College and Research Libraries ROBERT B. DOWNS The Role of the Academic Librarian, 1876-1976 . ,- ..0., IT IS DIFFICULT for university librarians in 1976, with their multi-million volume collections, staffs in the hundreds, bud- gets in millions of dollars, and monu- mental buildings, to conceive of the minuscule beginnings of academic li- braries a centur-y ago. Only two univer- sity libraries in the nation, Harvard and Yale, held collections in ·excess of 100,000 volumes, and no state university possessed as many as 30,000 volumes. they were members of the teaching fac- ulty. The ordinary practice was to list librarians with registrars, museum cu- rators, and other miscellaneous officers. Combination appointments were com- mon, e.g., the librarian of the Univer- sity of California was a professor of English; at Princeton the librarian was professor of Greek, and the assistant li- brarian was tutor in Greek; at Iowa State University the librarian doubled as professor of Latin; and at the Uni- versity of · Minnesota the librarian served also as president. .. As Edward Holley discovered in the preparation of the first article in the present centennial series, professional li- brarHms to maintain, service, and devel- op these extremely limited holdings were in similarly short supply.1 General- ly, the library staff was a one-man opera- tion-often not even on a full-time ba- sis. Faculty members assigned to super- vise the library were also expected to teach courses in their fields of compe- tence. EARLY VIEWS OF THE AcADEMIC LIBRARIAN The idea of the college .and univer- -+- sity librarian being accepted and recog- nized as a bona-fide member of the aca- demic community still lay in the future. A representative sampling of university catalogs during the 1870s reveals that none of these institutions conferred .academic titles on their librarians unless Further examination of university catalogs for the last quarter of the nine- teenth century, where no teaching duties were assigned to the librarian, indicates that there was a feeling, at least in some institutions, that head librarians ought to be grouped with the faculty. What the specific relationship should be, how- ever, was undetermined. By the begin- ning of the present century, modest ad- vances in the status of librarians were evident. On the other hand, among eigh- teen major universities checked, in no instance did the librarian hold an aca- demic title as librarian per se. The librarian as educator received some support in the famous 1876 Unit- ed States Bureau of Education's special report Public Libraries in the United States of America. F. B. Perkins and William Mathews proposed the creation I 491 492 I College & Research Libraries • November 1976 of "professorships of books and read- ing" to guide students through the mazes of what even then was regarded as a bibliographical explosion. The in- struction recommended would be pri- marily for the acquisition of knowl- edge, "the scientific use of books," i.e., sound methodology, and for . "literary production." A chair of books and read- ing, it was suggested, might be filled by "an accomplished librarian."2 The first library school was still eleven years away. By the year 1900, we find that Brown University was listing the librarian, as- sistant librarian, and four library staff members with "Officers of Administra- tion and Instruction"; California at Berkeley included the librarian in the Academic Senate, but without academic rank, while the remainder of the library staff appeared under "Assistants and Other Officers"; the University of Chi- cago recognized the librarian by making him a member of the University Senate and University Council; at Columbia, the librarian was among "Officers of Administration"; Cornell listed the li- brarian and his staff under "Officers of Instruction and Administration"; Har- vard did the same. At Illinois, the librarian was a mem- ber of the Senate and Council and a professor, but by virtue of being direc- tor also of the library school, while oth- er librarians were listed with "Labora- tory and Other Assistants"; Indiana used the heading of "Library Officers," following the listing of "Faculty"; at Missouri the librarian was one of "Oth- er Officers"; North Carolina included him among "Officers of Administra- tion"; Northwestern's heading of "Offi- cers of Instruction and Government" included the librarian; Pennsylvania named its librarian and assistant librari- an under "Administrative Officers"; Texas and Wisconsin grouped the li- brarians and their staff together follow- ing the listing of faculty and other of- ficers; and, finally, at Yale the librarian and assistant librarian were under the heading of "Faculty and Instructors," without titles, while the remainder of the library staff were with "Other Offi- cers" at the end of the faculty list. Thus, there was little consistency sev- enty-five years ago in the classification of library staff members among the na- tion's universities. The sampling tech- nique, however, finds a definite trend in the direction of rating the chief librar- ian as faculty, despite the fact that no breakthrough had been made toward conferring formal academic titles or ranks on them. Other than the head li- brarian and one or two top associates, it is obvious that professional library staff members lacked any definite place ,.t. in the educational hierarchy. Voices crying in the wilderness were ~ trying to make themselves heard at an .. early date. H. A. Sawtelle, writing on college librarianship, in 1878, states: Time was when if a college librarian cataloged and placed his books and for half an hour twice a week charged the borrowed volumes and checked the re- turned ones, he had sufficiently dis- charged his duty. But it has come to be understood that it becomes him to be daily ready to be consulted in rela- tion to any book or ~ubject, to converse freely with the students in regard to their reading, inspiring their literary in- terest, guiding their taste, bringing to their attention the right kind of appe- tizing works, and if needful gently lead- ing on the reader from light and tasty books to those of high quality and per- manent utility. To us nothing in the life of the college student seems to be of greater importance than just this in- spiration and guidance. But all this is time consuming and requires no small amount of understanding and skill.a The writer concluded that such col- lege librarianship as he described "ought not to be annexed to a profes- sorship, but be itself a professorship." As early as 1891, President Daniel Coit Gilman of Johns Hopkins Univer- sity, himself a former librarian, assert- ed that "the librarian's office should rank with that of professor .... The profession of librarian should be dis- tinctly .recognized. Men and women should be encouraged to enter it, should be trained to discharge its duties, and should be rewarded, promoted, and hon- ored in proportion to the services they render."4 TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSIDP The matter of training for librarian- ship, mentioned by Gilman, was in its infancy at the time that he was writing. The pioneer institution in the field was, of course, Melvil Dewey's School of Li- brary Economy at Columbia University, which began instruction in 1887. The establishment of such a school had been in Dewey's mind for at least a decade, but he had found little enthusiasm for it among his most influential profession- al colleagues. Their point of view is represented in a critical statement from William F. Poole, compiler .of Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, who commented: "I have entertained the idea that practical work in a library, based on a good previous education in the schools, was the only proper way to train good librarians."5 Another dominant figure in the Amer- ican library world, Justin Winsor, Har- vard University librarian, also adhered to the view .that practical experience in a well-organized library was the best preparation for librarianship, and John Shaw Billings, later director of the New York Public Library, spoke emphatical- ly against the proposal to create a school to teach librarianship. Nevertheless, despite discouragements, Dewey persisted. In 1883 he persuaded the American Library Association con- ference, meeting in Buffalo, to endorse an experimental program, though there were dissenting voices. In · the same year, Dewey was appointed college librarian Academic Librarian I 493 at Columbia and· given permission to open a new school. Every possible road- block, however, was placed in the way: no money, no faculty, no equipment, no space, and Dewey was directed not to admit women, who at the time were banned from Columbia. "' The School of Library Economy opehed officially on January 5, 1887, with an enrollment of twenty students -three men and seventeen women, from which ~ight be marked the be- ginning of the feminization of the li- brary profession. Immediately, stormy weather was encountered. Dewey was de- termined to accept women students, and the Columbia trustees were equally ada- mant against the institution's becoming coeducational. Thus acting in direct violation of the explicit orders of the trustees of the college, Dewey sef the course for a head- on collision. Almost exactly two years after the opening of the library school, he was forced to resign as Columbia's librarian. But Dewey was not unem- ployed for long. He moved to Albany to become New York State Librarian, taking the school with him and estab- lishing it as the New York State Library School, which was for more than thirty- five years thereafter the leading Amer- ican school for librarians. The School · of Library Economy at Columbia and other early library schools, following Melvil Dewey's lead- ership, were heavily weighted on the practical side, emphasizing perfection in technical details and preparing stu- dents to step directly into the manage- ment of library routines. In many of their aspects, the programs res em bled an apprentice system. This fact doubtless militated against academic recognition of college and university librarians. They were regarded by their faculty colleagues as technicians, rather than scholars. On the other hand, Louis R. Wilson, in discussing the first school at Columbia pointed out that "even 494 I College & Research Libraries • November 1976 though the curriculum was severely practical and limited, it was developed systematically, and afforded the student · an opportunity of mastering in a mini- mum of time the various subjects em- braced in the curriculum and of seeing them through an over-all and unified perspective impossible through appren- ticeship in a single library. To this de- cision, more tha:J;I to any other one thing, may be attributed America's ac- knowledged leadership in the field of modern library procedures."6 PREPARATION OF LEADING UNIVERSITY LmRARIANS What kinds of preparation did Amer- ica's leading university librarians bring to their positions in an earlier era? There is no common pattern, except that a majority lacked professional training in librarianship. T.be records were examined for twenty individuals who rose to prominent posts after 1900, with the following results: William Warner Bishop, University of Michigan, A.B. and A.M., University of Michigan; Fellow, American School . of Classical Studies, Rome; Professor of Greek, Missouri Wesleyan College; Instructor in New Testament, Garrett Biblical Institute; Librarian and In- structor in Latin, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; on staffs, Princeton Uni- versity and Library of Congress. Harry Clemons, University of Virgin- ia. A.B., Wesleyan University; M.A., Princeton; student at Oxford Universi- ty; Professor of English, Nanking Uni- versity, China; Instructor in English, Princeton; on staff of Library of Con- gress. Archibald C. Coolidge, Harvard Uni- versity. A.B., Harvard; student at Uni- versity of Berlin; Ph.D., Ecole des Sci- ences Politiques, Paris; diplomatic ser- vice; Professor of History, Harvard. Charles W. David, University of Pennsylvania. B.A., Oxford; M.A., Wis- consin; Ph.D., Harvard (history); Pro- fessor of History, Bryn Mawr and Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. John C. French, Johns Hopkins Uni- versity. A.B., Johns Hopkins; Ph.D., Harvard; on English faculty, Johns Hopkins. ]ames T. Gerould, Princeton Univer- sity. A.B., Dartmouth; Assistant Librari- an, General Theological Seminary; Li- brarian, University of Missouri and University of Minnesota. Andrew Keogh, Yale University. Stu- dent, Durham College of Science, New- castle-Upon-Tyne, England; M.A., Yale; Reference Librarian, Newcastle-Upon- Tyne Public Library; Librarian, Linon- ian and Brothers Library, Yale. Otto Kinkeldey, Cornell University. A.B., City College of New York; A.M., New York University; student at Colum- bia, University of Berlin, and Institut fiir Kirchenmusik, Berlin; Professor of Music in various institutions; Chief, Music Division, New · York Public Li- brary. Theodore W. Koch, Northwestern University. A.B., Pennsylvania; A.M., Harvard; student, University of Paris and College de France; on Library of Congress staff; Librarian, University of Michigan. Harold L. Leupp, University of Cali- fornia (Berkeley). A.B., Cornell; stu- dent, New York State Library School; on staff of John Crerar Library and University of Chicago. Earl N. Manchester, Ohio State Uni- versity. A.B., Brown University; student, New York State Library School; on staffs of Brown and University of Chi- cago Libraries; Librarian, Unive·rsity of Kansas. M. Llewellyn Raney, University of Chicago. Educated at Centre College, Kentucky; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins; Li- brarian, Johns Hopkins. Ernest C. Richardson, Princeton Uni- versity. A.B., Amherst; A.M. and Ph.D., Washington and Jefferson; graduate, Hartford Theological Seminary; Assis- ,4 J 1 tant Librarian, Amherst; Librarian, Hartford Theological Seminary. Charles W. Smith, University of Washington. A.B. and B.L.S., University of Illinois; Assistant and Associate Li- brarian, University of Washington. Nat han Van Patten, Stanford U niver- sity. Educated at Union Classical In- stitute; Reference Librarian, M.I.T.; Librarian, Queen's University, Canada. Frank K. Walters, University of Min- nesota. A.B. and M.A., Haverford; B.L.S. and M.L.S., New York State Li- brary School; ·Assistant in English and German, Haverford; Librarian, Gen- eral Motors Corporation. Charles C. Williamson, Columbia University. A.B., Western Reserve; Ph.D., Columbia; Librarian, Municipal Reference Library, New York; Chief of Economics Division, New York Pub- lic Library. Louis R. Wilson, University of North Carolina. Student, Haverford; A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. (English), University of North Carolina. Phineas L. Windsor, University of Il- linois. Ph.B., Northwestern; student, New York State Library School; on staff of Library of Congress; Librarian, Uni- versity of Texas. Malcolm G. Wyer, University of Den- ver. A.B., Minnesota; B.L.S., New York State Library School; Librarian, Denver Public Library; Dean, University of Denver Library School. Thus of the total group of twenty~ only six had graduate study in library science. The strong hold of the Albany school is indicated by the fact that all except one of the six held degrees from or had been students at the New York State Library School. EARLy STIRRINGS FOR RECOGNITION Enlightened librarians realized that they ought to have clearly defined status, as is revealed by stirrings in the profes- sion early in the present century. W. E. Henry, librarian of the University of Academic Librarian I 495 Washington, speaking at the ALA con- ference in Pasadena in 1911, after de- fending the training and scholarly nature of the work of scholarly librari- ans, declared: With such preparation and such rela- tionship to the educational process I shall claim that the library staff must rank with the faculty dr teaching staff of any department. The librarian or head of the staff should have the rank and pay of a professor; the assistant li- brarian . . . should be accorded the rank and pay of an associate professor; and the other members of the staff that of assistant professor or instructor, this to be determined by the nature of the work, the preparation and particular ability required; and those not fitted to nk should not be members of the but some other name should be p ed. 7 Henry's goal had not been achieved at the University of Washington at the time of his address. The librarian and five members of his staff were grouped under "Library Staff," without academic titles, near the end of the section on "Faculty and Officers." According to re- turns from questionnaires sent by Hen- ry to sixteen college and university li- braries across the country, however, he reported, "it appears that the librarian usually has the rank of a professor. Be- low the librarian all sorts of conditions prevail."8 An important step forward was taken in the same year, 1911, by the Columbia University trustees, who ruled: "The li- brarian 'shall have the rank of profes- sor, the assistant librarian that of asso- ciate professor and the supervisors shall rank as assistant professors and bibli- ographers as instructors." President Nicholas Murray Butler held that the library was coordinate with the various professional schools and main depart- ments of the university, the librarian ranking as a dean, and various members of the professional staff standing in parallel order with professors, assistant 496 I College & Research Libraries • November 1976 professors, and instructors of the other faculties. From Harvard University it was reported that "librarians and .assis- tant librarians" were eligible to partici- pate in the faculty retirement system. A few years later, E. C. Richardson, noted librarian of Princeton University, reviewed the place of the library in a university and concluded that its posi- tion would be determined by the effec- tiveness with which its teaching func- tion was discharged. Richardson pointed out that the growth of research work, the advent of the research professor, and the establishment of library schools had brought librarians "into the circle of the teaching faculties." 9 At approximately the same time a strong statement from W. N. C. Carl- ton, librarian, Newberry Library, object- ed to the fact t:P,at in some institutions "the librarian is not granted a seat and vote in the faculty. This," the writer went on, "is a viciously bad practice. Its evils are too patent to need illustration. If a m.an is not qualified for the duty and responsibility of sharing in the de- bates, consideration and decisions re- lating to general university policy and administration, he ought not to be ap-: pointed librarian, whatever his technical qualifications may be."lo A subordinate staff member was heard from nearly sixty years ago when J. T. Jennings, then reference librarian of Iowa State College, wrote on "Librarian- ship as a Profession in College and Uni- versity Libraries." Jennings was con- vinced that the chief librarian's position in most college and university communi- ties had become well established "in dig- nity, in importance, in salary," ranking as the head of one of the most impor~ tant departments. "But what about the remainder of the staff?" he asked. "With the exception of a possible as- sistant librarian they are usually con- sidered 'mere clerks,' as is shown by their salaries, their hours of work, and the attitude of their superiors toward granting them opportunities for ad- vancement." Jennings w.as inclined to blame this state of affairs on the head librarians who were not sufficiently en- ergetic in encouraging and assisting ju- nior stafF members to improve their edu- cational and professional preparation as junior members of the teaching faculty were expected to do. 11 The same conclusion was reached by another reference librarian, Edith M. Coulter, of the University of Califor- nia, writing in 1922. Even the chief li- brarian, she points out, lacked certain privileges customarily belonging to the teaching faculty, such as extended va- cations, leaves of absence, and sabbat- icals for advanced study and research. Proper recognition would come to li- brarians, Miss Coulter held, if they par- ticipated more actively in teaching, e.g., bibliographic instruction to university students, if the programs of library schools were standardized, more doctoral degrees were held by librarians, require- ments for appointments to university library staffs were raised, professional and clerical duties were differentiated, and more study and research were done by librarians. Miss Coulter displayed re- markable foresight in urging .a doctoral program in library science several years before the establishment of the Grad- uate Library School at the University of Chicago.12 The first full exploration of the status of professional librarians w.as un- dertaken by George A. Works, in his College and University Library Prob- lems, based on data collected 'in 1925. Works reviewed types of library work, factors affecting 'the status of a library staff, current conditions, the relative preparation of library and teaching staffs, comparative salaries, work sched- ules, and retirement provisions. Among the important conclusions were these: 1. Insufficient distinction was made in libraries between cleri~al .and pro- fessional types of . service, but [~ there were a number of positions in every large library whose re- quirements in professional educa- tion and experience were compa- rable with the requirements for positions in the various grades in the teaching staff. 2. Among the seventeen institutions studied, wide differences were found, varying from those in which librarians held faculty rank to others in which the library staff, except the librarian and perhaps one or two other individuals, were classified as clerical. 3. In some universities, e.g., Columbia and Stanford, librarians were granted equivalent status, but not considered members of the instruc- tional staff. 4. Except for the head librarian, sal- aries for the library staff were gen- erally lower than those of compa- rable members of the faculty. 5. The academic preparation of fac- ulty members of all professorial ranks was more advanced than that of library department heads. 6. No account was taken of the fact that annual periods of service were ordinarily longer for members of the library staff than for the teach- ing staff. 7. Retirement provisions varied-sev- en institutions had no allowance for faculty or librarians; six had the same retirement arrangements for both groups, .and three had different arrangements for faculty and librarians. 13 A decade later an outstanding uni- versity president, Henry M. Wriston, whose ideas have had considerable im- pact on academic library service, set forth his concept of the proper rela- tionships between the college librarian and the teaching staff. His conclusion was that "the libraria!l despite his ad- ministrative duties is primarily an offi- cer of instruction. He should have the Academic Librarian I 497 scholarly interests and tastes which are expected of other members of the fac- ulty. He should be given faculty status and should participate in all the com- mittee and other discussions incidental to that status." In harmony with this proposal, the writer added that the library "should be treated not as an ancillary enterprise but as one of the central sources of motive power for the operation of the institution."14 ADVANCED EDUCATION The establishment of the University of Chicago's Graduate Library School in 1928 was a revolutionary develop- ment-the first and for some years the only school to offer a doctor's degree in librarianship. The objective, as stated by Frederick Keppel, president of the Carnegie Foundation, whose generous endowment made the new school pos- sible, was to create "a graduate library school of a new type which could oc- cupy for the library profession a posi- tion analogous to that of the Harvard Law School or the Johns Hopkins Med- ical School."15 The faculty of the Graduate Library School was drawn mainly from disci- plines other than librarianship. All members held doctoral degrees in special subject fields, such as education, history, psychology, and sociology. They had lit- tle or no background in library school teaching, but were extensively trained in scientific methods of graduate study and research. A program of advanced study, investigation, and publication was set up. The students were expected to develop a critical, scientific attitude, and were taught to question generally accepted notions, to work out experi- mental techniques for solving problems, and to base their findings on thorough examination and testing. The graduate- professional curriculum developed for the school greatly influenced the pro- grams of other library schools, the ef- fect being, as expressed by Louis R. 498 1 College & Research Libraries • November 1976 Wilson, the school's dean from 1932 to 1942, "to jar the profession out of its prolonged devotion to the practical tech- niques set up by Dewey." The school's philosophy was spread at home and abroad by its alumni who became prom- inently engaged in library administra- tion, education, and related fields. Among the graduates of the Graduate Library School who went on to direct important university and other research libraries or became leading library edu- cators were: Lewis Branscomb (Ohio State), John Cory (New York Public Li- brary), Andrew Eaton (Washington University), Ralph Ellsworth (Colo- rado), Herman Fussier (Chicago), Her- bert Gold:Qor (Illinois), Herman Hen- kle (John Crerar), Richard Logsdon (Columbia), Arthur McAnally ( Okla- homa), Stephen McCarthy (Cornell), Stanley McElderry (Chicago), Lowell Marti:r~ (Columbia), LeRoy Merritt (Oregon), Robert Miller (Indiana), · Ralph Parker (Missouri), Benjamin Powell (Duke), Flint Purdy (Wayne), Ralph Shaw (Rutgers), Donald Smith (Washington State), Edward Stanford (Minnesota), Raynard Swank (Stan- ford), and Maurice Tauber ( Colum- bia). For some years after the opening of the Graduate Library School, consider- able skepticism prevailed in the profes- sion about the value and need of the doctorate in librarianship. That attitude gradually changed, especially in academ- ic institutions, where a doctor's degree frequently has been a requirement for appointment to higher positions. Some seventeen American library schools are presently offering the Ph.D. or the D.L.S. degree in library science. The emphasis on graduate study and degrees in professional library schools has played a significant role in improv- ing the status of college and university librarians, helping to gain recognition for librarianship as an established pro- fession. CuRRENT PosiTIONS ON FACULTY STATUS Academic or faculty status has been a long-time goal of librarians in institu- tions of higher education, as noted ear- lier. During the past forty years, the lit- erature relating to questions of status has proliferated. Two collections of the numerous articles on the subject were assembled in The Status of American College and University Librarians ( 1958), edited by Robert B. Downs and The Case for Faculty Status for Aca- demic Librarians ( 1970), edited by Lewis C. Branscomb, both published by the American Library Association. The trend throughout the U.S. and Canada, especially in public colleges and universities, has for some time . been running strongly in the direction of full academic status for librarians. With few exceptions, professional li- brarians in university members of the Association of Research Libraries have academic or faculty standing. The ex- ceptions are principally in the long-es- tablished private universities. Among the states to which the nation has cus- tomarily looked for educational leader- ship, California is most backward in this respect. ~n neither the University of California nor the California State University and Colleges are librarians recognized as faculty members. In the state of Illinois, by contrast, all of the state senior colleges and universities have granted faculty status to their pro- fessional librarians. The publicly-sup- ported institutions in New York City and State have followed the same pat- tern. Prerogatives which have customar- ily followed such recognition include tenure, rank, voting rights, retirement benefits, group insurance, and generally sabbatical and study leaves. Objections to faculty status for li- brarians on the part of college and uni- versity administrators have been most often voiced on the ground that they are academically unqualified. Some fields have, of course, tended to empha- J . ' size the doctorate more than others. In the past, librarians have been in the company of engineers, architects, law- yers, artists, musicians, and certain oth- er groups who belong to the college or university community, but who have customarily followed different patterns of training. The situation in the library field is gradually changing, as previously indicated, as more and more schools of- fer the doctorate in library science. Combination masters degrees in library science and a subject fiel~ may in some instances be accepted as equivalents to the doctorate, e.g., in the City Universi- ty of New York. In any case, academic librarians have come to see merit in the contention that librarians should establish their place in the academic world by proper prep- aration. Like the teaching profession, librarianship has become a career for specialists with diverse requirements. The criteria normally considered for faculty promotions, it is agreed, should be applied to librarians: . professional writing and publication, research in li- brary science and related fields, partici- pation in the activities of professional associations, bibliographical instruction to students at all levels, and aid to indi- vidual faculty research. Another essen- tial is strict separation of professional and nonprofessional activities. It has been demonstrated that two-thirds or more of the work in an academic li- brary can be done successfully and eco- nomically by nonprofessional person- neJ.I6 In 1971 the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of American Colleges, and the Ameri- can Association of University Profes- sors adopted a "Joint Statement on Fac- ulty Status of College and University Librarians," with the aim of establish- ing standards in ·this area. The docu- ment was widely distributed and is ex- pected to exert a favorable influence on efforts to expand the number of insti- Academic Librarian I 499 tutions granting full academic standing to their librarians.I7 RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION A generally accepted criterion for measuring any profession is its mem- bers' contributions to research and pub- lished literature in their field. Librarian- ship, being a book-oriented profession, would naturally be expected to be pro- ductive of professional writings. There are, of course, wide individual varia- tions; librarians with outstanding repu- tations seldom wrote anything, even an occasional article, while others have had a prolific output. Among early authors, beginning with 1876, Justin Winsor published extensive- ly, though mainly in the field of history rather than library science. Melvil Dew- ey's and Charles Ammi Cutter's major contributions were on library classifica- tion. Two of their contemporaries, J o- sephus Nelson Larned and Reuben Gold Thwaites, both presidents of the American Library Association, are re- membered as historians, instead of as librarians. Not until the twentieth century were there any very significant additions to library literature.. Solid contributions then began to come from such writers as John Shaw Billings, Ernest Cushing Richardson, Arthur E. Bostwick, James I. Wyer, William Warner Bishop, and Harry Miller Lydenberg. Over the past forty years, the publication rate has vastly accelerated, as an examination of the record, Library Literature, reveals. Certain names stand out: Louis Round Wilson, Ralph R. Shaw, Guy R. Lyle, Lawrence S. Thompson, Lawrence Clark Powell, Louis Shores, A. F. Kuhlman, Keyes D. Metcalf, Ralph E. Ellsworth, Carl M. White, J. Periam Danton, Jer- rold Orne, Julian Boyd, Fremont Rider, Robert Vosper, and William Ready. pARTICIPATION IN AsSOCIATIONS Another criterion for determining the 500 I College & Research Libraries • November 1976 character of a profession is participa- tion in organizations for the advance- ment of the field. College and universi- ty librarians in the United States have played active roles in the American Li- brary Association since its establishment a century ago. Among the university and college librarians who have served as ALA presidents are Justin Winsor, Er- nest Cushing Richardson, William War- ner Bishop, Azariah S. Root, Andrew Keogh, Louis Round Wilson, Charles Harvey Brown, Keyes D. Metcalf, Er- rett W. McDiarmid, Robert B. Downs, Flora Belle Ludington, Benjamin E. Powell, Frederick H. Wagman, Robert Vosper, William S. Dix, and Edward G. Holley. Their efforts were of signal im- portance in creating the largest and most prestigious of national library as- sociations. Other professional associations have also felt the influence of university li- brarians, notably the Association nf Re- search Libraries, the institutional mem- bership of which has from the begin- ning been composed principally of university libraries. Eighty-three of the ninety-four members of the ARL, as of 1975, were university libraries. Execu- tive secretaries or directors since the ARL' s founding in 1932 have included a number of leading university librari- ans: Donald B. Gilchrist (Rochester), Keyes D. Metcalf (Harvard), Charles W. David (Pennsylvania), Robert A. Miller (Indiana), William S. Dix (Princeton), Stephen A. McCarthy (Cornell), James E. Skipper ( Califor- nia), and John McDonald ( Connecti- cut). Resources and materials for re- search have been at the center of the ARL' s attention, and it has had a profound impact in such areas as bib- liographic control, international coop- eration in acquisition and cataloging programs, microreproduction projects, preservation of research materials, and administrative problems of research libraries. Since World W .ar II, the influence of American librarianship has spread over the world. American advisors and con- If sultants have gone abroad in increasing numbers to aid in the establishment of national libraries, to create and teach in ,.L library schools, to organize or reorga- nize university libraries, and to take part in international library conferences. A 1- I list of U.S. academic librarians who have participated in such activities would represent virtually all the leading institutions of the nation. CHANGING RoLES IN AcADEMic LIBRARIES Much attention in recent years has "' been focused on the changing nature of the university librarian's position. An article by Arthur M. McAnally and .-4. Robert B. Downs in 1973 summarized various facets of that phenomenon.18 The study revealed that the head li- • brarian's post, which had been highly stable in the past, was experiencing a rapid turnover. Important factors at the root of this problem, it was pointed out, were growth in student enrollment, ~ changes in the world of learning and re- search, the information ~nd publication explosion, tight budgets and inflation, ,. new technologies, changing theories of management, staff unions, and growing control by state boards. Internally, fric- ~ + tion with the president's office, faculty criticisms, staff and student pressures ~· played a part in making the library di- . L·~~ rector's position untenable. In the back- ground, the chief causes of these grow- ing problems were the library's declin- ing ability to meet needs, lack of goals and planning, an inability to accommo- date quickly to educational changes, a decline in the director's sfatus, and in- ':-t adequate . financial support. The direc- ,, tor was blamed for failure to make • maximum use of modern computers \4- and other forms of technology. Staff· de- mands for a greater voice in decision making and administration have out- · 1-- moded the traditional hierarchical .and authoritative style of library manage- ment. • Further complications in the lives of all academic administrators, including library directors, are found in the J guidelines laid down by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, in return for federal financial aid. Most troublesome is the Affirmative Action Program for Equal Employment Oppor- tunity, which has set up numerous reg- ulations to bring about racial and sex- ual balance in college and university staff and faculty appointments. Some of the consequences, as they relate to in- stitutions of higher education, were graphically described recently in an ar- ticle for the AAUP Bulletin, by Mal- colm J. Sherman.19 Academic library directors tend to think of their difficulties as a new phe- ~ nom.enon, and remember nostalgically the golden era from the end of World War II to the end of the 1960s. Public i·elations problems appear, however, to date back for a longer period. Accord- ing to · one story, as President Lawrence Lowell and Librarian Archibald Cary Coolidge were walking aw.ay from the 1 dedication of the Widener Library at Harvard, in 1915, Coolidge remarked to Lowell that they should start then to plan a new library building. It is said Academic Librarian I 501 that Lowell never spoke to Coolidge again. In a report prepared for the AA U Commission on Financing Higher E-ducation, about twenty-five years ago, John D . . Millett, later president of Mi- ami University, recited some of the complaints against university librarians. University presidents around the coun- try accused their librarians of over- emphasizing the size of their collections, the number of staff members, and total expenditures, of filling their shelves with obsolete material, and paying lit- tle attention to economy of operation.2° It is readily apparent that academic librarianship in America, and doubtless elsewhere, is in a state of evolution. For some individuals directly involved, there may be traumatic experiences in store, and the shape of the future can only be dimly perceived. A successful aca- demic library director operating under today's conditions requires flexibility and adaptability, willingness to accept change, a stable and equable tempera- ment, emotional balance, and endurance -a difficult but perhaps not impossible combination. In any event, academic li- braries and librarians are indispensable and will survive, whatever modifications may be forced upon them by a changing world. REFERENCES I. Edward G. Holley, "Academic Libraries in 1876," College & Research Libraries 37: 35 (Jan. 1976). · 2. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Public Libraries in the Unit- ed States: Their History, Condition, and Management. ·Special Report, Part I (Washington, D.C.: Govt. Print. Off., 1876)' p.230-51. • · 3. H. A. Sawtelle, "The College Librarian- ship," Library ]ournal3: 162 (June 1878). ~- , 4. D. C. Gilman, "University Libraries, an Address at the Opening of the Sage Li- brary of Cornell University, October 7, 1891," in his University Problems in the United States (New York: Century, 18~8) p.245---55. 5. William F. Poole, Library journal 8:288 (Sept.-Oct. 1883). 6. Louis R. Wilson, "Historical Development of Education for Librarianship in the Unit- ed States," in Bernard Berelson, ed., Edu- cation for Librarianship ( Chicago: Amer- ican Library Assn., 1949), p.45. 7. W. E. Henry, "The Academic Standing of College Library Assistants and Their Rela- tion to the Carnegie Foundation," Bulletin of the American Library Association 5: 259-60 (May 1911). 8. Ibid., p.262. 9. E. C. Richardson, "The Place of the Li- brary in a University," Bulletin of the American Library Association 10:1-13 (Jan. 1916 ). 502 I College & Research Libraries • November 1976 10. W. N. C. Carlton, "Universities and Li- brarians," Public Libraries 20:455 (Dec. 1915). 11. J. T. Jennings, "Librarianship as a Profes- sion in College and University Libraries," Library ]ournal43:221-33 (April1918). 12. Edith M. Coulter, "The University Librar- ian: His Preparation, Position and Relation to the A ademic Department of the Uni- versity," BUlletin of the American Library As.sociation 16:271-75 (July 1922). 13. George A. Works, "The Status of the Pro- fessional Staff," in his College and Univer- sity Library Problems ( Chicago: American Library Assn., 1927), p.8Q.-.98. 14. Henry M. Wriston, "The College Librarian and the Teaching Staff," Bulletin of the American Library Association 29: 182 (April1935). 15. Wilson, "Historical Development," p.53. 16. Robert B. Downs and Robert F. Delzell, "Professional Duties in University Librar- lles," College & Research Libraries 26:30- 39, 69 (Jan. 1965). 17. College & Research Libraries News 33: 209-12 (Sept. 1972). 18. Arthur M. McAnally and Robert B. Downs, "The Changing Role of Directors of Uni- versity Libraries," College & Research Li- braries 34: 103-25 (March 1973). 19. Malcolm J. Sherman, "Affirmative Action and the AAUP," AAUP Bulletin 61:293- 303 (Dec. 1975). 20. John D. Millett, Financing Higher Educa- tion in the United States (New York: Co- lumbia Univ. Pr., 1952), p.122-26. Robert B. Downs is dean of library administration, emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. L