College and Research Libraries


University Self- Study 
The New York University Self-Study. Final 

Report. New York: New York University 
Press, 1956. 286, 419p. 

The report of the New York University . 
self-study, supported by the Carnegie Cor-
poration, is a document which will be of 
considerable value to all those engaged in 
higher education. Although it was a self-study, 
three outside educators-George D . Stod-
dard, Carter Davidson, and J. A. Stratton-
comprised the Directing Committee. The 
chapter content for the first part of the re-
port (286 pages) includes major conclusions 
and recommendations of the group on the 
various units and activities of the university. 
Thirty-one recommendations are proposed. 
The second part of the report consists of 
appendices involving reports submitted by 
departments, abstracts, reports and notes of 
conferences, reports of special committees 
and advisory groups, student and alumni con-
tributions , and an outline of the community 
services and activities of the University. 

Chapter XVI of the report is devoted to 
"The University Libraries." Many of the 
problems that are associated with a scattered 
urban university are found in the examina-
tion of the library situation. Although the 
la·w library is well housed and adequately 
serviced, other units of the library system are 
in need of much improvement. There are 
prospects for new housing for the medical 
library. Many of the collections are in need 
of more adequate support. The report notes: 
"The Self-Study Committee has attempted to 
set reasonable goals for the improvement of 
the libraries of the University. These goals 
nevertheless require considerable expansion 
both of physical facilities and oi book col-
lections. It would be unrealistic for this in-
stitution to attempt to duplicate the largest 
libraries, but it is essential that there be suf-
ficient books, seating and stack space, and 
professional library assistance to meet the 
needs of a varied and sound professional pro-
gram." 

Attention is given to the special problems 
of an urban university with many commut-
ing, part-time, and evening students. These 
students, who in most cases spend considerable 

time in work outside the University, make 
special demands upon the libraries for mate-
rials needed in their course work. Multiple 
copies, adequate lending regulations, gen-
erous hours of opening, and professional li-
brary assistance must be provided them if 
they are to make their educational programs 
most effective. 

A lthough consideration was given to the 
possible remodeling of a rna jor part of the 
main building at Washington Square for li-
brary purposes, it was decided that the re-
sults would not warrant the expenditures in-
volved. Instead, the committee recommended 
that a "high priority be given to the con-
struction of a new library at Washington 
Square, designed in general along the lines 
suggested in this Report." The four features 
of the proposed structure include (1) a study 
hall and reserve book room on the ground 
floor, with a seating capacity for perhaps 1,-
000; (2) four divisional reading rooms, seat-
ing 250 students each, on the second floor; 
also provisions for creative arts and com-
munication, with considerable space for au-
dio-visual materials; (3) a central stack area, 
with a large number of carrels and cubicles 
for graduate students; and (4) adequate 
space for the staff. About 3,000,000 cubic feet 
would be needed. 

Modernization of the Gould Library at 
University Heights was also recommended. 
This monumental-type structure requires con-
siderable interior remodeling in order to 
make it effective for present-day library serv-
ice. Among the suggestions made for improve-
ment is the conversion of the circular audi-
torium under the reading room into stack 
space. 

Although the possibility of developing 
union catalogs to hasten service between the 
Washington Square and the Heights libraries 
was consid ered, it was decided that it was 
too expensive. Instead, it was suggested that 
communication be developed through tel-
ephone, teletype, and improved messenger 
service. The possibilities of television and 
facsimile transmission were briefly noted. 
Photoduplication was indicated as a med-
ium which could be applied more extensively. 

Attention is given to the general support 
for the book collections, and the commi ttee 
noted that "New York University cannot de-
velop its gradu ate program adequately with-

244 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 

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out a substantial increase in its annual ex-
penditures for books. A major capital outlay 
to remedy accumulated d.eficiencies of the 
past is also indicated." Undoubtedly the erec-
tion of a new library would be of direct help 
to the university in its efforts to develop the 
collections. In the last few years there has 
been some serious questioning of the expan-
sion of university libraries, but at New York 
University it has been pointed out that "un-
questionably the over-all instructional pro-
gram would be improved if better library fa-
cilities were available." Educators and librar-
ians alike know that quality education re-
quires a quality library service.-Maurice F. 
Taub er, Columbia University. 

Modern Archives 

JWodern Archives,· Principles and T ech-
niques. By T. R. Schellenberg. Chicago : 
University of Chicago Press, 1956. 247p. 
$5 . 

The establishment of the National Ar-
chives in 1934 marked the beginning of a 
new era in archives administration in the 
United States. While a few departments of 
the national government and some of the 
state governments had made contributions 
to the development of a science · of archival 
management, the United States had been 
until that time decidedly backward in com-
parison with some European countries. In 
the past twenty-two years, however, the Unit-
ed States has made up for much of the time 
lost. Not only do we now have a well-organ-
ized archival agency for the national govern-
ment, with record management programs in 
the government departments to supplement 
the work of the National Archives, but we 
also have improved facilities for preserving 
and administering archives in a number of 
the states. In this period we have also seen 
the establishment of the Society of Amer-
ican Archivists in 1936, an association which 
has done much to further our knowledge of 
the principles and practices of archival man-
agement through the work of its commit-
tees, its annual conferences, and its quar-
terly publication, The American Archivist, 
which began in 1938. 

MAY, 1957 

While these developments have been of 
great benefit to everyone interested in ar-
chives, there has been one gap which needed 
to be filled. Anyone wishing to learn about 
the methods of administering collections of 
government archives has had to depend 
largely upon articles in periodicals or upon 
manuals prepared on the basis of experience 
in European archives. The publication of 
Modern Archives,· Prin ciples and Techniqu es 
by Dr. T. R. Schellenberg has now admirably 
filled that gap. The book had its inception 
in a series of lectures which Dr. Schellen-
berg gave as a Fulbright lecturer in Aus-
tralia in 1954, but does not reproduce the 
lectures as they w·ere given, for the author 
has rewritten the material and added to it. 

Dr. Schellenberg has wr~tten a clear and 
concise text on the administration of ar-
chives, basing it chiefly on his long· experi-
ence at the National Archives, and including 
descriptions of European methods as well. 
The book is divided into three parts. The 
first part deals with the importance of ar-
chival institutions, the nature of archives, 
library relationships , and archival interests 
in record management. This section serves 
as an introduction to the book, giving a 
brief history of archival establishments in 
France, England, and the United States, and 
some of the basic philosophy of record and 
archives management. 

The second part of the book is devoted 
to record management. Here the author gives 
much valuable information on the adminis-
tration of records in government agencies, 
with excellent chapters on production con-
trols, classification principles, registry sys-
tems, American filing systems, and disposi-
tion practices. In the third and largest part 
of the book, Dr. Schellenberg discusses ar-
chival management, describing the tech-
niques for handling government records in 
an archival agency in detail. 

Dr. Schellenberg has chosen his topics and 
organized his material extremely well. The 
clarity and completeness of coverage of the 
book make it an excellent text for a course 
in archival management. '"'e are indeed for-
tunate to have this basic text to serve as the 
foundation for a knowledge of archives ad-
ministration today.-John R. Russell, Uni-
versity of Rochester Library. 

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