College and Research Libraries B y W I L L I A M R . L A N S B E R G Current Trends in the College Reserve Room Dr. Lansberg is a member of the staff of the H. W. Wilson Company. THE PROBLEM of t h e r e s e r v e r o o m is e s s e n t i a l l y a n e d u c a t i o n a l o n e . T h e p r o c e d u r e s w h i c h a r e f o l l o w e d a t e a c h c o l - l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y a r e d e t e r m i n e d l a r g e l y by t h e s i z e of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n , i t s e d u c a t i o n a l p o l i c y , a n d t h e d e g r e e of l i b r a r y - f a c u l t y c o - o p e r a t i o n . N o s o l u t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m c o u l d o r s h o u l d be m a d e in a v a c u u m — t h a t is t o s a y , t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r , t h e t e a c h e r a n d t h e l i b r a r i a n s h o u l d w o r k t o g e t h e r t o e v o l v e a p r o g r a m w h i c h w i l l b e s a t i s f a c t o r y t o a l l . B o t h l i b r a r i a n s a n d t e a c h e r s h a v e l o n g e x p r e s s e d d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h t h e r e s e r v e b o o k s y s t e m . O n e of t h e m o s t o u t s p o k e n c r i t i c s of t h e r e a d i n g h a b i t s of t h e A m e r i c a n u n d e r g r a d u a t e a n d of " r e q u i r e d r e a d i n g " i n p a r t i c u l a r w a s W i l h e l m M u n t h e . 1 T w o c o l l e g e p r e s i d e n t s , H e n r y M . W r i s t o n 2 of B r o w n U n i v e r s i t y a n d C a r t e r D a v i d s o n of K n o x C o l l e g e , h a v e e c h o e d t h e v i e w s of t h e v i s i t o r f r o m O s l o . D r . D a v i d s o n s u m - m a r i z e s t h e s i t u a t i o n a s f o l l o w s : S o m e t e a c h e r s , h o w e v e r , find t h e t e x t b o o k insufficient o r i m p o s s i b l e a n d s u p p l e m e n t o r r e p l a c e it w i t h s e v e r a l t e x t s a n d a f e w s o u r c e b o o k s k e p t on a " r e s e r v e s h e l f " b e h i n d t h e c i r c u l a t i o n d e s k . H e r e t h e s t u d e n t finds a c h a p t e r a s s i g n e d in e a c h v o l u m e a n d r e a d s it u n d e r t h e p r e s s u r e of t i m e a n d c o n f u s i o n in t h e s o - c a l l e d r e a d i n g r o o m . T h e u s u a l s t o r y of book u s e in t h i s p r o c e d u r e is t h a t 1 Munthe, Wilhelm. American Librarianship from a European Angle: An Attempt at an Evaluation of Poli- cies and Activities. Chicago, American L i b r a r y Associa- tion. 1939, p. 104-07. 2 Wriston, H. M. "College and U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r i e s . " In Danton. Emily M.. ed. The Library of Tomorrow: A Symposium, p. 146-47. Chicago, A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1939. each v o l u m e h a s a s c o r e of w e l l - t h u m b e d a n d d i r t y p a g e s , t h e r e s t of t h e b o o k r e m a i n - ing v i r g i n . T h i s is t h e f a v o r i t e m e t h o d of t h e social sciences. B u t t h e i n s t r u c t o r s m u s t n o t f o o l t h e m s e l v e s . R e p o r t s f r o m m y o w n l i b r a r i a n tell m e t h a t 16 p e r c e n t of all t h e b o o k s k e p t on r e s e r v e t h i s y e a r w e r e n o t u s e d a t all by s t u d e n t s a n d t h a t 51 p e r c e n t w e r e u s e d less t h a n five t i m e s in t h e y e a r . W h a t h a s been g a i n e d by k e e p i n g t h e s e b o o k s on r e s e r v e t o c o m p e n s a t e f o r t h e loss of t a k i n g t h e m f r o m t h e s t a c k s ? T h e r e s e r v e - s h e l f m e t h o d o f t e n r e q u i r e s t h e p u r c h a s e of s e v e r a l d u p l i c a t e copies of b o o k s o n l y p a r t l y u s e d . D r . M u n t h e p o i n t s o u t t h a t E u r o p e a n li- b r a r i e s w o u l d n e v e r m a k e s u c h p u r c h a s e s . 