College and Research Libraries


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(,!areful analysis . of trends and problems in 
foundation performance, will have a con-
siderable imi>act :: upon ·future development 
of foundations. Nielsen's two-year effort has 
giv.en us a thorough and critical look at the 
lar.gest American foundations. As self-per-
petuating bodies which wield great eco-
nomic power they are likely to come under 
increasing attack Nielsen has raised the 
question whether or not they should sur-
vive. Since many of them have given sub-
stantial support for library buildings and 
operations over : the years, the answer to 
that question holds more than academic in-
terest for the librarian.-Edward G. Hal-
ley, Dean, School of Library Science, The 
:University ·of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill. 

Whitbeck, George W. The Influence of Li-
brarians in Liberal Arts Colleges in Se-

·. lected Decision Making Areas. Metuch-
en, N.J., The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 1972. 
Based on a doctoral dissertation at Rut-

gers, this study documents with painful 
clarity the peripheral role of the library and 
librarians in college affairs, in a sample of 
ten liberal arts . colleges in the East. The 
poor integration of the library with the aca-
d~mic enterprise has been pointed out earli-
er by several ·. authorities including Harvie 
Branscomb, Patricia Knapp, and Daniel N. 
Bergen, as well as quite a few others. How-
ever, Whitbeck brings new dimensions to 
the problem. 

First the author explores variables which 
might affect the status of librarians in the 
academic community, and examines librari-
ans' means of communication and their role 
as seen by 'themselves, the classroom fac-
ulty, and administrators. Then he analyses 
thoroughly the role of the library and li-
brarians in three major areas of decision 
making: . development of curriculum, budg-
eting-both · college-wide and departmental, 
and key appointments. In curriculum de-
velopment, he found librarians by and large 
uninvolved, and largely uninterested. In 
budgeting~ neither librarians nor faculty are 
much involved in college budgeting; how-
ever, whereas the classroom faculty do tend 
to have a say in departmental budgeting, 
in· :the library · budgeting is principally the 
province of the · chief librarian alone. Like-

Recent Publications I 233 

w1se, while neither faculty · nor librarians 
have much influence in the making of key 
appointments at administrative levels, the 
fac1.1lty are likely to be involved in appoint-
ments of new faculty members,. and to uti-
lize democratic methods . of decision making 
in appointments, whereas appointments to 
the professional staff in the library are 
largely the prerogative of the chief librari-
an. 

In such an apparent isolation from the 
mainstream of events in the college, the au-
thor questions whether· or n.ot much prog-
ress can be made towards true professional-
ism in such libraries. Not only are librarians 
largely not involved in major decision-mak-
ing affairs, they do not seem to realize the 
importance of being participants or even 
to want a change. This lack of perception 
and this passiveness is one of the serious 
handicaps to more effective integration of 
the library into the educational program of 
the college. 

Perhaps the most interesting parts of the 
study are the concluding suggestions for 
improving the situation. These relate · to the 
adoption of more democratic (and less bu-
reaucratic and hierarchical) methods, new 
patterns of service including · more depart-
mentalized approaches, and a studied effort 
to achieve a more active role in the college. 
The last certainly will not be easy. The au-
thor concludes, "can information and li-
brary service be superior, or even adequate, 
without involvement?" 

Liberal arts college libraries certainly are 
important, but the study would have broad-
er values if some state-supported colleges 
had been included. They also would serve 
as a kind of check. The text does contain 
an excessive number of tables, eighty-five 
in all; many are important but some data 
could have been presented equally well in 
paragraph form. The interview method 
used with all groups-librarians, classroom 
faculty, and administrators~is excellent 
but ·no doubt very time consuming. Finally, 
the printing is, as usual with Scarecrow 
Press books, adequate but undistinguished. 
Perhaps it reflects the sales potential of 
scholarly studies in librarianship.-Arthur 
McAnally (deceased), Direct6r of Librar-
ies, University of .Oklahoma, Norman, Ok-
lahoma.