College and Research Libraries By C A R L W . H I N T Z College and Research Libraries and the C.I.N.P. Mr. Hintz is librarian, University of Oregon, and jnember of the A.L.A. Com- mittee on Implementation of the National Plans, representing the A.C.R.L. THE Executive Board of the American Library Association devoted consider- able attention at its October 1947 meeting to various national plans of library groups and voted to establish a Committee on Im- plementation of the National Plans. T h i s committee, made up of representatives of the various divisions of the Association, was somewhat hastily formed, and met for the first time at the Midwinter meeting. W i t h this much of a preamble, we may raise three questions: W h a t are the na- tional plans? W h a t is the C . I . N . P . sup- posed to d o ? W h e r e do college and re- search libraries and librarians come into the picture? In the first place, the plans are those set forth in the several publications in the Li- brary Planning Series of the American Li- brary Association's Committee on Postwar Planning, which have appeared to date; namely, Post-M/ar Standards for Public Li- braries ( 1 9 4 3 ) , Library Planning ( 1 9 4 4 ) , School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow ( 1 9 4 5 ) , College and University Libraries and Librarianship ( 1 9 4 6 ) , and A National Plan for Public Library Service ( 1 9 4 8 ) . T h e latter title marks the third and last stage of the Postwar Planning Committee's proposals for an over-all program for the American public library, and will perhaps be considered by many as the most signif- icant of the series. Other volumes now in preparation will be concerned with li- brary service to children and to adolescents. T h e titles in this series are evidence that the plans are not limited to one type of library, but are broad enough to include the kind of libraries whose staff members comprise the membership of the A . C . R . L . In spite of the plural nature of the plans, however, the fact should be stressed that none of them is a detailed blueprint offered for blind acceptance. T h e concluding state- ment in A National Plan for Public Library Service, for instance, says: This library plan should be recognized for what it is—a general guide to the organiza- tion of public library service throughout the United States. It is not a detailed prescrip- tion of precisely how service is to be provided in every state, every county and every city in the nation. It is proposed by the Ameri- can Library Association for the thoughtful consideration of governmental agencies, li- brary authorities and librarians everywhere. They may approve, amend, or adapt it to their special needs. The plan need not be followed in detail, but it is hoped that the principles on which it is founded will have general applica- tion. Similarly, the preface to College and Uni- versity Libraries and Librarianship states: This study is not a plan in the blueprint sense. . . [rather, the practicing librarian] will, we hope, find here set forth at least some of the more fundamental principles which have governed, or should govern, the sound administration of college and university li- 332 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH. LIBRARIES braries, and he will, we confidently believe, find a good deal of synthesis and analysis which will be useful in understanding present trends and determining future policies. T h e plural nature of the plans and the variety of groups involved in their prepara- tion and execution was fully recognized by the Executive Board of the American L i - brary Association in its vote to authorize a special Committee on Implementation of the National Plans, and in the composition of the committee's membership. So far as the work of the committee is concerned, it is charged with promoting the utilization of the national plans looking toward the in- crease and improvement of all types of li- brary service to a uniformly competent level throughout the nation. T h e committee proposes to do this by promoting and as- sisting the organization of state planning and implementation committees in every state and by urging the use of the national plans as common platforms on which citi- zens, trustees, and librarians can unite in the development of local library plans. T h e notable successes achieved by planning groups in some states during past years in- dicates that this offers the best approach to the problem of implementation, particularly if a wide variety of occupational, social, and official groups are represented. A sec- ond essential is a sound publicity campaign which, due to the present lack of financial backing for the committee, must be con- ducted largely at the local level. Obviously, college and research li- braries, beyond being represented on the committee, have a great deal to contribute to such a movement, particularly at the ad- visory and leadership level. In fact, there are sound arguments reinforcing the idealis- tic one of professional solidarity, why this group should be particularly active. T h e old truism that " n o man is an island unto himself" still holds. A t first sight, there may appear to be but little commu- nity of interest between the very small pub- lic library, f o r instance, and the large uni- versity library. T h e fact remains, how- ever, that many people gain their only knowledge of library service and librarians, too, from their local institutions. Is it too much to suggest that this affects the prestige of the profession as a whole, and consequent- ly may have repercussions on recruiting? Probably every reader of this paper has had the experience of seeing a somewhat blank and puzzled expression come over his ques- tioner's face upon being told " I am a li- brarian." Second, college and university librarians frequently complain about the lack of library knowledge on the part of their student bodies, particularly at the freshman level. T h i s is to be expected, as long as numbers of students come from areas with substandard or no library serv- ice at all. Better school and public libraries are one means of remedying this deficiency in the precollege student's education. T h i s nationwide movement to implement the national plans is designed to consolidate the efforts of citizens and librarians every- where into a concerted drive to make the general public conscious of the library's role in today's and tomorrow's world. W h a t are its implications for college and research libraries? A library conscious public will make for a library conscious government with all that this means in the way of funds and support for better librarianship at all levels. T h e end result is one in which we may all take a justifiable pride and interest, namely, an impetus to scholarship on a na- tionwide scale. T h e teaching potential of the library is great. A volume placed in a youngster's hand in a small public library today may provide the initial introduction to books of tomorrow's research library pa- tron. W h o can deny that we all have a stake in the national plans? OCTOBER, 1948 35 7