College and Research Libraries B y D O N A L D C O N E Y Libraries and the Long Haul A message from the President of the Association of College and Reference Li- braries. IT DOES NOT TAKE m u c h w i t or i m a g i n a -tion to see behind today's headlines the call for a long and determined effort to turn defense into victory, but it takes an acute awareness of reality to convert this common knowledge into action. L i - brarians of scholarly libraries, like their colleagues of the faculty, are often accused of lying snug in their ivory towers, but I doubt if there is any group in the country more f u l l y aware of the dangers and de- mands of the present crisis than college and university faculties. In this awareness, librarians should not lag behind. Institutions of higher learning are con- fronted by a wartime dilemma, and the problems common to dilemma-solving must be shared by their libraries as the para- mount service agencies of the scholar and the learner. O n the one hand, scholarly libraries must assume their appropriate share of immediate and direct contribution to the w a r effort in services and in person- nel ; on the other, there is the necessity, of utmost importance, to maintain normal functions in the service of present training and research so that the postwar era may not be barren of hope. T h e first problem is today's, and the second is tomorrow's. T o m o r r o w cannot be robbed for the pres- ent, but today's w o r k must be done. Librarians must not collapse supinely in the face of this dilemma. T h e y must attack it positively and hold the scales in even balance between emergency require- ments and certain demands of the future. Immediately confronting us is the prob- lem of t h r o w i n g our libraries into gear w i t h the special wartime activities of the institutions w i t h which w e are associated. T h e supply of materials for defense train- ing courses no longer presents new prob- lems to us, but w e are now confronted w i t h the need to act as information centers on civilian defense, on student guidance w i t h reference to enlistment in the armed forces, on the supply of materials dealing w i t h the causes and f u t u r e of the w a r , and presently, w h e n the country has got its second wind, on the problems of the post- w a r p e r i o d — t h a t time which is the only excuse for the present crisis. T h e s e prob- lems and others that w i l l spring into being w i t h each new pressure of events are " m u s t " activities. T h e y must be dealt with s w i f t l y , efficiently, w i t h imagination and w i t h skill. Concurrently, although w e cannot do business as usual, w e must carry on much of our usual business in preparation for the greater emergencies after the w a r . T h e essential education of the rising generation must not suffer if the w a r is to be w o r t h fighting. If w e w a n t to live in a w o r l d of individual freedom, tomorrow's men and women must be educated to an apprecia- tion of its value. If the lamp of knowl- (Continued on page 116) MARCH, 1942 12 7 they choose to teach with library materials rather than student-bought textbooks will progress be made in teaching with books. Moreover, only insofar as they use the collections for research and public service can those collections become useful in the solution of baffling educational, social, economic, and political problems. In conclusion, may I personally and on behalf of the board of library trustees Librarians and the War (Continued from page 100) enabling the decisions of the American people to be based on the intellect rather than on the emotions. W e don't want to repeat the mistakes of the last world war and the peace which followed it. Let us then as a united group devote our attention for the duration to the education and enlightenment of the American people, first for victory and then for world-wide understanding with no thought of destruc- tion, or revenge. Let us all work for victory and perma- Libraries and the Long Haul (Continued from page 101) edge is not to flicker and burn dim for decades, institutions of higher learning and their libraries must be prepared to carry on activities of basic research by continu- ing to an appropriate degree their normal functions. Problems of both kinds must be met by libraries under conditions of peculiar diffi- culty. Library personnel is diminishing by induction into the armed services, by at- traction to defense work, and through the current reduction and future extinction of N . Y . A . and W . P . A . , and, more seriously, by the lowering of income. T h e avail- and the staff of the Joint University Li- braries express our deep appreciation to those who have helped with their moral and financial support to make the Joint University Library a reality. Y o u have enabled us to take the first important step to provide an adequate library and with your further assistance and encouragement we hope we may take the other essential steps. nent security for all nations. T h i s is something more than a fight for you first, or me first, or America first. It must be for the well-being of all peoples of the world. T h i s is indeed the basic doctrine of democracy and of the Christian religion as opposed to the philosophy that one nation or one race must dominate. In the world of tomorrow no nation can secure the well-being of its own people without regard for the needs of other peoples. ability of essential library supplies is be- coming increasingly less. Humble ex- amples are the increasing costs and ulti- mate shortage of catalog card stock and shortages in the essential materials for binding. Important publications for re- search published in foreign countries are generally unavailable in this country for many reasons. Only by hard work and ingenuity can we meet the current and pressing demands and at the same time keep our houses in order for the future. It will be a long haul but we are going to make it! 116 COLLEGE, AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES