College and Research Libraries


B y R A N D O L P H W . C H U R C H 

A Library Reorganises 
through Building 

How may a library's internal organization 

be affected by a building project? One 

answer is given by the assistant librarian of 

the Virginia State Library. 

THE VIRGINIA STATE LIBRARY h a s b e e n in a p r o c e s s o f r e o r g a n i z a t i o n 
d u r i n g t h e l a s t d e c a d e , if s u c h a t e r m c a n 

b e p r o p e r l y a p p l i e d t o a p l a n n e d a n d sus-

t a i n e d d e v e l o p m e n t o v e r s u c h a p e r i o d of 

, t i m e . S i n c e , h o w e v e r , a l l p l a n n i n g w a s 

b a s e d o n a d e q u a t e q u a r t e r s a n d s u c h q u a r -

t e r s n o w h a v e b e e n i n u s e f o r a b o u t t h r e e 

y e a r s , t h i s s e e m s a p r o p e r t i m e t o r e v i e w 

a c c o m p l i s h m e n t a n d t o n o t e i n w h a t r e -

s p e c t s o c c u p a n c y h a s m o d i f i e d o r s u s t a i n e d 

t h e o r i g i n a l p l a n . 

A n y r e o r g a n i z a t i o n b r o u g h t a b o u t b y 

a b u i l d i n g p r o g r a m is f a r - r e a c h i n g , p a r -

t i c u l a r l y w h e n t h e r e is a w i d e d i s p a r i t y be-

t w e e n t h e o l d a n d n e w q u a r t e r s . O f 

n e c e s s i t y a n e w b u i l d i n g is p l a n n e d f o r a n 

i n c r e a s e d s e r v i c e , a n d t h e i n t e r n a l o r g a n i -

z a t i o n w h i c h f u n c t i o n e d i n c r a m p e d 

q u a r t e r s m u s t b e w i d e l y c h a n g e d i n i t s 

a p p l i c a t i o n t o l a r g e r a r e a s . R e l a t i o n s h i p s 

b e t w e e n t h e d u t i e s o f s e c t i o n s a n d d i v i s i o n s 

m u s t b e a l t e r e d , t h e s t a f f m u s t be e x -

p a n d e d , t h e b u d g e t m u s t be m a t e r i a l l y i n -

c r e a s e d , a n d e v e n t h e l e g a l b a s i s o f t h e 

l i b r a r y ' s e s t a b l i s h m e n t m u s t b e e x p l o r e d . 

T h e V i r g i n i a S t a t e L i b r a r y is p r i m a r i l y 

a r e f e r e n c e a n d r e s e a r c h i n s t i t u t i o n . I t 

is o n e o f a s m a l l g r o u p o f s t a t e l i b r a r i e s 

t h a t c o m b i n e s u n d e r o n e h e a d t h e a d -

m i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e s t a t e ' s h i s t o r i c a l c o l -

l e c t i o n s , b o t h p r i n t e d a n d a r c h i v a l ; b u t 

y e t , a t t h e s a m e t i m e , s e r v e s as t h e c e n t r a l 

p u b l i c l i b r a r y a g e n c y f o r t h e s t a t e b y l e n d -

i n g m a t e r i a l t h r o u g h i n d i v i d u a l a n d i n t e r -

l i b r a r y l o a n f r o m its c e n t r a l c o l l e c t i o n 

a n d b y p r o v i d i n g b o t h b o o k c o l l e c t i o n s 

a n d f i n a n c i a l s t a t e a i d t o p u b l i c l i b r a r i e s . 

I t is s e p a r a t e f r o m t h e s t a t e l a w l i b r a r y , 

t h o u g h i t h a s a l w a y s b e e n h o u s e d in t h e 

s a m e b u i l d i n g . C o m b i n i n g a s i t d o e s t h e 

w o r k u n d e r t a k e n i n m a n y s t a t e s b y s e p a -

r a t e a g e n c i e s , s u c h as s t a t e - s u p p o r t e d 

h i s t o r i c a l s o c i e t i e s , s t a t e a r c h i v a l e s t a b l i s h -

m e n t s , a n d l i b r a r y c o m m i s s i o n s , i t is a b l e 

t o s u p e r v i s e e c o n o m i c a l l y in a r e l a t e d p r o -

g r a m t h e l i b r a r y a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e s t a t e . 

B e c a u s e o f t h e w i d e r a n g e of its d u t i e s , 

h o w e v e r , its i n t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n m u s t b e 

h a n d l e d a n d d e v e l o p e d w i t h m o r e t h a n a n 

o r d i n a r y d e g r e e o f p l a n n i n g . 

I n 1 9 3 4 t h e V i r g i n i a S t a t e L i b r a r y o c -

c u p i e d q u a r t e r s i n w h a t w a s t e r m e d a s t a t e 

l i b r a r y b u i l d i n g . F r o m t h e first t h e s e h a d 

b e e n l a r g e l y i n a d e q u a t e s i n c e t h e b u i l d i n g 

w a s n o t c o n s t r u c t e d f r o m t h e m o d e r n l i -

b r a r y s t a n d p o i n t a n d w a s d e s i g n e d t o 

h o u s e o t h e r a g e n c i e s o f s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t . 

M u c h o f t h e e q u i p m e n t w a s a n t i q u a t e d o r 

u n s u i t a b l e a n d t h e r e w a s n o r o o m f o r e x -

p a n s i o n . Q u a r t e r s w e r e b a d l y d i v i d e d 

a n d w o r k w a s d i f f i c u l t t o s u p e r v i s e . 

C h a r t A p r e s e n t s g r a p h i c a l l y t h e p h y s i c a l 

SEPTEMBER, 1944 315 



C H A R T C 

O L D V I R G I N I A STATE L I B R A R Y 

C h a r t s h o w i n g r e l a t i v e l o c a t i o n s a n d a r e a s of l i b r a r y q u a r t e r s . L a s t figure denotes a r e a in 
s q u a r e f e e t . L e t t e r s a n d figures in ( ) denote floor l o c a t i o n . 

E n t r a n c e 

T o O t h e r A g e n c i e s T o O t h e r A g e n c i e s 

. N e w s p a p e r & 

P e r i o d i c a l 

S t a c k s ( 3 ) 

1853 

r e l a t i o n s h i p s a n d a r e a s o f t h e v a r i o u s p a r t s 

o f t h e l i b r a r y a t t h a t t i m e . I t w i l l b e 

n o t e d t h a t t h e g e n e r a l l i b r a r y a n d a d -

m i n i s t r a t i v e o f f i c e w e r e l o c a t e d o n t h e 

t h i r d floor o f t h e b u i l d i n g a n d t h a t t h e 

w o r k q u a r t e r s w e r e w i t h i n t h e s t a c k s . 

T h e e x t e n s i o n d i v i s i o n o c c u p i e d s m a l l 

q u a r t e r s o n t h e f i r s t floor, a n d a n a n n e x 

h o u s i n g t h e a r c h i v e s d i v i s i o n a n d p h o t o s t a t 

s e c t i o n , w i t h i t s a s s o c i a t e d r e c o r d c o p y i s t , 

w a s l i k e w i s e r e a c h e d f r o m t h i s floor. 

S e p a r a t e s t o r a g e s t a c k s w e r e i n t h e b a s e -

m e n t . / C o m m u n i c a t i o n c o u l d b e h a d o n l y 

t h r o u g h a g e n e r a l l o b b y . T o t a l floor a r e a 

o f l i b r a r y q u a r t e r s , c o u n t i n g s t a c k s , c o m -

p r i s e d 2 0 , 1 5 6 s q u a r e f e e t . 

A t t h i s t i m e t h e l i b r a r y s t a f f c o n s i s t e d 

j o f t w e n t y p e r s o n s , o n l y f o u r o f w h o m 

w e r e l i b r a r y s c h o o l g r a d u a t e s , a l t h o u g h a 

c o n s i d e r a b l e n u m b e r o f t h e o t h e r s h a d 

p a r t - t i m e t r a i n i n g o f o n e t y p e o r a n o t h e r . 

R o u t i n e s w e r e g r e a t l y c o m p r e s s e d . T h e 

a c t u a l o r d e r i n g o f l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l w a s 

h a n d l e d t h r o u g h t h e l i b r a r i a n ' s o f f i c e , 

w h e r e a l l o t h e r c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w a s a l s o 

c a r e d f o r , i n c l u d i n g r o u t i n e s o f b o r r o w -

i n g b y m a i l a n d a n s w e r s t o r e f e r e n c e q u e s -

t i o n s c o n c e r n e d w i t h b o t h b o o k s a n d 

a r c h i v a l m a t e r i a l , a s w e l l a s g e n e r a l 

c o r r e s p o n d e n c e a n d p u b l i c a t i o n w o r k . 

C h e c k i n g a n d c a t a l o g i n g r o u t i n e , t o g e t h e r 

w i t h s u p e r v i s i o n o f t h e s t a c k s a n d r e a d i n g 

r o o m , w e r e u n d e r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e a s -

s i s t a n t l i b r a r i a n . S e p a r a t e c h e c k i n g f i l e s 

w e r e m a i n t a i n e d f o r p e r i o d i c a l s , a n n u a l s , 

U . S . d o c u m e n t s , a n d s t a t e d o c u m e n t s , a n d 

a c t u a l c a t a l o g i n g w a s a t a m i n i m u m . 

W i t h o n l y t h r e e p e r s o n s t o p e r f o r m i t , 

w o r k o n t h e a r c h i v a l r e c o r d s o f t h e s t a t e 

w a s l a r g e l y c o n f i n e d t o s e r v i n g m a t e r i a l 

316 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



C H A R T B 

V I R G I N I A STATE L I B R A R Y , 1 9 3 4 

C h a r t s h o w i n g p e r s o n n e l and lines of a p p o i n t m e n t or r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . L i b r a r y b o a r d consisted of 
five m e m b e r s a p p o i n t e d by state b o a r d of e d u c a t i o n but r e p o r t i n g to g o v e r n o r . 

G o v e r n o r 

S t a t e B o a r d o f E d u c a t i o n 

S t a t e L i b r a r y B o a r d 1 

S t a t e L i b r a r i a n 

A s s i s t a n t S t a t e L i b r a r i a n 

D o o r k e e p e r 

I 

J a n i t o r 

J a n i t r e s s 

R e f e r e n c e L i b r a r i a n • 

I 
A s s i s t a n t R e f e r e n c e L i b r a r i a n . I 

E x e c u t i v e S e c r e t a r y 

I 
T y p i s t 

A s s i s t a n t A s s i s t a n t A s s i s t a n t A s s i s t a n t 

P e r i o d i c a l s U . S . D o c u m e n t s A n n u a l s C a t a l o g i n g 

N e w s p a p e r s M a p s S t a t e D o c u m e n t s 

P h o t o s t a t O p e r a t o r R e c o r d C o p y i s t 

e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e . T h e c o p y i n g o f p u b l i c 

r e c o r d s p r o g r e s s e d s l o w l y a n d e x t e n s i o n 

w o r k w a s m a i n l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e a c -

q u i s i t i o n a n d l o a n o f ' t r a v e l i n g l i b r a r i e s 

t h r o u g h o u t t h e s t a t e . C h a r t B g i v e s a 

g r a p h i c p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e l i b r a r y ' s i n -

t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n a t t h i s p e r i o d . 

T h e f i n a n c e s o f t h e l i b r a r y w e r e 

m e a g e r , w i t h a t o t a l a p p r o p r i a t i o n f o r 

o r d i n a r y s e r v i c e s o f o n l y $ 4 6 , 2 2 0 , b r o k e n 

d o w n a s f o l l o w s : 

E x p e n s e s of o p e r a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g s a l a r i e s , 

c o m m u n i c a t i o n , r e p l a c e m e n t s , e t c . 

A d m i n i s t r a t i o n $ 7 , 3 3 0 

G e n e r a l l i b r a r y 1 6 , 9 0 5 

A r c h i v e s d i v i s i o n , i n c l u d i n g p h o t o -

s t a t d i v i s i o n a n d r e c o r d c o p y i s t 

E x t e n s i o n d i v i s i o n 

C a p i t a l o u t l a y f o r a l l d i v i s i o n s , 

b o o k s , b i n d i n g , p u b l i c a t i o n s , e t c . 

1 1 , 2 9 5 

2,975 

7 , 7 i 5 

$ 4 6 , 2 2 0 

S t a t e A r c h i v i s t E x t e n s i o n L i b r a r i a n 

I 
A s s i s t a n t S t a t e A r c h i v i s t 

I 
A s s i s t a n t 

U n d e r s u c h c o n d i t i o n s i t w a s o b v i o u s t o 

t h e a u t h o r i t i e s o f t h e l i b r a r y t h a t t h e w o r k 

o f t h e i n s t i t u t i o n h a d r e a c h e d a c r i t i c a l 

p o i n t , w h e r e f u r t h e r p r o g r e s s c o u l d n o t 

b e m a d e w i t h o u t n e w q u a r t e r s a n d a n e w 

o r g a n i z a t i o n . T o b e s u r e , e f f o r t s h a d 

b e e n m a d e b e f o r e t o w a r d s a n e w b u i l d i n g , 

w h i c h a t o n e t i m e h a d s e e m e d a s s u r e d , b u t 

i t r e m a i n e d f o r t h i s p e r i o d t o s e e t h e w o r k 

e n e r g e t i c a l l y p u s h e d t o a c o n c l u s i o n . 

I n 1 9 3 6 t h e g e n e r a l a s s e m b l y a p p o i n t e d 

a b u i l d i n g c o m m i s s i o n t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e 

q u e s t i o n a n d t o s e c u r e a s a g i f t f r o m t h e 

C i t y o f R i c h m o n d t h e n e c e s s a r y g r o u n d 

f o r t h e s t r u c t u r e . T h i s w a s a c c o m p l i s h e d 

i n M a r c h 1 9 3 8 a n d r e s u l t e d i n a n a p p r o -

p r i a t i o n f r o m t h e g e n e r a l a s s e m b l y o f 

t h a t y e a r o f f u n d s s u f f i c i e n t t o e n s u r e t h e 

p r o j e c t w i t h f e d e r a l a i d . D u r i n g t h i s 

p e r i o d t h e l i b r a r i a n s p r e p a r e d a l i s t o f 

r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e b u i l d i n g , t o g e t h e r 

SEPTEMBER, 1944 317 



C H A R T C 

PROPOSED V I R G I N I A STATE L I B R A R Y 
> 

C h a r t s h o w i n g r e l a t i v e l o c a t i o n s and a r e a s of l i b r a r y q u a r t e r s . L a s t figure d e n o t e s a r e a in 
s q u a r e f e e t . 

r s ^ n 
T o O t h e r A g e n c i e s 4 | | » T o L e c t u r e R o o m 

w i t h a c h a r t s h o w i n g t h e d e s i r e d r e l a t i v e g e n e r a l . T h e i r q u a r t e r s , h o w e v e r , w e r e 

l o c a t i o n s a n d a r e a s o f l i b r a r y q u a r t e r s , d i s t i n c t f r o m t h o s e o f t h e s t a t e l i b r a r y a n d 

w h i c h is h e r e r e p r o d u c e d a s C h a r t C . a p p r o a c h e d b y a s e p a r a t e e n t r a n c e , t h e 

G r o u n d w a s b r o k e n o n D e c . 7 , 1 9 3 8 , a n d b u i l d i n g b e i n g i n r e a l i t y t w o b u i l d i n g s i n 

t h e b u i l d i n g w a s o p e n e d f o r u s e o n D e c . o n e . T o t a l floor a r e a p r o v i d e d f o r t h e 

2 3 , 1 9 4 0 . I t w a s a s o u r c e o f t h e g r e a t e s t ^ l i b r a r y q u a r t e r s w a s 1 1 5 , 4 9 2 s q u a r e f e e t , 

s a t i s f a c t i o n o n t h e p a r t o f t h e l i b r a r i a n s a n i n c r e a s e o f 4 7 3 p e r c e n t o v e r t h e o l d 

t h a t t h e a r c h i t e c t s w e r e a b l e t o t r a n s l a t e q u a r t e r s . 

t h e i r r e q u i r e m e n t s i n t o a s u i t a b l e s t r u c - I n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f t h e 

t u r e . C h a r t D , s h o w i n g t h e a c t u a l r e l a - v a r i o u s d i v i s i o n s a n d s e c t i o n s w i t h i n n e w 

t i v e l o c a t i o n s a n d a r e a s o f t h e b u i l d i n g a s q u a r t e r s , c e r t a i n f u n d a m e n t a l c h a n g e s i n 

f i n a l l y c o n s t r u c t e d , m a y b e p r o f i t a b l y c o m - t h e l i b r a r y ' s o r g a n i z a t i o n w e r e d e t e r m i n e d , 

p a r e d w i t h C h a r t C , t h e l i b r a r i a n s ' p l a n , I t w a s f o u n d t h a t t h e w o r k o f t h e l i -

t o s h o w h o w n e a r l y a l i k e t h e y a r e . I t w i l l b r a r y f e l l n a t u r a l l y i n t o f i v e g r o u p s , i.e., 

b e s e e n f r o m t h e s e t h a t t h e n e w b u i l d i n g y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , g e n e r a l l i b r a r y , a r c h i v e s , 

w a s d e s i g n e d t o h o u s e s o m e o t h e r a g e n c i e s e x t e n s i o n , a n d p u b l i c a t i o n . I n t h e o l d 

t h a n t h e l i b r a r y , viz., t h e s u p r e m e c o u r t , q u a r t e r s t h e r e w a s n o c l e a r l i n e o f d e -

t h e s t a t e l a w l i b r a r y , a n d t h e a t t o r n e y m a r c a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e s e a c t i v i t i e s a n d n o 

318 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



C H A R T B 

N E W V I R G I N I A S T A T E L I B R A R Y 

C h a r t s h o w i n g r e l a t i v e l o c a t i o n s a n d a r e a s of l i b r a r y q u a r t e r s . L a s t figure d e n o t e s a r e a in 

s q u a r e f e e t . L e t t e r s a n d figures in ( ) d e n o t e floor l o c a t i o n . 

ing and 

•ng ( B > Staff and Shipping 

T o Other Agencies 
Supreme C o u r t 

State Law Library 
Attorney General 

M a i l and 
Syppliei 

( B ) 
Storage 

/ Mechanical \ Equipment » 
| > T o Equipment 

Unestimated 

\ 

Court Lobby ( i ) 

u n i f i c a t i o n o f r e l a t e d w o r k . I n p l a n n i n g 

t h e n e w b u i l d i n g , s u c h u n i t y w a s h i g h l y 

d e s i r a b l e . T o t h i s e n d i t w a s p r o p o s e d 

t h a t t h e r e f e r e n c e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e l i b r a r y 

b e c o n f i n e d , a s f a r a s p o s s i b l e , t o t h e first 

floor o f t h e b u i l d i n g a n d g r o u p e d a r o u n d a 

g e n e r a l r e f e r e n c e s e c t i o n a n d a r c h i v e s d i v i -

s i o n . U n d e r g e n e r a l r e f e r e n c e , a s e c t i o n 

o f t h e g e n e r a l l i b r a r y d i v i s i o n , w a s t o f a l l 

t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e g e n e r a l r e a d i n g 

r o o m , t h e n e w s p a p e r a n d p e r i o d i c a l r o o m , 

a n d t h e s t u d y c u b i c l e s , a s w e l l a s t h e s u -

p e r v i s i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l a n d i n t e r l i b r a r y 

l o a n s . V U n d e r t h e a r c h i v e s d i v i s i o n w a s 

t o f a l l t h e p r e p a r a t i o n a n d s e r v i c e o f b o t h 

a r c h i v a l m a t e r i a l a n d p r i n t e d a n d m a n u -

s c r i p t m a p s . I n a d d i t i o n i t w a s f e l t , s i n c e 

m o s t o f t h e w o r k o f p h o t o d u p l i c a t i o n w a s 

c o n c e r n e d w i t h m a n u s c r i p t a n d a r c h i v a l 

m a t e r i a l , t h a t a n e x p a n d e d p r o g r a m , i n -

c l u d i n g f u l l m i c r o p h o t o g r a p h y , s h o u l d b e 

u n d e r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e a r c h i v e s d i v i -

s i o n . I t w a s f u r t h e r p r o p o s e d t h a t t h e 

r a r e b o o k c o l l e c t i o n s h o u l d b e h o u s e d i n 

c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h i t a n d s e r v i c e d u n d e r i t s 

s u p e r v i s i o n . 1 S i n c e t h e o t h e r w o r k o f t h e 

g e n e r a l l i b r a r y d i v i s i o n , c o n c e r n e d w i t h 

t h e a c q u i s i t i o n a n d p r o c e s s i n g o f p r i n t e d 

m a t e r i a l , c o u l d b e b r o k e n u p i n t o s e v e r a l 

n a t u r a l g r o u p s , i t w a s d e t e r m i n e d t o e s t a b -

l i s h a n o r d e r s e c t i o n t o s e r v e a l l d i v i s i o n s 

1 A f u l l discussion of the suitability of an a r c h i v a l 
agency administering such material as maps and rare 
books may be found in the w r i t e r ' s article " T h e Re-
lationship between A r c h i v a l A g e n c i e s and L i b r a r i e s . " 
American Archivist 6:145-50, J u l y 1943. 

SEPTEMBER, 1944 319 



a n d c o n d u c t e x c h a n g e s , a s e r i a l s s e c t i o n 

w i t h v i s i b l e f i l e e q u i p m e n t f o r a c o n s o l i -

d a t e d s e r i a l s r e c o r d , i n c l u d i n g b i n d i n g , 

a n d a c a t a l o g s e c t i o n , a l l as c l o s e l y r e l a t e d 

as p o s s i b l e . S i n c e i t w a s c o n t e m p l a t e d t o 

d e v e l o p t h e w o r k of t h e e x t e n s i o n d i v i s i o n 

r a p i d l y t o i n c l u d e t h e a c t i v e d e v e l o p m e n t 

o f p u b l i c l i b r a r i e s in t h e s t a t e as w e l l as 

t h e l e n d i n g of t r a v e l i n g l i b r a r i e s , it w a s 

p l a n n e d to g i v e t h i s d i v i s i o n q u a r t e r s e a s i l y 

a c c e s s i b l e t o t h e s h i p p i n g r o o m , s t a c k s , 

a n d p u b l i c e n t r a n c e . T h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n 

d i v i s i o n a n d t h e a s s o c i a t e d p u b l i c a t i o n s 

d i v i s i o n w e r e t o b e l o c a t e d as c e n t r a l l y as 

p o s s i b l e t o g i v e g e n e r a l s u p e r v i s i o n of t h e 

l i b r a r y ' s w o r k . 

A l l of t h e p r o p o s a l s a s s u m e d t h a t t h e 

s t a f f of t h e l i b r a r y w o u l d be g r e a t l y e n -

l a r g e d a n d t h a t f u n d s w o u l d p e r m i t t h e 

e m p l o y m e n t of s u i t a b l e p e r s o n s w i t h a b i l -

i t y t o c o n d u c t i n d e p e n d e n t l y t h e w o r k 

a n d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , t o s u p e r v i s e t h e s e a c -

t i v i t i e s . T h e p a s s a g e of t h e l i b r a r i a n s ' 

c e r t i f i c a t i o n l a w r e f e r r e d t o l a t e r in t h i s 

a r t i c l e p r o v i d e d a s s u r a n c e t h a t o n l y 

t r a i n e d p e o p l e m i g h t b e c o n s i d e r e d f o r 

p r o f e s s i o n a l p o s i t i o n s , a n d a c o m p l e t e p e r -

s o n n e l s u r v e y of s t a t e e m p l o y e e s in 1 9 3 7 

c r e a t e d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y of h a v i n g l i b r a r y 

p o s i t i o n s c a r e f u l l y c o n s i d e r e d as t o t h e i r 

p r o p e r g r a d e a n d s a l a r y . 

Reorganization 

W i t h t h e p h y s i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s of q u a r -

t e r s i n t h e n e w b u i l d i n g e s t a b l i s h e d a n d 

w i t h a g e n e r a l p r o g r a m f o r t h e e n l a r g e -

m e n t of t h e s t a f f d e t e r m i n e d , r e o r g a n i z a -

t i o n w a s b e g u n i n t e r m s of t h e 

c o n t e m p l a t e d b u i l d i n g . I n O c t o b e r 1 9 3 8 

a c a t a l o g s e c t i o n w a s o r g a n i z e d in t h e 

g e n e r a l l i b r a r y d i v i s i o n , w i t h a h e a d 

c a t a l o g e r in c h a r g e A I n J a n u a r y 1 9 3 9 t h e 

a r c h i v e s d i v i s i o n , p h o t o s t a t d i v i s i o n , a n d 

r e c o r d c o p y i s t w e r e b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r u n -

d e r o n e d i r e c t i o n b y t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of a 

h e a d a r c h i v i s t . I n J u l y of t h e s a m e y e a r 

a h e a d o f a n e w s e r i a l s s e c t i o n w a s a p -

p o i n t e d a n d v a r i o u s s c a t t e r e d f i l e s w e r e 

b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r in o n e n e w v i s i b l e f i l e 

u n i t . A t t h e s a m e t i m e w o r k w a s b e g u n 

o n a n o r d e r s e c t i o n b y t h e c e n t r a l i z i n g of 

t h i s w o r k in c h a r g e of o n e p e r s o n . I t 

w a s n o t , h o w e v e r , u n t i l a f t e r t h e o c -

c u p a n c y of t h e n e w b u i l d i n g t h a t f u n d s 

w e r e m a d e a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e c r e a t i o n of 

n e w p o s i t i o n s t o h e a d u p t h e r e o r g a n i z e d 

e x t e n s i o n d i v i s i o n a n d r e f e r e n c e a n d c i r -

c u l a t i o n s e c t i o n of t h e g e n e r a l l i b r a r y . 

T h e s e w e r e b o t h f i l l e d in F e b r u a r y 1 9 4 1 . 

L i k e w i s e , it w a s n o t p o s s i b l e u n t i l t h i s 

t i m e t o e f f e c t t h e g e n e r a l r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of 

t h e l i b r a r y w i t h i n its n e w q u a r t e r s . 

D u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h i s d e v e l o p m e n t 

v a r i o u s p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d c l e r i c a l p o s i t i o n s 

w e r e c r e a t e d , as t h e l i b r a r y e x p a n d e d , t o 

s u c h a n e x t e n t t h a t i n 1 9 4 4 it h a d o n its 

s t a f f t w e n t y - t h r e e p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r y 

p o s i t i o n s a n d t w e n t y - s e v e n p o s i t i o n s o f 

o t h e r t y p e s . T h i s r e p r e s e n t e d a 1 5 0 p e r 

c e n t g r o w t h in t h e t e n - y e a r p e r i o d . C h a r t 

E g i v e s a g r a p h i c p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e l i -

b r a r y ' s s t a f f o r g a n i z a t i o n a t t h e p r e s e n t 

t i m e a n d m a y be c o m p a r e d w i t h C h a r t B 

t o n o t e t h e c h a n g e s m a d e in t h e p e r i o d . 

I n 1 9 4 4 t h e l i b r a r y b u d g e t p r o v i d e d a 

=<total o f $ 1 6 9 , 9 5 5 as a g a i n s t t h e $ 4 6 , 2 2 0 

of 1 9 3 4 , a 2 6 7 p e r c e n t i n c r e a s e . T h i s 

w a s b r o k e n d o w n as f o l l o w s : 

E x p e n s e s of o p e r a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g 
s a l a r i e s , c o m m u n i c a t i o n , r e p l a c e -
m e n t s , e t c . 

A d m i n i s t r a t i o n $ 14,885 

G e n e r a l l i b r a r y 42,355 
A r c h i v e s division 22,520 
E x t e n s i o n division 1 2 , 1 9 5 

C a p i t a l o u t l a y f o r all divisions, 

b o o k s , binding, p u b l i c a t i o n s , etc. 28,000 
S t a t e aid f o r public l i b r a r i e s 50,000 

$169,955 

v 320 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



C H A R T B 

VIRGINIA STATE LIBRARY, 1 9 4 4 
C h a r t s h o w i n g personnel and lines of appointment or responsibility. L i b r a r y board consists of 
seven members appointed by and responsible to the g o v e r n o r including the superintendent of 

public instruction ex officio. Roman numerals indicate g r a d e s of professional positions. 

Salary Bracket* 
X 5700-6600. 

4200-5400 
3300.4020 
2400-3120 
1800-2280 
1500-1740 

V I I I 
V I I 

O r d e r Librarian V I 

Cleric — L • Typist 

Photographer 

I 
Photographer 

I 
Photographer 

State L i b r a r y Board 

State Librarian X 

Assistant Stat 

C a t a l o g Librarian V I I 

Librarian V I - - Librarian V I 

C l e r k T y p i s t 

Executive Secretary 

Stenographer Stenographer C l e f k Janitress 

Serials Librarian V I I Reference and Circulation Librarian V I I 1 

Librarian V I _ L Librarian V Librarian V I Librarian V 

C l e r k - L T y p i s t C l e r k - - C l e r k 

. C l e r i c - - C l e r k 

-Clffk 

State Archivist I X 

Libraria 

1 
Librariai 

I 

Extension Librarian V I I I 

Librarian V I 

I 
Librarian V I 

1 
C l e r k 

Librarian V I -

S t e n o g r a p h e r • 

Librarian V 

C l e r k 

' - C l e r k 

I n 1 9 3 6 , u n d e r t h e s p o n s o r s h i p of t h e 

V i r g i n i a L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n , t h e l i b r a r y 

l a w s of t h e s t a t e w e r e a m e n d e d a n d c o d i -

fied. M a n y of t h e s e d e a l t d i r e c t l y o r 

i n d i r e c t l y w i t h t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e s t a t e 

l i b r a r y . P r o v i s i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e c o p y -

i n g of p u b l i c r e c o r d s w e r e e n l a r g e d a n d 

t h e s t a t e l i b r a r y w a s a u t h o r i z e d t o s e c u r e 

c o p i e s of s t a t e p u b l i c a t i o n s f o r e x c h a n g e 

p u r p o s e s . A s t a t e b o a r d f o r t h e c e r t i f i c a -

t i o n of l i b r a r i a n s w a s e s t a b l i s h e d , w i t h t h e 

s t a t e l i b r a r i a n as s e c r e t a r y , a n d a l l l i -

b r a r i e s o p e r a t e d b y t h e s t a t e o r u n d e r i t s 

a u t h o r i t y , w i t h f e w e x c e p t i o n s , w e r e r e -

q u i r e d t o e m p l o y in p r o f e s s i o n a l p o s i t i o n s 

o n l y p e r s o n s w i t h l i b r a r i a n s ' c e r t i f i c a t e s . 

T h e l a w c o n c e r n i n g e s t a b l i s h m e n t of 

c o u n t y l i b r a r i e s w a s e n l a r g e d so as t o a l -

l o w e s t a b l i s h m e n t of b o t h c o u n t y a n d 

r e g i o n a l l i b r a r i e s u n d e r v a r i o u s f o r m s a n d 

c o n t r a c t s , a n d t h i s l a w w a s f u r t h e r m o d i -

fied a t l a t e r sessions f o r b e t t e r o p e r a t i o n . 

I n 1 9 4 0 l a w s c o n c e r n i n g t h e d e s t r u c t i o n 

of p u b l i c r e c o r d s a n d t h e a d m i s s i b i l i t y of 

m i c r o p h o t o g r a p h s as o f f i c i a l c o p i e s w e r e 

p a s s e d . I n 1 9 4 2 t h e s t a t e l i b r a r y w a s 

g i v e n $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 a y e a r f o r s t a t e a i d t o 

p u b l i c l i b r a r i e s u n d e r a s p e c i a l b i l l , a n d 

i n 1 9 4 4 a g e n e r a l l a w c o n c e r n i n g s t a t e 

a i d w a s p a s s e d a n d t h e s a m e s u m s e t u p 

in t h e b u d g e t f o r t h e s t a t e l i b r a r y ' s u s e . 

T h i s l a s t session a l s o p r o v i d e d f o r t h e r e -

e s t a b l i s h m e n t of t h e s t a t e l i b r a r y b o a r d , 

w i t h s e v e n i n s t e a d of five m e m b e r s , a p -

p o i n t e d b y t h e g o v e r n o r r a t h e r t h a n t h e 

(Continued on page 334) 

SEPTEMBER, 1944 3 2 1 



U . S . O f f i c e of W a r I n f o r m a t i o n , the 

B r i t i s h I n f o r m a t i o n Services, and F i g h t i n g 

F r a n c e . T h e s e exhibits a r e c h a n g e d on 

the first a n d f i f t e e n t h of e v e r y m o n t h . 

S o m e of the s u b j e c t s e m p h a s i z e d h a v e been 

economics of peace and w a r , h e a l t h , recrea-

tion, p o s t w a r p l a n n i n g , and the N e t h e r -

lands, the l a s t n a m e d b e i n g a t i m e l y 

e x h i b i t a r r a n g e d f o r P r i n c e s s J u l i a n a ' s 

recent visit. 

A c o l l e c t i o n of R u s s i a n p e r i o d i c a l s and 

p u b l i c a t i o n s of l e a r n e d societies, o u t s t a n d -

i n g in the W e s t , has enabled the l i b r a r y 

to p r o v i d e the results of research by the 

R u s s i a n s on s y n t h e t i c r u b b e r and on 

s u r g e r y at the f r o n t a n d , c u r i o u s l y e n o u g h , 

a r t i c l e s on their discoveries r e l a t i n g to 

t r o p i c a l m e d i c i n e . 

O n e v e r y p r a c t i c a l request w a s f o r de-

scriptions in G e r m a n and R u s s i a n of anti-

a i r c r a f t g u n s . A s p a r t of the lend-lease 

p r o g r a m , a m e r c h a n t ship f r o m R u s s i a w a s 

b e i n g equipped w i t h g u n s of this type. 

T h e m e n responsible f o r t h e i r care and 

o p e r a t i o n k n e w no E n g l i s h , so t h a t it w a s 

necessary f o r us t o assemble a r t i c l e s pub-

lished in R u s s i a n and G e r m a n , w i t h w h i c h 

they w e r e f a m i l i a r . T w o R u s s i a n sailors, 

w i t h an i n t e r p r e t e r , came to the l i b r a r y f o r 

the r e f e r e n c e s w h i c h w e h a d selected and 

also f o r t e c h n i c a l dictionaries. W h e n the 

m a t e r i a l s w e r e r e t u r n e d , the i n t e r p r e t e r 

expressed the g r a t i t u d e of the R u s s i a n s , 

w h o smiled and n o d d e d a p p r o v a l . 

S o m e a c c o u n t of the w a r w o r k of the 

R e f e r e n c e D i v i s i o n of the U n i v e r s i t y of 

C a l i f o r n i a L i b r a r y has been g i v e n by sug-

g e s t i n g the v a r i e t y and i m p o r t a n c e of the 

r e f e r e n c e questions. T h e a c t u a l w o r k in-

v o l v e d has been a h i g h l y s t i m u l a t i n g ex-

perience to the m e m b e r s of the s t a f f . 

T h e y h a v e h a d a sense of rich r e w a r d in 

the r e a l i z a t i o n of an a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n 

in the w a r e f f o r t . T h e f u t u r e h o l d s the 

responsibility of s e r v i n g in u n p r e d i c t a b l e 

w a y s the personnel a l r e a d y c o n c e n t r a t i n g 

w i t h d e t e r m i n e d purpose in this key area 

a d j a c e n t to the P a c i f i c theatres of w a r . 

A Library Reorganises through 
(Continued from page 321) 

state b o a r d of e d u c a t i o n . I t p r o v i d e d , 

h o w e v e r , t h a t the s u p e r i n t e n d e n t of p u b l i c 

i n s t r u c t i o n w o u l d be i n c l u d e d as an ex 

officio m e m b e r of the b o a r d and t h a t the 

state l i b r a r y w a s to be the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e 

c e n t e r f o r state p u b l i c l i b r a r y d e v e l o p m e n t . 

A s w i t h a n y d e v e l o p i n g i n s t i t u t i o n , the 

r e o r g a n i z a t i o n of the state l i b r a r y is as 

y e t i n c o m p l e t e . T h e g o a l set f o r a c o m -

p l e t e service in the n e w b u i l d i n g as of 

1 9 4 1 i n c l u d e d a staff of t h i r t y - t w o pro-

fessional a n d t h i r t y - o n e positions of o t h e r 

c h a r a c t e r and a b u d g e t of at least 

$200,000. T h e s e h a v e n o t y e t been 

a c h i e v e d , a l t h o u g h s u b s t a n t i a l progress has 

Building 

been m a d e . A c o m p a r i s o n of a d v a n c e s 

m a d e in the decade, h o w e v e r , s h o w v e r y 

definite, sustained i m p r o v e m e n t , and the 

prospects of the l i b r a r y ' s r e a c h i n g a period 

of e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g u s e f u l n e s s to the com-

m o n w e a l t h are, e v e n n o w , e n c o u r a g i n g . 

I n c o n c l u s i o n it m a y be said t h a t the 

l i b r a r y has been e x t r e m e l y f o r t u n a t e in 

h a v i n g been able to m a k e a p l a n n e d reor-

g a n i z a t i o n f o r a n e w b u i l d i n g r a t h e r t h a n 

h a v i n g been f a c e d w i t h a s u d d e n r e o r g a n i -

z a t i o n in u n p l a n n e d q u a r t e r s . O c c u p a n c y 

of the b u i l d i n g has m o d i f i e d in n o m a j o r 

respect the r o u t i n e and o r g a n i z a t i o n that 

w e r e d e t e r m i n e d at the b e g i n n i n g s 

v 334 COLL EGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES