College and Research Libraries By CECIL K. BYRD ) l Site, Seats, Selectivity Some Thoughts on Planning the College Library Building T HE POSTWAR PERIOD has been charac- terized by ever-increasing enrollments in both colleges and universities. The pe- riod of general economic prosperity cou- pled with long-standing need has made possible the construction of an impres- sive number of college and university li- brary buildings. Since 1945 librarians and architects have written instructively in general and specific terms about library buildings. The literature in book and periodical form contains a great number of descrip- tions, charts, schematic plans, reproduc- tions and reports. In addition there have been numerous special publications con- taining summaries of conferences and in- stitutes devoted to discussions and criti- cisms of building plans. All of these publications were primar- ily printed to inform and instruct librar- ians suffering from the seemingly endless labor and intermittent frustration that goes with planning new buildings or re- novating old ones. Information in con- siderable detail, written with earnestness and honesty-though not always based on sufficient investigation-exists about modular and non-modular construction, flexibility, interior communication, wall treatment, lighting, equipment, floor cov- erings, paint, soundproofing and a host of other details that pertain to library buildings. The librarian who has read and digested the literature, and has at- tended the buildings institutes with some degree of regularity, has much of the Dr. Byrd is associate director_, Indian~ University Libraries. MARCH, 1957 basic background necessary to plan a new building. There are, however, some features of planning that need re-examination and a more considered investigation. Our thinking about function, about the most desirable site on which to build the li- brary, as well as provisions for reader and book space seem based more on hoary tradition and blind acceptance of statements by buildings experts than up- on contemporary need and student · habits. Since still more college libraries are be- ing planned this seems an appropriate time for this inquiry. Attention to these important details may be the difference between an adequate functional college library building and one that is not only inadequate but inoperative. DISTINCTION BETWEEN A CoLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BUILDING It is imperative in planning a college library building for the planners to re- alize that a college library differs from a university, special or public library. (There are of course a few hybrids that perform both college and public library functions. We are speaking now of the relatively unadulterated college.) This apparently needless admonition is not an attempt at humor; it seems called for. The literature relating to buildings does not always clearly emphasize the various and quite unlike services performed by the several kinds of libraries. Because of the dissimilar functions each type must have different layout, plan and design. There are those who have maintained that the college, public, and unive'rsity 127' • library are only variant foq:ns and that elements common to all three are more basic than the differences in designing the physical structure. Perhaps it is this doctrine that is responsible for confusion in the minds of some library planners. It has led to the incorporation in college libraries of unnecessary and expensive features of dubious value to the college. It cannot be denied that all types of libraries have common elements. All have patrons and give service on printed and other materials. There is, however, a noticeable dissimilarity in the aims and primary functions, particularly of the college and university library. College li- brary services are limited by the very na- ture of the educational program of the college. No such limitations apply to the university. The ideal college library should reflect and implement the educa- tional objectivities of a particular col- lege. It should not reflect primarily the professional zeal and ambition of a li- brarian who is confused about the nature of his calling. SITE Customarily the college librarian is not solely responsible for selecting the site for the proposed building. Adminis- trative officers and trustees, who have up- to-date and intimate knowledge of stu- dent habits and customs, usually make the final decision. If the librarian can in- fluence the choice of site, a wonderful opportunity is presented to build the li- brary where it will better serve the stu- dents without changing their normal habits of daily life. For many years authorities have ad- vised that a site should be selected "read- ily accessible from recitation halls" or "near the center of classroom and study," or as near as possible to the "classrooms in the social sciences and humanities." The expressed reasons for advocating such a location is that students rush from class into the library or that increased short-time use is made of the library dur- ing the intervals that normally occur be- tween classes. It is also handy to have the library near classrooms so that students may return books between classes. It can be seriously questioned whether such a location serves the desired pur- pose. If the college library is located pri- marily for the convenience of the stu- dents, and it should be, a site near that part of the campus where the students spend the greatest part of their waking hours, free of classes, would ·seem most desirable. Since, on the average, a student spends only fifteen hours each week in classrooms, and perhaps an equal num- ber of hours between classes, the instruc- tional or classroom area cannot be re- garded as the center of student activity. Observation of students, I believe, will reveal that they spend a great amount of their out-of-class-time in the student union, or activities center, and in the housin.g or dormitory units. A library on a site midway between the housing facili- ties and the student union would appear to be the preferable location. Such a lo- cation would be most advantageous for students who have developed the com- mendable habit of studying at night and on weekends, free from the interruptions occasioned by classes. There are colleges that have purposely built men's housing facilities on one side of the campus and women's on the other. Since the mutual attraction of male and female at the college age is fairly con- stant, the student union becomes the cen- ter of much social activity at such a col- lege. The ideal location for the library at this college would be near this gathering place for students. SEATS AND ENROLLMENT The enrollment increase in institutions of higher learning is expected to reach flood-tide proportions by 1965. Estimates by educators vary, but average calcula- tions call for a doubling of 1950 enroll- ments by 1965. Educational facilities must be stretched to serve this bulge of 128 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES students. Some colleges will increase fac- ulty and expand physical plants to admit a larger number but many will have only limited expansion; a few will hold the line at present levels. Some institutions have already faced this issue and an- nounced their policies. While it may prove difficult and im- possible in some instances to get adminis- trative decision on enrollment expansion it is an essential preliminary step in plan- ning a ·new building; for the seating ca- pacity, as well as other features of a li- brary building, are directly and insepa- rably linked with enrollment. In plan- ning the total number of seats the tra- ditional professional dictum has been that space for 30, 40, or even 50 per cent of the total student body should be pro- vided. Thirty per cent is usually regarded as a minimum. Explanations as to how a ratio of seats and students is arrived at are weak, un- critical, and in some instances nonexist- ent. Sometimes such factors as "teaching program," "day students," "honors work" are considered. The following para- phrased explanations have been offered in defense of seating requirements. "v\Te need seats for 30 per cent of our student body because our students attend classes six days a week." "We must plan to seat 40 per cent of our students because cars are prohibited and our students must ride bicycles." "Our tuition is higher than in most colleges, therefore we plan a seat- ing capacity for 50 per cent of our stu- dent body." The implication is that there is a direct correlation between six-day classes, absence of cars, tuition, and li- brary use. Perhaps this great emphasis on seats and the desire to have a sufficient num- ber can be explained by the fact that reader space in many colleges has been totally inadequate. There is danger of overdeveloping this aspect of the college library to the neglect of other features. Seating capacity should be related to MARCH, 1957 the size of the student body as well as to the educational standards and the teach- ing methods of the college. In planning space for readers, a survey of all study facilities of the college may prove of value. Facilities available in dormitories and elsewhere should be included as serv- ing the over-all needs. Since a varying percentage of students use library seats to read their own texts, any space outside the library can meet this requirement. Indeed it may be cheaper to provide such study hall space outside the library. Use factor of present library facilities should be charted over staggered periods. The results may reveal that seats have maxi- mum occupancy for only 100 to 300 hours during a given semester. The ques- tion then arises whether to plan for nor- mal occupancy or for maximum occu- pancy which occurs for relatively short periods each semester. The results of ~ local survey should reveal the approxi- mate seating capacity needed. With in- formation on enrollment trends a col- lege can provide reader space for local use without attention to space provided at colleges with similar numbers of stu- dents. There is no real tragedy nor lasting educational sin committed by occasion- ally denying a student the privilege of a seat in the library. The vital, all- important feature of library services is to provide the student with the book. Books can be read, contents can be digested, and a mind can be inspired and encour- aged in a number of places not men- tioned in library literature as study fa- cilities. SELECTIVITY -PLANNING THE BooK CAPACITY The· size of the book collectio~ must be considered and the annual rate of growth anticipated or estimated when planning the building. We have been told that the book stock of college librar- ies normally doubles every 13 to 22 years. There are, of course, exceptions to this 129 general rule. Space for books is often provided according ·to a formula: The college has x volumes now. It will grow at the rate of y volumes annually. Space for 20 years' expansion is desired. x + 20y = estimated size of the book collection in 20 years . z = total square feet of floor space for book storage. Such planning for book storage in a new building is not only expensive but unrealistic. It should be obvious that there are books of unequal educational value in every college library. The keep- every-book-that-comes-to-the-library phi- losophy has made and will make many of our college libraries storehouses for thousands of volumes that are practically useless in so far as they relate to daily student and faculty need. It should not become a function of the college library to store books as a mere act of preserving the accumulated knowl- edge of mankind as it is represented in print. Nor should it become obligatory for the college to keep books that may be needed for research in the distant future. Interlibrary loans and the general availa- bility of research material through pho- tographic reproductions can in part sat- isfy the latter demand. The college col- lection should contain the best of the useful scholarly books, books that are alive and in demand because of the cur- rent curricular needs of the college. Ac- cumulation and storage belongs in the domain of the university and research library. Maximum size of the college book col- lection has been discussed frequently in the past. It has even been suggested that a numerical limit be placed on the gross size of the book collection, discarding volumes no longer in current demand when the top figure is approached. Though this has been suggested it has not been considered seriously and, to my ·knowledge, is not practiced by any col- lege. A few colleges have discarded at in- · iervals old texts, patently useless books and duplicates no longer needed in mul- tiple copies. Perhaps weeding if done faithfully and regularly can arrest growth. It is not practiced more widely, we are . told, because of the expense involved in withdrawing books. This seems a sad commentary on our efficiency and might indicate that as a profession we are ham- strung by records. The time is not yet appropriate seri- ously to consider placing an arbitrary limit on the size of the book collection. We still are in a competitive period and most of us believe in the magic of num- bers. Some college authorities take pride in advertising the largest college library in the country, the second largest west of the Mississippi or the largest south of the Mason-Dixon line. If these authori- ties could be shown what these boasts cost in dollars and cents and how minor a role numbers of these volumes play in their educational program, enthusiasm might be less noticeable. Since it would appear impossible to set a limit on the size of the book collection or to practice judicious weeding, it would appear economically wise for the college with a substantial number of little used volumes to consider two methods of shelv- ing for the books in a new building. Those books for which there is little cur- rent demand could be placed in compact shelving in ·a part of the building fin- ished at low cost. If they must be kept, use factor would dictate that they be stored at a minimum cost to the institu- tion. This is essentially the storage li- brary idea on an individual rather than a cooperative basis. One college library has used the basement of an adjoining building for compact storage. When a new library is built, it might be possible to use part of the old library quarters for this purpose. The active or frequently used collec- tion could be shelved in the most acces- sible manner. There seems to be positive educational :value in putting the user 130 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES and the book together without barriers. . The "good" or "alive" books could be made freely available to all patrons. At periodic intervals books in this collection should be retired to the "dead" collec- tion. Similarly books from the dead col- lections could be reactivated if in de- mand. CONCLUSION Many college libraries erected in the last decade contain poetry rooms, listen- ing rooms, rooms for group study and conversation, microform rooms, browsing rooms and lounges. All of these rooms were designed to further the educational value of the library. It is encouraging to see the college library become a sort of second home for students. One cannot quarrel with these features if they are needed and used. But the feeling persists that many of them got in quite a few building plans by no other process than that of imitation. In planning a college library the first and only obligation is to provide those services which are needed on a local level without any thoughts as to what is currently in mode nationally or professionally. A college is a unique institution, and in spite of the pressure for educational mass production and standardization, each college differs from all others. The college library must play its role within the framework of this in- stitutional individuality. Punched-Card Charging System for a Small College Library (Continued from page 122) ious departments, including the library. Since the only record for Keysort library charges is the classed file, it is still nec- essary to check through the entire stu- dent part of the classed file. This cum- bersomeness can be eliminated by clip- ping each day the initials of the borrow- ers' last names, which would thus reduce such checking to one letter of the alpha- bet, which could quickly be needled. However, thus far, withdrawals have been so few that the additional clipping each morning is not justified. Withdraw- als average less than one a week, and, by actual record, the average time for check- ing a withdrawal is 10 minutes. The ex- tra time, which would be spent if the initials of borrowers were clipped during the morning routine, would be much more than this. As stated earlier, at first the Keysort system was accepted on a two-year trial basis. After having used it for this period, its advantages and possibilities have be- come evident. Because of the complete borrower information given on the charg- MARCH} 1957 ing forms, errors have been greatly re- duced, and, when an occasional error in call number does occur, author and title are still available as guides. The entire circulation procedure under Keysort con- sumes much less than half the staff time used with our old charging system, and such a saving as this compensates many times over for the rather expensive charg- ing cards. Also, by dittoing the backs of the cancelled charging forms, satisfactory charging cards for magazines which cir- culate for overnight only are available. Just recently it was decided to rent the desk model groover from McBee. The use of the groover ·is an economy in time, since, with that, many more cards at a time can be clipped than with the hand clip that was first used. Reprinting of cards on which no changes are made can be done from the same plate, and these are less expensive than the original print- ing. Keysort has been so satisfactory that we are planning to take it with us in our new building which will be ready in a few months. 131