College and Research Libraries B y F R E M O N T R I D E R The Future of the Research Library Mr. Rider is librarian of Wesleyan Uni- versity. The editors asked him to try to summarize the main line of reasoning de- veloped at length in his provocative new book, T h e Scholar and the Future of the Research Library, published last month. This article is the result of that request. Appraisal should be withheld until the book itself is read. OF ALL THE PROBLEMS w h i c h have of recent years engaged the attention of educators and librarians none have been m o r e p u z z l i n g than those posed by the astonishing g r o w t h of our great research libraries. M y o w n interest in this subject has, over the years, resulted in a series of papers, some of them mainly analyses but others endeavoring to suggest specific an- swers to parts of w h a t has sometimes seemed to be an almost insoluble p u z z l e . I w o u l d be the first to admit that, as a w h o l e , these papers were all tentative, inconclusive, even in places mutually c o n - tradictory. T h e y made no claim then to be anything else. T h e y w e r e a " t h i n k i n g out l o u d , " an attempt to suggest directions along w h i c h solutions might possibly be arrived at rather than an offering of as- sured conclusions. B u t one very definite conclusion they did r e a c h : that no emenda- tions in library methods alone are g o i n g to solve our research library g r o w t h problem, f o r any savings so effected are quickly o v e r w h e l m e d by its ever-increasing magni- tude. M o r e and m o r e over the years I became convinced that our only possible answer lies in interlibrary cooperation and cooperation on a much m o r e sweeping scale than any w e have ever envisaged. So w h e n t w o years ago the committee headed by M r . M e t c a l f made its epoch-making "division-of-fields" report, it seemed to me a very important step in the right direction. It is n o w f o u r years since the idea came to m e w h i c h is the subject matter of the book of w h i c h this paper is intended to give a sort of preview. I t was an idea that seemed so obviously and completely " r i g h t " that I was very definitely afraid of i t ! I distrusted m y o w n j u d g m e n t . So there f o l l o w e d f o u r years of making and remaking innumerable samples of it, of attacking it, testing it, criticizing it. B u t it had a disconcerting ability: it seemed able to convert every n e w objection brought against it into a n e w argument in its f a v o r . In all the endeavors that w e may make to solve the problem of research library g r o w t h w e must always remember that n o solution is going to be entirely satisfactory to the scholar if, directly or indirectly, it takes his books away f r o m him.1 H a v i n g the text of his material conveniently near his e l b o w is his sine qua non. C o m p a r e d w i t h this immediate availability of his text, every other service w h i c h w e , as li- brarians, may offer h i m — n o matter w h a t it is—is, to him, relatively unimportant. But, obviously, if research libraries are g o - 1 The Scholar and the Future of the Research Library, part i , chapters 4 and 6, d i s c u s s some of the " s o l u t i o n s " that do propose t a k i n g t h e s c h o l a r s books a w a y f r o m h i m . SEPTEMBER, 1944 301 i n g t o c o n t i n u e t o d o u b l e in s i z e e v e r y s i x - t e e n y e a r s ( o r e v e r y t w e n t y y e a r s o r e v e r y t h i r t y y e a r s f o r t h a t m a t t e r ) , w e a r e n o t g o i n g t o be a b l e t o k e e p t h e s c h o l a r ' s b o o k s a t h i s e l b o w u n l e s s w e c a n f i n d s o m e q u i t e u n p r e c e d e n t e d l y i n e x p e n s i v e w a y t o d o i t . Four-Part Cost A n d w e m u s t a l w a y s b e a r in m i n d a s e c o n d p r e m i s e , t h a t t h e c o s t o f m a i n t a i n - i n g a r e s e a r c h l i b r a r y is n o t a m a t t e r m e r e l y of t h e o r i g i n a l p u r c h a s e c o s t of its m a t e r i a l s . T h e s e m u s t be m a d e a m a z i n g l y c h e a p , t o be s u r e . B u t p u r c h a s e c o s t is o n l y t h e f i r s t of f o u r m a i n c a t e g o r i e s of c o s t . 2 O u r c a t a l o g i n g of t h e m m u s t a l s o be m a d e a m a z i n g l y c h e a p , o u r b i n d i n g o f t h e m a m a z i n g l y c h e a p , o u r s t o r a g e of t h e m a m a z i n g l y c h e a p . W e m u s t n e v e r f o r g e t t h a t t h i s p r o b l e m of l i b r a r y g r o w t h of o u r s is a l w a y s t h i s f o u r - p a r t p r o b l e m a n d t h a t unless we are able to accomplish a reduc- tion in the cost of all these four parts we arrive at no real solution of it. B u t , if o n e sits b a c k a n d v i e w s t h e w h o l e p r o b l e m q u i e t l y a n d q u i t e d i s p a s s i o n a t e l y , it b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y o b v i o u s t h a t a n y s u c h e x t r e m e r e d u c t i o n s i n c o s t as t h e s i t u a t i o n d e m a n d s a r e q u i t e i m p o s s i b l e of r e a l i z a t i o n u n l e s s w e a r e a b l e t o d e v e l o p s o m e e n t i r e l y n e w s y n t h e s i s , s o m e e n t i r e l y n e w i n t e g r a t i o n o f o u r m a t e r i a l s . T h i s w a s t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h I h a d a r r i v e d f o u r y e a r s a g o . T h i s is t h e q u e s t i o n w h i c h , it w o u l d s e e m , f a c e s t h e l i b r a r y w o r l d n o w : is a n y s u c h a n e w s y n t h e s i s p o s s i b l e ? Is it possible that we are approaching the end of an era in our library methodology? I t is n o w s i x t y o r s e v e n t y y e a r s s i n c e , u n d e r t h e c o m p e l l i n g a s s u r a n c e of D e w e y a n d C u t t e r a n d P o o l e a n d t h e i r f e l l o w p i o n e e r s , t h e l i b r a r y w o r l d c r y s t a l l i z e d a d e f i n i t e p a t t e r n o f l i b r a r y t e c h n i q u e w h i c h , 2 F u r t h e r discussed in op. cit., part i , c h a p t e r 3. a l t h o u g h i t h a s b e e n g r e a t l y a m p l i f i e d a n d r e f i n e d , h a s n e v e r b e e n b a s i c a l l y c h a n g e d . T h e r e h a s e v e n b e e n a t e n d e n c y in s o m e l i b r a r y c i r c l e s t o t a k e i t f o r g r a n t e d t h a t i t w a s a f i n a l t e c h n i q u e . B u t n o t e c h - n o l o g y is e v e r f i n a l o r finished. E n t i r e l y n e w c o n d i t i o n s a r i s e . I n t h e l i b r a r y w o r l d w e see t h e m a l r e a d y a r i s e n : in f a c t t h e y a r e p r e s s i n g u p o n u s f o r s o l u t i o n . C a n i t be t h a t w e a r e s t a n d i n g o n t h e t h r e s h o l d of c h a n g e s in o u r l i b r a r i e s t h a t a r e g o i n g t o be f a r m o r e s w e e p i n g t h a n t h o s e w h i c h t h e l i b r a r y p i o n e e r s d e v e l o p e d s i x o r s e v e n d e c a d e s a g o ? Mass and Detail L i b r a r i e s a r e g r e a t c o m p l e x e s of t i n y i t e m s , i t e m s w h i c h i t is i m p o s s i b l e t o h a n d l e o n a m a s s - p r o d u c t i o n b a s i s b e c a u s e e a c h o n e , t i n y t h o u g h it is, is h i g h l y i n d i - v i d u a l i z e d a n d d e m a n d s e q u a l l y i n d i - v i d u a l i s t i c t r e a t m e n t . I t is t h i s c o m b i n a - t i o n of e n o r m o u s m a s s a n d e x t r e m e i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n of d e t a i l t h a t h a s m a d e t h e p r o b l e m o f r e s e a r c h l i b r a r y g r o w t h so d i f f i c u l t a o n e t o s o l v e . A n d o u r s e a r c h f o r a s o l u t i o n h a s b e e n f u r t h e r c o m p l i c a t e d b y o u r i n s i s t e n c e o n v i e w i n g t h e p r o b l e m , n o t as o n e , b u t as a w h o l e l i n e of p r o b - l e m s , p r o b l e m s i n t e r c o n n e c t e d a t v a r i o u s p o i n t s t o b e s u r e b u t a p p a r e n t l y n o t in a n y w a y t h a t h e l p e d u s . W e h a v e t r i e d — a n d t h i s w a s j u s t as t r u e o f m y o w n e f f o r t s as o f a n y o n e e l s e ' s — t o s o l v e t h e v a r i o u s p h a s e s o f o u r p r o b - l e m o n e b y o n e as t h o u g h e a c h e x i s t e d in a v a c u u m , n o t t i e d u p — a s t h e y a r e — i n a v e r i t a b l e m e s h o f m e t h o d o l o g i c a l i n t e r - r e l a t i o n s h i p s . W e h a v e t r i e d t o s o l v e o u r p r o b l e m of s w o l l e n c a t a l o g i n g c o s t as t h o u g h i t w e r e a s e p a r a t e a n d i n d e p e n d e n t p r o b l e m a n d o u r b o o k s t o r a g e p r o b l e m as t h o u g h i t a l s o w e r e s o m e t h i n g s e p a r a t e a n d i n d e p e n d e n t . W e h a v e t r i e d t o e c o n o m i z e v 302 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES o n b i n d i n g c o s t s as s u c h , o n c i r c u l a t i o n c o s t s as s u c h , o n o r d e r i n g c o s t s as s u c h , e t c . , e t c . A n d t h e r e a s o n t h a t w e d i d t h i s , t h e r e a s o n t h a t w e f a i l e d t o i n t e g r a t e w h a t w e r e r e a l l y i n t e r l i n k e d f a c t o r s o f o n e s i n g l e p r o b l e m , w a s t h a t w e w e r e b l i n d e d b y t h e status quo. W e i n s i s t e d o n c o n - t i n u i n g t o a c c e p t as l i b r a r y a x i o m s , u n - a l t e r a b l e a n d u n q u e s t i o n a b l e , c e r t a i n a s s u m p t i o n s w h i c h h a d n o v a l i d i t y as a x i o m s , s u c h p s e u d o - a x i o m s a s : l i b r a r i e s a r e c o l l e c t i o n s of b o o k s , b o o k s a r e s t o r e d o n s h e l v e s , l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s h a v e t o be c a t a l o g e d , c a t a l o g s h a v e t o b e m a d e o n c a r d s , b o o k s m u s t be a r r a n g e d b y t h e i r c a l l n u m b e r s , e t c . , e t c . , e t c . I t is n o t u n t i l w e h a v e l o o k e d b e h i n d , a n d b e y o n d , e v e r y o n e of t h e s e — a n d m a n y o t h e r — s u p p o s e d l y b a s i c a x i o m s of l i b r a r y m e t h o d a n d h a v e s e r i o u s l y q u e s t i o n e d t h e i r i m m u t a b i l i t y , t h a t w e b e g i n t o m a k e a n y r e a l p r o g r e s s . F o r w h e n w e d o t h i s w e a r e s u d d e n l y a m a z e d t o f i n d t h e m i s m a t c h e d b i t s of o u r r e s e a r c h l i b r a r y g r o w t h - p u z z l e f a l l i n g , a l m o s t of t h e m s e l v e s , i n t o a q u i t e a s t o n - i s h i n g l y n e w s y n t h e s i s . A Sample of Micro-Reduction L e t u s see if t h e p h r a s e u s e d a b o v e , " f a i l e d t o i n t e g r a t e , " c a n be m a d e m o r e c o n c r e t e . S o m e m o n t h s a g o w e h e r e a t W e s l e y a n b o u g h t , f r o m t h e R e a d e x M i - c r o p r i n t C o r p o r a t i o n , t h e i r r e p r o d u c t i o n of t h e t w o E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e v o l u m e s of t h e Church Catalog. T h e i r m i c r o - p r i n t c o p y of t h e s e v o l u m e s c a m e t o u s o n s i x l e a v e s of p a p e r , e a c h l e a f s i x - b y - n i n e i n c h e s in s i z e a n d e a c h p r i n t e d o n b o t h s i d e s . T h e s i x l e a v e s w e r e d e l i v e r e d t o u s e n - c l o s e d in a s u b s t a n t i a l l y m a d e , l i n e n - b o u n d s l i p - c o v e r b o x , s i x a n d o n e h a l f b y t e n i n c h e s , a n d t w o i n c h e s t h i c k , d u l y l a b e l e d o n its b a c k - s t r i p e d g e so t h a t i t c o u l d be s t o r e d u p r i g h t o n t h e s h e l f l i k e a b o o k . T h e p o i n t w e a r e g e t t i n g a t h e r e is t h i s : t h e Church Catalog h a d , b y m i c r o - r e d u c - t i o n , b e e n g r e a t l y r e d u c e d in p u r c h a s e c o s t , h a d b e e n r e d u c e d in f a c t t o a b o u t o n e t w e n t y - f i f t h of its e s t a b l i s h e d a u c t i o n p r i c e i n b o o k f o r m . A n d , o b v i o u s l y , t h a t is a v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t . B u t b o o k p u r c h a s e c o s t , w e m u s t a l w a y s r e - m e m b e r , is o n l y t h e f i r s t of f o u r c a t e g o r i e s of b o o k c o s t . W h a t h a d t h e R e a d e x peo- p l e d o n e a b o u t t h e o t h e r t h r e e ? C l e a r l y t h e y m i g h t , in s o m e w a y , h a v e d o n e some- thing a b o u t s t o r a g e c o s t a t l e a s t ; b e c a u s e t h e y h a d , t h r o u g h t h e m a g i c of m i c r o - r e d u c t i o n , s h r u n k t w e l v e h u n d r e d l a r g e p a g e s d o w n t o t w e l v e s m a l l o n e s , i.e., t h e y h a d e f f e c t e d a m o r e t h a n 9 9 p e r c e n t d e - c r e a s e in s t o r a g e b u l k . Failure to Integrate B u t in t h i s p a r t i c u l a r c a s e , as i n m o s t of t h e a t t a c k s w h i c h w e l i b r a r i a n s h a v e o u r s e l v e s m a d e u p o n t h e l i b r a r y g r o w t h p r o b l e m , t h e r e h a d o c c u r r e d a t t h i s p o i n t a failure to integrate a l l f o u r of t h e f a c - t o r s of c o s t . W h a t w a s t h e r e s u l t ? S o f a r as s t o r a g e w a s c o n c e r n e d o u r s i x l e a v e s of m i c r o - p r i n t e d Church Catalog w e r e d e - l i v e r e d t o u s as a c o m p l e t e u n i t in a f o r m t h a t n e g a t i v e d p r a c t i c a l l y a l l of t h e s a v i n g in s t o r a g e c o s t t h a t m i c r o - r e d u c t i o n h a d e f f e c t e d . W e w e r e , t o a l l i n t e n t s a n d p u r - poses, p u t r i g h t b a c k w h e r e w e s t a r t e d : w e w e r e a s k e d t o h a n d l e a n d s t o r e a " b o o k " a g a i n a n d a f a i r l y b u l k y b o o k a t t h a t . W h a t of t h e l a s t c o s t f a c t o r , c a t a l o g i n g ? A b o u t it a l s o t h e R e a d e x p e o p l e d i d n o t h - i n g . I t n e v e r e v e n o c c u r r e d t o t h e m t h a t i t w a s a n y b u s i n e s s of t h e i r s t o d o a n y - t h i n g . ( A n d , v e r y p o s s i b l y , a t t h i s s t a g e , i t w a s n ' t . ) I n a n y e v e n t t h e i r f a i l u r e t o i n t e g r a t e c o s t f o u r i n t o t h e i r o v e r - a l l p r o - d u c t i o n p i c t u r e m e a n t t h a t , w h e n w e r e - SEPTEMBER, 1944 303 ceived our six-leaf " b o o k " f r o m them, w e had to catalog it ourselves; and, in doing our cataloging of it, w e had to f o l l o w ex- actly the same procedure, and had to incur exactly the same expense, as w e w o u l d have had if w e had been cataloging the Church Catalog in its original two-volume f o r m . T h i s particular illustrative example has been picked out, not because the Readex people did anything short-sighted or at all out of the ordinary. Quite the contrary. T h e y did exactly what all other publishers and all librarians have been doing. But what they did shows, in essence, w h y the micro-reduction of books f o r libraries has been, to date, so relatively disappointing a development. F o r — a l l propaganda to the contrary notwithstanding—it has been dis- appointing. W e have had coming into our research libraries a mere trickle of micro- materials, where our micro-enthusiasts had hoped for, and had expected to have, a flood. A n d the reason w h y this flood has never come is the one just stated: micro- reduction has never yet really integrated itself into library practice. Micro-ma- terials have always been treated ( b y their makers, by their users—and by librarians) as though they were books. A different sort of books, to be sure, an annoyingly different sort, and so problem-making in- stead of problem-solving. Chance to Begin Again N o one seems to have realized that, abruptly, f o r the first time in over t w o thousand years, libraries were here being offered a chance to begin all over again. In this first half of the twentieth century A . D . the recorded words of men were coming in to us librarians, not in the f o r m of the books in which they have been com- ing in to us f o r t w o milleniums, but in a brand-new f o r m , an utterly, completely, basically different form, a f o r m that de- manded and that, if w e could only see it, would require an utterly and completely and basically different library treatment.3 Because w e didn't see this, w e tried our hardest to treat them in the way w e treated books. A n d we became annoyed when this didn't seem to w o r k out very well. Did it w o r k w e l l ? Consider what w e have all been doing when w e took in a twenty-page pamphlet which had been re- duced f o r us to a ten-inch strip of micro- film. A ten-inch strip of film doesn't seem to fit into conventional library prac- tice anywhere. H o w , f o r instance, have w e tried to store it ? Some of us put it in a box on the shelves. But, if w e did that, w e canceled—exactly as the Readex peo- ple did with the Church Catalog—all of the economy in storage space that micro- reduction has salvaged f o r us. Some of us put such a snippet in an envelope, and then filed the envelope in some sort of a vertical file. T h i s worked fairly well, provided w e had enough similar snippets to make a real file out of them, which most of us have not had. Some of us tried splicing a lot of such snippets together until w e had created a composite reel of odds and ends. But this result was, of course, always a hodgepodge, awkward to use—and a sad mess to catalog. Cataloging " T o c a t a l o g ! " Here we are, back again to the fourth great factor of our growth problem, to that cost which, in actual fact, bulks larger than any one of the other three. W h o has made any at- tempt whatever really to integrate micro- reduction and cataloging? Remember that n o w w e don't mean drawing up a 3 F o r t h e " c i r c u l a t i o n aspects of t h e ' s o l u t i o n ' " here p r o p o s e d s e e op. cit., part 2, c h a p t e r 6 ; f o r t h e c a t a l o g i n g s i d e , see p a r t 2, c h a p t e r s 3 a n d 4. v 304 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES s e t o f s u p p l e m e n t a r y c a t a l o g i n g " r u l e s , " t o b e d u l y i n s e r t e d i n o u r c a t a l o g i n g " c o d e s , " r u l e s t o c o v e r s u c h q u e s t i o n s a s : " W h a t a d d i t i o n a l d a t a , if a n y , s h o u l d b e g i v e n w h e n w e a r e c a t a l o g i n g m a t e r i a l s in m i c r o - f o r m ? " " W h a t f o r m o f ' c o l l a t i o n ' is r e - q u i r e d w h e n c a t a l o g i n g films?" " W h o , i n t h e c a s e o f films, s h a l l b e d e e m e d t h e ' p u b l i s h e r ' ? " a n d s u c h s i m i l a r c a t a l o g i n g m i n u t i a e . I t c a n b e g r a n t e d t h a t t h e r e is i n t h e r e c o r d a n y a m o u n t o f this s o r t o f c a t a - l o g i n g d i s c u s s i o n . B u t n o w w e a r e t a l k i n g a b o u t s o m e t h i n g f a r d e e p e r a n d m o r e f u n d a m e n t a l . W e m e a n : w h a t t h o u g h t h a s b e e n g i v e n t o t h e i d e a t h a t m i c r o - r e d u c t i o n might m a k e p o s s i b l e s o m e b a s i - c a l l y n e w c o n c e p t o f c a t a l o g i n g , might m a k e p r a c t i c a b l e s o m e e n t i r e l y n e w a p - p r o a c h t o t h e w h o l e c a t a l o g i n g p r o c e s s ? F o r t h i s s o r t o f d i s c u s s i o n o n e s e a r c h e s t h e l i t e r a t u r e o f m i c r o f i l m a l m o s t i n v a i n . A l m o s t . I n h i s c o m p r e h e n s i v e c o m - p e n d i u m , Photographic Reproduction for Libraries, p u b l i s h e d o n l y a f e w m o n t h s a g o , H e r m a n H . F u s s i e r , o f t h e U n i v e r - s i t y o f C h i c a g o , d o e s g i v e a h i n t — n o t m u c h b u t s t i l l a h i n t — o f t h e s o r t o f t h i n g t h a t w e a r e n o w t a l k i n g a b o u t . H e s a y s ( h e r e a b r i d g i n g h i s c o m m e n t b u t i t a l i c i z - i n g s o m e s i g n i f i c a n t p h r a s e s ) : T h e use of m i c r o f i l m by l i b r a r i e s . . . h a s n o t r e s u l t e d in basic changes of m e t h o d s o r o r g a n i z a t i o n . . . the q u e s t i o n m u s t be r a i s e d as t o w h e t h e r . . . w e h a v e g o n e f a r e n o u g h . I s it possible . . . to utilize reproductive techniques in new and radical ways w h i c h w o u l d r e s u l t in . . . g r e a t e r efficiency . . . t o l i b r a r y p a t r o n s . . . in ways . . . entirely divergent f r o m o u r p r e s e n t c o n c e p t i o n of l i b r a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n m e t h o d s ? A n d a l i t t l e f u r t h e r a l o n g h e a n s w e r s t h i s q u e s t i o n o f h i s i n t h e s e w o r d s : T h e r e is a b o d y of e v i d e n c e in t h e e x - p e r i e n c e of n o n l i b r a r y and n o n r e s e a r c h o r - g a n i z a t i o n and in the i n h e r e n t n a t u r e of the t e c h n i q u e s t h e m s e l v e s , t o p o i n t t o w a r d an a f f i r m a t i v e . . . a n s w e r . . . . The library profession cannot afford to be too complacent or too conservative . . . if the library is to keep its rightful place in these swiftly chang- ing times. Dr. Bendiksons Work F o r m a n y y e a r s , if a n y o f u s h a d m a d e a n y a t t e m p t t o e f f e c t t h e s o r t o f n e w i n - t e g r a t i o n t h a t w e a r e n o w t a l k i n g a b o u t , w e w o u l d h a v e b e e n h a n d i c a p p e d b y t h e f o r m i n w h i c h m i c r o - m a t e r i a l s w e r e b e i n g g i v e n t o u s . T w o t h o u s a n d y e a r s a g o b o o k s i n r o l l f o r m g a v e p l a c e t o b o o k s i n f o l d e d flat-sheet f o r m . B u t , a l t h o u g h s o m e o f u s h a v e f e l t s t r o n g l y t h a t , s o o n e r o r l a t e r , m i c r o - m a t e r i a l s i n r o l l f o r m w o u l d m a k e t h e s a m e t r a n s i t i o n , t h e r e h a d , u n t i l r e c e n t l y , b e e n d i s c o v e r e d n o p r a c - t i c a b l e w a y t o a c c o m p l i s h i t . A n d , a l - t h o u g h w e f u r t h e r s u s p e c t e d — s o m e o f u s — t h a t t h e m a t e r i a l t h a t w a s g o i n g u l t i - m a t e l y t o b e u s e d f o r t h e s e flat m i c r o - m a t e r i a l s w o u l d be p a p e r , o r i t s e q u i v a l e n t , p r i m a r i l y b e c a u s e p a p e r is c h e a p e r t h a n film b u t a l s o b e c a u s e it is m o r e r e s i s t a n t t o h a n d l i n g a b u s e , w e h a d f o u n d n o w a y t o m a k e t h i s c h a n g e e i t h e r . B u t , b e c a u s e w e h a d t h e s e t w o i d e a s , s o m e o f u s f e l t t h a t D r . B e n d i k s o n , o f t h e H u n t i n g t o n L i b r a r y , h a d b e e n o n t h e r i g h t t r a c k i n h i s w o r k , a d e c a d e o r m o r e a g o , w i t h p a p e r p h o t o - m i c r o - p r i n t s , a n d t h o u g h t t h a t t h e v e r y s i g n i f i c a n t p i o n e e r s t u d i e s t h a t h e t h e n m a d e d i d n o t r e c e i v e as m u c h a t t e n t i o n as, p e r h a p s , t h e y d e - s e r v e d . H e h a d , o f c o u r s e , b e e n s t y m i e d a t t h e t i m e h e m a d e t h e m b y t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f r e a d i n g h i s s m a l l - s c a l e m i c r o - r e d u c t i o n s in p a p e r - p r i n t f o r m ; b u t o n e m a y s u s p e c t t h a t h e b e l i e v e d t h a t s o m e d a y t h e o p t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t s t o o d i n t h e w a y o f t h i s SEPTEMBER, 1944 305 s o r t o f m i c r o - r e a d i n g , a s w e l l as t h e t e c h - n i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s t h a t p r e v e n t e d t h e p r i n t - i n g o f m i c r o - m a t e r i a l s o n p a p e r , w o u l d b o t h u l t i m a t e l y b e s o l v e d . I f h e d i d h a v e t h i s f a i t h i t w a s j u s t i f i e d . W h e n w o r d c a m e t o m e o n e d a y t h r e e o r f o u r y e a r s a g o t h a t t h e R e a d e x p e o p l e h a d f o u n d t h e a n s w e r t o b o t h o f t h e s e p r o b l e m s I w a s so e x c i t e d t h a t I t o o k t h e n e x t t r a i n t o N e w Y o r k t o see e x a c t l y w h a t t h e y h a d a c c o m - p l i s h e d . T h e y had i n d e e d m a d e a v a s t s t r i d e f o r w a r d : w e a s l i b r a r i a n s a r e n o t y e t f u l l y a w a r e h o w g r e a t a s t r i d e . B e - f o r e o u r e y e s e n t i r e l y n e w p o s s i b i l i t i e s i n t h e u s e o f m i c r o - r e d u c e d m a t e r i a l s w e r e o p e n i n g u p : e n t i r e l y n e w m i c r o - c o n c e p t s w e r e a t l a s t t a k i n g p r a c t i c a b l e s h a p e . O f c o u r s e D r . B e n d i k s o n a n d M r . B o n i a r e o n l y t w o o u t o f a g r e a t m a n y m i c r o - p i o n e e r s . T h e r e w a s t h e u n k n o w n m a n — w h o e v e r h e w a s — w h o first t o o k a m i n i a t u r e c a m e r a s h o t o f a p r i n t e d p a g e . T h e r e h a v e b e e n B i n k l e y , D r a e g e r , T a t e , P r a t t , R a n e y , M e t c a l f , a n d a l o n g l i s t o f o t h e r s , w h o h a v e s t r u g g l e d i n t e l l i g e n t l y , u n s e l f i s h l y , a n d s u c c e s s f u l l y t o m a k e m i c r o p h o t o g r a p h y t h e p r a c t i c a b l e l i b r a r y t o o l t h a t it n o w is. T h e s e m i c r o - p i o n e e r s a r e n o t t h e o n e s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r our f a i l u r e t o i n t e g r a t e t h e i r w o r k m o r e c l o s e l y i n t o o u r o w n . T h a t w a s n o t t h e i r j o b . T h e y w e r e i n t e r e s t e d p r i m a r i l y i n t h e t e c h n i c a l p r o b l e m s w h i c h t h e i r n e w m e d i u m p r e - s e n t e d . T h e y a l m o s t h a d t o b e . A n d , a s a r e s u l t o f t h e i r i n g e n u i t y a n d v i s i o n a n d s a c r i f i c e , w e h a v e n o w a t t a i n e d a r e l a t i v e p e r f e c t i o n o f t e c h n i c a l r e s u l t w h i c h p l a c e s u s v e r y m u c h , a n d f o r e v e r , i n t h e i r d e b t . Use of Catalog Cards T h e n e w i d e a t h a t is t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r o f t h e b o o k o f w h i c h t h i s p a p e r is a s u m - m a r y c a m e i n t o b e i n g , a s m a n y s u c h t h i n g s d o , f r o m a q u i t e u n e x p e c t e d d i r e c t i o n . I n a t t a c k i n g t h e l i b r a r y g r o w t h p r o b l e m f r o m a l l s o r t s o f a n g l e s I h a d , f o r o n e t h i n g , b e c o m e a c u t e l y d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h s o m e o f t h e a s p e c t s o f o u r c o n v e n t i o n a l c a t a l o g c a r d . A n d o n e t h i n g a b o u t it t h a t k e p t b o t h e r i n g m e w a s t h e w a y i t w a s t e d p e r - f e c t l y g o o d — a n d r e l a t i v e l y e x p e n s i v e — c a r d s p a c e . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , t h e f a c e o f t h e c a r d w a s w a s t e f u l . M e a s u r e m e n t o f t h e s u p e r f i c i a l a r e a o f a g r e a t m a n y c a t a l o g e n t r i e s s h o w e d t h a t , i n t h e g r e a t m a j o r i t y o f c a s e s , a h a l f - s i z e c a r d {i.e., a c a r d 6 \ x J-% c m . ) w o u l d p r o v i d e a l l t h e s p a c e t h a t w a s n e e d e d . A n d s u c h a s m a l l c a r d c o u l d b e r e a d a n d h a n d l e d a l m o s t a s e a s i l y a s o u r s o - c a l l e d s t a n d a r d - s i z e c a t a - l o g c a r d . B u t , a l t h o u g h I e v e n w e n t so f a r a s t o s u g g e s t i n o n e o f m y e a r l y p a p e r s 4 t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f g i v i n g s u c h h a l f - s i z e c a t a l o g c a r d s s e r i o u s c o n s i d e r a t i o n a n d a l t h o u g h , h e r e a t W e s l e y a n , w e h a v e f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s b e e n s u c c e s s f u l l y u s i n g s u c h c a r d s — s e v e r a l m i l l i o n s o f t h e m — f o r a n o t h e r p u r - p o s e , 5 I w a s s t i l l n o t a t a l l c o n v i n c e d t h a t w e o u g h t t o c h a n g e t o t h e m f o r c a t a l o g i n g . F o r o n e t h i n g , h a l f - s i z e c a r d s w o u l d n o t , o f t h e m s e l v e s , d o a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h e w a s t e d b a c k s o f o u r p r e s e n t c a r d s . A n d , b e c a u s e t h i s w a s t e w a s t w i c e a s g r e a t as t h e w a s t e o n t h e f r o n t s o f t h e c a r d s , i t i n t r i g u e d m e t h a t m u c h m o r e . Use of Waste Space T h e w a s t e o f s p a c e o n a s t a n d a r d c a t a - l o g c a r d — e v e n t h o u g h it is a w a s t e o f t h r e e q u a r t e r s o f e v e r y c a r d a n d e v e n t h o u g h i t is b e i n g r e p e a t e d o n b i l l i o n s o f c a t a l o g c a r d s a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d — m i g h t n o t s e e m , t o m o s t p e o p l e , i m p o r t a n t e n o u g h t o s p e n d v e r y m u c h t i m e o v e r . B u t , a s I w a s t h i n k i n g a b o u t i t o n e d a y , t h i s i d e a 4 " T h e P o s s i b i l i t y of D i s c a r d i n g the C a r d C a t a l o g . " Library Quarterly 8:329-45, J u l y 1938. 5 I n the w o r k of the A m e r i c a n G e n e a l o g i c a l I n d e x . v 306 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES c a m e t o m e : why might we not combine the micro-texts of our books and the cata- log cards for these same books in one single entity? I n o t h e r w o r d s , why could we not put our micro-books on the (at present entirely unused) backs of their own catalog cards? A n d w a s n ' t this t h a t n e w " i n t e g r a t i o n " of o u r b a s i c m a t e r i a l s t h a t I h a d f o r y e a r s b e e n l o o k i n g f o r ? I c a l l e d t h i s n e w c o n c e p t , t h i s n e w c o r r e l a - t i o n of f u n c t i o n s , a " m i c r o - c a r d . " T h e m o r e I c o n s i d e r e d t h i s n e w m i c r o - c a r d i d e a , t h e m o r e i t g r e w o n m e . F o r , w i t h a l m o s t m i r a c u l o u s s i m p l i c i t y , it s e e m e d , a u t o m a t i c a l l y , to solve, not one, but all four of the factors of our growth problem. I n m y r e m a i n i n g s p a c e l e t m e — v e r y b r i e f l y i n d e e d — r u n o v e r t h e s e f o u r s o l u t i o n s . T h e c u t in f i r s t c o s t , t h e o r i g i n a l p u r - c h a s e c o s t of t h e t e x t , is o b v i o u s . I n t h e Church Catalog c a s e t h e s a v i n g m a d e w a s a b o u t 9 9 p e r c e n t . I n v e r y f e w c a s e s w i l l it b e l e s s t h a n 9 0 p e r c e n t . Storage Cost S e c o n d , s t o r a g e c o s t . A n y o n e f a m i l i a r w i t h m i c r o f i l m k n o w s t h a t a f a i r a m o u n t of m i c r o - t e x t c a n be p u t o n t h e b a c k of a s t a n d a r d - s i z e c a t a l o g c a r d , b u t e v e n s o m e m i c r o f i l m e n t h u s i a s t s m a y b e s u r - p r i s e d t o l e a r n how m u c h c a n be p u t t h e r e . W e a r e a s s u r e d l y t o d a y o n l y in t h e f i r s t s t a g e s of m i c r o - r e d u c t i o n t e c h n i q u e , y e t e v e n t o d a y i t is p o s s i b l e — b y u s i n g s o m e v e r y s i m p l e n e w m e t h o d s in o u r p h o t o - g r a p h i n g 6 — t o g e t as m a n y as 2 5 0 p a g e s of a n o r d i n a r y t w e l v e m o b o o k o n t h e b a c k o f a s i n g l e c a t a l o g c a r d . A n d t h e r e c a n be n o d o u b t a t a l l t h a t , g i v e n j u s t a s l i g h t f u r t h e r s m o o t h n e s s in f i l m g r a i n i n g , j u s t a l i t t l e m o r e t e c h n i c a l s k i l l in m i c r o - p h o t o - 6 D i s c u s s e d in detail in R i d e r , op. cit., part 2, chapter g r a p h i n g , j u s t a l i t t l e m o r e i m p r o v e m e n t in l e n s e s a n d in c a m e r a e f f i c i e n c y , w e s h a l l be a b l e , a n d in a v e r y f e w y e a r s a t t h a t , t o p u t , if w e w i s h , as m a n y as five h u n d r e d o r d i n a r y - s i z e b o o k p a g e s — i n o t h e r w o r d s a r e g u l a r f u l l - s i z e t w e l v e m o b o o k — o n the back of one single catalog card. O f c o u r s e , as h a s j u s t b e e n s u g g e s t e d , w e c a n ' t d o t h i s if w e insist o n f o l l o w i n g t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l m e t h o d s t h a t w e h a v e a l w a y s f o l l o w e d in t h e m i c r o - p h o t o g r a p h - i n g of o u r t e x t s . B u t t h e r e i s n ' t t h e s l i g h t - e s t r e a s o n w h y w e s h o u l d f o l l o w t h e m . F u r t h e r m o r e , v e r y o f t e n — i n f a c t , in m o s t c a s e s — w e s h a l l not w a n t t o p u t 2 5 0 p a g e s , o r a n y t h i n g l i k e t h a t n u m b e r of p a g e s , o n t h e b a c k of a s i n g l e c a t a l o g c a r d , e v e n if w e a r e t e c h n i c a l l y a b l e t o d o so. O t h e r a n d v e r y i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s i n d e e d 7 a r e g o i n g t o e n t e r i n t o t h i s p a r t i c u l a r q u e s - t i o n , a n d i t is t h e s e f a c t o r s r a t h e r t h a n u l t i m a t e c o m p a c t n e s s in s t o r a g e t h a t a r e g o i n g t o d e t e r m i n e t h e n u m b e r of p a g e s w e p u t o n e a c h c a r d . IOO Per Cent Saving I n o n e sense m i c r o - c a r d s w i l l r e d u c e o u r s t o r a g e c o s t n o t 9 0 p e r c e n t o r 9 9 p e r c e n t b u t a f u l l 1 0 0 p e r c e n t . N o w it m u s t be a d m i t t e d t h a t t o c l a i m a s a v i n g of 1 0 0 p e r c e n t o n s t o r a g e c o s t s o u n d s a l i t t l e c r a z y . B u t c o n s i d e r . A s i n g l e t w e n t y - t h r e e - i n c h - l o n g c a t a l o g d r a w e r w o u l d , if it w e r e f u l l of m i c r o - c a r d s , h o l d t w e n t y - t h r e e h u n d r e d a u t h o r - e n t r y c a t a l o g c a r d s , f o r t w e n t y - t h r e e h u n d r e d b o o k s . I t w o u l d a l s o h o l d , o n t h e i r b a c k s — i f w e a s s u m e f o r t h e p u r p o s e of t h i s e x a m p l e t h a t n o n e of t h i s p a r t i c u l a r l o t of b o o k s h a p p e n e d t o be o v e r 2 5 0 p a g e s l o n g — t h e complete unabridged texts of all these same twenty-three hundred books in micro-re- 7 T h e s e are discussed in op. cit., part 2, chapter 5, part 2, chapter 10. SEPTEMBER, 1944 307 duced form. A n d , o b v i o u s l y , t o g e t in o n e s i n g l e c a t a l o g d r a w e r t w e n t y - t h r e e h u n d r e d c o m p l e t e " b o o k s , " b o o k s w h i c h w o u l d r e q u i r e f o r t h e i r s t o r a g e in n o r m a l b o o k f o r m a r o w of e i g h t b o o k c a s e s , e a c h c a s e s e v e n s h e l v e s h i g h a n d t h r e e f e e t w i d e , w o u l d s e e m in i t s e l f t o bp q u i t e e n o u g h of a m i r a c l e . B u t w e s a i d t h a t o u r s t o r a g e s a v i n g w a s 1 0 0 p e r c e n t . A n d 1 0 0 p e r c e n t i t l i t e r a l l y is. F o r o u r t w e n t y - t h r e e h u n d r e d v o l u m e s , w h e n t h e y h a v e b e e n r e d u c e d t o m i c r o - c a r d f o r m , actually oc- cupy no space whatever, b e c a u s e w h a t t h e y o c c u p y is the vjhite space on the backs of the cards that would have had to be in that catalog drawer anyway if we had not printed our micro-texts on it. T a k e n e x t , t h e t h i r d c a t e g o r y o f r e - s e a r c h l i b r a r y g r o w t h c o s t s — b i n d i n g . W i t h m i c r o - c a r d s , b i n d i n g c o s t s a l s o h a v e e v a p o r a t e d . T h e y t o o h a v e b e e n c u t a f u l l 1 0 0 p e r c e n t . Y e t s t i l l w e h a v e n o t r e a c h e d — i n f a c t w e h a v e n o t b e g u n t o r e a c h — t h e e n d of t h e e c o n o m i e s w h i c h m i c r o - c a r d s o f f e r u s . T h e r e r e m a i n s t h e f o u r t h a n d l a s t f a c t o r of o u r g r o w t h c o s t p r o b l e m : c a t a l o g i n g . F o r d e c a d e s l i b r a r i a n s h a v e b e e n t a l k i n g a b o u t c o o p e r a t i v e c a t a l o g i n g , a n d y e t , t h r o u g h a l l t h e s e s a m e d e c a d e s t h e y h a v e k e p t r i g h t o n d o i n g a l a r g e p a r t of t h e i r c a t a l o g i n g o v e r a n d o v e r a g a i n , i n e a c h of t h e i r l i b r a r i e s , i n d e p e n d e n t l y . N o w m i c r o - c a r d s c o m e t o i n v i t e t h o s e l i b r a r i e s f o r w h i c h t h e y a r e i n t e n d e d — n a m e l y r e - s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s — t o s a v e s o m e w h e r e be- t w e e n 9 6 a n d 9 9 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r p r e s e n t e n t i r e c a t a l o g i n g c o s t . " I n v i t e " i s n ' t a g o o d w o r d : " f o r c e " w o u l d be a b e t t e r o n e . F o r w i t h m i c r o - c a r d s it is h a r d l y p o s s i b l e t o a v o i d , e v e n if o n e w a n t e d t o d o so, t h e e n o r m o u s e c o n o m i e s of g e n u i n e a n d c o m p l e t e c o o p e r a t i v e c a t a l o g i n g . W h y ? Because whoever prints one side of our micro-card will in practice print the other side also.8 A n d j u s t as t h e c o s t of p r i n t - i n g t h e m i c r o - c a r d t e x t , a l r e a d y s m a l l t h o u g h it is in t o t a l , is d i v i d e d u p be- t w e e n a h u n d r e d o r t w o h u n d r e d s u b - s c r i b i n g l i b r a r i e s , so t h e c o s t o f c a t a l o g i n g w i l l a l s o be d i v i d e d b e t w e e n t h e s a m e o n e h u n d r e d o r t w o h u n d r e d l i b r a r i e s . T h i s m e a n s t h a t o u r p r e s e n t c o s t s f o r i n d e p e n d - e n t l y d o n e c a t a l o g i n g w i l l , f o r m i c r o - c a r d s , s h r i n k a l m o s t t o t h e v a n i s h i n g p o i n t . I n s t e a d of a d o l l a r o r so p e r c a t a - l o g e d i t e m , t h e y w i l l b e c o m e a m a t t e r o f a c e n t p e r i t e m o r less. 8 T h e publishing of micro-cards is discussed in op. ext., part 2, c h a p t e r 7, and in the two f o l l o w i n g chapters. Periodical Exchange Union T H E COMMITTEE o n t h e P e r i o d i c a l E x c h a n g e U n i o n h a s j u s t r e v i s e d t h e p r o c e d u r e s of t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e u n i o n a n d h a s c h a n g e d t h e n a m e t o t h e D u p l i c a t e E x c h a n g e U n i o n . U n d e r t h e n e w p r o c e d u r e m e m b e r s c a n be a d m i t t e d a t a n y t i m e . I n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e u n i o n c a n be o b t a i n e d f r o m D o n a l d E . T h o m p s o n , c h a i r m a n , C o m m i t t e e o n t h e D u p l i c a t e E x c h a n g e U n i o n , U n i v e r s i t y of A l a b a m a , U n i v e r s i t y . DONALD E . T H O M P S O N , Chairman A.C.R.L. Committee on the Duplicate Exchange Union v 308 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES