College and Research Libraries


By M I L D R E D B. B U H L E R 

Field Library Services of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture Library 

Mrs. Buhler, chief, Division of Field 

Library Services, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture Library, gave this, the second 

of three papers, before the Agricultural 

Libraries Section of A.C.R.L., June 22, 

1942. 

MY PAPER w i l l be confined to the operation of departmental branch 
libraries, although this is only a part of 

the department's interests in library service 

outside of W a s h i n g t o n . T h e article on 

" P o s t w a r P l a n n i n g for Libraries in the 

Department of A g r i c u l t u r e " by Roy I. 

K i m m e l and Ralph R . Shaw, the depart-

ment librarian, which appeared in the 

A.L.A. Bulletin of February of this year, 

indicated four spheres of the department's 

interests in the subject. T h i s was, I be-

lieve, the first time to appear in print a 

clear-cut tying-together of library service 

w i t h the department's responsibility for 

the public aspect of agriculture in our 

economy and for the well-being of those 

engaged in agriculture as persons and as 

citizens. 

T h e branch library i d e a — t h a t is, the 

establishment of libraries in important 

centers of our department field staff w i t h 

the purpose of serving all departmental 

workers of all bureaus—is less than a year 

o l d ; however, field libraries within the 

department date as far back as 1907, when 

the forest service w a s decentralized. L a t e r 

the soil conservation service and other 

decentralized bureaus maintained small 

libraries or office collections for their o w n 

members in their regional offices. It is 

an interesting anomaly that although five 

out of every six departmental workers 

were stationed in the field and that there 

were more than forty bureau collections 

designated as libraries scattered around the 

c o u n t r y — s o m e of them excellent in their 

narrow fields—still the large majority of 

our field workers were without library 

service from the department or its bureaus. 

W i t h one exception—the L i t t l e Rock 

Branch L i b r a r y — a l l the branches were 

developed from such a collection, or a 

combination of such collections, and broad-

ened in scope so as to include all phases 

of the agricultural programs in the regions. 

T h e purpose of branch libraries is to ex-

tend to field personnel of the department 

the same, of as nearly as possible the same, 

library service that the staff in W a s h i n g -

ton enjoys. T h e branch libraries are to 

serve as the bibliographical and reference 

centers for our staff in each region and 

are the regional clearing houses for the 

flow of information and other library 

functions. W h e n e v e r necessary sub-

branches are maintained in order to keep 

this flow of library material to workers in 

out-of-the-way places running as evenly 

and directly as possible. 

T h e first step in planning our system of 

branch libraries w a s to survey and analyze 

D EC EMBER, 1942 35 



each center in the country w h i c h serves as 

headquarters for more than five hundred 

department employees. 

T h e s e three factors determined the type 

of library which should be established in 

each a r e a : 

( a ) Subject fields represented by the re-
search and action programs in the 
area. ( T h i s was arrived at by as-
sembling project analyses of all de-
partmental agencies operating in the 
area.) 

(b) Type and amount of library service 
needed in order to ensure the success 
of these programs. 

(c) Existing library facilities in the area 
and their availability to department 
workers. 

Preliminary Survey 

T h e preliminary survey w a s made in 

W a s h i n g t o n w i t h the aid of reports, cor-

respondence, and talks w i t h bureau chiefs. 

Each area w a s charted soon a f t e r the 

division of field library services began 

functioning, on J u l y I of last year, by 

these more or less arm-chair methods, w i t h 

a v i e w to tackling the most pressing prob-

lems first. T h e preliminary surveys w e r e 

followed by visits to areas under con-

sideration and by f u r t h e r conferences and 

talks w i t h workers on the ground. 

T h e first branch library to be estab-

lished w a s the Beltsville Research C e n t e r 

in M a r y l a n d , fifteen miles f r o m W a s h i n g -

ton, w h i c h covers an area of more than 

t w e l v e thousand acres. T h e center pro-

vides field and laboratory facilities for 

scientific workers representing nine bureaus 

of the department. M o s t of the research 

w o r k formerly carried on in W a s h i n g t o n 

and at A r l i n g t o n F a r m has been, or is in 

process of being, transferred to the center. 

T h e subject interests of the branch library, 

then, parallel those of the department 

library except that the economic and action 

programs are not represented. 

T h e size of the book collection is pur-

posely kept to m i n i m u m ; the only criterion 

used in determining whether or not a 

book belongs at the branch library is the 

record of its actual use. T h e library's 

main value is in being a distribution center 

of the department library proper; its only 

claim or aim to comprehensiveness is in its 

sets of indexing and abstracting publica-

tions w h i c h cover every field of research 

being carried on at the center. 

T h e library staff of seven is devoted 

to reference w o r k , periodical scanning, 

and circulation, and to maintaining a 

steady flow of research materials to the 

staff. Book deliveries are made by motor-

cycle. T w o regular trips are made daily 

over a nine-mile circuit, delivering to 

thirteen buildings. T h e largest of the 

buildings receive desk-to-desk service. A 

longer circuit of fifteen miles is made twice 

a w e e k to cooperating agencies, among 

them the P a t u x e n t Research R e f u g e of the 

D e p a r t m e n t of the Interior. Books re-

quested from the department library in 

the morning, if not in use in the depart-

ment, are received at the branch library 

the same day. So much f o r the only 

purely scientific research branch library 

in the system. 

Regional Libraries 

T h e other branches are regional libraries 

and serve both research and action agencies 

for ordinary and general library services, 

depending upon the department library in 

W a s h i n g t o n for extended searches of lit-

erature, compilation of bibliographies, cata-

loging, and other technical aids. T h e nine 

regional branch libraries are located at 

these points: the Northeastern branch is 

at U p p e r D a r b y , P a . ; w e have t w o South-

36 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



ern branches, one at L i t t l e Rock, A r k . , 

and one at A t l a n t a ; the G r e a t Plains 

branch is at Lincoln, N e b . ; the Inter-

mountain and Southwestern branches are 

at Albuquerque, N . M . , and the F o r t 

W o r t h - D a l l a s a r e a ; our W e s t Coast 

branch is at San F r a n c i s c o ; and the Pacific 

N o r t h w e s t region is served by our newly-

established branch at Portland, O r e . W e 

are n o w in process of organizing the 

branch to serve the M i d w e s t in M i l -

waukee. 

T h e s e regional library service areas coin-

cide w i t h those of other over-all depart-

mental administrative agencies in the field. 

In general, the nine regional branches 

f o l l o w similar patterns of organization and 

administration. Problems are, as a rule, 

common to all. T h e same basic agricul-

tural reference books w i l l be found in all, 

as w e l l as the same general periodicals. 

A n attempt is made to include in each 

branch library a f e w standard books on 

all phases of agriculture w i t h emphasis, 

naturally, on the subjects of special interest 

in each region. F o r instance, seven of 

our branches w o u l d normally have one 

or t w o general books on 'cotton; our t w o 

Southern branches, at L i t t l e R o c k and 

A t l a n t a , w o u l d have sizable collections on 

the subject. Each branch library as a 

matter of course is expected to be complete 

in its holdings of regional agricultural 

literature—complete in its records of all 

publications by department workers in the 

area, complete in its sets of agricultural 

college, experiment, and extension publi-

cations f r o m the states which define the 

geographical limits of the region, and in its 

holdings of local farm journals. 

Composite Picture of Branch 

T h e services rendered in the regional 

branch libraries are, in general, comparable 

but in certain regions certain types of 

services are developed more highly than in 

others. T h e description which f o l l o w s is 

a sort of composite picture of a branch 

library, typical of all but not a literal 

description of any one of the nine. 

O u r typical branch library is situated 

in a city w i t h good library facilities. Satis-

factory contacts have been made w i t h 

neighboring libraries for interlibrary loans. 

T h e branch librarian has assumed the 

responsibility f o r agricultural literature 

pertaining to the region and receives in 

return f r o m the other libraries help in 

general reference w o r k and the like, thus 

making it unnecessary to acquire many 

books outside the field of agriculture and 

related subjects. T h e librarian is a college 

and library school graduate and has had 

experience in the department library before 

assuming the field job. S h e — I say she, 

because only t w o of the branch librarians 

are m e n — h a s t w o or three assistants and a 

full-time or part-time messenger. O n e of 

her assistants may be in charge of a sub-

branch, which may be a permanent ar-

rangement made necessary by geography 

or transportation facilities or it may be 

a purely temporary expedient depending 

upon the present tire and gasoline shortage. 

T h e staff served by our typical library 

is composed of five hundred or more agri-

cultural workers in eight bureaus situated 

near the library and perhaps one thousand 

w o r k e r s scattered in t w o hundred or so 

locations w i t h i n the five states w h i c h de-

fine the geographical limits of the region, 

w h o m the librarian seldom sees and w i t h 

w h o m she deals by mail-order methods. 

Book Stock 

T h e book stock, as mentioned before, 

has been developed from a small w o r k i n g 

collection of a single bureau and has been 

D EC EMBER, 1942 37 



added to by a n a l y z i n g the projects and 

w o r k i n g plans of all eight agencies in 

the region and representing these sub-

ject interests by the best books and periodi-

cals in these fields. P r o j e c t and division 

leaders w o r k w i t h the librarian in making 

sure that their fields are adequately repre-

sented, in adding their special knowledge 

in evaluating proposed book purchases. 

A f t e r the orientation period, the branch 

librarian has the users and potential users 

charted, not only as to w h a t an individual 

w a n t s to read pertaining to his w o r k but 

also has her home-made digest of w o r k 

which has been done in the region, w o r k 

in progress, and w o r k contemplated, by 

geographical location and by divisions 

within the bureaus. In connection w i t h 

this, three card records are kept. T h e 

first shows subject interests, w i t h individ-

uals' names a d d e d ; the second is a list of 

individuals w i t h notes on their interests 

(the same record, reversed) ; the third is 

a geographical index indicating service 

points w i t h subject interests—that is, w h a t 

agencies operate in Moccasin, M o n t . , for 

instance, and key men and important 

projects in each agency. F r o m these rec-

ords a regional map is prepared for the 

division of field library services and is used 

as a guide in keeping the field collections 

well-balanced and in keeping us alert in 

f u l f i l l i n g our purpose of opening our total 

library resources to every member of the 

department, wherever his assignment 

might take him. 

N o t all librarians are invited to sit in 

on bureau staff meetings or interbureau 

conferences but those w h o are not invited 

still have means of keeping these records. 

Casual day-to-day discussions both in the 

library and in the offices w i t h the men 

afford the same opportunity on a more 

informal basis. P a r t of the program of 

the regular regional library committee 

meetings is devoted to a discussion of de-

velopments and projected plans in which 

the library might participate. T h e library 

committees are composed of one member 

from each departmental agency operating 

in the region. A n o t h e r means of analyz-

ing the library needs in the region is 

directed particularly to the staff in the 

outlying areas. T h i s is through a form 

request for information reading something 

like this: 

— I n planning library service for depart-
ment employees in the region, we will 
find it helpful to know the subjects in which 
the various workers are interested. 

For this reason, we would be very glad if 
you will indicate below, and return to us, the 
nature of the work or project in which you 
are now engaged and the subject interests 
involved or relating to the carrying out of 
your particular project or field of work. 

W e hope we may be able to lend any 
literature you may need in your work, and 
shall welcome your requests for the loan of 
library materials. M a i l or telephone re-
quests for library materials will be handled 
as promptly as possible— 

Also, attached to the library Newsletters, 

which are issued regularly, is a blank form 

inviting requests for a specific title, re-

quests by subject, or requests for a con-

tinuous type of service such as receiving 

periodicals regularly on circulation. 

A s the region's reference and biblio-

graphical center, the branch library 

touches all phases of the department's w o r k 

wherever books and library materials can 

further its research and action programs. 

T h e points of contact are many and varied. 

T h e range of reference questions and of 

all the special types of searching and biblio-

graphical services required by the field 

men challenges the ingenuity and resource-

fulness of the branch librarians. A f e w 

38 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



of the questions picked out from last 

month's report from the branch libraries 

w i l l indicate the type of questions asked: 

Types of Questions 

From at least five of the branches came 
questions pertaining to all phases of guayule 
planting, culture, insect pests, harvesting, 
etc. 

T h e same type of questions were asked 
for goldenrod, rabbit weed, Russian dande-
lion, Hevea, and other rubber-producing or 
potential rubber-producing plants. 

Material on the history of land specula-
tion during wartime. 

Number of eggs to be sent to Great 
Britain in 1942. 

