ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries In this issue: The Library Selector ........................ 265 Collective B arg ain in g ........................ 268 Continuing Education Opportunities .................................268 SEES Bylaws Revision ....................269 Inside Washington ............................ 271 Continuing Education— XVII .........272 News from the Field ........................ 274 P e o p le .................................................... 278 Publications ......................................... 289 Classified Advertising ......................292 ISSN 0099-0086 COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES news NO. 9 • OCTOBER 1979 The Library Selector by R o bert W. W adsw orth E d it o r ’s N ote: This is th e fir s t o f a series o f arti­ cles on th e a c a d e m ic lib ra ry p ro fessio n a n d its v ocation s. This a r tic le is a b r id g e d a n d slightly re v ise d f r o m o n e th at a p p e a r e d in the W in ter 1976 issue o f th e University of Chicago Library Society Bulletin. The research library cannot acquire, organize, and find space for all record ed know ledge; priorities must be set and a selection must be made. The salvation of the library as an effective instrument for research depends upon the judg­ ment that goes into this selection. In many research libraries the responsibility for selection is reduced to m anageable size by a group of selectors on the library staff. These sub­ ject bibliographers, as they are sometimes called, choose and order the publications they expect to be important for the library clientele. In no sense do these bibliographers “replace” faculty selec­ tors; indeed, much of the work of the library selectors depends on their understanding of the interests and wishes of faculty members and upon the judgment with which they draw upon their knowledge. Yet, the staff selectors do not wait for the suggestions of faculty or students. Their task is to get into the library the books that people need before they ask for them. The success of the operation rests upon a deli­ cate balance of forces. Not only the present and the future but also the past must be taken into account, since the library has a heritage to main­ tain. Resources available elsewhere are kept in mind. Not every negative decision need be re­ garded as final: a book given up now may remain available for some time or become available at some later time as a paperback, a reprint edition, or a gift. Whatever weight is given to any of these con­ siderations, selectors face over and over again the hard question of whether to order (or even to ac­ cept free) this or that specific book on the basis of the information they have or can find about it. Because of the number of titles coming to their attention, they must decide quickly; at the same time they must keep in view the probable long­ term value of the book to the library, concerning which there may well be difference o f opinion. For something unusual they may send a carefully framed question to a m em ber of the faculty. Some publications can be ordered “on approval” for examination; but the bulk of the ordering must be done sight unseen, with the selectors falling back on th e ir education and training, memory, “aw areness,” sensitivity to any clues present in a title or a publisher’s name, and skill in use of the reference aids in the library. M ost such d ecis io n s , fo rtu n a te ly , can be rapidly sorted into recurring categories. Perhaps the simplest problem is the book o f unrivaled importance in a field intensively studied at the university— for exam ple, an atlas o f American speech in a given area of the United States. Here there is no real choice: a copy must be ordered at once. At the opposite extreme is the book that contains little or no new information and can be expected to be superseded by a similar (perhaps better) book within a short time. O ther books, News issue (B) of College & R esearch Libraries, vol. 4 0 , no. 5 266 whether good or bad, are essential as documents of their times. A particularly thorny problem is the new peri­ odical. Can it be considered certain (on the basis o f on e sam p le issu e) to b e w orth p erhap s twenty-five years of rising subscription costs, to say nothing o f binding and shelving? Is it suf­ ficiently interesting, as a literary effort, to call for a subscription now so that the library will be certain of receiving the first faltering issues— perhaps all that will ever appear? Would it be wise to subscribe for a single year only and exam­ in e th e n u m b e rs re c e iv e d b e fo re d e cid in g whether or not to renew the subscription? Daily newspapers are expensive and, to a con­ siderable extent, duplicative. The library can af­ ford only the few that are thought necessary to reflect varying influences and points of view. A recent complication is the growing flood of paperbacks. No longer can these books be dis­ missed out of hand as cheap reprints of substan­ tial “ lib rary e d itio n s .” Many p ap erback s are sturdy enough to stand up under repeated use and expensive enough to discourage stud ents from buying their own copies. Some important books are available only in paper covers; others appear in parallel paper and cloth editions at prices that make it economical for the library to buy paper editions and have them bound— if they are not in immediate demand. By necessity a selector is also a “rejector”: not only of the books he or she decides not to order but also of books actually received and examined. All books accepted, even those coming free, in­ volve expense for preparation; and for a book that is clearly not desirable this cost can be dispensed with. A related matter is the book that can be dis­ carded from the library as no longer useful. As worn or damaged books are discovered in the li­ brary, the selector must decide (utilizing his or her knowledge of the collection, the literature, and the book trade) whether they should be re­ paired, replaced, or withdrawn. A special case is the book supplied “on ap­ proval” by a foreign agent, acting under specific authorization by the library. Unless returned (at som e e x p e n se ), th e book m ust b e paid for, whether or not it is kept for the library. Hence the selector may be tempted to give the book the benefit of the doubt and add it to the library (at additional expense)— at the same time reflecting unhappily that if the book is never returned with an explanation, the lesson is lost on the agent! There is, unfortunately, no easy path to success as a book selector. Experience is not merely the “ b e s t , ” it is th e only te a c h e r . T h e r e is no textbook to study, no bag of tricks to teach or learn; and no one ever graduates. As in all mat­ ters of judgment, mistakes are inevitable, and all selectors are sure to regret some o f their own de­ cisions. Ideal selectors are the equal— in age, in formal education, and in language skills— of all those whom they serve; yet real-life library selec­ tors are called upon to spread their efforts over more subjects than any professor would presume to te a ch . T h e ir s u b je c t p re p a ra tio n m ust be supplemented by a developing knowledge o f the collection itself, of the world of publication, and o f th e record s and m achinery o f th e lib rary. In terest, observation, personal contacts, experi­ ence, and memory all come into play, together with humility, tact, and common sense. The selector’s work is never finished, and he or she has little to show for it until long after the ef­ fort is begun. To keep abreast of the international flow of publication as it bears on the day-to-day needs of a university is not easy; and when limits are imposed on effort and expenditure, the selec­ In stru ctio n al M aterials for Serials The RTSD Serials Section Library School E d ucation C o m m itte e is o p era tin g an e x ­ change cen ter for the collection and distribu­ tion of library school instructional materials r e la tin g to s e r ia ls ( e .g ., co u rs e o u tlin e s , printed visual aids, reading lists, e tc.). The committee invites instructors to submit mate­ rials that they are willing to share with other library school teachers. Comm ittee members will keep the materials on file and will mail copies on request to instructors who wish to use them. For names and addresses of com­ m ittee members to whom documents may be subm itted or from whom they may be or­ dered, contact William I. Bunnell, R T SD , 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. College & Research Libraries News is published by the As­ sociation o f College and Research Libraries, a division of the A m e ric a n L ib ra ry A ss o c ia tio n , as 11 m o n th ly (c o m b in in g Ju ly-A ug u st) issues, at 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Annual subscription: $5; or to members of the division, $2.50, included in dues. Single copies and back issues, $2 each. Second-class postage applied for a t Chicago, Illinois, and at additional m ailing offices. Editor: Jeffrey T. Schwedes, ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 6 0 6 1 1 ; (3 1 2 ) 9 4 4 -6 7 8 0 , Ext. 2 86 . P resident, ACRL: LeMoyne W. Anderson. Executive Secretary, ACRL: Julie A. Carroll Virgo. Production and circulation office: 5 0 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 6 06 11 . Display advertising should be sent to Leona Swiech, A dvertising Traffic Coordinator, ALA, at above address. Send classified ads to ACRL. Change o f address and subscription orders should be addressed to College & Research Libraries News, for receipt at the above address at least two m onths be­ fore the publication date o f the effective issue. Inclusion o f an article or advertisem ent in C&RL News does not constitute official endorsem ent by ACRL or ALA. A partial list of the services indexing or abstracting the con­ tents of C&RL News includes: C urrent Contents: Social & B e­ havioral Sciences; Current Index to Journals in Education. In ­ form ation Science Abstracts; Library & Info rm a tio n Science Abstracts; Library Literature; and Social Sciences Citation In ­ dex. © A m e ric a n Library Association 1979. All m aterial in this journal su bje ct to copyright by the American Library Associa­ tion may be photocopied for the noncom m ercial purpose of scientific o r educational advancement. 267 tor’s work becom es that much more important and at the same time that much more difficult. Even more demanding than the current ordering is the task of identifying and locating— in dealers’ catalogs and elsew here— the out-of-print books needed to fill the gaps in the collection. The larger and b e tte r the library, the greater the difficulty of finding the material needed to im­ prove it. Yet library selectors are among the happiest, most fortunate members of the academic commu­ nity. Their personal rewards are rich. They work independently and develop their own methods and standards. They watch history unfold itself in the books and periodicals coming from the press. Little by little, they acquire a mastery of the rec­ ords o f p u b lication and a fe e l for th e ir own c o lle c tio n — a p ra c tica l “ e r u d itio n ” all th e ir own— that no power on earth can take away. And they have the joy of placing their accumulated knowledge and acquired skill at the service of their clientele and of seeing— in time— the results of their work on the shelves of the library. E ditor's N ote: R o b e r t W. W adsw orth re tir ed in 1978 as b ib lio g r a p h e r f o r E nglish, lib ra ria n sh ip , a n d g e n e r a l h u m an ities, U niversity o f C h ic a g o L ib ra ry . ■■ ACRL 1979-80 BUDGET At the annual m eeting in Dallas the ACRL Board adopted the 1979/80 ACRL budget. High­ lights from the budget include: • An increase in projected income (including the reserve) from $ 2 4 5 ,7 4 9 the previous year to $348,730 in 1979-80 (42 percent increase). • Deferral of action on the C h o ic e budget (ap­ proximately $600,000) until the new editor can conduct his own review. • A significant increase in expenditures for C & RL N ews (up 72 percent to $64,183), C o lleg e an d R esea rch L ib r a r ies (up 14 percent to $69,492), and p re c o n fe r e n c e s (up 135 p e r c e n t to $35,288). Each of these activities has a corre­ sponding increase in revenues. • A reported surplus from the Boston Conference of approximately $60,000, $35,000 of which de­ rives from un com p en sated s ta ff tim e and $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 from outside contributions. This in­ come will be applied to A C R L funds over a three-year period and used as front-end money for the Second ACRL National Conference in Minneapolis in 1981. • T h e allocation of funds for a paid half-tim e editor of C & RL News. • The addition of a half-time program officer with responsibility for continuing education and staff development for academic librarians. • The implementation of the A C R L 100 L ib ra r ies P r o je c t , which provides a qu arterly survey mechanism for determining library practices. • The budgeting of funds for stepped-up mem­ bership recruitment and retention program. • The allocation of $5,000 to chapters of ACRL for activities at the local level. The $5,000 will help to support the developm ent of chapter n e w s le tte rs, m em b ersh ip re c ru itm e n t b ro ­ chures, m eeting announcem ents, directories, and operating expenses. • T h e p ro vision o f $ 1 0 ,0 8 5 in funds for the projects of ACRL sections, including a $6,000 project to gather library statistics from non-ARL university libraries. This project will be helpful in determining the feasibility of gathering statis­ tics from other types of libraries. • Approval of $15,014 in funds for the projects of ACRL committees. One such project will be an in v ita tio n a l w orkshop on th e a ccre d ita tio n process, which ACRL will cosponsor with the C oun cil on Postsecondary A ccreditation im ­ mediately prior to the 1980 Annual Conference. The 1 9 7 9 -8 0 budget demonstrates the com­ mitment of the A CRL Board to programs and projects that will provide direct benefits to mem­ bers at both the national and the local level. ■■ COPYRIGHT LAW REVIEW The Copyright Office will soon commission a study to assess the impact of subsection 108 of the copyright law on library users, librarians, and copyright owners. (Subsection 108 governs the reproduction of copyrighted materials by libraries and archives.) The Copyright Office is now con­ sidering what information the study will seek. M ered ith B u tle r , ch air of A C R L ’s Ad Hoc Committee on Copyright, suggests that academic librarians may want to convey to the Copyright Office their views on the sort of data the study should gather. She advises that librarians might want to express interest in the following areas of data collection: (1) a survey of library users to de­ term ine w hether th e ir information needs are being met under the new law; (2) a survey to as­ sess the impact of the law on library services and archival preservation; (3) a survey of the law’s impact on library operations, including personnel costs, increased work load, record keeping, etc.; and (4) a study of the experiences of librarians in seeking permission from publishers to photocopy or to obtain replacements, reprints, etc. The R egister of Copyrights 108 (i) Advisory Committee is a body that advises the Copyright Office on the mandated five-year review of sub­ section 108. You may transm it your su gges­ tions about the proposed survey to the advisory committee by contacting Eileen Cooke, director of the ALA W ashington O ffice, 110 Maryland Ave. N E, Suite 101, Washington, DC 20002. ■■