College and Research Libraries By R A L P H T . E S T E R Q U E S T Regional Library Centers, 1946-47 Mr. Esterquest is head, Preparations Di- vision, University of Denver Libraries. IN J A N U A R Y and July 1947, College and Research Libraries published a sum- mary of the reports presented at a sym- posium on bibliographical centers and union v.catalogs, held in Buffalo, June 1946. In effect, this collection of reports told the story of regional library centers as they had developed up to that date. T o keep this information current the A . L . A . Board on Resources of American Libraries appointed a subcommittee on union catalogs and bibliographical centers last year. One of its functions has been to assemble data on developments and progress. T h i s committee reported at San Francisco on the year's work. T h e following sum- mary is intended to bring the record down to June 1947. Bibliographical Center For Research, Denver O n M a r . 15, 1947, at the annual meet- ing of the Denver Bibliographical Center, a new set of officers was elected. T h e y im- mediately undertook an informal study of center services and announced a long-term plan, calling for a survey by an outside ex- pert, to define the center's objectives, de- termine its logical territory, recommend a program for financial support, and study its administration and operations. T h e long- term plan also called for increased publicity directed toward potential center users throughout the Mountain-Plains region, with a view to increasing the center's range of usefulness; the support of efforts being made to found a regional library associa- tion ; and the expansion of the union cata- log to include libraries in the region not now participating. Concrete evidence of progress includes the adding of four libraries to the center's list of sponsors, that is, institutions making substantial financial contributions. A fed- eral agency has become one of the center's more generous sponsors, and a new con- tributor is the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corporation, whose $300 annual contribu- tion is a reflection of the kind of service this industrial firm has been receiving. A n en- dowment fund was established when the Colorado Library Association voted $75 from its treasury to the bibliographical cen- ter for this purpose. A special committee has made a study of the center's union catalog and recommended the dividing of this important tool into active and dormant parts, with a view to re- ducing the amount of filing. T h i s proposal has been tabled, pending the over-all survey recommended in the long-term plan. T h e staff of the center remains the same as last year, but services have increased. T o t a l number of items checked during 1946 rose to 39,000, an increase of about 11 per cent over 1945. During the 1946 calendar year, 133,000 cards were added to the union catalog, of which some 20,000 represented regional holdings. Philadelphia Bibliographical Center T h e Philadelphia center reports that it has reached the end of its "wartime strug- gles" and " w e have clearly entered a time JULY, 1948 215 of greatly increased service and—temporar- ily at least—of increased financial support." T h e location service alone increased 50 per cent during the last half of 1946 over the first half, and this increase has been sus- tained during the early months of 1947. A year ago the Philadelphia center an- nounced a plan to raise an endowment fund. It must now be reported that the executive board met with little success on this score and has decided to drop further efforts in this direction. A t the same time, however, the concurrent attempt to raise funds from fresh sources for annual income has been highly rewarding, and the goal of a $10,000 increase has been more than realized. T h e financial position and prospects are, there- fore, much sounder than they were at this time last year. T h e staff remains the same, except that a former half-time filer now devotes full-time to the union catalog. T h e catalog has been expanded by the addition of cards repre- senting the holdings of some smaller spe- cialized collections in the area: the W y e t h Institute of Applied Biochemistry, the Re- formed Episcopal Seminary, the Hercules Powder Company, and the General Aniline and Film Company. During 1946, 68,400 cards were added to the union catalog. Exchange activities, a feature unique with the Philadelphia center, has continued to be brisk, eleven regular and special lists having been issued. From the point of view of the student of regional library centers, perhaps the most important event at the Philadelphia center was the publication of its historical report, The Union Library Catalogue of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, 1936- 194.6: A Tenth Anniversary Report. T h i s publication is the first real history of a li- brary center and will certainly provide guidance for future bibliographic centers and regional union catalogs. T h e fifth supplement of the Union List of Microfilms is now in press, and three " N e w s Letters" have appeared since last year's report on the Philadelphia center. Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center From Seattle we learn that increasing library budgets are proportionately increas- ing the bibliographic center's annual in- come. T h i s is because a library's contribu- tion to center support is based upon a per- centage formula applied to its annual bud- get, and the same formula has been applied during the last three years. T h e r e has also been a number of new contributing li- braries. During 1947 about 155 libraries have supported the center to the extent of more than $9,000. T h e interlibrary loan service continues to be a major activity, with the number of requests about the same as last year. T h e discards program, unique with the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center, continues to flourish. Books that are considered for discard and prove to be the only copies in the region, are sent for preservation to those repository libraries that have been designated to keep "last copies" in particu- lar subject fields. Other services that are being maintained include: checking of buy- ing lists, verifying of items for cataloging purposes, and filing of homemade bibliog- raphies compiled by member libraries. T h e work in specialization is still in its beginnings. Libraries that have agreed to develop special fields make an annual re- port to the center, and the December 1946 reports indicate a need for further discus- sion and agreements. Interest in specializa- tion has been shown by college presidents in the Pacific Northwest, and this interest should give an impetus to work along this line, since administrative support is neces- sary to real accomplishment. A poll on what role the center should 216 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES play in relation to microfilms, showed that at present most Pacific Northwest libraries feel that it should furnish information on, and aid in borrowing, but that any joint purchase with the center acting as custodian is not desirable at present. T h e union catalog has been adding be- tween 20,000 and 30,000 cards a month, with the total number of cards as of June 1, 1947, being 2,876,646. T h e administrative organization of the Seattle center is the same as last year, but there have been changes in personnel af- fecting the post of director and that of the union catalog editor. Loeta Lois Johns is the present director. Union Catalog of the Library of Congress During the first eleven months of the fiscal year 1947, the Union Catalog of the Library of Congress received 308,940 cards from American libraries, including the Li- brary of Congress. In the same period, 531,419 Cleveland union catalog entires and 554,602 entries from the Philadelphia union library catalog were checked against the national union catalog. As a result of these checking operations, some 200,000 cards were typed for titles or editions not found in the union catalog, while over 800,000 additional locations in the Phila- delphia and Cleveland areas were recorded for books already represented in the union catalog. T h e number of cards received from li- braries checking the Catalog of Books Rep- resented by Library of Congress Printed Cards remained about the same as the pre- ceding year, namely, 40,000 as compared with an average of about 100,000 for earlier years. T h i s decline is understandable in view of the chronic labor shortage in all libraries but it is to be hoped that this project will be resumed soon with renewed vigor. Requests for locations handled by the union catalog staff resulted in the searching of approximately 12,000 items, an increase of about 25 per cent over last year's figure. It should be noted that this number does not include the use made of the union cata- log by the various departments of the Li- brary of Congress or by the public. T h e Library of Congress Union Catalog Division had continued maintenance of the Checklist of Certain Periodicals which records the reports of some 300 libraries concerning their holdings of over 3,000 scientific and technical serials published in continental Europe and the warring coun- tries of Asia, 1939 through 1946. During the past year 5,500 entries sent by libraries and research laboratories for new holdings were added to the checklist. Conversely, an expanded use of it was made by these insti- tutions for the location of scarce foreign serials. A n increase in the 1947 Congressional appropriation enabled the establishment of a small staff to begin preliminary editorial work on the estimated 15,000,000 slips of the American Imprints Inventory. T h e immediate task is that of eliminating dupli- cate entries and the consolidation of loca- tions. If the availability of funds is con- tinued the file finally will be reduced to less than two million slips. W h e n this is accomplished a complete editorial program can be undertaken. Copies of all inventory entries for V i r - ginia imprints were supplied to John Cook Wyllie, editor, Virginia Imprint Series, which is being sponsored by the Library of Congress, the University of Virginia, the Virginia State Library, the College of W i l - liam and M a r y , and the Virginia Historical Society. A t its convention in M a y 1947, the Flor- ida Library Association voted its sponsor- ship of a project for the completion of the JULY, 1948 217 Florida imprints inventory under the su- pervision of the Florida State Library Board and under the editorial direction of the state archivist, using as a basis the American Imprints Inventory records to be made available by the union catalog. Regional Cooperation in the South T h r o u g h its members in Louisiana, the committee has made extensive inquiries throughout the South to learn what has been accomplished. Six states report as f o l l o w s : Tennessee. D r . Kuhlman reports that the cooperating libraries have continued to send cards to the union catalog of Nashville libraries established in 1936. T h e y plan to continue this catalog for all of the li- braries in Nashville and possibly to expand it to include some of the larger libraries of the South central region. A study is now being projected to determine what other libraries should be invited, on the basis of their unique holdings, to participate. North Carolina. M r . Rush reports that the North Carolina union catalog at Chapel Hill continues effectively, with seven li- braries cooperating. T h e W o m a n ' s C o l - lege Library at Duke will soon add a record of its special holdings. Texas. T h e North Texas regional cata- log of serials, begun in 1943, is being kept up by supplementary publications. Georgia. T h e University of Georgia reports that it is still a cooperating member of the union catalog of the Atlanta-Athens area. N o new programs have been under- taken. Virginia. T h e situation in Virginia is of special interest to us because of the survey just completed of libraries in the Richmond area. Upon the invitation of George B. Zelmer, administrator, Richmond area uni- versity center, Robert D . D o w n s visited Richmond libraries this spring. His survey report has just been mimeographed and con- stitutes an outstanding statement on the pos- sibilities of a bibliographic center in the Richmond area. Students of regional li- brary cooperation will certainly need to read the full report, and for our present purposes, it seems pertinent to note nine of the seventeen points that make up M r . D o w n s ' summary of recommendations: I. For the purposes of the university cen- ter, the library resources of the entire area should be regarded as a whole, with each library making its materials freely available to any qualified students, faculty members, and research workers. 4. A consolidation or union of several of the small college libraries would enable them to pool their resources and to develop re- search facilities of genuine value to their clientele. 6. There should be established in Rich- mond a regional bibliographical center, on the pattern of those in Denver and Seattle. This center would be built around a union cata- log, supplemented by a comprehensive collec- tion of other bibliographical tools, and main- tained by a full-time staff, who would be re- sponsible for promoting all types of library cooperation in the region. On the basis of the present situation, the state library would be the logical location, though the University of Richmond might be considered later if it succeeds in obtaining an adequate library building, and if there is a grouping of colleges around the university. 7. Agreements should be reached for spe- cialization of fields among libraries in the Richmond area. 8. A detailed survey of library resources, followed by issuance of a guide or handbook, should be undertaken. 9. There should be compiled and published a union list of serials for Richmond area li- braries, showing holdings and current sub- scriptions. 10. A central storage warehouse for dupli- cates is recommended, possibly to become later a depository for bulky, infrequently used collections from the cooperating libraries. II. A central bindery, perhaps located in the Virginia State Library, should be estab- lished to serve all libraries in the area. 218 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES i 6 . A study should be made of the p r a c - ticability of starting a special delivery service a m o n g R i c h m o n d libraries. T h e fact that a Richmond area university center has been established and a fortunate choice of M r . D o w n s as library consultant has been made are omens of real progress in Virginia. T h e student of regional co- operation will be well advised to watch this state where so promising a beginning has been made. California. In the Golden State, library cooperation has gained new impetus by activities of two California Library Asso- ciation committees and the new Interlibrary Service Division of the University of Cali- fornia Library. In Southern California the labors of several years are bearing fruit as a long- term project nears completion. It is the Union List of Bibliographies in Libraries of Southern California, which appears to be ready for publication soon. T h e Northern Division of the California Library Association Committee on Regional Cooperation has started experimentally on its long-term survey of the resources of li- braries in the Bay area and Northern Cali- fornia. T w o small libraries have acted as guinea pigs in a trial survey intended to perfect the survey technique, and prelimi- nary outlines of the survey area were used in the creation of a map and directory of libraries in the Bay area, Sacramento, Stock- ton, Palo Alto, San Rafael, and San Jose. This is the map which was distributed in the registration envelopes given to delegates to the A . L . A . conference in June. Giving an outline of special resources, hours, location, lending policies, etc., it was a helpful form of welcome presented to the visiting librari- ans by the C . L . A . Since January 1947 a subcommittee of the northern division committee has been working on a Checklist of California County Histories. A first list of titles has been sent out. Fifteen libraries have checked it and added items from their hold- ings. A supplementary list is being com- piled for further checking, and librarians in the southern part of the state are now participating in an effort to achieve com- pleteness. It is hoped that the checklist will be ready by January 1948, as an appro- priate California centennial publication. T h e University of California Library's Interlibrary Service Department, estab- lished as a kind of "bibliographic center without a union catalog," is making progress with one of its chief projects—the compila- tion of a subject index to libraries and special collection in the San Francisco Bay area. It is intended that this should be an active index for the region, giving direct guidance to library resources. T h e interlibrary service department was inaugurated with the university library's decision to cancel its former service charge on interlibrary loans to Western libraries. It was done as a contribution to the mobili- zation of library resources in the W e s t for cooperative use. T h i s step alone has pro- vided considerable impetus to regional co- operation in the^ state. Summary T h e quick trip around the country leads to the following conclusions concerning progress during the last twelve months in regional library centers and regional co- operation : 1. N o bibliographic center has been f o r c e d to retrench because of reduced income, but each has made s o m e progress in financial sup- p o r t . 2. B i b l i o g r a p h i c centers have experienced a significant increase in the use m a d e of established services, but no n e w services have been added. 3. T h e center in D e n v e r is m a k i n g a c r i t i - cal examination of its o r g a n i z a t i o n and its JULY, 1948 219 purposes, w i t h a v i e w to increasing its u s e - fulness and perhaps enlarging its t e r r i t o r y . 4. O u r national union c a t a l o g is as s t r o n g as ever and is resuming w o r k on certain p r o - j e c t s suspended during the w a r . 5. R e g i o n a l union catalogs, f r o m w h i c h w e have had reports, are being maintained. 6. R e a l t h o u g h t is being given to a regional center in the R i c h m o n d , V a . , area. 7. R e n e w e d interest in regional c o o p e r a - tion in C a l i f o r n i a has resulted f r o m the establishment of an I n t e r l i b r a r y Service D e - p a r t m e n t in 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 , and the c r e a t i o n of an active C o m m i t - tee on R e g i o n a l C o o p e r a t i o n in the state as- sociation. P r o g r e s s is being m a d e t o w a r d a survey of the r e s o u r c e s of libraries of n o r t h - ern California, and a Union List of Biblio- graphies in Libraries of Southern California is n e a r i n g c o m p l e t i o n . Teachers and Libraries (Continued from page 214) some kind of instruction." According to Miss Harris, T h e study also indicates that n o c o m p l e t e and t h o r o u g h l y t h o u g h t - o u t plan f o r b i b l i o - graphic instruction in teachers c o l l e g e s has yet been m a d e , but that the s u b j e c t is w o r t h y of serious attention w i t h a v i e w t o defining the o b j e c t i v e s m o r e c l e a r l y and i m p r o v i n g the o r g a n i z a t i o n of the w o r k . Attention to the problem has increased in the last fifteen years, but much remains to be done. M o r e has been accomplished, probably, in teaching college students to use the library and in preparing teacher- librarians than in educating prospective teachers concerning library materials and methods to be used in their professional work. W e need more leaders with the vision and energy of Louis Round W i l s o n , who, as early as 1911, pleaded for libraries in every school, training of teachers in the use of books and children's literature, instruction of pupils in the use of books and libraries, and extension of cooperation between public libraries and schools. W e librarians of institutions educating teachers must take the lead in promoting the development of special library educa- tion for teachers. W e must clarify worthy objectives and formulate practical course outlines and problems. W e must bring the importance of this kind of library education convincingly to the attention of teachers college administrators, professors, and cur- riculum-makers, of school superintendents, principals, and supervisors, and of teachers and prospective teachers. W e must make the program so helpful that it will have a deserved place in the budget of the college as well as in the curriculum. W e must study and discuss, plan and experiment, and strive for continuing improvement in pre- paring young people to become teachers who know and appreciate libraries and who will do their part in making libraries play the part they can and should in the life- long education of children, young people, and adults. Change of Address It is i m p o r t a n t f o r subscribers o r d e r i n g a change of address to give three w e e k s ' notice, to p r o v i d e both their o l d and n e w addresses, and to send the i n f o r m a t i o n to College and Research Libraries, Subscriptions D e p a r t m e n t , A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n , 50 E. H u r o n St., C h i c a g o II, 111. 220 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES