College and Research Libraries B y L O U I S S C H R E I B E R A Unique Friends of the Library Group Mr. Schreiber is director, Administrative Services, Brandeis University Library. BR A N D E I S U N I V E R S I T Y , l o c a t e d i n W a l -t h a m , M a s s a c h u s e t t s , is the o n l y secu- l a r , non-sectarian institution of h i g h e r l e a r n i n g , sponsored by the J e w i s h people, in this c o u n t r y . I t has the a d d i t i o n a l unique q u a l i t y of b e i n g the o n l y u n i v e r s i t y w h o s e l i b r a r y is c o m p l e t e l y supported by a F r i e n d s of the L i b r a r y m o v e m e n t . T h e g r o u p is f o r m a l l y k n o w n as the N a t i o n a l W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e of B r a n d e i s U n i v e r - sity. I t has c o n t r i b u t e d o v e r one m i l l i o n d o l l a r s to the d e v e l o p m e n t of the l i b r a r y in the past six years. T h e W o m e n ' s C o m - mittee supports, and has supported the li- b r a r y f r o m the day the u n i v e r s i t y opened its doors. W h i l e six y e a r s is a short time in the l i f e of a u n i v e r s i t y , w e have e v e r y reason to believe that it w i l l c o n t i n u e as a t h r i v i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n . A s of J u n e 30, 1 9 5 4 , there w e r e over 44,000 members o r g a n i z e d into 84 chapters a r o u n d the c o u n t r y . In the belief t h a t an o r g a n i z a t i o n of such size w o u l d be of interest to other librarians, I h a v e prepared this report on the N a t i o n a l W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e . W h e n the B o a r d of T r u s t e e s prepared to open B r a n d e i s U n i v e r s i t y in 1948, they w e r e a w a r e of the necessity of h a v i n g a fine l i b r a r y f o r the u n i v e r s i t y and of the costs i n v o l v e d . T h i s a w a r e n e s s could h a r d l y be avoided since H a r v a r d w a s to be such a close n e i g h b o r , o n l y a f e w miles a w a y . T h e first v e n t u r e w a s a " B o o k s f o r B r a n d e i s " c a m p a i g n started by a f e w w o m e n , closely connected w i t h the f o u n d e r s of the uni- v e r s i t y , in the s u m m e r of 1948, a f e w m o n t h s before the o p e n i n g of the school. T h i s c a m p a i g n met w i t h i n d i f f e r e n t success and w a s r a t h e r q u i c k l y cast into the m o l d w h i c h it has kept to the present day. I n - stead of t r y i n g to obtain books, the g r o u p obtained a c h a r t e r as the W o m e n ' s C o m - mittee of B r a n d e i s U n i v e r s i t y , and collected dues f r o m its members, the f u n d s g o i n g to the l i b r a r y . T h e sponsoring g r o u p believed t h a t a l a r g e n u m b e r of w o m e n , p a y i n g a l o w a n n u a l membership fee, m i g h t p r o v i d e sufficient f u n d s to enable the l i b r a r y to ac- quire the books needed by the students. I t should be kept in m i n d t h a t at this time, B r a n d e i s w a s a u n i v e r s i t y in name o n l y . T h e r e w e r e no g r a d u a t e or professional schools. I n f a c t , there w a s only a f r e s h m a n class of 105, so f o r the first year at least not too m a n y titles w o u l d be essential. T h e membership fee w a s set at five d o l l a r s and each p o t e n t i a l m e m b e r w a s t o l d that this sum w o u l d purchase one book f o r the l i b r a r y , and that m e m b e r ' s name w o u l d be inscribed on the b o o k p l a t e inserted in the book. A chapter of the W o m e n ' s C o m - mittee w a s set up in B o s t o n , and v e r y q u i c k l y a n u c l e u s w a s f o r m e d in N e w Y o r k and C h i c a g o . B y the end of the first aca- demic year, 11 chapters w i t h a b o u t 5,000 m e m b e r s had been established. I t is prob- a b l y unnecessary to state t h a t benefactions l a r g e r than five d o l l a r s w e r e received. E f - f o r t s w e r e m a d e to have i n d i v i d u a l s u n d e r - w r i t e the costs of sets and other expensive items that are necessary f o r r e f e r e n c e serv- ice as w e l l as to the science instructors. B y the end of the second y e a r , the c o m m i t t e e OCTOBER, 1955 365 h a d g r o w n to 16,000 m e m b e r s , in 48 chap- ters, and had i n c l u d e d staff salaries and m a i n t e n a n c e costs in its p r o g r a m . Since then, the N a t i o n a l W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e has been m o r e t h a n successful each y e a r in p r o v i d i n g the f u n d s requested by the li- b r a r i a n . T h i s brief h i s t o r y of the o r g a n i z a t i o n poses m a n y questions and a n s w e r s none. T h e r e m a i n d e r of the paper w i l l be devoted to some of the m o r e o b v i o u s of these. A n e w c h a p t e r is u s u a l l y o r g a n i z e d t h r o u g h personal contacts. W h e n a f e w leaders in c o m m u n i t y activities become interested in B r a n d e i s U n i v e r s i t y , either t h r o u g h f r i e n d s , or t h r o u g h o u r p u b l i c re- lations p r o g r a m , they are o f f e r e d w h a t e v e r assistance they m a y desire f r o m the uni- v e r s i t y o r f r o m the n a t i o n a l office of the W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e , in g e t t i n g a chapter s t a r t e d . T h i s assistance includes p r i n t e d m a t e r i a l a b o u t the u n i v e r s i t y , the l i b r a r y , and the f u n c t i o n s of the W o m e n ' s C o m - m i t t e e . I t i n c l u d e s speakers, w h o m a y be officers of the c o m m i t t e e , m e m b e r s of the f a c u l t y , m e m b e r s of the u n i v e r s i t y ' s a d m i n - istrative s t a f f , the president of the u n i v e r - sity, m e m b e r s of the B o a r d of T r u s t e e s , or the president of the b o a r d , and in some cases, notables w h o are not o f f i c i a l l y con- nected w i t h the u n i v e r s i t y , b u t w h o h a v e o f f e r e d their help. I n b r i e f , a l l the resources of the u n i v e r s i t y m a y be d r a w n u p o n to help a g r o u p g e t started and to keep it f u n c t i o n i n g . U n t i l the g r o u p has 50 m e m - bers, the m e m b e r s h i p is affiliated d i r e c t l y w i t h the n a t i o n a l b o d y . N e w chapters are not c h a r t e r e d u n t i l they h a v e a d u e s - p a y i n g m e m b e r s h i p e x c e e d i n g t h a t m i n i m u m f i g u r e . O n c e a g r o u p is f u n c t i o n i n g , they can, if they w i s h , a r r a n g e f o r speakers f r o m the u n i v e r s i t y f a c u l t y , w h o w i l l n o t o n l y dis- cuss the u n i v e r s i t y , b u t w h o w i l l , if re- quested, l e c t u r e on the topics t h a t c o n c e r n them a c a d e m i c a l l y . I t m a y v e r y w e l l be asked, w h y the presi- d e n t of the u n i v e r s i t y or of its board should t a k e the t r o u b l e to t r a v e l a r o u n d the c o u n t r y in assisting in the f o r m a t i o n of such s m a l l g r o u p s ? T h e i m m e d i a t e a n s w e r is t h a t any president w o u l d be w i l l i n g to d e v o t e a g o o d deal of time and t r o u b l e to secure benefac- tions w h i c h exceed $250,000 a y e a r , and w h i c h are still rising. B u t as i m p o r t a n t as this direct benefit is, the indirect a d v a n t a g e s are e q u a l l y g r e a t . T h r o u g h these chapters the u n i v e r s i t y gains access to the m e n , the husbands, f a t h e r s , and relatives w h o s e in- terest in the u n i v e r s i t y m a y thus be stimu- l a t e d . T h e N a t i o n a l W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e has become an i n t e g r a l p a r t of the u n i v e r s i t y ' s f a b r i c . T o the best of m y k n o w l e d g e , no o t h e r similar g r o u p has been so closely d r a w n into the l i f e of a u n i v e r s i t y . T h e president of the W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e is an ex-officio m e m b e r of the B o a r d of T r u s t e e s , and has as m u c h v o i c e as a n y o t h e r m e m b e r of the board in the establishment of u n i v e r - sity policy. A m e m b e r of the N a t i o n a l B o a r d of the W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e sits in w i t h the F a c u l t y L i b r a r y C o m m i t t e e and reports back on the discussions and decisions m a d e at the m e e t i n g s . P a r e n t h e t i c a l l y , l e t it q u i c k l y be established t h a t there has never been a n y v e s t i g e of i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h decisions of the L i b r a r y C o m m i t t e e , or any a t t e m p t to exercise a n y c o n t r o l o v e r book selection or the d e v e l o p m e n t of the l i b r a r y . T h e l i b r a r i a n and the c o m p t r o l l e r discuss the b u d g e t of the l i b r a r y w i t h a c o m m i t t e e of the N a t i o n a l B o a r d b e f o r e it is s u b m i t t e d to the B o a r d of T r u s t e e s . A l l of these measures h a v e been a d o p t e d to a r m the W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e w i t h a c o m p l e t e pic- ture of the operations of the l i b r a r y and of the u n i v e r s i t y . T h o s e chapters w h i c h are n o t too distant f r o m the c a m p u s are u r g e d to visit, to t o u r n o t o n l y the l i b r a r y , b u t the entire campus. D i s p l a y s of the n e w e r media, such as m i c r o c a r d s and m i c r o p r i n t are a r r a n g e d f o r t h e m ; t h e y can w a t c h the 366 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES s t u d e n t body p u r s u i n g its n o r m a l l i f e of s t u d y and r e c r e a t i o n ; and the latest develop- m e n t s and plans of the u n i v e r s i t y are out- lined to them by an officer of the u n i v e r s i t y . W e are c u r r e n t l y p r o d u c i n g a m o t i o n pic- ture, c o n c e r n i n g the u n i v e r s i t y and the li- b r a r y , w h i c h w i l l be used by those chapters too distant f o r such personal visits. E v e r y y e a r , i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r commence- m e n t , the W o m e n ' s C o m m i t t e e holds a na- t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e on campus. P r a c t i c a l l y a l l the delegates a r r i v e in time to partici- pate, in one f o r m or a n o t h e r , in the com- m e n c e m e n t activities. T h i s c o n f e r e n c e lasts a w e e k , d u r i n g w h i c h the past y e a r ' s activities of the l i b r a r y and the entire uni- versity are discussed w i t h the delegates in detail. P a n e l discussions, by l e a d i n g f a c u l t y m e m b e r s and v i s i t i n g scholars, are held on the role of the l i b e r a l arts college, or s i m i l a r topics. T h e theme of the c o n f e r e n c e in 1 9 5 4 r e v o l v e d a r o u n d i n t e l l e c t u a l f r e e d o m . T h i s w a s e x p l o r e d as it related to the aca- demic w o r l d , c i v i l i z a t i o n as a w h o l e , and o b v i o u s l y as it related to the A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y p i c t u r e . I t is our belief, t h a t the 300 delegates to the c o n f e r e n c e took back to their l o c a l chapters and to their 44,000 members an a w a r e n e s s of the c u r r e n t threats to i n t e l l e c t u a l f r e e d o m w h i c h m a y have g e n e r a l significance to the i n t e l l e c t u a l w o r l d . I n a d d i t i o n there are n u m e r o u s technical w o r k s h o p s , o r g a n i z e d and con- ducted by the n a t i o n a l h e a d q u a r t e r s , relat- i n g to i n c r e a s i n g membership, o b t a i n i n g ad- ditional f u n d s , and similar m a t t e r s . O n e session is u s u a l l y devoted to a t o u r of the l i b r a r y , at w h i c h time e v e r y e f f o r t is m a d e to b r i n g home the need f o r and the f u n c - tions of the v a r i o u s bits of e q u i p m e n t , espe- c i a l l y the audio-visual m a t e r i a l , w h i c h is s t r a n g e to them, and to display the costlier r e f e r e n c e and research sets and j o u r n a l back files, w i t h e x p l a n a t i o n s of their use and im- portance. A n o t h e r session is n o r m a l l y begun w i t h an address f r o m the l i b r a r i a n , w h i c h i n e v i t a b l y , regardless of the initial topic, t u r n s into an e x p l a n a t i o n of the need f o r a d d i t i o n a l f u n d s f o r the c o m i n g y e a r , an analysis of accession and c i r c u l a t i o n sta- tistics, and f i n a l l y into a question-and-an- s w e r session in w h i c h w e p u t on a bold f r o n t and indicate t h a t it w i l l p r o b a b l y be m a n y decades b e f o r e w e r i v a l a n y of the l e a d i n g universities in terms of h o l d i n g s . T h i s o u t l i n e of activities w o u l d seem to g i v e the impression t h a t the entire a c t i v i t y of the u n i v e r s i t y staff is g i v e n over to f u n c - tions r e l a t i n g to this F r i e n d s m o v e m e n t and not to the l e g i t i m a t e a f f a i r s of a uni- v e r s i t y . I t is a d m i t t e d t h a t a good deal of time and e f f o r t is d e v o t e d to t h e m . N e v e r - theless, if it is remembered t h a t w e have g r a d u a t e d o n l y three classes, and t h a t the sum t o t a l of o u r a l u m n i has not yet reached 500, it m a y be doubted that m o r e time and e n e r g y is devoted to this g r o u p than a uni- versity n o r m a l l y devotes to the o r g a n i z a t i o n of its a l u m n i g r o u p s . I n addition, it should be pointed o u t that most of the w o r k is done by the w o m e n and their o w n officers, w h o are v o l u n t e e r s . I n any event, the uni- v e r s i t y f u n c t i o n s , and a l t h o u g h the presi- dent and a f e w members of the staff are o v e r b u r d e n e d , the net result has been o v e r $1,000,000 and over 44,000 F r i e n d s , not o n l y of the l i b r a r y , b u t of the u n i v e r s i t y , and the l e v e l i n g off is not y e t in sight. B l u n t l y , it p a y s ! T h e most difficult question to w h i c h an a n s w e r m u s t be a t t e m p t e d , is to w h a t ex- tent can other institutions profit by o u r ex- p e r i e n c e ? I h a v e been unable to find suffi- ciently detailed accounts of other F r i e n d s g r o u p s to m a k e comparisons of techniques. S u p e r f i c i a l l y , h o w e v e r , it seems r e l a t i v e l y certain that the intensity w i t h w h i c h this o r g a n i z a t i o n has been c u l t i v a t e d at B r a n d e i s is g r e a t e r t h a n most institutions h a v e at- t e m p t e d . I believe also t h a t this conscious s t r i v i n g f o r a mass membership w i t h its l o w (Continued on page 369) OCTOBER, 1955 40 7 C o l l e g e and u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i a n s have y e t a n o t h e r a d v a n t a g e o v e r school l i b r a r - ians. M o s t school libraries are small w i t h o n l y a f e w thousand v o l u m e s , w h i l e c o l l e g e libraries are m u c h l a r g e r . S o m e are l a r g e institutions in t h e i r o w n r i g h t w i t h hun- dreds of staff members. C o l l e g e l i b r a r y stu- dent assistants see m u c h l a r g e r and m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g and impressive libraries t h a n do high school l i b r a r y s t u d e n t assistants. A n d they see f u l l - t i m e professional l i b r a r i a n s g i v i n g good service, w h i l e high school stu- dents sometimes see a p a r t - t i m e l i b r a r i a n w i t h l i t t l e l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n g i v i n g inade- quate service. C o l l e g e students can see li- brarians in m a n y d i f f e r e n t types of positions, w h i l e high school students see o n l y one l i b r a r i a n , so they c a n n o t appreciate the v a r i e t y of j o b s possible in the profession. A l l of this should m a k e r e c r u i t i n g easier f o r the c o l l e g e l i b r a r i a n . C o l l e g e l i b r a r i a n s also w o r k w i t h stu- dents w h o are n e a r i n g m a t u r i t y . T h e y can guess m o r e a c c u r a t e l y h o w these students w i l l t u r n o u t — h o w p r o m i s i n g they a r e — t h a n can high school librarians. T h e y can predict w i t h m o r e a c c u r a c y h o w good these students w o u l d be as librarians. C o l l e g e students are soon to be w a g e - earners, so v o c a t i o n a l choices are m o r e im- p o r t a n t to them. H i g h school students can postpone their decisions several years, b u t time is m o r e pressing f o r c o l l e g e students. T h i s should m a k e them m o r e serious, of course. D e l i v e r i n g the goods to l i b r a r y school should be easier w h e n the s t u d e n t s are only one instead of five years a w a y . C o l l e g e librarians, t h e r e f o r e , should be a m o n g our most successful r e c r u i t e r s ; they have m a n y a d v a n t a g e s over o t h e r librarians. T h e y m u s t recruit in every l i b r a r y or our personnel shortage w i l l c o n t i n u e . A Unique Friends of the Library Group (Continued from page 367) a n n u a l d u e s — w h i c h is interpreted as " b u y - i n g a book f o r B r a n d e i s " — i s n e w . Possibly w e f o u n d ourselves in a position to take a d v a n t a g e of a p a t t e r n of c o m m u n i t y or- g a n i z a t i o n established and ingrained into the J e w i s h c o m m u n i t i e s of the c o u n t r y by other J e w i s h p h i l a n t h r o p i e s such as H a d a s - sah, and such a p a t t e r n w o u l d not be gen- e r a l l y a v a i l a b l e to other institutions. V e r y p r o b a b l y the unique q u a l i t y of B r a n d e i s as a non-sectarian u n i v e r s i t y sponsored by the J e w i s h people t r i g g e r e d a w a v e of s u p p o r t and enthusiasm w h i c h w o u l d be d i f f i c u l t to g e n e r a t e f o r a u n i v e r s i t y w i t h g e n e r a t i o n s behind it. If such is the case, the real test of our F r i e n d s m o v e m e n t w i l l come w h e n w e have at least decades, if not generations, behind us. N e v e r t h e l e s s , f o r those l i b r a r - ians w h o have f e l t that their a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s are s o m e w h a t l u k e w a r m in their support of their e f f o r t s to d e v e l o p a F r i e n d s move- m e n t , it w o u l d seem as if this report c o u l d be of assistance as an indication of w h a t may result Irom a concerted and sustained e f f o r t w h i c h i n v o l v e s a l l elements of the uni- v e r s i t y . Eastern College Conference T h e forty-first conference of the Eastern College Librarians w i l l be held on Saturday, N o - vember 26, 1955, in M c M i l l i n T h e a t e r of Columbia University. T h e morning meeting w i l l be devoted to "Recruiting L i b r a r y Personnel" and the afternoon meeting to " A u t o m a t i o n in the L i b r a r y . " A copy of the program w i l l be mailed upon request to the chairman, L o r e n a A . G a r l o c h , university librarian, University of Pittsburgh. O C T O B E R , 1955 40 7