College and Research Libraries A Philosophy of Book Selection for Smaller Academic Libraries THE PURPOSE of this paper shall be to outline some of the controlling criteria which should underlie a sound acquisi- tions policy for the smaller academic li- braries. It disclaims any intention of presenting rules of thumb constituting an absolute system for the selection of materials. The effective development of academic library book collections, how- ever, is dependent up_on the understand- ing and acceptance of certain larger as- sumptions which fall neither within the category of administrative techniques nor within these critical standards of judgment applicable to the content of the several subject disciplines. They spring rather from the general organiza- tion and the social development of knowledge itself. It is hardly necessary to point out that, from a statistical point of view, the ma- jor problem in acquisitions policy for smaller institutions with limited finan- cial resources is that of selecti~n from a constantly increasing rate of publica- tion. In the field of history, for example, a library ·with a book budget of $13,000 to $ 15,000 per year may find that it can purchase only one volume in ten of cur- rent annual publication i.n this field. When the necessity for acquiring some older materials, together with books pub- lished in English in Great Britain and in other foreign countries, is considered the problem is, of course, greatly inten- sified. It has been said that libraries are not made, they just grow. Any librarian who has worked with a collection of books over an extended period will be aware of the large element of truth in this. The BY STUART A. STIFFLER Mr. Stiffler is Associate Librarian of Hiram College. growth of academic book collections has, of course, always been subject to some measure of ·rational control. But the typically uneven and disorderly charac- ter of this growth raises again the ques- tion of the proper relationship between the planned and the necessarily fortui- tous elements in the development of the book collection. What should the librar- ian's responsibility be in supervising the quantitative and qualitative growth of his book collection? Some librarians appear to follow, as much as possible, a simple "stimulus-re- sponse" buying policy. Especially is this so if g,eneral funds are limited and if the budget is departmentally allocated. This policy, insofar as it is a decision (or an implicit acquiescence) of the librari- an, represents too often a failure to dis- charge the full measure of one's profes- sional responsibility. On the other hand in a small institution it is typically the responsibility of one or two librarians to survey the entire scope of publication which may be divided among as many as a dozen or more specialists in larger in- stitutions. Obviously such a situation re- quires a careful estimate of staff capa- bility, a deliberately planned division of labor and, of necessity, a heavy reliance upon faculty for the initiation of orders. However, to assign this role entirely (or almost completely) to faculty in most instances suggests a faulty estimate of relative responsibility or, possibly, just a failure of nerve on the part of the li- brarian. 204 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES What theoretical guidelines should the librarian adopt, then, if he is to assume an active role in book selection? Every institution presents its unique problems. The points included in any sound book selection policy statement are basic. What are the educational aims of one's institution? What is the general trend in departmental and in total enrollments? What are the specific trends in research and teaching interest within each depart- ment? What is the pattern of curriculum development? What is the proximity of one's institution to other book collec- tions? The introduction of Honors pro- grams and the generally increased em- phasis upon independent study is, for example, a development which can sig- nificantly alter one's total purchasing program. As a background for selection these policy considerations should be tied in with a carefully written estimate of the strengths and weaknesses of one's collec- tion. The more detailed and specific this can be made, the better; but in any case, it will have to be constantly amended and expanded with changes in curricu- lum and faculty and with the continu- ing evaluation of the collection. But, be- yond this, what general applicability can theoretical considerations have for the numerous individual book collec- tions, each ,with its own requirements? In the first place, a book is always, ideally, evaluated originally, or in review, by the librarian on its own merits. He utilizes his own knowledge, consults staff or faculty members and checks standard bibliographies, check lists and reviews. The librarian remains ultimately re- sponsible for the qualitative character of his book collection. He may on occasion think it necessary to express a negative opinion of a book or to summarize re- viewers' professional consensus to the individual who requests such a book. And he must retain the ultimate au- thority to reject a book under considera- tion. MAY 1963 But with exceptions to be noted, a volume should not usually be selected exclusively on the basis of its individual merit. The questions must be asked, what is the relevance of the book to our requirements in terms of the educational aims of our institution?, in terms of stu- dent and faculty interests?, of the level of demand and enrollment in the various courses?, of the relative strengths in the collection as defined in one's written evaluation of the collection?, of the de- gree of specialization and level (or type) of treatment of the volume in relation to the clientele served? Decision for pur- chase of most volumes must be based upon careful assessment of the multiple selection criteria involved. To select a book without reference to these extrinsic critera will, in the long run, materially decrease the general util- ity of the collection to the library's pub- lic. As a general underlying principle it is important to view the library collec- tion not as composed of isolated book- units, deriving their organic character ·only from physical proximity and there- sidual subject analysis provided by the classification system, the card catalog, indexes, and printed bibliographies. In a substantive sense a book collection is not composed of books as physical ob- jects in space, but rather it consists of ideas or themes, events, interpretations having some structural coherence in terms of collective treatment in the to- tal body of material selected and anal- yzed. By "structural coherence" is meant that the ideational content of a given volume is viewed, insofar as possible, in its manifold relations to the correspond- ing or related content of all other physi- cal units in the collection. This criterion should be qualified, as shall be ex- plained below, by the admission of books relatively comprehensive and self-con- tained and which further appear as sig- nificant idea-complexes around which to build. The well selected book collection, 205 then, poses a complex problem in ap- plied social epistemology . Accordingly, the librarian must be sensitive to the evolving organization of knowledge, and to the interrelationship of the ideas, the events, and the broader themes which he is evaluating. This "sensitivity" in- volves not only some sense of the logical organization of knowledge (considered as idea, event, or theme) but of the as- sociative or analogical element which, since it is involved in research and imag- inative thinking, is ultimately a factor in the analysis and selection of books. Now it follows as a corollary of the fact th