College and Research Libraries By C L I F T O N B R O C K The Rising Tide: Some Implications for College and University Libraries PE R H A P S T H E T I T L E given this p a p e r is a bit a m b i g u o u s as well as ambi- tious, a n d it may n e e d some clarifica- tion. University l i b r a r i a n s are all too f a m i l i a r w i t h the p r o b l e m w h i c h their libraries have faced a n d are facing as a result of the t r e m e n d o u s g r o w t h of book collections in recent decades. T h a t m a t t e r of library g r o w t h has b e e n dealt w i t h t h o r o u g h l y in the professional lit- e r a t u r e , a n d r e q u i r e s n o amplification. T h e object here will be to cover briefly a n o t h e r g r o w t h p r o b l e m w h i c h will con- f r o n t college a n d university libraries over the n e x t two decades. T h i s is the p r o l i f e r a t i o n of students which will come as a result of the rising tide of e n r o l l m e n t s — a l r e a d y crowding o u r elementary a n d secondary schools— which will spill over i n t o t h e colleges a n d universities in the n e x t fifteen years. I n the past, libraries have struggled to find places to p u t their books. I n the fu- t u r e they will also have to find space to p u t their students, a n d to provide t h e services to b r i n g those books a n d stu- d e n t s together. P e r h a p s a review of the already well- publicized statistics will illustrate the m a g n i t u d e of the e n r o l l m e n t increases i n store for o u r colleges a n d universities. Last school year t h e r e were over 3,250,- 000 students e n r o l l e d in i n s t i t u t i o n s of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t the n a t i o n . " T h i s record comes at a time w h e n the college-age p o p u l a t i o n , w h i c h in 1955 Mr. Brock is Assistant, Social Sciences Division, Florida State University Li- brary. sank to its lowest p o i n t in twenty-five years, is still m a d e u p mostly of depres- sion babies. T h e crisis t h a t the U.S. cam- p u s is now b r a c i n g f o r is the coming in- vasion of war babies." 1 By 1970, b a r r i n g some n a t i o n a l catastrophe, there will be over 6,000,000 students enrolled. 2 T h i s estimate by the Times is a m o n g the m o r e conservative ones. O n e qualified writer foresees 7,500,000 by 1975,3 while o t h e r 1970 estimates r u n as h i g h as 9,000,000, three times the n u m b e r we now have.4 T h e s e statistics, spread in the abstract over a n a t i o n w i d e basis, may s o u n d like r e m o t e a n d harmless figures, something dredged u p by e d u c a t i o n a l p r o p h e t s of d o o m to e x t o r t m o r e m o n e y f r o m parsi- m o n i o u s legislatures. Viewed in a spe- cific situation, however, they take on m o r e m e a n i n g . Last year the e n r o l l m e n t at t h e University of Michigan, f o r in- stance, was slightly over 20,000; by 1970, according to official figures, t h e r e will be over 40,000 s t u d e n t s o n t h e campus. T r u l y , " r e v o l u t i o n a r y changes are oc- c u r i n g in A m e r i c a n e d u c a t i o n of which even yet we are only dimly aware." 5 It used to be a n a p h o r i s m in educa- tional circles t h a t the best way to facili- tate the l e a r n i n g process was to p u t a s t u d e n t on o n e e n d of a log a n d M a r k H o p k i n s o n the other. O n e seldom hears t h a t today, a n d p e r h a p s it is j u s t as well. For o n e thing, if the p u n be p e r m i t t e d , the likes of M a r k H o p k i n s d o n o t grow 1 Time ( F e b . 4, 1 9 S 7 ) , p. 41. 2 N e w York Times, October 21, 1956, I V , p. 9. 3 P e t e r F. D r u c k e r , " W i l l the Colleges Blow T h e i r T o p s ? , " Harper's Magazine, ( J u l y , 1 9 S 6 ) , p. 63. 4 N e w York Times, N o v e m b e r 25, 1956, I V , p. 9. President's Committee on Education B e y o n d the High School, Second Report to the President ( W a s h - ington, D . C., 1957) p. 1. 12 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES on trees. A n d even if they did, given the statistics cited above, there m i g h t n o t be e n o u g h logs to go a r o u n d . B u t just w h a t d o these r a t h e r sobering statistics mean? T h e y m e a n for one t h i n g t h a t o u r colleges a n d universities will have to choose between two alternatives: (1) m a i n t a i n their present size, while raising e n t r a n c e r e q u i r e m e n t s to keep o u t all b u t the cream of h i g h school stu- dents, or (2) e x p a n d . T o take the first of these courses w o u l d m e a n t h a t tomorrow's e n t e r i n g f r e s h m a n would need a full h e a d as well as a f u l l purse. J u d g i n g f r o m the tenor of think- ing in the academic world today, how- ever, there seems little likelihood t h a t this " m a n the barricades" alternative will be taken. T h e President's Commit- tee on E d u c a t i o n B e y o n d t h e H i g h School, in its second report, states t h a t " o u r ideals a n d the increasing complex- ity of o u r civilization r e q u i r e t h a t each i n d i v i d u a l , regardless of race, creed, col- or, or n a t i o n a l origin, have the o p p o r t u - nity to p u r s u e e d u c a t i o n or t r a i n i n g be- yond the h i g h school to the f u l l e x t e n t he or she is willing a n d able." 6 T h e President's Committee, p e r h a p s sobered by its own troubles w i t h an economy-minded Congress, later states that "if a n unwelcome choice were re- q u i r e d between preserving quality a n d e x p a n d i n g enrollments, t h e n q u a l i t y should be p r e f e r r e d . . . ."7 Even if we allow for some restrictions o n enroll- ment, however, all available evidence still points to a period of u n p r e c e d e n t e d expansion f o r the n a t i o n ' s universities a n d colleges. Assuming then, as we must, t h a t en- r o l l m e n t increases—with the resulting e x p a n s i o n — a r e inevitable a n d perma- n e n t for so long as we can forsee, w h a t are some of the effects we may expect such increases to have u p o n academic li- braries? 6 Ibid., p. ix. 7 Ibid., p. 4. F a t h e r P a u l C. R e i n e r t , president of St. Louis University a n d a m e m b e r of the President's Committee, dealt w i t h some of the general effects which may be expected in his speech to the A C R L last J u n e in Kansas City.8 T h e following is an a t t e m p t to e x t e n d his discussion i n t o more specific areas. H e r e it m u s t be p o i n t e d out, even em- phasized, t h a t this p a p e r becomes frank- ly speculative. N o one can predict w i t h any certainty w h a t changes will come to college a n d university l i b r a r i a n s h i p in the n e x t fifteen years, a n d to a t t e m p t to do so w o u l d be foolish. B u t we can safe- ly assume t h a t there will be changes, a n d to refuse to try to a n t i c i p a t e them w o u l d be equally foolish. For one thing, buildings which in many cases are already i n a d e q u a t e will become even m o r e crowded a n d anti- q u a t e d . I n 1951, a f t e r a survey of the b u i l d i n g plans of over 100 college a n d university libraries, Dr. R o b e r t H . Mul- ler said: "Present seating capacities are insufficient in m a n y of the libraries, espe- cially in those of larger institutions. O u t of eighty-seven libraries r e p o r t i n g seat- ing capacity, only sixteen p r o v i d e d seats for 20 per cent or m o r e of the 1948 stu- d e n t body in their old library buildings. L i b r a r y buildings of the f u t u r e (those to be b u i l t by the 100 libraries before 1960) will provide for n o t less t h a n 10 p e r cent of the 1948 e n r o l l m e n t . " 9 T h e m i n i m u m accepted percentage of s t u d e n t seating, at least u n t i l today, was usually set at a b o u t 25 per cent. For purposes of hy- pothesis let us assume that university X h a d an e n r o l l m e n t in 1948 of 6,000 stu- dents a n d constructed in 1954 a b u i l d i n g which would seat 30 per cent of its 1948 s t u d e n t body. W e can assume t h a t by 1970 university X will have at least 12,000 students. At t h a t time the build- 8 Paul C. Reinert, S.J.. "College and Research Li- braries in a Decade of Decision," CRL, X V I I I , (1957), 359-365. 9 Robert H. Muller, "Future Library Building Trends Among Colleges and Universities," CRL, X I I , (1951), 35. JANUARY 19 5 S 13 ing, t h e n only sixteen years old, will seat only 15 per cent of the s t u d e n t body. It w o u l d a p p e a r , then, t h a t recent col- lege a n d university b u i l d i n g p r o g r a m s were belated efforts to catch u p w i t h past e x p a n s i o n r a t h e r t h a n in a n t i c i p a t i o n of the f u t u r e , at least in regard to s t u d e n t seating. Since the p o p u l a t i o n experts themselves failed to predict the present baby boom, this f a i l u r e to a n t i c i p a t e c a n n o t be laid at the d o o r of librarians. T h i s helps very little, however, since it is the l i b r a r i a n s w h o now m u s t find money f o r b u i l d i n g s which will accom- m o d a t e the f u t u r e wave of students. O n e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of the Presi- dent's C o m m i t t e e , if acted u p o n , m i g h t be of h e l p in this area. 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 Federal grants-in-aid be m a d e available to assist institutions of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n in constructing need- ed non-income-producing facilities such as laboratories, classrooms, a n d librar- ies.10 T h e effect of increased e n r o l l m e n t s on the college a n d university library book collection is impossible to p r e d i c t w i t h any accuracy. Lyle says t h a t " t h e r e is a very definite correlation between the size of the college a n d the n u m b e r of vol- umes a d d e d a n n u a l l y to its library." 1 1 If such a correlation holds t r u e in the fu- t u r e it w o u l d i ndicate that book budgets will also b a l l o o n as e n r o l l m e n t s rise. T h e college library may be affected m o r e t h a n the university library in this area, b u t b o t h will feel some effects. A t the very least, the increases will m e a n t h a t a greater p o r t i o n of the book b u d g e t will be c h a n n e l l e d i n t o the purchase of d u p - licates. M o r e students o n the c a m p u s will of course m e a n m o r e students in the li- brary. T h i s in t u r n will m e a n a greater b u r d e n on the library's p u b l i c service de- p a r t m e n t s , o n t h e r o u t i n e s by which 10 President's Committee on Education Beyond the High School, op. cit., p. 89. 11 Guy R. Lyle, The Administration of the College Library. ( N e w York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1944), p. 330. books are circulated a n d i n t e r p r e t e d . I n past years, d u e to the b u r g e o n i n g of book collections, the acquisitions a n d cataloging people, struggling to keep u p w i t h an increasing flood of books, have o f t e n felt like the tortoise w h e n told he h a d been m a t c h e d against the hare. I n the next fifteen years their circulation a n d reference colleagues may j o i n t h e m in a n equally one-sided race. T h e e n r o l l m e n t increases could also mean, especially in the large university libraries which must try to m a i n t a i n some balance between research a n d in- structional material, t h a t services may receive increasing a t t e n t i o n at the ex- pense of resources. T h e c u r r e n t t r e n d to- w a r d u n d e r g r a d u a t e libraries, as exem- plified by H a r v a r d a n d most recently by Michigan, can be viewed in one way as a n a t t e m p t to resolve this conflict. E n r o l l m e n t pressure m i g h t also force the larger universities, w i t h their far- flung g r a d u a t e a n d research programs, f a r t h e r d o w n the r o a d toward speciali- zation. 1 2 As f a r as the library staff is concerned, the increases may m e a n t h a t m o r e a n d m o r e s t u d e n t a n d subprofessional h e l p will be employed, a n d t h a t the r a t i o of professional to clerical staff will decline. T h i s w o u l d place a n increasing b u r d e n of supervision o n the professional staff, b u t in the process it m i g h t solve the Gor- d i a n k n o t of the division of professional a n d clerical work. B u t p e r h a p s the greatest strain will fall u p o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in dealing w i t h aspects of financial s u p p o r t for the li- brary. I n the years a h e a d c o m p e t i t i o n for the e d u c a t i o n a l dollar, b o t h w i t h i n a n d w i t h o u t the university, will be ter- rific. It m u s t be r e m e m b e r e d that, be- fore this wave of students reaches the colleges, they will have passed t h r o u g h the elementary a n d secondary schools. 12 Clifton Brock, "Specialization and the Rising Tide—Two Waves of the Future?" CRL, X V I I , (1956), 486-490. 14 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES D u r i n g these years the taxpayers will have to p o u r m o r e a n d m o r e money i n t o e d u c a t i o n . By the time the students reach the colleges a n d universities it may become a case of g e t t i n g blood f r o m the p r o v e r b i a l t u r n i p . Also, w i t h the university the competi- tion for s u p p o r t a m o n g d e p a r t m e n t s of i n s t r u c t i o n a n d a m o n g various func- tional u n i t s of the university will be greater. I n the past, d u r i n g the years w h e n the library was g r a p p l i n g w i t h the p r o b l e m of increasing book collections, academic e n r o l l m e n t s r e m a i n e d relative- ly stable. T h i s m e a n t t h a t the library could absorb a large p r o p o r t i o n of the e d u c a t i o n a l b u d g e t w i t h o u t m e e t i n g im- placable o p p o s i t i o n f r o m d e p a r t m e n t s of instruction a n d o t h e r areas of the school. I n the f u t u r e this will n o t hold true. Earlier it was stated that there were only two alternatives which colleges a n d universities could take in the face of en- r o l l m e n t increases—either raise e n t r a n c e r e q u i r e m e n t s or e x p a n d . B u t w i t h in- creasing frequency of late there have ap- p e a r e d in the e d u c a t i o n a l l i t e r a t u r e vari- ous proposals which are p u t f o r w a r d as solutions which m i g h t obviate the neces- sity of m a k i n g such a harsh choice. Most of these plans center a r o u n d the use of television in teaching, m a k i n g it possi- ble f o r a few faculty m e m b e r s to reach greater n u m b e r s of students, t h u s re- lieving schools of the necessity of prac- tically d o u b l i n g their faculty a n d class- r o o m facilities. T h a t there will be e x t e n d e d use of e d u c a t i o n a l t e l e v i s i o n in the f u t u r e seems inevitable, despite the anguished a n d p e r h a p s justified cries of those w h o fear it. Several state d e p a r t m e n t s of edu- cation have already carried it beyond the e x p e r i m e n t a l stage on the secondary ed- u c a t i o n level, a n d various universities are now a p p r o a c h i n g it cautiously. T h e President's C o m m i t t e e r e c o m m e n d s t h a t there be "vigorous a n d objective explo- r a t i o n a n d a p p l i c a t i o n of m e t h o d s of in- creasing the effectiveness a n d productive- ness of the teacher, i n c l u d i n g electronic devices such as television. . . ," 1 3 " T e l e v i s i o n " is a scare-word f o r m a n y librarians, and it is n o t my i n t e n t i o n here to describe all the devils which its m e n t i o n may evoke. T h e r e could be great danger f o r academic libraries in the use of television in teaching, how- ever, unless librarians are consulted, or see to it t h a t they are consulted, d u r i n g the p l a n n i n g stages of such ventures. T h i s can be very p o i n t e d l y illustrated. O n e college official, w h o shall r e m a i n anonymous, recently advanced a p l a n in- volving these three propositions: (1) use of the so-called E u r o p e a n m e t h o d of teaching, which means fewer lectures a n d textbooks b u t m u c h m o r e work on the p a r t of the s t u d e n t in the library, (2) use of the old correspondence school idea, a n d (3) use of television. H e w o u l d limit the n u m b e r of students o n a cam- pus to 10 per cent of the total enroll- m e n t or, say, to 1,000 o u t of a total of 10,000. I n the s u r r o u n d i n g towns a n d cities, over a r a d i u s of p e r h a p s two or three h u n d r e d miles, he w o u l d have the o t h e r 90 per cent, or 9,000 students, w h o w o u l d go to college by television, tun- ing in each day at a p p o i n t e d h o u r s f o r their lectures. I n this way a large n u m - ber of students w o u l d receive the benefit of e x p e r t teaching, a n d the school w o u l d have to e x p a n d its physical p l a n t only slightly. It is a fascinating proposal, b u t t h e r e is just one difficulty. T h e p l a n calls f o r the E u r o p e a n m e t h o d of teaching, w h i c h forces the s t u d e n t i n t o the library m u c h m o r e t h a n o u r present system. B u t where is the library in this plan? T h e s e 9,000 students o u t in the e d u c a t i o n a l sticks, so to speak, c a n n o t h o p e to find the mate- rials they need in their local libraries, a n d the university m u s t provide them. 13 President's Committee on Education Beyond the High School, op. ext., p. 36. JANUARY 1958 15 W i t h o u t b e l a b o r i n g the p o i n t any fur- ther, it seems obvious t h a t such a plan, if carried out, w o u l d m a k e the library a n academic Sears R o e b u c k , sending a n d receiving books by the thousands, w i t h the s h i p p i n g a n d receiving section of the library taking p e r h a p s 80 per cent of the budget. T h i s is of course a n e x t r e m e case, a n d there is little likelihood t h a t it w o u l d ever be carried o u t . T h e fact t h a t it was seriously proposed, however, s h o u l d in- spire l i b r a r i a n s to watch carefully any b u d d i n g p l a n f o r e d u c a t i o n a l television w i t h i n their institutions. A n o t h e r m o v e m e n t , also designed to alter teaching m e t h o d s w i t h a view to- w a r d relieving the necessity for expan- sion, is g a t h e r i n g m o m e n t u m . O n e of its most lucid advocates, H e n r y Steele Com- mager of C o l u m b i a University, describes the p l a n in the J a n u a r y 29, 1956, issue of the New York Times Magazine. By way of b a c k g r o u n d , C o m m a g e r has this to say: " W e are the prisoners of o u r own traditions a n d habits, a n d particularly, the prisoners of o n e t r a d i t i o n t h a t has come d o w n t h r o u g h the centuries—the t r a d i t i o n of the lecture. W e still t e n d to t h i n k of teaching as it was centuries ago, before the rise of the university library a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t of library science — a science m o r e highly developed in the U n i t e d States t h a n elsewhere in the world. W e still refuse to learn w h a t Ox- ford a n d C a m b r i d g e , f o r example, have taken to heart, t h a t lectures o f t e n inter- fere w i t h learning, t h a t professors can- n o t be expected to d o all the teaching, a n d t h a t a m a j o r p a r t of e d u c a t i o n is a n d should be p e r f o r m e d by the students themselves." Professor C o m m a g e r proposes t h a t we reduce drastically o u r use of t h e lecture. " N o w t h a t students can r e a d f o r them- selves, the E n g l i s h u n i v e r s i t i e s have t u r n e d m o r e a n d m o r e f r o m lectures to t u t o r i n g or to self-education . . . b u t in the U n i t e d States, which has the best li- brary facilities in the world . . . profes- sors go o n 'giving' courses as blithely as if n o p r i n t e d books were available. O n e very simple way, then, to meet the short- age of teaching talent, is to cut d o w n on the lectures a n d t h e r e w i t h reduce the n u m b e r of professors t h a t lectures call for. F r o m the p o i n t of view of the stu- d e n t , the time spent going to lectures a n d p r e p a r i n g f o r course e x a m i n a t i o n s can m o r e profitably be spent in the li- brary." T h i s tendency away f r o m textbook a n d lecture teaching has now assumed the p r o p o r t i o n s of a definite trend. Time magazine recently surveyed the progress m a d e along these lines in colleges a n d universities across the country. Speaking of a p r o g r a m at Iowa's G r i n n e l l College, which allowed the s t u d e n t to e a r n a f o u r t h c r e d i t f o r e x t r a i n d e p e n d e n t study d o n e in three-hour classes, Time said: " T h o u g h n e i t h e r professors n o r students are entirely satisfied w i t h the p r o g r a m , it at least has forced the li- brary to d o u b l e the n u m b e r of books it buys each year." 1 4 F r o m the above it seems obvious that, regardless of the r o a d h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n takes—that of e x p a n s i o n or t h a t of re- vision of teaching m e t h o d s — t h e library is in for a p e r i o d of u n p r e c e d e n t e d change. If a m i n o r change in teaching m e t h o d s can force a library t o d o u b l e its book b u d g e t , t h e n academic libraries d u r i n g the n e x t few years are going to be very interesting places. T h e f u n c t i o n of the library, a n d espe- cially of the academic library, is to b r i n g the book a n d the s t u d e n t together. I n the past l i b r a r i a n s have o f t e n com- p l a i n e d t h a t their efforts along t h a t line have been ignored or passed u n a p p r e c i - ated. I n the f u t u r e it looks as if they will have a n o p p o r t u n i t y a n d a challenge to m a k e the library as i m p o r t a n t a p a r t of college a n d university i n s t r u c t i o n as they know it should be. 14 Time, (April IS, 1957), p. 87. 16 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES