College and Research Libraries


By C H A R L E S M . M O H R H A R D T 

Survey of Libraries in Colleges and 
Universities W h i c h A r e Not 
Giving Engineering Defense 
Training Courses 
Mr. Mohrhardt is associate librarian of 
the Detroit Public Library and Chairman 
of the A.C.R.L. Committee on National 
Defense Services. 

T h i s factual study is based on the an-
swered questionnaires received from 
twenty-three colleges and universities 
which are not offering engineering defense 
training courses. T h e majority of these 
institutions offer courses only in the liberal 
arts field. 

Thus, it was not surprising to find in-
complete answers to Parts I and II of the 
questionnaire. Part I considers "the 

library's service to industrial mobiliza-

tion" and Part II, "reference service needs 

in industrial mobilization courses." T h e 

answers to Part I I I , "understanding the 

meaning of events," were in most cases 

comprehensive and illuminating. 

A n analysis of the answers to Parts I 

and II, though these are admittedly in-

complete, are considered briefly in this 

study as they offer evidence of carefully 

prepared programs and of ideas which may 

be of value to other librarians. T h e an-

swers to Part I I I are considered in more 

detail. 

Part I. T h e Library's Service to Inc 

Question I. " D o you perceive in-
creased demands resulting from present 
industrial training courses?" 

T h e curricula of most liberal arts col-
leges include only a few courses which 
might be considered pertinent to the im-
mediate needs of national defense. In 
spite of this, however, 30 per cent of the 
colleges and universities answering this 
question reported increased demands upon 
the library for industrial defense training 
literature. 

Most of these institutions are located 

strial Mobilisation 

in small, nonindustrial communities. 
Some, like Amherst, report that in their 
locale are "other adequate libraries more 
conveniently at hand than ours." Others 
report situations similar to Antioch Col-
lege where "three members of Antioch's 
faculty are teaching courses in nearby 
cities but Y e l l o w Springs ( O h i o ) is too 
small to have a program of its own. A 
handful of books are being bought for the 
teachers but students will be supplied 
with material in the public libraries of 
Dayton and Springfield." 

DECEMBER., 1941 31 



T h e answers to this question seemed 
to indicate that although increased local 
demands were slight as yet, there was an 
expected increase in momentum due to an 
impetus exerted by intangible forces in 
each community. T h e r e are indications 
that by the time this survey has come to 
publication these demands will not have 
diminished in intensity. 

Material Needed in Defense Training 

Courses 

Question 2. " B e l o w is an attempt to 
analyze the specific types of material 
needed in defense training courses." 

T h e following table has been compiled 
from the figures given in reply to this 
request. 

T h e following additional subjects were 
listed by three librarians: "sources and 
supply of raw materials," "defense indus-
tries," "industrial education." 

Question 3. " H o w would you spend 
the amount listed in question 2 C (Column 
C , T a b l e 1) a. For more titles? b. For 

more copies of titles now held? W h a t 
percentage of your entire collection is of 
value in meeting your demands for mate-
rial on national defense subjects?" 

In answer to the first part of this ques-
tion five librarians replied that the money 
would be spent for more titles, one that 
additional money was needed for more 
copies, while fifteen gave no answer. 

A s to the percentage of the collection 
which is of value in meeting present de-
mands estimates ranged from "practically 
none" to 20 per cent. One librarian 
commented that "in engineering practi-
cally the whole active collection is of at 
least potential value. In business, at a 
rough guess, perhaps 10 per cent. In most 
other departments a very small per cent, 
quite impossible to estimate." 

Expenditures for Defense Materials 

Question 4. " H a v e you increased your 

buying of books in vocational and tech-

nical subjects? Please give the amount 

spent last year and the amount you are 

T A B L E 1 

Number of Libraries Reporting Increased Demands in Various Subjects 

Subject 

Column A 

Number of 
Libraries 

Reporting 

Column B 
Estimated Number 

of Additional 
Volumes Needed 
(Minimum and 

Maximum) 

Column C 
Estimated Cost 

of Additional 
Volumes Listed 

in Column B 
(Minimum and 

Maximum) 

Aeronautical design 8 10 to 300 $45 to $600 
Chemical engineering 6 10 to 25 45 to 7S 
Communications engineering, including radio 7 5 25 
Electricity 4 20 to 25 50 to 90 
Engineering drawing 5 IS 45 
Foundry practice 1 
Industrial management 7 10 to 20 40 to 50 
Internal combustion engines 2 
Machine design 3 
Machine shop practice 2 
M a p making S 10 to 25 40 to 75 
Materials inspection and testing 3 
Mathematics S 10 40 
Metallurgy and metallography 4 

40 

Navigation (surface and aerial) 7 S 20 
Optics 1 
Ordnance 4 10 35 
Production engineering and supervision 2 

35 

Shipbuilding and naval arhitecture 2 
Structural design 2 
Tool engineering 1 
Welding (design and supervision) 1 

32 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



currently spending. Please indicate the 
source of these funds." 

In reply to the first part of this ques-
tion five librarians indicated an increase 
in the purchase of books on defense sub-
jects, ten reported no increase, and eight 
did not answer. T h e amounts spent 
ranged from $50 to $10,773 and the per-
centage of increase ranged from 20 to 
500 per cent. T h e university reporting 
the $10,773 figure supplied the following 
explanation for this unusually large 
amount: 

For current teaching needs in the seven 
departments closely identified with defense, 
there was an increase in expenditures from 
$1,283 in 1939 to $9,087 in 1940. Some of 
this increase was due to the defense program. 
For the years 1939 and 1940, an additional 
sum of $8,825 was spent for expensive and 
out-of-print sets in the fields referred to 
above. On funds outside the library budget, 
specific departmental operating allotments, 
there was an increase in expenditures for 
technical books for office and laboratory use 
and for texts in industrial education. In 
I939, $960 was spent for such materials, 
and in 1940, $1,686. The major part of the 
increase was for books in industrial educa-
tion. 

A s to the sources for these funds for 
increased buying three reported them as 
coming from specific book funds, five from 
general funds, and fifteen gave no answer. 

Question 5. " H a v e you been able to 
obtain additional funds for the specific 
purpose of increasing your holdings in 
vocational and technical materials?" 

Four librarians reported that they were 
able to secure additional funds in amounts 
varying from $20 to $287. T h e librarian 
reporting the large amount mentioned in 
the previous question did not find it neces-
sary to ask for additional funds "since 
sufficient general funds were available." 

Seven were unable to secure more funds 
and twelve did not answer. 

Personnel 

Question 6. " A r e you limited in meet-
ing known or possible needs by lack of 
enough trained personnel or of specialized 
personnel?" 

Six reported a hampering of efforts due 
to lack of personnel but five of these 
added that this was an old problem and 
not due to increased demands for defense 
material. Five librarians expressed a desire 
for specialized personnel and ten others 
answered that there was no immediate 
need for either more or specialized per-
sonnel. 

Cooperative Measures 

Question 7. "Please describe any co-
operative measures you have undertaken 
with other libraries or your state library 
agency." 

T h i s question was answered by eight 
librarians and most of them reported that 
no special measure had been taken as it 
had always been their policy to cooperate 
with other institutions, industrial firms, 
and individuals. Four of those answering 
did, however, mention a noticeable in-
crease in the number of interlibrary loans 
requested of them and an increase in the 
number of requests for extensive bibliogra-
phies. 

Question 8. " H a v e you installed any 
special services to meet industrial and in-
dustrial training needs?" 

Eleven reported that no special services 
had been inaugurated at present as there 
had been no need for them. T h e y all were 
willing to meet this problem when the 
need arose. T h e six reporting "yes" to 
this question revealed a wide diversity 
of services. For example, one large uni-

DECEMBER., 1941 33 



versity is supplying technical information when needed, to the civilian instructors at 

to chemical and industrial factories in this school; others report special voca-

its state and to faculty members who are tional and industrial training exhibits in 

serving as consultants on defense projects; the library and classrooms and reserve 

another reports that library privileges collections for the use of students en-

have been granted to the officers of a rolled in Civil Aeronautics Authority 

nearby air corps training school and, training courses. 

Part II. Reference Service Needs in Industrial Mobilization Courses 

Question I. " W h a t changes have taken 
place in the curriculum and how have 
these changes affected the library?" 

Forty-eight per cent of the libraries 
answered this question reporting curricu-
lum changes with comments upon the 
effect of these changes. T h e following 
excerpts from their comments are indica-
tive of the situations which exist in various 
localities. 

Albion College writes: 

. . . W e contemplate both a shift in sub-
jects and a shift in method to meet the 
emergency. W e expect to realize the great-
est change in the various science departments 
and in economics. In certain fields our book 
collection is inadequate and we are working 
with the faculty and administration to learn 
what the probable changes will be in the 
curriculum, in order that we may be pre-
pared to meet the need, as completely as our 
finances will permit. 

A l m a College reports: 

New citizenship courses: I. Orientation 
study in social science—Freshmen. 2. Stud-
ies in American life. The American scene. 
3. Detailed study of the American Idea— 
including international relationships, war, 
federal union of nations, etc. 4. Seminar 
courses in democratic living. There is a 
reading shelf in the library for all of these 
courses. 

T h e American University, Graduate 
School, offers new courses "on manage-
ment in relation to the current emergency 

and problems of emergency and post-war 
reconstruction." 

Brooklyn College writes: 

We are this term giving for the first time 
the following courses especially designed to 
meet the needs of defense: economics of 
defense and war, ballistics. . . . W e have 
just received a donation of three hundred 
dollars for books which will be used in a 
special honors course on American civiliza-
tion soon to be initiated. 

Columbia University states: 

Curriculum changes to date are more 
noticeable in business than in other fields. 
There, more emphasis is being placed on 
instruction in economic geography, on the 
problem of raw materials, and defense in-
dustries. Increased emphasis is also noticed 
on problems of personnel and labor. The 
library is naturally called upon to build up 
and organize material on the defense activi-
ties of the government, to collect data on 
raw materials and key industries, and also 
on labor problems and labor policies. The 
reference service is called upon for more 
information on various phases of national 
economy as affected by the defense emer-
gency such as prices, foreign trade, shipping, 
etc. 

Indiana University reports the follow-

ing curriculum changes as a result of na-

tional defense problems: 

I. Problems of business and industrial 
mobilization. 2. Military science and tac-
tics. Course in aeronautics. Flying. 3. 
Propaganda analysis. 4. N . Y . A . resident 
training center. 5. Course in shop work in 
the university high school. . . . For the 

34 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



history department a special fund has been 
appropriated for books, pamphlets, periodi-
cals and newspapers on current history. . . . 
For the propaganda analysis course a spe-
cial sum of $60 has been appropriated for 
collecting material. For the industrial mo-
bilization course, sixteen books have been 
purchased during the last eight months. 
Five copies of each were added to the li-
brary. Pamphlets that deal with strategic 
materials are assembled. These are to a 
large extent government publications. Books 
on other allied subjects are being bought 
liberally. 

Northwestern University lists the fol-
lowing defense courses: 

South American economy, Hispanic-Amer-
ican history and the United States, the 
contemporary mind, education and the con-
temporary mind, aeronautical science, geo-
graphic problems of national defense, 
political geography of the world, totali-
tarianism, and education and the pressure 
groups. 

Washington and Lee University is of-
fering the following new courses which 
"have direct bearing upon preparation 
for national defense . . . military his-
tory and policy, military explosives 
and chemical warfare, military geology 

and topography, military photography, and 
citizenship and defense." 

Question 2. "Please describe any co-
operative measures you have undertaken 
with governmental defense agencies and 
defense industries." 

Fifteen libraries have listed their re-
sources in Cannon: Guide to Library 
Facilities for National Defense. These 
libraries have also checked many other lists 
and bibliographies for other libraries and 
defense industries in their states. Four 
libraries report that they have supplied 
faculty members engaged in outside de-
fense work with needed materials. Some 
of these faculty members are serving as 
consultants with governmental agencies 
and others as consultants with industrial 
firms. 

Dartmouth College reports: 

The department of physiological optics 
is cooperating with and conducting experi-
ments for the armed services. This is the 
most conspicuous case locally. There is an 
official and active local group studying the 
relation of the college to the present emer-
gency, and it serves as a clearing house for 
all information and activity. When assist-
ance has been asked, response is generous 
and prompt. 

Part III. Understanding the Meaning of Events 

Question 1. "Please check the follow-
ing list of subjects for an estimate of the 
demands from individuals and groups." 
T h e answers to this request have been 
incorporated into T a b l e II, which follows. 

T w o libraries reported increased de-
mands for material on civil liberties, and 
others reported an increased demand for 
material on air raid precautions and per-
sonnel and management. 

In commenting on the supply of books 
covering the subjects listed in T a b l e I I 
ten libraries mentioned that their present 

stock was adequate and four others stated 
that their present funds were inadequate 
to purchase up-to-date material. 

T h e following comments are typical of 
those received in answer to this question: 

(Albion College) Some of these subjects 
have regularly received considerable stress 
in the curriculum. In those subjects we 
have not noticed a great increase of atten-
tion. W e have noticed a greater interest 
on the part of the students in material con-
tributing to an understanding of present 
events than we have on actual technical 
material. 

DECEMBER., 1941 35 



(Amherst College) Apart from the in-
terest which is thus generated in the class-
room we recognize an obligation to the 
college community as a whole in trying to 
make possible the fullest freedom of thought 

T A B L E I I 

Demands for Material on Current Problems 

S u b j e c t s 

D e m a n d s 

S u b j e c t s 

N u m b e r 
of 

Libraries 
Reporting 

N o In-
crease 

N u m b e r 
of 

Libraries 
Reporting 
Some In-

crease 

N u m b e r 
of 

Libraries 
Reporting 
G r e a t In-

crease 

A i m s and character of 
the totalitarian pow-
ers 3 8 4 

International coopera-
tion 3 10 4 

M i l i t a r y and economic 
problems 2 9 4 

P r o p a g a n d a methods 3 6 5 
T r a d e relations 5 9 1 
U n e m p l o y m e n t S 9 0 
Y o u t h problems s 6 1 

and opinion by having available books and 
pamphlets bearing on all sides of current 
domestic and international problems. T o 
this end we are spending more money than 
usual for the acquisition of published ma-
terials listed (in Table I I ) and there has 
been observable an increased demand for 
materials on propaganda. In addition we 
have attempted to bring together a repre-
sentative body of material on Canada and 
on Latin America, having in view the prob-
lem of hemisphere solidarity. 

Pamphlet Materials 

Question 2. T h e answers to this ques-
tion on the use and value of pamphlets 
are given in T a b l e I I I . These questions 
were answered by two thirds of the li-
braries receiving the questionnaire. 

Responsibility of Library 

Question 3. " W h a t do you think about 
the responsibility of the library for pro-
moting study and understanding of the 
present crisis? Can the library make a 
significant contribution on its own ? 
Should librarians adopt a positive and 

vigorous attitude in trying to interest peo-
ple concerning the problems around 
them?" 

In answer to all of these questions nine 
librarians assumed a positive attitude and 
two a negative one. T h e following ex-
cerpts are representative of the opinions 
which were expressed in reply to these 
questions. 

I. W e in the library believe that we have 
a special responsibility at the present time 
to provide the best information possible on 
current developments through the best news-
papers, magazines, pamphlets and books. 
W e call student attention to these in special 
talks. W e offer special displays. W e have 
a book forum for student discussion of 
new books. W e do firmly believe that li-
brarians should adopt a positive and vigorous 

T A B L E I I I 

Use and Value of Pamphlet Materials 

Y e s N o 
A s Supple-

mentary 
Material 

D o y o u find t h a t pamphlet 
materials help to meet the 
demand in these fields?1 15 0 

A r e t h e y satisfactory substi-
t u t e s for books? 4 4 7 

D o y o u duplicate pamphlets 
f r e e l y ? 6 9 

D o y o u make a n y special ef-
f o r t to circulate them? 

9 5 2 
(used only as 
reference ma-
terial) 

1 " F i e l d s " refers to the subjects mentioned in Table I I . 

attitude in trying to interest people con-
cerning the problems around them . . . we 
have been stressing special displays on 
"Building Our World"—with books and 
magazines on music, art, travel and other 
cultural interests that suggest permanent 
foundations for rich living. . . . 

2. Our local situation is such that the 
college library cannot hope to assume pri-
mary responsibility for promoting the study 
and understanding of the present crisis. 
However, we have clearly recognized, and 
have acted upon our recognition of our 

36 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



obligation to have available the raw ma-
terials for such study. 

3. We consider it our primary function 
to supply titles suggested by instructors or 
called for by students, and others which in 
our judgement would be useful. W e call 
attention to what we have by exhibits and 
verbal suggestion. . . . 

4. I regret that our replies are so pre-
dominantly negative (for question 3). Most 
of the questions have no conceivable con-
nection with a university library. 

5. These questions have been especially 
designated by department heads in the . . . 
Libraries as even more silly than many of 
the others. 

6. The library attempts to promote study 
and understanding of the present crisis by 
displaying collections of books. These col-
lections are sometimes general books on the 
subject of democracy, international prob-
lems, or allied subjects. The library cor-
relates its display of books with the activities 
on the campus. . . . 

7. In a university library the librarian 
should surely make good use of whatever 
free material that is now made available 
and purchase widely in general fields not 
covered by any department of instruction. 
Books on travel and description and books 
dealing with such questions as democracy 
and Latin America; general essays dealing 
with points of view on world affairs—all 

fall within the field of general interest. . . . 
8. Traditionally our American libraries 

do not take sides. Actually, of course, they 
do, as is definitely shown by Esterquest's 
recent article in the Wilson Bulletin. In 
1936, in an article in the Library Journal 
(v. 61, p. 185) I wrote, "Perhaps as the 
pendulum of history swings through its ap-
pointed course it may develop that to pre-
serve the tradition of the civilized world, 
free and untrammeled, librarians may, para-
doxically, have to be militant in their oppo-
sition to a social order which threatens their 
freedom." I still stand by this statement 
and paradoxically, I still believe in the 
principle of free expression on all sides of 
controversial issues. W e are, after all, li-
braries in a democracy, and as such, I believe 
we are justified in weighting our service and 
efforts in favor of democracy, because if our 
democracy goes down, the democratic prin-
ciple of free expression goes with it. 

9. The library can and should make a 
significant contribution to the study and 
understanding of the present crisis. It has 
been contributing from the beginning in sup-
plying scientific and technical information. 
It should make available and call attention 
to pamphlets, books and other materials 
dealing with contemporary questions. Par-
ticipation in the intellectual life of the people 
should be more active than has been typical 
of the past. 

DECEMBER., 1941 37