College and Research Libraries B y G . F L I N T P U R D Y The A.C.R.L. and the Statistics Program of the Office of Education Dr. Purdy is librarian, Wayne Univer- sity. IN H I S p r e s i d e n t i a l a d d r e s s a t t h e S t . L o u i s C o n f e r e n c e of t h e A . L . A . i n 1 8 8 9 C h a r l e s A . C u t t e r s a i d : I cannot help regretting the amount of time that is wasted on statistics. T h e y are in- teresting, but they are costly to prepare and to print, and I would rather see the time spent on making the library more useful.2 L i k e m o s t q u o t a t i o n s o u t of c o n t e x t , t h i s o n e is u n f a i r t o i t s a u t h o r , w h o w e n t o n t o q u a l i f y his p o s i t i o n . I e x h u m e i t f o r y o u b e c a u s e it s u m m a r i z e s s u c c i n c t l y a n a t t i t u d e w i t h w h i c h m o s t of u s h e r e t o d a y a r e f a - m i l i a r , a n d e v e n m o r e o r less s y m p a t h e t i c , n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h e a t t e n t i o n w e d e v o t e t o s t a t i s t i c s , a n d t h e e n l a r g e d m e a n i n g of t h e t e r m . T o M r . C u t t e r , t h e w o r d m e a n t s i m p l y n u m e r i c a l f a c t s a b o u t l i b r a r i e s . T o us it m e a n s b o t h t h e q u a n t i t a t i v e f a c t s a n d t h e m a t h e m a t i c a l t e c h n i q u e s f o r d e t e r m i n - i n g a n d d e s c r i b i n g t h e i r m e a n i n g — t e c h - n i q u e s l a r g e l y u n k n o w n in 1 8 8 9 . I t c a n n o t be d e n i e d t h a t o u r g e n e r a t i o n of l i b r a r i a n s as w e l l as M r . C u t t e r ' s , h a s r e a s o n t o v i e w s t a t i s t i c s w i t h s k e p t i c i s m . S t a t i s t i c i a n s , o r r a t h e r p s e u d o s t a t i s t i c i a n s , in t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s h a v e g i v e n s t a t i s t i c s a b a d n a m e w h i c h t h e t e c h n i q u e , or s c i e n c e if y o u w i l l , d o e s n o t d e s e r v e . T h e y h a v e n a i v e l y c l a i m e d , o r i m p l i e d , t h a t n o t h i n g w h i c h is n o t m e a s u r a b l e is r e a l ; t h a t n o 1 Paper presented at the meeting of the A . C . R . L . , Chicago, Jan. 30, 1948. 2 Cutter, Charles A . " C o m m o n Sense in L i b r a r i e s . " A . L . A . Papers and Proceedings of the 10th General Meeting . . . 1889. p. 1-8; quotation on p. 2. p h e n o m e n o n , w h e t h e r p h y s i c a l o r s p i r i t u a l , is i m m u n e f r o m q u a n t i t a t i v e a n a l y s i s ; t h a t u n d e r s t a n d i n g f o l l o w s a u t o m a t i c a l l y o n t h e h e e l s of m e a s u r e m e n t ; t h a t u n d e r s t a n d i n g w i t h o u t m e a s u r e m e n t is u n t h i n k a b l e , i n - d e e d , a l m o s t , t h a t t h o u g h t i t s e l f is i m p o s - s i b l e o u t s i d e t h e r e a l m of m e a s u r e m e n t a n d m e a s u r a b l e p h e n o m e n a . T h e y h a v e o f t e n f a i l e d ( o r r e f u s e d ) t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t o n l y a f e w p h e n o m e n a c a n be m e a s u r e d , t o d a t e , a n d h e n c e t h a t r e l a t i v e l y f e w f a c t s a r e q u a n - t i t a t i v e ; t h a t t h e m e r e s t a t e m e n t of a n a l l e g e d f a c t in q u a n t i t a t i v e t e r m s d o e s n o t m a k e it a f a c t ; t h a t e v e n f a c t s w h i c h can be d e f i n e d q u a n t i t a t i v e l y are m e a n i n g l e s s e x - c e p t as r a w m a t e r i a l s w i t h w h i c h t o t h i n k , a n d h e n c e t h a t s t a t i s t i c a l l y - a c h i e v e d c o n - c l u s i o n s a r e d e t e r m i n e d n o less b y t h e s t a t i s - t i c i a n ' s a s s u m p t i o n s a n d i n f e r e n c e s t h a n b y t h e n a t u r e of his f a c t s a n d t h e t e c h n i c a l a n a l y s i s t o w h i c h h e s u b j e c t s t h e m . B u t t o a d m i t t h e h u m a n f a l l i b i l i t y of s t a - t i s t i c i a n s is n o t t o d e n y t h e n e c e s s i t y of m e a s u r i n g t h e s i g n i f i c a n t p h e n o m e n a w h i c h a r e m e a s u r a b l e o r of u s i n g t h e l o g i c a l t e c h - n i q u e s w h i c h t h e m a t h e m a t i c i a n s h a v e g i v e n us, as w e l l as o t h e r l o g i c a l m e t h o d s , in o u r e f f o r t t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e i r m e a n i n g . M a n y f a c t s a b o u t l i b r a r i e s a n d l i b r a r i a n s , a b o u t l i b r a r y s e r v i c e a n d t h e p e o p l e w h o m l i b r a r i e s e x i s t t o s e r v e , can be d e s c r i b e d a c - c u r a t e l y i n t e r m s of q u a n t i t a t i v e u n i t s . I n s h o r t , a t l e a s t a f e w of t h e p h e n o m e n a w h i c h l i b r a r i a n s n e e d t o u n d e r s t a n d a r e m e a s u r - a b l e . W e c a n n o t h o p e t o g r o w i n s o c i a l e f f e c t i v e n e s s u n l e s s w e t r y t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e s e p h e n o m e n a , as w e l l as t h e a d m i t t e d l y 112 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES m o r e i m p o r t a n t f a c t s a n d a s s u m p t i o n s w h i c h f a l l , f o r e x a m p l e , in t h e r e a l m of v a l u e s . T h e r e is n o t h i n g n e w in t h i s p o s i t i o n , of c o u r s e . F r o m t h e i r g e n e s i s , t h e A . L . A . a n d its a f f i l i a t e d o r g a n i z a t i o n s h a v e r e c o g n i z e d t h e p o t e n t i a l v a l u e of q u a n t i t a t i v e f a c t s p e r t i n e n t t o t h e v a l u a t i o n a n d i m p r o v e m e n t of l i b r a r y s e r v i c e . M a n y h o u r s of i n t e l l i - g e n t e f f o r t h a v e b e e n d e v o t e d t o t h e i d e n t i - f i c a t i o n of t h o s e d a t a w h i c h a r e m o s t u s e f u l , a n d t o t h e i r s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n — n o t t o m e n - t i o n c o l l e c t i o n a n d r e p o r t i n g . I n 1 8 7 7 t h e A . L . A . C o o p e r a t i o n C o m m i t t e e s a i d , in its f i f t h r e p o r t : T h e great diversity in the arrangement of library statistics, as presented in the annual reports of the . . . libraries of the country, suggests to every inquirer into the "true in- wardness" of these institutions the advantages that would accrue to all interested parties from the adoption by all libraries of uniform tables for statement of receipts and expenses, and also the statistics of circulation, acces- \J sion, and general library work. Uniformity of headings is necessary for comparison be- tween libraries, as well as to obtain true averages in various departments of work. W i t h this in view, the following model for statistical reports has been prepared, as covering, to a great extent, the principal fea- tures of library work.3 T h e l i s t w h i c h f o l l o w e d w a s s u r p r i s i n g l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e . I t i n c l u d e d m o s t of t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d o n r e c e n t A . L . A . a n d O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n f o r m s , w i t h n o l i t t l e a d d i - t i o n a l d e t a i l . I n S e p t e m b e r of t h e s a m e y e a r t h e p r o p o s e d f o r m w a s a d o p t e d b y t h e A . L . A . , w i t h s o m e m o d i f i c a t i o n . 4 I n 1 9 0 3 t o 1 9 0 6 t h e C o m m i t t e e o n L i - b r a r y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n d e v e l o p e d a n e w f o r m , or r a t h e r t h r e e f o r m s , w h i c h w e r e p r i n t e d in t h e p r o c e e d i n g s of t h e 1 9 0 6 c o n - f e r e n c e . 5 A r e v i s e d f o r m w a s a d o p t e d in 3 A . L . A . Cooperation Committee. " L i b r a r y Statis- tics." Library Journal i : 429-31, A u g . 31, 1877. 4 Library Journal 2: 37-38, September 1877. 5 A.L.A. Papers and Proceedings of the 28th Gen- eral Meeting . . . 1906. p. 146-53. 1 9 1 5 . I n e a c h i n s t a n c e uniformity w a s t h e c h i e f o b j e c t i v e . I n N o v e m b e r of 1 9 2 8 C h a r l e s B . S h a w r e a d a p a p e r a t t h e f i f t e e n t h c o n f e r e n c e of e a s t e r n c o l l e g e l i b r a r i a n s , in w h i c h h e d e - p l o r e d t h e l a c k of u n i f o r m i t y in l i b r a r y s t a t i s t i c s a n d r e c o m m e n d e d t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of a c o m m i t t e e of t h e A . L . A . t o d e a l w i t h t h e p r o b l e m . 6 T h e C o l l e g e a n d R e f e r e n c e S e c t i o n a p p o i n t e d s u c h a 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 of J u l i a n S . F o w l e r . T h i s c o m m i t t e e r e p o r t e d t h e f o l l o w i n g M a y a t t h e W e s t B a d e n m e e t i n g w i t h c o p i e s of a p r o p o s e d f o r m f o r c o l l e c t i n g 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 s t a t i s t i c s , w h i c h w a s s u b - s e q u e n t l y u s e d t o c o l l e c t t h e f a c t s r e p o r t e d in t h e f i r s t a n d s e c o n d y e a r b o o k s of t h e C o l l e g e a n d R e f e r e n c e S e c t i o n . T h e f o l - l o w i n g y e a r a r a d i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t f o r m w a s u s e d . A t t h e W a s h i n g t o n c o n f e r e n c e in 1 9 2 9 , t h e A . L . A . C o u n c i l a d o p t e d a r e s o l u t i o n : Recognizing the need of a research and statistical department in the A . L . A . . . . the Council recommends that the Executive Board take action looking toward such estab- lishment at the earliest possible time. . . . ( T h e Survey Committee in December 1929, had adopted a similar resolution.)7 I n D e c e m b e r of 1 9 3 3 G e o r g e F . B o w e r - m a n , in his c a p a c i t y as c h a i r m a n of t h e C o m m i t t e e o n L i b r a r y R e s e a r c h B u r e a u a t H e a d q u a r t e r s , p r e s e n t e d a s p e c i f i c p r o p o s a l a n d b u d g e t w h i c h r e s u l t e d in t h e a d d i t i o n of a s t a t i s t i c a l a s s i s t a n t t o t h e H e a d q u a r t e r s s t a f f in 1 9 3 4 . A m o d e s t s t a t i s t i c a l s e r v i c e w a s m a i n t a i n e d t h e r e f o r e i g h t y e a r s — u n t i l w a r t i m e p r e s s u r e s u p o n t h e A . L . A . b u d g e t , c o m b i n e d w i t h s h r i n k i n g r e v e n u e s , a l l e g e d l y n e c e s s i t a t e d f i r s t c u r t a i l m e n t a n d l a t e r d i s - c o n t i n u a n c e of t h e s e r v i c e . W e are a l l t o o f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e r e s u l t . F o r a t l e a s t t h r e e y e a r s t h e A . L . A . S t a - 0 Shaw, Charles B. " S t a t i s t i c s — U n i f o r m or Mot- l e y . " Libraries 34: 89-90, February 1929. ''A.L.A. Bulletin 25: 297, A u g u s t 1929. APRIL, 1948 113 tistics C o m m i t t e e has s o u g h t o t h e r m e a n s of m a k i n g a v a i l a b l e to l i b r a r i a n s the q u a n t i - t a t i v e f a c t s w h i c h t h e y w a n t and need. F o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o y e a r s the c o m m i t t e e has a w a i t e d the f o r m u l a t i o n of a d e f i n i t e p r o - g r a m by the U . S. O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n , since a c o o r d i n a t e d p r o g r a m a p p e a r e d to be an o b v i o u s necessity. T h a t O f f i c e of E d u - c a t i o n p r o g r a m , i n s o f a r as it is c o n c e r n e d w i t h 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 statistics, has been described to us in the p r e c e d i n g p a p e r . W e are n o w in a position to consider a c o m p l e m e n t a r y p r o g r a m . T h e first " m a j o r a c t i v i t y " described b y M r . D u n b a r is " a c o m p r e h e n s i v e c o l l e c t i o n a n d p u b l i c a t i o n of c o l l e g e and u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r y statistics once e v e r y f o u r y e a r s on as u n i f o r m a p a t t e r n as p o s s i b l e . " T h e w o r d " c o m p r e h e n s i v e " o b v i o u s l y r e f e r s t o the i n s t i t u t i o n s t o be c o v e r e d r a t h e r t h a n to the f a c t s to be c o l l e c t e d or p u b l i s h e d . T h e f o r m to be used w i l l be e s s e n t i a l l y the same in c o n t e n t as t h a t used f o r the c o l l e c t i o n of 1 9 3 9 - 4 0 d a t a a n d f o r recent a n n u a l A . L . A . c o l l e c t i o n s . A f e w a d d i t i o n s and omissions are c o n t e m p l a t e d . S p e c i f i c a l l y , q u e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g a u d i o - v i s u a l m a t e r i a l s ( h o l d i n g s , use, and e x p e n d i t u r e s ) h a v e been a d d e d a n d t h e f o l l o w i n g i t e m s h a v e been d r o p p e d : b r e a k d o w n of h o l d i n g s b y b r a n c h , i n c o m e d a t a , d a i l y s c h e d u l e b r e a k d o w n , staff t r a i n - i n g d a t a , a n d special e n r o l m e n t d a t a ( e x t e n - sion a n d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s t u d e n t s ) . I see l i t t l e reason to r e g r e t a n y of these proposed omissions. N o s a l a r y d a t a w i l l be c o l l e c t e d in the q u a d r e n n i a l s u r v e y , b u t a special s a l a r y s t u d y is p r o j e c t e d f o r the i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e . T h u s the f a c t s c o l l e c t e d each f o u r t h y e a r w i l l be e s s e n t i a l l y the same as those w h i c h the A . L . A . has c o l l e c t e d annually. T h e c o v e r a g e of libraries w i l l be c o m p r e h e n s i v e , w h i c h is a v a s t i m p r o v e m e n t , b u t the f a c t s to be p u b l i s h e d w i l l be f e w e r t h a n those heretofore published in the A.L.A. Bulletin and, more recently, in College and Research Libraries. I f the A . L . A . a n d the A . C . R . L . w e r e to r e l y e n t i r e l y u p o n the O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n , the net result w o u l d be a g a i n in research d a t a a v a i l a b l e ( b y reason of c o m p r e h e n s i v e c o v e r a g e ) b u t a serious loss to l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , at least f o r the present, in f r e q u e n c y and in scope of i n f o r - m a t i o n p u b l i s h e d . T h e p r e l i m i n a r y releases w i l l be i n v a l u - able, as w e r e those c o v e r i n g p u b l i c libraries last y e a r , b u t l i k e w i s e i n a d e q u a t e in i n c l u - sion of f a c t s a n d in f r e q u e n c y of a p p e a r a n c e . T h e p r o j e c t e d s a l a r y s t u d y w i l l also be in- v a l u a b l e . T h e proposed t e c h n i q u e repre- sents a v a s t i m p r o v e m e n t , in e v e r y respect, I s u b m i t , o v e r t h a t used in c o l l e c t i n g and r e p o r t i n g the t r a d i t i o n a l A . L . A . s a l a r y statistics. B u t a g a i n , the f a c t s w h i c h w i l l be m a d e a v a i l a b l e are f a c t s w h i c h s h o u l d be c o l l e c t e d and p u b l i s h e d e v e r y y e a r , p a r - t i c u l a r l y in periods of r a p i d e c o n o m i c c h a n g e . I t is possible t h a t t h e O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n m a y be able to c o l l e c t t h e m a n - n u a l l y , or b i e n n i a l l y , b u t w e c a n n o t c o u n t on t h e m at this s t a g e . T h e f a c t s c o l l e c t e d a n d r e p o r t e d in the biennial s u r v e y in the past are of relatively l i t t l e use to l i b r a r i a n s . O c c a s i o n a l special studies of the D i v i s i o n of H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n w i l l be u s e f u l , a n d d o u b t l e s s w e s h o u l d en- c o u r a g e m o r e of t h e m . T h e p o t e n t i a l s t a t i s t i c a l p r o g r a m w h i c h M r . D u n b a r has described d e m o n s t r a t e s a real g r a s p of the t o t a l p r o b l e m and g e n u i n e vision in p r o j e c t i n g a s o l u t i o n . A f t e r l i s t e n - i n g to M r . D u n b a r ' s a c c o u n t of the diffi- c u l t i e s i n v o l v e d in e x e c u t i n g such a p r o - g r a m , I m u s t c o n f e s s t h a t I a m pessimistic a b o u t the i m m e d i a t e prospect. I t h i n k I h a v e l e a r n e d f r o m M r . D u n b a r and M r . M i s h o f f t h a t the t o t a l j o b is, at present, too b i g f o r a n y one e x i s t i n g a g e n c y . I n d e e d , I b e g a n to r e a l i z e t w o y e a r s a g o t h a t this is the case. T h e present p r o g r a m of the 114 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n p r o v i d e s us w i t h a r e a s o n a b l y c l e a r p i c t u r e of the j o b w h i c h remains to be d o n e : W e need c e r t a i n q u a n - t i t a t i v e f a c t s annually and promptly f o l l o w - i n g the period w h i c h t h e y describe. W e m a y be able e v e n t u a l l y to persuade those w h o c o n t r o l the O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n b u d g e t to m a k e it possible f o r the S e r v i c e to L i - braries S e c t i o n t o do the w h o l e j o b f o r us, b u t m e a n t i m e , if w e w a n t a n n u a l statistics w e w i l l p r o b a b l y h a v e to c o l l e c t and p u b l i s h t h e m . I t h e r e f o r e s u g g e s t t h a t the A . C . R . L . a p p o i n t i m m e d i a t e l y a c o m m i t t e e on sta- tistics, w h e t h e r e n t i r e l y a u t o n o m o u s or c o n c e i v e d as a s u b c o m m i t t e e of the A . L . A . S t a t i s t i c s C o m m i t t e e , to d r a f t a c o n c r e t e p l a n f o r a statistics p r o g r a m f o r the asso- c i a t i o n , f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n at A t l a n t i c C i t y . A n y p l a n w h i c h such a c o m m i t t e e m a y present w i l l necessarily be s u p p l e m e n t a r y to and c a r e f u l l y i n t e g r a t e d w i t h the pro- g r a m of the O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n . If I m a y presume t o o u t l i n e the task of such a c o m - m i t t e e , I should s u g g e s t the f o l l o w i n g s t e p s : 1. T h e compilation of comprehensive checklists of u s e f u l statistics for university, college, junior college, and reference libraries. Some such lists have been compiled and their revision for a specific purpose w o u l d not be too difficult. 2. T h e submission of these checklists to li- brarians f o r their vote as to those required annually, biennially, etc., and those more suit- able f o r occasional special studies rather than f o r regular collection. 3. T h e construction of a tentative f o r m for the annual collection, f o r each type of li- braries or f o r all types of libraries rep- resented in the A . C . R . L . — a l s o perhaps f o r m s f o r less frequent or irregular or special col- lection. 4. C o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h Office of Education and other government officials to determine how much of the job, beyond its present pro- gram, that office can do f o r us. 5. Revision of forms to eliminate duplica- tion. 6. T h e construction of lists of libraries to which the proposed forms should be regularly sent. 7. F o r m u l a t i o n of a concrete and practi- cable plan for collecting, compiling, analyzing, and publishing the required facts. T h e last step is the d i f f i c u l t one, of course, b u t presents no i n s o l u b l e p r o b l e m , I a m c o n v i n c e d . A s s u m i n g t h a t p u b l i c a t i o n in College and Research Libraries is prac- t i c a b l e , the r e m a i n d e r of the j o b can be done on a c o o p e r a t i v e , v o l u n t e e r basis, if neces- sary. T h e proposed c o m m i t t e e m a y also w a n t to consider the p r a c t i c a b i l i t y of a s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g statistics service m a i n t a i n e d on a subscription basis. T h e A . L . A . C o u n c i l s u g g e s t e d such a plan f o r the c o l l e c t i o n and p u b l i c a t i o n of statistics f o r all t y p e s of li- braries in 1 9 2 9 . I n 1 9 4 5 the A . L . A . P u b - l i s h i n g D e p a r t m e n t and the A . L . A . S t a - tistics C o m m i t t e e d r a f t e d a proposal f o r such a s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g subscription-basis service, w h i c h proposal w a s s h e l v e d p e n d i n g d e f i n i t i o n of the U . S. O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m . P e r s o n a l l y , I d o u b t the p r a c t i c a - b i l i t y of a s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g service, b u t pos- sibly y o u r c o m m i t t e e , if one is a p p o i n t e d , can find a w a y t o m a k e one w o r k . I n short, the proposed c o m m i t t e e w o u l d serve t w o i m p o r t a n t p u r p o s e s : I m p l e m e n t a - tion of the p o t e n t i a l p r o g r a m of the S e r v i c e t o L i b r a r i e s S e c t i o n of the O f f i c e of E d u c a - tion, and d e v e l o p m e n t of a s h o r t - t e r m a n d a l o n g - t e r m c o m p l e m e n t a r y p r o g r a m f o r the A . C . R . L . APRIL, 1948 115