College and Research Libraries Management of a Dormitory Library Some of the details of handling an ancil­ lary student collection are here treated by the classifier at the University of Kansas Library. T HE ARRANGEMENT and administration of a dormitory library at the U niver­ sity of Kansas have occasioned the develop­ ment of a syste~ of classification that may be of interest to librarians elsewhere. The scheme is a modification of the Dewey system adapted to the needs of an extra­ curricular reading library with a few background books. The library with which this paper deals is in Carruth Hall, one of the four cooperative dormitories for men. It serves all four dormitories, al­ though each of the other three has a small book collection of its own. As it is a memorial library, all the books · have been gifts or purchases from a gift fund. 1 The library is entirely independent of the uni­ versity library but is administered by a committee consisting of one member of the department of English, an interested alumna who is the wife of a faculty member, the librarian of the bureau of general informa­ tion, and the classifier of the university library. This committee works in coopera­ tion with the student librarian. 1 The library is the Alberta Linton Corbin Me~orial Library. It was established after her death by_ fnends of Miss Corbin, to carry out her expre~sed w1sh t~at books be provided for the Carruth Hall Ltbrary. Durmg her years at the university, Miss Corbin was a student and latt:r a colleag~e of William Herbert Carrut~ for whom the h~. ll is named. Books from the pnvate libraries of Miss Corbin and of Mr. Carruth form a part of the present collection. . JUNE~ 1945 By LAURA NEISWANGER In developing plans for the arrangement and administration of the library, publica­ tions of numerous authorities were con­ ·sulted. Excellent material is available on the general question of dormitory and fra­ ternity libraries and book selection, but little has been written on the subject of arrangement. This is probably due to the fact that most of the collections described are selected and administered by college or university libraries. Thus the dormitory library, and sometimes the fraternity li­ brary, functions somewhat like a branch or depository library. Branscomb2 in his Teaching with Books includes an informative chapter on the gen­ eral question of dormitory libraries, with emphasis on "course" libraries. Carnovsky3 has· written of the same type of library at the University of Chicago, and Morgan4 regarding it at Harvard. As to arrange­ ment, Carnovsky says: "The books were not classified. They were arranged on the shelves in several large and generaL-groups: reference books ; the optional readings of the four general courses, each course repre­ sented in its own section; poetry; drama; fiction ; and general nonfiction. Within each group the books were shelved alpha­ betically by author." · At the time Morgan 2 Branscomb Bennett Harvie. "Books in Halls of Residence." in his Teaching with Books, p. 147-65. Chicago, A.L.A.l 1940. . . . · . a Carnovsky eon. "Dorm1tory Ltbrary: an Ex­ periment in Stimulating Reading." Library Quarterly 3:37-65, January 1933. . • Morgan, Kenneth. "The Harvard House LI­ braries." Library Journal s6:s36-39. June IS, IQJI. 237 wrote his article, Harvard had tried the L.C. classification unsuccessfully for the house libraries and had decided to work out a scheme of its own. An example of the other type of dormitory library-the "read­ ing for fun" library-is the Stephens Col­ lege plan as described by Johnson. 5 •6 But this again is administered through the col­ lege library. Material on fraternity libraries is inter­ esting but did not quite meet our needs, although our library is similar to a large fraternity library and has many of the same problems. Drury7 supplies essential infor­ mation for the smaller 'library of this kind in his article "The Library in the Frater­ nity House." This gives a list of basic books, references to other book lists avail­ able at the time, and suggestions for a simple classification and for administration. Huntington's paper8 on fraternity house li­ braries at the University of Illinois contains suggestions for a small library. Onthank9 and Lewis10 treat of collections lent by the college library to dormitories and frater­ nities. All of these articles were helpful in various ways but not satisfying on the ques­ tion of arrangement. Beginnings of Library When we began to organize the library, there were about one thousand volumes. A gift of over six hundred volumes from Mr. and Mrs. William Allen White in 1941 formed the nucleus df the collection. Gifts 5 Johnson, B. Lamar. "Dormitory Libraries." In his Vitalizing a College L i brary, p. 54 -64 . Chicago, A.L.A., 1939. . 8 Johnson, B. Lamar. "Dormitory Libraries at Stephens College." Library Quarterly 5:2I5-3I, April 1935· 7 Drury, F . K. W. "Library in the Fraternity House." Peabody Journal of Education I2 :I85-96, Janu ary !935· 8 Huntington, Lucile. "Fraternity House Libraries at the University of Illinois." Library Journal 63: 730-33, Oct. I, I938. · 9 Onthank, K. W. "Fraternity Circulating_ Librar­ ies." Wilson Library Bulletin I I :394-96, February I937· 10 Lewis, "\V. P . "Dormitory and Fraternity Li~ braries." Wilson Library Bulletin 10 :2 50 -5 2, Decem­ ber I935 · from various individuals, subscriptions to book clubs, and p'urchases from the gift fund constifuted the rest. When the White collection arrived, a "finding list" was made on cards. This information included the author, brief title, and date. For a time this list was the only record kept, and the books were placed on the shelves with no particular arrangement. When the demand arose for s-ome sort of grouping, the com­ mittee was formed to consider the question. Student assistants were available without cost, since each resident of a cooperative dormitory is required to work from nine to fourteen hours a week. The classifier of the university library worked out the classification scheme, presented at the end of this paper, mainly on a trial-and-error basis depending on the number of books in the group. The Dewey classification was selected as the foundation because it is used in the university library. The committee felt that if numbers could be omitted from the backs of books, the informal home atmos­ phere would be favored. This omission has worked out satisfactorily. The finding list was used as a basis for the catalog. Later, title cards were added and shelf-list cards were made. A manual was prepared for the use of the student librarian who worked under the supervision of the university library classifier. Two extra copies were made, one for the univer­ sity collection and one to be lent to other dormitories and fraternities. The first part of the manual c-ontains a history of the lib~ary and newspaper clippings concerning it. The next section is devoted to supplies. Names of library supply companies and a ' list of essential equipment are included, with the informa­ tion that catalogs of the companies may be ~onsul ted at the office of the director of university libraries or may be secured from the company. Following this is the main COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 238 part, outlining the duties of the librarian, which include acknowledging all gifts in writing; preparing books for the shelves; cataloging and shelflisting; taking inventory and recording lost and discarded books ; and explaining rules, use, and history of the library. Instructions for making author, title, shelflist, and guide cards are given in detail, with sample cards. The classifica­ tion scheme, with instructions and explana­ tions, forms a large part of this division. A copy of the Dewey's A bridged Decimal Classification is kept in the library, and the librarian is urged to consult the tables and index for help. He is instructed to classify· books before or at the same time the cata­ loging is done, so that the number may be included on the cards and written in the book without an extra operation. In the division on rules and use are instructions for charging and returning books. A charging book is provided, in which the student borrower signs his name, the author and title of the book taken, and the date. No length of time is set for keeping books out, but the librarian is instructed to go through the charging record occasionally and call in any that have been. on loan for an unreasonable period. Books are returned to a shelf marked "Return books here." The librarian cancels the charges and shelves the books. The last section of the manual is given over to miscellaneous material: sample bookplates, lists of special collections, and anything else that should be preserved in the records. All instructions are given in an elementary manner so that untrained students may understand and administer the library with a m1mmum of superv1s1on. Two years haye passed since its organiza­ tion, but in spite of the vicissitudes of the times, with rapidly changing personnel, the library is functioning smoothly and effectively. The classification scheme, as used and as set forth in the manual, is as follows: 200 Philosophy. Ethics. Religion. 200 includes books that would classify in the Dewey scheme in roo. We have combined roo and 200 under 200. 300 Social questions. 320 Political science and government. 327 Foreign relations. Diplomacy. Peace. War. (General. Special wars go in history) 330 Economics. Labor. Busipess. 6oo Science. Health. Books which would class in the Dewey 500 go here, since we have combined 500 and 6oo under 6oo. · 700 Fine arts: Art. Architecture. Music. 7go Sports. Hobbies. Amusements. 8oo Class all literature here except: 8II Poetry 812 Drama Fiction (no number) M Mysteries goo History. Class all history here except World War I and II (g4o) and U.S. (g73) gro Description and travel. B Biography. B (alone) collections (Shelve gro and B before goo in or-. der to keep his­ tory together) B as B for individual name Lincoln g40 World Wars I and II. g73 . U.S. and state history. R Reference books: encyclopedias, diction­ aries, statistics, etc. T Textbooks. JUNE~ 1945 239