College and Research Libraries By M A R I O N B. G R A D Y Nonbook Materials in a Teachers College Library1 Miss Grady is librarian, Ball State Teachers College, Muncie, Ind. TH E T E A C H E R S college, presumably, is an institution of higher learning in which those enrolled are provided with such train- ing and experience as will contribute to their f u t u r e performance as teachers in a chosen field. W h a t this contribution is must depend on the n a t u r e of the institu- tion—its physical equipment, its material resources, its faculty, and its administrative philosophy and leadership in developing a closely coordinated program. I t seems safe to conclude that, given intelligent students, the excellence of the product will vary in direct relationship w i t h the excellence of the institution as a whole. T h e preceding statements have general acceptance. I t is probable, f u r t h e r m o r e , that never before has the teachers college assumed such importance as it has today and its importance will, doubtless, increase with time. T h e chaos into which our mod- ern civilization has fallen has jolted us into the realization, now generally conceded, that w o r l d salvation rests in adequate edu- cation of all people. T h i s can only be achieved through provision of the necessary schools staffed with well-prepared teachers. Since teachers colleges are important sources for school personnel, it follows that they are key factors in the making of a new w o r l d . T h e challenge is tremendous and inescap- 1 Paper presented at meeting of Teacher-Training Institutions Sections, A . C . R . L . , June 18, 1948, at At- lantic City, N.J. able. T h e y must now face the task of be- coming the kinds of institutions which can supply the kinds of teachers needed to share so intimately and so extensively in creating world citizens w h o are also world-minded. Sweeping and even radical changes will be required in many teachers colleges in order to meet the demands which will be made of them. Complacence and poverty can no longer be tolerated as terms char- acteristically applicable to these institutions. T h e y must be supported as generously as are our laboratories for atomic research and experimentation if they are to assist effectively, even though indirectly, in pre- venting the creations of the laboratories f r o m crashing about our ears. As a pivotal point in the educational center, the library in the teachers college must reflect the metamorphosis which the institution, as a whole, is virtually obli- gated to promote and to sustain. I t can- not continue to function according to tra- ditional patterns if it is to maintain its traditional position of importance in the life of the institution. M a n does not learn by books alone in this day of multi-media communication. H i s ideas and the substance f r o m which his thoughts are projected are gained f r o m many sources. T h i s is no less t r u e for the teacher-in-training who, tomorrow, will be the teacher-in-practice. N o effort should be spared nor should the necessary support be provided with reluctance for a task so important as that of insuring the optimum OCTOBER, 1948 29 7 learning in a teacher-training program. T h i s can be done only by making available in adequate quantity and variety the differ- ent materials of communication. T h i s is the concern of the library. If it is to re- main the source of instructional materials, it must become more than a "book house." I t must continue to enlarge its book stock, but, in addition, it must build the needed collections of nonbook materials2 which can enrich the teaching procedure. Obviously, the collections included in a " t o t a l library" are essential for two reasons and they must embrace materials of two types, in general. T h e collections, in the first instance, must supply the prospective teacher w i t h the information, in whatever media, which will contribute to his educa- tion as a person and as a teacher and which will demonstrate to him the diversity of materials that may be employed in the teach- ing process. In the second place, they must include materials suited to his needs as an adult learner and those which are appro- priate for use w i t h children of varying ages and interests. Collections of broad scope are, therefore, indicated. D u e to active and passive resistance or to disinterest on the part of librarians and to indifference on the part of administrators, many libraries are not yet "total libraries." T h i s is regrettable since it has, in general, been responsible for one of two results. Either the library has remained primarily a book center, or a separate center for hous- ing and distribution of the nonbook ma- terials has been established. In the latter case, the ensuing situation is neither logical nor economical. F u r t h e r m o r e , it may im- pose unnecessary inconvenience on the patron in general, and on the research stu- dent in particular. 2 The term "nonbook materials" is used in lieu of such terms as "audio-visual materials" or "audio-visual aids" since, strictly speaking, the latter terms do not exclude books. T h e printed book is unquestionably visual. T h e r e seems to be no defensible reason why book and nonbook materials of com- munication should be separated. In numer- ous instances, films, filmstrips, recordings, and books incorporate identical texts, as is true with some dramatic and other literary compositions. In subject areas, the ideas and concepts presented are similar or identi- cal. O n l y the media through which they are communicated differ. T o separate these materials because of their packaging seems as logical as would the establishment of separate stores to sell crackers contained in paper boxes, tin cans, or those wrapped in cellophane. T h e economic disadvantages to the institution are apparent since sepa- rate quarters, another administrator, and another staff are often involved in the di- vided a r r a n g e m e n t . Finally, in a system which decentralizes and scatters materials that are closely related in subject content, the patron suffers. H e is required, by such an organization, to consult separate in- dexes, separate staffs, and possibly to visit separate buildings in order to assemble ma- terials or references involving related con- tent. Such parallel administrative units which are created to perform the identical functions of assembling, organizing, hous- ing, and distributing recorded communica- tions constitute w h a t is a false pattern and should not be encouraged or perpetuated. Some recent trends have been encourag- ing to those w h o are committed to the idea of a coordinated materials center rather than one devoted exclusively to the products of the p r i n t i n g press. M o s t encouraging of all, perhaps, is the acceptance of the " t o t a l l i b r a r y " philosophy as indicated in the statement of " M i n i m u m Standards for Accrediting T e a c h e r s Colleges and N o r m a l Schools" which appeared in the Twenty- Sixth Yearbook of the American Association of Teachers Colleges, 1947. Some excerpts f r o m this statement will illustrate the posi- 312 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES tion of the association. U n d e r the sub- heading " T h e Relationship of the Library's Services to the Institution's Educational P r o g r a m " appears the f o l l o w i n g : " T h e li- brary should be able t o : ( a ) supply needed books and other materials when they are needed. . . ." etc. T h r o u g h o u t the statement, provision for nonbook materials is made. Specific men- tion of the kinds of materials to which reference is made appears in the section which describes the library's program of services as follows, T h e l i b r a r y of a t e a c h e r s c o l l e g e s h o u l d be one of the p r i n c i p a l c e n t e r s f o r i n s t r u c t i o n , s t u d y , r e s e a r c h , and r e c r e a t i o n , and its v a r i - ous s e r v i c e s s h o u l d f a c i l i t a t e these activities. I t s p r o g r a m of s e r v i c e s should be j u d g e d in t e r m s of such items a s : the a v a i l a b i l i t y of books and o t h e r m a t e r i a l s . . . etc., and the e x t e n t to w h i c h the l i b r a r y p r o v i d e s f o r the c o l l e c t i o n , housing, display, and easy use of such items a s : u n c a t a l o g e d p a m p h l e t s , pic- t u r e s , prints, and p h o t o g r a p h s ; m a p s ; phono- g r a p h r e c o r d s ; slides and s t e r e o g r a p h s ; m i c r o - films; m o t i o n p i c t u r e films; strip films; e x - hibits . . . etc. E x p a n d i n g c o l l e g e p r o g r a m s w i l l add to such a list. T i m e does not permit the numerous cita- tions that might be made f r o m the profes- sional literature w i t h respect to the " t o t a l library" philosophy which is becoming widely accepted. O n e other reference, how- ever, seems particularly appropriate in this consideration of the responsibility of the teachers college library since the sponsor- ing institution is dedicated to the t r a i n i n g of school personnel, including in many cases, school librarians. T h i s is the statement w i t h regard to the "Book Collection and O t h e r L i b r a r y Resources" which appears in School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow; Functions and Standards prepared by a com- mittee of the American L i b r a r y Associa- tion. The introductory paragraph under the subheading "Audio-Visual A i d s " reads: In addition to books, c h a l l e n g i n g n e w m a - t e r i a l s are b e c o m i n g an i m p o r t a n t p a r t of li- b r a r y r e s o u r c e s . S o m e n e w a u d i o - v i s u a l aids f o r l e a r n i n g are 1 6 m m . films, filmstrips, slides, m u s e u m o b j e c t s , r a d i o p r o g r a m s , r e c o r d i n g s , and t r a n s c r i p t i o n s , as w e l l as flat p i c t u r e s , maps, and o t h e r n o n b o o k m a t e r i a l s w h i c h are essential in a g o o d l e a r n i n g s i t u a t i o n . T h e inclusion of such provisions, in stand- ards which affect teachers colleges and the school for which they train personnel, places more than a moral obligation upon these agencies to develop comprehensive col- lections. I t only seems deplorable that co- ercive measures are necessary to induce a development which appears so logical and desirable. If the teachers college of to- m o r r o w is to be the dynamic force in an evolving world civilization, which indeed it must be lest a titanic regression be invited, it must become the power that moves the f r a m e . I t must not continue to be the f r a m e that moves only as the result of outside stimuli. Recently, D r . J o h n R . Emens, president, Ball State T e a c h e r s College, made a state- ment of the library philosophy which ob- tains on the campus. A part of this state- ment reads as f o l l o w s : T h e philosophy that u n d e r l i e s the total library p r o g r a m at Ball State T e a c h e r s C o l l e g e — n a m e l y , that the library is an instructional s e r v i c e agency for all a r e a s and d e p a r t m e n t s — h a s m a d e the library the distributing center f o r all types of instructional aids. A l l students, f a c u l t y members, s u p e r v i s i n g critic teachers, and others w h o are s e r v e d by the library are able to obtain all m a - terials of all kinds, both book and nonbook, through a coordinated library s e r v i c e . . . . A l l prospective teachers and other students on the Ball State T e a c h e r s C o l l e g e c a m p u s should become competent in the utilization of all f o r m s of t e a c h i n g procedures, methods, and aids. . . . F o r a period of approximately nine years, the library at Ball State has served as a t r u e center for recorded communications and other teaching aids. T h e decision t̂o incorporate the nonbook materials with the OCTOBER, 1948 29 7 books was based on the logical reasoning of the f o r m e r librarian and the college ad- ministrative authorities that there was no justification for separating related materi- als designed to serve similar if not identical purposes. T h e y recognized the fact that the packaging did not necessarily change the n a t u r e of the contents. T h e development of this total library has progressed steadily if somewhat slowly. T h e w a r period retarded progress since materials and equipment were difficult and even impossible to obtain d u r i n g those years. A t the present time, the collections of non- book materials contain over 55,000 separate items. A m o n g these are approximately 4 0 0 motion picture films, 300 filmstrips, 250 nonmusical recordings and transcriptions, 1200 slides, 300 stereographs, 25,000 mounted pictures, 2000 pictorial post cards, and numerous maps, charts, posters, illus- trated pamphlets, textiles, models, replicas, f r a m e d pictures, pottery, carvings, educa- tional toys and games, and various other materials which are used in the process of teaching students to teach and tp live. Since storage facilities for many of these materials must be of a specialized and in- dividualized nature, most of them are housed in a large room equipped for this purpose and known locally as the library teaching materials service. A d j o i n i n g this large room is one of the projection studios in which motion pictures, other materials requiring projection, and recordings are serviced for class or other groups. T h i s and a second projection studio, both espe- cially equipped for the purpose, are sched- uled t h r o u g h o u t the day and evening for groups or classes. I n addition, many motion pictures, filmstrips, recordings, and slides are shown in the classrooms by student li- brary staff operators. A glance at the statistics on the use of these materials d u r i n g the year 1946-47 re- veals some interesting facts. A total of 1909 motion picture films were used on the campus. T h e s e were shown 2639 times; of this total, 848 titles were films rented f r o m off-campus sources which represent 1285 showings. T h e known campus audi- ence which was reached through these films totaled 95,558. Interesting to compare with this figure is that for the total campus circu- lation of books which was 137,071. Beside motion picture films, there were 11,689 nonbook items which were borrowed f r o m the library for use on-campus. T h e s e w e r e distributed somewhat evenly among students and faculty. Included in this total were 44 different types of material. T h o s e borrowed most frequently were pictorial il- lustrations of various kinds (folios, plates, mounted pictures, post cards, and posters) w i t h a circulation of 5 4 2 6 ; slides, includ- ing their study guides, with a circulation of 2 3 4 8 ; educational games and toys w i t h a circulation of 9 7 5 ; 435 pamphlets; and 380 catalogs and periodicals dealing w i t h non- book materials. O t h e r loans included 192 recordings and transcriptions, 182 filmstrips w i t h their study guides, 153 textiles, 112 charts, 99 maps and globes, 86 models, and 81 wall hangings. T h e figures indicate a use which is concentrated within a few groups of materials composed mainly of those which communicate ideas graphically (on film or other m e d i u m ) or by audio means. Both book and nonbook materials are used by faculty and students t h r o u g h o u t the entire instructional program. Faculty members schedule most of the films which are used in connection with class presenta- tions. Classes are brought to the library for films and for lectures on and demonstra- tions of the use of other materials appro- priate for a particular purpose. A r r a n g e - ments are often made for films, filmstrips, or recordings relative to class discussions to 314 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES be presented in the classrooms. Displays of various materials are arranged for class and group use in the classrooms. Student teachers often use films and other materials during their teaching experience. In the process of planning their work, they spend considerable time with library reference as- sistants locating and examining materials suited to their needs. T h e main card catalog in the library is a comprehensive catalog of campus holdings. It includes listings of both book and non- book materials. For those interested only in locating nonbook materials, there is a di- visional card catalog in the library teaching materials service in which duplicate cards are filed for all nonbook items cataloged. In cataloging the nonbook materials, there is a strong emphasis placed on subject en- tries although entries are made for all im- portant names and titles connected with the work. A l l cards for book and nonbook materials are interfiled in the main catalog. D u e to difficulties in shifting many of the nonbook materials, only slides, maps, and stereographs are classified according to Dewey. T h e very full subject and other listings in the catalogs are the guides to the materials. T h e call numbers are composed of location symbols only. Each separate type of material is designated by an alpha- betical symbol followed by the accession number which indicates the fixed location of any item among others of its kind. A manual of complete routines governing the cataloging of each type of material has been prepared by the library technical serv- ice staff. T h i s is used by staff members who catalog the materials and in the library science course in which the organization of nonbook materials is taught. This manual is revised from time to time and is not yet in final form. It is planned to duplicate it eventually for distribution to library sci- ence students and for others interested in it. Costs of nonbook materials should not be considered in terms of book costs. M a n y of these materials are mass media which 'are used mainly with groups and although the unit costs may seem high, as in the case of films, the cost in terms of individuals reached may average a very low figure over a period of time. Moreover, librarians and administrators should not make the mistake of thinking that a library which is to include all types of communicative materials can be built or maintained on the same budget which served to build a book collection. It follows, logi- cally, that if a collection is to contain ma- terials in addition to books, additional re- sources must be provided for both materials and staff. A t Ball State, it has been found that ap- proximately 30 per cent has been added to the library budget for maintaining the non- book service division. During the year 1946-47, 28 per cent of the total mainte- nance budget was spent for the nonbook service. T h e budget for the current year provides $43,895 exclusive of salaries, stu- dent wages, and building maintenance. O f this amount, $13,125, or 30 per cent, is ear- marked for the nonbook service division. It should be emphasized that this is for maintenance alone. T h e establishment of such a division should involve a larger pro- portion of the budget for a few years. A n important consideration in building a budget for a nonbook division is that of equipment and equipment maintenance. Provision should be made for periodic re- placement of equipment. In order to insure satisfactory performance and to avoid dam- age to materials, equipment should be serv- iced frequently. It is an economy, in the long run, to trade in pieces every f e w years on the latest models. This is essential, too, if students in methods classes and others, (Continued on page 322) OCTOBER, 1948 35 7 animal husbandry, and f a r m economics, is progressive in almost all its aspects and in- escapably w o r l d w i d e . In both tempo and scope, it has become an implacable enemy of reference books. T h i s does not mean an end of agricultural reference books, but it does mean special- ized and modest ones. It also means that an increased load must be placed on another element of our service. O l d V a r r o , the R o m a n agricultural authority, divided the instruments of agriculture into the mute and the articulate. If he lacked a p l o w , or any mute instrument, I ' m sure he w o u l d have had the digging done by the hands of his aritculate slaves. So today w i t h the steady failing of organization in our re- search documentation, w e must pass f r o m hope of help in printed guides, to our refer- ence and other librarians w h o as best they can must find w h a t print exists to apply to our readers' problems. T h i s , however, is a w h o l e n e w subject and needs a paper at next year's meeting. Nonbook Materials in a Teachers College Library (Continued from page 315) w h o are taught the use of various types of equipment, are to gain a k n o w l e d g e of de- sirable equipment available on the market. In conclusion, I should like to say that probably the outstanding characteristic of our modern civilization is the rapidity at which change takes place. A s D e a n Ralph N o y e r of our college pointed out recently, there are students n o w enrolled in teachers colleges w h o w i l l live to witness the begin- ning of the twenty-first century, barring atomic destruction o r other catastrophe of equal magnitude. If the rate of change in all aspects of living is accelerated p r o p o r - tionately to that w h i c h w e have experienced during the first half of the present century, these persons and those w h o f o l l o w must accept frequent and sudden adjustment as part of the usual pattern of living to an ever increasing degree. T h e implications of this prospect f o r education are clear. Preparation f o r living and w o r k i n g effec- tively and f o r meeting the problems of a civilization in a persistent state of flux w i l l require every resource at our disposal if cultural degeneration is to be avoided. T e a c h e r s must be a m o n g the best in- f o r m e d and the best prepared vanguard in the vital struggle with circumstantial forces. A k n o w l e d g e of and the ability to use in- telligently every existing f o r m of c o m m u n i - cation and teaching aid are essential parts of their equipment. T h e library in a teachers college w h i c h does not provide the needs of its constituency must necessarily become relegated to that class of agency w h i c h first assumes a role of minor importance and eventually passes into oblivion. 322 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH. LIBRARIES