College and Research Libraries By C H A R L E S E . F R I L E Y and R O B E R T W . O R R A Decade of Book Storage at Iowa State College Dr. Friley is president, and Mr. Orr, di- rector of the library, Iowa State College. TE N Y E A R S A G O the I o w a State College L i b r a r y began storing the overflow f r o m its central book stack in a storage b u i l d i n g constructed f o r this purpose. I n view of the widespread interest being shown in indi- vidual as well as in cooperative book stor- age facilities of various types, this account of h o w one library has sought to solve its stor- age problem may be of interest to other libraries in need of supplementary stack space. I t should be understood t h a t the library storage building at I o w a State is f o r storage purposes only. I t w a s constructed for, and has been used solely by, the I o w a State Col- lege L i b r a r y to meet an emergency situation. N o claims are made t h a t a similar solution to the book storage problems of any other institution could necessarily be as satisfac- torily solved in a like m a n n e r . M o r e o v e r , no claim is made t h a t the solution is the best possible one f o r I o w a State for all phases of its storage p r o b l e m ; it is n o t . M o s t , but not all, of the publications in storage belong in the central book stack to which place they should be r e t u r n e d as soon as a n e w w i n g to the library building is erected. W h e n the l i b r a r y building w a s com- pleted in 1925, there was a sharp division of opinion on the campus as to how long the book stack, w i t h a w o r k i n g capacity of only 180,000 volumes, w o u l d be adequate. P r o - fessional librarians contended t h a t the ex- pected rate of g r o w t h of the book collections w o u l d be such t h a t the book stack w o u l d suffice f o r not more t h a n five years. O t h e r s , however, held t h a t the obvious emptiness of the book stack ( t h e r e w e r e only 9 0 , 0 0 0 vol- umes to place in the stack t h e n ) could only mean t h a t there w o u l d be ample shelf room f o r years to come. As it t u r n e d out, the librarians w e r e the more accurate in their o p i n i o n ; the library w a s obliged to begin storing books in outside locations in 1930! T h e next 10 years constituted a period of t r y i n g expediency d u r i n g w h i c h time the overflow f r o m the central book stack was shelved first in one campus building and then another. T h e situation finally became so critical t h a t the administration made f u n d s available w i t h w h i c h to build an in- expensive supplementary storage building as a means of consolidating the stored materials in a single fireproof s t r u c t u r e assigned to the library for this purpose. T h e storage building, located one-tenth of a mile f r o m the library, w a s completed in time f o r occupancy in September 1940. I t s outside dimensions are 9 6 ' x 56'. T h e t w o levels of the book stack are of conventional steel stack design and have a total w o r k i n g capacity of about 190,000 volumes. T h e stack levels have end aisles in the center only. T h e carrels, six in n u m b e r , fit into the stack sections in place of shelves. T h e building, previously described,1 is of industrial design, Series A , T y p e 1, of the T r u s c o n Steel Company, w i t h columns and trusses, panel sidewalls, roof deck, doors and 1 O r r , R o b e r t W . , a n d T h o m p s o n , L a w r e n c e S . " T h e L i b r a r y S t o r a g e B u i l d i n g . " Library Journal, 6 7 : 1 5 0 - 3 , F e b 1 5 , 1942. sash of the out-projected v e n t i l a t o r type, all m a d e of steel. T h e m a t e r i a l s w e r e delivered in p r e f a b r i c a t e d f o r m ready to be bolted into place. H e a t is f u r n i s h e d by eight u n i t blower- type steam heaters thermostatically con- trolled. I n s u m m e r air is circulated in the building by means of t w o electric exhaust- type f a n s located n e a r the peak at each end of the building. Artificial illumination is obtained f r o m unshaded aisle lights. T h e walls, but not the roof, are lined w i t h in- s u l a t i n g board. T h e cost of the building, including the steel book stack, w a s $ 2 7 , 4 1 8 . 0 7 . I t w a s estimated t h a t the cost per cubic foot w a s approximately 25.5^ and t h a t the cost per volume, on the basis of f u l l capacity, w a s about 13.20. I t is estimated t h a t the cost of erecting a similar b u i l d i n g today w o u l d be in the neighborhood of $ 6 0 , 0 0 0 . Spatially and f u n c t i o n a l l y the b u i l d i n g has served very w e l l indeed. T h e f a c t t h a t its w o r k i n g capacity has n e a r l y been reached is no reflection on the building or on its p l a n n i n g . U n d e r n o r m a l circumstances, a n e w w i n g to the library w o u l d have been available by n o w . T h e b u i l d i n g has m e t the objectives f o r w h i c h it w a s constructed, namely, to f u r n i s h a single fireproof struc- t u r e u n d e r the control of the library in which all materials in outside storage could be housed. T h e m a j o r defects of the building, the only ones w h i c h w i l l be mentioned here, are related to the present lack of means of con- t r o l l i n g the t e m p e r a t u r e , h u m i d i t y and pu- rity of the air. I n the first place, the steel roof deck is inadequately i n s u l a t e d ; the tem- p e r a t u r e s range f r o m extremes of as high as 120 degrees in the s u m m e r to subfreez- ing levels in the w i n t e r . T h e lack of ade- q u a t e insulation renders the heaters costly to operate. A s a result they are used only d u r i n g periods w h e n shelvers or other per- 8 CO sons are w o r k i n g in the building. T h e mois- t u r e in the air ranges f r o m 90-plus relative h u m i d i t y to less t h a n 10. Because t h e r e is insufficient insulation a r o u n d the w i n d o w s and doors to render them dust tight w h e n closed, the m a t e r i a l in storage is subjected to t h e i n j u r i o u s effects of a heavy infiltra- tion of abrasive cinder d u s t and other f o r - eign particles f r o m a nearby r o a d w a y , w h i c h greatly hasten the rate of deterioration of paper and bindings alike. T h e heating and humidity problems of the storage building are capable of satisfac- tory i m p r o v e m e n t . A more f a v o r a b l e r a n g e of t e m p e r a t u r e s can be obtained by insulat- ing the steel roof deck. By i n s u l a t i n g the doors and w i n d o w s and by closing a cin- dered r o a d w a y near the building, the situa- tion, w i t h respect to the infiltration of im- purities in the air, w o u l d show m a r k e d i m p r o v e m e n t . A t first the selection of m a t e r i a l to be shelved in the building was an easy m a t t e r . T h e initial volumes to go w e r e those al- ready stored in outside locations. T h e y included a p a r t i a l serial s e t ; the reserve stock of bulletins, m o n o g r a p h s and j o u r n a l s used in the centralized college exchange p r o g r a m w h i c h is administered by the li- b r a r y ; and early r u n s of comparatively little-used general as w e l l as scientific and technical j o u r n a l s . T o this g r o u p w e r e added additional files of j o u r n a l s f r o m the c e n t r a l book stack. L a t e r , the residue of the book collections which w e r e still classified according to the D e w e y decimal system w e r e t r a n s f e r r e d en bloc. T h i s g r o u p of m a t e r i a l included books only, all j o u r n a l s h a v i n g long since been reclassified according to the L i b r a r y of C o n - gress system. I n o r d e r to store still m o r e books w i t h o u t having to make separate charges f o r them, a scheme was developed whereby the w o r k m a r k " X S " w a s p u t above the call n u m b e r s of older books and LLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES of a f e w of those n e w titles which w e r e ex- pected to be in demand only occasionally. T h e category of materials u n d e r the " X S " w o r k m a r k has n o w g r o w n to a collection of about 10,000 volumes, whereas those still u n d e r the D e w e y decimal system n u m b e r approximately 9 0 0 0 volumes. T h e selection of additional runs of j o u r - nals in recent years, however, has presented a much more difficult problem. I t has seemed t h a t no m a t t e r which volumes w e r e sent to storage, objections, sometimes regis- tered in a vehement m a n n e r , w e r e invariably f o r t h c o m i n g f r o m f a c u l t y members. F u r - thermore, an increasing n u m b e r of requests f o r volumes in storage began to complicate and impair service to readers at the loan desk. A s time passed, however, the library and readers learned to live w i t h , if not to like, this situation which instead of showing improvement became progressively worse as m o r e and m o r e materials were sent to stor- age. I n fact, f o r several years the library has been storing actively-used scientific and technical j o u r n a l s , taking, in some instances, all volumes except those f o r the past three to five years. A t present no publication is sent to stor- age until it has been screened by the heads of the Circulation and Reference D e p a r t - m e n t s and the director. E v e n a f t e r this e x t r a o r d i n a r y precaution has been taken, the choices are not always happy ones f o r the simple reason t h a t too high a percentage of the book collections, n o w nearly 4 0 per cent, is shelved in the storage building. I t is n o t u n u s u a l f o r the library to r e t u r n a set to the central book stack before it has been in storage a m o n t h in order to meet un- anticipated requests at the loan desk in a more satisfactory m a n n e r . I n fact, the situa- tion has become so critical t h a t w h e n a n e w book is received by the library, either it must n o w be stored or a book in the stacks removed to make room f o r it there. T h e situation at I o w a State w i t h respect t o the storage of p a r t s of the book collec- tions is not necessarily identical w i t h t h a t of other large college and university libraries. In the first place, the book collections do not include a significant a m o u n t of either cataloged or uncataloged materials of m a r - ginal value, such as excessive n u m b e r s of duplicates, g i f t collections of dubious utility, back files of little-used newspapers, un- needed files of state and foreign documents and the like. F o r the most p a r t , the book collections comprise a relatively small, but rigidly selected, group of materials in the basic and applied sciences w i t h heavy em- phasis on complete sets of scientific and technical periodicals in the subject fields stressed by the G r a d u a t e College. T w e n t y - f i v e years ago an unusually fore- sighted acquisitions policy was adopted which wisely precluded the f u t u r e purchase, or acceptance by g i f t or exchange, of ma- terials of any sort which did not fit directly into the active needs of the college pro- g r a m s dealing w i t h instruction of resident students, research or extension education. T h e indiscriminate and large-scale acquisi- tions of materials by some libraries have been avoided at I o w a State due to the ob- servance of its acquisitions policy. O n e rea- son for the success of this policy, of course, is the relatively limited n u m b e r of subject fields emphasized by the G r a d u a t e College and the resulting remarkably clear-cut book needs of the library. T h e library, like m a n y others, places heavy emphasis on efficient service to read- ers rendered as speedily as possible. Conse- quently, it is not surprising t h a t there has been some dissatisfaction on the p a r t of readers over the f a c t that it takes consid- erably longer to obtain books f r o m storage than it does f r o m the central book stack. R o u t i n e requests received d u r i n g the fore- noon for books in storage are filled t h a t af- JANUARY, 1951 9 7 ternoon, while those made in the a f t e r n o o n are not filled u n t i l the next m o r n i n g . I n emergencies, however, items can be obtained f o r readers w i t h i n 10 or 15 m i n u t e s f r o m the time the requests are submitted at the loan desk. T h e s e times of delivery are to be contrasted w i t h the m u c h faster time of approximately three m i n u t e s achieved on requests f o r material f r o m the c e n t r a l book stack.2 R e a d e r s have not been limited in any w a y in the n u m b e r of requests they have m a d e f o r materials in storage. D u r i n g the aca- demic year 1949-50, an average of 24 books per day w e r e r e t u r n e d f r o m storage f o r readers and library staff members. I n a book storage situation, an i m p o r t a n t consideration is the m a t t e r of possible cost to the reader in obtaining items f r o m stor- age or the cost to the library, provided no direct charge is made to the reader. Inas- m u c h as the library storage building is relatively near t h e library, it has not been necessary to make a charge to b o r r o w e r s f o r o b t a i n i n g m a t e r i a l in storage. T h e only ex- pense to the library f o r this service has been t h e wages of a s t u d e n t messenger and the upkeep on a delivery-type bicycle. C o m - pared w i t h the rates in effect f o r parcel post and express shipments, the cost to the li- brary in obtaining m a t e r i a l s f r o m the li- b r a r y storage b u i l d i n g has been negligible. T h e question has o f t e n been asked w h e t h e r it w o u l d be desirable, if it w e r e possible, t o r e t u r n all of the material in storage to the c e n t r a l book stack. M e m b e r s of the l i b r a r y staff feel t h a t because of prac- tical considerations it w o u l d not be desirable to do this, and f u r t h e r m o r e , t h a t the stor- age b u i l d i n g should continue to serve as a s u p p l e m e n t a r y storage area f o r the library f o r t w o reasons: ( 1 ) enough reserve shelf 2 T h e a v e r a g e t i m e f o r d e l i v e r y of b o o k s a t the l o a n d e s k w a s 3.03 m i n u t e s a s d e t e r m i n e d b y a t i m e s t u d y r e p o r t e d in The Library At Iowa State, V o l . 3 , N o . 7 , M a r . 1 7 , 1 9 4 9 . capacity in the c e n t r a l book stack probably w i l l never be available to p e r m i t r e t u r n of all stored materials and still provide a rea- sonable a m o u n t of room f o r the g r o w t h of the collections, and ( 2 ) some of the stored material, while needed on the campus, can j u s t as well remain in the relatively low- cost housing provided by the storage build- ing. W h e n viewed realistically, at least a p a r t of any l i b r a r y ' s active collections can be shelved in relatively low-cost book storage facilities w i t h o u t u n d u l y i m p a i r i n g service. I t is desirable, of course, t h a t the storage facilities be located as near as possible to the c e n t r a l library. Both readers and members of the library staff have liked being able to go to the stor- age building w h e n necessary w i t h o u t incur- r i n g t r a n s p o r t a t i o n expense or h a v i n g to spend any appreciable a m o u n t of time in reaching it. A l t h o u g h no direct loans of materials are made at the storage building, f a c u l t y members are encouraged to go there w h e n they wish to consult a large n u m b e r of volumes. M o r e o v e r , members of the ref- erence staff have f o u n d it to be definite a d v a n t a g e on occasion to be able quickly and inexpensively to consult publications in stor- age. So f a r , this discussion has largely centered a r o u n d the past and present problems and f u n c t i o n s of the library storage building. W h a t of the f u t u r e ? I n j u s t w h a t w a y is the storage b u i l d i n g expected to fit into the plans of the library since it is expected t h a t some p a r t s of the book collections w i l l re- main in storage a f t e r an addition to the c e n t r a l book stack has been c o n s t r u c t e d ? T h e c h a r a c t e r of the publications held in storage a n d their suitability as storage ma- terial should be considered. The m a j o r i t y of the items in storage are valuable scien- tific and technical j o u r n a l s which are in ac- tive use. C e r t a i n l y , they should n o t be kept (Continued on page 19) 10 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES of library organization. I t is not common practice in d e p a r t m e n t s of instruction and research to make promotion to the rank of associate or f u l l professor contingent upon assignment to the d e p a r t m e n t a l chairman- ship. I n fact, the m a j o r i t y of f u l l profes- sors in a university are assigned no r e g u l a r administrative responsibilities beyond the usual a m o u n t of participation in the w o r k of committees. I t is generally considered desirable to f r e e the professor of higher rank f r o m as much of the chore of administration as possible. T h e same f r e e d o m f r o m purely adminis- trative w o r k m a y in some instances be highly desirable a m o n g members of the li- brary staff and, f o r precisely the same rea- son, to enable the staff member to devote his energies to the educational f u n c t i o n s of the library at a high level of p e r f o r m a n c e . I t does seem to be unnecessarily restrictive to ' s a y to a professional librarian, in effect, t h a t unless he succeeds in being appointed to one of the very f e w top administrative posts in the library, and otherwise, despite his achievement of advanced degrees and any continuing contribution of high order he may make to the educational p r o g r a m , he will be restricted in promotional possibility to the rank, salary and privileges of an in- s t r u c t o r or an assistant professor. T o look at it otherwise is to assume t h a t the library is primarily an administrative organization r a t h e r than an educational institution and t h a t real educational responsibility can de- velop only in the higher administrative posts. T h i s is an absurd assumption and in some instances may be quite the opposite f r o m actual fact. I t is, of course, easier to administer promotions in a system w h e r e the p a t t e r n is laid out rigidly in terms of the administrative hierarchy, but so doing tends to avoid an i m p o r t a n t point at issue, the identification of the librarians w i t h the teaching and research personnel. (Part II of this article will appear in a later issue of College and Research Li- braries.—Editor) A Decade of Book Storage at Iowa State College (Continued from page 10) in storage any longer t h a n necessary. I n the j u d g m e n t of the library staff, these j o u r n a l s should be r e t u r n e d to the c e n t r a l book stack as soon as possible r a t h e r than be kept in storage on or off campus. T h e other materials, such as the single book titles, including those classified accord- ing to the D e w e y decimal system and those w i t h the w o r k m a r k " X S " above the call n u m b e r , can be held in storage indefinitely w i t h o u t appreciably i m p a i r i n g service at t h e loan desk. T h e l a t t e r category will g r o w as the book collections increase in n u m b e r and as the appearance of n e w edi- tions and n e w w o r k s makes it possible to store books n o w in active use. T h e early r u n s of general periodicals, the reserve stock of materials f o r the exchange p r o g r a m and a partial serial set, while needed on the campus, can j u s t as well be shelved in the low-cost type of housing represented by the library storage building. If all of the book collections at I o w a State cannot be housed in the c e n t r a l book stack, and this inclusion seems to be unnec- essary f r o m the s t a n d p o i n t of service, the next best location f o r them is in a supple- m e n t a r y storage building on the campus. Since this plan is also an economical solu- tion, t h e r e is small likelihood t h a t any plans will be made in the foreseeable f u t u r e f o r the library to solve its book storage prob- lem in any other way, w h e t h e r on an emer- gency or on a long-range basis. JANUARY, 1951 19