College and Research Libraries B y L O U I S S H O R E S Audiovisual Dimensions for an Academic Library Dr. Shores is dean of the library school, Florida State University, and chairman of the ACRL Audio-Visual Committee. WH E N A U N I V E R S I T Y L I B R A R I A N a n d a l i b r a r y school d e a n p a u s e b e t w e e n m e e t i n g s at a c o n f e r e n c e w h a t do t h e y t a l k a b o u t ? U s u a l l y , of c o u r s e , a b o u t f i l l i n g t h a t s t a f f v a c a n c y . B u t a l m o s t as f r e q u e n t l y these d a y s a b o u t a u d i o - v i s u a l ( A - V ) m e d i a . I t is n o s e c r e t t h a t q u i t e a f e w l i b r a r i a n s of i n s t i t u t i o n s of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n w i s h these n e w - f a n g l e d n o n - b o o k g a d g e t s w e r e s o m e w h e r e n e a r t h e b o t t o m of the m o r e u n f a t h o m a b l e o c e a n d e p t h s . I n t h e l a s t s i x m o n t h s a l o n e I h a v e t a l k e d w i t h at l e a s t one a d m i n i s t r a t o r f o r e v e r y t y p e of a c a d e m i c l i b r a r y r e p r e s e n t e d by o u r A C R L s e c t i o n s w h o w i s h e d the q u e s t i o n of A - V m e d i a in l i b r a r i e s h a d n e v e r c o m e u p . F r a n k l y , t h e y s a y , in a g r e e m e n t w i t h J o s e p h W o o d K r u t c h , a n d m a n y o t h e r d e f e n d e r s of b o o k s , these n e w e r m a s s m e d i a a r e e n e m i e s of r e a d i n g , a n d w e w o n d e r if o u r p r o f e s s i o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y does n o t c a l l f o r a l l - o u t w a r . C e r t a i n l y , the s c h o l a r l y u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r y has l i t t l e r e a s o n to c u t i n t o its p r e c i o u s re- s e a r c h f u n d s f o r b a c k v o l u m e s of the Berichte der Deutsche Chemische Gesell- schaft in o r d e r to b u y a h a l f d o z e n q u e s t i o n - a b l e m o t i o n p i c t u r e s . A l t h o u g h t h i s p o s i t i o n h a r d l y r e p r e s e n t s e v e n a c o n s i d e r a b l e m i n o r i t y of a c a d e m i c li- b r a r i a n s ' t h i n k i n g it is w o r t h c o n s i d e r i n g as a s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r a n A - V decision on a n y c a m p u s . F o r t h e r e is c o n s i d e r a b l e f e a r t o d a y t h a t the p r i n t e d w o r d as a m e d i u m of c o m m u n i c a t i o n m a y be on the d e c l i n e . T h i s c o n c e r n is f o u n d n o t o n l y in the p u b l i s h i n g i n d u s t r y , a n d a m o n g w r i t e r s , b u t in the p r o - f e s s i o n of l i b r a r i a n s h i p i t s e l f . I t h a s a l r e a d y been m o s t f a t a l l y p r e d i c t e d by t h a t F r e n c h - m a n of l e t t e r s , G e o r g e s D u h a m e l , w h o w r o t e as e a r l y as 1 9 3 9 : T h e decadence of the book, the greatest instrument f o r the diffusion of knowledge, may be delayed a little longer. . . . A s far as France is concerned the evidence seems to point in one direction. . . . F o r the man in the street, the book, defenseless, is hence- f o r w a r d to be supplanted by less laborious methods of information and recreation.1 S t r a n g e l y e n o u g h the a n s w e r to t h i s s o r t of p e s s i m i s m c o m e s f r o m an a u d i o - v i s u a l i s t , p o s s i b l y the f o r e m o s t a u d i o - v i s u a l i s t in A m e r i c a , a n d m o s t c e r t a i n l y f r o m the a u d i o - v i s u a l i s t w h o is a u t h o r i t a t i v e l y q u o t e d in r e s e a r c h l i t e r a t u r e in b o t h the A - V a n d r e a d i n g f i e l d s . I n a m e m o r a b l e l e c t u r e s p o n s o r e d by the L i b r a r y S c h o o l on the F l o r i d a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y c a m p u s , E d g a r D a l e c a l l e d l i b r a r i a n s ' a t t e n t i o n to the f a c t t h a t p r i n t e d books w e r e n o t a l w a y s r e s p e c t - a b l y a c c e p t e d in c o l l e g e l i b r a r i e s . D u r i n g the 1 5 t h c e n t u r y the D u k e of U r b i n o " h a d a m i n d to do w h a t n o one h a d d o n e f o r a t h o u s a n d y e a r s o r m o r e ; t h a t is to c r e a t e the f i n e s t l i b r a r y since a n c i e n t t i m e s . " B u t , a d d s V e s p a s i a n o D a B i s t i c c i , the b o o k s e l l e r , In this library all the books are super- latively good, and written with the pen, and 1 Duhamel, Georges. In Defense of Letters. New York, Greystone Press, 1939, p. ix. OCTOBER, 1954 38 7 had there been one printed volume it would have been ashamed in such company.2 N o w , a f t e r a l l , D r . D a l e points o u t , a r e not these f e a r f u l , 2 0 t h c e n t u r y l i b r a r i a n s in d a n g e r of e v a l u a t i n g A - V m e d i a in the same t e r m s as t h e i r 1 5 t h c e n t u r y f o r e r u n n e r re- flected on the p r o d u c t s of the p r i n t i n g p r e s s ? W h a t is m o r e serious, asks D r . D a l e — a r e l i b r a r i a n s n o t t u r n i n g t h e i r backs on the r e a l mission of l i b r a r i e s ? T h e l i b r a r i a n , as D r . D a l e sees the p r o b l e m , m u s t not look upon himself . . . merely as an agent f o r the custody and distribution of printed m a t e r i a l s but also as an agency f o r the custody and distribution of illuminating ideas no matter whether they appear on tape, w a x , film, paper, or a television screen.3 I t is w e l l thus to be r e c a l l e d to o u r pro- f e s s i o n a l mission. I f w e a r e dedicated to the dissemination of good ideas, f i r s t , the f o r m a t of these ideas m u s t be of second i m p o r t a n c e . O u r o b l i g a t i o n then becomes c l e a r . A s a d m i n i s t r a t o r s of a c a d e m i c li- b r a r i e s w e are responsible f o r the acquisi- tion and dissemination of these ideas w h e t h e r they a p p e a r in book, m a p , p i c t u r e , r e c o r d i n g , f i l m , or a n y one of a d o z e n or m o r e f o r m s . A s a m a t t e r of f a c t , it w o u l d be d i f f i c u l t indeed to d i s c o v e r a s i n g l e a c a d e m i c l i b r a r y in these U n i t e d S t a t e s w i t h o u t some non- p r i n t m a t e r i a l s . F o r e x a m p l e , one c h a p t e r in a n y one of the s t a n d a r d A - V t e x t b o o k s deals w i t h m a p s and globes. 4 T h e f a c t t h a t a c a r t o g r a p h i c unit is p a r t of a n y respectable A - V service a r g u e s n o t h i n g f o r r e m o v a l of a l l g e o g r a p h i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s f r o m the a c a d e m i c l i b r a r y . M a p s h a v e a l w a y s been an i n t e g r a l p a r t of 2 The Vespasiano Memoirs (Lives of Illustrious Men of the XVth Century) trans, by William George and Emily Waters. New York, Lincoln MacVeagh, 1926, p. 102', 104. 3 Dale, Edgar, "The Challenge of Audio-Visual Media." I11 Shores, Louis, ed., Challenges to Librarian- ship, Tallahassee, Florida State University, 1953, p. 101. 4 See for example, Wittich, W . A., and Schuler, C. F., Audio-Visual Materials: Their Nature and Use. New York, Harper, 1 9 5 3 - 564 P- c o l l e g e and u n i v e r s i t y collections and even the most c o n s e r v a t i v e u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i a n w o u l d p r o b a b l y concede t h a t he is a l r e a d y p a r t l y in the A - V business. I n a d d i t i o n to c a r t o g r a p h i c and g r a p h i c m e d i a h o w e v e r , A - V concerns itself w i t h w h a t a u d i o - v i s u a l i s t s call m u s e u m objects and w i t h l o c a l resources. D o not be m i s l e d . B o t h classes of A - V are n o w and h a v e l o n g been an i n t e g r a l p a r t of l i b r a r y collections and services. O u r e x h i b i t cases are f u l l of both a r t and science specimens, some o w n e d o u t r i g h t by the l i b r a r y a n d others b o r r o w e d f r o m i n s t r u c t i o n a l d e p a r t m e n t s on the c a m p u s f o r the purpose of coopera- tive d i s p l a y . A n d as f o r l o c a l resources w h i c h p r o v i d e the m e d i a of c o m m u n i c a t i o n f o r f i e l d t r i p s and school j o u r n e y s , l i b r a r i e s h a v e been a f a r m o r e i m p o r t a n t accessory in the past than g e n e r a l l y has been recog- n i z e d . C o n s i d e r f o r e x a m p l e the v a r i e t y of l o c a l i n d e x e s d e v e l o p e d , not o n l y by p u b l i c l i b r a r i e s , b u t by a c a d e m i c l i b r a r i e s , to v a r i - ous c u l t u r a l , social, e d u c a t i o n a l , a n d o t h e r agencies, to i n d u s t r i a l and c o m m e r c i a l ac- tivities in the t o w n a n d c o u n t y , to the f a c u l t y researches and interests and spe- cialities, a n d hobbies, a n d yes, even to the n a t u r a l resources of the c a m p u s e n v i r o n - m e n t . W i t h o u t these l i b r a r y o p e r a t i o n s the f i e l d t r i p s of A - V w o u l d be less m e a n i n g f u l if not m o r e d i f f i c u l t . A n d so w e come to the m o r e f r i g h t e n i n g c a t e g o r i e s of A - V m a t e r i a l s . T o the audio- v i s u a l i s t the " f l a t p i c t u r e " is a m u s t a m o n g m e d i a . D o not let the w o r d " f l a t " f r i g h t e n y o u . L i b r a r y v e r t i c a l files a r e f u l l of pic- t u r e s . A m o n g l i b r a r y r e f e r e n c e books there are even a f e w i n d e x e s to these same pic- t u r e s . E v e n the c o n s e r v a t i v e l i b r a r i a n w h o does not keep a p i c t u r e f i l e m u s t a d m i t he is n o t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e and t h a t a g r e a t n u m b e r of his c o l l e a g u e s h a v e been A - V f o r a l o n g time. B u t w h a t about p h o n o - r e c o r d s , as the 394 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Saturday Review n o w calls them. I t does not take a v e r y old l i b r a r i a n to recall the C a r n e g i e collections of fine recordings pre- sented to scores of colleges in the U n i t e d States. M a n y of the college b r o w s i n g rooms still maintain record libraries of good music, d r a m a , elocution, and l a n g u a g e . O t h e r libraries have cooperated w i t h f o r e i g n lan- g u a g e departments to promote speaking as w e l l as reading and w r i t i n g in a f o r e i g n tongue. A n d in a f e w instances research on the campus has been assisted by the l i b r a r y ' s recording and p r e s e r v i n g men's dialects and a n i m a l s ' sounds. P e r h a p s here the conser- v a t i v e university librarian w o u l d agree the academic l i b r a r i a n has been and of right should be A - V . T h i s brings us to the film and projected materials. C e r t a i n l y there is no a r g u m e n t about the m i c r o f i l m n o w . T o us the ma- chine w e use w i t h it is a r e a d e r ; to the audio-visualist it is possibly j u s t another p r o j e c t o r . A t the v e r y least it puts both l i b r a r i a n and audio-visualist in the same camp as f a r as using another f o r m a t — a film f o r m a t f o r the dissemination of ideas. P r o b a b l y the one m e d i u m on w h i c h the li- brarian might balk is the 1 6 m m motion pic- ture. B u t an increasing n u m b e r of all kinds of libraries are r e n t i n g these films f o r class- room use and f o r l i b r a r y study, and in some instances purchasing them. I t can be seen, t h e r e f o r e , class by class, that A - V media are no strangers to libraries. T h e y are potentially other f o r m a t s f o r ideas. B a s i c a l l y , they lend themselves to the l i b r a r y processes of acquisition, preparation, inter- pretation, and dissemination. P h y s i c a l l y and financially they c o n f r o n t librarianship w i t h certain peculiar problems, but w i t h problems no more peculiar than the v a r i o u s classes of media already professionalized in our l i b r a r y l i t e r a t u r e . L e t ' s examine some of these problems. I n the first place the academic l i b r a r y should look t o w a r d the centralization of respon- sibility f o r A - V media on campus. T h i s need not mean centralization of housing, but it certainly should mean centralized inven- tory. A l o n g w i t h central inventory at least coordinated acquisition should be sought. T h e a r g u m e n t is the same as that f o r cen- t r a l i z a t i o n of print m a t e r i a l acquired by the institution of higher education through its l i b r a r y . I n the second place, as soon as possible, the academic l i b r a r y should provide person- nel qualified to serve the campus in as m a n y of the A - V media as possible. T o begin w i t h , the smaller l i b r a r y m a y assign p a r t time to the best qualified staff member. A s soon as possible h o w e v e r , the l i b r a r y should plan to employ a l i b r a r i a n trained in the A - V field. I n c r e a s i n g l y o u r l i b r a r y schools are incorporating A - V courses and units in the basic professional c u r r i c u l u m , equipping a n e w generation of l i b r a r i a n s f o r A - V service. I n the third place the agencies and depart- ments of instruction most audio-visually in- clined should be enlisted in developing a plan f o r the campus. O n most campuses the school or department of education and the extension agency w i l l be in the A - V v a n - g u a r d . B u t let not the traditional scholar take c o m f o r t in that. T h e colleges of arts and sciences are by f a r the heaviest users of these A - V m e d i a : i ) 1 6 m m film, 2 ) glass slides, 3 ) maps, 4 ) opaque objects. D e p a r t m e n t s in the general college, in the sciences, in the fine arts, a m o n g others, should t h e r e f o r e be approached e a r l y in any plan to coordinate A - V services f o r the campus. A v e r y good beginning is the ap- pointment of a representative f a c u l t y com- mittee on A - V services to plan w i t h the l i b r a r i a n . T h i s committee m a y be either a sub-committee of the l i b r a r y committee or a separate committee. I n the v e r y beginning about eight basic OCTOBER, 1954 38 7 a s p e c t s o f A - V s e r v i c e s as a i d s t o c a m p u s i n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e s e a r c h s h o u l d c o m e u n d e r t h e s u r v e y b y t h e l i b r a r y a n d i t s A - V c o m - m i t t e e . T h e cartographic unit in e m b r y o w i l l a l r e a d y be f u n c t i o n i n g i n m o s t a c a d e m i c l i b r a r i e s . I n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e h i s t o r y a n d g e o g r a p h y d e p a r t m e n t s a n d w i t h o t h e r h e a v y u s e r s t h e a v a i l a b l e m a p s , g l o b e s , a t l a s e s a n d g e o g r a p h i c s e r v i c e s o n t h e c a m p u s w i l l b e c a n v a s s e d . A u g m e n t e d i n - d e x i n g a n d c a t a l o g i n g w i l l b e u n d e r t a k e n w h e r e n e c e s s a r y a n d a d d i t i o n a l a c c e s s i o n s r e c o m m e n d e d t o s u p p o r t t h e c a m p u s ' t o t a l h o l d i n g s , n o w i n v e n t o r i e d i n t h e l i b r a r y . I f p r o d u c t i o n o f s p e c i a l o r l o c a l m a p s is c a l l e d f o r it w i l l p r o b a b l y b e d e c i d e d t o d o t h e w o r k in t h e g e o g r a p h y d e p a r t m e n t o r i n t h e l i b r a r y . N e x t t h e graphics unit w i l l c o m e u p f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n . C i v i l i a n i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e s t i l l l a g g i n g b e h i n d i n i n s t r u c t i o n a l u s e of v a r i - o u s c h a r t s , g r a p h s , d e m o n s t r a t i o n s a n d o t h e r g r a p h i c s u s e d i n m i l i t a r y i n s t r u c t i o n . T h e a v e r a g e l i b r a r y , h o w e v e r , p r o d u c e s c o n - s i d e r a b l e b u l l e t i n b o a r d m a t e r i a l a n d r e p r o d u c e s t h r o u g h m i m e o g r a p h , l i t h o g r a p h o r p h o t o s t a t b o t h r e s e a r c h a n d i n s t r u c t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s t h a t m i g h t b e f i l e d f o r f u t u r e r e f e r e n c e . T h i s t h e l i b r a r y f r e q u e n t l y d o e s f o r i t s o w n g r a p h i c s . B u t o n t h e c a m p u s v a r i o u s o t h e r g r a p h i c s a r e b e i n g p r o d u c e d t h a t a r e e i t h e r d e a d s t o r e d i n s o m e d e p a r t - m e n t o f f i c e o r d e s t r o y e d , t h o u g h t h e i r v a l u e is n o t n e c e s s a r i l y l i m i t e d t o a s i n g l e u s e . I f t h e l i b r a r y c o u l d a t l e a s t s t a r t a c a m p u s p o o l of i n s t r u c t i o n a l g r a p h i c s o r g a n i z e d f o r s u b j e c t u s e a n o t h e r v a l u a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f i d e a s m i g h t w e l l b e m a d e . W h e t h e r t h e l i b r a r y s h o u l d u n d e r - t a k e p r o d u c t i o n o f g r a p h i c s m a t e r i a l f o r v a r i o u s d e p a r t m e n t s o f t h e c a m p u s w i l l n e e d p a r t i c u l a r s t u d y i n c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h t h e f i n e a n d i n d u s t r i a l a r t s d e p a r t m e n t s . T h e t h i r d i n v e n t o r y w i l l i n v o l v e museum objects. M a n y o f t h e s e a r e a l r e a d y i n t h e l i b r a r y . O t h e r s a r e in v a r i o u s a r t a n d s c i e n c e d e p a r t m e n t s . I f t h e c a m p u s h a s a m u s e u m a h u g e c o l l e c t i o n w i l l be t h e r e . I t is i m p o r t a n t t o e m p h a s i z e t h a t t h e c a m p u s l i b r a r y d o e s n o t h a v e t o b e c o m e a m u s e u m , e v e n t h o u g h t h e B r i t i s h M u s e u m is o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s t l i b r a r i e s in t h e w o r l d . B u t t h e l i b r a r y h a s a n o b l i g a t i o n i n k e e p i n g w i t h i t s m i s s i o n t o d i s s e m i n a t e i d e a s in w h a t e v e r f o r m a t t h e y m a y be f o u n d i n a n d o n t h e c a m p u s . A n d in k e e p i n g w i t h t h a t m i s s i o n t h e l i b r a r y s h o u l d e n d e a v o r w i t h o u t d u p l i c a t i o n t o o r g a n i z e f o r b i b l i o g r a p h i c d i s s e m i n a t i o n t h e m u s e u m o b j e c t s t h a t w i l l c o n t r i b u t e t o m o r e e f f e c t i v e i n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e s e a r c h c a r r i e d o n b y t h e i n s t i t u t i o n . I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n a n d in r e l a t i o n t o o t h e r c l a s s e s o f l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s t h e l i b r a r y s h o u l d h a v e a v a i l a b l e o p a q u e p r o j e c t o r s f o r d e p a r t m e n t a l a n d l i b r a r y u s e . A f o u r t h i n v e n t o r y o f l o c a l r e s o u r c e s w i l l c o n s i s t b a s i c a l l y of a r e v i e w of t h e index- ing, abstracting, and other bibliographic services n o w p a r t o f t h e l i b r a r y . W h a t e v e r h u m a n a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l r e s o u r c e s , a v a i l - a b l e w i t h i n a c o n v e n i e n t r a d i u s , a r e n o t r e a d i l y k n o w n s h o u l d be c a t a l o g e d a n d d i s s e m i n a t e d t o t h e p a r t o f t h e c a m p u s c o n c e r n e d . C e r t a i n l y , f a c u l t y p l a n n i n g f i e l d t r i p s a n d e x p e d i t i o n s s h o u l d b e e x p e c t e d t o u t i l i z e w h a t t h e l i b r a r y c a n c o n t r i b u t e . A f i f t h c a n v a s s w i l l i n v o l v e pictorial illu- strations o f a l l k i n d s — s e p a r a t e , in b o o k s a n d p e r i o d i c a l s , i n t h e a r t d e p a r t m e n t , a n d e l s e w h e r e o n c a m p u s . T h e r e is n o t h i n g n e w h e r e f o r l i b r a r i e s . M a n y r e m a r k a b l e c o l l e c t i o n s c a n b e f o u n d i n l i b r a r i e s n o w . L i b r a r i e s w i t h o u t s u c h c o l l e c t i o n s w i l l f i n d u n t a p p e d s o u r c e s a m o n g c i t i z e n s , a l u m n i , f r i e n d s . A s i x t h i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i l l i n v o l v e record- ings, b o t h d i s c a n d t a p e . I n c r e a s i n g l y t h e l i b r a r y m u s t b u i l d i t s c o l l e c t i o n s t o s e r v e t h e m a n y d e p a r t m e n t s t h a t n o w u s e s o u n d i n i n s t r u c t i o n a n d r e s e a r c h . T h e c r e a t i o n 396 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES o f l i s t e n i n g p o s t s in t h e r e a d i n g r o o m s as w e l l a s l i s t e n i n g r o o m s a c o u s t i c a l l y t r e a t e d d e s e r v e c a m p u s l i b r a r i a n s ' c o n s i d e r a t i o n . T h e l i s t e n i n g p o s t in t h e r e a d i n g r o o m m a y h a v e as m a n y a s s i x s e t s of e a r p h o n e s , t h u s p r o v i d i n g t h e l a n g u a g e , o r m u s i c , o r s p e e c h s t u d e n t w i t h a n a u d i t o r y a c c o m p a n i m e n t t o h i s r e a d i n g e f f o r t . T a p e s o f s i g n i f i c a n t r a d i o p r o g r a m s m a y be t h e m o s t v a l u a b l e o f a l l b o o k s f o r p a r t i c u l a r i n s t r u c t i o n a l s i t u a - t i o n s . T h i s m e a n s t h a t t h e l i b r a r y m u s t i n c l u d e t a p e r e c o r d e r s i n i t s e q u i p m e n t as w e l l as p l a y b a c k s f o r d i s c s . T h e s e v e n t h c o n s i d e r a t i o n is filmsand t h i s is t h e o n e t h e w o r r i e d l i b r a r i a n l o o k s u p o n a s t h e A - V p r o b l e m . M i c r o t e x t s a n d t h e r e a d e r s n e e d e d w i t h t h e m a r e a l r e a d y a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e a c a d e m i c l i b r a r y . B u t t h e 1 6 m m m o t i o n p i c t u r e is n o t . W h a t is m o r e t h e i n v e s t m e n t r e q u i r e d f o r e v e n a s m a l l c o l l e c t i o n o f films t o s a y n o t h i n g of t h e p r o j e c t o r is d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e t o t h e b u d g e t of t h e a v e r a g e s m a l l c o l l e g e l i b r a r y . T h e r e a r e t w o s o l u t i o n s t o t h i s b u d g e t p r o b - l e m . F i l m r e n t i n g f r o m t h e s t a t e l i b r a r y o f films o r f r o m o u t - o f - s t a t e film l i b r a r i e s is w i t h i n t h e r a n g e o f m o s t l i b r a r i e s . C o o p e r - a t i v e b u y i n g w i t h o t h e r c o l l e g e l i b r a r i e s a n d t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f film c i r c u i t s p r o v i d e a n o p p o r t u n i t y f o r e a c h p a r t i c i p a t i n g l i b r a r y t o d i s s e m i n a t e m a n y h i g h l y e f f e c t i v e i n s t r u c - t i o n a l films t o t h e d e p a r t m e n t s u s i n g t h e m . I t m u s t a l s o b e r e m e m b e r e d t h a t m a n y o f t h e b e s t films a r e f r e e . T h e s t e a d i l y r i s i n g q u a l i t y of t h e s p o n s o r e d film is m a k i n g i t a n e v e r m o r e e f f e c t i v e m e d i u m f o r c o l l e g e i n s t r u c t i o n . F i n a l l y , t h e p l a c e of radio and television in t h e l i b r a r y m u s t be t h o r o u g h l y c o n - \ s i d e r e d . L i b r a r i e s a r e a l r e a d y i n d e x i n g a n d d i s s e m i n a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t g o o d p r o - g r a m s . S o m e l i b r a r i e s t a p e t h e m . B u t t h e r e a l l i b r a r y o p p o r t u n i t y is in s h a p i n g t e l e - v i s i o n p r o g r a m s y e t t o c o m e . I n t h i s c o n - n e c t i o n I c a n n o t r e s i s t q u o t i n g E d g a r D a l e ' s r e m a r k s t o l i b r a r i a n s : I should like t o p r o p o s e a slogan f o r li- braries that may suggest w h a t they can d o : " Y o u r l i b r a r y has the best ideas in the w o r l d . " T h r o u g h television y o u w i l l have an opportunity to s h o w . . . j u s t w h a t y o u r resources are . . . b o o k s , r e f e r e n c e m a - terials, encyclopedias . . . in short television gives y o u a s h o w c a s e in every television h o m e in y o u r c o m m u n i t y . Y o u can display y o u r w a r e s in their living r o o m . 5 T h e s e a r e s o m e of t h e a u d i o - v i s u a l d i m e n - s i o n s of a n a c a d e m i c l i b r a r y . D e s p i t e t h e g e n e r a l t e r m s i n w h i c h t h e y h a v e b e e n p r e - s e n t e d t h e s e d i m e n s i o n s a r e n o t o n l y a c a - d e m i c b u t a p p l i e d . I n a t l e a s t o n e c a s e w h e n t h e l i b r a r y s c h o o l d e a n a d v i s e s t h e u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i a n t o g o A - V t h e r e is a t a n g i b l e b a s i s f o r t h e a d v i c e . O n t h e c a m p u s o f F l o r i d a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y t h e r e is a c e n t r a l i z e d A - V s e r v i c e , a d m i n i s t e r e d b y t h e L i b r a r y S c h o o l in c o o p e r a t i o n w T ith t h e U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y a n d t h e v a r i o u s s c h o o l s a n d c o l l e g e s o n t h e c a m p u s . A l l e i g h t o f t h e a s p e c t s a r e r e p r e s e n t e d . V a r i o u s d e g r e e s o f c e n t r a l i z a t i o n h a v e b e e n a c c o m p l i s h e d . B u t t h e g r o w i n g c o n c e p t o f u n i t y o f l i b r a r y m e d i a is a n u n q u e s t i o n e d a s s e t t o b o t h i n - s t r u c t i o n a n d r e s e a r c h . B y m e a n s of a l l o f t h e f o r m a t s t h e w o r l d ' s b e s t i d e a s a r e i n - c r e a s i n g l y p e r m e a t i n g t h e p r o c e s s of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n . 5 Dale, op. cit., p. 104. OCTOBER, 1954 38 7