College and Research Libraries


By H E R B E R T A . K E L L A R 

The Responsibilities and 
Opportunities of an Agricultural 
Library in Wartime 

Mr. Kellar's paper was the third of three 

given before the Agricultural Libraries 

Section of the A.C.R.L., June 24, 1942. 

AG R I C U L T U R A L L I B R A R I E S i n t h e - U n i t e d States are of various kinds. 
T h e most important, both for size and con-

tent, is the U n i t e d States D e p a r t m e n t of 

A g r i c u l t u r e L i b r a r y in W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . 

L a r g e s t in number and somewhat similar 

in type are the several libraries connected 

w i t h the state colleges of agriculture. 

Special agricultural libraries are associated 

w i t h museums, implement companies, flour 

milling concerns, meat processing corpora-

tions, and so forth. T h e r e are a f e w 

private reference institutions, such as the 

M c C o r m i c k Historical Association. M a n y 

reference libraries of public character, 

both general and technical in nature, for 

example, the" L i b r a r y of Congress and the 

John C r e r a r L i b r a r y of Chicago, have 

considerable holdings of agricultural in-

terest. College, university, historical 

society libraries, and other institutions, 

containing extensive printed and manu-

script collections, frequently possess im-

portant agricultural material. A g r i c u l t u r e , 

both as an occupation and a w a y of life, 

has an ancient lineage. Because of this 

there is hardly an institution in the country 

which does not offer, somewhere in its files, 

information of pertinence to the subject. 

T h e f o l l o w i n g discussion is mainly con-

cerned w i t h libraries which are primarily 

of an agricultural character. C e r t a i n of 

the ideas may prove of interest to insti-

tutions which have agricultural material. 

Objective 

T h e geographical location of the various 

agricultural college libraries makes it 

possible for each to function for a definite 

a r e a — t h e state. In the same sense the 

U n i t e d States Department of A g r i c u l t u r e 

L i b r a r y in W a s h i n g t o n has for its prov-

ince the nation as a w h o l e and, where it is 

important to the U n i t e d States, the agri-

culture of other countries as w e l l . Simi-

larly the libraries connected w i t h the 

recently established agricultural labora-

tories in various regions of the U n i t e d 

States should be chiefly interested in those 

areas. T h e field service libraries set up 

by the United States D e p a r t m e n t of A g r i -

culture L i b r a r y are concerned w i t h the 

requests of research workers in their re-

gions. Libraries devoted to specialties 

naturally have the nation or the w o r l d 

as their territory. In each instance, ac-

cording to type and character, the agri-

cultural library should endeavor to service 

the needs of its area or field to the best of 

its capacity. In wartime its operation 

should be directed to rendering special 

services to the w a r effort in every w a y 

D EC EMBER, 1942 41 



conceivable, even though this may mean 

a considerable readjustment of customary 

activities. 

Collection of Agricultural Material1 

T o operate efficiently an agricultural 

library should have as complete a collection 

of library materials relating to its fields of 

interest as it is possible to assemble. T h e 

many-sided relationship of agriculture to 

civilization necessitates a variety of 

sources of information. A m o n g these 

should be noted certain physical objects 

such as w e a r i n g apparel used by the farmer 

and his family and w o r k m e n . T h e equip-

ment of the main house, tenant homes, and 

other buildings on the farm should also 

be represented. T h i s last group should 

be supplemented by plans and drawings 

of structures and w h e r e practicable scale 

models of interiors and exteriors of build-

ings. P l a t s of land holdings, charts and 

maps showing land use, rotation of crops, 

and similar data w o u l d likewise be valu-

able. T h e implements and machines used 

on the farm are important. T h e s e should 

include not only w e l l - k n o w n and w i d e l y 

used items but local unpatented devices, 

products of the ingenuity of the individual, 

which are only found in a particular lo-

cality. In like fashion the civilization of 

the locality should be preserved. F o r this 

purpose the librarian should collect every 

type of physical article representing the 

country store, the school, the church, the 

mill, the creamery, the cheese factory, the 

cotton gin, and other centers of the com-

munity life of the farmer. A g a i n drawings 

and models w o u l d be useful additions. 

Since considerations of bulk and storage 

1 E v e r e t t E . E d w a r d s , of the B u r e a u of A g r i -
c u l t u r a l E c o n o m i c s of the U n i t e d S t a t e s D e p a r t m e n t 
of A g r i c u l t u r e , has r e c e n t l y compiled an e x c e l l e n t 
s u m m a r y and a n a l y s i s of v a r i o u s types of materials 
w h i c h should be collected, entitled " O b j e c t i v e s and 
N e e d s f o r a National A g r i c u l t u r a l H i s t o r y R e s e a r c h 
C e n t e r . " 

often make difficult the collection and 

preservation of original, full-sized physical 

objects, these should be supplemented w i t h 

a variety of pictorial records, such as 

photographs and moving picture films of 

activities upon the f a r m and in the locality, 

which are of agricultural significance. 

Dioramas often synthesize, visualize, and 

give life and meaning to farm operations 

in a w a y that cannot be accomplished by 

the display of single items. T h e picture 

as a whole binds things together to tell a 

story. Dioramas, even though necessarily 

reduced in size from that of the original, 

are decidedly effective and attract much 

interest. If moving parts are introduced 

into the scene, the effect is further height-

ened. 

M a n u s c r i p t materials, except in the case 

of a f e w institutions, have not been gen-

erally collected and preserved by agri-

cultural libraries. Opportunities in this 

direction are intriguing. O f prime nature 

are the records which the farmer or mem-

bers of his family have kept. Essential 

among these are diaries, account books, 

letters, notebooks, memoirs, and reminis-

cences. In this connection special attention 

should be given to the accounting necessi-

tated by the direct relation of government 

to the farmer in recent years, especially 

crop and livestock data and income tax 

statements. 

Manuscript Records 

Supplementing this direct information 

about the farmer, and equally valuable, 

are the manuscript records of stores, mills, 

elevators, stockyards, tobacco warehouses, 

creameries, cheese factories, transportation 

companies, cotton gins, sugar beet and 

sugar cane refineries, implement and ma-

chinery companies and agencies, coopera-

tive stores, and like enterprises. A n o t h e r 

42 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



type of record relates to organizations 

w i t h which the farmer is associated. M a n -

uscripts of local agricultural societies, of 

the chapters of national bodies, and of 

religious, political, and social organiza-

tions in the rural community offer infor-

mation of great value. 

In a larger sense the farmer has been 

influenced by emigration, land policies, 

methods of land holding, availability of 

capital, supply and quality of labor, eco-

nomic depressions, wars, equipment needed 

for farm life, transportation, marketing, 

religious and political movements, and the 

distribution of knowledge designed to 

stimulate better farming and to improve 

life in the country. Manuscript records 

relating to any of these subjects are of 

interest to an agricultural library. In par-

ticular may be noted the business records 

of land companies and land speculators and 

of railroads receiving land grants. In-

formation pertaining to the invention, 

development, manufacture, and use of 

implements and machines, and data con-

cerning marketing organizations is also of 

value. Records of firms processing agri-

cultural products and of gas, electric 

power, and oil companies operating in 

rural districts are likewise of pertinence. 

A l s o indispensable are manuscripts of agri-

cultural leaders, societies, and fairs, farm 

journals, and agricultural schools. 

Archives of counties, cities, states, and 

the Federal government often contain im-

portant information of agrarian interest. 

Since these cannot be collected by agri-

cultural libraries, representatives of these 

institutions should make themselves fa-

miliar w i t h the location and the nature of 

these records. T h e surveys of various 

types of such archives recently made by the 

W o r k Projects Administration, and espe-

cially the Historical Records Survey, w i l l 

be found very useful in furnishing infor-

mation concerning materials of this char-

acter. T h e guides to the manuscript 

collections in American libraries and sur-

veys of church records, which the H . R . S . 

has prepared, reveal valuable agricultural 

material. A l s o the field notes and the 

published checklists of the American Im-

prints Inventory of the H . R . S . contain a 

vast amount of data concerning agricul-

tural literature published in the various 

states prior to 1877 a n d in a f e w instances 

down to 1890. Sets of all of these pub-

lications should be assembled if possible in 

agricultural libraries. If this is not prac-

ticable, nearby institutions which do have 

them should be located and an analysis 

made of the content of the survey records. 

Other Printed Materials 

Printed materials which should be as-

sembled, in addition to state and Federal 

governmental reports and publications, 

comprise articles, books, pamphlets, circu-

lars, broadsides, maps, charts, statistics, 

periodicals, and newspapers relating to 

agriculture. O f particular interest are 

rural newspapers and city newspapers with 

sections devoted to rural activities. T h e 

literature of travel should be included and 

also trade journals, publications of nursery 

and seed companies, implement machinery 

concerns, mail-order houses, and public 

utility corporations. 

If possible originals of all the types of 

material cited above should be obtained. 

W h e n this cannot be done, photostatic, 

microfilm, microprint, and other types of 

copies should be secured. 

E v e r y agricultural library has material, 

to a greater or less degree, relating to the 

agriculture of foreign countries. In view 

of the development of international rela-

tions and the interplay of economic and 

DECEMBER, 1942 43 



social forces throughout the w o r l d , it w i l l 

be necessary f o r agricultural libraries in 

this country in the f u t u r e to have much 

more information than formerly about 

agriculture abroad. Inasmuch as no one 

institution could expect to assemble ade-

quate information about all countries, it 

is suggested that the agricultural libraries 

of the U n i t e d States cooperate in w o r k i n g 

out a plan whereby individual institutions 

w i l l assume responsibility for gathering 

records about individual countries. T o 

offer a concrete example a good beginning 

could be made at the present time by 

bringing together in one place all the agri-

cultural data about a given foreign country 

w h i c h can be found w i t h i n the U n i t e d 

States and in allied or neutral nations. 

In the postwar period further information 

could be obtained. T h i s w o u l d necessitate 

the securing of duplicate original records 

f r o m other depositories and liberal use of 

microfilm and other copying methods. In 

this w a y there w o u l d eventually be at least 

one A m e r i c a n library w h i c h w o u l d have 

the necessary material relating to any 

country concerning which data w a s de-

sired. Because of the general character 

of the U n i t e d States D e p a r t m e n t of A g r i -

culture L i b r a r y , it possibly w o u l d be fair 

to ask this institution to take the leadership 

and to make itself responsible for assem-

bling definitive material about one or t w o 

of the most important foreign countries, 

for example, G r e a t Britain and Russia, 

and perhaps any others for w h i c h ar-

rangement could not be made elsewhere. 

In v i e w of the importance of transpor-

tation in connection w i t h the life and ac-

tivities of rural communities, agricultural 

libraries should endeavor to assemble good 

collections of material relating to all kinds 

of transportation. O n e of the main prob-

lems in the agriculture of today is distri-

bution of commodities, and transportation 

plays a chief role in this problem. A d d 

to this the rubber shortage and increased 

demands on railroads, internal navigation, 

and airlines, and you have scope for as-

sembling valuable and unique collections 

of material relating to a subject vital to 

agriculturists. Aeronautics should not be 

neglected in this connection because of the 

possibilities of the movement of heavy 

freight, particularly perishable products, 

in huge transport planes in the near f u t u r e . 

O u t of such a collection experts can find 

ideas for facilitating the movement of f a r m 

produce in certain sections w h i c h may 

prove applicable to the country as a whole 

and eventually help in solving maldistri-

bution. 

T h e s e libraries should also have ade-

quate data concerning the various fields in 

the physical sciences and, to round out the 

picture of civilization, records in due 

proportion pertaining to the arts, litera-

ture, history, l a w , and other branches of 

k n o w l e d g e . 

O n e agricultural library in each state 

should assume the responsibility for mak-

ing a special collection of material relating 

to the agricultural activity of the state in 

connection w i t h the present w a r , w i t h a 

v i e w to preserving and arranging and 

making this data available for research 

and publication in the postwar period. 

If an adequate agricultural history of a 

state has not been w r i t t e n , one library 

should assemble materials dealing w i t h the 

subject and otherwise stimulate acquisition 

and research so that eventually a good 

history can be prepared and published. 

A s an example of w h a t can be done in 

collecting special types of material of im-

portance for agriculture, T h o m a s D . 

C l a r k , of the U n i v e r s i t y of K e n t u c k y at 

L e x i n g t o n , has gathered several truck 

44 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



loads of records of country storekeepers, 

taken f r o m K e n t u c k y , Tennessee, and 

other Southern states. L e w i s A t h e r t o n , 

of the University of Missouri at Columbia, 

interested in the same subject, has amassed 

similar records f r o m Missouri, the South-

west, and also several Southern states. 

F o r several years Charles M . T h o m p s o n , 

of the U n i v e r s i t y of Illinois, has been as-

sembling a w i d e variety of ephemeral 

material of the present time and also older 

records of a type not a l w a y s preserved, 

much of w h i c h is of agricultural interest. 

T h e s e include mill records, papers of im-

plement and machinery concerns, mail-

order houses, public utility companies, and 

like data. In bulk this collection now 

numbers several million items. 

T h e national Committee on Conserva-

tion of C u l t u r a l Resources, which stems 

f r o m the N a t i o n a l Resources P l a n n i n g 

Board, has set up state committees to ar-

range for the protection of all types of 

cultural materials, including museum 

items, and it is assumed that the agricul-

tural libraries are w o r k i n g w i t h it for the 

protection of their o w n records. In addi-

tion the national committee is interested 

in establishing further state committees to 

collect and preserve data relating to the 

present w a r . Publication of a manual 

to aid local and state collecting is con-

templated as one of the first steps in this 

direction. Being largely ephemeral, the 

collection of these records should not be 

put off, for experience w i t h the documents 

of the last W o r l d W a r proves conclusively 

that if immediate steps are not taken to 

preserve materials of this type, w h e n they 

are wanted later they w i l l not be available. 

T h e Society of American Archivists and 

the A m e r i c a n Association for State and 

L o c a l History are cooperating w i t h the 

Committee on Conservation of C u l t u r a l 

Resources in these activities. N a t u r a l l y 

much of the material w h i c h w i l l be as-

sembled w i l l be of agricultural impor-

tance and institutions interested in this 

and other subjects should freely aid in 

these undertakings. 

T h e Committee on M i c r o c o p y i n g M a t e -

rials for Research of the American C o u n c i l 

of Learned Societies has been engaged 

since January 1941 in making microfilm 

copies of important manuscript and printed 

source materials in depositories in E n g l a n d 

and transferring the negatives to the 

L i b r a r y of Congress where copies may be 

obtained at cost, plus a small service 

charge. T h e s e films have much of inter-

est to agricultural libraries and they 

should take advantage of the opportunity 

to secure such data for their files. A s an 

indication of the scope of the documents 

chosen for copying, the priorities estab-

lished by the subcommittee on selection 

are first, material relating to America, 

second, that pertaining to E n g l a n d in all 

periods, and third, records concerning 

other countries deposited in E n g l a n d . If 

the program should eventually be extended 

to libraries in other foreign countries, 

additional material of agricultural interest 

w i l l be available. 

State Agricultural Museums 

In the last f e w years the A g r i c u l t u r a l 

History Society has gone on record as 

f a v o r i n g the establishment in W a s h i n g t o n 

of a national agricultural museum, com-

parable to the Smithsonian Institution for 

science. T h e plan worked out by a com-

mittee of the society includes the creation 

of branch museums w h i c h w o u l d illustrate 

the character and development of agricul-

ture in a region or state. A n opportunity 

here exists for a number of agricul-

tural libraries to undertake the sponsor-

D EC EMBER, 1942 45 



ship for such museums for their par-

ticular areas. Practical examples w o u l d 

be to restore as an actual operating unit, 

a cotton, rice, tobacco, or sugar plantation 

of the ante-bellum period; a Wisconsin, 

M i c h i g a n , or Pacific N o r t h w e s t lumber 

camp, a bonanza w h e a t farm, and a W e s t -

ern cattle ranch of the seventies, or a 

C a l i f o r n i a or Florida fruit ranch of a more 

modern period. W o r k i n g exhibits of this 

type, which in certain instances could be 

based on original sites and holdings, w o u l d 

attract widespread public interest in our 

agricultural evolution, and the fees 

charged for admission to these plantations 

or farms w o u l d take care of maintenance 

and perhaps even produce a revenue. It 

is probable that the Division of Historic 

Sites of the N a t i o n a l P a r k Service w o u l d 

be glad to cooperate in the setting up of 

such agricultural memorials. O u t d o o r 

museums of this character located strate-

gically throughout the U n i t e d States 

w o u l d serve to build up public morale and 

pride in agriculture both in the w a r period 

and subsequently and w o u l d provide edu-

cation for thousands w h o visited them, 

particularly children. 

Processing 

A national union catalog of agricultural 

materials or a selective union catalog of 

this nature should be compiled by the 

L i b r a r y of the U n i t e d States Department 

of A g r i c u l t u r e , containing a description 

and the depository location of important 

agricultural records, both printed and 

manuscript. E v e n t u a l l y this should cover 

documents in foreign countries as w e l l as 

the U n i t e d States. Contributions to this 

catalog could be made not only by the 

Federal library but also by other agricul-

tural institutions in this country. T h e 

central file should be in the department 

library in W a s h i n g t o n . T h e already 

widespread bibliographical activities of 

the U n i t e d States Department of A g r i -

culture L i b r a r y should be continued and 

expanded so as to eventually provide na-

tional and international control of the lit-

erature of agriculture. 

In normal times the problem of bring-

ing material collected under control by 

physical arrangement and cataloging 

should be actively and continuously carried 

on, but in the w a r period this routine 

should be changed. A t t e n t i o n to usual 

cataloging should now be reduced to the 

most simple forms to a l l o w members of 

the staff to give time to other special 

types of processing needed for w a r activi-

ties. 

Informational Services 

In every one of the areas served by 

agricultural libraries, because of the w a r 

there w i l l be special defense activities in 

progress, which are superimposed upon 

the regular life of the people; for example, 

the influx into rural districts of large 

groups of population of urban origin asso-

ciated w i t h emergency operations. T h e r e 

are important services which can be ren-

dered to those concerned w i t h these ac-

tivities, in addition to offering customary 

assistance to the agricultural community. 

Institutions can answer questions and 

furnish data about rural housing and sani-

tation, nutrition, first aid and home nurs-

ing, gardening and farming, implements 

and machinery, electrification, and techni-

cal matters needed for research. T h e y 

can also obtain books not in the agricul-

tural field through interlibrary loans or 

secure copies of records from other insti-

tutions. 

T o serve all classes in the area special 

indexes should be made of certain types of 

46 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



current agricultural literature, such as 

books and pamphlets, government reports, 

documents of organizations and learned 

societies, articles in popular magazines, 

farm journals, publications of business 

houses, trade journals, and the like, which 

are not only of agricultural interest for 

research workers and others in the com-

munity but also contribute to the develop-

ment of the w a r effort. In addition to 

calling attention of individuals interested 

to the existence of these indexes, subject 

bibliographies, based on the indexes, 

should be prepared. T h e s e should be 

mimeographed and at regular intervals 

distributed where needed. T h e library 

should offer to obtain originals or copies 

of material listed in the indexes and bibli-

ographies which it does not have in its own 

possession. 

Subscriptions should be made to clipping 

services in order to secure items from sev-

eral nationally known newspapers on 

matters of agricultural interest relating 

to the w a r . In addition the more impor-

tant local newspapers should likewise be 

clipped by members of the staff for similar 

information. A l l of these articles should 

be mounted, arranged, and indexed by 

subject, and both indexes and originals 

made available to individuals in the com-

munity w h o should have the information 

they contain. 

Members of the library staff should pre-

pare, publish, and distribute mimeographed 

bulletins from time to time, about articles 

in current periodicals and newspapers per-

taining to national defense which are of 

interest to the agricultural community. In 

these bulletins should also be published 

special bibliographies on agricultural top-

ics, assembled by members of the library, 

w i t h the announcement that copies of any 

material listed could be supplied by the 

library to the public at reasonable cost. 

O n e or more articles should also be re-

printed in f u l l in each issue of the bul-

letin. 

A g r i c u l t u r a l libraries should arrange 

for a series of speeches or lectures upon 

various topics connected w i t h the function 

of agriculture in the w a r effort. Speakers 

should be chosen from government offi-

cials connected w i t h agrarian activities, 

faculty members of- colleges and universi-

ties, leaders of farm organizations, mem-

bers of the staff, and others qualified for 

this purpose. T h e s e speeches should later 

be published in mimeographed form and 

distributed to those interested. 

Arrangements should be made w i t h 

local radio stations to give a series of 

programs directed particularly to the in-

terests of the area. T h e s e programs 

should contain information respecting the 

part of farming in the w a r and also data 

of nonagricultural character pertaining to 

other phases of the emergency. 

Representatives of the staff should at-

tend and take an active part in meetings 

held in connection with defense w o r k . 

W h e r e desired the library should furnish 

speakers for such meetings. 

T h e libraries of the state colleges of 

agriculture should establish closer rela-

tions w i t h the county agricultural agents 

w h o furnish information about farming 

and farm life directly to the farmer. It is 

estimated that at present about a fifth of 

the fifty or more bulletins which county 

agents annually distribute in each commu-

nity originate in the United States D e -

partment of A g r i c u l t u r e and the remainder 

are largely the product of the state colleges 

of agriculture. T h e latter are written for 

use in the various sections of a state and 

take into consideration local conditions. 

T h e Federal literature is usually prepared 

DECEMBER, 1942 4 7 



for national or regional use and does not 

a l w a y s have special adaptation for a lo-

cality. Representatives of state colleges 

of agriculture, acting in conjunction w i t h 

county agents, should m o d i f y , change, or 

add new material as required to the con-

tent of the bulletins of the U n i t e d States 

D e p a r t m e n t of A g r i c u l t u r e in order to 

make them apply more particularly to the 

various sections of a state and thus make 

them more useful. O n c e the necessary 

information has been obtained members of 

the staff of the state agricultural library 

could assist w i t h the necessary editing. 

T h e revised bulletins could then be mimeo-

graphed to lessen the cost and sent to the 

county agent f o r distribution. In addition 

the staffs of agricultural libraries might 

prepare " d o d g e r s " or leaflets containing 

special information furnished by county 

agents w h i c h the latter wished to place in 

the hands of the farmer. A t t e n t i o n should 

be directed, among other things, to the 

education of w o m e n and children in the 

operation and maintenance of f a r m imple-

ments and machines. Special tractor 

schools, a number of w h i c h have been 

established by f a r m implement companies, 

have already provided training for women 

in operating these machines. A g r i c u l -

tural libraries could supply literature for 

such schools and generally furnish infor-

mation to w o m e n on the f a r m about f a r m 

implements and machines and other sub-

jects w h i c h are of interest in aiding the 

w a r effort. Such institutions should also 

endeavor to service, w h e r e this is not 

already being done, the agriculture litera-

ture needs of county agents and of the 

4 - H clubs and other f a r m organizations. 

Library Cooperation 

A g r i c u l t u r a l libraries, in order to carry 

out activities already indicated, should co-

operate w i t h other agricultural institu-

tions in interlibrary lending, collection 

and dissemination of information, and in 

other projects designed to stimulate agri-

culture to contribute its share to the w i n -

ning of the w a r and to acquaint the 

farmers w i t h w h a t is going on outside of 

their o w n communities. T h e y should also 

cooperate w i t h other institutions in their 

localities in projects w h i c h w i l l increase 

their efficiency as libraries and aid in other 

aspects of the emergency. 

T h e agricultural libraries of the coun-

try are among the most efficiently operated 

of A m e r i c a n institutions. Individually 

and as a group they are already participat-

ing in various w a y s in the w a r effort. 

T h e importance of agriculture in the 

w o r l d today creates an incentive and a 

responsibility which w i l l keep agricultural 

librarians on the alert now and in the 

f u t u r e . 

48 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES