College and Research Libraries By O . J. B A K E R Senior College Libraries for Negroes in Texas Mr. Baker's position is that of librarian at the Prairie View State Normal and In- dustrial College, Prairie View, Texas. This report represents his part in a survey of senior colleges for Negroes in Texas, which was made in March 1943. IT IS THE PURPOSE of this article to dis-cuss briefly the status of the libraries serving the college community of each of the eight senior colleges for Negroes in Texas. 1 Six of the colleges are privately supported; the other two are supported by public funds. Further information in this connection may be found below un- der the heading "Sources of Support." Prairie V i e w State College is the only institution in the group offering work on the graduate level. Its graduate program was started during the summer of 1938. Funds T h e program of the administrative offi- cers of a college for developing the college library may be gauged, in a large measure, by the amount and constancy of financial support given that library from the cur- rent institutional budget. T o determine these two factors for the colleges surveyed, library expenditures for them were studied from two points of view. First, an at- 1 F o l l o w i n g is a list of these c o l l e g e s : B i s h o p C o l l e g e , M a r s h a l l ; H o u s t o n C o l l e g e f o r N e g r o e s , H o u s t o n ; J a r v i s C h r i s t i a n College, H a w k i n s ; "Prairie V i e w State College, P r a i r i e V i e w ; S a m u e l H u s t o n C o l l e g e , A u s t i n ; T e x a s C o l l e g e , T y l e r ; T i l l o t s o n C o l l e g e , A u s t i n ; and W i l e y C o l l e g e , M a r s h a l l . tempt was made to discover the amount of money spent for new books and for pe- riodical subscriptions for each of the years in a five-year period. Second, library ex- penditures per student for each college were investigated for a single year. Budgets. O n l y one college in the group, Prairie V i e w State College, at pres- ent sets up an annual budget for the li- brary. T h a t is, only one librarian knew at the beginning of the year that a definite amount of the institutional funds had been earmarked for library purposes. There- fore, only one librarian reported that ex- penditures for the library could be defi- nitely scheduled at the beginning of a new year. It was discovered that all orders and financial matters of the library, in each case where there is no library budget, are handled at the business office of the college involved. Expenditures for Books. T h e record of expenditures for new books at each of the eight colleges is shown in T a b l e I. T h i s table shows, in addition to the expendi- tures for periodicals, the amount spent for new books by each college for each year in a five-year period. It also shows the total amount spent by each college during the entire period and the average annual expenditures. Figures for Jarvis Chris- tian College were available for only four years. It will be noted that in some cases the DECEMBER, 1943 8 7 yearly expenditures are fairly constant as to amounts. T h i s indicates a definite and systematic policy of library support. In other cases expenditures are fairly constant for several years; then they shoot sharply downward or upward. T h i s tendency is also shown in reverse. year, does the expenditure approximate w h a t acceptable library authorities con- sider an adequate annual expenditure for books. T h i s is true even when the varia- tions upward are sharpest. It has been discovered that the prevail- ing norm in annual library expenditures T A B L E I Expenditures for Books and Periodicals during the Period 1936-41® Libraries 1936-37 1937-38 1938-39 1939-40 1940-41 T o t a l Annual Average d Bishop College Books Periodicals 481.01 6 5 . 1 5 790.18 101.45 579.28 186.75 1296.99 I33-70 254.38 180.10 3401.84 6 6 7 . 1 5 6 8 0 . 3 7 - 133-43 Houston College for Negroes Books Periodicals 843.44 7 1 7 . 1 2 1 9 1 . 5 0 902.18 186.30 663.28 210.70 822.79 2 1 6 . 5 7 3948.81 805.07 7 8 9 . 7 6 + 201.27 — Jarvis Christian College15 Books Periodicals 78.81 6 8 1 . 