College and Research Libraries By MARGARET R. l\tiEYER Local History Materials 1n One College Library Miss Meyer is librarian, Russell Sage College. A COGENT PLEA for the signifi.ance of local history materials for the small college library carne a few years ago from the librarian of Beloit College .1 Mr. Paine2 underscored the library's obligation, as a de- partment in a tax-fee institution, to join with certain existing neighboring agenci.es as the pubJic library and hist9rical society in acquiring, preserving and making acces- sible records of local history. A program planned to avoid overlapping effort among the cooperating institutions was recom- mended as highly advisable. Possible re- wards were suggested in a widening com- munity interest in the college library, and in enriched instruction through the use of original sources for students' independent investigations. At Russell Sage College Library, Troy, N.Y., varied factors have contributed to the possession of a small, not infrequently used collection of books, newspapers, manuscripts, scrapbooks and other items pertaining to the history of Troy and its outlying districts. A vivid and colorful industrial past has truly existed in this city, which has been continuously casting church bells since 1808. It is said to have made the first tower clocks, surveying instruments and detachable col- lars produced in this country, and its foundries in 1861 supplied armor bars and . 1 Paine! Clarence S: "¥aterials ~f State and Lo cal H:stor~ 1n College L1branes." College and Research L1branes, 7.:41-4, January 19.46. 2 Mr. ~ame, fo:merl.Y librarian of Beloit (Wis.) College, IS now hbranan of the Carnegie Library Oklahoma City. ' OCTOBER, 1949 rivets for the sensational ironclad "Mon- itor." In the Civil War period, Titus Eddy, and later his son James, made in- delible ink out of soot drawn from burning resin and beef bones, using a secret formula of the father's invention. The currency and stamps used by the United States Government were, for more than 40 years, printed with this special ink made after the weekly burning in the small brick furnace on the family estate overlooking the Hud~ son . Prosperous business · areas quickly de- veloped intellectual and social interests. Emma Willard, pioneer educator, in 1817 established her widely esteemed Troy . Fe- male Seminary on the grounds now occupied by Russell Sage College. Years later Madame Willard, writing of her town, said: "And although in my travels I have 'for several virtues liked several' places, yet I have seen none for which I would wish to exchange Troy, as a place of residence." 3 As early as 1838 the Troy Academy of Music was founded, so reads an early announcement, "to act as a musical agent for the people." Handsome theaters and opera houses attracted famous theatrical and musical stars, and many productions, later to be New York successes, were launched as up-state try-out performances on their stages. Since 1891 only one lengthy history of Troy has been written. In the interven- ing time' the town has passed the peak of 3 Goddard, Abba H . The Trojan Sketch Book. Troy, .Y .. Young and Hartt, 1846, p. 162. 449 its prosperity, families identified with its industries have scattered, and in conse- quence, their homes have been dismantled. Inevitably a wealth of historical evidence has come to light, much of which rightly should remain in the town and county. The local historical society, lacking an official staff, and until very recently with- . out prospect of headquarters, has long been forced to depend upon the public library to house its acquisitions. However, a hard- pressed public library, while recognizing and assuming such an obligation, cannot per- form a dual function of this type without adequate personnel. An inescapable result has been the inclusion of the college library in a somewhat undefined cooperative at- tempt to preserve community historical records. The scheme has been reinforced sub- stantially by a thriving Friends of the Russell Sage Library, whose members, recognizing the college as a possible re- pository, have opportunely rescued valuable books, papers and memorabilia from de- struction and sent them to its library. A few of the group have become zealous scouts in hunting out unrecognized treasures abandoned to attic oblivion. The various gifts received, and the uses to which they have been put, are evidence that Mr. Paine's point is well taken. Rus- sell Sage College Library now houses, among other valuable possessions, files be- longing to a lumber company which oper- ated between 1888 and 1927; ·a manuscript history of the second oldest drug house in the country, established in I 787; and three cartons contain the papers of a firm nation- ally famous for its furnaces, stoves and heaters. Heirs of the inventor of the secret ink formula have contributed a fascinating collection of advertising materials, orders and elaborate bill heads used in tlie family business. Emma Willard is represented by some 30 letters and papers inaccessible to research workers until the college acquired them. There are old deeds for real estate and other indentures. A local newspaper gives a realistic account of John Brown's last hours and execution. Publishing is reflected in magazines, almanacs and "sketch books" carrying Troy imprints, a sample being the Columbian Orator: Con- taining. . . Pieces Togeth er with Rules Calculated to Improve Youth . .. in the Ornamental and Useful Art of Eloquence. Playbills and vocal society concert programs testify to musical tastes. It should be parenthetically stated that some of the gifts have not been outright donations. They have been in the nature of deposits which will be turned over to the historical society when they can be cared for adequately. But the mere temporary possession of such documents lias obvious benefits to a college library of slightly over 50,000 volumes. Its book stock, although in a healthy state of constant growth, is not particularly strong in source items which best supply the needs of students working on individual investigations. It has been successive groups of senior history majors who, working under careful guidance in their seminars, have made intel- ligent and practical use of the materials at hand. Seminar papers required for gradua- tion have, in a number of cases, been based primarily on historical documents owned by the college library. The results now stand on the library shelves and are often con- sulted, not only by students of the college, but by townspeople sensitive to the rich historical background of their city. Phases of political, economic and social history in Troy, hitherto unexplored in any detail , have been investigated. A study of travel- ing theatrical companies playing the town between 1892 and 1895, together with their productions, has been titled The State, an Echo of the Public Voice. Edward Murphy, Jr., United States senator and 450 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES vigorous boss of the local Democratic machine for over twenty years, is the sub- ject of one paper, and General John Ellis Wool, vivid soldier of Mexican and Civil War fame, the hero of another. Industrial Troy between 1850 and the Panic of 1873 is represented by a study of its once flourish- ing indu tries-the bell foundries, iron works, collar, cuff and shirt factories, stove works and surveying instrument plants. Troy newspapers have been analyzed and evaluated through their handling of Mex- ican War news. It is no enthusiastic over- statement of fact to say that a number of these studies would pass as adequate masters ' theses, and that their contents will be highly useful to any future historian of Troy. A glance back at the paragraphs describ- ing the assortment of treasures already acquired by the college library, will show that many of them are still to be studied . Past and present conditions point to com- plete justification of the library's participa- tion in any attempt to save and make avail- able certain historical records. It is un- deniably true, as Mr. Paine predicted, that an enriched teaching of history has stimu- lated a student interest in the community which might not have risen otherwise. Friends of the college, with a feeling of confidence that gifts of historical papers will be used to advantage, have been en- couraged to increase their contributions. In one case at least, a friend of the library has become a benefactor of the college in a most gratifying and substantial form. A new history of Troy is yet to be written. In Russell Sage College Library original sources await some future historian. American Theological Library Association Holds Third Annual Conference Approximately 50 theological librarians gathered on the campus of Chicago Theological Seminary June 20 and 21 for a constructive conference centering upon specific library problems as they are met in the libraries of our Protestant theological seminaries. Major topics of the conference were the following: Micro-Photography in Essential Library Materials; Exchange of Duplicate Religious Periodicals; Denominational Bibliography; Re- ligious Periodical Indexing; A Master List of Research Studies in Religion; Library Build- ings and Equipment; Recruitment and Training of Library Personnel; The Library and the Seminary Curriculum; and Library Extension Services. The program was made up of papers by specialists both within and beyond the profession. There were also presented reports by project committees which have been at work over the past yea r. A number of new project committees will be at work for the year ahead . Officers elected for 1949-5 0 are: President, J annette Newhall, librarian, Boston University School of Theology; vice president , Kenneth S. Gapp , librarian , Princeton Theological Semi- nary; secretary, Robert F. Beach, librarian, Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Ill.; and treasurer, E. F. George, librarian , Evangelical Theological Seminary, Naperville. Detailed proceedings of the conference have been published and are being widely distributed. Copies are available upon request to the secretary above. Inquiries concerning the nature and wo rk of the program may be directed to the secretary as well. OCTOBER~ 1949 451