College and Research Libraries


A C R L and A R L to Sponsor 
Metcalf Research Project 

A C R L and the Association of Research 
Libraries will co-sponsor a project supported 
by a grant of $73,365 from the Council on 
Library Resources, Inc., for research leading 
toward the publication of a definitive book 
on the planning of college and university 
library buildings. Keyes D. Metcalf, librar-
ian emeritus of Harvard University, will 
direct the project. 

A L A will provide financial administration 
of the project. A n advisory committee for it 
has been established with the following 
membership: Ralph Ellsworth, director of 
libraries, University of Colorado; William 
H . Jesse, director of libraries, University of 
Tennessee; Stephen A . McCarthy, director 
of libraries, Cornell University, and execu-
tive secretary of A R L ; Frank B. Rogers, 
director, National Library of Medicine, Ei-
leen Thornton, librarian, Oberlin College; 
and a representative of faculty interest in 
library building, to be designated. Richard 
Harwell will serve as liaison officer for the 
committee at A L A Headquarters. T h e com-
mittee held its first meeting in Chicago Jan-
uary 28. 

In a news release from the Council on 
Library Resources announcing the project, 
William S. Dix, librarian of Princeton Uni-
versity and former executive secretary of 
A R L comments: "Despite the huge sums 
involved in construction and equipment— 
a single university library building may cost 
several to many millions of dollars to build 
and equip—there is at present no compila-
tion which can provide the planners of 
library buildings with the vast fund of avail-
able information which should be brought 
to bear but which is now scattered. Each 
time a library is planned there is duplication 
of search for information on which planning 
decisions must be based, and there is no 
doubt that much relevant, significant infor-
mation and recorded experience is often 
overlooked. It is anticipated that the book 
will significantly contribute to the effective 

planning of library buildings, to the avoid-
ance of costly mistakes, and to the wiser and 
more effective use of funds." 

Mr. Metcalf's manual will collect and syn-
thesize the information available in the ex-
tensive but scattered literature of separate 
studies, records of library building institutes, 
and other reports. As director of the project, 
Mr. Metcalf will draw on the considerable 
amount of expert knowledge gained by cer-
tain librarians who have served as consult-
ants for building projects. In addition, he 
will be aided by a small research staff and 
by a group of consultants comprised of 
architects, engineers, and other experts. 

T h e book will begin with a discussion of 
the objectives of institutions and the man-
ner in which these should influence archi-
tectural planning. Considerations of finance, 
public relations, and possible alternative 
methods of housing books will be described. 
Subsequent chapters will discuss selection of 
a building site, furniture and interior deco-
ration, and other details, including such final 
problems as moving into a new building and 
maintenance costs. T h e book will be fully 
illustrated by drawings and photographs. 
Preparation is expected to take four years. 

Mr. Metcalf has an outstanding record 
with respect to the planning of library 
buildings. H e is in large part the deviser of 
the depository library and the undergrad-
uate library. During his tenure at Harvard 
the Houghton and the Lamont libraries 
were erected there. H e was active in the Co-
operative Committee on Library Building 
Plans, called together by former President 
Harold W . Dodd of Princeton in 1944. This 
committee of university administrators, li-
brarians, and architects gave impetus to a 
new concept of college library architecture. 
Mr. Metcalf has served as consultant for ap-
proximately fifty college library projects, in-
cluding projects at McGill University, the 
University of Montreal, and the University 
of Baghdad, Iraq. 

136 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S