College and Research Libraries B y G U Y R . L Y L E Counting Library Holdings Mr. Lyle is director, Louisiana State University Libraries. I HAVE b e e n a s k e d b y t h e e x e c u t i v e s e c r e -t a r y of t h e A s s o c i a t i o n of R e s e a r c h L i - b r a r i e s a n d t h e e d i t o r of College and Re- search Libraries t o w r i t e a s h o r t a r t i c l e o n t h e r e c e n t l y i s s u e d r e p o r t of t h e A . R . L . C o m m i t t e e o n t h e C o u n t of L i b r a r y H o l d - i n g s . H a v i n g b e e n m y s e l f a m e m b e r of t h e c o m m i t t e e , m y r e m a r k s c a n h a r d l y be ex- p e c t e d t o be of a c r i t i c a l n a t u r e . P e r h a p s w h a t I c a n m o s t u s e f u l l y d o is t o i n d i c a t e t h e m a i n s t e p s w h i c h l e d u p t o t h e r e c o m - m e n d a t i o n s in f a v o r of c o u n t i n g b y p h y s i c a l v o l u m e a n d t o r e p r i n t t h e d i r e c t i o n s f o r m a k i n g s u c h a c o u n t as f o r m u l a t e d by t h e c o m m i t t e e . F o r t h e d e t a i l s , t h e r e a d e r is r e f e r r e d t o t h e r e p o r t itself of w h i c h t h e w r i t e r h a s a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of c o p i e s f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n . T h e m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g by b i b l i o g r a p h i - c a l u n i t is d e s c r i b e d in d e t a i l b y R o b e r t B . D o w n s in his a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d " U n i f o r m S t a t i s t i c s f o r L i b r a r y H o l d i n g s , " p u b l i s h e d in t h e Library Quarterly f o r J a n u a r y 1 9 4 6 . T h a t t h e m e t h o d w h i c h M r . D o w n s a d - v o c a t e s w i l l p r o v i d e s t a t i s t i c s (if t h e r e c o r d is a c c u r a t e l y a n d e x p e r t l y k e p t ) t h a t a r e m o r e r e l i a b l e f o r c o m p a r a t i v e p u r p o s e s t h a n t h o s e b a s e d o n o t h e r m e t h o d s of c o u n t i n g c a n h a r d l y be q u e s t i o n e d ; t h e d a n g e r lies in t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e r e is a m e t h o d , o r any m e t h o d , of c o u n t i n g w h i c h w i l l m a k e f o r u n i f o r m i t y i n s t a t i s t i c s of l i b r a r i e s be- y o n d a c e r t a i n s i z e . I n v i e w of t h e v a r i a - t i o n s in l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p r o c e d u r e s a n d i n v i e w of t h e c o m p l e x i t y of m a t e r i a l s r e c e i v e d b y u n i v e r s i t y a n d l a r g e r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s , i t s e e m s p r o b a b l e t h a t n o c o n c e p t of u n i f o r m i t y in c o u n t i n g c o u l d be m o r e t h a n a n i d e a l . 1 I f t h i s is a c o r r e c t a s s u m p - t i o n t h e n it is a n o p e n q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l u n i t m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g h a s a d v a n t a g e s o v e r p r e s e n t m e t h o d s . M o s t l i b r a r i e s a r e n o w c o m m i t t e d t o a c o u n t by p h y s i c a l v o l u m e . If a c h a n g e w e r e m a d e t o b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l u n i t , a r e t r o a c t i v e c o u n t w o u l d be n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e s e l i b r a r i e s a n d t h i s w o u l d be b u r d e n s o m e a n d e x p e n s i v e . S e c o n d l y , t h e m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g by b i b l i o - g r a p h i c a l u n i t is m u c h m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d a n d m o r e f r e q u e n t l y c a l l s f o r d e c i s i o n s by p r o f e s s i o n a l p e r s o n n e l t h a n e i t h e r a p h y s i c a l v o l u m e o r piece c o u n t . T h e s e t h i n g s , a m o n g o t h e r s , w e r e a p p a r - e n t t o t h e s e c o n d A . R . L . C o m m i t t e e o n t h e C o u n t of L i b r a r y H o l d i n g s 2 w h i c h w a s a p p o i n t e d a t t h e J a n u a r y 1 9 4 8 A . k . L . m e e t i n g o n t h e m o t i o n of R o b e r t D o w n s . T h e n e w c o m m i t t e e ' s r e p o r t , filed o n J a n . 13, 1 9 4 9 , 3 o f f e r e d a brief r e s u m e of e a r l i e r s t u d i e s a n d p o i n t e d o u t t h e o b v i o u s b u t a p p a r e n t l y o v e r l o o k e d f a c t t h a t n o a d e q u a t e m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g by p h y s i c a l v o l u m e h a d e v e r b e e n f o r m u l a t e d . T o c o r r e c t t h i s s i t u a t i o n t h e c o m m i t t e e p r e p a r e d a s t a t e - m e n t of t h e m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g b y p h y s i c a l v o l u m e ( s e e A p p e n d i x I ) . 4 A f t e r c a r e f u l s t u d y of b o t h s y s t e m s it r e c o m m e n d e d i t s p r e f e r e n c e f o r t h e p h y s i c a l c o u n t b e c a u s e 1 Mr. Downs would appear to have reached this same conclusion. T h e minutes of the A . R . L . meeting of Mar. 3, 1949 report: " M r . Downs, chairman of the earlier Committee on Statistics, said that he had once thought uniformity possible, but that he had now be- come disillusioned on this s u b j e c t . " 2 Benjamin E. Powell, Jack Dalton, Rudolf Hirsch, Richard Logsdon and Guy R. Lyle. 3 Minutes of the 32nd meeting of the A . R . L . , Jan. 20, 1949, Appendix I V , p. 52'if. 4 Appendices I and I I appear at the end of this report. JANUARY, 1950 * 69 of i t s w i d e s p r e a d u s e , s i m p l i c i t y a n d i n e x - p e n s i v e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . > S i n c e t h e r a t i o b e t w e e n t h e n u m b e r of p h y s i c a l v o l u m e s a n d t h e n u m b e r of t i t l e s i n a l i b r a r y is t o s o m e e x t e n t i n d i c a t i v e of t h e r e s e a r c h c h a r - a c t e r of a l i b r a r y , t h e c o m m i t t e e r e c o m - m e n d e d t h a t u n i v e r s i t y a n d l a r g e r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s s h o u l d a l s o k e e p a c o u n t of ac- q u i s i t i o n s b y t i t l e . I n p r e p a r i n g i t s r e p o r t t h e c o m m i t t e e b o r r o w e d h e a v i l y f r o m t h e w o r k of t h e e a r l i e r A . R . L . C o m m i t t e e h e a d e d b y M r . D o w n s . S o m e of t h e s p e c i f i c i n s t r u c t i o n s w o r k e d o u t b y t h e D o w n s ' c o m m i t t e e w e r e i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e s t a t e m e n t o n c o u n t i n g by p h y s i c a l v o l u m e w h i c h is a p p e n d e d . T h e c h a i r m a n of t h e A . C . R . L . C o m m i t t e e o n S t a t i s t i c s a n d t h e C h i e f of t h e L i b r a r y S e r v i c e D i v i s i o n w e r e i n v i t e d t o c r i t i c i z e t h e r e p o r t a n d p o r t i o n s of t h e i r l e t t e r s a r e r e p r o d u c e d i n A p p e n d i x I I . A t t h e M a r c h 1 9 4 9 m e e t i n g of t h e A . R . L . a v o t e w a s t a k e n o n t h e t w o m e t h o d s of c o u n t i n g w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t 12 m e m b e r s f a v o r e d c o u n t - i n g b y b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l u n i t a n d 2 9 b y p h y s i - c a l v o l u m e . O n t h e basis of t h i s v o t e a n d t h e d i s c u s s i o n w h i c h f o l l o w e d , i t s e e m s p r o b a b l e t h a t a f e w l a r g e l i b r a r i e s w i l l c o n - t i n u e t o c o u n t t h e i r h o l d i n g s a n d c u r r e n t a c q u i s i t i o n s as t h e y h a v e a l w a y s d o n e , a l - t h o u g h a c l e a r - c u t m a j o r i t y a p p e a r t o f a v o r t h e m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g b y p h y s i c a l v o l u m e . T h o s e w h o c o u n t by p h y s i c a l v o l u m e s h o u l d u s e a s a g u i d e t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r c o u n t i n g set f o r t h i n A p p e n d i x I , t h o s e w h o c o u n t b y b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l u n i t s h o u l d f o l l o w t h e i n - s t r u c t i o n s s e t f o r t h b y M r . D o w n s in t h e a r t i c l e p r e v i o u s l y n o t e d . I n r e p o r t i n g s t a - t i s t i c s , e a c h l i b r a r y s h o u l d d e s i g n a t e w h i c h m e t h o d it f o l l o w s . A l t h o u g h t h e c o m m i t t e e h a s b e e n dis- c h a r g e d , i t is m y f e e l i n g ( a n d , h e r e , I c a n - n o t s p e a k f o r t h e C o m m i t t e e ) t h a t t h e m e t h o d of c o u n t i n g by p h y s i c a l v o l u m e w i l l c o n t i n u e t o be w i d e l y u s e d in t h i s c o u n t r y a n d t h a t a n e f f o r t s h o u l d b e m a d e t o i m - p r o v e a n d s t a n d a r d i z e t h e c o m m i t t e e ' s s t a t e - m e n t . T h u s , i n t h e i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e , I a m m o r e e a g e r t h a n e v e r f o r i d e a s a n d c r i t i - c i s m s b y l e t t e r of t h e m e t h o d o u t l i n e d i n A p p e n d i x I . C r i t i c i s m s h o u l d b e specific a n d , w h e n p o s s i b l e , a c c o m p a n i e d b y c a r e f u l - l y w o r d e d s u b s t i t u t e p r o v i s i o n s f o r t h e sec- t i o n s w h e r e it is f e l t t h a t r e v i s i o n is n e e d e d . Appendix I Outline of a Method of Counting by Physical Volume Definition of a Volume A v o l u m e is defined as any p r i n t e d o r o t h e r w i s e r e p r o d u c e d w o r k , b o u n d b e t w e e n t w o covers o r s u i t a b l e f o r being so b o u n d . What to Count O n l y m a t e r i a l s i n t e n d e d t o f o r m p a r t of the l i b r a r y ' s p e r m a n e n t collection s h o u l d be in- c l u d e d . T e m p o r a r y g r o u p s of m a t e r i a l and o t h e r e p h e m e r a s h o u l d be e x c l u d e d . A l l v o l u m e s c a t a l o g e d o r m a d e f u l l y a v a i l - able f o r use a n d i n t e n d e d f o r p e r m a n e n t a d - dition t o t h e collection should be included in t h e c o u n t . T h u s all m a t e r i a l w h i c h c a n be r e a d i l y identified a n d l o c a t e d f o r use by c a t a - loging, classification, finding-lists, checked b i b l i o g r a p h y , o r a c o m b i n a t i o n of t h e s e m e t h o d s , w o u l d be c o u n t e d , e x c e p t such e p h e m e r a as n o t e d above. How and What to Count in the Total Vol- ume Count 1. C o u n t each v o l u m e as one. 2. W h e n t w o o r m o r e v o l u m e s a r e b o u n d t o g e t h e r , c o u n t t h e r e s u l t i n g u n i t as one. F o r e x a m p l e , t w o , five, o r a d o z e n p a m p h l e t s b o u n d t o g e t h e r b e t w e e n c o v e r s w o u l d c o u n t as one v o l u m e . 70 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3-5 S e r i a l s s h o u l d not be c o u n t e d u n t i l t h e y a r e b o u n d in r e g u l a r l i b r a r y binding o r p r e - p a r e d f o r u s e by tying p a r t s b e t w e e n b o a r d covers, placing p a r t s in p a m p h l e t boxes, etc. C o u n t t h e l a t t e r in v o l u m e s as y o u w o u l d if they w e r e b o u n d in r e g u l a r l i b r a r y binding. S e r i a l s a w a i t i n g r e g u l a r l i b r a r y b i n d i n g (e.g., l a t e s t v o l u m e of Atlantic o r an o l d e r v o l u m e a w a i t i n g c o m p l e t i o n b e f o r e b i n d i n g ) should n o t be c o u n t e d . A s e r i a l is defined as a " p u b l i c a t i o n issued in successive p a r t s , u s u a l l y a t r e g u l a r i n t e r - vals, and, as a r u l e , i n t e n d e d t o be c o n t i n u e d i n d e f i n i t e l y . " — A . L . A . 4. F o r c o m p a r i s o n s of s u b j e c t holdings, s t a t i s t i c s of v o l u m e s shelved in p r o f e s s i o n a l school l i b r a r i e s , e.g., l a w , e n g i n e e r i n g , m e d i - cine, a g r i c u l t u r e , business and j o u r n a l i s m , etc., s h o u l d be issued s e p a r a t e l y , as w e l l as be in- c l u d e d in t h e t o t a l v o l u m e c o u n t . 5. A l l l i b r a r i e s officially a p a r t of an insti- t u t i o n s h o u l d be included in its s t a t i s t i c s of holdings, r e g a r d l e s s of location o r a d m i n i s - t r a t i v e c o n t r o l . How and What to Count as a Separate Sta- tistic S e p a r a t e s t a t i s t i c s s h o u l d be m a i n t a i n e d f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g types of m a t e r i a l and t h e s e s t a - tistics should not be included in the total vol- ume count except in instances w h i c h a r c n o t e d b e l o w in p a r e n t h e s e s : a. Manuscripts. C o u n t by i n d i v i d u a l i t e m . 5 A l t e r n a t e to 3. D o not report the count of serials until they are bound in regular library binding. A serial is defined as a "publication issued in successive parts, usually at regular intervals, and, as a rule, in- tended to be continued i n d e f i n i t e l y . " — A . L . A . Excep- tion: U n b o u n d newspapers, intended for permanent keeping, shall be counted arbitrarily as 12' v o l u m e s a y e a r for dailies and two volumes a year f o r weeklies. A m a n u s c r i p t is defined as t h e s m a l l e s t inde- p e n d e n t , s e l f - c o n t a i n e d u n i t in a collection. T h i s m a y be a v o l u m e such as a l e d g e r , s c r a p - book, o r a l e t t e r p r e s s copy b o o k ; a n i n d i v i d u a l l e t t e r o r one sheet o r a d o z e n sheets, etc. T h e physical c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e m a n u s c r i p t de- cides w h e t h e r it is one item or s e v e r a l items. b. Micro-reproductions. C o u n t m i c r o f i l m by reel, s t r i p o r o t h e r physical f o r m . C o u n t p h o t o s t a t s a n d p h o t o p r i n t s by piece. ( I f t h e l a t t e r a r e b o u n d in a v o l u m e o r v o l u m e s , c o u n t by v o l u m e and include in t h e t o t a l v o l u m e c o u n t . ) c. Slides. C o u n t i n d i v i d u a l l y . d. Maps. C o u n t u n b o u n d m a p s i n d i v i d u - ally. ( C o u n t a t l a s e s and o t h e r b o u n d collec- tions of m a p s by v o l u m e a n d include in t h e t o t a l v o l u m e c o u n t . ) e. Motion picture film. C o u n t by reel. f . Sound recordings. C o u n t by physical u n i t , e.g., cylinder, s i n g l e - f a c e d r e c o r d , d o u b l e - f a c e d r e c o r d , o r spool of w i r e . g. Prints. W o o d c u t s , l i t h o g r a p h s , e n g r a v - ings, etc. C o u n t i n d i v i d u a l l y . ( I f p r i n t s come in a p o r t f o l i o , w i t h t i t l e page, c o u n t each p o r t - f o l i o as a v o l u m £ and include in t h e t o t a l v o l - u m e c o u n t . ) h. Music. C o u n t by v o l u m e w i t h exception t h a t a s c o r e — a specific c o m p o s i t i o n — w i t h m u l t i p l e playing p a r t s s h o u l d be c o u n t e d as one v o l u m e r e g a r d l e s s of h o w it is k e p t . C o u n t i n s t r u c t i o n a n d m e t h o d books as o t h e r books and include in t h e t o t a l v o l u m e c o u n t . ) i. Broadsides and posters. C o u n t i n d i v i d u - ally. j . Other special categories of library ma- terials, e.g., a r c h i t e c t u r a l d r a w i n g s . C o u n t in- d i v i d u a l l y . Appendix II Excerpts from Letters From Ralph M. Dunbar, Chief, Service to Libraries, Office of Education, Feb. 17, 1949: 1. W i l l n o t t h e p h r a s e " s u i t a b l e f o r being so b o u n d " in t h e D e f i n i t i o n need s o m e m o d i - fication if " a l t e r n a t e 3 " is a c c e p t e d ? F o r ex- ample, s e r i a l s tied u p in b o a r d covers could c e r t a i n l y be c o n s i d e r e d as being s u i t a b l e f o r binding, a n d hence by definition a " v o l u m e . " I s u p p o s e t h a t y o u r " a l t e r n a t e 3 " simply e l i m - i n a t e s s e r i a l v o l u m e s in this c o n d i t i o n f r o m being c o u n t e d . T h e o r i g i n a l definition m a y lead to c o n f u s i o n n e v e r t h e l e s s . 2. C a n s o m e c o m p r o m i s e be r e a c h e d be- t w e e n " 3 " and " a l t e r n a t e 3 " of A p p e n d i x I ? O r i g i n a l 3 seems t o o loose and t h e a l t e r n a t e t o o rigid. F o r e x a m p l e , s e r i a l s placed loosely in p a m p h l e t boxes a r e c e r t a i n l y liable to loss and d a m a g e and hence a r e r a t h e r n o n p e r m a - n e n t in condition. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , it is pos- sible t h a t s e r i a l s m a y be t o o f r a g i l e o r o t h e r - JANUARY, 1950 * 71 wise u n s u i t a b l e f o r binding, y e t a r e a m p l y p r o t e c t e d in c o n t a i n e r s w h i c h h a v e t a p e s o r o t h e r f o r m s of f a s t e n e r s . 3. T h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n ( A p p e n d i x I , N o . 5) t h a t t h e h o l d i n g s of all l i b r a r i e s officially a p a r t of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n be included in t h e t o t a l v o l u m e c o u n t is a good one, b u t s o m e provision s h o u l d be m a d e f o r d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g such l i b r a r i e s w h e n they h a v e t h e i r o w n b u d g - ets and t h e i r o w n s t a f f s , s e p a r a t e and d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e g e n e r a l u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r y . O t h e r - wise, u n i v e r s i t y a d m i n i s t r a t o r s w i l l n o t h a v e a c o m p a r a b l e basis f o r e s t i m a t i n g e x p e n d i t u r e r a t i o , p e r s t u d e n t figures, etc. 4. I n the m a t t e r of t h e definitions in A p - p e n d i x I , w e w o n d e r if t h e " o n e sheet or a d o z e n s h e e t s " p a r t of ( a ) m a n u s c r i p t s could be s h a r p e n e d up s o m e w h a t . T h e a r c h i v i s t m a y k n o w h o w to i n t e r p r e t this p a r t , b u t t h e l a y m a n m a y be p u z z l e d by it. ( e ) Motion picture film. O u r V i s u a l E d u c a t i o n Section q u e s t i o n s t h e use of " r e e l " as a s a t i s f a c t o r y u n i t f o r c o u n t i n g . T h e specialists s u g g e s t a c o u n t i n g by " p r i n t s " b e c a u s e " r e e l " is n o t a definite m e a s u r e . T h e y s u g g e s t t h a t e v e n t u - ally l i b r a r i a n s m a y w i s h to b r e a k d o w n t h e i r film holdings b y : 8 m m , 16mm, a n d 3 5 m m . F o r t h e physical aspects involved in s t o r a g e , t h e i n f l a m m a b l e a n d t h e n o n i n f l a m m a b l e c h a r a c t e r of t h e films is i m p o r t a n t , a l t h o u g h it m a y n o t be so f o r t h e r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i a n . O u r v i s u a l e d u c a t i o n specialists also ask w h y " f i l m s t r i p s " a r e n o t specified f o r a c o u n t , as' they f o r m as i m p o r t a n t a m e d i u m as " s l i d e s . " A s you p r o b a b l y k n o w , " f i l m s t r i p " is t h e t e r m n o w being s t a n d a r d i z e d by t h e t r a d e a n d includes s t r i p films and film slides, n o r m a l l y 011 3 5 m m film, a n d five f e e t in l e n g t h . From G. Flint Purdy, Chairman, A.C.R.L. Committee on Statistics, Feb. 26, 1949: . . . T h e m e t h o d p r o p o s e d in A p p e n d i x I seems to m e to be a b o u t as f a r as w e can go a t t h e m o m e n t in e s t a b l i s h i n g a s t a n d a r d and p r a c t i c a b l e m e a n s of m e a s u r i n g the c o n t e n t s of l i b r a r i e s . M y p e r s o n a l p r e f e r e n c e is f o r I t e m 3 as a p p r o v e d by t h e m a j o r i t y of y o u r C o m m i t t e e , r a t h e r t h a n f o r t h e a l t e r n a t i v e s u g g e s t i o n . W e a c t u a l l y bind all p e r i o d i c a l s w h i c h w e keep, b u t if w e k e p t t h e m in p a m - p h l e t boxes, f o r e x a m p l e , they w o u l d still con- s t i t u t e a p a r t of o u r l i b r a r y r e s o u r c e s and w o u l d be a v a i l a b l e t h r o u g h p e r i o d i c a l indexes a n d a b s t r a c t i n g j o u r n a l s . I s h o u l d like to see t h e s u g g e s t e d m e a s u r e - m e n t of m i c r o f i l m r e s o u r c e s r e f i n e d s o m e - w h a t . W h y could this n o t be d o n e by u s i n g f e e t o r f r a m e s as t h e u n i t r a t h e r t h a n pieces? I find t h e p r o p o s a l w i t h respect to c o u n t i n g m u s i c s o m e w h a t a m b i g u o u s , t h o u g h I h a v e no d o u b t t h a t those m o r e f a m i l i a r w i t h m u s i c l i t e r a t u r e w o u l d n o t . . . . T h e r e r e m a i n s some d o u b t , h o w e v e r , c o n c e r n i n g t h e d e s i r a b i l i t y of a t t e m p t i n g to d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n m a t e r i a l s " i n t e n d e d to f o r m p a r t of the l i b r a r y ' s p e r m a n e n t collec- t i o n " and those n o t so i n t e n d e d . W h a t is w r o n g w i t h c o u n t i n g t h e m w h e n a d d e d and d e d u c t i n g t h e m w h e n w i t h d r a w n ? T h i s ob- v i a t e s t h e necessity of a c r y s t a l ball in p r e - dicting w h a t is to be p e r m a n e n t , a n d also simplifies t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s to those d o i n g t h e a c t u a l c o u n t i n g . 72 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES