College and Research Libraries International Book Procurement; or, Farmington Extended By R O B E R T V O S P E R " P H I L O S O P H I C A L L Y the F a r m i n g t o n Plan (FP) reaches back several decades in the history of American research li- braries, for concern with specialization in collection building, with cooperation in procurement, with the inadequacy of our stockpile of basic E u r o p e a n research materials, a n d with coordinated effort in general, is not new to us. Actually, the F P was born from our disconcerting ex- periences d u r i n g and immediately fol- lowing the second World War. A sharply increasing interest in foreign books and journals, at least those of E u r o p e a n ori- gin, for the needs both of government a n d of university research, met with frus- tration when we were suddenly cut off f r o m the E u r o p e a n book markets. T h e L i b r a r y of Congress Post-War Mission to Europe, a d r a m a t i c episode in American library history that has not been ade- quately described, helped pick u p the slack of E u r o p e a n books that h a d been missed d u r i n g the war years; at the same time it was a kind of proving g r o u n d for the Farmington Plan, which was then under discussion. As a matter of fact one of the striking, perhaps disconcerting, hallmarks of the F P is the a m o u n t of discussion bearing u p o n it. Five years of discussion went into its making, from the time of the October 1942 meeting at Farmington, Connecticut, of the Executive Commit- tee of the L i b r a r i a n ' s Council of the L i b r a r y of Congress, until the special two- day session of the Association of Re- search L i b r a r i e s in March 1947 at which " i t was decided to launch the p l a n with coverage of 1948 p u b l i c a t i o n s . " Once un- derway, the plan was the subject of re- current, often vigorous, discussion at Mr. Vosper is Director of Libraries, Uni- versity of Kansas. This paper was presented at the meeting of the Acquisitions Section, ALA Resources and Technical Services Divi- sion, Washington, D.C., June 23, 1959. each semiannual A R L session. A l o n g the way a considerable a m o u n t of this discussion, together with other com- ment, got into print. T h e history and bibliography of this experience is neatly p r e s e n t e d i n The Farmington Plan Handbook (Cambridge, 1953) prepared by Edwin E. Williams, together with his s e r i e s of Farmington Plan Letters, N o . 13 of which a p p e a r e d early this J u n e . A decade went by, and then at the J a n u a r y 1957 meeting of A R L it was formally voted that " t h e Farmington Plan Committee, in the light of its ten years of experience, re-examine the pur- poses, scope and results of the Farming- ton Plan and report to A R L . " T h u s an- other flood of discussion was let loose a n d your feet are being wetted by it even today. I sometimes think, in my more guilt-stricken moments, that the a m o u n t of literature a b o u t itself that the F P has produced may be greater than the a m o u n t of foreign literature that the p l a n has brought into this country. T h i s is a sobering thought, b u t not sufficiently so to restrain me from preparing this paper, which I should entitle " F a r m i n g - t o n ad nauseam." In reality the F P has not produced a large a m o u n t of material. In its first ten years of activity it brought in only about 150,000 volumes at a purchase cost of $275,000, this being shared a m o n g sixty libraries. My own library spends this much, or more, in one year for new books and journals. Obviously one of the severe critics of the p l a n had some basis for his observation that it is " a large, costly, and rather clumsy sledge-hammer to crack so small a n u t . " For the F P has indeed had its sharp and persistent critics, and many of the most vocal have been u n h a p p y a b o u t ei- ther principle or practice. T h i s is the reason for the recent survey, b u t the sur- veyors, although their report and recom- mendations were accepted almost ver- batim, are under no illusion that dissatisfaction is now at an end. T h e y are inclined to believe that sheer weight, of bulk if not of argument, was in their favor. For the finished product presented a b o u t three hundred m i m e o g r a p h e d pages weighing almost four pounds. T h e survey, with the s u p p o r t of a grant from the Council on L i b r a r y Re- sources, Inc., was begun in the late fall of 1957; the final report was presented at a J a n u a r y 1959 meeting in Chicago of representatives from all p a r t i c i p a t i n g libraries, in conjunction with the mid- winter session of A R L . D u r i n g the inter- vening months the problem was attacked in the following m a n n e r : An exploratory questionnaire elicited some specific in- formation and revealed some clear points of tension; personal visits to a large n u m b e r of p a r t i c i p a t i n g libraries provided an o p p o r t u n i t y for more thor- ough discussion, not j u s t of F a r m i n g t o n operations but also, a n d more impor- tantly, of foreign procurement programs in general; several analyses of E u r o p e a n book production and of F a r m i n g t o n re- ceipts 1948-1958 provided specific infor- mation on the success of the F P effort; and finally a series of special working papers commented on the procurement needs of American libraries in parts of the world little touched by the existing F a r m i n g t o n activity—Eastern Europe, L a t i n America, the F a r East, and Africa. T h e questionnaire and the visitations were described by my associate R o b e r t L . T a l m a d g e in an interim report in the September 1958 issue of CRL. In an attempt to secure better infor- mation, in a d d i t i o n to opinion, a b o u t the effectiveness of the F P operation and its existing procedures, a series of ana- lytical studies was instituted. T h e first was based on a random sample g r o u p of 205 items pulled from the total records of F a r m i n g t o n receipts d u r i n g the ten years of operation. C o m p l e t e bibliograph- ical information was supplied by the forty-six recipient libraries involved, and the 205 items were then checked thor- oughly against the N a t i o n a l U n i o n Cata- log ( N U C ) . Most importantly, this re- vealed that 79 of the 205 items, or 38y2 per cent, were apparently held uniquely by the F P recipient libraries. An addi- tional 30 items (I4y2 per cent of the sam- ple) were held only by the F P recipient a n d the L i b r a r y of Congress. T h i s sug- gested immediately that F P was produc- ing large amounts of u n c o m m o n ma- terial. T h e next step was an attempt to find out whether these 79 u n i q u e items were important enough to justify the procure- ment effort. T h e recipient libraries were asked to provide qualitative j u d g m e n t s which indicated, in summation, that of 205 items delivered under FP, 26 (12>/2 per cent) were u n i q u e and desirable items that might otherwise have been missed by interested American libraries. O n the other hand, 18 items (almost 9 per cent) of no a p p a r e n t value to anyone were delivered. O n balance, we con- cluded that F P is p r o d u c i n g a good re- turn on the investment, and especially so if by refinement of method we can reduce the 9 per cent of totally unim- portant books. T h e full study of course went into much more detail than can be reported here. Beyond this general r a n d o m sample study we tried to analyze receipts from several points of view. W e looked at a science (physics), at a social science (French economics and, less specifically, 1 1 8 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 Scandinavian history), and at two litera- tures (Spanish and Scandinavian). We looked at Scandinavia where the book trade and the bibliography are first rate, and we looked at S p a i n where these fac- tors are less satisfactory. We looked at a country and a subject widely studied in American universities (French eco- nomics); and we looked at Danish litera- ture which is less frequently studied and taught in this country. We looked at countries where the F P agent is a book dealer, as well as at France where the national library acts as agent. We looked at France which has a large book pro- duction, as well as at countries relatively smaller in o u t p u t of books. In one study two m a j o r French jour- nals in economics were culled for re- views of, or citations to, economics books published in France 1950-1954, a n d these 378 items were compared with the actual F P receipts and checked on a sam- p l i n g basis against N U C . In another study Bibliotheca Hispana of 1954 was reviewed by a specialist for all books that appeared, from the listing, to be worth acquiring and keeping for re- search purposes. T h e s e 191 desirable books were then compared with actual F P deliveries and checked against N U C . F r o m these and from the several other analyses of a decade of F P procurement in Western E u r o p e we concluded that the F P experience has indeed been val- uable. It has apparently strengthened our stockpile of desirable books more than many of us had realized. We con- cluded also that this demonstrated the value of " b l a n k e t orders" under certain circumstances, a conclusion contrary to the opinion of most librarians with whom we had talked earlier. At the same time it was clear that our total foreign procurement effort has been short of suc- cess, and that an intensified and refined effort is required in the f u t u r e if the ex- pressed needs of American research li- braries are to be met. In order to achieve a greater measure of success through the F P operation, we recommended a greater degree of discrimination—from country to country, from subject to subject, and from time to time—in the selection pat- tern. We felt that the procurement effort must be monitored more steadily by the interested libraries, a n d that they must act with greater intelligence and selec- tivity in order to secure more of the im- portant books that we now miss and in order to forego some of the dross that we have been receiving. We saw the need for a less monolithic F P operation, the need for an operation that demands the application of more individual intel- ligence and effort. B u t the overweening conclusion we came to was that there is continued, in fact, heightened, need for a nationally p l a n n e d procurement program for for- eign books, and, further, that such a co- ordinated procurement program cannot overlook any part of the world, not even Western Europe. T h e r e had been some strong opinion that perhaps F P had served its purpose, and served it well, in Western Europe, but that the time had come when it could be a b a n d o n e d in that part of the world. T h i s opinion was based on the assumption that in the intervening ten years American libraries have become more vigorous and effective in their ac- quisitions program, while at the same time the Western E u r o p e a n book market has become much more efficient. O u r studies seem to suggest, however, that on the one hand we are still not procuring all of the i m p o r t a n t books we think we want, and that on the other hand a great many American libraries still feel that they are being served well by the kind of operation represented thus far by FP. T h i s is perhaps the point at which to discuses very briefly a semantic problem that has been with us for a good long time. T h e r e has been a ready tendency to identify F P only with a particular procurement procedure whereby as- M A R C H 1 9 6 0 119 signed dealers select books for all re- cipient libraries. It is important, how- ever, to keep in mind the fact that F P is not merely a particular acquisitions pro- cedure. It is in fact a b r o a d concept that is world-wide in scope. T h i s concept was stated in the earliest days of F P develop- ment: " I t s objective is to m a k e sure that at least one copy of each new foreign book a n d p a m p h l e t that might reason- ably be expected to interest a research worker in the U n i t e d States will be a c q u i r e d by an American library, promptly listed in the U n i o n C a t a l o g at the L i b r a r y of Congress, a n d m a d e available by inter-library loan or photo- g r a p h i c r e p r o d u c t i o n . " M u c h of the un- happiness over F P has been unhappi- ness, often not thoroughly justified, with the particular operational pattern em- ployed for E u r o p e rather than with this basic concept. It was the conclusion of the surveyors that the operational pattern established in Western E u r o p e is basi- cally sound b u t that it requires definite modification in the interests of greater discrimination a n d efficiency. Much of the difficulty over F P selec- tion developed d u r i n g the earliest days when there was some confusion as to whether F P was serving the needs of uni- versity research or the needs of govern- mental intelligence. T h e latter factor had probably loomed large in the early days d u r i n g and just after the war. In the intervening years, however, it is q u i t e clear that the federal government has become m u c h more sophisticated in its intelligence effort and that other or- ganizations, with enormous f u n d s and skill, are taking care of the basic intel- ligence needs insofar as the procurement of printed material is concerned. T h u s it becomes q u i t e clear that F P as it now proceeds must be concerned specifically with the needs of university-centered re- search, as seen by the p a r t i c i p a t i n g li- braries. Another point of confusion that was discussed, if not fully resolved, re- lated to the belief that F P is an experi- ment in subject specialization a m o n g li- braries on a national scale. T h e facts d o not a p p e a r to bear this out. We are per- haps wiser to think of F P only as an ef- fort to systematize foreign procurement looking toward a d e q u a t e coverage on a national basis. The very fact that so many librarians had begun to feel that normal procure- ment efforts were probably a c q u i r i n g all of the necessary books f r o m Western Eu- rope led us to i n q u i r e a b o u t foreign procurement programs of American li- braries. O u r findings were not particu- larly optimistic. I n most cases—even in some of the largest, wealthiest, and most distinguished institutions—book selec- tion, as we saw it, is a harrying and in- termittent task, based dominantly on fac- ulty recommendations that are in fact little coordinated a n d seldom moni- tored. In a few cases, to be counted on the fingers of one hand, there are book selection staffs within the library. B u t these staffs are not large numerically, a n d often there is b u t one brilliant polymath involved. Occasionally refer- ence people or other members of the li- brary staff m a k e recommendations for purchases as a part-time aspect of some other regular and d e m a n d i n g assign- ment. T h e detailed checking of national bibliographies by subject fields is q u i t e u n c o m m o n ; a m o n g faculty book selec- tors the national bibliography is almost unknown. In general, book selection at the university level appears to be f a r from precise. It is further confused, as far as the F P concept is concerned, by the fact that faculty members as book selectors are very seldom consistent or even thoughtful a b o u t the importance of thorough coverage of currently pub- lished foreign books. T h i s general impression strengthened our feeling that there continues to be need even in Western E u r o p e for an or- ganized national procurement effort. At the same time, we certainly h o p e that the need will eventually pass. 120 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 Once we step outside Western E u r o p e , however, the whole question of the need for a nationally p l a n n e d procurement effort becomes far less debatable. T h i s would have been clear without any spe- cial study. It is interesting to note that at the time F P was being restudied a n u m b e r of groups q u i t e outside the li- brary field, or only peripheral to it, were m a k i n g vigorous efforts to e x p a n d the li- brary procurement effort to the more difficult parts of the world. T h e Ameri- can Council of L e a r n e d Societies, the Social Science Research Council, and the Association for Asian Studies have estab- lished committees or joint committees within the past few years in order to foster library acquisitions from the F a r East, from South Asia, from the M i d d l e East, and from Eastern Europe. For three years the homeless but well or- ganized and well-informed L a t i n Ameri- can Acquisitions Seminars have been pressing for a nationally p l a n n e d pro- curement effort for L a t i n America. At the same time the federal government, through P u b l i c L a w 480, has begun to set u p machinery and f u n d s for the pro- curement of library materials f r o m cer- tain difficult parts of the world. You will recall that for a n u m b e r of understand- a b l e reasons the F P effort h a d m a d e little impression outside Western Eu- rope. T h e r e f o r e , it seemed to the surveyors, it is incumbent u p o n organized Ameri- can research libraries to coordinate and rationalize this whole e x p a n d i n g need for foreign books and journals. We pro- posed that recognition be given to the fact that F P was supposed to become world-wide in scope; we urged that im- mediate steps be taken to move in this direction. T h e result is that the F P com- mittee structure has now been strength- ened and extended by area subcommit- tees which are charged specifically with working with other interested scholarly groups. In March, just after a session at Princeton at which this organization was formally established, members of the newly e x p a n d e d committee went on to Washington for meetings with existing committees concerned with F a r Eastern and South Asian library resources. One A R L participant who had been some- what skeptical of an e x p a n d e d F P pro- g r a m indicated subsequently that these Washington meetings " g a v e a m p l e evi- dence of the intent of many people to increase and systematize the acquisitions of American university libraries from areas hitherto dealt with only accident- ally." As a portion of the survey, a g r o u p of extremely informative area working papers helped b r i n g into focus this sig- nificant change in the foreign procure- ment needs of American libraries. I n 1948 our horizon was b o u n d e d by Eu- rope; in 1958 it was clearly world-wide, a n d this shift had developed so rapidly and on so many fronts that American research libraries were on the verge of losing the initiative through sheer iner- tia. T h e s e several area working papers should be read carefully by a wider audi- ence than the initial publication could reach. T h e y analyzed p u b l i s h i n g o u t p u t and costs as well as the extent to which this is relevant to the needs of American research; and they discussed procure- ment procedures a n d problems. It was q u i t e clear that these several factors va- ried widely from area to area. T h e per- centage of the extensive J a p a n e s e annual book production that is useful to Amer- ican research and the n u m b e r of librar- ies deeply interested therein is one thing; the depth of our interest in L a t i n Ameri- ican books and the n u m b e r of libraries interested is another. T h e organization of the R u s s i a n book trade and the con- sequent procurement problem is mark- edly different from the I n d i a n or M i d d l e Eastern situation, to say nothing of that in Central Africa. N o r can the language problem be overlooked in this expand- ing international effort. It was amply clear from these several M A R C H 1 9 6 0 121 studies not only that we need a Farm- ington effort throughout the world b u t that it must be a flexible effort, adjust- ing to these various factors of publish- ing output, procurement possibilities, a n d the extent and depth of current American interests. T h e assigned dealer technique has a p p a r e n t validity still for Western E u r o p e , but different tech- niques must be a p p l i e d elsewhere. T h e s e same factors called for an organi- zational structure that will permit librar- ians to work closely with specialists, both within libraries a n d throughout the scholarly community. T h e s e were the primary implications of the ten-year survey. It was also noted that U n i t e d States libraries are not alone in a t t e m p t i n g to coordinate the national foreign procurement effort. In differing ways, the British libraries, the research libraries of West Germany, and those of the Scandinavian countries individually as well as collectively, have been devel- o p i n g their own programs concurrently. Recent information on the G e r m a n and Scandinavian experiences was reported in the F P survey. T w o questions were not fully resolved. T h e surveyors were u n a b l e fully to come to grips with the question of serial liter- ature. W e proposed to tighten u p exist- ing procedure for reviewing new peri- odical titles and recommended further study of this whole vexing question de- veloped d u r i n g the course of the survey itself. It seemed a p p a r e n t from some of the s a m p l i n g studies of E u r o p e a n pro- curement that there is p r o b a b l y inade- q u a t e duplication in this country of the more i m p o r t a n t current foreign books. W e were concerned a b o u t this not for reasons of security; we were concerned because several of the largest research libraries in the country a p p e a r to be increasingly, although p e r h a p s unduly, restive under the heavy interlibrary loan business they must service, while at the same time we are witnessing the rise of a large n u m b e r of newly chartered uni- versity centers all across the country. T h i s expansion of American higher edu- cation will surely only increase the pres- sure on existing strong collections. It is the urgent opinion, at least of the writer of this paper, that steps should be taken to encourage more university libraries to d o a fair j o b of foreign procurement, at least insofar as the most important books and j o u r n a l s are concerned. Inci- dentally, this writer also believes firmly that collectively we must dedicate our- selves afresh and with new heart to the interlibrary loan business, even on an international basis, because the ready sharing of books, or copies thereof, is basic to any national effort to systema- tize foreign procurement. Some of the recent g r u m b l i n g a b o u t the cost and burden of interlibrary lending is in b a d taste, to say the least. On the question, however, of this pos- sible need for a greater duplication of certain foreign books, one peculiar mis- understanding needs to be cleared up. Many libraries, both F P participants and others outside the scheme, have felt they could not share in the F P procure- ment effort unless specifically assigned to a subject. T h i s is not true. In fact, libraries are welcome a n d even urged unilaterally to share in the benefits of the organized procurement pattern. J u s t be- cause geology happens now to be as- signed to U C L A does not m e a n that other libraries must refrain from using the F P dealer to secure e q u a l coverage in geology. Other libraries are welcome to d o so; they need not even seek per- mission. Any library, whether or not presently involved in FP, may write to any or all FP-assigned dealers and ar- range to receive a complete d u p l i c a t e F P shipment in any n u m b e r of subjects. B i l l i n g and s h i p p i n g are direct, with the one exception of France where a change is soon due, so there is no reason for confusion. T h e official subject assign- ments then d o not preclude c o m p a r a b l e unofficial assignments. A case in point, 1 2 2 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 and a successful one, involves Spanish literature, where Illinois is the official F P library; Wisconsin some years ago asked the F P agent in Spain to send Wisconsin d u p l i c a t e shipments and f o u n d this very much to their advantage. More of this type of arrangement is in order. Although permission is not re- quired, the pertinent subcommittee would like to know of such develop- ments, which might well be listed cen- trally for general information. T h i s then was the F P survey. Its basic findings were summarized in a series of recommendations that were adopted with only minor changes by the partici- p a t i n g libraries at the January 1959 meeting and recommended to A R L as the operating agency; A R L thereupon agreed to them and proceeded, in a spe- cial administrative session at Princeton in March, to set u p committee machin- ery. T h e basic resolutions and the new committee structure are a p p e n d e d here- with for general information. R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S A D O P T E D ON 2 6 J A N U A R Y 1 9 5 9 1. " L e a d e r s h i p in the development a n d coordination of m a j o r scholarly ac- quisitions programs of national scope and importance should be accepted as a ma- jor and continuing A R L responsibility. 2. " T h e coordinated effort to assure a d e q u a t e coverage of currently published foreign library materials of scholarly im- portance should be extended and strengthened, on a world-wide basis. 3. " T h e F a r m i n g t o n Plan Committee should be chartered and supported as the responsible, central committee for A R L in this whole field. T o w a r d this end, the Committee should be ade- quately staffed, and should be author- ized to proceed as may be necessary through subcommittees and co-opted members. It should be responsible for continuous liaison with all a p p r o p r i a t e library, scholarly, educational, and gov- ernmental bodies, as well as with appro- priate joint committees. T h e Commit- tee's activities should encompass continu- ous study and assessment of needs, opera- tion of programs, and review and analy- sis of programs in action. 4. " A R L should continue to seek, or itself provide, f u n d s for secretarial and research assistance for the Committee and its office. If possible the Committee chairman and the office should continue to be located together. 5. " C e r t a i n operating patterns of the F a r m i n g t o n Plan, as they have devel- oped particularly in Western Europe, should be modified along lines men- tioned by the survey report: looking to- ward a more flexible a n d decentralized selection and procurement pattern, while still assuring that a d e q u a t e records are m a i n t a i n e d for purposes of study and review. In accomplishing this, a sub- committee on procurement from West- ern E u r o p e may be in order. 6. " T h e s t r e n g t h e n e d F a r m i n g t o n Plan Committee should give high pri- ority to fostering and experiment with flexible, coordinated procurement efforts in other parts of the world, along lines recommended in the area working pa- pers; in pursuing this task the Commit- tee will need to develop effective rela- tionships, as noted in (3) above, with the a p p r o p r i a t e working committees in the several areas, in order to be certain of receiving a d e q u a t e specialized advice. 7. " P r i o r to the development of a sys- tematic procurement program for better coverage of foreign periodicals, the F a r m i n g t o n Plan Committee should in- stitute some sample studies, along lines proposed in working p a p e r I I I , to ascer- tain the adequacy of our holdings, espe- cially in the humanities and social sci- ences, as well as in engineering. In the meantime, steps should be taken to tighten up procedure for securing, se- lecting, and recording s a m p l e issues of new periodicals. 8. "Attention should be given to the need for more extensive duplication M A R C H 1 9 6 0 123 a m o n g American libraries of the impor- tant, currently published foreign books. M u l t i p l e use of assigned Farmington Plan agents, in i m p o r t a n t fields, offers one ready-made procedure toward this end. 9. " A R L should continue to b r i n g forcefully to the attention of appropri- ate governmental agencies, educational bodies, and foundations that the na- tional pool of research books and jour- nals is of high national importance, that an effectively coordinated national pro- g r a m for world-wide coverage is an ex- pensive b u t urgent undertaking, a n d that a d e q u a t e assistance through direct, long-term financing a n d through staff aid is in the national interest." * * * C O M M I T T E E S T R U C T U R E AS O F J U N E 1 9 5 9 1. T h e reconstituted a n d reorganized F a r m i n g t o n P l a n C o m m i t t e e is to have general responsibility for the develop- ment a n d i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of the Farm- ington Plan, but will delegate respon- sibility for specific areas of the world to a series of subcommittees. It consists of a chairman ( R o b e r t B. Downs), two members-at-large (Lewis B r a n s c o m b a n d R u t h e r f o r d Rogers), A R L chairmen of the area committees (as listed below), a n d the A R L Executive Secretary ex- officio (William S. Dix). 2. M e m b e r s h i p of the area subcom- mittees: Committee on Slavic Resources: Doug- las Bryant, H a r v a r d University, Chair- man. C o m m i t t e e on N e a r Eastern Materials: Frederick W a g m a n , University of Michigan, C h a i r m a n ; R i c h a r d Logs- don, J o h n Cronin, Douglas Bryant (or P h i l i p McNiff, alternate). C o m m i t t e e on F a r Eastern Resources: Philip McNiff, H a r v a r d University, C h a i r m a n . C o m m i t t e e on African Resources: Jens Nyholm, N o r t h w e s t e r n U n i v e r s i t y , C h a i r m a n ; J a m e s W. Henderson, D a v i d J o l l y , R o b e r t D. B a u m (repre- senting the African Studies Associa- tion). C o m m i t t e e on L a t i n American Re- ources: Stanley West, University of Florida, C h a i r m a n . Committee on South Asian Resources: D o n a l d Coney, University of Cali- fornia, C h a i r m a n ; H e r m a n Fussier, Frederick W a g m a n . C o m m i t t e e on Western E u r o p e a n Re- sources: R o b e r t Vosper, University of Kansas, C h a i r m a n ; H a r a l d Ostvold, Helen M. Welch. Midwest Librarians Conference T h e fifth a n n u a l Midwest A c a d e m i c L i b r a r i a n s Conference will be held at Grin- nell College, Grinnell, Iowa, on Friday and Saturday, April 29-30. As in past Con- ferences, the p r o g r a m will consist principally of discussions of various topics relating to academic librarianship by small g r o u p s of conferees. T h e r e will in a d d i t i o n be two p r o g r a m m e d speeches. Grinnell's President H o w a r d Bowen will speak on "Send- ing Dollars to C o l l e g e " at the Friday evening dinner meeting, and a speaker is to be selected for the luncheon meeting on Saturday. Russell Dozer, M A L C chairman, a n d his staff at Grinnell College L i b r a r y will be hosts at the Conference. 124 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