1 2 500.00 84.05 213.90 83-30 2574.30 204.24 3969.32 450.40 992.33 112.60 Prairie View State College® Books Periodicals 1087.66 429.80 1064.20 487-75 1 6 7 1 . 3 2 519.20 1456.89 527-65 666.86 801.58 5946.93 2765.98 1 1 8 9 . 3 9 - 5 5 3 . 2 0 - Samuel Huston College Books Periodicals 467.02 140.50 1 3 1 5 . 1 6 I33-90 543-21 202.50 578.53 204.93 830.93 3 1 7 . 6 2 3734-85 999-45 746.97 199.89 Texas College Books Periodicals 1722.54 3 1 1 . 8 2 500.00 325.00 725.88 327.00 720.00 340.00 725.00 339.00 4393-42 1642.82 878.68 + 3 2 8 . 5 6 + Tillotson College Books Periodicals 476.49 218.60 589.00 205.00 233-51 2 1 0 . 7 5 853.00 274.00 853.38 274.00 3005.38 1182.35 601.08 — 236.47 Wiley College Books Periodicals 1050.00 215.00 150.00 200.00 1050.00 215.00 1100.00 245.00 822.93 250.00 4172.93 1125.00 8 3 4 - 5 9 - 225.00 * Figures from the Texas College Examiner w i t h exceptions as indicated. b Figures from 1936-39 from the business manager of the college. ° Figures from the librarian's reports. d N o t v e r y significant in cases where sharp variations in individual items occur. A sharp variation downward may indi- cate that library money, during the year when the variation occurred, had to be spent for things other than new books. A sharp variation upward may indicate that financial gifts for books were received dur- ing the year of variation. In no case here represented, for any for books and periodicals is $6500. T h i s is the standard maintained by colleges found giving their students effective li- brary service.2 W h e n w e add the expendi- tures made for books to those made for periodical subscriptions in the colleges con- 2 R a n d a l l , W i l l i a m M . , and G o o d r i c h , F r a n c i s L . D . Principles of College Library Administration, p. 219. 76 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES •sidered in this survey, for any selected year, w e find none approaching the norm in this respect.3 T h e norm cited above is for the so- called " g o o d " college library. T h e ex- penditures for books and periodicals in the "average" college library total up to $ 3 5 0 0 . 4 Expenditures for Periodicals. A s indi- cated above the amounts and trends in ex- penditures for periodicals during the pe- riod under observation are shown in T a b l e I . N o figures were available for Hous- ton College for Negroes in 1936-37 and for Jarvis Christian College in 1937-38. It is interesting to note that each year, with a f e w exceptions, reading from l e f t to right, each college increased its expendi- tures for periodicals. T h i s is a trend in the right direction. However, all colleges fall below the accepted standard for good college libraries in the number of periodi- cal subscriptions maintained.5 Randall and Goodrich discovered that the best col- lege libraries maintain some 3 1 5 subscrip- 3 S e e T a b l e I . 4 R a n d a l l and Goodrich, op. cit., p. 219. 5 S e e T a b l e I X f o r paid subscriptions maintained. tions and that the average college library maintains only 2 1 5 . 6 T h e college libraries under study here do not yet deserve to be ranked as average in this matter. Expenditures per Student. Looking at standards again, Randall and Goodrich found that the good college library makes a total annual library expenditure of $32 per student. T h e y also found that the average library spends $ 1 7 . 4 2 per student Per Student $ 4 - 3 7 + 6 . 3 2 — 6 . 6 1 - 7 - 3 0 + 1 0 . 1 8 - 1 6 . 7 0 + 8 . 9 6 + 6-77 + annually.7 It should be remembered, how- ever, in the interest of good library sup- port, that there is a point below which the enrolment must not fall if a per- student norm is to be used to measure excellence. T h a t is to say, where the student enrolment is too small for a li- brary to be supported adequately when the college adheres to the per-student norm, a larger expenditure should be made. T h e colleges whose libraries R a n - dall and Goodrich found good had an aver- age enrolment of 565 students each.8 T h e total 1940-41 expenditure per stu- dent for each library being considered is 6 R a n d a l l and G o o d r i c h , op. cit., p. 216. 7 Ibid., p. 218. 8 R a n d a l l and Goodrich, op. cit., p. 219. T A B L E I I L i b r a r y E x p e n d i t u r e s per S t u d e n t , 1 9 4 0 - 4 1 Total Library Expendituresa Enrolmentd Bishop College $1565-30 358 Houston College for Negroes 2439-20 386 Jarvis Christian College 3569-I3 540 Prairie View State College 8095-98 b 1108 Samuel Huston College 2493.85 245 Texas College 3056-59 183 Tillotson College 3228.00° 360 Wiley College 3759-50 555 a Figures from the Texas College Examiner w i t h exceptions as indicated. b Figures from the librarian's report. ° Figures from the American Library Directory, 1942. d Figures from the Texas College Examiner. DECEMBER, 1943 8 7 shown in T a b l e I I . T h i s table shows, for the year chosen, the total library expendi- ture and the total library expenditure per student for each college. O n e library approaches the "average" status in this respect and a second one makes a fair showing. T h e others are definitely poor. Sources of Support. A l l libraries here presented are supported from the institu- tional funds of the colleges they serve. poses. T h e eighth makes a better showing on paper but shows up poorly when its program is investigated. Six of the colleges here investigated re- ceive their financial support from church sources. T h e other two receive their sup- port from public funds, one from a city and the other from the state. T h e public supported institutions should be more for- tunate in financial matters, but such is T A B L E I I I Relation of T o t a l Library Expenditures to T o t a l College Expenditures, 1940-41 T o t a l College T o t a l Library Per cent of Institutions Expenditures Expenditures College 1940-41® 1940-41b Expenditure Bishop College (Church) $ 8 7 , 0 1 5 . 5 3 $1565.30 2 + Houston College for Negroes (Municipal) 16,903.96 2439.20 1 4 + Jarvis Christian College (Church) 140,853.06 3569-I3 2 . 5 + Prairie View State College (State) 694,386.77 8095.98 1 + Samuel Huston College (Church) 49,302.66 2493.85 5 + Texas College (Church) 140,853.06° 3056.59 24- Tillotson College (Church) 9 8 , 2 7 7 . 1 7 3228.00 3 + Wiley College (Church) 146,093.26 3759-50 2 . 5 + a Figures from the Texas College Examiner except those for Prairie V i e w S t a t e College. Figures for Prairie V i e w S t a t e College are from the college report. b Include salaries, books, periodicals, supplies, etc. 0 Figures from the business manager. Occasionally, they may receive small finan- cial gifts to be used for library purposes. A n d some of them have received small grants, say from $ 1 5 0 0 to $4500, from philanthropic agencies for library purposes. Nevertheless, their main and steady sup- port comes from institutional funds in each college. T a b l e I I I shows, for each college, to- tal college expenditures, total library ex- penditures, and the relation of total li- brary expenditures to total college expen- ditures during 1940-41. I t is not necessary to point out that seven of the colleges spent extremely small sums during that year for library pur- not the case. T h e municipal college is extremely poor and the state supported college spent during that year about half of what is actually required for its pro- gram. Moreover, approximately two thirds of what was spent by this college was not appropriated by the state. T h e s e facts shed light on the library expenditures discussed here. Library Staffs Excellence in library service depends, in a great measure, upon the character and quality of the staff. T h i s important factor is too often only partially provided for. T a b l e I V shows the number of staff 78 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES members with professional training em- ployed by the libraries in these colleges. It also shows the number of clerical and part-time assistants employed. Six colleges each have one library staff member with professional training. One of these six also has two workers on its staff with subprofessional training. A n - other college library in the group has three staff members with professional training. Still another library has one full-time staff member, and that staff member has only subprofessional training. However, the writer happens to know that this library usually has a professionally trained li- brarian. Library staffs, professional, subprofes- sional, clerical, and part-time, should vary in size according to the character of cer- tain prevailing factors. Some of these factors are: size of student body, size and arrangement of the library quarters to be supervised, qualifications and demands of the faculty, prevailing methods of instruc- tion in the institution, and the rate of growth of the library. It is too often felt that the library staff can and should ren- der efficient and effective service with half the personnel it needs. Accepted minimum standards on the number of professionally trained library staff members required for certain situa- tions are listed below. T h e y are quite applicable to the libraries under considera- tion. Seven for four-year teachers colleges of 1500-2000 students. T w o for 400 students or less. Four for 400-800 students.9 According to these standards, Houston College for Negroes, Jarvis Christian Col- lege, and Samuel Huston College should 9 M i l a m , C. H . " S u g g e s t i o n s f o r M i n i m u m Col- lege L i b r a r y S t a n d a r d s . " College and Reference Library Yearbook 2:91, 1930. each have two professionally trained li- brarians on their staffs.10 Bishop College, T e x a s College, Tillotson College, and W i l e y College should have four each; and Prairie V i e w State College should have four plus. Equipment In this section discussion, in the main, will be limited to reader capacity, book capacity, and book and periodical holdings. In securing information on reader ca- pacity and book capacity no attempt was made to gather data on the measurements of the entire library suite of rooms. In- stead, it was decided to attempt to deter- mine the adequacy of the space set aside for readers alone and the adequacy of the space used only for housing books. H o w - ever, something should be said first about the location of the libraries on the college campuses. T w o of the colleges have library build- ings and these are used exclusively for library purposes. T h e others are housed in buildings that are used for other pur- poses as well. A t Bishop College the li- brary occupies the first floor of the science hall. T h e library at Houston College for Negroes is in the combined administration and academic building, first floor; at Jar- vis Christian College, in the academic building; at Prairie V i e w State College, on the third floor of the education build- ing; at Samuel Huston College, on the main floor of the administration building. A t Tillotson College the library proper is on the first floor of the administration but there are also two stack rooms in the basement of the building. Reader Capacity. A mathematical analysis and interpretation of the reader capacity of each library may be found in 10 B a s e d on enrolments f o r 1941-42. DECEMBER, 1943 8 7 T A B L E I V Size and Character of Library Staffs Workers Libraries College College for Negroes liristian College iew State College i u s t o n College allege College jllege Professional Subprofessional Clerical Part-Time" 12 4 9 7 b 7- 6 6 Bishop C Houston Jarvis Cf Prairie V Samuel F Texas Co Tillotson Wiley Co a Student assistants. b N o information received. T a b l e V . T h i s table shows, for instance, that the total reading room space at Prairie V i e w State College consists of 1968 square f e e t ; that 190 readers can be accommodated at one sitting; that 190 readers constituted 14 per cent plus of the total college enrolment as of 1 9 4 1 - 4 2 ; and that those 190 readers should occupy 4 7 5 0 square feet of space when comfortably seated. T h e table further shows that the readers in this library are seriously cramped when a capacity crowd is present, for in the last column it is shown that there is need for 2782 additional square feet of space for those the library accom- modates. T h e cramped condition at Prairie V i e w State College can only be relieved by ex- T A B L E V Reader Capacity Institutions Reading Room Floor Area in Square Feet Enrol- ment, 1941-42 Readers Accommo- dated Per cent Accommo- dated Space in Square Feet Required for Readers® Additional Space Needed in Square Feet Bishop College 1272 452 90 19 + 2250 1000 Houston College for Negroes 645 400 36 9 900 255 Jarvis Christian College 4941b 181 96 53b 2400 None?b Prairie View State College 1968 1329 190 1 4 + 475o 2782 Samuel Huston College 1344 310 80 2 5 + 2000 656 Texas College 1862 449 104 23 + 2600 738 Tillotson College 1344 584 70 12 — 1750 406 Wiley College 3645° 420 106 2 5 - f 2650 None a A t t w e n t y - f i v e square f e e t per reader. b T h i s college uses its auditorium as a reading room. 0 Circulation equipment (desks, trucks, etc.) occupies the center of the room. 80 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES panding the library to other classrooms in the building or through the erection of a suitable library building. Librarians in three of the remaining libraries, handi- capped by inadequate seating space, have come to a similar conclusion. In the fifth and final situation only the erection of a however, according to the demands of the situation.11 Book Capacity. T a b l e V I analyses and interprets the book capacity of the stack room or rooms in each library. It shows that at Bishop College 759 square feet of library space are used for housing books. T A B L E V I Book Capacity Institutions Space Available in Square Feet for Housing Books Book Capacity of Available Space® Books in Library 1941-42 Possible Additions in Volumes Bishop College 759 H , 3 8 5 15,902 Congested Houston College for Negroes 580 8,700 7,601 1,099 Jarvis Christian College 1365 20,475 8,359 1 2 , 1 1 6 Prairie View State College 966 14,490 15,578 Congested Samuel Huston College 576 8,640 9,957 Congested Texas College 677 1 0 , 1 5 5 8,922 1 , 2 3 3 Tillotson College 1616 24,240 18,853 5,387 Wiley College 2610 3 9 , i 5 o 17,486 21,664 a 15 b o o k s per s q u a r e f o o t . suitable library building can relieve this condition. O n l y two libraries could seat 25 per cent of their student enrolments during 1941-42. A t that time, however, the en- rolment of one of these was below the yearly average for that college. O n e other college comes close to the 25 per cent standard. T h e r e are authorities who propose that a library should seat more than 25 per cent of its student enrolment at one sit- ting. T h e y advise that 30 per cent should be the minimum standard and that it would be quite sound to prepare to seat from 40 to 75 per cent of the student body at one time. T h i s should be regulated, T h i s space w i l l hold 11,385 books, using fifteen books per square foot as a stand- ard.12 Bishop College reported a book collection of 15,902 volumes in 1941-42. T h i s means that the stacks must now be congested. T h i s is true for two other col- leges in the survey, also. Four libraries represented still have space for additional volumes. T h e i r rate of growth will determine how long this condition will prevail.13 The book collections in four of these libraries are extremely small. T h e others 1 1 G e r o u l d , J a m e s T h a y e r . The College Library Building, p. 2 9 ; H a n l e y , E d n a R u t h . College and University Library Buildings, p. 12. 1 2 G e r o u l d , op. cit., p. 66. 1 3 S e e T a b l e V I I , c o l u m n 7. DECEMBER, 1943 8 7 T A B L E V I I Book Additions during the Period 1936-41® Institutions 1936-37 1937-38 1938-39 1939-40 1940-41 T o t a l Y e a r l y Average Bishop College — 250 495 727 434 1906 476 + Houston College for Negroes — 449 21 702 1224 2396 599 Jarvis Christian College N o Figures Available Prairie View State College 769 1191 665 554 870 4049 8 1 0 - Samuel Huston College — 307 3°9 349 700 1665 4 1 6 + Texas Collegeb 230 45 318 163 272 1028 206 + Tillotson College 1364 1322 811 575 1105 5177 i ° 3 5 + Wiley College 375 50 858 445 699 2427 485 + ® Figures from the Texas College Examiner with exceptions as indicated. b Figures from the librarian's report. are somewhat better, but all are too small to promote the types of programs these schools have adopted for themselves. D r . Bishop, whose many years of wide, varied, and f r u i t f u l library service make him an eminent authority in the matter, says: A well-selected library of 50,000 vol- umes w i l l perhaps suffice for the needs of sound teaching in a college of not over T A B L E V I I I Circulation per student during 1940-41 I n s t i t u t i o n s Enrol- ment 1940-41 T o t a l Circu- lation 1940-41® Per Student Bishop College 358 19,784 55 + Houston College for Negroes 386 — — Jarvis Christian College 540 — — Prairie View State College 1108 95,451 8 6 + Samuel Huston College 245 25,000 1 0 2 + Texas College 183 26,534 1 4 4 + Tillotson College 360 9,595 2 6 + Wiley College 555 32,400 5 8 + ® Figures from the American Library Directory, 1942. 500 students. T h i s number does not in- clude duplicates. . . . 1 4 J u d g i n g by this criterion, the book col- lections under consideration are far from being adequate no matter how well se- lected. T h e record shows that only one library has maintained a steady program of maga- zine binding over the years. Circulation figures for 1940-41 are shown in T a b l e V I I I . Some of the li- braries have had a rather heavy circula- tion per student. It should be under- stood, however, that these figures repre- sent " t o t a l " circulation. T h e y include both inside and outside circulation. Samples of Collections. A l l colleges, by their own statement, send from 75 to 95 per cent of their graduates into the teaching profession. Since this is true, the libraries in these institutions should be well equipped to facilitate preparation for teaching. T h e r e f o r e , it w a s deemed wise to sample each library's holdings in the field of education. It is realized, how- ever, that prospective teachers should 14 Bishop, W i l l i a m W a r n e r . " T h e Contribution of the L i b r a r y to College T e a c h i n g . " Library Journal 54:254, M a r . 15, 1929. 82 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES know something more than education as a subject. T o facilitate the sampling procedure checklists were drawn up, one for educa- tion books and one for education periodi- cals. T o test for recency in books the T h i s study has revealed that the li- braries investigated are generally inade- quate, measured by accepted library stand- ards. Inadequacies uncovered include, in varying degrees, meager funds, undersized staffs, cramped quarters for housing books T A B L E I X Sample Holdings8 Education Books Education Periodicals All Periodicals Number Per- Number Per- T o t a l Paid Number of Institutions Number Held centage Number Held centage Subscrip- Bound in from of in from of tions Periodicals Library Check- Hold- Library Check- Hold- Received in Library, list15 ings list0 ings 1942-43 1942-43 Bishop College 473 30 1 9 + 37 8 19 + 88 28 Houston College for Negroes 5°9 42 2 7 + 20 16 38 + 65 220 Jarvis Christian College 284 23 1 5 - 22 22 52 + 107 40 Prairie View State College 1719 74 48 + 27 27 6 4 + 166 1399 Samuel Huston College 350 34 2 2 + 28 10 2 4 - 77 10 Texas College 5Si 31 . 21 — 15 14 33 + 68 83 Tillotson College 764 49 3 2 - 14 14 33 + 114 14 Wiley College 1063 46 3 0 - 9 9 21 + 76 189 * Figures from the librarian in each college. b T h e r e are 154 titles in the checklist. 0 T h e r e are 42 periodicals in the checklist. Shaw list for 1 9 3 1 - 3 8 was used.15 T o test for quantity and quality in periodicals the periodical list of the Southern Asso- ciation of Colleges and Secondary Schools was employed.16 A f t e r the checklists were arranged they were submitted to each library represented in the survey for checking. Reports were received from all libraries and the results are shown in T a b l e I X . " S h a w , C h a r l e s B . A List of Books for College Libraries, 1931-38, p. 47-58. 1 6 S o u t h e r n A s s o c i a t i o n of C o l l e g e s and Secondary- S c h o o l s . C o m m i s s i o n on I n s t i t u t i o n s of H i g h e r Edu- cation. The Classified List of Periodicals for Col- lege Libraries, p. 4-5. and readers in several libraries, small book collections, and small subscription lists. I t should be stated here, however, that these library conditions do not represent the attitudes of the college administrations involved. Moreover, each library here represented, though greatly handicapped, has courageously and resolutely accepted the responsibility of serving its public in peace and war. Nevertheless, despite the good intentions of the college administra- tions and the fortitude and devotion of the library staffs, these college libraries need better financial support. DECEMBER, 1943 8 7