College and Research Libraries By WYMAN W. P A R K E R College Library Standards And the Future BASIC college standards are p a s s e d u p o n by the regional accrediting groups such as the New England As- sociation of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the N o r t h Central Association, the Southern Association, and the Mid- dle States Association.1 ALA and cer- tain state groups, such as the New York Library Association, also publish cri- teria of library interest. Most graduate and professional groups place their own accrediting stamp u p o n the specialized graduate institutions, as ALA does for library schools. Another means of achiev- ing a recognized standard is by the self- survey method. Published lists such as the Lamont Library catalog may be used for guidance in book selection and pub- lished statistics, such as those in each January's CRL, give pertinent budget facts which can be used comparatively, sometimes with telling effect. Such list- ings are useful to a degree, or in some detail, corroborating at least what we have already expected—that such-and- such a library is a pretty good library, that its superiority extends into most areas, and that its excellence can be measured by a variety of criteria. According to purely personal opin- ion, our college libraries maintain good standards. T h e r e are some fine libraries in colleges of real repute, and we all know these as touchstones. By and large 1 Paper presented at the Eastern College Librarians Conference, Columbia University, November 30, 1957. Mr. Parker is Librarian, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. these institutions have had a tradition of faculty and administrative interest in the library and adequate f u n d s have been f o u n d to express the library's cen- trality on campus. Most libraries in most colleges of good academic standing ap- pear to be undertaking their obliga- tions seriously and performing adequate- ly. All these libraries could do with more books, more space, more staff, and more money—but the job is being done and done well. T h e n , unfortunately, there are the poor libraries; and these are poor in every way—small, ill-quartered, understaffed, almost withofut books. T h e y are f o u n d in the institutions where one would expect them—struggling, overcrowded colleges where teaching is usually by rote with no time for any- thing b u t the textbook. Sometimes ac- crediting teams try to give these librar- ians a hand-up by reporting with a strong plea for more support or even, if circumstances seem so to warrant, a condemnation to serve the same pur- pose. T h e exchange of technical informa- tion between college libraries is fairly good. Certainly with all our meetings and our numerous publications, there are enough channels open to allow the free circulation of information concern- ing new techniques and new gadgets. T h e profession appears to be in pretty good shape and not so complacent as our sedentary perch in the ivy-covered tower posits. T h e r e is definite evidence of co- operation, of the judicial use of new mechanical aids, and even the vision of new money in the offing. For example, the A C R L grants which totalled $136,- 000 in their first three years are tokens of new sources of financial aid for librar- ies, just as the Association of American Colleges uncovered new money in a con- certed appeal to industry. In fact, this combination of presidents has done r a t h e r handsomely, for in less than a decade the a n n u a l donations f r o m this source have risen f r o m $15,000 to just short of $6,000,000. O u r library salaries have improved, particularly at the start- ing professional level where they are comparable to beginning academic sal- aries. W i t h the demand-years ahead, if librarians continue to be identified with educators, perhaps even o u r long-em- ployed librarians may be more reason- ably remunerated. O n the deficit side, it seems to me that we librarians have not been active enough in p r o m o t i n g our books, our services, and ourselves. T h e public, in our case the college community, is not widely enough aware of what the librar- ians can do, and how well they can do it. N o r are they sufficiently aware of the treasures—both old and new—so readily available. W e need less modesty a n d more of Madison Avenue's aggressive charm. T a k e recruiting as an illustration of this shortcoming. W e are beginning to get into it now—but why in the past did we ever allow our honorable, interesting, and most attractive profession to hide its charms so completely u n d e r a barrel? W e do need librarians badly, and lots of them. T h e r e should be thousands of very desirable recruits. But we must pro- vide a realistic picture of the many fasci- nating aspects of library work before we can benefit from a program of recruit- ing. It is possible that we have failed to attract many desirable people because we have not paid enough attention to the teaching functions of librarians. T h e r e could be some direct educational activity for all in a college library, and where one teaches one gains enthusiastic neophytes. I n fact we have had a tendency to for- get that our chief concern is with books — t h e accumulation, the housing, and the servicing of them. It is here that our light really begins to glow and here it is that we begin to take our r i g h t f u l place in the college hierarchy. For it is by our knowledge of books, and how to get knowledge f r o m books, that we gain standing in the eyes of the students and faculty. W e need more bookmen, and especially do we need them in college libraries. I n the university library there is place in the processing and servicing of million-book collections for techni- cians who can expedite the flow of ma- terials to the shelves, regulate the rou- tines that govern the exact placement of symbols on book spines, and codify cata- loging procedures for ephemera, exotica, and erotica. But in the college library everyone should be committed by basic metabolism to a love affair with books. Books are our province and we should know more about them, some of them, than the professors. T h i s is not difficult, for we all have o u r specialties and en- thusiasms and special training in vari- ous fields of knowledge. How few of the instructors and teaching fellows are aware of the basic reference books and indexing services in any field other than their own? Lawrence Powell sums it u p succinctly: "Give us librarians who have an overwhelming passion for books, who are bookmen by birth and by choice, by education, profession, and hobby. Prop- erly channeled and directed, this passion for books is the greatest single basic as- set a librarian can have." W e can expect some physical changes in the college library of the f u t u r e . How- ever, if we project the trends of the last few decades, it is reasonable to assume that these will be comparatively minor 358 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Wyman W. Parker took office as Vice-President of ACRL at the close of the San Francisco Conference of ALA. He will become President after the 1959 conference in Washington and will serve through the Montreal Conference the next year. He is Librarian of Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn. Previously he served as librarian at the University of Cincinnati, Kenyon College, and Middlebury College. He was Chairman of ACRL's College Libraries Section 1949-50. changes. Technical advances will make the dissemination of information, one of our primary tasks, comparatively easier and swifter. Mechanical aids will more readily and economically duplicate catalog cards, records, and pages of books. T h u s routines may be speeded, cooperation between libraries facilitated by u n i o n and regional catalogs, and per- haps we may even see the end of the re- serve book room when every student gets a photocopy of the assigned reading. Mi- crocards and microfilms may be supple- mented by improved and variant forms which may be more acceptable to the faculty. Unfortunately, for the present, financing usually limits the material available in micro-form to the larger more unified bodies of knowledge. It may be pertinent to observe that recently the cheap paper-backed volumes now available in really desirable titles have influenced the content of under- graduate courses more than have micro- films or microcards. T h u s the book, es- sentially in its five-hundred-year-old for- mat, has not yet been seriously chal- lenged by new discoveries in the colleges. However, we have yet to see what tele- vision can do on the college campus. Plastics and the photolith process, vastly cheaper methods of printing, and fast reproduction have speeded our chan- nels of communication, b u t the tradi- tional book is far f r o m disappearing. R a r e books are getting rarer and seem- ingly more desirable. At least we seem to be paying more, and willingly so, for them. We still read the classic texts in book form. Class assignments still provi- dentially include peripheral readings f r o m books, and libraries still compete for i m p o r t a n t sets and significant runs of learned journals and transactions. Browsing rooms, seminar rooms, and pe- riodical rooms are still heavily popu- lated. Large reading rooms are in con- stant demand although there seems to be a r e t u r n toward alcoves and the breaking u p of wide vistas into more informal areas. I n fact, the librarian may find him- self providing a "home" for books. I n these days of apartments and ranch-style houses, it is the exceptional family that preserves its books. An area ahead far more uncertain than the comforting bulwark of books is that of the educational changes which may occur to make new and more insistent demands u p o n the college library. T h e r e is, of course, no question about a great influx of students into the colleges. Some institutions will be able to cope with this quite well, either by not expanding or by containing the increased enrollment within a carefully planned extension of both plant facilities and teaching capa- bilities. However, it is more than likely that a great many institutions will want, or may have, to take in just as many stu- dents as they can possibly squeeze into their existing or slightly expanded fa- cilities. New liberal arts colleges may SEPTEMBER 1958 359 come into existence, some f r o m sources such as j u n i o r colleges and teachers col- leges. Possibly even preparatory and fin- ishing schools may try to achieve f u l l college status. T h i s situation may be very similar to that after W o r l d W a r II except that these students will not all have the maturity that made the GI's not only more independent b u t also stimulating. Changes in the curriculum can be ex- pected, for educators have had more op- portunity to plan for this incoming tide. Accelerated programs may be tried, such as three quarters in residence and one q u a r t e r of i n d e p e n d e n t reading. Such a program has direct library implications. Certainly there will be more emphasis on science, in spite of our pressing need for general education. Some institutions of little integrity, u n d e r pressure for graduates, will tighten u p their p u r e science programs to the extent that there may be few offerings in the humanities and no time allowed for subjects as nec- essary as English, philosophy, and for- eign languages. Universities may choose the expedient of building a separate science or technology library, thus em- phasizing a schism between the sciences and the humanities. W e are all concerned about the pos- sible results of these educational changes in the college library. T h e r e is a strong possibility that in some colleges the li- brarians may be pushed aside or even trampled u p o n as the enrollment booms and standees j a m the library. Some li- brarians may not be able to effect mini- mal standards, and their libraries may become useless shells with no books or with the wrong books. T h e library may have the books and the space and no readers, for to a large extent student use of a library depends on the attitude of faculty members toward a library a n d the use that they require their students to make of it. T h e r e are many, many comparatively solvent colleges with strong faculties, deeply committed to high standards of teaching, which are oriented toward books and good libraries. Usually one finds in them a sympathetic administra- tion trying to f u r t h e r the college pro- gram and able to find f u n d s if well-rea- soned requests are made. These colleges are fortunate, and they are not the ones that we need to be concerned about, for they can and will maintain the best standards. T h e r e may be, however, institutions where the standards of teaching are so low that students may not be required, urged, or abetted to use their library at all. T h e quality of class presentation may be so poor that the library is en- tirely cut out of the educational process; and, worse than this, both administra- tion and faculty may be completely satis- fied with what they are doing. O n such a campus, it is indeed a grave situation for the librarians. Indoctrination is then necessary for the complete hierarchy. It may be f u t i l e to attempt a program of educating the whole faculty to change teaching habits and philosophy toward the more enlightened leadership of stu- dents working on projects of special con- cern in the college library. W e need the means to strengthen the position of librarians in such institu- tions. Indeed, if the college does not seek an adequate library, we as a body must coerce that administration into providing at least a m i n i m u m of books, space to use them, and trained staff to service them. Surely some students will find their way to such a library and those professors who do want to use the library as an a d j u n c t to the classroom will not be penalized. It is our responsi- bility to see that these poorest colleges have enough books for the enrichment of daily courses, with more books, essen- tial reference books, periodicals and doc- 360 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES uments for individual papers and term projects—even if the books are not ac- tively wanted by those in control of aca- demic policy. We must be sure that the proper books and services are on cam- pus and then hope for the best—that some students and some faculty will be led into a real utilization of them. One means of helping librarians in such a position is being worked on al- ready by an A C R L Committee on Standards of which Felix Hirsch is chair- man. W e can hope shortly to see the tangible results. Already an A C R L Mon- ograph (No. 20) has been published which gathers all the existing regional accrediting standards for college librar- ies. Presumably, A C R L is to decide u p o n definite standards for college libraries and then to see that the various regional accrediting agencies accept them for use in their periodic surveys. In the past, ALA determined standards for job de- scription and remuneration but had n o machinery to enforce them. However, A C R L is coherent enough, and its mem- bership widely enough represented and respected in colleges throughout the na- tion, that it could present a strong case for reasonable standards judged neces- sary by the whole organization. These ought to be appreciated by the accredit- ing boards, for the working out of such intricate and definitive standards for li- braries is not a j o b the accrediting bodies are likely to anticipate for themselves. T h e r e are many experienced surveyors among us competent to serve u p o n a board from which the regional groups could draw for their college surveys. If, however, the standards we decide u p o n are not welcomed by the accredit- ing boards, even if accompanied by the offer of voluntary librarian surveyors, then the h a r d decision must be taken. T h a t is, to set u p a college library ac- crediting board of our own. It would be a tremendous task, involving much hard organizational work, for such a new agency is contrary to the avowed policy of the last decade of unifying sur- veys u n d e r one regional accrediting agency. It might be justified by the to- tally unacceptable level of some of the newer college libraries. T h e American Chemical Society still does college sur- veying with regional concurrence, al- though most subject agencies work on the graduate and professional school level. T h e new librarian can be more ade- quately prepared for his work through more exchange of information about ways and means of tackling problems common to college libraries. O u r many meetings might help in this regard, just as the A C R L Circles of I n f o r m a t i o n op- erated at the ALA Conventions in Phila- delphia and Miami Beach. W e must re- member that what is old stuff to some is new, interesting, and vital to the recent library school graduate who has just been made responsible for an activity within the library. T h e chief concern of the librarian ought to be the book collection. T h e best way to gain the affection and en- thusiastic support of the faculty and the administration is to have the right books or, if not the right books, at least the right attitude toward the right books. A dedicated faculty can aid the librarian immeasurably in a quest for such books in spite of reluctance of the administra- tion to ease the way. It takes a h a r d and callous administration to ignore a facul- ty petition for reasonable library funds, and the trustees must always recognize a well substantiated appeal. Perhaps one of the best supports we can supply for librarians so isolated on campus is to endorse the best books. T h e Lamont list is good but already dated, and the Shaw list is almost hopelessly outdated. Titles appear and disappear so rapidly in the general market that n o SEPTEMBER 1958 361 one library source can compile a list of best books currently available in all areas. T h i s is true even if the Carnegie Corporation or another generous foun- dation could supply the large sums re- quired. Alas, even the fine U. S. Quarter- ly Book List has now ceased publication and can no longer serve as a useful tool for current book buying. Perhaps our concern can t u r n to a series of book recommendations in the various fields. Examples of such lists are the Economics Library Selections pub- lished quarterly by the D e p a r t m e n t of Political Economy at J o h n s Hopkins, and the now dated Lucas List of Books for a College Art Library (Art Bulletin, 1929) compiled for the College Art As- sociation. Certain colleges have special- ties which ought to be reflected in their libraries. It might be possible to work out a college "Farmington-like" plan whereby a specific college makes recom- mendations for current books in a defi- nite subject area. Usually a strong de- p a r t m e n t contains library-minded pro- fessors. It is possible to call u p o n them to give book advice, particularly if the library secures lots of books for them, and undertakes all the editorial work. College librarians can also prepare themselves individually for the f u t u r e . Surely a college librarian should make every attempt to gain the confidence and respect of faculty and students by the wise use of two kinds of knowledge: tech- nical, in regard to the efficient and sym- pathetic administration of the library and its resources, and special, in regard to the books within his charge, whether it be a subject room or portions of the entire library. A college library is selective and a good college library must choose at both ends, buying the essential new books and weeding the surplus and less useful ma- terial. Few librarians will be able to know all the most desirable books in a wide variety of fields, b u t there are al- ways specially-trained experts at h a n d in the various academic departments and willing assistance can be called u p o n . A firm h a n d on the quality of the book collection will increase the librarian's stature and will improve the library in the eyes of the entire college community. T h e librarian should seek imaginative solutions to the problems of administra- tion and use of books. Cooperation is an area of increasing importance, for the joint use of some books makes particular sense in the case of colleges not commit- ted to graduate programs. Recently the Hampshire Inter-Library Center called in Keyes Metcalf to survey its potential, and the resulting recommendations sug- gested associate memberships for certain colleges in the New England area, name- ly, D a r t m o u t h , Trinity, Williams, and Wesleyan. His survey has already stirred u p new reports of local cooperation ei- ther underway or projected, such as that between six libraries in the n o r t h T e x a s region, four libraries producing a u n i o n list of serials in Abilene, Texas, several Catholic colleges p l a n n i n g together in the Baltimore area, and a six-library co- operative program in the St. Paul, Min- nesota area. Most reference and inter- library loan librarians know of the po- tential value of the recently published lists of current serials issued by various groups in the New England and metro- politan areas. T h e librarian is in a u n i q u e situation on campus. While considered part of the teaching staff, he has n o d e p a r t m e n t a l allegiance. Members of the faculty ac- cept his disinterested attitude for he is not involved, nor should he be, in the zealous watchfulness by which each sub- ject d e p a r t m e n t guards its r i g h t f u l posi- tion on campus. Because of his free posi- tion, the librarian can speak out, un- hampered by any considerations of self- interest, for the f u r t h e r a n c e of the ideals of the college. 362 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES W h a t the librarian says will be more impressive if his ideas of general educa- tion are before the faculty through his daily action: the wise purchase of books, the unbiased administration of the li- brary, and the displays and activities sponsored by the library. T h i s means speaking out in public and in faculty meetings for a well-balanced curriculum, rejecting soft solutions and short-cuts which may be held u p as temporary rem- edies for a given situation. It means hav- ing a perspective on the subject matter of a college and insisting that some sub- jects prepare the m i n d better than oth- ers for making decisions. It means hold- ing to the discipline of hard courses even if the subject matter is not pertinent to a f u t u r e career. It means assigning a pri- ority to certain courses so that a hard core of general knowledge is given to everyone. Such intellectual discipline will give our youth a fine, basic liberal edu- cation. T r a i n i n g , as opposed to educa- tion, may come later in professional or graduate school, but let us first give our coming generations the general knowl- edge from which wisdom is distilled. We are going to be subject to many pressures in the days ahead. For exam- ple, the American Institute of Physics has announced that sixty-two physicists from education and industry would visit 100 colleges and universities before the end of 1957-58 academic year. T h e i r purpose is to interest students in physics and to stimulate the teaching of physics. Funds for this "Crash" project, are being sup- plied by the National Science Founda- tion and the Ford F o u n d a t i o n for the Advancement of Education. Now this is a worthy purpose, and we can expect more such visitations f r o m other subject groups. But let us not take every crash program entirely to our bosom. W e must guard the integrity of the curriculum and be sure that it expresses our best judgment. T h e r e must not be any un- due emphasis on any one subject to cor- r u p t the relatively free choice implied in a liberal arts degree. We have all observed d u r i n g the war and afterwards what is likely to h a p p e n if a military unit moves onto the campus. T h e i r objectives are fine and quite laud- able but some units can act like a camel in a tent. First it is a required formation at a particular hour, then an inspection by an area commander, and before long the established academic curriculum is taking a back seat and suffering a cur- tailment of scheduled meetings. W e must be watchful that proportion is retained so that the student is given time for his academic program as we visualize it. It is comforting to know that when one speaks out for true standards and well-founded ideals, that respect and support comes readily f r o m those who really influence decisions. In this regard, I personally, as a former New York Pub- lic Library employee, regret deeply the recent decision of their trustees to with- draw that library's sponsorship f r o m the T V program "Faces of W a r . " T h i s pro- gram on the theme of the wasteful- ness and inhumanity of war consisted chiefly of excerpts from Euripides, Hom- er, Shakespeare, Stephen Crane, Mark Twain, and W a l t W h i t m a n . It was pro- duced by the Metropolitan Educational Television Association with a charter f r o m the New York State Board of Re- gents. Participants in this particular pro- gram included N o r m a n Cousins, Mar- garet Mead, and James Jones, while the script collaborator and narrator was Mark Van Doren. T h e NYPL T r u s t e e President, Morris Hadley, said the show r a n counter to the library's policy of not taking a position in "sensitive areas." It is necessary for us all to make books available on all sides of controversial subjects and this the NYPL conscien- tiously does. But the tolerance with SEPTEMBER 1958 363 which one observes a student exploring an u n f o r t u n a t e and twisted idea must not be confused by granting that indi- vidual license to believe that we are without ideals. T h u s the NYPL does, of course, take a stand on i m p o r t a n t issues such as segregation and democracy, and does advocate controls which safeguard the individual, such as the courts, hospi- tals, prisons, and poorhouses. Now the library's friends can only be dismayed and disheartened, feeling themselves robbed of the real leadership expected of one of our greatest institutions. Librarians must take sides, must have opinions and we can count on the fine eductional standards of the past to make a true course obvious. O u r every act in the operation of the library is decisive, for the eyes of the campus are always up- on the librarians. T h i s is no time to be neutral. T h e time to act with integrity is now. In 1940 Archibald MacLeish, as Li- brarian of Congress, issued a powerful and persuasive call for intellectual re- sponsibility. Entitled " T h e Irresponsi- bles" it was addressed to scholars and writers. His plea to librarians given at the ALA Convention that year to take an active part on the side of democracy was to a large degree neglected or even reject- ed by librarians. I hope that we have now come of age and are prepared to undertake those responsibilities necessary to preserve our heritage of intellectual freedom in a democratic framework. A British View T o be fully effective in discipline, a library must comprise, in priority of de- mand, the collections students would wish to own, or better than they are ever like- ly to own; it is a gathering of ideal private libraries. I n my experience more Amer- ican than British libraries come near this model. Studying thoroughly the histories of subjects, searching assiduously far and wide, librarians of greater U. S. libraries favor and practice selecting of stock, subject by subject, to make r o u n d e d quasi- private collections, historically complete while currently valid. T h e many rich col- lections over there have contributed to the same end, for nearly all of them have striven for completeness in any subject they have adopted. Having less money for buildings to store books, and smaller budgets for books, our larger libraries, with a few such exceptions as the British Museum, Bodley's and Cambridge University Li- brary, have not been too careful to collect useful back stock or even to keep what they have: indeed, subjects seem to be in r o u n d e d current completeness more by accident than design. I n co-operation, as well as in collection, these American li- braries are of this model; in modern publications they cover a wider field. O n the Farmington plan the sixty-two co-operating libraries buy every British work of any value, as do a n u m b e r of libraries not in the circuit. N o one could list twenty of our libraries which hold all British publications of consequence, let alone all American. Even by Farmington collection it is not possible in Britain to borrow every current French, German, Italian, or Scandinavian book of standing. . . . Until this country regains economic strength, it must manage with weaker resources; and, ironically, until our holdings in science and technology are greater, more widespread, and more fully publicized, our chances of economic recovery are less. Dare anyone, on either side of the Atlantic, deny that the fullness and exactness of American scholarship, both in hard-fact and liberal studies, are largely the f r u i t of American librarianship? —Ernest A. Savage, "Librarianship's Service in Disciplining Research and Author- ship/' T h e Library Association Record, LX (1958) 78. 364 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES