College and Research Libraries


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

The Administrative Structure of the 
University Library 

The typical large university library is a highly decentralized struc-
ture composed of numerous divisions and/or departments and de-
partmental libraries. The popularly accepted notion that the uni-
versity library usually comprises the two divisions of technical and 
public services, each administered by a division head who is re-
sponsible for the coordination of all such services, is more apparent 
than real. There are an average of seven librarians with line authority 
reporting to the library director. There appears to be a need to re-
duce this number and to place this responsibility in two or three 
officers on a secondary level. 

O N D E C E M B E R 28, 1967, a question-
naire regarding the administrative struc-
ture of the university library was sent 
to the library directors of the forty-one 
universities with collections totalling 
more than one million volumes. Replies 
were received from thirty-nine. 

A cursory analysis of the replies re-
veals that the "conventional" two-di-
vision structure—i.e., public services and 
technical services—is found in twenty-
two of the libraries in this study. In 
twelve, there are separate heads of both 
public and technical services. In ten li-
braries, there is a head with the ap-
propriate title of either public or tech-
nical services, with the other division 
lacking a head who is specifically desig-
nated as such by title. In these latter 
cases the director or the associate direc-
tor assumes the responsibility for the co-
ordination of the division lacking a sep-
arate head. 

Upon more careful analysis of the re-
plies, it is found that in only five li-
braries are all the services sharply di-

Mr. Kilpela is assistant professor of li-
brary science in the University of Southern 
California. 

vided into public and technical services, 
each headed by a separate officer re-
sponsible to the library director for its 
coordination. In another group of five 
libraries, the line of demarcation be-
tween public and technical services is 
obscured by the fact that one or more 
division head in each of these libraries 
is charged with the responsibility for 
supervising services of both a public and 
technical nature. 

" G E N E R A L " L I B R A R Y 

With the exception of two institutions, 
a "general" or "main" library forms a 
part of each university library system. 
The public services in twenty-six of the 
thirty-seven "general" libraries are or-
ganized on a "traditional" basis, being 
made up of reference and circulation. 
If a third department is found, it is 
usually maps or documents. The remain-
ing eleven "general" libraries are organ-
ized on the divisional plan, that is by 
broad subject areas. With one exception, 
every large "general" university library 
organized on the subject divisional ba-
sis maintains a centralized circulation 
department, and reference alone is sub-

/ 511 



512 / College <Lr Research Libraries • November 1968 

T A B L E 1 

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

N u m b e r of N u m b e r W h o 
L i b r a r i e s R e p o r t 

4 . . . . . 1 
6 . . . . . 2 
7 . . . . . 3 
2 . . . . . 4 
2 . . . . . 5 
2 . . . . . 6 
4 . . . . . 7 
1 . . . . . 8 
2 . . . . . 9 
2 . . . . . 1 0 
1 . . . . . 1 1 
1 . . . . . 1 3 
1 . . . . . 1 6 
2 . . . . . 1 8 
1 . . . . . 1 9 
1 . . . . . 2 3 

3 9 

T A B L E 2 

" G E N E R A L " L I B R A R I E S O R G A N I Z E D 
ON A D I V I S I O N A L B A S I S 

N u m b e r of 
N u m b e r of Subject 
L i b r a r i e s Divisions 

2 . . . . . 2 
5 . . . . . 3 
3 . . . . . 4 
1 . . . . 5 

1 1 

divided. The combination most fre-
quently found comprises the humani-
ties, social sciences, and sciences. If a 
fourth division is used, it is usually gen-
eral reference. Three of the thirty-seven 
"general" libraries have separate heads 
other than the library director. In eight-
een of the remaining "general" libraries, 
the responsibility for the coordination 
of services within the "general" library 
lies with the head of public services, in 
eleven with the library director, and in 
five libraries with the associate director. 

U N D E R G R A D U A T E L I B R A R Y 

Twenty-three of the thirty-nine insti-
tutions maintain separate library facil-

ities for undergraduates, called either 
the college or undergraduate library. 
One of the sixteen not presently main-
taining separate accommodations plans to 
do so in the immediate future. Twelve 
of the twenty-three undergraduate fa-
cilities are located in a building apart 
from the "general" library, and ten are 
housed within the "general" library. Two 
of the ten lacking separate quarters plan 
to relocate within such a building. Sev-
eral institutions with undergraduate li-
braries have renamed the "general" li-
brary as the research library. Ten in-
stitutions maintain separate storage li-
braries apart from any form of cooper-
ative storage housed within its own 
building on campus, and five university 
libraries maintain substantial storage fa-
cilities that form a part of another build-
ing apart from the "general" library. 

D E P A R T M E N T A L L I B R A R I E S 

The number of departmental and pro-
fessional school libraries forming a part 

T A B L E 3 

D E P A R T M E N T A L A N D P R O F E S S I O N A L 
S C H O O L L I B R A R I E S 

N u m b e r of N u m b e r of D e p a r t -
Universities mental Libraries 

1 . . . . . 0 
3 . . . . . 1 
1 . . . . . 2 
2 . . . . . 6 
2 . . . . . 7 
4 . . . . . 8 
1 . . . . . 9 
2 . . . . . 1 0 
2 . . . . . 1 1 
3 . . . . . 1 2 
3 . . . . . 1 4 
3 . . . . . 1 5 
2 . . . . . 1 6 
1 . . . . . 1 9 
2 . . . . . 2 0 
1 . . . . 2 2 
1 . . . . . 2 4 
2 . . . . . 2 5 
1 . . . . . 2 7 
1 . . . . . 4 6 
1 . . . . . 6 0 

3 9 



Administrative Structure of the University Library / 513 

of the university library system ranges 
from none to sixty. The average num-
ber of departmental libraries is almost 
fourteen, and the median is twelve. In 
four institutions the responsibility for 
their coordination is placed in a super-
visor of departmental libraries. Three of 
the four departmental library super-
visors report to the library director and 
head a division of stature equal to that 
of public services, and one reports to the 
head of public services. In twenty-two 
of the remaining thirty-four institutions, 
the responsibility for the coordination of 
the departmental libraries has been 
placed in one of the following officers: 

NUMBER OF 
INSTITUTIONS 

11 . 

O F F I C E R 

Head of public serv-
ices 

7 Library director 
3 Associate or assistant 

director 
1 . Head of public serv-

ices 

In the other twelve libraries there is no 
officer who is responsible for the coor-
dination of departmental libraries. In 
nine of the twelve institutions, this re-
sponsibility is exercised by two of the 
above named officers and in three uni-
versities, no attempt is made to coordi-
nate the departmental libraries. 

In eleven of the thirty-nine insti-
tutions, the responsibility for the co-
ordination of the science libraries is 
placed in an officer other than the one 
who is responsible for the coordination 
of the non-science libraries. All public 
services in two libraries are divided be-
tween science and non-science, each of 
which is administered by a division 
head. In the remaining nine institutions, 
the responsibility for the coordination of 
the various departmental libraries with-
in the scientific disciplines is vested in 
the science librarian. None of the nine 
science librarians report to the head of 
public services. Rather, seven of the 

nine report to the library director and 
two to the associate director. 

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS 

With the exception of one university 
library, each has one or more divisions, 
departmental libraries, and/or depart-
ments within the "general" library de-
voted to rare books and/or special col-
lections. The librarian in charge of these 
collections is more likely to report to 

T A B L E 4 

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E O F R A R E 
B O O K S AND/OR S P E C I A L C O L L E C T I O N S 

N u m b e r of 
Universities S t r u c t u r e 

3 Division reporting 
to director 

2 1 Department reporting 
to director 

9 Department reporting 
to h e a d of public 
services 

1 Department reporting 
to departmental 
library supervisor 

4 Part of " g e n e r a l " 
library 

3 8 

the library director than to the head of 
public services. 

The replies show that in only ten of 
the thirty-nine universities forming the 
basis of this study the coordination of 
all public services is centralized in a 
single officer other than the library di-
rector—nine in the head of public serv-
ices and one in the associate director. 
In the remaining twenty-nine institu-
tions, there is no one person other than 
the library director charged with the re-
sponsibility for the coordination of pub-
lic services. Heads of departments in 
the "general" library and departmental 
librarians often report to the library di-
rector rather than to an officer on a 
secondary level. In many university li-
braries, the number of line librarians re-
porting to the library director or to the 



514 / College 6- Research Libraries • November 1968 

head of public services is extremely 
large. The question might properly be 
raised whether it is possible for one of-
ficer to coordinate with any degree of 
success the numerous units forming the 
public services division of the library. 

T E C H N I C A L S E R V I C E S 

The technical services division of the 
tvpical large university library consists 
of two or three departments. Almost al-
ways found within this division are ac-
quisitions and cataloging departments. 

T A B L E 5 

N U M B E R O F D E P A R T M E N T S W I T H I N 
T E C H N I C A L S E R V I C E S 

N u m b e r of U n i - N u m b e r of 
versity Libraries D e p a r t m e n t s 

1 5 2 
1 1 3 

9 4 
4 5 

3 9 

Separate serials departments have been 
established in seventeen libraries. They 
are almost as frequently responsible only 
for the acquisition of serials as for both 
their acquisition and cataloging. In 
twenty-five libraries all ordering is cen-
tralized within acquisitions and/or se-
rials, and in fourteen libraries it is not. 
In twenty-one libraries all cataloging is 
centralized in a similar manner within 

T A B L E 6 

F U N C T I O N ( S ) O F S E R I A L S D E P A R T M E N T 
E S T A B L I S H E D AS A S E P A R A T E E N T I T Y W I T H I N 

T E C H N I C A L S E R V I C E S 

N u m b e r of U n i -
versity Libraries F u n c t i o n 

8 . . . Acquisition 
7 . . . Acquisition and 

Cataloging 
1 . . Cataloging 
1 . . No reply 

technical services, and in eighteen li-
braries it is not. Certain professional 
school and departmental libraries, such 
as law, medicine, and Near and Far 
Eastern languages frequently do their 
own ordering and cataloging. One li-
brary reports that the responsibility for 
cataloging within technical services is 
divided between two departments on 
the basis of the ease of cataloging. One 
department is responsible for original 
cataloging, and the other department 
catalogs those materials for which LC 
proofsheets or cards are available. In but 
ten of the thirty-nine libraries included 
within this study does there appear to 
be a high degree of centralization with-
in the technical services division by con-
centrating the responsibility for the ac-
quisition and cataloging of all materials 
regardless of form within the two cor-
responding departments. In the typical 
large university library this responsibil-
ity is decentralized to varying degrees 
by placing a part of it within a third 
or even a fourth department within 
technical services or within one or more 
of the professional school or depart-
mental libraries or special collections. 

Gifts and exchange is almost without 
exception a part of acquisitions. As a 

T A B L E 7 

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E O F 
G I F T S AND E X C H A N G E 

N u m b e r of U n i -
versity Libraries Structure 

3 3 . . . Section of 
Acquisitions 

2 . . . Separate 
Department 

1 . . Section of 
Cataloging 

1 . . . Section of 
Serials 

1 . . . Section of 
Bibliographical 
Unit 

1 . Section of 
both Serials 
and Acquisitions 

17 39 



Administrative Structure of the University Library / 515 

rule, binding is a section of another de-
partment within technical services-
most frequently acquisitions. Binding 
may also be a section within serials or 
a separate department within technical 
services. Only seven libraries report that 
the binding section is responsible for the 
actual physical binding of books and 
serials. One of the seven does all its 
own binding, not using an outside bind-
ery for at least a part of its work. In 
nineteen of the thirty-nine libraries, 
there is an officer other than the library 
director responsible for the coordination 

T A B L E 8 

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E O F 
B I N D I N G / B I N D E R Y 

N u m b e r of U n i -
versity Libraries S t r u c t u r e 

15 . . Section of acquisitions 
9 . . Separate department 
8 . . Section of serials 
5 . . Section of cataloging 
1 . . Separate department includ-

ing photoduplication 
1 . . Sections of both 

acquisitions and serials 

3 9 

of the various departments making up 
the technical services division of the li-
brary, and, in twenty libraries, there is 
no such officer other than the director 
himself. Probably because of the fact 
that technical services consists of fewer 
departments, and because the nature of 
technical services requires or lends it-
self to a higher degree of centralization, 
technical services appears less likely to 
be decentralized than public services. 

S T A F F O F F I C E R S 

In an attempt to reduce the number 
of staff functions being performed by 
the heads of public and technical serv-
ices who are primarily line officers, and 
to place the responsibility for the per-
formance of staff functions common to 

all divisions of the library in a "neutral" 
officer who is an expert in the perform-
ance of that task, numerous libraries 
have established staff positions with 
functions which are limited to a narrow, 
specialized area. Two areas in which 
this has occurred most often are auto-
mation and personnel. Twenty-six li-
braries report having a staff officer who 
is responsible for automation. Four of 
the twenty-six hold the rank of an as-
sociate director heading a division of 
stature equal to public and technical 
services. Of the remaining twenty-two, 
nine hold the rank of a department 
head, and thirteen that of a special as-
sistant. Twenty of the twenty-six officers 
in charge of automation hold a library 
degree, while six do not. Nine of the 
thirteen libraries without a specialist in 
automation have placed this additional 
responsibility upon a librarian who al-
ready has substantial responsibilities in 
another area—most frequently an as-
sociate or assistant director. Only four 
libraries have no one on their staff who 
is specially charged with this responsi-
bility. 

Eighteen libraries have personnel of-
ficers. Four of the eighteen occupy po-
sitions of an assistant director, of whom 
two head divisions responsible not only 
for personnel but also for general ad-
ministration. They are of stature equal 
to public and technical services. The re-
maining fourteen may be classified as 
personnel librarians or as special admin-
istrative assistants in charge of person-
nel. Six of the latter group do not hold 
library degrees, and three have respon-
sibilities which are limited to non-pro-
fessional staff members. All the others 
have library degrees. 

S U M M A R Y 

The typical large university library 
therefore is a highly decentralized struc-
ture composed of numerous divisions 
and/or departments. Often no clear de-
marcation exists in the organizational 



516 / College <Lr Research Libraries • November 1968 

structure between services of a public 
and technical nature. In addition to 
these two divisions, third and even fourth 
divisions may be found with responsi-
bility for administration, book selection, 
automation, departmental libraries, rare 
books, or special collections. 

At the heart of the university library 
system is a "general" library, the public 
services of which are most frequently 
organized on the traditional basis of ref-
erence and circulation. Separate facili-
ties are often provided for the under-
graduate in the form of a college or an 
undergraduate library, housed either 
within the "general" library or in a sep-
arate building. The average number of 
departmental libraries in the universities 
represented in this survey is fourteen. 

In comparison to the public services 
division, technical services is a smaller 
and a more compact division consisting 

of two or three departments. Cataloging 
and acquisitions are almost always 
found, and less frequently, serials. Gifts 
and exchange is generally a part of ac-
quisitions. Nearly every large university 
library has on its staff an automation 
specialist, and many also have special-
ists in personnel. 

Other than the library director, there 
are seldom two or three officers on a 
secondary level in whom the coordi-
nation of all services within the library 
is centralized. Rather, this responsibility 
is scattered among numerous officers. In 
most cases, there are too many librarians 
with line authority who are reporting to 
the library director. There appears to be 
a definite need to reduce the number of 
such officers who are reporting to the 
director and to place this responsibility 
within officers on a secondary level.