College and Research Libraries By L U T H E R H . E V A N S The Librarians' Agenda of Unfinished Business1 Dr. Evans is Librarian of Congress. IT GIVES me much pleasure to meet w i t h you on the occasion of the dedication of this magnificent library addition. I t is a resource of which O h i o State U n i v e r - sity can be p r o u d . I t m a r k s a f u r t h e r step f o r w a r d in the recognition of the library as a vital center in university and c o m m u n i t y life. I t has been a long and uphill climb to the concept of the library serving as the laboratory of the scholar and the investigator, w i t h the librarian hav- ing a vital responsibility in the processes of research by acquiring, processing and servicing the record of the successes and failures of all previous researches. A n d in m a n y q u a r t e r s the goal has not been reached. L i b r a r i a n s today have greater collections, faster processes, better buildings, more and better trained personnel and larger budgets t h a n ever before. T h e building w e are dedicating today recognizes and makes a place f o r these advances and achievements. Y e t these things are mere steps in a path of progress which has long stretches ahead. T h e resources and the capacities librarians n o w have at their c o m m a n d are such t h a t by responding energetically to the needs which are pressing upon them, they can make a great stride f o r w a r d in the useful- ness of their services and make a g r e a t demonstration of their intimate involvement 1 An address delivered on the occasion of the dedica- tion of the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library, Ohio State University, Columbus, June i, 1951. in all aspects of intellectual activity and g r o w t h . T h e present recognition of the library's role is sufficient, it seems to me, to assure that the librarians of this c o u n t r y will be called upon in the years immediately ahead to expand their services f a r more rapidly than it will be possible f o r them to increase their individual collections, or their space, or their personnel. T h e y can increase their p e r f o r m a n c e greatly, I am convinced, if they will do w h a t they can realistically do to make of their total re- sources a single resource and of their services an integrated national service. T h e w a y will be open for such an achievement only if w e librarians complete a great m a n y pieces of unfinished business. I t is to some of these items of our common affairs t h a t I should like to direct your a t t e n t i o n . T h e m a j o r areas of library activity in which basic problems await solution by co- operative library effort seem to me to be f o u r in n u m b e r : library resources, reference services, administration, and i n t e r n a t i o n a l activities. F i r s t , there is the u n e n d i n g problem of s t r e n g t h e n i n g o u r library resources, both in t e r m s of our collections and the tools which provide immediate and convenient access to them. F o r several years n o w librarians have been seriously discussing the w a s t e of duplication in o u r library collecting activi- ties, and the r e s u l t a n t lack of comprehen- sive coverage of materials, p a r t i c u l a r l y foreign publications, which are required f o r present and prospective research p r o g r a m s . T h e beginning of a cooperative a t t e m p t to 309 correct this situation is, of course, repre- sented by the F a r m i n g t o n P l a n , but f u r t h e r measures w i l l be required if w e a r e to achieve even the p r e l i m i n a r y t a r g e t of hav- ing in this c o u n t r y at least one copy of all m a t e r i a l s of research value, no m a t t e r w h e r e published. W e w i l l have to go even f u r - t h e r t h a n t h a t before w e can justifiably be satisfied t h a t w e can provide researchers readily w i t h w h a t they require in w o r k they are p e r f o r m i n g in the n a t i o n a l interest. T h a t , as you k n o w , is a l a r g e o r d e r , a n d one w h i c h c a n n o t be filled w i t h o u t con- t i n u i n g and increasing cooperation on the p a r t of the entire l i b r a r y profession. T h e success of the D o c u m e n t s E x p e d i t i n g P r o j - ect, w h i c h w a s organized a f e w years ago to facilitate the distribution of difficult-to- get U . S . g o v e r n m e n t documents to A m e r i - can research libraries, is an example of w h a t can be done by a unified b u t cooperative ac- quisitions e f f o r t . I t is time f o r l i b r a r i a n s to give m o r e a t t e n t i o n to the q u e s t i o n : " W h a t should be the over-all acquisitions policy of o u r re- search l i b r a r i e s ? " W h a t needs to be ac- quired in t e r m s of the total collections of o u r research libraries? Obviously, w e w i l l have no firm f r a m e w o r k w i t h i n w h i c h to make cooperative a r r a n g e m e n t s u n t i l w e have agreed upon a comprehensive answer to this question. T h e L i b r a r y of Congress, despite its o w n e n o r m o u s acquisitions re- sponsibilities and its highly a d v a n t a g e o u s opportunities f o r acquiring foreign publica- tions, is very m u c h a w a r e of the essential need f o r the cooperative d e t e r m i n a t i o n of a n a t i o n a l p r o g r a m a n d the assignment of p a r t s of the t o t a l responsibility to m a n y institutions, w i t h itself t a k i n g only a p a r t , even t h o u g h t h a t p a r t m a y be greater t h a n t h a t of any other single l i b r a r y . T h e c u r r e n t critical situation of our nation com- pels us to bestir ourselves to face this problem squarely and realistically. E v e r y day w e delay action represents irretrievable opportunities lost. A t this very m o m e n t events are o c c u r r i n g in other p a r t s of the w o r l d w h i c h w i l l p r e v e n t the acquisition of published data, basic to o u r u n d e r s t a n d - ing of some problem w e m u s t face, which could have been secured yesterday. A s I see the situation, the unsatisfied re- search needs of o u r c o u n t r y today are prin- cipally in t w o fields. T h e first is science, and the second concerns those areas of the w o r l d about w h i c h w e have not bothered m u c h before, p a r t i c u l a r l y the Slavic, the M i d d l e E a s t e r n a n d t h e F a r E a s t e r n countries. A l r e a d y w e are paying the penalty f o r years of f a i l u r e in b u i l d i n g comprehensive and c u r r e n t collections in these fields. Some of us have been a w a r e of these weaknesses, and have m a d e con- siderable progress to correct t h e m . A n i m p o r t a n t step w a s taken recently to develop a w o r k a b l e n a t i o n a l p r o g r a m in the a p p o i n t m e n t by the Association of Re- search L i b r a r i e s of a C o m m i t t e e on N a - tional N e e d s . U n d e r the able chairmanship of D o n a l d Coney, librarian of the U n i v e r - sity of C a l i f o r n i a ( B e r k e l e y ) , this com- m i t t e e has had a two-day meeting in W a s h i n g t o n w h e r e it discussed w i t h officers of g o v e r n m e n t their u r g e n t research re- quirements. F r o m t h e r e the committee w i l l proceed to the discovery of deficiencies in present capacity to meet the requirements, and measures f o r dealing w i t h t h e m . P e r h a p s as i m p o r t a n t as resources of m a t e r i a l are the tools of access to the m a t e r i a l . I n the L i b r a r y of Congress ( a n d you w i l l p a r d o n me f o r the ignorance which requires me to select most of these illus- t r a t i o n s f r o m my o w n i n s t i t u t i o n ) w e have a t t e m p t e d to meet this need in p a r t by the publication of the list of Serial Titles Newly Received ( t h e f u t u r e of w h i c h is still undecided in view of inadequate finan- cial support of this p u b l i c a t i o n ) and t h e 310 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Checklist of Russian Accessions, first in- a u g u r a t e d to meet demands f r o m f e d e r a l agencies, but which has since proved its value to scholars outside the g o v e r n m e n t w o r k i n g w i t h Soviet materials. Serials have long presented complex prob- lems to libraries, and the need f o r a revised and up.-to-date union list has long been recognized. I t is the m a t t e r of finding a quick and economical method of compiling such a list t h a t stumps the experts. Some of you may be f a m i l i a r w i t h the explora- tory w o r k t h a t has been done looking t o w a r d the possibility of p r o d u c i n g such a union list on punched cards. T h e response to feelers on this subject has been en- couraging, and it is hoped soon to lay more concrete proposals f o r cooperative effort before the library profession. I be- lieve a great step f o r w a r d in subject bib- liography as w e l l as location services can be made by a determined, cooperative effort along the lines w e have been exploring. A d e q u a t e catalog controls and biblio- graphical a p p a r a t u s are as i m p o r t a n t re- sources of a l i b r a r y as are the collections. Processing problems, like processing a r r e a r - ages, seem to be constant on the l i b r a r i a n s ' agenda of business f o r t o m o r r o w . W e librarians have made significant strides f o r w a r d in o u r b a t t l e w i t h classification schedules and classification codes. W e have w o r r i e d long and late about devising cataloging short cuts, simpler descriptive entries, f e w e r cross references and less cum- bersome subject headings. I n this my col- leagues at the L i b r a r y of Congress have actively participated. T h e y have experi- mented w i t h f u l l cataloging, brief catalog- ing, deferred cataloging, and some of the materials they are simply piling up, u n - cataloged, to s t r u g g l e w i t h in the f u t u r e . T h e h a r d w o r k of t h i n k i n g o u r collective w a y t h r o u g h these problems to m o r e ade- q u a t e solutions must proceed, and it m u s t proceed in a democratic and cooperative context. Indexing, too, is gaining a higher place in the list of bibliographical problems w i t h w h i c h librarians m u s t deal. T h e time has not arrived yet w h e n librarians in general are w i l l i n g to a d m i t indexing as one of their leading responsibilities. F o r too long this vital bibliographical f u n c t i o n has been l e f t almost entirely to the u n c o o r d i n a t e d , partial, and to some degree unprofessional efforts of commercial enterprise, company interests and v o l u n t a r y organizations of scholars and professional w o r k e r s , w i t h the result t h a t w e have failed to provide tools w h i c h will enable scholars in all i m p o r t a n t subject areas to find late m a t e r i a l which has appeared in a pamphlet, a periodical, or a g o v e r n m e n t document. T h e special librarians, bless them, have cfone f a r m o r e t h a n librarians in general to recognize the value and importance of c u r r e n t indexing controls, and indeed the necessity of lead- ership by the library profession in this w o r k . A b s t r a c t i n g , likewise, has been a neg- lected f u n c t i o n . W e all k n o w t h a t the abstracting of c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e in indi- vidual subject fields is w o e f u l l y inadequate in coverage, and in general f a r f r o m cur- r e n t . I say t h a t librarians have a respon- sibility to see t h a t a better job is done, and t h a t the task is not l e f t to a f e w organizations and groups. W e m u s t accept the fact t h a t this is a problem w o r l d - w i d e in scope, and t h a t in preparation f o r dealing w i t h it effectively in t e r m s of coordinated effort w i t h other countries, w e must p u t , o u r o w n house in order. Unesco has done m u c h in a short time to call a t t e n t i o n to the importance of ade- quate bibliographical controls. I t has given activities in this field an i m p o r t a n t place in its p r o g r a m and has organized an inter- n a t i o n a l committee on bibliography and O C T O B E R , 1951 32 7 d o c u m e n t a t i o n . B u t vision and s u p p o r t f r o m all librarians is necessary if w e are to make the essential progress in an area in which w e have yet to discover a wholly practical and comprehensive plan of action. I n the past t w o years a bibliographical seminar has been meeting w i t h me in the L i b r a r y of Congress and w e have had some interesting discussions about the de- gree to w h i c h nations should accept respon- sibilities f o r developing c u r r e n t national bibliographies of their respective publica- tions. T h e library takes pride in the con- tribution to this objective w h i c h its o w n n e w publications, the Subject Catalog and the Author Catalog, represent. A t this m o m e n t in o u r history w h e n m a x i m u m economies and m a x i m u m con- trols over m a t e r i a l are both of g r e a t im- portance, it *is the responsibility of every m a j o r library to plan its cataloging and bibliographical p r o g r a m in such a w a y t h a t its p r o d u c t s will provide the greatest pos- sible contribution to both national and universal bibliographical control. A s i m p o r t a n t t h o u g h perhaps not as neg- lected an area of library activity is the m a t t e r of the services w e give on o u r re- sources. T h e service f u n c t i o n is usually one of the last activities to feel the effect of reduced budgets and personnel cuts. W e may have to c u r t a i l our acquisitions pro- g r a m ; m o r e books may go into cataloging a r r e a r a g e s than to assigned places on the shelves; yet most of us are inclined to the view t h a t materials m u s t keep m o v i n g f r o m shelf to reader, even t h o u g h they may not be the latest or best materials, if w e are to continue to have support f r o m o u r users. D u r i n g the past year w e have had to face this problem squarely at the L i b r a r y of Congress. W h e n the A p p r o p r i a t i o n s C o m m i t t e e decided n e a r l y a year ago t h a t w e should s t r e n g t h e n our small corps of area specialists and make a beginning on the science f r o n t by i n t e r n a l r e a d j u s t m e n t s , my colleagues and I came to the conclu- sion, very r e l u c t a n t l y I m u s t admit, t h a t the ax w o u l d have to fall heaviest on the hours of public service. Accordingly, schedules w e r e r e a r r a n g e d and service of materials f r o m the shelves w a s discontinued a f t e r 5 130 P.M. R e a d i n g rooms remained open u n t i l 1 0 : 0 0 P.M., however, and read- ers could a r r a n g e in advance to have books l e f t f o r them to pick u p at the service desks. T h e r e w e r e complaints of course, but f e w e r t h a n had been expected, and the change has been fairly well accepted. A n o t h e r unsolved problem h a v i n g to do w i t h service is the m a t t e r of defining the area of unpaid and paid reference service. P e r h a p s I am m o r e conscious