College and Research Libraries


By L . H . K I R K P A T R I C K 

The Accreditation of Libraries 
and Library Schools1 

Mr. Kirkpatrick is librarian, University 

of Utah. 

A S M A N Y of you know, there has re-
i i cently been established a N a t i o n a l 
Commission on Accrediting. A report on 
the activities of this body may be f o u n d in 
t h e 1 9 5 0 Transactions and Proceedings of 

the N a t i o n a l Association of State U n i v e r s i -
ties.2 T h e creation of this g r o u p gives li-
b r a r y leaders a chance to express themselves 
w i t h r e g a r d to the accrediting process. T h e 
1949 volume of the same series contains an 
excellent historical outline of the good and 
bad tendencies of s t a n d a r d i z i n g agencies. 

G e n e r a l l y speaking, the virtues of these 
bodies are supposed to include high educa-
tional s t a n d a r d s and adequately prepared 
practitioners. T o a t t a i n these goals most 
bodies have f o u g h t f o r properly trained and 
treated teachers of would-be lawyers, for-
esters, social w o r k e r s , doctors, engineers and 
the like. Logic is sound. O n l y a good 
lawyer can t r a i n good lawyers. G o o d 
lawyers come high—so do the others listed. 

H o w e v e r , so f a r as library service goes, 
these groups have o f t e n insisted upon having 
a librarian set aside to serve them and have 
f r e q u e n t l y hoped this l i b r a r i a n w o u l d be 
trained, but have never to my k n o w l e d g e 
w o r r i e d about the service load, the rank, the 
salary, the t e n u r e or the study privileges 
of the bookman w h o serves t h e m . 

A f e w examples of the difference in ap-
1 Paper presented at the meeting of the University 

Libraries Section, A.C.R.L., January 30, 1951, Chicago. 2 National Association of State Universities in the 
U . S : A . , Transactions and Proceedings. H a r o l d S t o k e , 
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La., i949> 
1950. 

proach to teachers and to librarians should 
suffice. T h e Society of A m e r i c a n F o r e s t e r s 
stipulated in the early 1930's t h a t teachers 
of f o r e s t r y should be good enough men to 
merit a salary a step or so above t h a t f o r 
the e n t e r i n g grade of g o v e r n m e n t service. 
In at least one school this m e a n t f o r e s t r y in-
s t r u c t o r s started at a salary several h u n d r e d 
dollars above that paid other beginners. A t 
the same time this g r o u p asked f o r a special 
library, w i t h a l i b r a r i a n , but expressed no 
concern f o r either the salary or the t r a i n i n g 
of the person picked to serve in t h a t ca-
pacity. 

M o r e recently, we in U t a h w e r e visited 
by the A m e r i c a n Council on P h a r m a c e u t i c a l 
E d u c a t i o n . T h e y looked over o u r divi-
sional library which serves medicine, pre-
dental, n u r s i n g and p h a r m a c y . T h e n the 
pharmacy staff insisted w e designate one of 
the staff as pharmacy l i b r a r i a n . N o advice 
was given as to r a n k or salary of such a li-
b r a r i a n , but the teaching staff of the College 
of P h a r m a c y must include three f u l l profes-
sors or there is no accredited status. 

I n 1949 the A m e r i c a n Society f o r E n g i -
neering E d u c a t i o n annoyed college presi-
dents by asking h o w much l a w professors 
w e r e being paid. C l e a r l y , the i n t e n t w a s to 
g u a r a n t e e as good, or at least as well-paid, 
engineering teachers. N o t e w o r t h y to li-
b r a r i a n s was the lack of concern as to h o w 
engineering and l a w librarians w e r e being 
t r e a t e d . 

M y point is simple. If t h e r e be any 
v i r t u e in insisting upon w e l l - t r a i n e d , rea-
sonably scheduled, securely placed and well-

346 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



paid teachers in these fields, t h a t same v i r t u e 
should apply to special librarians. Since ac-
crediting is peculiarly tied in w i t h educa-
tional agencies, and since libraries are vital 
to all t r a i n i n g programs, it is my hope t h a t 
the A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association will offer 
to rate libraries and library positions f o r 
all accrediting agencies and to criticize f o r 
this n e w commission past practices in the 
r a t i n g of libraries. 

A s j u s t noted, the virtues of these stand-
a r d i z i n g groups have not always reached 
those w h o w o r k w i t h books. T h i s is not so 
of the k n o w n evils. T w o apply p a r t i c u l a r l y 
to special libraries. O n e is the u r g i n g of 
disproportionate expenditures f o r selected 
programs, and the other is j u d g i n g the de-
sirability of local administrative organiza-
tion. 

H e r e , again, it is easy to supply chapter 
and verse. A f e w cases should once more 
suffice. E v e n d u r i n g the depression, the 
A m e r i c a n B a r Association insisted upon a 
m i n i m u m book and periodical b u d g e t of 
$2000 a year. A t the university I represent 
this was as much as arts and sciences, social 
w o r k , education, and business schools re-
ceived combined. F u r t h e r m o r e , a special 
l a w librarian w a s d e m a n d e d ; but while the 
teachers all had the m i n i m u m r a n k of as-
sociate professor, the l a w l i b r a r i a n , w i t h an 
L L . B . and B.L.S., w a s rated an i n s t r u c t o r . 

D u r i n g the same period the A m e r i c a n 
M e d i c a l Association visiting committee in-
sisted upon a book budget of $ 7 0 0 a year f o r 
medicine, but cared not a w h i t t h a t basic 
biology was receiving only $ 1 2 0 a year. 

W e have had pressure put on us f o r sepa-
r a t e libraries f o r architecture, j o u r n a l i s m , 
business and social w o r k . A l l of you k n o w 
of the difficulties w h i c h arise w h e n a cam-
puswide system of school and d e p a r t m e n t a l 
libraries develops. M o r e money goes f o r 
poorer service. M o r e dollars must be spent 
f o r duplicate books and magazines. H e r e 

indeed we can rapidly come to a system of 
equality f o r none but special status f o r all. 

Again, it w o u l d be my hope t h a t the 
A L A take the o p p o r t u n i t y afforded by a 
n e w committee to call f o r an examination of 
this cry f o r special book allotments and 
special college or d e p a r t m e n t a l libraries. 

L a s t of all, if the accrediting agencies 
are supposed to help insure a supply of 
properly trained workers, it might be w e l l 
to ask w h a t has happened in the field of 
school library w o r k . 

A n e x a m i n a t i o n of t h e Biennial Survey of 

Education reveals t h a t t h r e e - f o u r t h s of the 
school libraries in A m e r i c a are m a n n e d by 
u n t r a i n e d personnel. I k n e w t h a t in U t a h , 
N e v a d a , I d a h o and W y o m i n g the school li-
b r a r i a n s w e r e not as w e l l trained as w e r e 
the school teachers. A p p a r e n t l y , the picture 
is n a t i o n w i d e . A n economy of scarcity 
seems to be in operation. 

W h e n you look into teacher training, you 
find t h a t v i r t u a l l y every teachers' college 
and university offers courses in those sub-
jects considered basic in a m o d e r n school. 
A college w i t h o u t courses in chemistry, 
English or history w o u l d be laughed at. 
Y e t , w e claim the library is the h e a r t of the 
school b u t are not even concerned t h a t no 
courses are given in library w o r k . 

I n U t a h w e w e r e forced into library-
course w o r k by regional and state accredit-
ing agencies. W e began the w o r k apolo-
getically because all of the trained librar-
ians in the state suspected A L A f r o w n e d 
on such courses. W h e n the regional N o r t h 
C e n t r a l representative asked about corre-
spondence courses, w e w e r e even m o r e posi-
tive t h a t w e w e r e living in sin. W h e e l e r ' s 
r e p o r t 3 on education f o r librarianship makes 
it crystal clear t h a t A L A views home 
study, or learning by reading, w i t h d a r k 
suspicion. 

5 Wheeler, Joseph L. Progress and Problems in 
Education for Librarianship. New York, Carnegie 
Corporation of New York, 1946, p. 84. 

OCTOBER, 1951 
32 7 



E v e n so, w e have given a course in school 
library methods to w o r k e r s in I d a h o , 
N e v a d a , C a l i f o r n i a , W a s h i n g t o n , Colorado, 
N e b r a s k a , Kansas, O k l a h o m a , N o r t h C a r o -
lina, South C a r o l i n a , Mississippi, M i s s o u r i , 
Illinois and T e x a s . T h i s w o u l d seem to 
reflect the n a t i o n w i d e lack of t r a i n i n g 
a m o n g school librarians. W e have f e w e r 
home study s t u d e n t s f r o m U t a h because w e 
give resident courses. W e feel sure t h a t 
the t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g agencies of these states 
must have missed an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r service. 

W e hope t h e day w i l l come w h e n every 
first class t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g institution gives 
a m a j o r in library w o r k . W h e n y o u n g 
people can secure t r a i n i n g f o r librarianship 
in the same length of time needed to become 
teachers, w h e n they can do it in their o w n 
state or section of a state, and w h e n this 
t r a i n i n g is accepted as the basis f o r advanced 
w o r k f r o m one p a r t of the c o u n t r y to 
a n o t h e r , then w e will have our share of the 

best y o u n g s t u d e n t s going into l i b r a r y w o r k . 
If w e w a n t to see the day come w h e n every 
school library is in the care of a trained li-
b r a r i a n , some such realistic approach is neces-
sary. 

I t seems likely this day w i l l arrive sooner 
if A L A gets out of t h e accrediting field 
so f a r as school library w o r k goes, and leaves 
this up to the regional agencies which pass 
on o t h e r questions of t r a i n i n g f o r service 
in the public schools. 

A s it is, t h e situation of some of us is 
anomalous, to say the least. W e explain 
to o u r s t u d e n t s w e are unaccredited by 
A L A , but our credits are accepted in most 
states f o r certification b u t not by library 
schools elsewhere. W e then ask these same 
s t u d e n t s to join o u r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n . 
T h e answer of one f a r m girl is w o r t h 
p o n d e r i n g : 

" M i s t e r , it sounds to me as if you w e r e 
asking us to buy the f r o n t end of a c o w . " 

Libraries in an Ii 
(Continued fr< 

I n 1949, the range w a s f r o m $ 3 8 0 0 to 
$10,500, w i t h a median of $ 7 0 0 0 . T h e in-
crease of the medians w a s 55 per cent. 

I n teachers colleges the range w a s f r o m 
$ 1 4 0 0 to $ 3 7 5 0 in 1939, and f r o m $ 2 4 0 0 
to $ 6 0 0 0 in 1 9 4 9 ; the median rose f r o m 
$ 2 2 0 0 to $ 4 2 5 0 , an increase of 93 per cent. 

By reducing the p r o p o r t i o n of profes-
sional workers, libraries have been able gen-
erally to keep salaries in pace w i t h the cost 
of living, and in some cases to improve t h e m . 
W h i l e figures on teaching salaries are not 
immediately available f o r the same institu-
tions, it is probable t h a t librarian salaries 
have been increased as m u c h as their f a c u l t y 
colleagues' salaries have. 

T h i s situation is n o t one to be accepted 

Lflationary Cycle 
m page 342) 

as g o o d ; librarianship is still not one of t h e 
most lucrative, and o f t e n not as well paid 
as teaching. 

I n s u m m a r y , the colleges and universities 
have been able thus f a r to survive the in-
flation by d r a w i n g on some of the accumu-
lated book resources, by increasing the use 
of nonprofessional personnel. O n the aver-
age, l i b r a r i a n s ' salaries have not absorbed 
the economies. H o w long they can con-
tinue to operate on r e d u c i n g percentages of 
the educational b u d g e t is problematical. 
T h e book collections w i l l soon become ob-
solete; t h e limits of replacing professional 
w i t h nonprofessional staff w i l l soon be 
r e a c h e d ; beyond t h a t library service will 
suffer d e t e r i o r a t i o n . 

348 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES