College and Research Libraries


JAMES S. HEALEY 

Public-Academic Library Cooperation 

The author examines the legal and structural arrangements for public-
academic library cooperation. Rhode Island, s program illustrates the 
problems involved as well as the importance of the role of the state li-
brary agency in successfully establishing cooperative programs. · 

CooPERATION BETWEEN academic and 
public libraries has been a topic of pro-
fessional discussion for a long time. The 
merits and demerits have been debated, 
and while there is little point to rehash-
ing all that has been said, it does seem 
worthwhile to review some new and 
some older attitudes. 

The public librarian looks at P.L. 480 
and the shared cataloging program of 
the Library of Congress and approves 
even though the benefits of these pro-
grams accrue chiefly to research and 
academic libraries. The public librarian 
looks at the Higher Education Act with 
its money for college libraries-books 
and buildings-and also approves. Then 
on Saturday, or at night, or during 
school vacations, the public librarian ob-
serves the college students doing papers, 
using the public library's meager re-
sources, and pressing the library staff to 
find more information; it is then that he 
wonders how he can do any more. 

The academic librarian, faced by the 
increasing difficulty of obtaining more 
and more money, finds it difficult to serve 
his own clientele; he does not need 
more people from outside the campus de-
manding service. The academic library, 
experiencing the impact of growing en-
rollment and expanding college pro-

Mr. Healey is Assistant Professor in the 
Graduate Library School, University of 
Rhode Island. 

grams, finds itself "running fast just to 
stand still." Josey, writing in 1967 about 
the attitudes of academic librarians to-
ward community use, said, "Being asso-
ciated with a small college library, I 
readily understand some of the reasons 
for these attitudes; they often stem from 
small budgets that do not meet minimal 
needs of service for campus clientele, 
that do not permit adequate staffs, and 
that do not allow space to accommodate 
<outsiders.' "1 

But the public librarian, rebuffed and 
helpless to satisfy the growing informa-
tion needs of a public whose education-
al level climbs each year, knows frus-
tration and asks, "How can the academic 
libraries be given so much-from my tax 
dollars-and give so little in return?" 
Again, from Josey: "More recently, aca-
demic libraries are accepting federal as-
sistance, not only for building construc-
tion, but also for books, materials and 
equipment. The question of whether or 
not to deny a taxpayer the right to use 
his tax dollar in a given academic li-
brary may no longer be moot." In an 
editorial on access to libraries, Eric 
Moon wrote: "Could not non-residents 
argue that they had a right of free ac-
cess to libraries receiving generous sup-
port from state and federal funds to 
which their taxes had contributed?" 
Could we not rephrase Moon's question 
to read: "Could not the residents of the 
community argue that they had a right 

I 121 



122 I College & Research Libraries • March 1971 

of free access to college and university 
libraries receiving generous support from 
state and federal funds to which their 
taxes had contributed?"2 Despite the di-
vergent needs and views cooperative 
programs have been undertaken. To 
bring the academic and public library 
together there are some basic factors 
that must be observed and some ways of 
bypassing many of the inhibiting aspects 
that cooperation between disparate agen-
cies inherently fosters. 

Logsdon and Nelson, writing in 1965, 
laid down some guidelines for effective 
cooperation. Their list included: "1) Co-
operation is not good in itself, it is a 
voluntary act which must be pursued 
creatively and geared to local situations; 
2) Objective appraisal of the results of 
cooperation is as critical as advance plan-
ning and sound implementation; 3) Co-
operation must take into account the le-
gitimate ambitions as well as the present 
status of the individual cooperating in-
stitution; 4) A precondition to an effec-
tive system of interlocking libraries is the 
creation of an adequate governmental 
structure to develop and sustain it'' 
(italics mine) .3 The authors were writing 
of cooperation between academic librar-
ies, but their guidelines are equally ap-
plicable to cooperation between types of 
libraries. In that context, when the au-
thors speak of "The present status of the 
individual cooperating institutions," one 
could interpret this to mean that public 
libraries should be public libraries and 
academic libraries should be academic li-
braries. Since each type of library has a 
very well-defined role to play, mixing or 
switching roles would seem to be an in-
hibiting factor in the performance of any 
role at all. Martin's two studies of Penn-
sylvania library systems bear this out. 
In his first study in 1958, he advocated 
using college libraries as regional cen-
ters where no public libraries could per-
form the task. In his follow-up study in 
1967, Martin found that while the idea 
was sound in theory, it had not proved 

very effective in practice.4 

Another aspect of the Logsdon-Nelson 
article deals with structure. Any at-
tempt to establish cooperative ventures 
without substantial attention being paid 
to the role, responsibilities, and rights of 
the libraries involved and how the li-
braries will interact begins at a disad-
vantage. In the past the problem of who 
shall do the structuring has been a dif-
ficult one; neither type of library gen-
erally is willing to have its role or func-
tion designated by the other agency. 
Equally important is the question of who 
will take the lead in establishing such a 
program of interlibrary cooperation? 

Prentiss states: "Although library net-
works can, and do, rest on every con-
ceivable type of base, there are several 
reasons why a state is one of the more 
satisfactory bases for many networks. For 
example: ( 1) it hardly seems necessary 
to point out that moving to the state 
level automatically and painlessly elim-
inates innumerable minor civil bound-
aries, each of which would otherwise 
constitute a barrier to free library use; 
( 2) most states .are large enough to 
serve as a base for most network pur-
poses; ( 3) states are a potential source 
of fiscal support, with revenues which are 
not available to political subdivisions be-
low the state level; and ( 4) state library 
agencies have a leadership potential 
that cuts across types of libraries, all 
varieties of library interests, and all levels 
of government below the federal." 5 

On consulting Purdy's article, "Interre-
lations among Public, School and Aca-
demic Libraries," one finds a fairly com-
prehensive overview of the number and 
kinds of such statewide programs al-
ready in action. 6 These points serve as 
the basis for what follows. Rhode Is-
land's program of statewide interlibrary 
cooperation embodies most of the ideas 
expressed up to this point and also il-
lusb·ates one way of involving state and 
private universities. 

The Rhode Island library folklore is 



Public-Academic Library Cooperation I 123 

that the present program originated with 
a Brown University professor of Educa-
tion who was extremely dissatisfied with 
his child's school library. Because of his 
dissatisfaction, the professor did some 
checking on his own. Finding the entire 
state's school systems distressingly poor 
in library resources, he prevailed upon 
Brown University to sponsor a study of 
the library resources of the state. 

However heartwarming the tale and 
whatever the motivation, Brown U niver-
sity did in fact propose a study, which 
was conducted between October 1960 
and March 1962 and funded by the 
Council on Library Resources, Inc. John 
A. Humphry (then director of the 
Springfield, Massachusetts, library) was 
appointed to conduct the survey. The 
results of the study were published un-
der the title, Library Cooperation, by 
Brown University in 1963.7 The results 
of that survey have been quite far-reach-
ing, for from its recommendations came 
the Rhode Island State Department of 
Library Services, a program of state aid 
to libraries, and the Graduate Library 
School at the University of Rhode Is-
land. 

Humphry's recommendations in the 
area of academic participation in ser-
vices to noncollege personnel were quite 
specific: 

. . . That the extensive and unusual library 
resources of Brown University, be made 
more widely available, and that the State 
reimburse the University for such services. 

Consideration should be given to designat-
ing the University [of Rhode Island] Li-
brary an additional library resource center 
for the residents of southern Rhode Is-
land . . .. 

The Brown University Library shall be re-
imbursed annually for providing research 
facilities for faculty and graduate students 
in other academic institutions in Rhode 
Island and others engaged in advanced 
study and research not connected with an 
institution of higher learning .... 

These and other institutions of higher 
learning in Rhode Island have the common 
purpose of educating young people. While 
the emphasis in each will be different, de-
pending upon its specific objectives, there 
is a basic collection of materials which each 
institution must provide for its own stu-
dents. Further cooperation is recommend-
ed among the public and private institu-
tions of higher learning, including the pri-
vate libraries. 8 

Following the publication of the re-
port, the Rhode Island legislature creat-
ed a study committee to frame recom-
mendations, which were included in a 
bill which became state law in 1964. Of 
particular importance was the planned 
inclusion of the Brown and Rhode Is-
land University libraries and the Rhode 
Island College library as part of the 
statewide program from the outset. 

Special research centers.-The department 
of state library services is hereby author-
ized to designate certain other libraries, 
such as those at Brown University, the 
University of Rhode Island, and Rhode 
Island College, as "special research cen-
ters," the special collections of which are 
available for research in particular fields 
of knowledge. A special research center so 
designated shall be eligible for an annual 
grant-in-aid in an amount to be determined 
by the director of state library services on 
condition that such special research cen-
ter so designated enter into an appropriate 
agreement with the department of state li-
brary services to act as such special re-
search center in accordance with regula-
tions to be made by the director of state li-
brary services pursuant to the provisions of 
29-3.1-5 of the general laws. 9 

Rhode Island's program for academic-
public library cooperation was thus es-
tablished on a basis of law. This settled 
most of the legal aspects of agreements . 
before the program became operational. 
It is in large measure because of the 
formality of agreements that the pro-
gram has moved forward with relatively 
few major problems. 

The kinds of services provided cover 



124 I College & Research Libraries • March 1971 

a fairly wide range. The chief focus of 
the academic library participation is on 
interlibrary loan and the use of books 
in the academic libraries by those who 
are not members of that particular 
academic community or by those who 
are not connected with any academic 
community. Requests are transmitted 
from the local library to the regional li-
brary over the telephone. Unfilled re-
quests are then transmitted over the 
state agency-funded TWX system, which 
includes the other regional and academ-
ic libraries as well as the Providen , e 
Public Library. If these agencies cannot 
supply the material needed, the Provi-
dence Public Library decides where the 
request will be sent next; this generally 
results in the request being sent to one 
of the public academic institutions, 
again over TWX. The Brown University 
Library is called upon for very advanced 
or highly specialized materials. 

Tied to the inter library loan program 
is an agreement to supply photocopies 
of journal articles or monograph pages. 
The number of copies varies with the 
library; each agency is supposed to pro-
vide up to ten pages free with the under-
standing that this is one way the agen-
cy ''earns" its grant. While a limit is offi-
cially set, individual libraries tend to dis-
regard the letter of the law and pro-
vide up to a "reasonable number" (what-
ever that means). 

A recent development, which has 
evolved from a program originally es-
tablished to serve school and small pub-
lic libraries, is a centralized processing 
operation. In summer 1967, a processing 
center was begun at the state head-
quarters in Providence. One function of 
the center is cataloging in the LC mode, 
although the Dewey system was origi-
nally used. In 1969, the state processing 
center began cataloging and processing 
books for the Roger Williams College Li-
brary and producing catalog card sets 
for the Brown University Library (both 
private institutions which classify and 

catalog their books according to LC 
practice). 

The processing center will also pro-
vide an important benefit. There are ap-
proximately 33,000 monographic titles in 
the center's data banks. The entries de-
veloped from school and small public li-
braries have little usefulness for those 
with sophisticated informational needs. 
However, processing some of the ma-
terials of two academic libraries and one 
of the regional libraries will gradually 
alter the content of the data banks. 
With more advanced institutions in-
vo1ved, the data gathered will be of far 
n1ort :mportance to the advanced infor-
mation seeker. A union list of holdings is 
gradually being built. 

Concurrently, but not presently con-
nected with the statewide program, the 
University of Rhode Island participates 
in Project NELINET ( N e\v England 
Library Network). This program in-
volves the six New England state uni-
versities and INFORONICS, INC. (a 
Boston-based, computer research orga-
nization), with the production of catalog 
hard copy from the MARC II tapes. Each 
university informs the company of the 
catalog information it wants over tele-
type and receives complete sets of ma-
terials to process the books. Because the 
University of Rhode Island is a member 
of the state regional system, it is not 
impossible to envision the processing 
center making use of the information re-
ceived by URI through the NELINET 
program. 

One of the least quantifiable aspects 
of the program has been the dialog be-
tween librarians. Until 1964, dialog 
among academic, school, and public li-
brarians was minimal and generally lim-
ited to greetings at meetings. Presently, 
monthly system meetings are held; eval-
uation of services and problems, and 
discussion of new programs are topics of 
these meetings. A dialog has been es-
tablished because of these monthly meet-
ings and that dialog is one of the most 



Public-Academic Library Cooperation I 125 

important by-products of the entire pro-
gram. The academic and public librar-
ians have found much common ground 
through their discussion of similar prob-
lems. One interesting manifestation of 
this involvement can be seen in the fol-
lowing example. The state agency pro-
posed a complete inventory of libraries 
within the state, and the proposal was 
seen as an inventory of all kinds of li-
braries-academic, public, special, and 
school. To make the inventory one sur-
vey team included staff members of the 
University of Rhode Island. 

Another development has been the in-
terest shown in the program by other 
academic institutions in the state, many 
of which are small colleges with small 
libraries. These libraries are interested 
because they can visualize the specific 
ways in which participation in the pro-
gram will benefit their own clientele. As 
these libraries become more deeply in-
volved, the use pattern that is expected 
to develop will, to some extent, lighten 
the load on the major institutions and 
broaden the materials base on which all 
can draw. The case of Bryant College, a 
school whose orientation was originally 
business, illustrates the benefits of in-
volvement. It is now an accredited four-
year, liberal arts college, working to 
build its resources. While examining the 
feasibility of erecting one library build-
ing to serve three communities in north-
ern Rhode Island, the author talked 
with the director of the Bryant College 
Library. He was enthusiastic in his de-
sire to extend cooperative opportunities 
to those who would be served through 
interlibrary loan by the Area Library (as 
it was called) and the Pawtucket Re-
gional Library ( the regional library for 
northern Rhode Island), and was very 
interested in the area of cooperative ac-
quisitions.l0 

There are other examples, but the 
point worth emphasizing is that the ba-
sic premises stated earlier do make con-

crete and viable results possible when 
those premises are applied intelligently. 
Logsdon and Nelson's idea of structure 
is vital to the success of any program. 
Proper structuring does make it pos-
sible, feasible, and even attractive for the 
academic library to join its public coun-
terpart in cooperative ventures. The aca-
demic library should not be expected to 
give without recompense, nor without 
knowing how much or what kind it 
will have to give. From the public li-
brary's standpoint, this structuring is 
equally important. With this kind of ap-
proach, the public library knows where 
it can go to fulfill . its specialized re-
quests, and it can use its own resources 
in various other ways. 

Another basic purpose of this paper 
was to emphasize the role of the state 
agency in promoting interlibrary coop-
eration. Prentiss' observation that "state 
library agencies have a leadership po-
tential that cuts across types of libraries, 
all varieties of library interests and all 
levels of government below the federal" 
is quite germane. The state agency can 
more easily effect the legal arrangements 
that are necessary to a program of inter-
library cooperation. The state agency, 
which has fewer of the traditional emo-
tional impediments connected with this 
topic, can take a leading role. The state 
agency is probably the one agency that 
can promote dialog, both with the great-
est ease and with the best chance of suc-
cess. It can be argued that until the state 
agencies become politically and finan-
cially stronger, extensive and effective 
interlibrary cooperation cannot exist. 
Now it appears that the state agency is 
evolving or already has evolved to the 
point where it can creatively coordinate 
and direct, enabling both public and uni-
versity libraries to be less concerned 
with the mechanics of cooperation and 
more concerned with the results. Such 
results should be welcomed by all. 



126 I College & Research Libraries • March 1971 

REFERENCES 

1. E. J. Josey, "Implications for College 
Libraries," College & Research Li-
braries 28 (3) :199 (May 1967). 

2. Ibid., p.20 1. 
3. Richard Logsdon and Charles Nelson, 

"Cooperation: Pitfall or Panacea," 
Special Libraries 56 (8) :571-75 (Oc-
tober 1965). 

4. Lowell A. Martin, Library Service in 
Pennsylvania, Present and Proposed: 
A Survey, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 
State Library, 1958; and Lowell A. 
Martin, Progress and Problems of Penn-
sylvania Libraries: A Re-Survey, Har-
risburg, Pennsylvania State Library, 
1967. 

5. S. G. Prentiss, "Evaluation of the Li-

brary System (New York)," Library 
Quarterly 39 (1) :78-89 (January 1969). 

6. G. Flint Purdy, "Interrelations Among 
Public, School and Academic Librar-
ies," Library Quarterly 39 ( 1) :52-77 
(January 1969). 

7. John A. Humphry and Lucille Wick-
ersham, Library Cooperation, Provi-
dence, R.I.: Brown University, 1963. 

8. Ibid., p.117, 121, 134-35. 
9. Rhode Island Library Laws, Chapter 6, 

"State Aid to Libraries," Section 29-
6-9; p.22. 

10. James S. Healey, "A Feasibility Study 
of an Area Library to Serve Northern 
Rhode Island," p.23 (manuscript) 
(August 1969).