College and Research Libraries Wanted: More Research T HE PROSPECTIVE DOCTORAL STUDENT in librarianship does not lack for opportunity to pursue an investigation in virtually any field of our discipline." So states J. Periam Danton in a recent article. 1 "Any field?" What are these fields available .to the doctoral student in the existing library schools? College and uni- versity libraries, public libraries, bibli- ography, history of books and printing, or libraries as a social institution. Li- brary work with children and young peo- ple, bibliographical history, technical processes, and reading and other media of communication. Library resources, or- ganization of material for retrieval and use, personnel and training, historical evolution of libraries and of publica- tions, comparative librarianship. These represent subjects offered by three li- brary schools described by Danton from library school catalogs and correspond- ence. The scope of the above list leaves something to be desired. The areas re- flect too much the existing stereotypes of library operation. They fail to ex- amine and cultivate the ground on which the library of today stands. They reflect too little demand for scholarly thinking and for new knowledge. With- out deeper inquiry into underlying fac- tors and more scholarly research, librar- ians will remain practitioners, will con- tribute little to the potentialities of the field and will fail to command the re- spect of scholarly disciplines. D~nton has presented a thorough study and a clear-cut exposition of the doctoral program in our library schools 1 "Doctoral Study in Librarianship in the United States, CRL, XX (1959), 435-453. 458. NOVEMBER 1960 By ETHEL M. FAIR Miss Fair, Director emeritus of the New Jersey College for Women Library School, is teaching at the Department of Library Science, University of Kentucky. showing concisely the history of the pro- gram, its character, its products and the obstacles to greater participation in scholarly research in the profession. (It seems clear that "Doctoral study" in this article is synonymous with research and the production of new knowledge.) One wishes that the author had gone farther and had shown the fundamental need for more research, especially for "pure" or basic research which underlies all practical application of new knowl- edge, and that he had pointed out the challenging areas and topics which wait to be explored. Retrospect in graduate study in librarianship is not enough. Alan T. Waterman, director of Na- tional Science Foundation, describes this mental activity and its subsequent in- vestigations as follows: "As a continuing search for new knowledge, basic research has certain characteristics which help us to distinguish it from other forms of sci- entific activity. The search is systematic, but without direction save that which the investigator himself gives it to meet the challenge of the unknown. . . . His work may be contrasted with that of sci- entists and engineers conducting applied research (laboratory studies concerning the practical use of newly found knowl- edge) or development, which takes ap- plied research out of the laboratory and translates it into production." 2 2 National Science Foundation, Basic Research, a National Resource (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1957), p. 1. 471 There is an apparent lack of recogni- tion by librarians of the rainbow range of types of research, from the basic essen- tial inquiry representing pure or basic re- search about which nobody asks, "And what is it good for?" through the addi- tional steps in exploration to find out what it might be "good for," to the sub- sequent piece of applied technology which is derived from the findings of the pure research and creates a usable prod- uct, followed by the research needed to discover how to persuade the public to accept and use the new "invention." To be sure, considerable so-called re- search, historical study or experimenta- tion in techniques has been carried on in the library field which has had a prac- tical application, as shown in Danton's article cited above. Other experiments have been carried out by library supply houses which have yielded improved op- erational procedures, some automation, and even gadgets-all of them "practi- cal." All this is necessary and will con- tinue as long as librarians are opera- tion-minded. But it should be recognized that even this practical operation or gadget is derived from some previous creative thinking. This spectrum of types of research is implied in Danton's analysis of disserta- tions for which doctor's degrees have been awarded. And the importance Df basic research is recognized when Dan- ton quotes William W. Brickman as say- ing: " ... if the dissertation is to have any value at all there should be an all- out effort to make its contribution to scholarship. The doctoral candidate should demonstrate a high order of abil- ity to prosecute ... an intellectual prob- lem in depth."3 It is evident that the emphasis has been on the "practical" rather than on theory in graduate study in librarian- ship. We have neglected the deeper un- derstanding of "what happens to people s Brickman, "Speed-up of the Ph.D. Degree," School and Society, LXXXVII (1959), Sl-52. 472 inside the library." 4 What can be done to raise the library as an authority on the character and history of society's rec- ords and of the reader's utilization of these records? How can we encourage more scholarly research? What can be done to open the doors to more serious investigation on all levels? What areas invite study? What assumptions are we now accepting without second thought? What levels of inquiry are called for in the topics which the field offers? Some general areas of insufficiently ex- plored conditions may be suggested: reader characteristics and behavior, sub- ject contents of publications, sources of information or materials needed for re- search; literary style, and distribution of tax money. Studies of reader behavior should go beyond the Madison Avenue surveys. They might not make any immediate recognizable difference in library opera- tion but on the new know ledge gained it should be possible to design sounder reader service. Possible examples of sub- jects for study are: Reader behavior as influenced by nationality, race, or religion. Analysis of environmental pressures leading to or discouraging reading. Student reading beyond the text- book in scientific fields vs. this type of reading in (a) literature, (b) religion, (c) fine arts, etc.5 Reader behavior of college fresh- men, sophomores, juniors, and seniors analyzed and interpreted. Reading in relation to mental health. Analysis of reader behavior in a cul- ture where reading material is scarce. The reader-public of paperbacks vs. reader behavior toward (a) hard-cover 4 "It is what happens to people inside the library th a t counts and not the yardage of catalog cards. . . . [The library] is a diffusion center for the intellectual energy in the vital life of the mind." Norman Cousins, "The Library in the Modern World," CRL, XX (1960), 455 . 5 This problem is treated in Jacob M. Price , Reading for Life (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1959), chapters 5-7. COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES P.ublications, (b) newspapers, (c) maga- Zines. Subject content of publications has been too little analyzed. We have too little knowledge of the range and levels of subjects treated in publications of various types. This knowledge is funda- mental to effective communication. To . what extent has the new knowledge of space been given a form consumable by the "general reader"? Is there any dif- ference in the subject content of publi- cations coming from countries of dif- ferent ideologies? Is there any relation between the discovered distribution of subjects . in any given pertinent type of publication and the fields of knowledge of college curricula? To what extent are librarians responsible for coordinating the subject content of the library's col- lection with the curriculum and pupil requirements of the public education de- scribed in James Bryant Conant's report on American high schools,6 and what would this involve? Some intensive studies7 are under way to discover much-needed information on materials used for research ; but this is only a beginning. Such studies reach into backgrounds and subject fields and ar- rive at principles even though they may not represent pure theory. They look eventually toward practical application especially in the materials of applied sci- ence and technology and are particularly pertinent to current studies of obso- lescence in library collections. Without the sound results of studies such as these, without the guidance of discovered fun- damentals, present efforts to set stand- ards for elimination of materials from collections must be highly experimen- tal. Possible examples of studies in this area are: The lag in reducing new knowledge to communicable form for 6 T he American H igh S chool T oday; A F irst R eport t o I nterested Citizens ( N ew Yo rk: M cG ra w-Hill , 1959) . 7 See for example: R a lph R . Shaw . "The State of t h e L ibrary Art ," L ibrary Journal, LXXXV (1960) , 133 7-1339. NOVEMBER 1960 any specified reader-need, e.g. technical reports and scientific articles in foreign languages now being attempted by ma- chines; variations in research needs in different scholarly fields. Case Institute of Technology is interested in content represented by "what chemists and physi- cists read, and why" 8 as basic to practical dissemination and use of scientific in- formation. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is trying to determine the merit of items to be circulated measured by demand. 9 The Operations Research Center10 of the Institute proposed to analyze and reduce the data and produce "the proper density of functions and cumulative distribution functions" to fa- cilitate the study. The fourth area of valuable inquiry is a measuring of literary style. While this may at first seem to be the domain of the student in literature, it should also be claimed by librarians as a foundation stone in their organized institution. What are the changes in literary style which reflect change in social and cul- tural patterns and are in turn reflected in the collections which libraries through generations have offered to readers? A study of symbolism as represented in col- lections of selected libraries is not with- out meaning to scholarship. Or, what is the relation of literary style to so-called popularity of publications? This does not imply a measuring of literary study; but it is desirable to know more about the essence of writings in the libraries of the world, to understand how the art infuses our collections. Funds for the support of libraries and for research in the field will continue to come from tax sources and from founda- tions. What claim have libraries on such 8 Russell Ackoff, ["Informa tion Requirements a n d U ses" ] in N a tiona l Science F oundation , Current R e- s mrch and D evelopm ent in S cienti fic D ocumentation, No. 6 (Washingt on : Government P r inting Office, 19 60), p . 5. 9 Philip M. M orse, ["Inform ation R equirem ents a nd Uses"] in N ati on a l S c ien ce F ounda tion. Cttrrent R e- search and D evelopment in S cientific D ocum entation, No . 6, v. 10. to Ib id. 473 monies? What can be offered to support these claims? How do the bases from such claims compare with those for dis- tribution of tax money to other institu- tions? How are the responsibilities of the local, state and federal government related in the allotting of tax money to local institutions,-that is, basic political and economic principles of such division of responsibility? What is the basis of "fair share" in such distribution? These five areas lie in what Lester E. Asheim has called the periphery of the reader and his books within which we work.IO They draw upon psychology, so- ciology and economics, to say nothing of literature. 11 Scholarly inquiry is also in- creasingly needed in the area of internal organization of collections of society's records, i.e., in subject analysis, interpre- tation, classification and in the semantics of selected topic terms. The changes in today's world, like earth tremors, have jolted our old established schemes, out- moded subject headings and rigid nota- tions. Research in this area must go back to theory, to principles, to analysis of existing and expanding knowledge, to a dissection of interrelated subjects and disciplines, and to identification of com- mon elements. Some parts of all these aspects must be studied and the findings set forth before sound schemes of biblio- graphical control and information re- trieval can be devised. Phyllis A. Rich- mond has presented some of the factors which enter into this study in her soundly analytical article on research in classification.12 David J. Haykin deplored the fact that "very little of objective ex- perimentation is available on the general approach of the reader to the subject element of the dictionary catalog. . . . Even if the cataloger were to determine conclusively the mental processes of the 10 Speech at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association in Washington , D. C., June 1959. u Asheim, letter to the author, August 12, 1960. u "Some Aspects of Basic Research in Classification ," f1tf;~. Resources and Technical Services, IV (1960), 474 reader, he would still have to take ac- count of linguistic problems." 13 The studies suggested might some- times seem vague and elusive. They can become "increasingly divorced from deeds," in the words of August Heck- scher, director of the Twentieth Century Fund. In the numerous investigations produced in doctoral programs in Amer- ican universities, some sterile theses have been presented and have rightly, been held up to ridicule. Grayson L. Kirk, in attacking the burden of the doctoral pro- gram, said: "Few dissertations do pro- duce anything of value to the sum-total of human knowledge." 14 Should pressure for Ph.D.'s in librarianship develop, there is no doubt but that some work will be inconsequential. But sound the- ory underlies sound practice. And blind alleys must be explored, if only to prove that they lead nowhere. In some unex- pected corners the foundation of future solid building will be found. The obstacles to the pursuit of re- search mentioned by Danton are all too true: lack of financial support, length of time required to obtain the degree, in- difference of the practicing librarian to problems which call for academic explo- ration, lack of incentive in steps of pro- fessional advancement, and little de- mand for the doctor's degree from the public or special library and even less, he says, from the school library. Also in- cluded are lack of time in the demand- ing schedule of the library and in the call for "more practical training." These obstacles have been accepted and en- larged upon by outstanding librarians in the country, as quoted in the Danton article. It should be noted that most of these hurdles exist also in other disciplines in which opportunities for doctor's degrees are offered. Doctoral candidates in all de- partments of knowledge have struggled 13 Subject Headings, a Practical Guide (Washington D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1951), p. 4-5. ' u From address at the University of North Dakota November, 1958, quoted by Brickman, loc. cit. ' COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES with penury, discouragement, and de- layed awards. Danton says: " ... the fig- ure [of doctor's degrees granted in li- brarianship] is not in unfavorable con- trast with those for certain of the other newer professions ... " 15 such as forestry, architecture, journalism, meteorology, public administration and social work. In the emerging pattern of institutional organization and management the em- phasis on the practical is natural. The conditions inherent in librarianship are described by Jesse H. Shera when he writes: "Of all the forms of education, library professional education is perhaps the most inherently paradoxical, for it is at once important and trivial ... librar- ians have focused their attention upon their technology, they have failed to see the deeper meaning of what they do, and hence have been unable to raise their activities to the level of a true profes- sion." 1 6 The inescapable routines re- quired to keep the institution running exist side by side with the thesis that the library "is a diffusion center for the in- tellectual exercises in the vital life of the mind." 17 The existing graduate library schools of the world are the principal agencies through which scholarly inquiry can be achieved. They have an obligation; in- deed their justification lies in their abil- ity to foster such inquiries. That they are victims of the obstacles to pure or basic research mentioned above and that they have had to yield to pressure from 15 Op. cit., p. 438. 16 "Theory and Technique in Library Education," Library Journal, LXXXV (1960), 1736 , 1738. 17 Cousins, op. cit., p. 455. NOVEMBER 1960 pract1cmg librarians to emphasize the "practical" subjects in doctoral disserta- tions can be seen from Danton's analysis of dissertation titles and from the listings in Library Research in Progress.1s Until the professon at large has a better recog- nition of the importance of rese;uch in- cluding basic research and until there is greater demand for personnel who have contributed to scholarly inquiry, the em- phasis in the studies will be mainly on historical narrative and applie~ opera- tions. Within the profession there must be sufficient recognition of the impor- tance of study of the history and con- tents of books, the reader and his com- pulsion to read, the relation of the li- brary to the dissemination of ideas, the social history of the library as an institu- tion, the classification of knowledge, bib- liography as a mirror of cultures and as a servant of research, and the operation of libraries in today's society, before li- brary schools can give intensive encour- agement to scholarly research. The de- mand must come from the profession as part of its claim to scholarship. Only when librarianship can offer a substan- tial body of sound research on various levels or in various types in the spectrum of serious inquiry can it produce under- lying principles on which to develop bet- ter practices or add new knowledge by which it will enrich librarianship as an exponent of today's culture and through which it may be viewed as a liberal dis- cipline rather than as a field of applied technology. 18 U. S. Office of Education. Library Services Branch. Library Research in Progress (Washington, 1959- ). 475