W h e n and where Secretary Wickard first 
said, "Food will win the w a r and write the 
peace." 

Material and a reading list on charcoal 
and wood as gas-producers for motor equip-
ment. 

A t least one question was directed to each 
branch library on the organization and 
management of farmer cooperatives. They 
included fur farms, vegetable and fruit can-
ning and preserving, wood alcohol plants, 
egg and poultry plants. 

T h e general run of reference questions 

fall into four m a j o r subject classifications. 

Production, which includes soils, plants, 
and animals, and their protection. 

Conservation and land use, with their 
many ramifications. 

Marketing and distribution, which in-
cludes protection of markets, consumer pro-
tection, disposition of surpluses, nutrition, 
and the like. 

Rural life, including the farm home, the 
rural community, and all phases of rural 
sociology. 

T h e s e broad subject classifications may 

be subdivided into hundreds of more spe-

cific subjects, all impinging one upon the 

other, and most of the reference questions 

are directed toward small segments of 

these larger subjects. 

In our monthly reports w e divide refer-

ence questions and bibliographical w o r k 

into these categories: 

Type 1. Request for a fact quickly found. 
Type 2. Request taking search of thirty 

minutes. 
Type 3. Request taking extended search. 
Type 4. Request referred to another infor-

mation source. 
Type 5. Compilation of a list. 
Type 6. A list already compiled by the li-

brary is sent. 
Type 7. Request which does not fall into 

the above categories. 

A list of all questions f a l l i n g into T y p e 

7, together w i t h notes on how they are 

handled, is sent to the division of field 

library services, as w e l l as are all questions 

f a l l i n g into any of the other categories 

if they are not satisfactorily and com-

pletely handled at the b r a n c h — t h a t is, if 

additional searching by subject specialists 

in the department library is necessary. 

Traveling Library Service 

O u r package or traveling library serv-

ice, which has developed in certain of the 

regions, has been enthusiastically received. 

T h e library committees w o r k closely w i t h 

the librarian in deciding the type of 

contents in these packages which circulate 

on a regular schedule to four field offices, 

remaining in each office one month before 

being returned to the branch library for 

circulation count and for weeding out of 

pamphlets which have outlived their time-

liness to be replaced and started on an-

other routing schedule. Each package 

contains five or six books and about 

twenty-five pamphlets. T h e packages 

themselves are unpretentious. W h e n our 

original supply of library bureau composi-

tion mailing cartons w a s exhausted, w e 

then used laundry boxes, and at present, 

ordinary corrugated cartons. A letter, 

D EC EMBER, 1942 39 



r 

together w i t h the routing schedule of the 

box and a f e w annotated reading lists w i t h 

request blanks for loans, accompanies each 

package. 

T h e material in the packages just men-

tioned is chosen w i t h a particular group 

of workers in mind. Some are prepared 

specifically for soil conservation service 

workers, others for f a r m security workers, 

and so on. A different type of package is 

being w o r k e d out now to be sent to the 

state and county w a r boards. T h e y con-

tain, in the opinion of the department 

representatives on the regional w a r plan-

ning boards, the " m u s t " reading of all 

local people w o r k i n g on the Food for 

Freedom program and on postwar plan-

ning plans, w i t h the aim of building up a 

more constructive idea of the objectives 

and philosophies of the democracies in the 

w a r and postwar w o r l d , as w e l l as a 

clearer picture of the department's re-

sponsibility in these programs. 

T h e division of field library services ad-

ministers the field libraries and it is the 

point of contact between them and the 

department library itself. A l l requests 

for loans, for reference w o r k , and other 

requests for services are also received in 

this division, are distributed to the various 

other divisions for handling, and flow 

back to this division a f t e r completion. 

T h u s , a single, daily letter to and from 

each branch library takes care of most of 

the usual business w i t h our libraries ex-

cept for loans and new books sent and other 

bulky packages. 

Technical Processes 

C a t a l o g i n g and other technical opera-

tions necessary to the preparing of books 

for use is done centrally in the department 

library. C a t a l o g and shelf cards are pre-

pared and sent w i t h the book, ready for 

40 

filing in the branch library catalog. T h e 

routines for books for which L i b r a r y of 

Congress cards are printed (except for de-

partment publications) are handled in 

much the same w a y as in other libraries 

w h i c h maintain branches. Subject head-

ings for field books conform to those in use 

in the department library. If further ana-

lytics are necessary in the field libraries in 

order to bring out material of purely local 

interest, the additional added entries are 

made in the regional library. L i b r a r y of 

Congress proof sheets for department publi-

cations are furnished to all branch libraries. 

Branch librarians indicate the sets of cards 

desired and return the proof sheets to us 

for ordering and preparation. 

T h e department library stencils cards 

for all agricultural publications received 

for w h i c h L . C . printed cards are not 

available. Copies of the main cards of 

the stenciled series are sent w e e k l y to the 

branches for similar checking. T h e s e also 

are returned to W a s h i n g t o n w i t h requests 

for the number of sets desired. 

C a t a l o g i n g , then, for the bulk of the 

material in the branch library is not a 

m a j o r problem. It is primarily a matter 

of making additional sets of catalog cards 

for their publications and filing the cards 

in the regional catalog. 

A union catalog of all departmental 

holdings in the region is one of the most 

valuable features of the branch library. 

N o t all the union catalogs can yet be said 

to be complete but they are all being kept 

up to date currently and older scattered 

holdings among the various bureaus are 

being consolidated into the one catalog as 

rapidly as time permits. 

T h i s outline of organization and func-

tion of the branch libraries of the depart-

ment has been pure exposition. It has 

(Continued on page 68) 

COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 

L 



responsibility on the part of the instructor 

to not only inform himself as to the con-

tents of the library but also to cooperate in 

interesting the student in its proper value. 

T h e library, too, can do much to assist 

and encourage the student to make use of 

the books lining its shelves. T h e required 

reading w i l l more or less take care of 

itself, but some effort must be made to 

interest the student in things other than 

facts and figures. H e must be shown that 

books are not only medicine to be taken 

for one's intellectual health but are friends 

w o r t h cultivating and respecting. 

A s has been stated, the library is more 

than just a dispenser of printed m a t e r i a l ; 

it is a powerhouse and should endeavor by 

periodic displays and other pertinent pro-

grams to arouse the interest of student 

and instructor alike. 

T h u s far I have placed the w h o l e bur-

den on the shoulders of the library and 

instructor, apparently absolving the stu-

dent f r o m any responsibility w h a t e v e r . 

T h e student, however, is not like a sponge 

ball bounced about between the w a l l s of 

learning absorbing, or refusing to absorb, 

whatever he comes in contact w i t h . N o 

matter how great his opportunities, they 

are wasted until he applies himself and 

avails himself of them. 

T h e student should learn to use his li-

brary as a place of mental recreation and 

stimulus as w e l l as for study. O n c e the 

technicalities of the indexes, file boxes, 

and references are mastered he w i l l find 

the library has a character all its o w n . 

H e should spend an hour or t w o when-

ever possible doing nothing but browsing. 

H a n d l e the books, become familiar w i t h 

their size and shape, color and design. 

Each book has a personality of its own, 

seldom revealed by its call number. T h e r e 

is a pleasant mustiness about an old book, 

a crisp vigor about a new book which can 

only be k n o w n through actually handling 

them. 

A s a student I w o u l d say, therefore, 

that the junior college library is important 

as a source of supplementary textbook 

reading, a convenient and congenial place 

for study and for acquiring a greater 

knowledge through the thoughts and lives 

of men of all ages. 

Field Library Services of the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture Library 
(Continued from page 40) 

perhaps not communicated to you more 

than a factual statement concerning the 

g r o u n d w o r k w h i c h has been laid the past 

eleven months and has not indicated to 

you the vastly interesting nature of the 

job. A s G a u s and W o l c o t t 1 have pointed 

1 G a u s , J. M . , a n d W o l c o t t , L . O . Public Ad-
ministration and the United States Department of 
Agriculture. C h i c a g o , P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n S e r v i c e , 
1940. S34P-

out, except for an over-all picture, the 

w o r k of the department should be viewed 

not f r o m its W a s h i n g t o n center but from 

studies from its regional centers. T h e 

really stimulating and interesting papers 

about our field w o r k w i l l be w r i t t e n by 

the field librarians themselves w h o w i l l 

have firsthand stories to tell. 

68 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES