College and Research Libraries CECIL K. BYRD The Lilly Fellowship Program at Indiana University In an effort to contribute to the solution of the problem of the shortage of .trained and experienced rare book librarians, Indiana University established its Lilly Fellowship Program for a three-year experimental period in 1961. Six Fellows, all of whom are now in rare book work, were trained in the program. The program has given all evidences of success, and it is hoped that it can be reestablished on a permanent basis. THE WIDE-SPREAD SHORTAGE of trained library personnel is particularly acute in those areas requiring specialized sub- ject knowledge. Though good reference librarians and catalogers are in short supply, the difficulty of finding a knowl- edgeable mathematics or music librarian is even greater. Yet in the sciences and in the arts we do have a body of trained personnel who, if they can be attracted to the library profession, can fill these needs. The problem of finding candi- dates with the requisite background for rare book librarianship is a somewhat different matter for there is no under- graduate training comparable to an AB in mathematics or music tq prepare them for their work. Indeed, in the past, we have had no organized programs for training rare book librarians. We have drawn them from the booktrade and from the ranks of private collectors and printing enthusiasts. They have come to us as self-trained men with a knowledge derived from personal experience rather than formal training. It can be, and fre- quently has been, argued that there is no background for rare book work com- parable to experience in the trade or as a collector-but the fact remains that these sources cannot supply the number Dr. Byrd is University Librarian at In- diana University, Bloomington. of rare book librarians which are now required. New sources of experience and training must be developed. Once the Indiana University rare book collection had been transferred to the newly dedicated and opened Lilly li- brary in October 1960, the time was thought appropriate to make a gesture in the direction of the training of rare book librarians. A program was visualized which might alleviate slightly the critical shortage of personnel in this branch of the profession, dramatize the importance of rare books in academic surroundings, and stimulate additional programs of training at other places. Indiana's cre- dentials for this venture were an en- thusiastic and experienced staff; fairly representative rare book and manuscript collections; and a new, modern, and at- tractive physical plant. The proposed program was described fully to the Lilly Endowment. It was explained as a one-year training course for students who desired to become rare book librarians. It was felt to be in the interest of the profession and was ex- pected to benefit the entire scholarly community. The directors at the Lilly Endowment concluded that the proposa] had merit and agreed to finance a pro- gram for a three-year experimental pe- riod. In the fall of 1960 announcements of /287 288 1 College & Research Libraries • July, 1966 the Lilly Fellowships for 1961-62 were released to the library press and all li- brary schools. The qualifications re- quired of applicants were set forth in the announcement: "Any graduate of an accredited library school, under forty- five years of age, who desires to special- ize in rare book librarianship may apply for a fellowship. . . . At the conclusion of the year, Fellows are expected to find employment in rare book divisions of college, university, and public libraries." There was reason for requesting ap- plicants only from library schools. Their training, though somewhat general in many particulars, enables them to grasp quickly the interrelation and function of a rare book library which is a part of a centralized library system. They have acquired basic skills transferable to any library situation. It has been customary in some circles to rail the library schools for omissions in training, particularly as they relate to rare book librarianship. They should instead be complimented for the excellent preparation they give to students entering library service, rather remarkable preparation when it is considered that this training is given in the short span of two academic semesters. Some statistical information on the total number of applicants over the three-year period and a few personal observations may be of interest. For the academic year 1961-62 there were twenty-seven applicants from twenty-one different library schools; for 1962-63, twenty-one from fifteen different library schools; in 1963-64, twenty-one from seventeen different library schools. Not all applicants were newly graduated. A few had been in library work for several . years. A careful scrutiny of the applications reveals much on the sociology of con- temporary fellowship application. It sub- stantiates a conviction that every aca- demic profession has a ten per cent min- ority of would-be-permanent graduate students who will apply for anything that promises a year of subsidy at more than modest rates. These among the Lilly applicants listed as a major endowment only '