College and Research Libraries B y D O N A L D C O N E Y A Note on the Library Organisation at the University of Texas, 1934-43 Mr. Coney is librarian of the University of Texas, Austin. TH E S P A N O F Y E A R S f r o m 1 9 3 4 t o 1 9 4 3 generated in the U n i v e r s i t y of T e x a s many changes affecting its library. T h e enrolment rose f r o m 7667 individuals in the long session of 1934-35 to a peak of 1 1 , 1 4 6 in 1940-41. T h e instructional staff rose f r o m 387 individuals to more than 630 by the end of the period. D u r i n g that time the university changed presi- dents and an appreciable number of the older faculty died or retired and w e r e replaced by new men w i t h different re- search interests. T h e library in 1934-35 comprised 474,000 volumes and by the end of the period had increased to 715,000 volumes. T h e library's archives collec- tion had increased f r o m something like one and one half million original documents to something over t w o and one half mil- lion, w i t h correspondingly large increases in photostats and transcripts. W i t h i n that period 57,000 feet of manuscript microfilm, 7000 pieces of music, and 2400 pictures w e r e acquired. T h e staff in- creased f r o m thirty-five full-time indi- viduals to fifty-seven. T h e period begins w i t h the occupation of a new library build- ing and ends w i t h the involvement of the U n i t e d States in a total w a r . W i t h i n that period the depression-born largess of free government labor in terms of P . W . A . , W . P . A . , and N . Y . A . came into existence and all but disappeared. T h e pattern of organization at the be- ginning and at the end of the period is stated graphically in Figures 1 and 2. T h e s e charts display units of w o r k , each homogeneous w i t h respect to character of w o r k , bodies of materials, or functions. T h e charts are not intended to display the flow of w o r k f r o m one unit to another. In 1934-35 t w e n t y units out of a total of twenty-one were reporting directly to the librarian. In 1942-43 the total num- ber of units had increased to twenty-nine, w i t h six reporting directly to the librarian and sixteen to the associate librarian. Seven units report directly to persons intermediate between the unit and the as- sociate librarian. In addition to the six units reporting to him, the librarian w o r k s w i t h three individuals w h o do not direct w o r k units but are staff officers (as op- posed to line officers) and w h o act in be- half of the librarian in specialized ways. T h u s the librarian's span of control has been reduced f r o m t w e n t y persons to seven (including the associate librarian but excluding staff officers). T h e lot of the associate librarian is not far different from that of the librarian at the begin- ning of the period w i t h respect to numbers. It is apparent, however, on inspection of F i g u r e 2 that eight of these units reporting to the associate are branch libraries, t w o 228 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES of which operate w i t h o u t staffs. Since these units present similar problems, the variety of w o r k coming to the associate librarian is somewhat reduced despite his w i d e span of control. T h e personal knowledge and activity of the librarian is extended by three staff positions. T o the bibliographer is dele- gated much w o r k coming to the librarian's office on the evaluation of offers of books and the availability of new materials for the special collections, except for the rare books collection. Demands for informa- tion for news stories by the student news- paper and the ready acceptance of articles by the state and national press relating to new library acquisitions have tended to fix on some member of the staff as a part-time responsibility the preparation of such information for distribution. T h e position of service coordinator is an ex- perimental staff position designed to keep the library in touch w i t h student needs through systematic contact w i t h members of the f a c u l t y . T h e service coordinator acts in behalf of the librarian as a liaison officer w i t h the faculty, attempting to dis- cover, from demands they intend to make on their students, the w a y s in which the library's service may better match clientele needs. Serials Work A l l w o r k w i t h serials (except for cata- loging and the placing of orders) w a s originally handled by a single unit. F i g u r e 2 shows to w h a t extent and in w h a t w a y s serials w o r k has been reassigned. T h e ordering of serial material of all kinds remains, as formerly, w i t h the order de- partment, but the receipt of serials is assigned to a serials acquisition unit. Preparation for binding serials and sepa- rates ( f o r m e r l y handled by the periodicals unit) is assigned to a bindery preparation unit. T h e cataloging of serial material ( f o r m e r l y the specialty of one member of the cataloging department) is n o w handled by a serials cataloging unit. T h e reading room function of periodicals is now handled in conjunction w i t h the open- shelf reserve and the popular reading collections, the latter being a "public l i b r a r y " collection for the recreation of faculty and students. Public documents w o r k of all kinds is handled as a separate w o r k unit under the supervision of the person in charge of the business and social science room. Branch libraries show a quite different organization pattern at the end from that displayed at the beginning of the period because of a policy of " s t r e t c h i n g " branch librarians over more than one branch library. T h e level of performance set for most branch libraries calls for a kind of activity that might be described as "library housekeeping," namely, the orderly and systematic maintenance of the collections and conscientious liaison w o r k between the branch library clienteles and other parts of the library system. W h i l e this function calls for library training, it does not necessarily require familiarity w i t h the subject of the branch. T h i s policy is recognized as a temporary one, intermediate between the situation at the beginning of the period, w h e n the number of branches was smaller and t w o w e r e operated by part-time student labor, and an ideal situation in which each w o u l d be headed by a library-trained subject spe- cialist. It is believed that under the present circumstances economical and adequate supervision can be maintained by one branch librarian over more than one branch library, particularly w h e n the branches contain related collections and JUNE, 1943 22 7 L i b r a r i a n i 1 T 1 r - ' — R R a r e B o o k s A r c h i v e s L a t i n N e w s - R e p a i r O r d e r C o l l e c t i o n A m e r i c a p a p e r I | I I C a t a l o g L o a n R e s e r v e s R e f e r e n c e T e x a s P e r i o d i c a l s C o l l e c t i o n S p e c i a l C o l l e c t i o n s T e c h n i c a l G e n e r a l S E d u c a t i o n L a w A r c h i t e c t u r e C h e m i s t r y G e o l o g y E n g i n e e r i n g ( P h y s i c s ) ( C l a s s i c s ) ( B i o l o g y ) B r a n c h L i b r a r i e s ( B i o l o g y ) — B r a n c h l i b r a r y w i t h o u t s t a f f , s u p e r v i s e d d i r e c t l y b y a d e p a r t m e n t . F I G U R E I U N I V E R S I T Y OF T E X A S L I B R A R Y O R G A N I Z A T I O N , 1 9 3 4 - 3 5 hence serve interrelated clienteles, as ex- emplified by the chemistry librarian's con- trol of geology, engineering, and the chemical engineering laboratory collec- tion, and the education librarian's control of the textbook and curriculum collection. A sport occurs in the control of the music library by the biology librarian. This is merely a case of exploiting the biology librarian's interest in and knowledge of music and an example of the utilization of a latent capacity when opportunity arises. Subsidiary Activities Subsidiary activities, which do not oc- cupy the full time of an individual but are generally recognized library functions or which utilize the services of several persons but are definitely subsidiary in character, are not shown on the charts for reasons of simplicity. Interlibrary lending and borrowing are separated, bor- rowing being assigned to the reference de- partment and lending—to other libraries and to individuals—to the loan depart- ment in accordance with the major func- tions of those departments. Card manu- facturing (mimeographing and typing) and file maintenance are organized as small separate units, utilizing student labor, under the head of the separates cataloging unit. T h e loan department maintains central loan files not only for books loaned from the general collection but also for those loaned from the popu- lar reading and open-shelf reserve collec- tions. This department is responsible for sending overdue notices, recording ac- cumulated fines, and the other paper work incident to the loan process. Aside from their responsibility for con- trolling specific units of the library organization, the librarian and the asso- ciate librarian divide other types of re- sponsibility between them. T h e librarian is responsible for outside relationships, e.g., with the university administration, other libraries, and individuals off the campus; while the associate librarian assumes re- 230 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES L i b r a r i a n B i b l i o g r a p h y S e r v i c e C o o r d i n a t i o n G e n e r a l S t a f f I n f o r m a t i o n R a r e B o o k s C o l l e c t i o n A r c h i v e s T e x a s C o l l e c t i o n N e w s - O r d e r p a p e r L a t i n - A m e r i c a S e r i a l s A c q u i s i t i o n B i n d i n g P r e p a r a t i o n 1 A s s o c i a t e L i b r a r i a n S e r i a l s C a t a l o g . R e p a i r S e p a r a t e s C a t a l o g L o a n R e s e r v e s P e r i o d i c a l s O p e n S h e l f R e f e r e n c e P o p u l a r R o o m S p e c i a l C o l l e c t i o n s T e c h n i c a l P r o c e s s e s G e n e r a l S e r v i c e s B u s i n e s s and S o c i a l E d u c a t i o n L a w B i o l o g y A r c h i t e c t u r e C h e m i s t r y ( P h y s i c s ) ( C l a s s i c s ) S c i e n c e 1 1 I l D o c u m e n t s T e x t b o o k & M u s i c G e o l o g y E n g i n e e r i n g C u r r i c u l u m ! C h e m i c a l E n g i n e e r i n g L a b o r a t o r y C o l l e c t i o n B r a n c h L i b r a r i e s F I G U R E 2 U N I V E R S I T Y OF T E X A S L I B R A R Y O R G A N I Z A T I O N , 1 9 4 2 - 4 3 sponsibility for such internal activities as the selection of part-time and student as- sistants, building maintenance, the vaca- tion schedule, and supplies and equipment. Prospects for full-time appointments are interviewed jointly. Aside from the coordination secured through the reporting of one unit to a superior officer, horizontal coordination of activity is sought by means of a fort- nightly library council, meeting with the librarian and associate librarian, whose members comprise all those responsible for important units of work. Staff meet- ings held independently by departments or work units are infrequent since the number of individuals in such groups is small and because, for the most part, they work at adjacent desks. T h e absence of adjacency, however, has prompted those in charge of loan work (in branches, loan department, periodical room, etc.) to meet together from time to time to discuss related problems. Recommendations pro- ceed from this body to the librarian, to the associate librarian, or to a department head, depending on the nature of the prob- lem. Library Service on the Berkeley Campus (Continued, from page 2ij) these conferences, many ways and means devised, and many undertakings initiated and planned in detail before being launched. In particular, and this has proved important in this time of frequent emergencies and constant unprecedented demands upon resources and personnel, they have insured a thorough understand- ing by the executives of the aims and the policies of the library, both in its capacity as a vital organ of the university, neces- sary to its proper functioning, and as an agency active in forwarding the country's war effort. T h a t has meant teamwork. 232 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES