College and Research Libraries By BENJAMIN A. SACKS The College Library and Collateral Reading Lists: The Experiences of an Historian~ ~ T HE DECISION to assemble collateral reading lists for my upper division courses in modern Europ.ean and English history through a personal canvass of our library stacks was prompted by several thoughts. Three years of war service had left the writer rusty in the matter of pro- fessional literature and such an inventory appeared an excellent means of refreshing my memory. Again, it seemed the most practical way of finding out what new ma- terial had been received by the library dur- ing three years' absence. Finally, and in the long run the most enduring reason, I desired to exploit more effectively for class- room purposes the actual facilities of our library. The conviction had been growing upon me for some time that standard biblio- graphical guides, approved reading ref- erences in textbooks, and even our own card catalog system were not the best as- surance of satisfa~tory collateral reading lists for my upper division courses. True it is that the bibliographies in guides and text- books can help in building up a good read- ing collection over the course of years. But they will scarcely offer a true index of what books a particular library may possess at the moment. As for the card catalog system, not even the resort to subject matter head- ings will supply a comprehensive picture of 1 Each of the bibliographies in this article has been published in bound mimeographed form by the University of New Mexico P ·ress, Albuquerque. · JULY~ 1947 library holdings in a field of study. Cort- siderable material will still be encountered in the stacks that does not, for one reason or another, find its way into the appropriate subjects in the catalog . . That the project would demand much time and labor was fully realized. The li- brary boasts an accumulation of one hun- dred and ' fifteen thousand volumes, . a formidable array to canvass. Possible econ- omies in time were, therefore, not over- looked. One saving was effected by collect- ing the data for all upper division courses on the first (and only) journey around the stacks. In my case, the courses comprised (a) Europe since 1914, (b) Europe be- tween 1815 and 1914, (c) Europe between 1648 and 1815, and (d) British Empire from 1783 to the present. Another appre- ciable economy in time was achieved by eliminating certain stacks sections from the detaile~ scrutiny because of their general contents, for example, the 8oo's. However, where a lead indicated profitable returns from further investigation, the more me- thodical procedure was applied. The project extende'd over a period of eight months, being wound up during the summer when most of the books had been returned to the stacks and it was possible to make a final check of books known to be in the collection but which had not been en- countered in the original canvass. To keep the bibliography up-to-date, issuing new 209 editions about every four years is contem- plated. Such books as the library receives in the interim will be compiled on supple- mentary sheets and distributed to the stu- dents. The first day's venture into the stacks disclosed ~orthwith the importance of pre- determining the lectures for each course. Unless the information jotted down for each item was correlated with the week-by-week classroom work, the bibliographies would emerge as nothing more than a parade of erudition. Fortunately, I had been teaching my advanced courses for several years and so held some opinions as to the topics. merit- ing treatment and their susceptibilities for demarcation along chronological lines. My pedagogical blueprints, however, ' did not ap.- swer all questions. Each course produced its own peculiar challenges. Two examples are cited here to illustrate the problems that are bound to arise. The chronological breakdown of the European bibliography for the years from I 8 70 to I 9 I 4 was made difficult by the his- torical developments during that period. The several domestic and foreign forces which conditioned human life at the close of the nineteenth century did not reach their individual crests at different times. Ac- tually such forces as individualism, capital- ism, overseas expansion, nationalistic and imperialistic rivalries, and existing types of international peace machinery exert their in- fluences simultaneously upon the nascent twentieth-century social order. While the lectures can be organized to follow -a se- quence based upon the cause-and-effect re- l~tionship, the literature does not lend itself readily to topical subdivisions. In many instances it meant chopping up the contents of a book to a ridiculous extent and often of sapping a book of its vitality. A working compromise was finally evolved based upon what topical combinations seemed most frequently to be encountered in the literature. · The bibliography for the y.ears I870 to I9I4 was assembled under three chapter headings: (a) problems of in- dividualism, (b) expansion overseas, and (c) international relations. What particu- lar subjects are covered in each chapter is explained more fully in an introductory paragraph to each chapter.' Temporary Solution The bibliography for the British Empire from I 783 to the Present likewise ran afoul the obstinacy of historical realities. The widely dispersed regions where the terri- tories were located, the constant acquisition of new lands, the variety of political sys- tems, and the shifts in constitutional forms were· difficult to resolve under a·ny hard- and-fast headings. Then, too, considerable uncertainty still prevailed in my own mind as to the best chronological arrangement of the lectures to intercept the picture of a dynamic imperial experiment. The tem- porary solution here was to set up eight bibliographical chapters, some representing the dominions, others uniting colonies sub- ject to greater mother-country control, and still others best described as embracing areas of imperial interest. The specific groupings are identified at length by an introductory paragraph to each chapter. As for the fur- ther correlation of the literature with the chronology of the lectures, the student will obviously have to be given guidance. If the determination of the bibli~graphi­ cal chapters for each course was attended with complications, the further subdivision of the literature within each chapter had its perplexing moments. The distinctive merit of undertaking some such arrangement rested in the critical sense which might be fostered among students as to the trust- worthiness of their selected reading mate- rial. At the upper division level the stu- 210 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES dent certainly should be made aware tbat an author is to be judged by the informa- tional sources he utilizes and the ability he displays in interpreting them. The adopted pattern called for four categories. The first concerned primary accounts and indi- cated testimony from official sources and from persons who participated in or were close witnesses of contemporary events. The second related to professional journals and comprised articles based upon the use of historical data: The third embraced studies, the yardstick being the examination of primary sources as evidenced by footnote references, listed bibliography, and the au- thor's preparation in mastering the particu- lar field oJ knowledge. The fourth covered popular literature, an admittedly arbitrary label including (a) interpretative essays, (b) instructive sketches, and (c) polemical books written from a missionary point of view. The unknown ' quantity in this fourth category was the amount of documentary investigation which had gone into the project. How closely it is possible to adhere to such a pattern is another question. The line of demarcation between the several cate- gories was not always apparent when a book was being classified. The writer will not be surprised if some books designated as primary accounts or historical studies turn out to be more properly within the realm of popular literature. Again, the phraseol- ogy of popular literature should not be taken necessarily as a reflection upon the merits of a book. The interpretative qual- ity of its co·ntents may be on an equal plane with that of the more documented study. Apart from such errors as may be attributed to the human eq~ation, the bibliographies themselves provoked venturesome decisions. Perhaps two examples will serve to il- lustrate this plea of extenuat-ing circum- stances. JULY~ 1947 Periodicals Supplement Books The relative fewness of the books avail- able in our library on several Sritish posses- sions left noticeable gaps in the bibliography for the British Empire from I 783 to the Present. 2 It was decided to meet the de- ficiency for the time being by broadening the category known as professional journals. The collection of periodicals appealing to the general public was brought into play. Great care was exercised, however, in choos- ing articles from this group. The name of a well-known authority affixed to an article offered some guarantee of reliability. While these men, it is true, dispensed with tech- niques observed by them in professional re- search, their ventures into the popular field were free from careless liberties with facts. Again, many articles posse~sed the stature of primary sources, compnsmg the remi- niscences and memoirs of important person- ages. For the rest, the selections gravitate around a twilight zone, embracing impres- sions of special correspondents on mission and didactive accounts of responsible citi- zens and officials from the distant lands. The recentness of the period considered in the course on Europe since 1914 dims somewhat the comparative value of the sev- eral categories. The traditional practice of waiting until the generation who were actors in the drama have left the 1 stage will slow the pace of archival and family col- lection releases. A further aggravation is to be encountered in the case of such dicta- torships as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Soviet Russia. Speaking for the years· up to 1940, the close censorship maintained in these countries makes the distinction be- tween a substantial study and a popular ac- count somewhat uncertain. Similarly, the inclusion of travelers' observations as pri- 2 This deficiency may ex~st for some ti.me due to current difficulties in purchas~ng books. ~unng the past several months, from one-thud to two-thtrds o_f orders for basic books in the above field were not obtamable. 211 mary accounts may seem a loose interpreta- tion of this category. Yet, failing the more official chann~ls, the recorded experiences of foreign visitors do afford a fleeting glimpse behind the veil of censorship. Far and beyond the tentative character of collateral reading lists dealing with current events, some comments would appear ap- propriate on the subject of the historian and his working bibliography. The constant flow of new documents and the rewriting of past history by each succeeding generation in the light of its own values would assure that the literature for any historical epoch and geographical area will be in a state of flux, evolving from decade to decade. If this be true, then· few collateral reading lists can lay claim to a degree of definitiveness. Per- haps the main challenge at any particular moment is to group the literature according to relative validity so that the student may be conscious of the limitations governing his laboratory tools-namely, his reading ma- terial. · Evaluation of Experiment Did the laborious combing of the stacks, book by book, achieve a b~tter exploitation of our library holdings than resort to and reliance upon the card catalog system? Some tangib~e proofs that the journey was fruitful are at hand. One rich lode of books hitherto scarcely tapped consisted of university publications in the social sciences. The monographs contained therein are the dissertations of graduate students and the research projects of faculty members. Most of t~ese studies come bound in paper covers, but our library has made them more serv- iceable -by giving the series from each insti- _ tution a more permanent binding as volumes. The gifts which come trickling in from friends of the library were another batch of dust-ridden volumes rescued from oblivion. While our library issues monthly bulletins enumerating the latest acquisitions, the full significance of many items is not always to be gleaned from the summary statements. Upon closer examination, many of these gifts represented primary accounts or standard historical works of a previous generation still meriting study. The bib- liographical chapters on European expan- sion overseas were particularly enriched by missionary accounts. The large number of such .gifts has provided a good insight into the institutional life of the Chinese, J ap- anese, and native African peoples. It may likewise be inquired whether teaching experiences with the bibliographies indicate improved student reading habits. The inclusion of articles from professional journals made it possible to assign each stu- dent one such article weekly bearing upon the classroom lectures. The hope is cher- ished that the student will come to cultivate thereby an appetite for historical material in its most accurate and thorough stage of processing. Again, classroom time devoted to assignments for the periodic book reviews is no longer largely consumed in the me- chanics of spelling out authors and titles. The students now have their own copies of a bibliography and, with the chore of tak- ing down references no longer all-absorb- ing, perhaps their minds will be free to engage in critical discussions of books. Still other possible uses