College and Research Libraries B y D A L E M . B E N T Z A n Evaluation of the A C R L Statistics Report Mr. Bentz is associate director, State University of Iowa Libraries and chairman, ACRL Statistics Committee. IN AN EFFORT to appraise the c l a r i t y , the a d e q u a c y of c o v e r a g e , and the u s e f u l n e s s of the d a t a w h i c h it c o l l e c t s and reports, the A C R L Statistics C o m m i t t e e sent a brief questionnaire to those institutions w h i c h s u b m i t the a n n u a l statistics. A n - s w e r s to the f o l l o w i n g questions w e r e re- quested : 1. D o you use the data reported in C&RL? In w h a t w a y s ? 2. W h a t facts reported do you find par- ticularly u s e f u l ? 3. W h a t information is included which in your opinion could be eliminated? or consolidated? or collected less f r e - quently than annually? 4. W h a t information would you like to see added? 5. A r e there ambiguities in the question- naire or in the report ? If so, w h a t sug- gestions f o r clarification can you m a k e ? 6. A r e you satisfied w i t h the reporting m e d i u m (C&RL) ? 7. A r e the data in C&RL difficult to use? Suggestions f o r improvement? 8. D o you feel that the A C R L statistics could replace the Princeton ( A R L ) sta- tistics ? 9. D o you f a v o r omitting f r o m the pub- lished tables those institutions which do not report salary d a t a ? 10. Should the Committee attempt to secure additional special information f r o m time to time? T h e s e data might then be used as bases f o r investigation into special problems. A n y suggestions ? 11. O t h e r . ( P l e a s e feel free to comment on or to criticize any aspect of the Committee's w o r k . ) R e p l i e s w e r e received f r o m 1 2 7 l i b r a r i a n s r e p r e s e n t i n g the f o l l o w i n g g r o u p s i n c l u d e d in the published tables of COLLEGE AND RE- S E A R C H LIBRARIES, J a n u a r y 1 9 5 4 . F o r t y - nine o u t of 7 0 G r o u p I libraries responded. T w e n t y - n i n e G r o u p I I o u t of a possible 6 7 , 2 4 G r o u p I I I o u t of 69, and 1 4 T e a c h e r s C o l l e g e s o u t of 5 7 institutions sent in replies. E l e v e n replies w e r e received f r o m libraries n o t i n c l u d e d in last y e a r ' s pub- lished tables. A p p a r e n t l y the l a r g e r li- braries are m o r e interested in this p r o b l e m of c o l l e c t i n g statistics since 7 0 per cent re- plied. A l t h o u g h m o r e l i b r a r i a n s m i g h t have responded, an analysis of the d a t a re- ceived m a y indicate a t r e n d in the t h i n k i n g of l i b r a r i a n s g e n e r a l l y . T A B L E I Use M a d e of Statistics Use I I I I I I T . C . Unpublished Total Budget Planning 11 13 5 6 7 53 Comparative Purposes 17 15 16 7 4 59 T o t a l 39 28 11 13 11 112* * 13 others reported " y e s " and remaining 2 libraries i n d i c a t e d no use m a d e of s t a t i s t i c s . 54 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES S U M M A R Y O F D A T A R E C E I V E D T A B L E I I Most Useful Published D a t a D a t a I I I I I I T . C . Unpublished T o t a l Salaries 27 12 6 2 6 53 Operating Expenditures 19 7 4 3 4 37 Size of Collection 10 7 3 2 4 26 Everything 10 7 5 1 I 25 N u m b e r of Staff 5 8 9 1 4 2 21 Volumes Added 5 8 5 3 2 I 19 Ratio Library to Institu- 19 tional Expenditures 4 6 4 4 — 18 Budget 4 4 4 2 3 17 T A B L E I I I Additional Information Desired Information T o t a l Information Total None 53 Faculty Status 3 . Circulation Statistics 24 Sick Leave 3 H o u r s of Service 15 Inter-library Loans 2 Vacations 10 N u m b e r on Library Staff by Depart- Audio-visual Budgets 8 m e n t 1 D a t a from more Libraries 5 N u m b e r of Branch Libraries 1 P a y for Student Help 5 T A B L E I V Satisfied with Reporting Medium Response I I I I I I T . C . Unpublished T o t a l Yes 42 24 19 13 11 109 N o Comment 7 5 5 1 — 18 G E N E R A L C O M M E N T S A N D U S E F U L N E S S O F A B O V E D A T A T O T H E A C R L S T A T I S T I C S C O M M I T T E E Y o u r A C R L Statistics C o m m i t t e e had hoped t h a t the i n f o r m a t i o n received w o u l d help in r e v i s i n g the R e p o r t i n g F o r m f o r 1 9 5 3 / 5 4 > h o w e v e r , l i t t l e c h a n g e seemed to be desired by the membership. A t a l l y of the questionnaires indicated t h a t 7 9 libraries, or 6 2 % of those r e p o r t i n g , suggest t h a t n o i n f o r m a t i o n should be e l i m i n a t e d , consoli- dated, or collected less f r e q u e n t l y than an- n u a l l y . T a b l e I I I s h o w s t h a t 53 institu- tions reported " n o n e " to the question, " W h a t i n f o r m a t i o n w o u l d y o u like to see a d d e d ? " S e v e n t y - o n e libraries reported there w e r e no ambiguities. O n e h u n d r e d and nine institutions w e r e satisfied w i t h C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S a s t h e r e p o r t i n g m e d i u m ( T a b l e I V ) ; 87 indi- cated the d a t a w e r e not difficult to use ( T a b l e V ) ; 38 said the C o m m i t t e e should n o t a t t e m p t t o secure any special i n f o r m a - tion f r o m time to time, and the 2 4 institu- tions that replied in the a f f i r m a t i v e had no suggestions to m a k e . T h e C o m m i t t e e had no m o t i v e in a s k i n g the question r e g a r d i n g the P r i n c e t o n ( A R L ) statistics other t h a n possibly con- sidering the e l i m i n a t i o n of duplicate e f f o r t JANUARY, 1955 55 T A B L E V Are the D a t a in C&RI. Difficult to Use? Response I II I I I T . C . Unpublished T o t a l No 2 4 24 19 11 9 87 Clearer Layout of P r i n t e d Figures 15 1 — — 2 1 8 Did N o t Answer 1 0 4 5 3 • 2 2 T A B L E V I Should A C R L Statistics Replace Princeton (ARL) Statistics? Response I I I I I I T . C . Unpublished T o t a l Yes 2 7 18 8 8 7 68 N o 1 6 I 4 — I 2 2 No Opinion 6 1 0 1 2 6 3 37 T A B L E V I I Should Institutions Withholding Salary D a t a Be Omitted from Published Tables? Response I II I I I T . C . Unpublished Total No 38 24 15 9 9 95 Yes 7 4 4 3 2 2 0 Did N o t Answer 4 I 5 2 — 1 2 and i n f o r m a t i o n on the p a r t of m a n y li- braries. S i x t y - e i g h t libraries, or 5 4 % of those r e p l y i n g , f e l t t h a t the A C R L report c o u l d replace the P r i n c e t o n statistics ( T a b l e V I ) . I t is t r u e t h a t the same i n f o r m a t i o n is i n c l u d e d and the d a t a are m a d e a v a i l a b l e at a p p r o x i m a t e l y the same time. F u r t h e r , the same institutions could report to A C R L . T h e p r o b l e m r e s u l t i n g f r o m l a c k of con- t i n u i t y need not exist if the same institutions w o u l d submit reports r e g u l a r l y and w o u l d report f u l l y . I N A D E Q U A C I E S I N T H E S T A T I S T I C S O F R E C E N T Y E A R S A c a r e f u l study of the d i f f e r e n t categories of i n f o r m a t i o n supplied reveals m a n y in- equalities. Since most l i b r a r i a n s do use the data f o r b u d g e t p l a n n i n g , a m o r e sound basis f o r v a l i d comparison is necessary. L o o k at a f e w of the m a n y inconsistencies in r e p o r t i n g : 1. N u m b e r on Faculty. W h a t constitutes a faculty member? D o e s one include teaching assistants and part-time in- structors? It is possible to equate them to full-time on a uniform basis? 2. Student Enrollment. W h e n is a student a graduate student? H o w are students in professional schools reported when they already have an undergraduate degree? 3. Book Stock and V o l u m e s Added. T h e r e is a difference in the counting of hold- ings. Some institutions use a biblio- graphical method of counting; others, a physical volume c o u n t ; and some, a modified form of both. T h i s is an age old problem.1 Some libraries include all state and federal documents, others do not include any, and some report only those that are bound and fully cataloged. 4. N u m b e r of Periodicals. M a n y institu- tions include all serials. Serials record 1 D o w n s , Robert B . , " U n i f o r m S t a t i s t i c s f o r L i b r a r y H o l d i n g s . " Library Quarterly, 16:63-69, J a n u a r y , 1946; L y l e , G u y R., " C o u n t i n g L i b r a r y H o l d i n g s . " COLLEGE A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S , 1 1 : 6 9 - 7 2 , J a n u a r y , 1 9 5 0 . 56 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES files a r e n o t b r o k e n d o w n a c c o r d i n g t o t h e d e f i n i t i o n of a p e r i o d i c a l . T h e s e r i a l s figure a l o n e is m e a n i n g l e s s since s o m e l i b r a r i e s c a t a l o g m o n o g r a p h i c l i t e r a t u r e as s e p a r a t e t i t l e s and h e n c e c o u n t t h e m as physical v o l u m e s . 5. E x p e n d i t u r e s f o r P e r i o d i c a l s . T h i s s h o u l d n o t i n c l u d e cost of s e r i a l s and y e t m a n y files do n o t s h o w t h e cost of p e r i o d i c a l s s e p a r a t e l y . 6. P e r S t u d e n t O p e r a t i n g E x p e n d i t u r e s and R a t i o of L i b r a r y E x p e n d i t u r e s t o T o t a l I n s t i t u t i o n a l E x p e n d i t u r e s . T h e s e a r e n o t valid figures b e c a u s e of t h e m a n y e n r o l l m e n t c a t e g o r i e s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s in t h e p r o g r a m s of i n s t i t u - tions. D o e s it t a k e f e w e r o r m o r e li- b r a r y m a t e r i a l s f o r special d a y a n d n i g h t s t u d e n t s ? D o e s n ' t it cost m o r e to r u n a l i b r a r y if a n i n s t i t u t i o n h a s a p r e - d o m i n a n t l y s t r o n g g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m ? I s n ' t a highly d e p a r t m e n t a l i z e d s y s t e m m o r e expensive t h a n one t h a t is cen- t r a l i z e d ? 7. S a l a r y D a t a . T o o f e w i n s t i t u t i o n s r e - p o r t f u l l i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e d a t a n o w received a r e n o t c o m p a r a b l e b e c a u s e of d i v e r g e n t p e r s o n n e l classification s y s t e m s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s in t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of w h o is a p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n . M a n y p r o f e s s i o n a l p o s i t i o n s on s o m e l i b r a r y s t a f f s a r e filled by n o n - a c a d e m i c posi- t i o n s on o t h e r s . 8. L a c k in the c o n t i n u i t y of r e p o r t i n g f u l l i n f o r m a t i o n by t h e s a m e i n s t i t u t i o n s . C H A N G E S M A D E I N T H E 1 9 5 3 / 5 4 R E P O R T I N G F O R M A s a result of the C o m m i t t e e ' s delibera- tions in M i n n e a p o l i s , some changes w e r e m a d e on this y e a r ' s r e p o r t i n g f o r m based on the m a j o r i t y opinion expressed in the ques- tionnaire. T h e possibility of r e p o r t i n g all s a l a r y i n f o r m a t i o n by the " r a n g e m e t h o d " r a t h e r than by position w a s considered, b u t since the present a r r a n g e m e n t has been used f o r the past t w e n t y y e a r s and since the li- brarians responding to the questionnaires f o u n d the salary d a t a to be the most u s e f u l (see T a b l e I I a b o v e ) , no c h a n g e w a s recom- m e n d e d . T h e n u m b e r on the f a c u l t y has been elim- inated because f e w l i b r a r i a n s c o m p u t e d the f i g u r e in the same m a n n e r . A l s o , this type of i n f o r m a t i o n is available t h r o u g h other sources. T h e C o m m i t t e e asked that the s t u d e n t e n r o l l m e n t f i g u r e correspond to the one reported to the U . S . O f f i c e of E d u c a t i o n and published in Fall Enrollment in Higher Educational Institutions. F u r t h e r , it w a s requested that o n l y students e n r o l l e d in the G r a d u a t e C o l l e g e be counted as g r a d u a t e students. E x p e n d i t u r e s f o r books and periodicals w e r e combined u n d e r one h e a d i n g . T h i s f i g u r e previously w a s not g i v e n separately by m a n y libraries and f r e q u e n t l y the ex- penditures f o r periodicals i n c l u d e d all serials. T h e median s a l a r y f i g u r e by position w a s eliminated and the n u m b e r in each position w a s added. M a n y l i b r a r i a n s f e l t this m e d i a n f i g u r e w a s not too u s e f u l and t h a t it required too m u c h time to c o m p u t e . D i - vision heads w e r e placed w i t h d e p a r t m e n t heads unless the f o r m e r w e r e also associate or assistant chief librarians. L e n g t h of w o r k w e e k both by hours and days w a s requested only as a sample of the kind of special i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t m i g h t be collected f r o m time to time. T H E C O M M I T T E E ' S H O P E F O R T H E F U T U R E A g r e a t a m o u n t of time, e f f o r t , and ex- pense is i n v o l v e d in p u b l i s h i n g the A C R L statistics. T h e C o m m i t t e e w o u l d like v e r y m u c h to g i v e the membership w h a t it w a n t s , but in so doing, cooperation is necessary. T h e r e is need f o r m o r e c a r e f u l and contin- uous r e p o r t i n g by the same institutions y e a r a f t e r y e a r , and f o r the submission of all d a t a requested. A n a t t e m p t should be m a d e by a l l libraries to report s a l a r y i n f o r m a t i o n (Continued on page 92) JANUARY, 1955 57 and reference librarians (and this doesn't mean just administrators!) w i l l , w e hope, agree to be on hand at stated times to meet other members and discuss their problems or just chat. T h o s e w h o come to conference can determine before they come that they w i l l have an opportunity to discuss the care of rare books with an authority on, say, M o n d a y morning, or allocation of the book budget with someone else on, possibly, T h u r s d a y afternoon. In addition to librarians there should be present f o r consultation the second- hand bookseller, the binder, and perhaps others of the book w o r l d who share interests with us and are not heavily represented in the exhi- bition area. W e hope to make this meeting area attractive and comfortable, a place where our members, both old and young, w i l l relax and fraternize. T h r o u g h this consultation service and through our discussion groups w e hope to be able to help college and reference librarians with most of their important practical prob- lems. I t is expected that the A C R L member can j u s t i f y to his administration the expense money to attend conference by stating the problems he faces and w i t h which he will be assisted at conference. If members will send to headquarters those problems which are of great personal concern, your secretary w i l l see that these are covered in the discussion groups. N o one should expect to get at con- ference neat little answers to all the problems of "back home." B u t he should get oriented in the right directions to find his own answers. In other words, the workshop is similar to the school which seeks to motivate the student, catch his interest, guide his thinking, etc. so that he is enabled to find his own answers, and so that he continues his search and solu- tion long years later. It should develop self- perception, a sense for experimentation, new horizons, and sketch out some new techniques. —Arthur T. Hamlin, Executive Secretary. A n Evaluation of the A C R L Statistics Report (Continued from page 57) f u l l y . O n e ironical p a r t of the d a t a as- sembled above is that a l t h o u g h the m a j o r i t y of l i b r a r i a n s r e p o r t e d the s a l a r y data to be the most u s e f u l ( T a b l e I I ) , 9 5 , or approxi- m a t e l y 7 5 % , did n o t f a v o r o m i t t i n g those institutions f r o m the published tables w h i c h do not submit this i m p o r t a n t i n f o r m a t i o n ( T a b l e V I I ) . F e w libraries are restricted by u n i v e r s i t y statutes f r o m r e p o r t i n g staff salaries, and yet an i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r f a i l to submit these statistics. W h i l e r e p o r t i n g salaries in the l o w e r brackets, m a n y chief l i b r a r i a n s w i t h h o l d the top a d m i n i s t r a t i v e ones because p u b l i c a t i o n m a y r e v e a l an in- d i v i d u a l ' s s a l a r y . A n a r g u m e n t is that any f i g u r e reported m a y not be representative of one's t o t a l earnings. W h a t an i n d i v i d u a l earns by e x t r a t e a c h i n g and c o n s u l t a n t w o r k is his personal a f f a i r , but the fixed salary an institution pays its l i b r a r i a n has g r e a t signifi- cance f o r the p r o f e s s i o n ! O n l y w h e n these f i g u r e s are reported do the statistics become an i m p o r t a n t tool f o r c o m p a r a t i v e purposes. I n this article, an a t t e m p t has been m a d e to e v a l u a t e the A C R L statistics and to point o u t some of the p r o b l e m s f a c i n g the C o m - mittee. In m a k i n g a c r i t i c a l analysis of the published data, one could p u r s u e f u r t h e r m a n y of the points raised in this a r t i c l e as w e l l as m e n t i o n others, b u t perhaps w h a t has been i n c l u d e d w i l l indicate the need f o r serious t h i n k i n g a m o n g librarians. T h e C o m m i t t e e is e n d e a v o r i n g to g i v e y o u use- f u l and a c c u r a t e i n f o r m a t i o n , and y o u r con- tinued cooperation w i l l enable it to f u n c t i o n m o r e e f f e c t i v e l y . 92 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES