College and Research Libraries B y M A R Y A . B E N J A M I N The Manuscript Market and the Librarian* Miss Benjamin is director, Walter R. Benjamin Autographs, New York City. WHEN I WAS INVITED t o a d d r e s s t h e p r e s e n t g r o u p of m e m b e r s of t h e 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 a n d h a d s u g g e s t e d t o m e t h e t i t l e : " T h e M a n u - s c r i p t M a r k e t a n d t h e L i b r a r i a n , " I w a s b o t h s t a r t l e d a n d p l e a s e d . F o r o n e t h i n g , t h e v e r y f a c t t h a t a d e a l e r w a s a s k e d t o s p e a k b e f o r e a g r o u p of l i b r a r i a n s s h o w s h o w f a r t h e f e e l i n g of c o o p e r a t i o n a n d m u t u a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g b e t w e e n l i b r a r - i a n s a n d d e a l e r s h a s p r o g r e s s e d . S u c h a n i n v i t a t i o n w o u l d h a v e b e e n m o s t u n - u s u a l w h e n I first e n t e r e d b u s i n e s s 30 y e a r s a g o . F e w l i b r a r i a n s w e r e t h e n e v e n a w a r e of t h e e x i s t e n c e of a m a n u s c r i p t m a r k e t o r t h a t r e c o r d s of t h e p a s t c o u l d b e s e c u r e d a n d t h a t d e a l e r s h a n d l e d t h e m . I n f a c t b a c k i n 1890 t h i n g s w e r e e v e n w o r s e . M y f a t h e r , W a l t e r R . B e n - j a m i n , c o m m e n t e d i n a n issue of o u r m o n t h l y p u b l i c a t i o n , The Collector, " A b o u t t h e d e a d e s t t h i n g i n t h i s c o u n - t r y is t h e a v e r a g e h i s t o r i c a l society. N o t o n e i n a d o z e n h a s t h e s l i g h t e s t s i g n of l i f e a b o u t i t . " T o d a y , t h e f o r m a t i o n of t h e D i v i s i o n of R a r e B o o k s a n d M a n u - s c r i p t s of t h e A L A r e f u t e s t h a t s t a t e m e n t d i r e c t l y . T h e r e is v e r y d e f i n i t e l y a m a n u s c r i p t m a r k e t , a n d t o d a y its e x i s t e n c e is k n o w n t o a l m o s t e v e r y l i b r a r i a n . I n d e e d , a v e r y sizable p e r c e n t a g e of t h e p r e s e n t m a r k e t is d u e t o t h e d e m a n d s of i n s t i t u t i o n s . F o r a n y o n e w h o d e s i r e s t o c o l l e c t o r h a n d l e a u t o g r a p h m a t e r i a l a k n o w l e d g e of t h i s m a r k e t is i m p e r a t i v e . T h e r e w i l l b e t h o s e l i s t e n i n g t o m e f o r w h o m any- * Paper presented at the meeting of the ACRL Rare Books Committee, Philadelphia, Pa., July 5, 1955. t h i n g I m a y say o n t h e s u b j e c t w i l l b e o l d n e w s . I ask t h e m t o b e p a t i e n t w i t h m e . I a d d r e s s myself r a t h e r t o t h o s e w h o h a v e h a d less e x p e r i e n c e a n d w h o w o u l d l i k e t o l e a r n s o m e of t h e b a s i c f a c t s a b o u t t h e p u r c h a s e a n d sale of a u t o g r a p h s , e i t h e r b e c a u s e t h e y a r e con- t e m p l a t i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of s t a r t i n g c o l l e c t i o n s a t t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s , o r p e r - h a p s b e c a u s e t h e y w i s h t o b e h e l p f u l t o t h o s e w h o a p p r o a c h t h e m a b o u t collec- t i o n s . A l i b r a r y h a s g e n e r a l l y o n e of t w o a i m s i n v i e w w h e n s t a r t i n g a n a u t o g r a p h c o l l e c t i o n . I t m a y p l a n a s m a l l o n e in- t e n d e d c h i e f l y f o r e x h i b i t i o n p u r p o s e s . O r i t m a y h a v e i n m i n d a s i z a b l e o n e , i n t e n d e d p r i m a r i l y f o r s c h o l a r l y re- s e a r c h . S m a l l c o l l e c t i o n s u s u a l l y p r e s e n t n o s p e c i a l p r o b l e m s , b u t i n t h e case of l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n s e x p e r i e n c e h a s t a u g h t t h a t it is wisest t o s p e c i a l i z e . C o s t s of g e n e r a l i z i n g a r e v e r y g r e a t a n d c a n b e a s s u m e d s a f e l y o n l y b y i n s t i t u t i o n s of t h e m a g n i t u d e a n d f i n a n c i a l s t a t u s of t h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s a n d a f e w o t h - ers, m o s t l y u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i e s . S p e c i a l i s t c o l l e c t i o n s m a y b e d e v o t e d t o a p e r i o d , t o a g e n e r a l s u b j e c t , t o a p a r t i c u l a r s u b - j e c t , t o m a t t e r s of s p e c i a l l o c a l i n t e r e s t , o r t o m a t e r i a l p e r t a i n i n g t o a n i n d i - v i d u a l . A w a r e t h a t t h e r e is c o m p e t i t i o n f o r m a t e r i a l n o t o n l y b e t w e e n l i b r a r i e s t h e m s e l v e s b u t also b e t w e e n l i b r a r i e s a n d p r i v a t e c o l l e c t o r s , t h o s e i n c h a r g e of s t a r t i n g a c o l l e c t i o n w i l l a v o i d w h e r e v e r p o s s i b l e a n y d u p l i c a t i o n of e f f o r t — e s p e c i a l l y w i t h o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s . S u c h d u p l i c a t i o n serves o n l y t o f o r c e p r i c e s h i g h e r a n d m a k e s t h i n g s m o r e d i f f i c u l t f o r a l l c o n c e r n e d . T h e i d e a l is of c o u r s e f o r e a c h l i b r a r y t o s p e c i a l i z e i n t h a t w h i c h w i l l b e of g r e a t e s t i n t e r e s t a n d u s e t o t h e c o m m u n i t y w h i c h i t serves. T h e a i m of t h e c o l l e c t i o n d e t e r m i n e d , t h e n e x t s t e p is h o w t o a c q u i r e m a t e r i a l . T h e r e a r e t w o w a y s : E i t h e r t h e m a t e r i a l is b r o u g h t i n t o t h e l i b r a r y b y p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s o r d e a l e r s , o r t h e l i b r a r i a n m u s t g o o u t a n d seek i t . I n e i t h e r case t h e r e c o m e s u p a t o n c e t h e p r o b l e m of a p p r a i s a l s a n d e s t i m a t e s o n m a t e r i a l o f f e r e d o r s o u g h t . T h e a v e r a g e l i b r a r i a n , h o w e v e r , h a s n e i t h e r t i m e n o r e n e r g y t o b e c o m e a n e x p e r t o n a u t o g r a p h v a l u e s , a k n o w l - e d g e it h a s t a k e n t h e d e a l e r , w h o de- v o t e s h i s u n d i v i d e d a t t e n t i o n t o h i s w o r k , y e a r s of h a r d s t u d y a n d o f t e n p a i n f u l e x p e r i e n c e t o a c q u i r e . I h a v e b e e n i n t o u c h w i t h l i b r a r i a n s f o r a l o n g t i m e , a n d I t h i n k I c a n t r u t h f u l l y say t h a t I a p p r e c i a t e a n d u n d e r s t a n d m a n y of t h e i r p r o b l e m s : t h e m a n y d u t i e s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , t h e h e a v y p r e s s u r e of e n d l e s s d e t a i l s of r o u t i n e w o r k i n v o l v e d i n m a n a g i n g i n s t i t u t i o n a l a f f a i r s , t h e l a c k of t i m e , t h e r e d t a p e w h i c h is so h a m p e r i n g t o t h e m a n d w h i c h r e s t r i c t s t h e m f r o m s e c u r i n g v a l u a b l e m a t e r i a l t h e y l o n g t o a c q u i r e . A s o n l y t h e l a r g e s t i n s t i t u t i o n s c a n a f f o r d t o h a v e c u r a t o r s of m a n u s c r i p t d i v i s i o n s , t h e l i b r a r i a n of a s m a l l e r i n s t i t u t i o n , w h o is a l r e a d y a c o m b i n a t i o n of b u s i n e s s e x e c u t i v e , p r o - m o t e r a n d f u n d r a i s e r , d i p l o m a t i n t h e h a n d l i n g of v i s i t o r s , a d v i s e r a n d c o n - s u l t a n t , m u s t n e v e r t h e l e s s t a k e o n t h i s a d d e d t r u s t . I t is h a r d l y a w o n d e r t h e n t h a t a t t i m e s h e w i l l m a k e m i s t a k e s . T h e p r o b l e m s t h a t f a c e h i m i n s u p e r v i s - i n g t h i s o n e d e p a r t m e n t a l o n e a r e o n e r - o u s . L e t u s c o n s i d e r f o r e x a m p l e m a t e r i a l b r o u g h t i n t o h i m . T h i s m a y f a l l i n t o t w o c a t e g o r i e s : t h a t w h i c h is t o b e p r e - s e n t e d t o t h e l i b r a r y as a g i f t , a n d t h a t w h i c h is o f f e r e d f o r sale. M a t e r i a l p r e - s e n t e d as a g i f t w o u l d s e e m t o p r e s e n t n o p r o b l e m a t a l l , b u t t h e c o n t r a r y m a y b e v e r y m u c h t h e case. If t h e o w n e r seeks t o h a v e a t a x d e d u c t i o n , h o w c a n t h e a m o u n t b e d e t e r m i n e d i n a m a n n e r s a t i s f a c t o r y t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t ? I t is n o t a n easy q u e s t i o n . I s h a l l h a v e m o r e t o say a b o u t i t l a t e r o n . M o r e f r e q u e n t l y t h a n n o t , c o l l e c t i o n s d r a w n t o a l i b r a r i a n ' s a t t e n t i o n a r e b r o u g h t i n w i t h t h e p u r p o s e of m a k i n g a sale, e i t h e r t o t h e l i b r a r y itself o r t o s o m e o n e t o w h o m t h e l i b r a r i a n c a n re- f e r t h e o w n e r . I n t h o s e cases w h e r e t h e o w n e r sets a f i g u r e o n w h a t h e h a s , t h e o n l y p r o b l e m f o r t h e l i b r a r i a n is w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e p r i c e is a n excessive o n e . E v e n if h e is u n a b l e h i m s e l f t o d e t e r - m i n e t h i s f a c t , i t is f a i r l y s i m p l e t o c a l l i n o t h e r s w h o c a n a d v i s e h i m . T h e diffi- c u l t y arises w h e n a n o w n e r w i s h e s t o sell w h a t h e h a s b u t d o e s n o t k n o w w h a t t o ask. H e i n v i t e s a n o f f e r . I t is m y i m p r e s s i o n t h a t e x p e r i e n c e d l i b r a r i a n s — a n d e x p e r i e n c e d d e a l e r s t o o — t r y t o a v o i d m a k i n g o f f e r s . T h e y h a v e h a d t h e i r f i n g e r s b u r n t t o o o f t e n . O w n - e r s a r e f r e q u e n t l y o n s h o p p i n g e x p e d i - t i o n s . O n e c a n n o t b l a m e t h e m f o r seek- i n g t o s e c u r e t h e h i g h e s t p r i c e p o s s i b l e f o r w h a t t h e y possess, b u t s o m e o w n e r s m a k e a p r a c t i c e of g o i n g f r o m o n e d e a l - e r t o t h e o t h e r , f r o m o n e l i b r a r i a n t o a n - o t h e r , u s i n g a n y o f f e r m a d e t h e m as a b a r g a i n i n g l e v e r w i t h t h e n e x t c o n t a c t . A l i b r a r i a n o r d e a l e r , w h o m a y h a v e s p e n t h o u r s of v a l u a b l e t i m e s t u d y i n g a g r o u p of l e t t e r s a n d d e c i d i n g its w o r t h t o h i m , h a s r e a s o n e n o u g h t o b e u p s e t , if a f t e r a l l h i s t r o u b l e t h e o w n e r t a k e s a w a y h i s c o l l e c t i o n , s a y i n g t h a t h e w i l l t h i n k o v e r t h e m a t t e r a n d m e a n i n g t h a t h e is n o w g o i n g t o t r y s o m e b o d y else. W h e n m a t e r i a l is o f f e r e d t h e r e is a l s o i n t h e m a n u s c r i p t w o r l d — a s i n t h e a r t w o r l d — t h e s e r i o u s p r o b l e m of a u t h e n - t i c i t y . W i t h o u t l o n g e x p e r i e n c e n o o n e c a n b e s u r e t h a t h e is n o t a c q u i r i n g con- t e m p o r a r y c o p i e s o r f a c s i m i l e r e p r o d u c - t i o n s o r e v e n f o r g e r i e s . I n c i d e n t a l l y , t h e l i b r a r i a n w h o is f a m i l i a r w i t h m a n u - s c r i p t s shies a w a y f r o m m a k i n g a n y s t a t e m e n t s a l o n g t h e s e l i n e s . H e k n o w s t h a t t o p r o v e l e g a l l y f o r e x a m p l e t h a t 120 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES an item is a forgery is sometimes almost impossible, a n d any statement by h i m that affects the market value of an item may expose his institution to a lawsuit. Librarians, then, if anxious to secure a collection for their institution are really safest in referring the owner to a reliable dealer who will, for a small fee, appraise the collection in question. A dealer's appraisal automatically carries with it a guarantee of all items ap- praised. Generally speaking, if a person wants to sell something, he should be the one to pay the fee for the knowledge that protects him. However, in the case of gifts, when an appraisal is desired, libraries often take over the charges themselves. Material is often, of course, offered to librarians by dealers. In fact, dealers may be one of the chief sources for institu- tions. T h a t there are honest and less honest dealers no one denies. As most librarians probably know already, one guide is membership in the A n t i q u a r i a n Booksellers Association of America. T h e ethical requirements of this organization are high, and are strictly enforced by its Board of Governors. Most dealers issue f r o m one to ten catalogs a year. T h e i r lists are well worth studying for items pertinent to an in- dividual library's collection. Prices may vary f r o m one catalog to the other, b u t in the manuscript field this is to be ex- pected, as all autograph items are u n i q u e and must be appraised on their own merits, based on contents, condition, date, and other factors of supply and demand. T h e sometimes generous supply of material that is offered or brought in will at times give the librarian a false impression of values. T h i s must be care- fully guarded against, and he should never lose sight of the fact that demand affects values as greatly as does supply. T h e librarian may be familiar with what is offered him, b u t he cannot possibly have a full knowledge of the public de- mand for what he is buying. H e may know what he can afford to pay for it, what is is worth to him, b u t that is not a knowledge of the value to others, which may be greater or less. Let me give an example. Some years ago I quoted to Mr. X, librarian of a very large and pr ominent institution, an excellent letter of a distinguished figure in history in whom this library special- ized. I placed what I considered a fair price on the item and offered it to him. T h e librarian was appalled by my price. H e did not stop to consider that no let- ters of this individual h a d appeared on the open market in years, b u t protest- ingly commented, in criticism of my valuation, that his institution owned any n u m b e r of letters of this man. Very quietly I drew his attention to the fact that the supply of letters in his institu- tion had nothing whatsoever to do with the price of any item on the open mar- ket, except insofar as it reduced the quantity available to others. H e could not see it in this light and refused the item. W h e r e u p o n I promptly turned around and sold it to another institu- tion which was delighted to secure the letter and thought my price a reasonable one. I mention this example to point out that only the dealer, w h o buys a n d sells, and issues catalogs, and knows how quickly certain items move and what others remain on his shelves for long periods, and who is in touch with deal- ers and auctions all over the world, can have the experience necessary to judge and appraise items correctly. In connection with material brought in, there is one additional problem that the librarian must at times consider. An owner may have a large mass of material of which only a few items would fit into the institution's collection. T h e owner may be astute enough to realize that if he disposes of the more interesting pieces separately, he lessens his chances of selling the balance. U n d e r such cir- MARCH, 1956 121 cumstances, I would suggest that the li- brarian call in a dealer. Very often an agreement can be reached whereby the librarian gets what he wants, the dealer gets the rest, a n d the owner makes a sale of all he has. Everyone is content. It is a safe guess that most collections brought in to a librarian will be of little interest to him. H e should, how- ever, be in a position to refer the owner elsewhere. T h a t is p a r t of his responsi- bility to the public. Being prejudiced, as is understandable, I have mentioned the dealer as the normal person to be con- sulted. A dealer will buy anything whether it is of a general n a t u r e or a highly specialized collection. Incidental- ly, I may say that he will gladly buy any duplicate material that a library may not want. T h i s is not the place to discuss the services or work of the deal- er, b u t I will mention briefly that any reputable dealer in manuscripts con- siders himself a professional, as much as the librarian, the lawyer or the physi- cian. His delight is to place single items or collections most appropriately where they will be best housed and used to greatest advantage. H e will not break u p the continuity of a g r o u p of papers and sell the items piecemeal until he has made every possible effort to sell the collection as a whole. T h i s feeling of responsibility on the part of dealers with regard to the historical value of manu- script material may come as a surprise to some librarians. But it is so. A collection that has unity of interest or is highly specialized may also be re- ferred to other institutions. But quite possibly the librarian may not know of these. For the dealer, on the other hand, a wide knowledge of both private col- lector and institutional specialists is im- perative. W i t h o u t such information he could hardly make a living. So much for material that is brought in or offered to the librarian. Not all de- sirable items are as simply acquired as this. Autographs can be very scarce and at times must be sought outside of the library precincts. T h e librarian must, metaphorically speaking, go out and h u n t for them. T h e simplest method is to study carefully all dealers' catalogs sent him. Since not all dealers are famil- iar with all interests of all librarians, items that are pertinent to the institu- tion's collection will often be f o u n d in- cluded in these lists. Still better, wher- ever it is possible, it is advisable to make personal contact with individual deal- ers and talk over the library's interests a n d aims, and discuss the type of ma- terial sought. Ninety per cent or more of a dealer's acquisitions are likely never to appear in his catalogs. P r i n t i n g is cost- ly today, a n d dealers generally quote out new material bought, hoping to avoid the expense of cataloging. If the librarian is to get on the g r o u n d floor of such acquisitions, he must make his interests known and have himself placed on want cards kept by the dealer. I n this way, anything that comes along that falls into his line of collecting will be offered h i m prior to its being cataloged. Auctions are another good source of manuscript material. Estates a n d family collections are frequently placed on the market a n d sometimes sold at inviting prices. Of course no guarantee of au- thenticity is given on material so sold, and for this reason it is usually advisable again to avail oneself of the services of a dealer, who will, for a 10% fee, repre- sent the librarian at the sale. For this fee the dealer checks over the material, reports on condition, guarantees its au- thenticity, sees that the contents of a lot corresponds with the description given, and warns the librarian of any discrepancy. If requested, he will advise as to value and will pass on information about estimated valuations given out by the auction house itself. He personally attends the sale, or has his representa- tive do so, a n d secures the lot at the lowest possible figure. T h e librarian customarily names the highest price he 122 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES is willing to go and trusts the dealer to do the best he can. For the librarian who is out of town, such help is indis- pensable. O f t e n even the city librarian, who manages to go u p a n d examine auction offerings himself, cannot find time to attend the sale. And so he calls on the dealer to represent him. Again, librarians do not always wish it known that they are bidding for fear they may be r u n u p in price. A dealer considers the identity a n d the bid of a client, be it librarian, private collector, or colleague, strictly confidential. W h a t I have said about the services rendered by the dealers to the librarians indicates the importance of close and sympathetic collaboration between li- brarians and dealers. Another reason for such collaboration is the relationship with private collectors who often, once their collections assume sizable propor- tions, begin to think in terms of gifts to institutions. It is u p to the librarians to coddle such collectors a n d encourage them. It is not only a question of be- quests. Many collectors, if treated in friendly a n d cordial fashion, make gen- erous gifts of money or material d u r i n g their lifetimes. T o d a y nearly every ma- jor college or university has its Friends of the Library, a n d the librarian de- pends on these groups to increase the ac- quisitions of the institution he super- vises. A collector frequently leans heavi- ly on a certain trusted dealer, whose prejudices are b o u n d to be reflected in the collector's own attitude toward par- ticular institutions. T h e good will of the dealer can be just as i m p o r t a n t to the librarian as the good will of the librar- ian is to the dealer. I might add here in connection with good will, that dealers avoid like the pest those institutions which: 1. D o n o t p a y t h e i r bills p r o m p t l y . 2. R e q u i r e bills in t r i p l i c a t e a n d q u a d - r u p l i c a t e a n d w h i c h m u s t b e n o t a r i z e d . 3. H o l d m a t e r i a l sent o n a p p r o v a l f o r long periods of time and then return it. 4. Ask that material be sent them on ap- proval and then return it without com- ment. No dealer can cooperate in build- ing a collection if he is not told why material offered is not suitable. T h e r e is, of course, another i m p o r t a n t method of acquiring material by librar- ians which I have left to the last, for cer- tain points of ethics are involved in it. I refer to the direct approach—the com- municating directly with descendants of a distinguished individual, in the hope that his papers will have been preserved and that they may be obtained by the library for research purposes. Due to limited funds, the librarian will understandably first a t t e m p t to per- suade the owners to present their hold- ings to his institution. If unsuccessful, he may then try to secure permission to have the material copied or photostated or microfilmed for the library's files. As a last resort he may seek to purchase the collection. Many valuable collections have been secured for institutions by li- brarians taking one of the three steps mentioned above. T h e second approach, the request for copies, brings me to the discussion of a subject which is a delicate one, b u t which I do not feel I can omit. I refer to the question of ethics. I t may startle librarians present to be told that there are some among their profession whose honesty is questionable. It startled me when I myself first realized it. I h a d overlooked the fact that, h u m a n beings being what they are, there is b o u n d to be a certain percentage of dishonesty in the scholarly world, just as there is out- side it. I will add, however, that the un- ethical behavior I have occasionally met among librarians is not always inten- tional. It has often been due to igno- rance. Yet actions committed in igno- rance, when repeated too often, can be suspect. T h e r e are two points in connection MARCH, 1956 123 with manuscripts in which a librarian can lay himself wide open to severe criticism unless he walks most circum- spectly. T h e first has to do with the ap- peal for copies of material. I mentioned that a librarian on oc- casion approaches an owner for copies of a family correspondence. I n so doing the librarian is naturally t h i n k i n g in terms of the historical significance of the papers and of the need to preserve a record of the correspondence. So anxious is he to secure these records for his institution and to preserve them for f u t u r e generations of historians that he has been known to become blinded to the present very real obligation of treat- ing the owners with common justice. T h e librarian, who quite naturally is not as conscious of market values as is the dealer, tends to forget that the contents of a certain correspondence may have not only historical value b u t also quite possibly monetary value. I n securing ac- cess to these contents t h r o u g h copies, the library is being given something which is in much the same category as publication rights. T h e owner is often unaware of this fact, and usually trusts the librarian implicitly. It does not oc- cur to him to question the ethics of any- one in the librarian's position. It is only later, supposing he has given such copies, that he learns of his error. N o t only may he find that he has not been paid a compensating sum, b u t also that he can now quite possibly realize very little for the manuscripts themselves. His market has shrunk. O t h e r librarians are not interested. If the material is such that interest among private collectors is comparatively small, the dealer, foresee- ing that he may have to hold the items in his files over a long period of time, will naturally not offer much. T h e r e are a few librarians who dis- claim what I have said above. In proof that they are mistaken, I can relate a recent distressing experience in which I f o u n d myself the u n h a p p y middle-wom- an. An owner consulted me about a very fine family correspondence which she sought to sell. She had offered it to Li- brary A, whose librarian persuaded her to give a set of microfilms to the library. H e then, at her request made an offer for the papers themselves, at the same time telling her, obviously with honor- able intentions, however mistakenly, that she should get twice as m u c h elsewhere. T h e owner, perhaps having heard ru- mors, questioned the librarian as to what effects giving copies of her letters to him would have when she offered the ma- terial to others. She was assured that only a small and poorly informed per- centage of dealers believed the value would be effected. Subsequently the owner came to me and in the course of o u r conversation mentioned that she h a d given the copies. T h o u g h I agreed to h a n d l e her papers for her, I voiced doubts as to my being able to sell the collection unless the microfilms were re- called. I n d u e time I drew the collec- tion to the attention of Library B—one of several institutions interested in the period covered—whose director I in- formed of the fact that copies h a d been made. H e promptly wrote me that if Library A would r e t u r n the microfilms, Library B would gladly pay the price asked for the collection, b u t if the microfilms could not be secured, they would not be willing to pay even a small fraction of the sum. T h e r e I was in the middle, between two heads of outstanding institutions, each taking an opposite stand. T h e di- rector of Library B flatly disagreed with the librarian of Library A. H e asserted unequivocally that 99% of all librarians would automatically agree with h i m that u n p u b l i s h e d a n d uncopied manuscripts were worth far more to their institutions t h a n published or copied ones. I mailed a carbon of this letter to the owner. She showed it to the librarian of Library A, who, of course, u n d e r the circumstances, was forced to r e t u r n the microfilms, and 124 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES the sale went through. T h e final result was that the owner obtained, net, over three times the original offer. T h e ex- perience, however, left a bad taste in her mouth, and her confidence in librarians was shaken. T h i s example illustrates the case of a librarian who not only did not advise an owner correctly as to the value of her collection b u t also misled her in the matter of giving copies of what she had. I n my opinion, then, no librarian has the right to ask for copies of letters be- longing to a private owner without mak- ing h i m fully aware of the monetary equivalent he is h a n d i n g out. T h i s gift is an asset, which, translated into dollars, may at the very least be taken as a tax deduction. I n those cases where it has been my p a i n f u l duty to enlighten the owners of their heretofore unsuspected generosity, the reaction on their part has invariably been an indignant "Why was I not told by the librarian?" Such feelings on the part of owners, often repeated, will do little to enhance the prestige of or instil confidence in our library institutions. I n fact, legal action against a librarian who has innocently or otherwise taken advantage of an owner is not inconceiv- able. I believe that many librarians as well as research scholars in the past have not realized the seriousness of their offense. T r u e , owners are, for the most part, p r o u d and happy to give copies. T h e i r family pride, their delight in helping scholars may well be worth more to them t h a n any monetary recompense. Nevertheless, I question whether these same people would refuse the offer of a perfectly justifiable tax deduction. I n any case, to accept a gift without letting the donor know the value of what he is giving is, in my opinion, strictly unethi- cal. T h e taking of copies of any ma- terial, even in part, without permission is, of course, an outright theft and is countenanced by no reputable institu- tion. T h e other subject which may prove a thorny stumbling block for the librarian is that of appraisals. I have already spoken of some of the difficulties a n d dangers of a librarian's appraising ma- terial offered, b u t there is a special dan- ger in appraising gifts. In connection with these, there is an understandable strong temptation on the part of librar- ians either to accept unquestioningly the donor's appraisal, which may be exces- sive, or, with a mistaken sense of gratitude themselves assign excessive tax-deducti- ble valuations on material given them. Not only are the ethics of so doing ques- tionable but, as Mr. B a u g h m a n of Co- lumbia University Libraries pointed out, there is always the danger that if the librarian volunteers such information, or accepts valuations blindly, the gov- ernment may well question his actions, claiming that as the recipient of the gift he is an interested party and may not play the dual role of recipient and appraiser. In drawing to the attention of the librarians here present the ethical ques- tions which must inevitably come u p where copies of manuscripts a n d ap- praisals are concerned, I would like to make a recommendation. Librarians and dealers have many points on which they could be of assistance to each other and many problems in common on which it would be h e l p f u l to compare notes. Also there are differences which could bear open and f r a n k discussion. W o u l d it not be possible to establish some sort of joint committee, consisting of several librar- ians and several dealers, who could meet at intervals once or twice a year and thrash out these questions, reporting to their individual organizations the prog- ress and recommendations reached? Finally, I would stress one more point. It is my belief that were the existence of the autograph market stressed more generally and were greater publicity MARCH, 1956 125 given to the fact that manuscript ma- terial may well have monetary value, or tax-deductible value, m u c h i m p o r t a n t material would not be destroyed. T o hear of the burnings or the throwing out of family correspondences is not at all unusual, as many of you are aware. Scholars, historians, and librarians have always emphasized the historical signifi- cance of manuscript material, b u t ob- viously this approach has not always been sufficient to ensure its preservation. H u m a n n a t u r e being what it is, I believe that the stressing of monetary value might do what an appeal to an appre- ciation of historical values has obvious- ly accomplished only partially. Dealers have striven for years to stress this angle, believing that such knowl- edge would lead owners to care for their family archives with greater solicitude. Most people are more apt to take good care of what can be turned into ready cash. But the dealers who handle man- uscripts in the United States are few. Librarians, on the other h a n d , are le- gion. T h e y meet the public to a far greater extent a n d could help immeas- urably in disseminating this informa- tion. Grants Program Aided by N e w York Times T h e New York Times has made a grant of $5,000 to the American Library Association for the Association of College and Reference Libraries, provided the Association raises a matching $5,000. T h e money will provide back files of the New York Times on microfilm to non-tax-supported colleges and universi- ties with four-year liberal arts programs. T h e grant has been gratefully ac- cepted by the Association. Provided the additional $5,000 is fo und, grants will probably be made to 10-12 colleges which have little or no back file a n d which have budget resources sufficient for current subscriptions to the microfilm edition. N o applications for grants will be received at this time. Full information on the New York Times and other grants will appear in the J u l y or September issues of C&RL a n d applications will be invited in the early fall. T h e A C R L Committee on F o u n d a t i o n Projects has made two additional allotments f r o m the United States Steel F o u n d a t i o n G r a n t of 1955. O n e thousand dollars has been assigned to the Division of Cataloging and Classification to continue its study of the use of the card catalog u n d e r Sidney Jackson. T h e University of Chicago G r a d u a t e Library School has been granted $1,000 to help finance a study by Patricia Knapp, associate professor of library science, Rosary College, of the relationship between instructional objectives a n d meth- ods and library use. Data collected at Knox College are being used. 126 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES