College and Research Libraries


R A Y M O N D K I L P E L A 

The University Library Committee 
Almost every large university has a library committee. It is usually 
composed of thirteen members, most of whom are drawn from the 
teaching faculty. The members are appointed by the university ad-
ministration or faculty acting individually or jointly. The library di-
rector is likely to be an ex officio member of the committee. The 
committee is largely advisory, concerning itself with the establishment 
of policies and with the maintenance of liaison among the faculty, 
administration, and library. 

A . Q U E S T I O N N A I R E regarding the struc-
ture and functions of the library com-
mittee was forwarded on September 1, 
1967, to the library directors of sixty-four 
universities holding membership in the 
Association of Research Libraries. Re-
plies were received from fifty-six, of 
which fifty-four have university library 
committees. 

C O M P O S I T I O N OF THE C O M M I T T E E 
The average number of members on 

a library committee is thirteen, of whom 
ten are members of the teaching faculty; 
one is the library director; and two are 
either members of the library staff, uni-
versity administrative officers, or stu-
dents. The smallest committee is com-
posed of six members, and the largest 
sixty-six. Only one committee is made 
up of entirely teaching faculty members. 
The teaching faculty constitutes a ma-
jority on all committees but two, and a 
two-thirds majority on all but eight com-
mittees. As shown in Table 1, members 
representing the teaching faculty are ap-
pointed either by the university admini-
stration without faculty participation in 

Mr. Kilpela is Assistant Professor of Li-
brary Science at the University of Southern 
California. 

the selection procedure, by the faculty 
directly or indirectly through one of its 
agencies such as a committee on commit-
tees or the senate, by the university ad-
ministration and the faculty acting joint-
ly, or by the governing body of the uni-
versity. 

The library director is consulted re-
garding the appointments made to ap-
proximately two-thirds of the committees 
included within this survey. As revealed 
in Table 2, he is more likely to be con-
sulted when the university administra-
tion exercises the appointment power, 
and less likely to be consulted when the 
power is left entirely in the hands of 
the faculty. 

The library director is an ex officio 
member of forty-three committees and 
the chairman of six. For the remaining 
five committees, one director serves as 
the administrative advisor to the com-
mittee; one is usually appointed to the 

T A B L E 1 

A P P O I N T M E N T OF F A C U L T Y M E M B E R S 
TO T H E C O M M I T T E E 

Members Appointed by No. of Committees 

University Administration . 2 0 
Faculty 17 
University Adm. and Faculty jointly 13 
Governing Board 4 

/ 141 



142 / College b- Research Libraries • March 1968 

committee; and three, although they 
have no official status in relation to the 
committee, do attend its meetings. The 
library director is the only person in 
an official capacity representing the li-
brary on forty-three committees, while 
on eleven committees from one to thir-
teen library staff members other than the 
director serve as members of the com-
mittee. As a rule there is but one such 
member, and he almost always serves 
on an ex officio basis; he is usually a 
member of the administrative staff of the 
library. 

On thirty-three of the committees the 
university administration is not repre-
sented; on twenty-one it is. The number 
of members who represent the university 
administration ranges from one to seven 
with the most common number being 
either one or two. Two-thirds of such 
members serve on an ex officio basis 
while the other third is appointed. The 
university officers who most commonly 
serve in this capacity are the president, 
the academic vice-president, the gradu-
ate school dean, and deans of other 
schools within the university. Thirty-nine 
committees have no student representa-
tives while fifteen do. Student appoint-
ees to seven committees are named by an 
agency of student government, to four 
committees they are nominated by an 
agency of student government and ap-
pointed by the president, and to one 
they are named by the senate. The num-
ber of student members ranges from one 

T A B L E 3 .. 

TERMS OF O F F I C E 

1 year . . . . 7 committees 
3 years . . . . . . . 27 
4 " . . . . . . . 7 
5 " . . . . . . . 2 
Indefinite . . . 11 

to four with the average number being 
two. 

Table 3 shows that the term of office 
of appointed members varies from one 
year to an indefinite term with the three-
year term being the one most commonly 
used. Forty-four committees attempt to 
stagger the terms. Thirty-seven accom-
plish this by retiring either a third, 
fourth, or a fifth of the members each 
year depending upon the length of the 
term. 

F U N C T I O N S 

Table 4 discloses that the committee 
acts largely in an advisory capacity. The 
committee's role in the selection of new 
key library staff members is almost nil. 
Its part in book selection can be de-
scribed at best as minor. Although the 
committee may be involved in the allo-
cation of the book budget to the various 
departments and schools within the uni-
versity and in the approval of the pro-
posed library budget prior to its sub-
mission to the university fiscal officer, 
its role in both of these areas is limited. 

T A B L E 2 

CONSULTATION OF THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR BEGARDING 
APPOINTMENTS TO THE COMMITTEE 

Usually Sometimes Not No 
Method of Appointment Consulted Consulted Consulted Reply 

University administration 1 5 2 3 
Faculty 7 9 1 
University administration and faculty jointly 7 1 5 
Governing board 4 

Total 3 3 3 1 7 1 



T A B L E 4 

FUNCTION O F C O M M I T T E E S 

No. of 
Committees 

Primary Function: 
Advisory 45 
Policy making 4 
Advisory and liaison 3 
Advisory and legislative . . . . 1 
Liaison . 1 

Role in Selection of New Key Library 
Staff Members: 
None 44 
Consulted occasionally . . . . 6 
Advisory 1 
No reply 3 

Role in Book Selection: 
None 30 
Advisory 8 
Establishment of general policies 7 
Very minor role 5 
Consulted occasionally . . . . 2 
No reply 2 

Role in Allocation of Book Budget: 
None 25 
Establishment of final allocation . 10 
Approval 9 
Advisory 6 
Examination and approval . . . 1 
Beview 1 
No reply 3 

Approval of Proposed Budget: 
None 35 
Advisory 7 
Approval 5 
Approval of book portions only . 3 
Examination and approval . . . 1 
No reply 1 

Establishment of Policies Regarding the 
Library's Operations: 
Major activity 18 
Active ' 1 0 
Advisory 9 
Minor role 9 
Useful in establishing public service 

policies 6 
No reply 2 

Liaison Among the Library, Faculty, and 
University Administration: 
Active 22 
Limited role . 1 5 
Major role 11 
None 2 
Advisory . . . . . . . . 1 
No reply 3 

Selection of a New Library Director: 
None 18 
Definite role, but not specified . . 8 
Part of a larger selection committee . 6 
Uncertain as to its role . . . . 6 

University Library Committee / 143 

Substantial role 5 
Advisory 4 
Possible role 2 
No reply 5 

Other Areas: 
No new ones added 15 
Help with plant needs . . . . 6 
Automation policies 1 
Operational procedures and general 

growth of library 1 
No reply 31 

The committee is concerned largely with 
the establishment of policies, especially 
those of a public service nature, in the 
operation of the library and with the 
maintenance of liaison among the facul-
ty, library, and university administration. 
There is an even chance that the com-
mittee may be involved in the selection 
of a new library director. 

S U M M A R Y 
The average library committee there-

fore is composed of thirteen members, 
most of whom are drawn from the teach-
ing faculty. They are appointed by 
either the university administration or 
the faculty, acting individually or joint-
ly. The library director is usually con-
sulted concerning appointments td two-
thirds of the committees. He is also like-
ly to be an ex officio member of the 
the committee. Thirty-five of the fifty-
four committees included in this survey 
appear to play a minor role in the oper-
ation in the library; thirteen perform an 
important role in a particular area; and 
six appear to have a major role. Com-
mittees are most concerned with the 
establishment of policies regarding the 
operation of the library and in the main-
tenance of liaison among the various ele-
ments making up the university com-
munity. Approximately half of the com-
mittees participate in varying degrees 
in the selection of a new library direc-
tor. • •