3 I n r e c e n t y e a r s , l i t t l e h a s b e e n w r i t t e n o n t h i s s u b j e c t . I m p o r t a n t s t u d i e s w h i c h h a v e b e e n d o n e i n c l u d e : a s y m p o s i u m o n p r o b l e m s a n d p r o c e d u r e s a t 1 8 u n i v e r s i t i e s , e d i t e d b y T h e o d o r e W . K o c h ; 4 a n e x c e l l e n t s t a t e - m e n t of t h e n e c e s s i t y of t h e r e s e r v e r o o m a n d m e t h o d s of m a k i n g i t e f f e c t i v e ; 5 a n d a s o m e w h a t m o r e r e c e n t t r e a t m e n t b y H a r v i e B r a n s c o m b , 6 w h o s e d u a l r o l e a s d i r e c t o r of l i b r a r i e s a n d p r o f e s s o r of e a r l y C h r i s t i a n l i t e r a t u r e a t D u k e U n i v e r s i t y e n a b l e d h i m t o c o n s i d e r b o t h s i d e s of t h e q u e s t i o n : T h e u n s a t i s f a c t o r i n e s s of t h e r e s e r v e d b o o k a r r a n g e m e n t s in m o s t c o l l e g e s is a g r e e d t o by s t u d e n t s , l i b r a r i a n s a n d i n s t r u c t o r s a l i k e . 3 Davidson, Carter. "Book Selection in a Liberal A r t s College." In Wilson, L . R., ed. The Practice of Book Selection, p. 243-44. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1940. sj 4 Koch, T . W . , ed. " A Symposium on the Reserve Book S y s t e m . " In Kuhlman, A . F., ed. College and University Library Service: Trends, Standards, Ap- praisal, Problems, p. 73-99. Chicago, A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1938. 5 Kuhlman, A. F. " H o w Reserve Book Collections 4Can Be Made E f f e c t i v e . " In his volume cited above, p. 100-06. 6 Branscomb, H a r v i e . Teaching with Books: A Study "of College Libraries, Chicago, Association of American Colleges, 1940, p. 57#., 118-31. 120 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES T h e brief p e r i o d s f o r w h i c h t h e b o o k s m a y be u s e d , t h e n e c e s s i t y f o r m a n y d u p l i c a t e s , t h e w a s t e i n v o l v e d w h e n r e a d i n g l i s t s a r e c h a n g e d , t h e l a r g e n u m b e r of v o l u m e s tied u p w h i c h a r e n o t u s e d , t h e c r o w d e d , noisy a n d r e s t l e s s c o n d i t i o n of t h e r e s e r v e d b o o k r e a d - ing r o o m , a n d t h e t e n d e n c y of s t u d e n t s n e v e r t o go beyond t h e b o o k s given this special h a n d l i n g , a r e all c a u s e s of c o m p l a i n t . 7 R e c e n t l i t e r a t u r e o n t h e s u b j e c t , f a r less i n c l u s i v e t h a n t h e s t u d i e s j u s t m e n t i o n e d , a r e : D e a n J o h n s o n ' s 8 a n a l y s i s of t h e l i b r a r y - i n s t r u c t i o n a l p r o g r a m a t S t e p h e n s C o l l e g e w h e r e r e s e r v e b o o k s a r e p l a c e d in d i v i s i o n a l a n d c l a s s r o o m l i b r a r i e s ; t h e i n t e r e s t i n g e x - p e r i m e n t of a c o l l e g e i n s t r u c t o r w h o e l i m i - n a t e d h i s l i s t s of r e s e r v e d b o o k s in a d v a n c e d h i s t o r y c o u r s e s , s u b s t i t u t i n g f o r t h e m b i b - l i o g r a p h i e s of b o o k s a v a i l a b l e in t h e s t a c k s o n t w o - w e e k l o a n ; 9 a n d , finally, M i s s R i d e - o u t ' s 1 0 r e p o r t o n c h a n g e s in p r o c e d u r e in t h e r e s e r v e r o o m of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of N e w H a m p s h i r e L i b r a r y . T h e p r e s e n t s t u d y is b a s e d o n a s u r v e y of 2 7 N e w E n g l a n d c o l l e g e l i b r a r i e s , w i t h five o t h e r s a d d e d f o r p u r p o s e s of c o m p a r i - s o n . T h e w r i t e r v i s i t e d o n e - t h i r d of t h e l i b r a r i e s s t u d i e d , o b t a i n i n g s t a t i s t i c a l i n - f o r m a t i o n a n d c o m m e n t s f r o m t h e r e - m a i n d e r b y c o r r e s p o n d e n c e . I n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e s t a t i s t i c s p r e s e n t e d as a p a r t of t h i s r e p o r t , i t is n e c e s s a r y t o k e e p i n m i n d s e v e r a l f a c t o r s w h i c h h a v e a d i r e c t b e a r i n g u p o n t h e figures l i s t e d : first, t h e s i z e of t h e c o l l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y ; s e c o n d , t h e t y p e of r e s e r v e b o o k s e r v i c e w h i c h is p r o v i d e d ; t h i r d , t h e d i f f e r i n g b a s e s u p o n w h i c h t h e s t a t i s t i c s a r e c o m p i l e d . I n v i e w of t h e s e c o n f l i c t i n g e l e m e n t s , w e h a v e n o t a t t e m p t e d t o c o m p u t e s t a t i s t i c a l a v e r a g e s f o r ''Ibid., p. 118. 8 Johnson, B . L . , ed. The Librarian and the Teacher in General Education: A Report of Library-Instructional Activities at Stephens College. Chicago, A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1948. p. 69. ^ 9 Sacks, B. A . " T h e College L i b r a r y and Collateral Reading L i s t s : T h e E x p e r i e n c e of an H i s t o r i a n . " College and Research Libraries 8:209-13, July 1947- 10 R i d e o u t , Jean D. " T h e U n i v e r s i t y of N e w Hamp- shire L i b r a r y H a s W o r k e d Out a R e s e r v e P l a n . " Library Journal 73:643-144, A p r i l 15, 1948. j APR1L, 1950 s t u d e n t e n r o l m e n t , b o o k s t o c k a n d c i r c u l a - t i o n . T h e v a l u e of s u c h c o m p u t a t i o n s is c e r t a i n l y o p e n t o q u e s t i o n ; m e t h o d s a t t e m p t - i n g t o e l i m i n a t e t h e a l l e g e d d i s a d v a n t a g e s of t h e r e s e r v e r o o m a r e f a r m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n m e r e s t a t i s t i c s . C o n s e q u e n t l y , t u r n i n g t o p r o c e d u r e s b e - i n g f o l l o w e d in c o l l e g e r e s e r v e r o o m s , w e find t h r e e s t a n d a r d m e t h o d s : ( i ) t h e closed- shelf s y s t e m ( 1 0 l i b r a r i e s — A m h e r s t , B a t e s , B e n n i n g t o n , U n i v e r s i t y of C o n n e c t i c u t , H o l y C r o s s , t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s of M a i n e a n d N e w H a m p s h i r e , N o r t h e a s t e r n , S k i d m o r e , a n d T r i n i t y ) , w h e r e b y a l l r e s e r v e b o o k s a r e k e p t b e h i n d a d e s k a n d a r e p a s s e d o u t o v e r t h e c o u n t e r . T h i s h a s t h e o b v i o u s d i s - a d v a n t a g e of p r e v e n t i n g t h e s t u d e n t f r o m b r o w s i n g a m o n g t h e 10, 2 0 o r m o r e b o o k s p l a c e d o n r e s e r v e b y h i s i n s t r u c t o r ; it is m o s t s u i t a b l e f o r a r e s e r v e r o o m c o l l e c t i o n c o n s i s t i n g c h i e f l y of v e r y h e a v i l y - u s e d b o o k s . I n m o s t c a s e s , l o a n s a r e l i m i t e d t o t w o h o u r s p l u s o v e r n i g h t u s e ; t w o l i b r a r i e s a l l o w t h r e e - d a y l o a n s : t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s of C o n - n e c t i c u t ( a t t h e r e q u e s t of t h e i n s t r u c t o r ) a n d N e w H a m p s h i r e . ( 2 ) T h e open-shelf s y s t e m ( f i v e l i b r a r i e s — B a r d , L a w r e n c e , O b e r l i n , Q u e e n s , a n d W e s l e y a n ) , in w h i c h a l l b o o k s a r e p l a c e d o n o p e n s h e l v e s a r o u n d t h e w a l l s of t h e r e s e r v e r o o m , e a s i l y a c c e s - s i b l e t o t h e s t u d e n t s . T h e l a t t e r t a k e b o o k s d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e s h e l v e s ; t h e r e f o r e , a s m a l l e r s t a f f is r e q u i r e d in t h e r e s e r v e r o o m . U n d e r t h i s m e t h o d , b o o k s u s u a l l y m a y be b o r r o w e d f o r a n y l e n g t h of t i m e w i t h i n t h e r o o m o r w i t h i n t h e b u i l d i n g ; t h e y a r e c h a r g e d o u t o n l y f o r o v e r n i g h t u s e ; l o n g e r l o a n s a r e m a d e in t w o c a s e s : O b e r l i n ( s e v e n - d a y ) a n d W e s l e y a n ( o n e - d a y a n d s e v e n - d a y ) . G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , t h e r e is n o s e r i o u s p r o b l e m of losses f r o m t h e r e - s e r v e r o o m u s i n g t h e o p e n - s h e l f s y s t e m j1 1 a c o u n t e r o r c h a r g i n g d e s k is m a i n t a i n e d 1 1 O r r , R . W . " A F e w A s p e c t s of C o l l e g e L i b r a r y S e r v i c e . " College and Research Libraries 8:340-41, July 1947. 121 E n r o l m e n t , Book S t o c k a n d C i r c u l a t i o n E n r o l m e n t 1 T o t a l Book Stock 2 T w o - w e e k C i r c u l a t i o n 3 R e s e r v e R o o m C i r c u l a t i o n 3 R e s e r v e R o o m Book Stock 4 A m h e r s t 1 , 2 0 0 f 2 7 0 , 0 0 0 ! 3 0 , 1 9 5 1 0 7 , 7 8 9 1 0 , 1 2 9 B a r d 3 0 0 I 6 0 , 0 0 0 f 2 2 , 6 6 5 1 3 , 7 0 8 2 , 6 4 6 B a t e s 850 8 0 , 0 0 0 f 3 7 , 5 6 5 5 5 , 3 7 6 B e n n i n g t o n 3 0 0 2 9 , 1 3 6 2 6 , 7 7 1 3 , 1 7 9 B o s t o n College 3 , 7 3 1 2 2 0 , 3 8 8 4 0 , 0 4 6 8 , o o o f 3 , 8 4 0 B o s t o n U n i v . - C . L . A . 3 , 9 6 1 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 5 1 , 0 9 1 3 1 , 7 5 7 Bowdoin 1 , 0 5 0 2 2 0 , 0 0 0 2 0 , 5 9 2 2 4 , 8 1 8 8 , 7 3 6 B r o w n 4 , 4 7 8 7 1 8 , 2 3 0 7 7 , 3 0 2 7 3 , * 4 7 8 , 7 3 6 C l a r k 1 , 1 0 0 1 7 8 , 0 0 0 ! 1 9 , 1 5 5 1 9 , 6 1 0 3 , 5 5 6 C o l b y 1 , 0 4 0 1 2 9 , 9 5 5 2 5 , 3 8 1 9 , 5 3 9 2 , 7 4 i C o n n . College 834 112,974 2 9 , 5 0 0 11,836 7 , 3 8 7 U n i v . of C o n n . 8 , 0 0 0 1 1 6 , 0 0 0 5 1 , 6 7 6 7 8 , 5 5 6 6 , o o o f D a r t m o u t h 2 , 9 8 5 6 5 8 , 9 1 5 7 7 , 7 0 8 183,472 6 , o o o f H a r v a r d - W i d e n e r 7 , 4 8 7 2 , 6 5 0 , 0 0 0 2 6 4 , 7 9 1 2 2 3 , 5 1 7 ! H o l y Cross 1 , 8 2 7 1 4 6 , 4 9 5 4 9 , 7 7 1 1 6 , 2 6 3 1 , 0 0 7 L a w r e n c e (Wis.) 1 , 0 3 0 7 6 , 0 0 0 1 3 , 0 0 0 2 , 2 4 4 1 U n i v . of M a i n e 3 , 7 9 0 2 1 5 , 5 5 1 9 3 , 5 o 6 6 0 , 5 1 3 2 , 2 4 4 1 M . I . T . 5 , 6 6 2 4 1 7 , 6 8 0 165,691 5 i , H 6 t 1 , o o o f M i d d l e b u r y 1 , 2 1 3 " 3 , 7 5 ° 3 3 , 0 5 3 6 , 1 2 0 4 , 1 9 2 M o u n t H o l y o k e 1,196 2X1,397 2 9 , 2 6 8 3 5 , 7 8 6 1 0 , 7 2 2 U n i v . of N . H . 3 , 5 5 6 1 5 3 , 0 0 0 6 3 , 7 6 6 8 , 0 4 6 N o r t h e a s t e r n 3 , o o o f 4 6 , 0 0 0 f I 3 , 3 4 i 3 o , 9 5 5 6 , 4 5 6 Oberlin 2 , 3 9 9 4 7 2 , 0 3 1 1 5 2 , 9 8 7 2 3 , 8 6 7 6 , 4 5 6 Queens 3 , 0 0 0 7 0 , 0 0 0 9 5 , 3 2 o 5 4 , 6 3 7 7 , 0 0 0 Radcliffe 1 , 3 6 5 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 2 6 , 3 6 1 3 8 , 3 8 0 7 , ° o o f S k i d m o r e 1 , 1 7 6 6 2 , 7 8 9 8 4 , 0 8 3 4 7 , 4 9 8 3 , 9 3 4 Springfield 1 , 4 0 0 f 4 0 , 0 0 0 1 1 , 0 0 0 6 , 5 0 0 971 T r i n i t y 892 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 2 5 , 9 3 6 7 i 8 f W e s l e y a n 98O| 3 3 8 , 3 2 3 2 5 , 9 3 6 3 3 , 7 3 4 W h e a t o n 488 6 4 , 2 7 3 5 1 , 6 1 6 2 8 , 4 2 7 2 , 3 7 1 Williams 1 , 1 0 0 197,048 17,912 5 8 , 0 7 8 6 , 0 0 0 Y a l e - U n i v . L i b . 9 , 0 1 7 2 , 7 2 9 , 3 0 0 X69,339 4 0 , 5 5 6 1 Fall 1947 or 1948. 2 Summer or Fall 1948. 3 1947-1948. 4 1947 or 1948. t Estimated. n e a r t h e e x i t o r e x i t s a n d in m o s t c o l l e g e s n o w f o l l o w i n g this p l a n t h e r e is l i t t l e c o m - p l a i n t o n t h i s s c o r e . ( 3 ) T h e combination s y s t e m , i n c o r p o r a t i n g t h e best f e a t u r e s of t h e f i r s t t w o m e t h o d s . I n t h i s w a y , h e a v i l y - used r e s e r v e b o o k s a r e c h a r g e d o u t o v e r a c o u n t e r ; a l l o t h e r s a r e o n o p e n s h e l v e s . T h i s is t h e m o s t p o p u l a r s y s t e m , b e i n g f o l - l o w e d b y t h e r e m a i n i n g 1 7 l i b r a r i e s . P e r - h a p s w e s h o u l d m e n t i o n , h o w e v e r , t h a t H a r v a r d ' s W i d e n e r L i b r a r y a n d t h e n e w L a m o n t L i b r a r y ( o f w h i c h m o r e l a t e r ) , b o t h n o w f o l l o w i n g t h i s p l a n , w i l l s h o r t l y b e c o m e p r i m a r i l y o p e n - s h e l f r e s e r v e s y s t e m s . I n t h e c o m b i n a t i o n s y s t e m , c l o s e d r e s e r v e s a r e l i m i t e d t o t w o - h o u r a n d o v e r n i g h t u s e ; u s u a l l y o p e n r e s e r v e s h a v e u n l i m i t e d use in the b u i l d i n g p l u s o v e r n i g h t u s e ; in a d d i t i o n , t w o l i b r a r i e s ( W h e a t o n a n d W i l l i a m s ) a l l o w o n e - d a y use, t h r e e l i b r a r i e s ( B r o w n , C l a r k a n d M i d d l e b u r y ) h a v e t h r e e - d a y l o a n s , s i x l i b r a r i e s ( B o s t o n U n i v e r s i t y , B o w d o i n , C o l b y , D a r t m o u t h , M o u n t H o l y - o k e a n d S p r i n g f i e l d ) h a v e s e v e n - d a y l o a n s . I n a l l l i b r a r i e s r e p o r t i n g l o n g e r l o a n s , s u c h l o a n s a r e f o r c o l l a t e r a l r e a d i n g o n l y ; re- q u i r e d r e a d i n g is l i m i t e d in a l m o s t a l l cases t o t w o - h o u r a n d o v e r n i g h t use. I t m u s t be r e m e m b e r e d , of c o u r s e , t h a t s t a t i s t i c s o n b u i l d i n g o r r o o m use a r e n o t u s u a l l y k e p t f o r b o o k s o n o p e n s h e l v e s . T h e n u m b e r of c o p i e s p r o v i d e d p e r s t u - 122 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES d e n t u s u a l l y v a r i e s w i d e l y , d e p e n d i n g u p o n : t h e n u m b e r of s t u d e n t s in t h e class, t h e l e n g t h a n d p u r p o s e of t h e a s s i g n m e n t , t h e t i m e a l l o w e d f o r r e a d i n g , a n d t h e a v a i l - a b i l i t y of d u p l i c a t e s . I n h e a v i l y - u s e d t e x t s , s i x ( B a r d , B o w d o i n , C o l b y , U n i v e r s i t y of C o n n e c t i c u t , Q u e e n s a n d W i l l i a m s ) of t h e 1 4 l i b r a r i e s r e p o r t i n g o n this p o i n t p r o v i d e o n e c o p y f o r e v e r y 1 0 s t u d e n t s ; f o u r li- b r a r i e s ( A m h e r s t , S k i d m o r e , S p r i n g f i e l d a n d R a d c l i f f e ) p r o v i d e o n e f o r s i x - e i g h t s t u d e n t s ; o t h e r v a r i a t i o n s i n c l u d e : C l a r k ( o n e f o r f i v e s t u d e n t s ) , O b e r l i n ( o n e f o r f i v e - t e n s t u d e n t s ) , D a r t m o u t h ( o n e f o r e i g h t s t u d e n t s ) , U n i v e r s i t y of M a i n e ( o n e f o r e i g h t - t e n s t u d e n t s ) . T h e Y a l e l i b r a r y p r o v i d e s o n l y t w o c o p i e s of a n y o n e e d i t i o n ; a d d i t i o n a l c o p i e s m u s t be s u p p l i e d b y the d e p a r t m e n t of i n s t r u c t i o n . M o s t l i b r a r i a n s m a k e i n f o r m a l r e p o r t s o n t h e use of r e s e r v e b o o k s t o t h e f a c u l t y . I n f i v e l i b r a r i e s ( B r o w n , C l a r k , M i d d l e - b u r y , U n i v e r s i t y of N e w H a m p s h i r e a n d W i l l i a m s ) , p e r i o d i c r e p o r t s o n s u c h use a r e m a d e . B o t h f o r m a l a n d i n f o r m a l r e p o r t s t e n d t o r e d u c e t h e n u m b e r of t i t l e s p l a c e d o n r e s e r v e . H o w e v e r , o n l y f i v e l i b r a r i e s m a k e a s y s t e m a t i c c h e c k o n r e s e r v e - b o o k use. T h e r e s u l t s w e r e as f o l l o w s : P e r C e n t of Copies Used Less T h a n N i n e T i m e s P e r T e r m P e r C e n t of Copies U n u s e d Colby 33** 10* U . of M a i n e 2 l f i o f M i d d l e b u r y 25 5 Oberlin 50 10 Queens 5 5 * A p p r o x i m a t e . t Approximate percentage of titles. S i x l i b r a r i e s ( A m h e r s t , B a r d , B e n n i n g t o n , D a r t m o u t h , N o r t h e a s t e r n a n d Y a l e ) s t a t e t h a t t h e p e r c e n t a g e of n e g l e c t e d o r u n u s e d b o o k s w o u l d be s m a l l . B y l i m i t i n g r e s e r v e d b o o k s t o t h o s e n e e d e d f o r r e q u i r e d r e a d i n g , less " d e a d w o o d " is p l a c e d on r e s e r v e ; w h e r e c o l l a t e r a l r e a d i n g is i n c l u d e d , t h e p e r c e n t a g e n a t u r a l l y rises. A s f o r f u t u r e t r e n d s in t h e c o l l e g e re- s e r v e r o o m , w e b e l i e v e t h a t m o r e a n d m o r e l i b r a r i e s w i l l l i m i t c l o s e d r e s e r v e s as m u c h as p o s s i b l e , p l a c i n g b o t h r e q u i r e d a n d c o l - l a t e r a l r e a d i n g o n o p e n s h e l v e s . A s e x - a m p l e s of t h e s m a l l e r c o l l e g e s , B a r d a n d R a d c l i f f e w o u l d l i k e t o r e d u c e g r e a t l y t h e i r r e s e r v e c o l l e c t i o n s , r e t u r n i n g m o s t of the b o o k s t o t h e r e g u l a r s t a c k s . I n t h e n e w H a y d e n M e m o r i a l L i b r a r y , n o w b e i n g b u i l t a t M a s s a c h u s e t t s I n s t i t u t e of T e c h - n o l o g y , r e s e r v e b o o k s w i l l be l i m i t e d , w i t h s p e c i a l r e a d i n g r o o m s i n E n g l i s h a n d H i s - t o r y . A t Y a l e , m o s t of the r e s e r v e c o l l e c - t i o n is a l r e a d y on o p e n s h a l v e s . T h e W i d - e n e r L i b r a r y a t H a r v a r d , f o r m e r l y a c o m - b i n a t i o n s y s t e m f o r u n d e r g r a d u a t e a n d g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s , is n o w a n o p e n - s h e l f a r - r a n g e m e n t p r i m a r i l y f o r g r a d u a t e s . H a r v a r d ' s n e w L a m o n t L i b r a r y , b e a u t i - f u l l y d e s i g n e d in s p i r i t a n d f u n c t i o n , o p e n e d its d o o r s t o t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e s in J a n u a r y , 1 9 4 9 . I t s i n n o v a t i o n s in a r c h i t e c t u r a l de- s i g n , c a t a l o g i n g , c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , a n d accessi- b i l i t y of b o o k s d e s e r v e t o be c l o s e l y s t u d i e d b y 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 i a n s . A t p r e s e n t , 2 2 , 0 0 0 b o o k s a n d p a m p h l e t s , rep- r e s e n t i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y o n e - f o u r t h of the t o t a l b o o k s t o c k , a r e o n r e s e r v e . M o s t of t h e r e s e r v e b o o k s a r e o n o p e n s h e l v e s in t h e s t a c k s , a r r a n g e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y b y a u t h o r in b r o a d s u b j e c t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s s u c h as E n g - l i s h , h i s t o r y , p h i l o s o p h y . E a c h g r o u p is as n e a r as p o s s i b l e t o t h e g e n e r a l c i r c u l a t i o n b o o k s in t h e s a m e f i e l d . C l o s e d r e s e r v e b o o k s a r e a v a i l a b l e a t t w o c h a r g i n g d e s k s , l o c a t e d a t t h e e n t r a n c e s t o t h e b u i l d i n g . A l l r e s e r v e b o o k s m a y 1 b e u s e d f o r a n u n - l i m i t e d t i m e in t h e b u i l d i n g , f o r o v e r n i g h t a n d f o r w e e k e n d s ; g e n e r a l c i r c u l a t i o n b o o k s , a l s o o n o p e n s h e l v e s , m a y be u s e d w i t h o u t t i m e l i m i t in t h e b u i l d i n g b u t a r e c i r c u l a t e d o n l y f o r o n e - w e e k l o a n . A l l r e s e r v e b o o k s a r e i n t e n d e d t o be f o r r e q u i r e d r e a d i n g APR1L, 1950 123 o n l y ; c o l l a t e r a l r e a d i n g is n e a r a t h a n d in t h e r e g u l a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . T h e n u m b e r of b o o k s o n c l o s e d r e s e r v e w i l l be g r a d u a l l y d e c r e a s e d , b e i n g t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e o p e n r e s e r v e s h e l v e s . T h e L a m o n t l i b r a r i a n , P h i l i p J . M c N i f f , e m p h a s i z e s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e p r o c e d u r a l m e t h o d s n o w b e i n g f o l l o w e d a r e e n t i r e l y flexible; t h e y c a n r e a d i l y be a d - j u s t e d t o m e e t c h a n g i n g c o n d i t i o n s . T o c o n c l u d e this s t u d y , w e s h a l l q u o t e f r o m s o m e of t h e m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g c o m m e n t s r e c e i v e d t h r o u g h c o r r e s p o n d e n c e . C o n c e r n i n g the m a t t e r of r e p o r t i n g o n use of r e s e r v e b o o k s t o t h e f a c u l t y , D r . F e l i x E . H i r s c h , p r o f e s s o r of h i s t o r y a n d l i b r a r i a n , B a r d C o l l e g e , s t a t e s : I t a l k the m a t t e r o v e r w i t h individual f a c u l t y m e m b e r s and use my a n n u a l r e p o r t and occasional c i r c u l a r l e t t e r s f o r f u r t h e r d i s c o u r a g i n g excessive use of r e s e r v e d books w h i c h is c o n t r a r y to o u r e d u c a t i o n a l principle ( o f i n d i v i d u a l i z e d e d u c a t i o n ) . I m i g h t add h e r e t h a t I h a v e f o u g h t a losing b a t t l e a g a i n s t r e s e r v e d books. I n my e a r l i e r days here w e had v e r y f e w of them and at some times I t h o u g h t I could c o m p l e t e l y g e t rid of them, since I believe t h a t in a college w i t h 300 s t u d e n t s and 60,000 v o l u m e s , u n d e r a system of i n d i v i d u a l i z e d instruction, there is h a r d l y m u c h if any need f o r r e s e r v e d books. H o w e v e r , my f a c u l t y c o l l e a g u e s p r o v e d me w r o n g and since the end of the w a r w e h a v e been s u f f e r i n g f r o m a r e s e r v e d book problem w h i c h has g r o w n up y e a r by y e a r in spite of all my e f f o r t s to the c o n t r a r y . P r o b a b l y l i t t l e can be done a b o u t it at the m o m e n t , but I hope, as w e w i l l h a v e a s t a b i l i z e d f a c u l t y e v e n t u a l l y again w h i c h w i l l be f u l l y f a m i l i a r w i t h o u r t e a c h i n g methods; that the flood of r e s e r v e d books w i l l recede, as it should. I n s p e a k i n g of t h e p e r i o d i c r e p o r t s s e n t t o the f a c u l t y , D a v i d A . J o n a h , l i b r a r i a n , B r o w n U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , w r i t e s t h a t t h e r e a c t i o n : V a r i e s f r o m one f a c u l t y m e m b e r to a n o t h e r . In some cases lists h a v e been c u t as much as t w o - t h i r d s . A y e a r ago w h e n w e f u r n i s h e d r e p o r t s on r e s e r v e book use to the f a c u l t y , w e also sent a l e t t e r saying w e w e r e not p u t t i n g on r e s e r v e f o r the c o m i n g y e a r books that c i r c u l a t e d less t h a n five times. T h i s resulted in a b o u t a 50 p e r cent r e d u c t i o n in desk r e s e r v e books f o r 1947/48. T h i s w a s not repeated f o r 1948/49 and it is too e a r l y to k n o w w h e t h e r o r not the n u m b e r g o i n g on r e s e r v e is increasing. W e w o u l d p r e f e r to see r e s e r v e books and r e s e r v e book r o o m s done a w a y w i t h and the students either ( 1 ) r e q u i r e d to buy required r e a d i n g books or else ( 2 ) obtain them on a s e m e s t e r r e n t a l basis, p r e f e r a b l y t h r o u g h the U n i v e r s i t y b o o k s t o r e . O r a c o m b i n a t i o n of ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) . B . L a m a r J o h n s o n , d e a n of i n s t r u c t i o n a n d l i b r a r i a n , S t e p h e n s C o l l e g e , w r i t e s as f o l l o w s : I f e a r t h a t w e do not h a v e any practices w i t h respect to the use of r e s e r v e books that w i l l be of special interest to y o u . W e do h a v e books on r e s e r v e shelves in a n u m b e r of o u r l i b r a r i e s . O u r p r a c t i c e does not, I believe, v a r y a g r e a t deal f r o m t h a t used in most colleges. P e r h a p s the g r e a t e s t a d v a n t a g e of o u r plan o v e r m o s t situations w i t h w h i c h I happen to be f a m i l i a r comes f r o m the f a c t t h a t o u r l i b r a r i e s a r e l o c a t e d a d j a c e n t to the offices and c l a s s r o o m s of o u r respective divi- sions. T h i s m a k e s it possible f o r s t u d e n t s and f a c u l t y t o g e t h e r to w o r k w i t h r e s e r v e books w h e n this p r o c e d u r e is d e s i r a b l e . E i l e e n T h o r n t o n , l i b r a r i a n , V a s s a r C o l - l e g e , m a k e s t h e f o l l o w i n g a n a l y s i s of t h e c u r r e n t r e s e r v e b o o k s i t u a t i o n t h e r e : Y o u may r e m e m b e r that B r a n s c o m b 1 2 w a s v e r y enthusiastic a b o u t o u r r e s e r v e system. H e w a s here, of course, m a n y y e a r s ago w h e n the l i b r a r y w a s not so c r o w d e d and w h e n t e a c h i n g and l e a r n i n g w e r e not u n d e r such t e r r i f i c p r e s s u r e . T h e system m a y w e l l h a v e w o r k e d w e l l y e a r s ago. I do not believe it does t o d a y , and I w o u l d like v e r y m u c h to change it. W e do not h a v e a r e s e r v e room. R e s e r v e books a r e p u t on r e g u l a r shelves all o v e r the building. M o s t of the time these books a r e set up in little g r o u p s , but some- times they a r e l e f t in their r e g u l a r places ac- c o r d i n g t o c a l l n u m b e r . W e m a y h a v e a s e p a r a t e shelf f o r each c o u r s e in the c a t a l o g u e f o r w h i c h r e s e r v e books a r e used. T h e t h e o r y 11 Op. cit., p. 122-24. (Continued on page 136) 124 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES m o d u l e s ; s t a c k a r e a — 6 m o d u l e s ; c o n f e r e n c e a n d s e m i n a r r o o m s — 4 m o d u l e s ; s t a f f l o u n g e — 1 m o d u l e ; o f f i c e s ( o r d e r , c a t a l o g a n d p e r i o d i c a l c h e c k i n g r o o m ) — 5 m o d u l e s ; a n d h a l l s , l o a n d e s k , c a r d c a t a l o g , s t a i r s a n d f a c u l t y l o u n g e — 8 m o d u l e s . E a c h r e a d i n g r o o m c o n t a i n s c u b i c l e s o f t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l t y p e , t a b l e s o f v a r i o u s s h a p e s a n d r e a d i n g r o o m c a r r e l s . S o m e o f t h e c u b i c l e s a n d r e a d i n g r o o m c a r r e l s w i l l be s o u n d p r o o f e d w i t h c o r k t o p e r m i t t y p i n g in t h e r e a d i n g r o o m s . T h e l i b r a r y p l a n s t o r e n t t y p e w r i t e r s . B o o k s h e l v e s in t h e r e a d i n g r o o m s w i l l n o t be d i s p e r s e d a r o u n d t h e w a l l s , b u t i n s t e a d w i l l be c o n c e n t r a t e d , a n d t h e r e f e r e n c e a n d r e s e r v e b o o k s w i l l be l o c a t e d n e a r t h e r e - s e r v e a n d r e f e r e n c e d e s k s . T h e a r r a n g e m e n t o f f u r n i t u r e a n d e q u i p m e n t w i l l be i n f o r m a l . F u t u r e e x p a n s i o n w i l l b e b o t h v e r t i c a l a n d h o r i z o n t a l . F o o t i n g s p e r m i t o n e f u l l s t o r y t o be a d d e d v e r t i c a l l y , a n d a d e q u a t e s p a c e e x i s t s f o r i n d e f i n i t e h o r i z o n t a l g r o w t h . T h e r e is, o f c o u r s e , n o o n e b e s t w a y t o b u i l d a l i b r a r y b e c a u s e l o c a l n e e d s , t r a d i - t i o n s , a n d c o n d i t i o n s v a r y . B u t w h e r e t h e r e is a m i n i m u m o f r e s t r i c t i n g p r e c o n d i t i o n s , w e b e l i e v e t h a t l i b r a r i a n s w h o n e e d a m a x i - m u m a m o u n t o f u s a b l e a n d p l e a s a n t w o r k - i n g s p a c e f o r e a c h d o l l a r i n v e s t e d , w i l l f i n d a d e s i r a b l e p a t t e r n in t h e l i b r a r y o f t h e N o r t h D a k o t a A g r i c u l t u r a l c o l l e g e . A s s o o n as t h e b u i l d i n g is o p e n f o r s e r v i c e in t h e f a l l o f 1 9 5 0 , w e i n v i t e v i s i t o r s . I n t h e m e a n w h i l e , m u c h i n f o r m a t i o n o n c o n - s t r u c t i o n m e t h o d s c a n be g a i n e d f r o m a n o n - t h e - s i t e i n s p e c t i o n . C e r t a i n l y , t h o s e w h o s a i d " i t c a n ' t b e d o n e " w i l l h a v e d i f f i c u l t y in e x p l a i n i n g a w a y t h a t w h i c h t h e y c a n see w i t h t h e i r o w n e y e s . Current Trends in the College Reserve Room (Continued from page 124) h a s a l w a y s been t h a t this keeps r e s e r v e b o o k s c l o s e t o the o t h e r m a t e r i a l on the s u b j e c t . T h i s g r e a t f a i t h in the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s c h e m e a s t o u n d s me, a n d e v e n if it w e r e t r u e t h a t the r e s e r v e shelf a c t u a l l y l a n d s in t h e m i d s t of a l l t h e o t h e r i m p o r t a n t l i t e r a t u r e on the s u b j e c t , I w o u l d s t i l l f e e l t h a t this h a s no p a r t i c u l a r m e r i t as the s t u d e n t s do n o t h a v e t i m e t o s h u t t l e b a c k and f o r t h f r o m r e s e r v e b o o k s t o o t h e r b o o k s in the c o u r s e of the d a y ' s r e a d i n g . L a s t y e a r a p p r o x i m a t e l y 10,000 v o l u m e s w e r e on r e s e r v e d u r i n g the y e a r . L i k e m a n y o t h e r l i b r a r i a n s , I v i e w the r e - s e r v e s y s t e m w i t h a j a u n d i c e d eye. I n m a n y cases, a l l t h a t is e s t a b l i s h e d is an a n t h o l o g y w h i c h d o e s n o t s e e m v e r y f a r f r o m a t e x t - b o o k t o me. A s o u r e n t i r e l i b r a r y is open s h e l f , w e h a v e no w a y of k n o w i n g h o w m u c h i n d i v i d u a l b o o k s a r e u s e d . I a m w i l l i n g to bet, h o w e v e r , t h a t 50 per c e n t of the b o o k s w o u l d h a v e s e r v e d t h e i r p u r p o s e s b e t t e r f r o m the r e g u l a r s h e l v e s . P r e s s u r e does b u i l d up f o r a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l n u m b e r of b o o k s and the c o n t r o l of t h e s e is e x t r e m e l y d i f f i c u l t . W e c a n n o t k n o w a b o u t this p r e s s u r e u n t i l the b o o k h a s been s t o l e n o r h i d d e n . W h i l e I h a t e t o r e v e r t to the old type of c l o s e d r e s e r v e s , I do w i s h w e c o u l d c e n t r a l i z e o u r r e s e r v e s on open s h e l v e s and e s t a b l i s h a s i m p l e c h a r g i n g s y s t e m f o r u s e in the b u i l d i n g as w e l l as f o r u s e o v e r n i g h t . 1 3 13 T h e reserve systems of S t e p h e n s and V a s s a r are so atypical that no statistics f o r these two libraries have been included in this s u r v e y . 136 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES