilities to the limit. The central figure largely determining the adequacy of these func- tionings is the librarian. C. H. Brown was well equipped to do a good job. In addi- tion to other library experience, he had worked under the able leadership of C. W. Andrews in the John Crerar Library of Chicago, an outstanding scientific and tech- nical library, one which makes a special ef- fort to supply. the needs of those interested in or engaged in research. What did Brown find in 1922? The book collections numbered ninety thousand volumes.. Fortunately since the founding of the library there had been some faculty men who took a keen interest in it and in its purchases. Men such as Bessey, Os- born, Franklin, and Pammel insisted from the beginning that there be subscriptions to the leading scientific journals of special in- terest and that a good deal of empliasis be laid upon foreign material. As a result, there were ~any valuable sets complete from Volume I. But this competence was true in only a few fields. Many of the scientific and technical journals were lack- ing in areas which Brown had the fore- sight, to see would become highly significant in the future development of the institu- tion. At the beginning of his librarianship he had primarily to serve the .needs of the graduate school and two active research in- stitutes, the agricultural experiment station and the engineering experiment station. During his incumbency there were added the veteri~ary research institute, the indus- trial science research institute, and the atomic research institute. Dr. Brown seems to know almost in- stinctively the fields in which a technical institution such as Iowa State College would develop its research program. He was able to concentrate on purchases, today wholly unobtainable, that have proved invaluable. For example, with the passage of the pro- hibition amendment there were dispersals of library holdings of institutions related to the alcoholic beverage industries. Dr. Brown picked up sets of all the available 294 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES journals relating to zyll(lology and fermen- tation technology generally, until the library had perhaps the best collection of periodicals in these 'fields in the country. His wisdom . was shown when during World War I technical libraries all over the United States came to him for assistance and for loans. On his arrival on the campus, Dr. Brown found a library inadequately housed and particularly difficult of administration be- cause the library's collections in agriculture, veterinary medicine, chemistry, botany, and engineering were housed apart from the central library. The situation was distress- ing not only to the librarian, but to mem- bers of the ~taff, including the writer. The latter found that material needed for carry- ing on research in bacteriology was housed m six different departmental fibraries. Brown brought them together. The staff of the library in 1 922 was in- adequate from the standpoint both of num- bers and of training. Reorganization was prompt and efficient. Brown's ability to select competent appointees accounts · for much of his success. Dr. Brown took a personal interest in training the faculty of the institution in the use of a library. When he made facilities available, he expected them to be used. He made it quite clear in faculty meetings that not only did the faculty have the right and privilege of judging the adequacy and promptness of the services of the library, but that he had as librarian the responsibii'ity of evaluating the usefulness of research men and faculty members generally on the basis of the use made of the library by them. And when criticism came from individuals whom he regarded as relatively incompetent on the basis of hi.s library standards, he did not hesitate to lay down the law. And now after the passage of a quarter of a century what progress has been made JULY, 1947 ' I m the development of a satisfactory re- search library? Increas e in Collection The book collections number more than fourfold those of r922, about 3 70,000 volumes. Careful buying, persistent search- ing, European purchasing trips, have brought together an unusual collection of reference material. Compilations of per- tinent data by the Association of Research Libraries indicate that in composite rank- ings the Iowa State College Library, in the · fields covered by the program of the grad- uate college, ranks fifth among the research libraries of the United States. Particularly strong collections are held in the fields of chemistry, botany, physics, and mathema- tics. It was recognized from the outset that a technica~ and scientific institution required a specialized library, and all efforts were focused on securing material in the some- what restricted fields. It was unnecessary to purchase in areas such as dentistry, law, belles-lettres, or the humanities. Even in pertinent fields, some degree of specializa- tion was· observed. For example, the li- brary entered into a cooperative 'under- standing with the librarians of the U ni- versity of Iowa and the University of Min- nesota concerning fields of specialization. This permitted the Iowa State College Li- brary to concentrate its buying power in · the areas in which teaching and research were most emphasized and to build an ade- quate interlibrary loan system .. Dr. Brown and his .library co~mittee and many members of the faculty worked very closely together in building the collection. He was always anxious for suggestions as to fields about to develop for which plans should be made. He built a great collec- tion pecause he found out what would be 295 useful and hunted for it. He was glad to be told of the library defects and he enjoyed correcting them. A competent and adequate library staff means prompt and satisfactory service. Books and references should be available quickly and with a minimum of inconveni- ence to the worker. The library was al- ways complimented by requests for assist- ance. Members of the library staff parti- cipated directly ancf with credit in the prep- aration of scholarly bibliographies. Then, to.o, Brown believed in having some con- siderable degree of specialization on the part of members of his staff: individuals were sought and secured who were familiar with such fields as chemistry, sociology, or vet- erinary medicine. Ability to work in foreign language literature was also re- garded as a staff asset; before World War II the institutional research staff. could re- ceive expert assistance in literature pub- lished in French, German, the several Scandinavian languages, Russian, Bulgar- ian, Spanish, Italian, Greek, and Latin. Such assistance is greatly appreciated. Centralized System Plaris for a new building to house the li- brary were well under way when Dr. Brown became librarian; he was able, how- ever, to influence materially its functional design. He insisted that in an institution that needed to husband carefully its library budget, there could be no adequate excuse fo.r the large number of small libraries on the campus; . better service to all could be secured by 'centralization. Five years after the opening of the new building, the work- , ing capacity of the stacks was exhausted; the rapid growth of the student body, the graduate school, the activities of the several research institutes and the staff quickly over- taxed many of the facilities, including the loan desk, seminar rooms, cubicles for grad- uate students and staff, and the cataloging department. Plans for extensive additions have necessarily been deferred as to execu- tion until the building situation is easier. Temporary and much-needed relief was se- cured by the erection of a large steel ware- house-type structure in which are stored those sets and series less commonly called for. However, even the books from this separate building are promptly delivered to reading room or laboratory. Dr. Brown believes wholeheartedly that a library should gi~e prompt, courteous, and efficient service. He succeeded in mak- ing his library outstanding in these parti- culars. He wanted to decrease the time be- tween th~ request for a book and the time of delivery, whether to the loan desk or to the office of a research laboratory. The service is not to stop there; it should include the skilful use of skilled reference librarians and the interest of the staff in tracing down ob- scure references. The usual graduate stu- dent' unfortunately does not know many of the techniques in getting at the resources of the library, the numerous indices and bib- liographies and abstract journals and special aids; a prime objective of the library is to get him quickly into contact with the litera- ture of his field. A course in the bibliography of science was started in I 924. The course was designed to give graduate students ex- perience in the use of bibliographies in their major and allied fields. Five graduate stu- dents elected this course in 1924; in 1946- 47 over 150 graduate students registered for the course. Our librarian is an honored and valued member of the graduate faculty. He has always bluntly but effectively criticized those departments and those departmental staffs that he felt were not making the most of their opportunities in the development 296 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES of their graduate programs. His criteria of efficiency? There were two, the use made of the library by the departmental staff and students, and the quality of the theses deposited with the library, where they are carefully collated. . Woe to the graduate student ' whose citations did not meet reasonable standards of excellence ; and the staff member with whom the stu- dent did his thesis problem by no means escaped unscathed. Brown believes in and insists on the use of good English and · on good organization of material. Did he go beyond the conventional duties of a librarian in these matters? Perhap~ (but we won't admit it). We all like him for it. . Years ago Dr. Brown assumed for the lil~rary the task of utilizing the great num- bers of publications from the various re- search agencies of the institution for ex- change for si~ilar publications from other institutions. He .used this exchange device most effectively in securing material from all over the world. Another labor of love has been the annual carefully compiled list of publications of the members of the staff. Here are some of the special services our librarian provided in the library. In several cases ' he pioneered in their development among the libraries of this countrr,. I. Prompt and accurate service from stacks. 2. Statement to client as to exact reason why a book could not be supplied. 3. Messenger service for delivery and collection of books and periodicals from the offices of members of the college staff. 4· Development of prompt and adequate training of graduate students in the efficient use of library resources. JULY} 1947 ' 5· Courteous treatment of all readers. 6. Stress on service to all, undergraduate and graduate student and faculty, with an earnest effort to render special service where needed. 7. Recall of books when needed by other readers after a reasonable period of time. Dr. Brown's active and aggressive work in the Association of Research Libraries led to several distinct advantages to the Iowa State Cqllege. Particularly helpful were his studies on preparati