College and Research Libraries By W I L L I A M H . J E S S E The University Library and Its Services to Students1 IN P R E P A R I N G to meet the educational needs of the r e t u r n i n g veteran, the uni- versities of America set up scores of courses which w o u l d teach rapidly and efficiently w h a t educators sometimes call "marketable manipulative skills." T h e s e courses w e r e designed to teach the veteran how to make a living and to teach him this as rapidly as possible in order to help him make up for his lost years. N a t u r a l l y , the veteran would not care where he learned his trade, once he learned it, and for this reason the largest increases in enrolment were to be taken care of by adding technical and pro- fessional courses in most existing schools of every type. W h a t actually has happened in the case of the r e t u r n i n g veteran has made some of us question w h e t h e r those years could prop- erly be classified as " l o s t ; " for while the r e t u r n i n g veteran, to as great or even greater extent than anticipated, is seeking an education, he is in astonishing numbers passing up the opportunity to learn a mere skill rapidly—a fact proved by his unwilling- ness to take advantage of the types of course provided for him and his unwillingness to obtain that education just anywhere. H e is, much to the surprise of most educators and certainly of the A r m y , very much con- cerned w i t h where he receives his educa- tion and even more deeply concerned w i t h w h a t t h a t education is to be. N o , the years cannot properly be termed " l o s t " if out of them have come an insistence upon knowing 1 P a p e r presented at the meeting of the Association of College and R e f e r e n c e L i b r a r i e s , Buffalo, June 18, 1946. " w h y " and an apparent dissatisfaction with merely knowing " w h a t . " As you will recall, the literature of higher education a few years ago was filled with w h a t amounted to last and desperate stands defending the liberal arts in general and the humanities in particular. I n the light of present enrolment figures these defenses appear to have been superfluous; for the r e t u r n i n g veteran is, to the capacity of the institutions, requesting a course of study which would gladden the hearts of those who put understanding before knowledge. H e is, in addition, attacking the problem of understanding w i t h enough vigor and success to raise the academic standing of the total campus, presenting therefore an opportunity to many institutions to elevate their f o r m a l academic requirements. T h i s veteran influence is being felt so thoroughly throughout the universities that already it is possible in many cases to classify the total university as being preponderantly " w h y " conscious rather than " w h a t " con- scious, an extremely hopeful situation as re- gards the educability of the university stu- dent of the present and immediate f u t u r e . I t means at least this m u c h : the university student in greater preponderance is more eagerly seeking to be an educated man than at any time in the memory of most of us. N o w librarians have always claimed, and legitimately, that they were constant spon- sors of this total education and that they could, w i t h books, meet the needs of it. T h e principal question in the past has been who is to provide the impetus to start the OCTOBER, 1946 301 student in motion or, more specifically, who is to inspire the student to w a n t to read the books which will give him this total e d u c a t i o n s / S o m e have said that this is the function of the f a c u l t y ; others, of the li- brarians ; and some have agreed that per- haps it is an obligation of both. If this first year's experience w i t h the veteran in the university offers dependable evidence, the question of who is to provide the impetus or inspiration may well be shelved while w e deal directly w i t h methods of meeting the already overwhelming demands on the fac- ulty and l i b r a r y / I say overwhelming not solely because the universities have been temporarily unable to find housing, class- rooms, and faculty rapidly enough, or be- cause the librarians are unable to seat and f u r n i s h w i t h a book enough of the students, but rather because I am willing to concede that the existing facilities of the universities, including their libraries, are nowhere nearly ready to meet the demands n o w being made upon them by a student w h o w o u l d be totally educated. I t is not necessary to list here all the cur- ricular devices designed in recent years to offset the specialization necessary as equip- ment for the college g r a d u a t e of today. I do think it might be recalled to your minds at this time that the divisional system was, at the outbreak of the w a r , rapidly becoming the most popular approach to the p r o b l e m ; whether or not it was the most valid is for others to say. T h e university library, in its effort to keep up w i t h the curriculum, had already begun to experiment w i t h a divi- sional breakdown in the library, more or less matching a similar change in the cur- riculum. B u t by n a t u r e of its being a serv- ice agency w i t h i n its institution, it must follow r a t h e r than lead. I n the average university which had adopted the divisional plan in one f o r m or another, the library had made little or no effort to rearrange its collections' and to reconsider its services in the light of the curriculum of its insti- tution. As a service agency, it would seem the library must a d j u s t to the curriculum of its institution even if the curricular ex- periment is invalid; otherwise, the institu- tion w o u l d never k n o w w h e t h e r or not its experiment had had a f a i r trial. W e arrive, then, at one concrete method by which the library may a d j u s t itself to the changing needs of the university stu- dent. T h e collections and services of the library and the attitudes of the library staff must be adapted to changing curriculums more rapidly and more efficiently than in the past, if the library is to assist materially in readying a university student for life in the atomic agev- M a n y of us will freely admit t h a t at the present time the arrange- ment of our collections, the type of services offered, and the attitudes actually encoun- tered by the student in the library are not entirely in harmony w i t h the educational philosophies, curriculums, and experiments present in our respective institutions. W h e t h e r or not the university library is entitled to carry on its own educational system in the face of a totally different one on the part of the institution is highly con- jectural. T h e r e is, however, one aspect of student education which can best be carried on in the library and by the librarians^- T h e close association of related ideas and the fitting of these ideas into their proper back- ground can be most economically accom- plished by showing the relation of one book to another by various devices of arrange- ment, display, and b i b l i o g r a p h y ^ T h i s as- pect of university education has so long been considered the library's responsibility that in our search for new ways in which w e can help educate we have sometimes not been on the alert for new opportunities and methods to help meet this old obligation. I n this respect the increasing doubt con- 302 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES cerning the lasting value of f o r m a l classifica- tion may be considered an encouraging note. T h e third manner in which the university ! library can help meet the needs of the uni- versity student of today and t o m o r r o w is to redefine its f u n d a m e n t a l responsibilities so as to include the preservation and presenta- tion of recorded knowledge.- W h i l e the term "audio-visual aids" is not descriptive enough to cover everything that might be included in this redefinition, it will serve to illustrate w h a t is meant here by redefinition. T h e university library will not w a n t to delay much longer in deciding whether or not it will accept responsibility for nonbook teaching m a t e r i a l s / f o r , if the library does not accept them very soon indeed and on* a much broader scale than has yet been done, other agencies will be found to preserve, organize, and serve materials which are in many cases undoubtedly more efficient re- cording and teaching devices than the book has ever been or ever will be. N o r m a n Cousins' article, " M o d e r n M a n Is Obso- lete," which so took the fancy of librarians, stated that there must be many more years spent in acquiring an education or there must be no education at all. T h e r e would seem to be one possible solution short of the t w o extremes offered by M r . Cousins, and that is that a speeding up of the educational processes- might be effected, and by speed- ing up I do not mean here f r a n t i c concen- tration nor f o u r - q u a r t e r attendance, but rather employment of the more efficient teaching methods. U n d o u b t e d l y , these more efficient teaching methods will involve re- corded knowledge in some f o r m less cumber- some than the printed book. T h i s must be so, at least, if the university student is to acquire in fewer than thirty years even the beginnings of the education M r . Cousins advocates as an alternative to chaos. T h r e e concrete methods have been pre- sented here which are believed to constitute important and valid devices by which the university library can meet the ends of the university student in the atomic age. I t w o u l d be absurd to claim that these three devices are the most important three devices which might have been considered, and it would be even more ridiculous to claim that they are any more than three of w h a t might well be an extensive checklist of desirable devices for consideration. But they are, nevertheless, thought to be particularly per- tinent to the topic assigned./*The first p a r t of this paper can be summarized, then, by simply restating the three points that have been under consideration: first, the desper- ate and almost universal need for each in- dividual university library taking its cue on collections, services, and attitudes f r o m its own university's educational philosophy rather than f r o m pure library science; sec- ond, the equally desperate but perhaps less universal need for reminding the university library that it still has the primary responsi- bility for certain types of student education, particularly that of showing relationship^ ( m a y I say here t h a t ideally education's greatest internal struggle could be easily solved if the library could indeed manage to show relationships, leaving the faculty to pursue the specific; but perhaps this is too much to hope f o r even in an idealistic state) ; (third, a redefinition of the functions of the library to include w i t h o u t reservation all recorded knowledge except artifacts, specimens, etc., and the organization and representation of that knowledge, in order to facilitate the teaching processNwhich is as indubitably on the verge of -a neW age, atomic or otherwise, as is the capture, con- trol, and release of energy. Several peculiarities surround most peo- ple's thinking concerning the atomic age for which these university students are being prepared. I n the first place, almost no one is willing to call it the atomic age, but rather OCTOBER, 1946 303 the age of the atomic bomb. T h i s is deeply significant, f o r those w h o t h i n k of it as the age of the atomic bomb will confess t h a t they believe t h a t because of the atomic bomb there w i l l be no atomic age, or perhaps any kind of a g e — a n a t t i t u d e w h i c h makes M r . Cousins' t h r o w b a c k to the Stone A g e seem a relatively pleasing a l t e r n a t i v e . N o t only may t h e r e be no age, they say, b u t it may well be t h e r e w i l l be no e a r t h , in the pres- ent sense of the w o r d , upon the face of which an age m i g h t be in progress. N o w I w o u l d like to speak of the atomic age w i t h - out the necessity of b r i n g i n g in the a t o m i c bomb, t r e a t i n g it a f t e r t h e fashion of some of o u r committees as a t h i n g w h i c h , if ig- nored, w i l l go a w a y . M y m i n d is no more w i l l i n g to accept the idea of the atomic bomb going a w a y f r o m O a k R i d g e t h a n it is ready to accept the idea of O a k R i d g e itself going a w a y . I t is indeed u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t w i t h the atomic age m u s t also come the atomic bomb, b u t w e had better concern ourselves w i t h w h a t is instead of w h a t w e wish w e r e so. T h e place of the university s t u d e n t a n d the l i b r a r y in the atomic age w o u l d be a w h o l l y d e l i g h t f u l subject w e r e it n o t f o r the bomb a n d , I m i g h t add, bacteriological w a r - f a r e and all the other u n p l e a s a n t m e t h o d s of destroying the peoples of the e a r t h . W e r e it n o t f o r the bomb w e could look upon this n e w age as being i n h e r e n t l y good, w e could c o n t i n u e to spell progress w i t h a capital letter, and w e could otherwise iden- t i f y ourselves w i t h anyone's endeavor t o push back f u r t h e r the u n k n o w n . I n this c o m f o r t a b l e capacity as l i b r a r i a n s aiding progress at every t u r n , w e could c o n t i n u e to do o u r daily task w i t h o u t too m u c h ques- t i o n i n g a n d could r e m a i n , as f a r as w e knew, men of goodwill. B u t it is d o u b t f u l if m e n of goodwill can continue m u c h longer to aid indiscriminate progress a l o n g certain lines, and w e are confused as to which lines are w h i c h . W e have prided o u r - selves upon the f a c t t h a t w e w e r e ready to aid anyone in his p a r t i c u l a r endeavor. W e do n o t w a n t the responsibility f o r labeling a p r o j e c t good or bad before deciding w h e t h e r or not as l i b r a r i a n s w e are w i l l i n g to par- ticipate in it. I t has taken a l o n g time f o r us to l e a r n t h a t w e m u s t not be censors, and n o w , j u s t as w e have learned t h a t lesson very w e l l indeed, it w o u l d seem t h a t w e will have to become censors all over again and in a yet stricter sense, or else be p a r t y to en- deavors w h i c h h a v e as their aim solely the d e s t r u c t i o n of m a n k i n d . T h i s is a very distressing state of affairs. W e have learned to aid everyone at every t u r n and have prided ourselves upon o u r ability to do this dispassionately. N o w w e discover t h a t we have assisted m a t e r i a l l y in o u r o w n poten- tial self-destruction. A s I have already said, if only w e could consider the atomic age a n d leave o u t the bomb, h o w very m u c h m o r e pleasant w e could be about it. T o say t h a t all this w i l l eventually w o r k itself out is t a n t a m o u n t to saying t h a t , if ignored, the bomb will finally go away. C o m f o r t i n g as this t h o u g h t may be, w e can h a r d l y p e r m i t ourselves to depend entirely upon it. H o w e v e r , it is equally absurd to say t h a t w e can do n o t h i n g a b o u t it. T h e a n s w e r r e g a r d i n g w h a t w e can do is not a very novel one, since it is the answer to most problems concerning p e o p l e — t h a t is, education. T h e d i s t u r b i n g element here is t h a t w e are told w e have so little time in w h i c h to e d u c a t e . A t this point I should like to go back in o u r t h i n k i n g to the de- pression a n d recall t h a t m a n y university li- brarians, a l o n g w i t h m a n y other kinds of people, t h o u g h t it w o u l d be too uneconomi- cal to a t t e m p t to educate everybody and t h a t the only practical solution w a s t o edu- cate t h r o u g h the schools, which, as day f o l l o w s night, w o u l d eventually m e a n t h a t everyone w a s educated. A t t h a t time the 304 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES t e r m " a d u l t e d u c a t i o n " m e a n t to m a n y peo- ple w h a t w e w o u l d n o w call continued education r a t h e r t h a n education of the non- educated. F e w of us can escape the accusa- tion t h a t as university l i b r a r i a n s w e pro- ceeded plutocratically and had n o t too m u c h patience w i t h the problems of universal education, and even w e n t so f a r as to take pride in the f a c t t h a t w e w e r e not f a m i l i a r w i t h the problem. C o n c e r n i n g this I should like t o say t w o t h i n g s : first, t h a t universal education w o u l d obviously have been rela- tively economical; and second, t h a t it is revealing to discover the n u m b e r of u n i v e r - sity a n d research l i b r a r i a n s w h o have ar- rived at a f u l l awareness of the damages a l r e a d y done and the f u t u r e damages in- h e r e n t in an impatience w i t h the problem of e d u c a t i n g everyone. T h e correlation between universal or a d u l t education and the university s t u d e n t and his l i b r a r y may not be too readily ap- p a r e n t . B u t some of us w h o have discussed this specific problem w i t h m o r e seriousness t h a n is our o r d i n a r y custom seem to have agreed t h a t the correlation does exist a n d t h a t it is c o n s t r u c t e d of t w o parts, in this system of universal education no o p p o r t u n i t y to educate may go unheeded. T o the university l i b r a r i a n this means t h a t even the poor s t u d e n t m u s t at least know, even if he c a n n o t understand. T h e univer- sity l i b r a r i a n ' s problem is still a relatively simple one in t h a t those f o r whose educa- tion he is p a r t l y responsible are segregated and reachable. B u t the university l i b r a r y o p e r a t i n g t o w a r d an ideal of universal edu- cation c a n n o t in good conscience a f f o r d to be merely available to those w h o seek it out^. I t w i l l have to seek out all the students.^ Second, if the university l i b r a r y is to assist in m a i n t a i n i n g any semblance of an o r d e r l y w o r l d in which its university s t u d e n t is to live, i t — w h i c h means its l i b r a r i a n s — w i l l have to reach f a r beyond the immediate stu- dent body and embrace a m u c h l a r g e r seg- m e n t of h u m a n i t y t h a n has ever been its practice h e r e t o f o r e . W h e n and w h e r e and to w h a t extent this extra-obligation e m b r a c i n g should take place should be determined by each individual, w h e t h e r or n o t he is in a university l i b r a r y or, f o r t h a t m a t t e r , w h e t h e r or n o t he is a l i b r a r i a n at all. F o r the obligation of all of those concerned w i t h the university stu- dent goes beyond merely e d u c a t i n g h i m ; the s t u d e n t m u s t also have an educated or at least an u n d e r s t a n d i n g total w o r l d society in which to operate. T h e time indeed is short unless all educational agencies are w i l l i n g to go beyond a rigid i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of their strictest and most limited obliga- tions. T h e research w h i c h has gone into the p r e p a r a t i o n of this paper has been of only one t y p e — i n t e r v i e w s and discussions w i t h the university s t u d e n t w h o is in the atomic age. I t is n o t too s u r p r i s i n g to find t h a t , a p r e p o n d e r a n c e of evidence c o n t r a r i w i s e , he is determined t h a t this w o r l d be held to- gether long enough to give him at least a chance to do s o m e t h i n g w i t h it. A n d it is my contention a n d conclusion t h a t at w o r s t it w i l l n o t even be here f o r him to live in or, at best, he w i l l be unable to live r a t i o n - ally w i t h i n it unless w e blast entirely f r o m our t h i n k i n g the idea t h a t the people can get a l o n g w i t h o u t help u n t i l w e have edu- cated a n e w crop of atomic age university students, w h o w i l l then s t r a i g h t e n every- t h i n g o u t f o r us, a l l o w i n g us to die peace- ably a m o n g our cabbages—or h o w e v e r it is philosophers are supposed to be allowed to d i e — w i t h dignity and at a very ripe old age. OCTOBER, 1946 305