College and Research Libraries B y V E R N E R W . C L A P P The Library of Congress and the Other Scholarly Libraries of the Nation Mr. Clapp is assistant librarian, Library of Congress. IN ORDER t o s u p p l y a t e x t f o r w h a t f o l -l o w s , I a m g o i n g t o q u o t e , w i t h p e r m i s - s i o n , f r o m t h e l e t t e r w h i c h J o h n E . B u r c h a r d , t h e c h a i r m a n of y o u r p r o g r a m c o m m i t t e e , w r o t e t o D r . E v a n s l a s t S e p - t e m b e r , in w h i c h h e s u g g e s t e d t h e t o p i c f o r t h i s d i s c u s s i o n . You, of course, also are well aware of the uncertainty which exists in the minds of the directors of the private library resources of the nation and especially of the East as to the full ambitions of the principal Federal col- lections and especially those in Washington, as to the extent to which the ambitions are likely to be realized and as to the bearing which these things have on the responsibili- ties of the private reference collections and on the relations of the private libraries to the Federal ones. I have felt that discussion of this subject has always been something less than forthright and that it is perhaps time that we got down to brass tacks, if this can be dared. I c a n g i v e a n i m m e d i a t e a n d c a t e g o r i c a l a s s u r a n c e o n o n e or t w o of t h e p o i n t s r a i s e d i n t h i s f o r m u l a t i o n of t h e t o p i c . I c a n a s s u r e y o u t h a t w e a t t h e L i b r a r y of C o n - g r e s s h a v e n o d e s i r e t o h i d e a n y of o u r p r e t e n s i o n s o r a m b i t i o n s ; w e h a v e e v e r y d e s i r e t h a t d i s c u s s i o n of a n y s u b j e c t in w h i c h t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s is i n v o l v e d s h o u l d be c o m p l e t e l y f o r t h r i g h t ; a n d w e a r e p r e p a r e d a t a n y t i m e t o g e t d o w n t o b r a s s t a c k s . 1 A b r i d g e m e n t of a paper presented at the Con- f e r e n c e of Eastern College Librarians, Columbia Uni- versity, N o v . 29, 1947. A c t u a l l y , h o w e v e r , I s h o u l d r e m i n d y o u t h a t t h i s is n o t a n e w q u e s t i o n . A t l e a s t s i n c e 1 8 7 9 , w h e n t h e A . L . A . , b y o f f i c i a l a c t i o n r e c o g n i z e d " t h e i m p o r t a n c e of p r o - v i d i n g t h e N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s w i t h n e w a n d c o n v e n i e n t q u a r t e r s , w o r t h y of its n a t i o n a l i m p o r t a n c e , " 2 t h e q u e s t i o n of t h e p l a c e of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s in t h e n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y e c o n o m y h a s c o m e u p a t f r e q u e n t i n t e r v a l s . T h e q u e s t i o n w a s t h o r o u g h l y c a n v a s s e d b e f o r e a c o m m i t t e e of C o n g r e s s in 1 8 9 6 , w h e n t h e t r a n s f e r of t h e l i b r a r y f r o m t h e C a p i t o l t o t h e t h e n n e w b u i l d i n g w a s u n d e r c o n t e m p l a t i o n . H e r - b e r t P u t n a m ' s W a u k e s h a a d d r e s s is s t i l l a f a i r l y c o m p r e h e n s i v e s t a t e m e n t o n t h e s u b - j e c t ; a n d A r c h i b a l d M a c L e i s h t o u c h e d o n t h e s a l i e n t p o i n t s of t h e q u e s t i o n i n his a n - n u a l r e p o r t f o r 1 9 4 0 . F i n a l l y , t h e q u e s - t i o n h a s b e e n c o n s i d e r e d in d e t a i l in t h e r e p o r t of t h e L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s P l a n n i n g C o m m i t t e e as r e c e n t l y as l a s t M a r c h . T h e r e a r e r e a l l y t w o k i n d s of a m b i t i o n s i n v o l v e d h e r e : t h e a m b i t i o n s w h i c h t h e L i - b r a r y of C o n g r e s s h a s f o r i t s e l f , a n d t h e a m b i t i o n s w h i c h t h e l i b r a r y w o r l d h a s f o r i t . T h e s e a r e n o t a l w a y s i d e n t i c a l , n o r h a v e t h e y a l w a y s b e e n c o m p l e t e l y r e c o n c i l e d . F o r e x a m p l e : it h a s l o n g b e e n t h e o f f i c i a l l y a d o p t e d v i e w of t h e o r g a n i z e d A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y w o r l d t h a t t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s s h o u l d possess a c o p y of e v e r y p u b l i c a t i o n w h i c h a p p e a r s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , a n d t h i s is a n a m b i t i o n w h i c h is c u l t i v a t e d — w i t h s o m e r e s e r v a t i o n s — b y t h e l i b r a r y i t - 2 Library Journal i : 303, J u l y - A u g u s t 1879. 116 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES s e l f . B u t w h e n , as it does w i t h p a r t i c u l a r categories, the l i b r a r y refuses to lend cer- tain m a t e r i a l s in i n t e r l i b r a r y loan, the f r u i t of the a t t a i n m e n t of this a m b i t i o n is denied to m a n y of those w h o s u p p o r t e d it. A g a i n , w i t h p r i n t e d c a t a l o g c a r d s : the l i b r a r y ' s a m b i t i o n is, of course, to g e t its o w n books c a t a l o g e d ; and the c a r d d i s t r i b u t i o n system rests l e g a l l y u p o n the t h e o r y t h a t t h e y are a b y - p r o d u c t of the l i b r a r y ' s d o m e s t i c o p e r a - tions. O n the o t h e r h a n d , the e q u a l l y n a t u - ral a m b i t i o n of o t h e r libraries is to h a v e the p r i n t e d cards serve their uses as f u l l y as possible. T h u s , w e h a v e had to ask o u r - selves, f o r w h o m are w e c a t a l o g i n g — f o r o u r s e l v e s or f o r o t h e r l i b r a r i e s ? B u t in- stances of such oppositions are n o t too n u - m e r o u s , n o r do I b e l i e v e t h e m to be u n - r e s o l v a b l e . A t this p o i n t I w a n t to m a k e a g e n e r a l o b s e r v a t i o n , the i m p l i c a t i o n s of w h i c h o u g h t to be i n t e r e s t i n g , b u t w h i c h I c a n n o t here p u r s u e to their u l t i m a t e c o n c l u s i o n . T h i s is t h a t the f u n c t i o n s and responsibilities of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s d e r i v e f r o m its c o l - lections, r a t h e r t h a n the other w a y a b o u t . First Collections—Then Functions T h o s e of y o u w h o h a v e read D a v i d Mearns' The Story up to Now in D r . E v a n s ' 1 9 4 6 r e p o r t ( a l s o issued as a sep- a r a t e ) k n o w t h a t the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s w a s n e v e r e v e n r e a l l y e s t a b l i s h e d ; it b e c a m e . W e t r a c e o u r f o u n d a t i o n f r o m the l a w of A p r . 2 4 , 1 8 0 0 ; b u t t h a t l a w did n o t m e n - tion a L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s ; it m e r e l y a u t h o r i z e d the p u r c h a s e of a c o l l e c t i o n of books " f o r the use of b o t h H o u s e s of C o n - gress and the m e m b e r s t h e r e o f ; " and the n a m e " L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s " w a s n o t m e n - tioned in l e g i s l a t i o n u n t i l f i v e y e a r s l a t e r . H o w e v e r — a n d this is the i m p o r t a n t t h i n g — a s soon as the c o l l e c t i o n w a s o r g a n i z e d , its f u n c t i o n s w e r e e x t e n d e d b e y o n d the o r i g i n a l restricted p u r p o s e ; and this is w h a t has happened c o n s i s t e n t l y ever since. I t w a s n o t u n t i l a f t e r the m i d d l e of the c e n t u r y , h o w e v e r , t h a t the use of the l i b r a r y became a m a t t e r of g e n e r a l p u b l i c c o n c e r n . A n a c t of 1 8 4 6 had g i v e n the l i b r a r y a share in the deposits u n d e r the c o p y r i g h t l a w s . F i n a l l y , by an act of 1 8 6 6 , the l i b r a r y b e c a m e the d e p o s i t o r y of the t w e n t y - y e a r o l d l i b r a r y of the S m i t h s o n i a n I n s t i t u t i o n , w i t h its rich and c o n t i n u i n g c o l l e c t i o n s of scientific and other m a t e r i a l s secured as the result of e x c h a n g e s w i t h a c a d e m i e s and l e a r n e d societies all o v e r the w o r l d . I t w a s l o g i c a l t h a t at t h a t m o m e n t the service of the l i b r a r y s h o u l d be e x t e n d e d still f u r t h e r ; and the same act of 1 8 6 6 c o n s e q u e n t l y pro- v i d e d t h a t the " p u b l i c shall h a v e access . . . f o r purposes of c o n s u l t a t i o n on e v e r y o r d i - n a r y w e e k d a y e x c e p t d u r i n g one m o n t h of the y e a r , in the recess of C o n g r e s s , w h e n it m a y be closed f o r r e n o v a t i o n . " B y this e n a c t m e n t the l i b r a r y , t h o u g h it r e m a i n e d the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , b e c a m e g e n u i n e l y a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y in the sense of p u b l i c o w n e r s h i p and p u b l i c access. I n 1 8 7 0 responsibility f o r the p e r f o r m - ance of " a l l acts a n d duties r e q u i r e d by l a w t o u c h i n g c o p y r i g h t s , " w a s assigned to the L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s , w h o t h e n c e f o r t h re- c e i v e d , in c o m p e n s a t i o n f o r the a d m i n i s t r a - t i v e b u r d e n , copies of e v e r y a r t i c l e regis- tered f o r c o p y r i g h t , n o t o n l y books, b u t also periodicals, p i c t u r e - p o s t c a r d s , circus posters, and labels f o r c i g a r boxes and hair tonics, a n d , at a l a t e r date, m o t i o n p i c t u r e s a n d designs. I t is o b v i o u s t h a t these e n a c t m e n t s , w h e n e n f o r c e d by an e n e r g e t i c l i b r a r i a n , c o u l d in a short t i m e v e r y r a d i c a l l y a f f e c t the c o m - p l e x i o n of the c o l l e c t i o n s . T h e y d i d . T h e c o l l e c t i o n s g r e w apace. A n d w i t h their g r o w t h c a m e insistence f r o m the n a t i o n at l a r g e t h a t t h e y be m a d e a v a i l a b l e f o r use. T h i s insistence took f o r m , f o r e x a m p l e , in APRIL, 1948 117 P r e s i d e n t H a y e s ' m e s s a g e to C o n g r e s s in D e c e m b e r 1 8 7 8 : As this library is national in character, and must from the nature of the case increase even more rapidly in the future than in the past, it cannot be doubted that the people will sanction any wise expenditure to preserve it and to enlarge its usefulness. S u b s e q u e n t h i s t o r y has f o l l o w e d in a like course. Y o u a l l k n o w the s t o r y of the o r i g i n of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of p r i n t e d c a t a l o g c a r d s . ( I t is s u m m a r i z e d in the p r e f a c e of the A . R . L . - E d w a r d s B r o t h e r s 1 6 8 - v o l u m e Catalog of Books Represented by Library of Congress Printed Cards.) A source of c e n t r a l c a t a l o g i n g had been the d e s i d e r a t u m of the A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y w o r l d at least since 1 8 5 0 w h e n P r o f e s s o r J e w e t t a n n o u n c e d his p l a n f o r s t e r e o t y p e c a t a l o g i n g . S e v e r a l m e t h o d s w e r e t r i e d . O n e s i g n i f i c a n t a d - v a n c e in p r a c t i c a b i l i t y w a s c o n t r i b u t e d b y the l i b r a r y of the D e p a r t m e n t of A g r i c u l - t u r e . B u t the g e n u i n e — t h o u g h perhaps n o t the f i n a l — s o l u t i o n t o the p r o b l e m w a s n o t d i s c o v e r e d u n t i l a m e t h o d w a s e m p l o y e d w h i c h u t i l i z e d the o p e r a t i o n s of a l i b r a r y a l r e a d y r e c e i v i n g and c a t a l o g i n g f o r its o w n uses a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of the v e r y books in w h i c h libraries g e n e r a l l y w e r e i n t e r e s t e d . S o it w a s w i t h the n a t i o n a l u n i o n c a t a l o g and w i t h books f o r the a d u l t b l i n d and w i t h state p u b l i c a t i o n s a n d state l a w s . T h e re- s p o n s i b i l i t y has f o l l o w e d the c o l l e c t i o n s in a l m o s t e v e r y c a s e ; n o t p r e c e d e d it. I a m i n c l i n e d to t h i n k t h a t this question — t h e q u e s t i o n of w h a t are the a m b i t i o n s of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , the e x t e n t to w h i c h these a m b i t i o n s are l i k e l y to be r e a l - i z e d , and their b e a r i n g u p o n the p r i v a t e r e f e r e n c e c o l l e c t i o n s — m a y w e l l be t a k e n in three steps. T h e first of these w o u l d h a v e to do w i t h w h a t I w o u l d like t o d i f f e r e n t i - ate, if t h a t is a l t o g e t h e r possible, as t h e p u r e l y l o c a l s i t u a t i o n ; the second w i t h the r e l a t i o n s w h i c h h a v e g r o w n u p w i t h o t h e r libraries t h r o u g h o u t the c o u n t r y ; a n d the t h i r d w i t h the g e n e r a l question of w h a t s h o u l d be the f u n c t i o n s of a n a t i o n a l li- b r a r y . The Local Situation F i r s t , as to the l o c a l s i t u a t i o n . U n d e r this head I r e f e r to the service w h i c h is required of the l i b r a r y by l a w or c u s t o m and w h i c h d e r i v e s f r o m the f a c t t h a t it is established at the seat of g o v e r n m e n t and is an a g e n c y of g o v e r n m e n t . W h a t does this s i t u a t i o n require of the l i b r a r y ? I t re- quires, first, a g e n e r a l l i b r a r y service to C o n g r e s s , and t h e n a special l e g i s l a t i v e r e f e r e n c e service w h i c h is spelt o u t c a r e f u l l y in s u b s t a n t i v e l a w e n a c t e d d u r i n g the 7 9 t h C o n g r e s s — e v e n to the e x t e n t of s p e c i f y i n g the s u b j e c t s in w h i c h the l i b r a r y shall h a v e specialists, and the g r a d e of those special- ists. I t requires the e x t e n s i o n of the f a c i l i - ties of the c o l l e c t i o n s to the a g e n c i e s of the e x e c u t i v e and the j u d i c i a r y . I t requires the f u r t h e r e x t e n s i o n of these f a c i l i t i e s t o q u a l i f i e d m e m b e r s of the p u b l i c . I t re- quires, a b o v e all, t h a t the c o l l e c t i o n s be o r g a n i z e d t h r o u g h i n d e x e s and o t h e r w i s e ; and several l a w s , chief of w h i c h is the C o p y r i g h t A c t , s p e c i f i c a l l y require this. W h a t does this i n v o l v e in the w a y of a m b i t i o n s ? V e r y s i m p l y , it is to l i v e u p to o u r l e g a l o b l i g a t i o n s . B u t if w e c a n do this, w e shall h a v e n e a r l y w o n the w h o l e b a t t l e , f o r it is e x a c t l y the p r o d u c t of the p r e p a - ration f o r the l o c a l service w h i c h fits us t o be of service b e y o n d this b o u n d a r y . O u r a m b i t i o n s i n c l u d e , c o n s e q u e n t l y , the d e v e l o p m e n t of c o o p e r a t i v e enterprises w h i c h w i l l r e l i e v e us, e q u a l l y w i t h others, of cost. N e v e r t h e l e s s , w h e n all b i b l i o - g r a p h i c assistance is a c c o u n t e d f o r , there is still a d o m e s t i c o p e r a t i o n w h i c h m u s t be p e r f o r m e d . T h e b u r d e n of w o r k w h i c h n o w c o n f r o n t s us is m o r e t h a n w e c a n effi- c i e n t l y c a r r y in a l m o s t e v e r y d e p a r t m e n t . 118 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES O u r e s t i m a t e s f o r 1 9 4 7 , w h i c h c o n t e m - p l a t e d a d o u b l i n g of t h e s t a f f , i n c l u d e d , it is t r u e , c e r t a i n n e w a c t i v i t i e s , b u t w e r e f o r t h e m o s t p a r t b a s e d e n t i r e l y u p o n a c t u a l w o r k - l o a d s in e x i s t i n g o p e r a t i o n s . S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e l o c a l s i t u a t i o n i n v o l v e s c e r t a i n v e r y d e f i n i t e a l l o c a t i o n s of fields of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a m o n g t h e f e d e r a l l i b r a r i e s , a n d a l t h o u g h t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s h a s n o t d i v e s t e d i t s e l f of its a c c u m u l a t i o n s e i t h e r in a g r i c u l t u r e o r m e d i c i n e — f o r it finds c o n s i d e r a b l e use of t h e c o l l e c t i o n s in b o t h fields in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h its o t h e r c o l l e c t i o n s — i t m a k e s n o p u r c h a s e s in these fields b e y o n d e s s e n t i a l r e f e r e n c e b o o k s . A s a l l of y o u k n o w w h o p u r c h a s e L . C . c a r d s , series p r o v i d i n g the r e s u l t s of c a t a l o g i n g of a n u m b e r of t h e o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t l i b r a r i e s are r e p r e s e n t e d t h e r e i n . O u r i n t e r e s t in t h i s c o n n e c t i o n is in e c o n o m y a n d e f f i c i e n c y of l i b r a r y s e r v i c e , a n d it is o u r b e l i e f t h a t l i b r a r y s e r v i c e c a n be g i v e n m o s t e c o n o m i - c a l l y if t h e r e is o n e c e n t r a l c o l l e c t i o n , c o m - p r e h e n s i v e w i t h i n d e f i n e d l i m i t s , s u p p o r t e d b y w o r k i n g o r s p e c i a l c o l l e c t i o n s in t h e v a r i - ous a g e n c i e s o r o p e r a t i n g u n i t s . I n t h i s b e l i e f w e a r e s u p p o r t e d b y t h e r e c o m m e n d a - t i o n s of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s P l a n n i n g C o m m i t t e e . The National Situation W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e n a t i o n a l s i t u a t i o n — t h e r e l a t i o n of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s t o t h e o t h e r l i b r a r i e s of t h e c o u n t r y — I r e - assert t h e p r i n c i p l e w h i c h I h a v e t r i e d t o e s t a b l i s h : these r e l a t i o n s h i p s d e p e n d a n d m u s t d e p e n d , n o t u p o n a n y p r i m a c y e s t a b - l i s h e d b y l a w , n o t u p o n a n y e x e c u t i v e a u - t h o r i t y , b u t u p o n a c a p a c i t y f o r s e r v i c e , w h i c h in t u r n d e p e n d s h i s t o r i c a l l y u p o n t h e c o l l e c t i o n s . A s m a n y of y o u p r o b a b l y k n o w , t h e L i - b r a r y of C o n g r e s s h a s resisted a n y s u g g e s - t i o n s t h a t it be e q u i p p e d w i t h an e x e c u t i v e f u n c t i o n . I t w a s p e r h a p s f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h a t A r u n d e l l E s d a i l l e , in his v o l u m e o n the National Libraries of the World? failed t o i n c l u d e , in t h e c h a p t e r on t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , a s e c t i o n o n " P l a c e in a N a - t i o n a l S y s t e m " w h i c h h e h a d i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e c h a p t e r o n a l m o s t e v e r y o t h e r n a - t i o n a l l i b r a r y . I t h a s been r e p e a t e d l y p o i n t e d o u t t h a t C o n g r e s s w o u l d n e v e r h a v e r e q u i r e d t w o c o p i e s of e v e r y c o p y r i g h t e d p u b l i c a t i o n s o l e l y f o r its o w n use, n o r p u r c h a s e d g r e a t c o l l e c t i o n s of A m e r i c a n a , of i n c u n a b u l a , of R u s s i a n b o o k s , or of t h e p a p e r s of t h e p r e s i - d e n t s e x c l u s i v e l y f o r its o w n s e r v i c e ; n o r , finally, c o n s t r u c t e d b u i l d i n g s a t g r e a t e x - p e n s e t o h o u s e these c o l l e c t i o n s s o l e l y f o r its o w n e n j o y m e n t . O b v i o u s l y t h e b e n e f i t s of these c o l l e c t i o n s a r e i n t e n d e d f o r t h e e n t i r e n a t i o n . B u t h o w ? C o n g r e s s h a s r u l e d t h a t t h e c o l l e c t i o n s a r e t o be m a d e a c c e s s i b l e t o q u a l i f i e d m e m b e r s of t h e p u b l i c ; b u t b e y o n d t h a t C o n g r e s s h a s n o t p r e s c r i b e d t h e d e t a i l s in a n y b r o a d , o v e r - a l l l e g i s l a t i o n . C o n - g r e s s , has, n e v e r t h e l e s s , a u t h o r i z e d o r f a c i l i - t a t e d s p e c i f i c a c t i v i t i e s w h e n t h e y h a v e b e e n r e p r e s e n t e d as in t h e n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t , s u c h as i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n s , t h e c a r d d i s t r i b u t i o n s e r v i c e , t h e u n i o n c a t a l o g a n d t h e p h o t o - d u p l i c a t i o n s e r v i c e , t h e s e r v i c e of b o o k s f o r t h e b l i n d , as w e l l as v a r i o u s p u b l i c a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g t h e L . C . c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s c h e d u l e s , t h e l i s t s of s u b j e c t - h e a d i n g s , t h e s e r v i c e in t h e d e c i m a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , t h e b i e n n i a l In- dex to State Legislation, the Monthly Checklist of State Publications, calendars a n d c h e c k l i s t s , a n d t e x t s s u c h as t h e Jour- nals of the Continental Congress. Finally, t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of a n u m b e r of s p e c i a l i s t u n i t s in t h e l i b r a r y , s o m e o n a s u b j e c t basis, s o m e b y a r e a or l a n g u a g e , a n d s t i l l o t h e r s b y t h e f o r m of t h e m a t e r i a l , m a k e s p r o - v i s i o n f o r s u p p l y i n g , in r e s p o n s e t o i n - q u i r i e s , s t a t e m e n t s w h i c h a r e t o a h i g h d e - g r e e a u t h o r i t a t i v e r e g a r d i n g t h e c o n t e n t 3 London, Grafton and Co., 1934. p. v. APRIL, 1948 119 a n d l o c a t i o n of t h e l i t e r a t u r e of a p a r t i c u l a r s u b j e c t . The Functions of a National Library I m u s t press o n t o m y t h i r d s t e p : a c o n - s i d e r a t i o n of w h a t f u n c t i o n s are a p p r o p r i a t e t o a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y . T h e A m e r i c a n l i - b r a r y w o r l d has been c a l l i n g t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s t h e n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y f o r s o m e 7 0 y e a r s ; y e t n o w h e r e h a v e I f o u n d a n a c t u a l c o n t e n t of m e a n i n g a s s i g n e d t o t h e t e r m . A r u n d e l l E s d a i l l e s p e a k s of t h e n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y as " t h a t c o m p a r a t i v e l y m o d e r n p r o d - u c t ; " he a d d s , " t h e i d e a of a n a t i o n a l l i - b r a r y h a s f o r o v e r a c e n t u r y , a n d f o r l o n g e r s t i l l , if w e c o n s i d e r it r i g h t l y , b e e n e x p a n d i n g ; " a n d he n o t e s t h a t t h e A b b e B i g n o n in P a r i s , B a r o n K o r f in M o s c o w , S i r A n t h o n y P a n i z z i in L o n d o n , a n d D r . P u t n a m in W a s h i n g t o n e a c h in h i s g e n e r a - t i o n t o o k s o m e f r e s h a n d v a l u a b l e e l e m e n t i n t o t h e f u n c t i o n s of a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y . " W h a t t h e i r s u c c e s s o r s w i l l d o , " h e c o n - c l u d e s , " w e c a n n o t f o r e s e e . T h e a g e of w i r e l e s s , t h e g r a m a p h o n e , t h e f i l m a n d t h e m i c r o p h o t o g r a p h m a y c h a n g e t h e w h o l e f a c e of l i b r a r i e s . W e m a y a t l e a s t be c e r t a i n t h a t t h e p r o c e s s of e x p a n s i o n is n o t a t an e n d . " 4 I t is n o t u n i n s t r u c t i v e t o t r a c e t h e d e - v e l o p m e n t of t h e n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y c o n c e p t in t h e c a s e of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s . I n its e a r l i e s t f o r m it i m p l i e d , i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e a l r e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d m e a n i n g s of p u b - l i c o w n e r s h i p a n d p u b l i c access, h a r d l y m o r e t h a n t h e p r i n c i p l e of c o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s of c o l l e c t i o n s , at l e a s t w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p u b - l i c a t i o n s of t h e c o u n t r y i t s e l f . T h e e m - p h a s i s u p o n t h i s m e a n i n g is a p p a r e n t in t h e r e s o l u t i o n a d o p t e d b y t h e A . L . A . a t its m e e t i n g in t h e A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y o n F e b . 1 0 , 1 8 8 1 : Resolved: T h a t the American Library A s - sociation of Librarians, assembled in annual 4 Ibid. conference in Washington, shares the con- viction of the people of the United States of America, that the Library of Congress is emphatically the one national library, the only one in the country destined to the encyclo- pedic and universal in its comprehensiveness, like the goverment libraries of the O l d W o r l d . . . .5 T w o y e a r s p r e v i o u s l y , in a d i s c u s s i o n of b o o k s e l e c t i o n f o r a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y , t h e l i b r a r i a n of t h e L o n d o n L i b r a r y h a d stressed t h i s a s p e c t of c o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s . H e e m p h a s i z e d t h a t a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y s h o u l d be f i r s t a m o n u m e n t of t h e l i t e r a - t u r e of its o w n c o u n t r y a n d a r e p e r t o r y of t h e best s a m p l e s of t h e l i t e r a t u r e s of o t h e r c o u n t r i e s ; a n d s e c o n d a " s c h o o l of i n s t r u c - t i o n " in p r o p o r t i o n t o its c o m p l e t e n e s s in l i t e r a t u r e s in a l l l a n g u a g e s . 6 T h e c o n c e p t of c o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s w a s of c o u r s e n o t a n o v e l c o n c e p t e v e n in t h e ' 7 0 ' s ; it w a s e m p h a s i z e d t h e n b e c a u s e it w a s n o t y e t a n a c c o m p l i s h e d f a c t ; j u s t as it is n o w b e i n g e m p h a s i z e d in C a n a d a w h e r e it is n o t y e t a n a c c o m p l i s h e d f a c t . 7 B u t a t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e r e w e r e s t i r r i n g s of o t h e r uses f o r a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y . B a s s e t C a d w a l l a d e r , in 1 8 7 7 , p r o p o s e d t h a t t h e r e s h o u l d be e s t a b l i s h e d a t t h e L i b r a r y of C o n - g r e s s a c e n t r a l b u r e a u f o r c o o p e r a t i v e l i - b r a r y p u r c h a s i n g , a n d f o r p r e p a r i n g a u n i - v e r s a l c a t a l o g w i t h u n i o n c a t a l o g s y m b o l s . 8 B y 1 8 9 6 t h e l i b r a r y ' s n e w b u i l d i n g w a s a p p r o a c h i n g c o m p l e t i o n , a n d t h e j o i n t c o m - m i t t e e o n t h e l i b r a r y h e l d h e a r i n g s o n its o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d f u n c t i o n s . 9 T w o r e p r e - s e n t a t i v e s of t h e A . L . A . a p p e a r e d t o t e s t i f y , 3 A . L . A . Papers and Proceedings of the Fourth Gen- eral Meeting. 1881. p. 73 f. 6 Library Journal 2 : 1945, November-December 1877. 1 Davis, J. Basset. " A National Library for Can- ada." Ontario Library Review 2: 107, May 1918. Libraries in Canada—A Study of Library Condi- tions and Needs bv the Commission of Enquiry. Chi- cago, American Library Association, 1933. Kyte, E. Sockburn. " A National Library f o r Canada." Ontario Library Review 23: 181, May 1939. Canadian Library Council. Library Service for Canada, n. p., 1944, p. 9. Scollard, R. J. "Cataloguing f o r the Nation. Canadian Library Association. Proceedings of the Organisational Conference. 1946, p. 21. 8 Library Journal 1: 364, 369, June 1877. 9 54th Congress, 2d Session, Senate Report 1513. 120 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES as w e l l as G e o r g e B a k e r of C o l u m b i a , W i l - l i a m F l e t c h e r of A m h e r s t , S a m u e l L a n g l e y of t h e S m i t h s o n i a n I n s t i t u t i o n , a n d W . T . H a r r i s , t h e U . S . C o m m i s s i o n e r of E d u c a t i o n ; in a d d i t i o n , M e l v i l D e w e y , A i n s w o r t h S p o f f o r d , a n d H e r b e r t P u t n a m , t h e n l i b r a r i a n of t h e B o s t o n P u b l i c L i b r a r y . H e r e w a s a n i d e a l o c c a s i o n f o r a r i n g i n g s t a t e m e n t as t o t h e f u n c t i o n s t o be e x p e c t e d of a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y . A c t u a l l y , h o w e v e r , t h e g r e a t n e e d of t h e m o m e n t w a s t o d e v i s e a f o r m of o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n f o r t h e g r e a t n e w b u i l d i n g ; a n d t h e t a s k i m m e d i a t e l y a t h a n d w a s t o t r a n s f e r t h e i m m e n s e c o l l e c t i o n s f r o m t h e C a p i t o l t o t h e n e w s t r u c t u r e , a n d t o g e t t h e m i n t o o r d e r a n d use. N e v e r t h e l e s s , b u r i e d in t h e d i s c u s - sion of t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g d e t a i l s , m a y be f o u n d s o l i d p r o p o s a l s f o r n a t i o n a l s e r v i c e w h i c h h a v e n o t been m u c h i m p r o v e d u p o n s i n c e . M e l v i l D e w e y d e s c r i b e d , in a l m o s t e x a c t p r e d i c t i o n , t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of p r i n t e d c a t a l o g c a r d s . H e m e n t i o n e d r e f e r e n c e a n d c o p y i n g s e r v i c e s , d i s t r i b u t i o n of g o v e r n m e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s , t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of a n n o t a t e d s e l e c t i v e b i b l i o g r a p h i e s , a u n i o n c a t a l o g , a n d i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n s . D r . P u t n a m s u g g e s t e d , as a d d i t i o n a l a p p r o p r i a t e f u n c t i o n s , a c l e a r - i n g h o u s e f o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l e x c h a n g e s , a n d i n f l u e n c e t o w a r d s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n in i n d e x - i n g a n d b i b l i o g r a p h i c w o r k . B y 1 9 0 1 t h e l i b r a r y w a s w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d in its n e w b u i l d i n g a n d in its r e n o v a t e d t a s k s . O n J u l y 4 of t h a t y e a r D r . P u t n a m , b y t h e n L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s , a d d r e s s e d t h e W a u k e s h a C o n f e r e n c e of A . L . A . o n " W h a t M a y B e D o n e f o r L i b r a r i e s b y t h e N a t i o n . " 1 0 T h e r e i n he f o r e c a s t a l m o s t e v e r y t h i n g t h a t w a s t o be a c c o m p l i s h e d d u r - i n g his a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e l i b r a r y : t h e w o r k in c a t a l o g i n g a n d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y of s p e c i a l i s t s t o a n s w e r i n q u i r i e s , a u n i o n c a t a l o g , c o o p e r a t i v e b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l 10 A . L . A . Papers and Proceedings of the 23d Meet- ing. 1901. p. 9ff. undertakings (such as the A.L.A. Catalog, 1904, and the A.L.A. Portrait Index, 1 9 0 6 ) , c l e a r i n g h o u s e f o r d u p l i c a t e s a n d i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n s . B u t t h e o v e r w h e l m - i n g l y i m p o r t a n t a n n o u n c e m e n t m a d e a t t h e W a u k e s h a C o n f e r e n c e w a s t h a t L . C . w a s p r i n t i n g c a r d s , a n d m i g h t s o o n b e a b l e t o m a k e t h e m a v a i l a b l e t o o t h e r l i b r a r i e s . T h e n e x t f o r t y y e a r s a d d e d n o t h i n g n e w t o t h e c o n c e p t of t h e n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y f u n c - t i o n in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ; t h e i n t e r v a l w a s filled w i t h t h e e x e c u t i o n of t h e p l a n s of 1 8 9 6 a n d 1 9 0 1 , a n d t h e o n l y e l a b o r a t i o n w a s in t h e s p e c i f i c a t i o n of t h a t a l l - i n c l u s i v e t e r m , " c o o p e r a t i v e b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l u n d e r - t a k i n g s . " I n 1 9 3 8 , h o w e v e r , a p p e a r e d C a r l e t o n J o e c k e l ' s s t u d y of l i b r a r y s e r v i c e p r e p a r e d f o r t h e A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e o n E d u c a t i o n w h i c h h a d b e e n a s k e d b y P r e s i - d e n t R o o s e v e l t in 1 9 3 7 t o s t u d y t h e g e n e r a l r e l a t i o n s h i p of t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t t o e d u c a t i o n . D r . J o e c k e l , a f t e r n o t i n g f o u r p r i n c i p a l d e f e c t s in t h e f e d e r a l l i b r a r y m a - c h i n e r y , e x p r e s s e d t h e o p i n i o j i t h a t " c o m - p a r a t i v e l y s m a l l i n c r e a s e s in c u r r e n t e x p e n - d i t u r e s w o u l d r e s u l t in r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e i n - c r e a s e s i n t h e e f f i c i e n c y of t h e p r e s e n t b i b l i o - g r a p h i c a l a n d t e c h n i c a l o p e r a t i o n s . " H i s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s i n c l u d e d , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , t h e i m p r o v e m e n t a n d e x p a n s i o n of t h e c a t a l o g i n g a n d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s e r v i c e s of the Library of Congress to the full extent of their potential usefulness to American li- braries of all types (italics mine), and men- t i o n e d s e v e r a l w a y s in w h i c h t h i s s h o u l d be d o n e ; h e r e c o m m e n d e d t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n at t h e l i b r a r y of a n a t i o n a l c e n t e r f o r b i b l 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 , finally, he s u g - g e s t e d t h a t a s u r v e y of t h e n e e d s f o r r e g i o n a l l i b r a r y s e r v i c e , f o r m u l a t i o n of p l a n s f o r g i v - i n g s u c h s e r v i c e , a n d t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of a r e g i o n a l l i b r a r y s y s t e m be c o n d u c t e d u n d e r t h e g e n e r a l d i r e c t i o n of t h e L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s . 1 1 11 j o e c k e l , Carleton B. Library Service. Washing- ton, Government Printing Office, 1938. p. 33L APRIL, 1948 121 I n 1 9 3 9 D r . R o b e r t C . B i n k l e y , c h a i r m a n of t h e j o i n t C o m m i t t e e o n M a t e r i a l s f o r R e s e a r c h of t h e A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l of L e a r n e d S o c i e t i e s a n d 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 , d e v e l o p e d a n a t i o n a l a c - q u i s i t i o n s p r o g r a m i n v o l v i n g a r a d i c a l l y n e w c o n c e p t i o n of t h e r o l e of t h e n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y . 1 2 P r o c e e d i n g o n t h e a s s u m p t i o n s t h a t " a c q u i s i t i o n p o l i c y is d i r e c t e d t o w a r d m a x i m u m n a t i o n a l c o m p l e t e n e s s , " a n d t h a t t h e a c q u i s i t i o n p o l i c y of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s s h o u l d be o n e t h a t w o u l d e n - c o u r a g e c o o p e r a t i o n o n t h e p a r t of o t h e r l i b r a r i e s t o w a r d a t t a i n i n g t h i s g o a l of c o m - p l e t e n e s s , D r . B i n k l e y s u g g e s t e d m e t h o d s f o r t h i s , i n c l u d i n g t h e p u r c h a s i n g b y t h e l i b r a r y of a l l c u r r e n t f o r e i g n b o o k s , o r , a l t e r n a t i v e l y , of a l l c u r r e n t f o r e i g n b o o k s n o t p u r c h a s e d b y o t h e r l i b r a r i e s . A l t h o u g h t h e s e s u g g e s t i o n s w e r e n o t a d o p t e d , t h e y w e n t i n t o t h e m e l t i n g p o t o u t of w h i c h t h e F a r m i n g t o n P l a n l a t e r i s s u e d . I n 1 9 4 5 t h e j o i n t C o m m i t t e e o n I n d e x i n g a n d A b s t r a c t i n g in t h e M a j o r F i e l d s o f R e - s e a r c h , r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e A . L . A . a n d n i n e o t h e r l i b r a r y a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , w h i c h s i n c e 1 9 3 7 h a d b e e n w r e s t l i n g w i t h t h e p r o b l e m i n d i c a t e d b y its t i t l e , r e n d e r e d a f i n a l r e p o r t . 1 3 I t r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of a g e n e r a l i n d e x i n g a n d a b s t r a c t i n g p r o g r a m w h i c h w o u l d i n c l u d e a l l f i e l d s of r e s e a r c h ; t h a t t h e w o r k i n g u n i t w h i c h s h o u l d e x e c u t e t h e p r o g r a m s h o u l d be o p e r a t e d in b u t n o t n e c e s s a r i l y b y t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s ; a n d t h a t t h e p r o g r a m s h o u l d be s u p p o r t e d b y g o v e r n m e n t s u b s i d y as w e l l as b y t h e s o c i e t i e s a n d a s s o c i a t i o n s w h i c h w o u l d b e n e f i t f r o m it. I n t h e s a m e y e a r t h e d i r e c t o r of t h e O f f i c e of S c i e n t i f i c R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t ( D r . V a n n e v a r B u s h ) in his r e p o r t t o t h e President entitled Science, the Endless 12 Memorandum, November 27, 1939. A National Acquisition Policy. Typescript. L . C . files. »A.L.A. Bulletin 39: 370-71, Oct. 15, 1945- Frontier,1* s u g g e s t e d t h a t e x i s t i n g g o v e r n - m e n t a g e n c i e s , s u c h as t h e A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y a n d t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , c o u l d d o m u c h t o i m p r o v e e x i s t i n g b i b l i o - g r a p h i c f a c i l i t i e s if p r o v i d e d w i t h s u f f i c i e n t m e a n s ; a n d t h a t f e d e r a l a i d f o r t h e l i b r a r y s y s t e m of t h e c o u n t r y m i g h t w e l l h a v e as its c e n t r a l o b j e c t i v e t h e s t r e n g t h e n i n g of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s so t h a t it c o u l d f o s t e r p r o g r a m s of c o o p e r a t i o n . S t i l l i n 1 9 4 5 it w a s f o u n d t o be in t h e n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t t h a t t h e L i b r a r y of C o n - g r e s s s h o u l d e x t e n d t o o t h e r r e s e a r c h l i - b r a r i e s its o w n f a c i l i t i e s f o r a c q u i s i t i o n ( i n - c l u d i n g S t a t e a n d W a r D e p a r t m e n t c h a n n e l s ) in c o u n t r i e s w h e r e c o m m e r c i a l c h a n n e l s w e r e n o t a v a i l a b l e as a r e s u l t of t h e w a r . A t t h e s a m e t i m e t h e l i b r a r y c o m m e n c e d , o n its o w n i n i t i a t i v e a n d a t its o w n c o s t , t h e p r o g r a m of d o c u m e n t d i s t r i b u - t i o n w h i c h h a s s i n c e d e v e l o p e d i n t o t h e D o c u m e n t s E x p e d i t i n g P r o j e c t . I n 1 9 4 6 t h e P r i n c e t o n C o n f e r e n c e o n I n t e r n a t i o n a l C u l t u r a l , E d u c a t i o n a l , a n d S c i e n t i f i c E x c h a n g e s d i r e c t e d f o u r of its t w e n t y - f o u r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t o w a r d t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s — r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s h a v i n g t o d o w i t h t h e c o m p l e t i o n of t h e u n i o n c a t a l o g , t h e c o m p i l a t i o n of a u n i o n l i s t of w a r t i m e p e r i o d i c a l s , t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of p l a n s f o r a n a t i o n a l b i b l i o g r a p h y , a n d t h e p r o c u r e m e n t a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n of f o r e i g n g o v e r n m e n t a l p u b l i c a t i o n s . 1 5 T h e l a t e s t s t a t e m e n t o n t h e s u b j e c t is s t i l l f r e s h f r o m t h e press, a n d is b e i n g r e - p r i n t e d in t h e 1 9 4 7 a n n u a l r e p o r t of t h e L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s . T h e H o u s e A p p r o - p r i a t i o n s C o m m i t t e e , in 1 9 4 6 , h a d r e p o r t e d a r e d u c t i o n in t h e l i b r a r y ' s e s t i m a t e s , p a r t l y as it s t a t e d , in o r d e r " t o g i v e a t t e n t i o n t o t h e n e e d f o r a d e t e r m i n a t i o n as t o w h a t 14 Washington, Government P r i n t i n g Office, 1945, p. 112. 15 Recommendations Adopted by Conference on In- ternational, Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Ex- changes . . . Chicago, A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Associa- tion, 1947. 122 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES the policy of the Library of Congress is going to be in the way of expansion and service to the public and to Congress." In order to provide a basis for the discussion of this question, D r . Evans appointed the Library of Congress Planning Committee, headed by the director of libraries of Harvard University, and consisting of lead- ers in various walks of life—the law, the humanities, specifically history, research li- braries, public libraries, federal libraries, the natural sciences and bibliography. T h i s committee was requested to review anew, "in a spirit of free inquiry," the role of the library, and to report recommendations which might be laid before the appropriate committees of Congress. T h e report is n o w before Congress await- ing action. It spells out the relations of the library in the federal system; it specifies the kinds of collections which the library should amass. W i t h respect to the relation- ships with nonfederal libraries and with the public the report states that "the L i - brary of Congress as the National Library and as the largest and most nearly complete of all the libraries in the United States, should supplement the other libraries in the country, should take a leading part in co- operative movements among libraries, and should thereby help to bring about satis- factory nationwide library service to re- search workers and other seekers f o r information." Specifically "as its share of the national library program," the com- mittee recommended a long list of services so carefully worded that it w o u l d be unfair to attempt to abridge them here; these in- clude not only most of the services men- tioned in previous discussions, but added certain new ones, such as "the printing at regular intervals of as complete a list as possible of publications currently issued in the United States," and a program of trav- eling exhibits. It is apparent f r o m the foregoing that if the library wants ambitions, it has not far to seek. But I refuse to call these objectives the ambitions merely of the Library of C o n - gress. If they are not the ambitions of the American library world, and if the Ameri- can library world cannot truthfully declare, as it did in 1881, that with respect to these objectives "it shares the conviction of the people of the United States of A m e r i c a , " then the Library of Congress may properly disown these ambitions. Let me give you the status of the more important of them. Ambitions—Present Posture In matters relating to bibliographical or- ganization, the fundamental operation is still the system of card distribution. T h e r e is still much work to be done. Cards are not printed quickly enough, and they are still far from complete in coverage. W h i l e we are busily cataloging the publications of foreign countries, their libraries are busily cataloging ours. T h e cooperative catalog- ing operation, though contributing to the usefulness of the system, does not rest upon a sound policy either in logic or finance. But card distribution, though in many senses fundamental, is itself an end-product; it is made possible by a number of ante- cedent operations—among them those of cataloging and classification. W h e n we say at L . C . that w e catalog and classify primarily for our own uses w e are stating a policy to guide immediate operations only. In the long run it is hardly the fact. T h e proof of this is that w e are involved up to our ears in the revision of the A . L . A . catalog c o d e ; and with respect to classifica- t i o n — w e have recently witnessed the ex- penditure of a large sum, which will be matched over and over by expenditures into the indefinite future, in the elaboration of a new schedule for medicine, simply because the L . C . schedule had not been sufficiently APRIL, 1948 123 w e l l - a d a p t e d t o c h a n g i n g c o n d i t i o n s . A n d , t o o , w e f e e l s o m e c o n c e r n at c o m p l a i n t s r e - g a r d i n g t h e i n c o m p l e t i o n of t h e l a w s c h e d - u l e . T h e t r u t h is, t h a t if L . C . ' s c a r d d i s t r i b u t i o n is i m p o r t a n t , its c a t a l o g i n g a n d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n p r o c e s s e s are a l s o i m p o r t a n t . T h e u n i o n c a t a l o g is i n c r e a s i n g a t t h e r a t e of a t h i r d of a m i l l i o n n e w t i t l e s a n d a m i l l i o n a n d a q u a r t e r n e w l o c a t i o n s a y e a r ; t o t h i s w o r k m a n y l i b r a r i e s are c o n - t r i b u t i n g . W e s t i l l t a l k of a s u b j e c t u n i o n c a t a l o g . H o w b a d l y is it w a n t e d ? T h e C a d w a l l a d e r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of 1 8 7 7 f o r a u n i v e r s a l c a t a l o g w i t h u n i o n s y m b o l s ( w h i c h w a s s l a p p e d d o w n e d i t o r i a l l y as being too U t o p i a n in the issue of the Library Journal in w h i c h i t a p p e a r e d ) is m a t c h e d in 1 9 4 7 b y a s u g g e s t i o n f o r a u n i o n l o c a - t i o n i n d e x , b y L . C . c a r d n u m b e r , t o t h e E d w a r d s B r o t h e r s or t h e L . C . Cumulative Catalog—a s i m p l e d e v i c e w h i c h w o u l d bring a l a r g e p a r t of the n a t i o n a l union c a t a l o g , in a f e w v o l u m e s , i n t o e v e r y l i b r a r y . W e h a v e n o t t a k e n u p D r . J o e c k e l ' s s u g g e s t i o n t h a t t h e L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s s h o u l d a d m i n i s t e r a s y s t e m of r e g i o n a l li- b r a r y c e n t e r s ; n o r d o e s it s e e m l i k e l y , f r o m o u r p o l i c y of a v o i d a n c e of e x e c u t i v e a u - t h o r i t y , t h a t w e s h a l l d o so. B u t w e are a n x i o u s t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h r e g i o n a l c e n t e r s . I t h a s b e e n s u g g e s t e d t h a t L . C . m a i n t a i n the Union List of Serials. It is proposed t h a t w e t a k e o v e r t h e e d i t i n g of t h e Writ- ings on American History. It is recom- m e n d e d t h a t w e issue c o m p l e t e l i s t s of c u r r e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ; t h a t w e s u b m i t p l a n s f o r t h e n a t i o n a l b i b l i - o g r a p h y ; t h a t w e e n g a g e in i n d e x i n g a n d a b s t r a c t i n g . H e r e c a u t i o n is n e e d e d . T h e w o r k t o be d o n e is i n f i n i t e , a n d t h e c r i t e r i o n as t o w h a t m a y a p p r o p r i a t e l y be d o n e is n o t t o o c l e a r . W e n o w issue t h e Catalog of Title Entries of the Copyright Office, the Monthly Checklist of State Publica- tions, the Cumulative Catalog of Library of Congress Printed Cards, all fragments ( s o m e of t h e m r a t h e r l a r g e f r a g m e n t s ) of t h e n a t i o n a l b i b l i o g r a p h y . W e d o s o m e i n - d e x i n g , s o m e a n n o t a t i o n of s e l e c t lists, l i t t l e a b s t r a c t i n g . W e a r e a n x i o u s t o s t u d y t h e p r o b l e m , b e c a u s e w e h a v e as m u c h s t a k e in t h e o u t c o m e as a n y i n s t i t u t i o n , a n d m o r e t h a n m o s t . W e a r e a m b i t i o u s t o see t h e p r o b l e m s o l v e d , b u t n o t n e c e s s a r i l y t o e x e c u t e t h e s o l u t i o n . S o m e of y o u m a y h a v e seen M r . V a n d e r b i l t ' s m e m o r a n d u m o n t h i s s u b j e c t w h i c h w a s d i s t r i b u t e d a t t h e S a n F r a n c i s c o C o n f e r e n c e of A . L . A . l a s t s u m m e r . 1 6 A t t h e p r e s e n t m o m e n t w e a r e a n x i o u s t o g e t d i s - c u s s i o n a n d c o m m e n t o n t h i s m e m o r a n d u m . I n m a t t e r s r e l a t i n g t o a c q u i s i t i o n s , I r e m i n d y o u a g a i n t h a t t h e c o l l e c t i o n s a r e h i s t o r i c a l l y a n d o p e r a t i o n a l l y ( t h o u g h n o t n e c e s s a r i l y l o g i c a l l y ) a t t h e basis of a l l t h e s e r v i c e s , a n d t h a t a n y p r o p o s a l f o r b i b l i o - g r a p h i c a c t i v i t y a s s u m e s in t h e f i r s t p l a c e t h a t c o l l e c t i o n s are a v a i l a b l e a n d o r g a - n i z e d . C o n s e q u e n t l y , t h e l i b r a r y w o r l d t h a t is i n t e r e s t e d in o u r c a r d s , o u r c a t a l o g - i n g o r o u r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n m u s t be i n t e r e s t e d a l s o i n o u r c o l l e c t i o n s . T h e r e m a y b e a l t e r n a t i v e s , b u t t h e y a r e n o t y e t w i t h i n p r a c t i c a b l e r e a c h . Y e t t h e F a r m i n g t o n P l a n w a s b o r n o u t of d i s c u s s i o n s in t h e L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s ' C o u n c i l ; w e a r e a n x i o u s t o see t h e p r o p o s a l p u s h e d t o a c o n c l u s i o n e v e n t h o u g h w e a r e n o t a t a l l c e r t a i n w h a t t h a t c o n c l u s i o n w i l l be. B u t w e a r e c o n v i n c e d t h a t l e a d e r s h i p is i n t h e r i g h t h a n d s ; a n d t h e f o r c e s of e c o n o m i c s , if n o t h i n g else, w i l l a s s u r e a f i n a l d e t e r m i n a - t i o n . A s t o a d i s t r i b u t i o n c e n t e r f o r d u p l i - c a t e s a n d f o r e i g n d o c u m e n t s , t h i s is o n e of t h e f e w s u g g e s t i o n s d a t i n g f r o m 1 8 9 6 a n d 1 9 0 1 w h i c h h a s n e v e r b e e n f u l l y d e - v e l o p e d . T h e a p p r o a c h i n g d i s s o l u t i o n of t h e A m e r i c a n B o o k C e n t e r as a r e h a b i l i - 16 Vanderbilt, P a u l . " N a t i o n a l Bibliography and Bibliographical C o n t r o l . " [ W a s h i n g t o n ] 1947. In- cluded in this issue of College and Research Libraries, together with comments by a bibliographer and two librarians. 124 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES t a t i o n a g e n c y p r o v i d e s the occasion f o r at least an e x p e r i m e n t a l p r o j e c t to s h o w possi- bilities. W e are w i l l i n g to assume a risk. I n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h all of the f o r e g o i n g , I w i s h to u n d e r s c o r e several a s s u m p t i o n s basic to a n y a m b i t i o n s w h i c h L . C . m a y c h e r i s h : it has no w i s h to police or a d - m i n i s t e r ; it w i s h e s to do n o t h i n g t h a t others c a n do b e t t e r ; it w i s h e s to t a k e on no f u n c - t i o n w h i c h c a n n o t be f u l l y j u s t i f i e d on g r o u n d s of e c o n o m y , efficiency, and the na- t i o n a l interest. T h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t c a n n o t be looked to as a f a i r y g o d m o t h e r to t a k e on p r o j e c t s m e r e l y because t h e y are g o o d and c a n n o t be s u p p o r t e d c o m m e r c i a l l y or l o c a l l y . The Public Interest and the Interested Public A p a r t i n g w o r d — t h e p u b l i c interest w i l l be served, in the l o n g r u n , o n l y as a result of the interest of the p u b l i c . T h i s is cer- t a i n l y t r u e w i t h respect to the services of a n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y . T a k e a r e a d y e x a m p l e , a g a i n the c a r d d i s t r i b u t i o n s y s t e m — a sys- t e m in the efficient o p e r a t i o n of w h i c h m o s t of y o u h a v e a close interest. L a s t y e a r L . C . sold, f o r $ 6 3 5 , 0 0 0 , the i m m e n s e q u a n t i t y of 1 9 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 p r i n t e d cards, each of w h i c h represented w o r k in c a t a l o g i n g and classification a m o u n t i n g t o f r o m $ 2 to $ 5 . ( I l e a v e y o u to c a l c u l a t e the p o t e n t i a l v a l u e of these 1 9 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 c a r d s to their p u r c h a s e r s . ) T h e receipts of $ 6 3 5 , 0 0 0 a c t u a l l y m o r e t h a n r e i m b u r s e d to the U . S . T r e a s u r y the cost of the o v e r r u n and of d i s t r i b u t i o n . I n a n t i c i p a t i o n of a still g r e a t e r d e m a n d f o r the cards d u r i n g the present years w e requested a " c u s h i o n " of w o r k i n g c a p i t a l , w h i c h w o u l d n o t be used unless needed, a n d w h i c h — i f u s e d — w o u l d be s i m i l a r l y reimbursed t h r o u g h sales. T h e cushion w a s not a p p r o p r i a t e d . A s t h i n g s s t a n d , sales are r u n n i n g 3 7 per c e n t o v e r last y e a r , b u t , f o r l a c k of this cushion, w e h a v e f a l l e n t w o w e e k s b e h i n d in the e x e c u t i o n of c a r d orders, a n d w i l l p r o b a b l y f a l l e v e n f u r t h e r b e h i n d as the y e a r progresses. C a u s e and e f f e c t are v e r y e v i d e n t in this o p e r a t i o n ; b u t t h e y w o r k j u s t the same w a y in all the u n d e r l y i n g operations of c a t a l o g - i n g , m a i n t e n a n c e of classification schedules, and f o r m a t i o n of c o l l e c t i o n s ; and if c a r d d i s t r i b u t i o n is of interest and of c o m m u n i t y i m p o r t a n c e , so are t h e y . T h r e e presidents of the U n i t e d S t a t e s h a v e f e l t the position of the L i b r a r y of C o n - gress in the n a t i o n a l e c o n o m y of sufficient m o m e n t to j u s t i f y m e n t i o n of it in a n n u a l message to C o n g r e s s . I h a v e a l r e a d y q u o t e d f r o m P r e s i d e n t H a y e s . L e t m e q u o t e f r o m P r e s i d e n t T h e o d o r e R o o s e v e l t ' s message of D e c . 3, 1 9 0 1 . There are now over five thousand libraries in the United States, the product of [the past 50 years]. In addition to accumulating ma- terial, they are also striving by organization, by improvement in method, and by co-opera- tion, to give greater efficiency to the material they hold, to make it more widely useful, and by avoidance of unnecessary duplication in process to reduce the costs of its administra- tion. In these efforts they naturally look for as- sistance to the Federal library, which though still the Library of Congress, and so entitled, is the one national library of the United States. . . . This library has a unique op- portunity to render to the libraries of this country—to American scholarship—service of the highest importance. Resources are now being provided which will develop the collec- tion properly, equip it with the apparatus and service necessary to its effective use, render its bibliographic work widely available, and enable it to become, not merely a center of research, but the chief factor in great co- operative efforts for the diffusion of knowl- edge and the advancement of learning. T o be " t h e chief f a c t o r in g r e a t coopera- t i v e e f f o r t s . " T h a t m i g h t w e l l be the a m b i t i o n of a n y i n s t i t u t i o n ! B u t , in this phrase I w o u l d u n d e r l i n e the w o r d " c o - o p e r a t i v e . " APRIL, 1948 125