of this t h a n some of you because sometimes w h e n I go before congressional committees in support of the library's budget requests, somebody asks me this q u e s t i o n : " D o c t o r , w h y c a n ' t you ask these people to pay you f o r the special services you r e n d e r t h e m ? " W e have struggled w i t h the problem and rec- ognize t h a t m u c h u s e f u l service could be given (service which must n o w be refused and which in general libraries expect users to do f o r themselves) if a w o r k a b l e sys- tem of financing it could be developed. W e need to give m o r e t h o u g h t also to p r o v i d i n g g r e a t e r facilities to serious in- vestigators p u r s u i n g studies at a high level, o f t e n in connection w i t h a federal or uni- versity-sponsored p r o g r a m . T h i s is one of o u r most pressing problems at the L i b r a r y of Congress. Researchers f r o m i m p o r t a n t agencies of g o v e r n m e n t have been accom- m o d a t e d , w i t h space and materials, but the space available has not always been the most conducive to scholarly w o r k and the materials on hand w e r e not always recent materials. T h e r e needs to be a systematic attack on achieving a better co- o r d i n a t i o n between o u r acquisitions policies, 312 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES our cataloging and bibliographical controls, and the needs of those w h o labor at our study desks and in o u r study rooms. T h e urgency of such an effort is well demonstrated today. I n any time of crisis w e w i l l see shifts in the foci of research interests in our universities and in o u r laboratories which will affect the p r o g r a m s of libraries. W e must make certain t h a t o u r institutions anticipate n e w requirements and equip themselves to meet them, in ad- vance of the critical stage. T u r n i n g n o w to the large area of ad- ministration, w e are c o n f r o n t e d immediately w i t h the unpleasant but ever-present prob- lem of securing adequate financial support f o r library activities. I t is obvious t h a t the goals w e have set f o r ourselves cannot be achieved w i t h o u t more money, and t h u s we come to the problem of d e t e r m i n i n g o u r financial needs and h o w best to j u s t i f y them. H e r e it is essential t h a t libraries give f u l l a t t e n t i o n to a re-evaluation of their objectives and to a realistic schedul- ing of priorities f o r c a r r y i n g them o u t . T h e y must study their essential services and resources and be able to defend f u l l y , and fight f o r w h e n necessary, appropriations adequate to m a i n t a i n or s t r e n g t h e n these services and resources at a time w h e n every expenditure is bound to be closely scruti- nized. I t is the individual library's respon- sibility to see t h a t its f u n d s are sufficient to meet the u r g e n t need. T h e r e must be willingness to call to the a t t e n t i o n of ap- p r o p r i a t i n g bodies those i m p o r t a n t areas w h e r e resources and services are patheti- cally poor or nonexistent. E x p l a n a t i o n s of needs m u s t be presented on the basis of the best t h i n k i n g available in the library profession. A r g u m e n t s m u s t become so com- pelling t h a t boards of trustees and other a p p r o p r i a t i n g bodies will sympathetically listen to and quickly appreciate the valid- ity of the library's claims f o r m o r e f u n d s . Salaries of librarians, still disgracefully low in m a n y p a r t s of the c o u n t r y , can be lifted only by the constant and courageous effort of f e l l o w librarians. M u c h can be done by comparison of salary tables to determine s t a n d a r d s of compensation which appropriation agencies will respect. Buildings and equipment required f o r the best kind of library service should be a m a t - ter of vigilant study. T h e relation of w o r k - ing e n v i r o n m e n t to productivity has taken on a n e w significance in recent years and librarians, no less than other administrators, must become a w a r e of the improvements in service and increases in production which can be traced to a n e w shade of paint, a n e w style of f u r n i t u r e , or a n e w resolution of the problem of noise or light. W e have become so m o d e r n in the L i b r a r y of C o n - gress t h a t w e have even considered the possibility of installing M u z a k in the C a r d Division to speed up the filling of card o r d e r s f o r other libraries. T h e Congress has not yet decided to let us make the experiment, but according to the surveys of routine operations w h e r e such installa- tions have been made, card d r a w i n g w o u l d pick up considerably if accompanied by some syncopated r h y t h m or even be-bop, although there are some w h o w o n d e r if the right cards w o u l d be d r a w n ! T h e n there are m a t t e r s of library or- ganization, t r a i n i n g of library personnel, developing m a n u a l s of procedures, a r r a n g - ing f o r more adequate r e p o r t i n g of library activities ( i n c l u d i n g s t a t i s t i c s ! ) , all of w h i c h require c o n t i n u i n g a t t e n t i o n if w e are to make the greatest possible progress. W e come then to the last broad a r e a — the m a t t e r of i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s — a n area in which libraries are having to face an increasingly i m p o r t a n t responsibility. M o r e people in m o r e p a r t s of the w o r l d are w i l l i n g to a d m i t t h a t libraries are vital (Continued on page 364) OCTOBER, 1951 32 7 some rare books. Librarians could not pos- sibly have added books to their collections for the past 100 or 150 years without inad- vertently accumulating a number of books that are now considered rare. Possibly the first thing a college librarian should do in de- ciding on a rare books policy is ( 1 ) determine what a rare book is6 and (2) do something about segregating the rare books in his library so they may be adequately handled. Just as every long-established college li- brary has rare books, so may they also have special collections, although they may not be segregated and immediately recognized. Other important possibilities for developing special collections, rare books and gifts exist. 6 "Rare Book Code of the University of California at Los A n g e l e s Library." Antiquarian Bookman, 7:20, J a n . 6, 1 9 5 1 . A l s o i n College and Research Libraries, 10:307-08, July 1949. Regional cooperative plans for the develop- ment of subject collections, for example, are important. Such questions as the following suggest avenues of approach that should be considered: W h y buy rare books at all when the same material may be had on microfilm or microcards at a fraction of the cost of the originals? W h a t is the best method of mak- ing friends of the library and alumni aware of library needs? W h a t other sources for gifts should be considered? T o what extent does publicity about existing collections in- fluence gifts? W h a t are the possibilities of cooperative storage and service as a solution to the special collections problem? It is often true that "them as has, gets." If you make a start, and your project is a worthy one, support may come from unex- pected sources. The Librarians1 Agenda of Unfinished Business (Continued from page 313) to t h e good life. T h e c r i t i c a l r e q u i r e m e n t s t o d a y of l i b r a r i e s in E u r o p e a n d A s i a , in t h e i r s t r u g g l e t o r e s u m e activities, o f f e r a g r e a t c h a l l e n g e t o o u r o w n i n s t i t u t i o n s to aid in t h e u n c e a s i n g e f f o r t of p r o v i d i n g books, periodicals, t r a i n i n g facilities, per- sonnel, a n d l i b r a r y e q u i p m e n t . L i b r a r i e s h a v e been r e c o g n i z e d as a n effective in- s t r u m e n t in t h e P o i n t F o u r p r o g r a m f o r technical assistance t o economically u n d e r - developed areas, f o r t h e y o f f e r an o r g a n - ized m e a n s of d i s s e m i n a t i n g t e c h n i c a l a n d economic i n f o r m a t i o n essential t o t h e relief a n d economic a d v a n c e m e n t of those areas. T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s Book E x c h a n g e has d e m o n s t r a t e d s u c c e s s f u l l y t h e need f o r a p e r m a n e n t n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n d e v o t e d t o t h e collection a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n of books h e r e a n d a b r o a d . T h e e x c h a n g e a r r a n g e m e n t s of o u r l i b r a r i e s f o r books a n d p e r s o n n e l o f f er c o n t i n u e d o p p o r t u n i t y to s t r e n g t h e n ourselves as w e l l as t o s t r e n g t h e n o u r n e i g h b o r s . I t is a g r e e d , t h e n , t h a t l i b r a r i e s , w h i c h serve i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p s of every de- s c r i p t i o n f r o m t h e l a b o r a t o r y t o the schol- a r ' s s t u d y , f r o m t h e p u b l i c school t o t h e w o m a n ' s club, a r e a f u n d a m e n t a l f a c t o r in m a i n t a i n i n g a n d s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e f a b - ric of c i v i l i z a t i o n . T h e y a r e e n g a g e d in a c o m m o n p u r p o s e a n d t h e y s h a r e a c o m m o n g o a l . T o this end t h e y m u s t l a b o r w i t h o u t d i s c o u r a g e m e n t on t h e p r o b l e m s w h i c h h a v e been r e v i e w e d in this recital, a n d on o t h e r s of w h i c h these a r e b u t samples. T h e y m u s t a b a n d o n f o r e v e r i n e r t i a a n d i n d i f f e r e n c e . T h e y m u s t c o n t i n u e , i n s t e a d , to face, w i t h c a l m a n d quiet c o u r a g e , t h e i r responsibility of service in t h e g r e a t task b e f o r e us a l l — t h e task of s u r v i v i n g as f r e e n a t i o n s in a w o r l d yet t o be a t t a i n e d of f r e e m e n a n d f r e e w o m e n . 364 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES