This involves the presumption that the college authorities appreciate the inportance of a well-managed library and, therefore, employ a well-trained and efficient librarian, and have a good library organization."

Doctor Works in his College and University Library Problems recommends:

(1) All books purchased should be part of the general library; (2) purchases of printed resources will be made by the librarian * * *; (4) the cards for books should be found both in the general and the departmental libraries * * *; (6) the librarian should be charged with the responsibility of selecting the persons in charge of the branch libraries * * *; (7) those in charge of branch libraries should be on the pay roll of the library * *: and (10) college libraries (including law) should have no different administra tive relationship to the central library from that of the other libraries

Dr. C. H. Judd's report on the Survey of Institutions of Higher Education in West Virginia states:

The action taken when departmental libraries were under discussion, placed the responsibility for working out a library policy where it belongs, in the hands of the librarian. ** In the opinion of the survey staff, a university library organization should be just what the name implies--an organization that serves the library needs of the entire institution. There is no reason why the law library should be an exception and there are cogent arguments against such independence. These become more cogent as the institution develops. Especially is this true where professional and graduate schools are developed.” Departmental or divisional libraries.-The question of centralization of library administration is quite distinct from that of centralization of book collections. The larger libraries have placed departmental or group libraries in various buildings on the campus under the supervision of the chief librarian. Such collections consist of several thousand volumes each (in some cases 20,000 or 30.000), with special attendants and with separate catalogues. They are open from 12 to 14 hours per day and often have a competent librarian in charge at a salary of from $1,800 to $3,000. The books are to a considerable extent duplicated in the central library, but in any case are always entered in the catalogue of the central library and are ordered through the order department of the library. The advantages of this system are that (1) the books are brought nearer to the laboratories or the rooms of instruction; (2) the students have a more intimate association with books if collections on special subjects are shelved by themselves in special rooms; and (3) the library assistant in charge should have a more intimate knowledge of the departmental field and should be able to give more expert help to students, research workers, and faculty than would the general reference assistants in the central library.

28A. L. A. Proceedings, 1912, p. 216.

20 Works, George A. College and university library problems, 1927, pp. 77-78. 30 Survey of education in West Virginia, Vol. IV, 1928, pp. 91-92.

Some universities have met the need for special collections by establishing group libraries. This system reduces the expense while providing most of the advantages of departmental collections. The University of Missouri has a special library for biology. The University of California is expecting to open a large biological building with a biological library. The location of departments, as well as the amount of the library budget, will determine the feasibility of this system. The increase in number of individuals using a central library may compel adoption of some such plan in large universities. In a university with 8,000 or 10,000 students, a large library all centralized in one building without separate reading rooms is not conducive to an "easy familiarity" with books in special fields. The organization of group libraries should not, however, conflict with the principle of centralized administration.

On the other hand, some colleges with far less funds for library purposes have carried decentralization of books much further than these larger libraries. Some institutions with book expenditures of less than $25,000 a year report from 14 to 45 departmental libraries. In one institution, there are four department libraries in chemistry: A general chemistry reading room, and individual rooms for organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and chemical engineering. Departmental collections with limited expenditures for administration give far from ideal service. This system may have been caused by inadequate library quarters, but even so, the formation of two or three group libraries, pending the erection of a new building, would seem to have been preferable. In institutions with limited funds, the need for small laboratory collections can be met by the loan of books for which the department is responsible and which may be recalled at any time by the librarian for the use of other readers. Such collections are not considered departmental libraries. Specialized library service to special groups in special fields of knowledge has many distinct advantages. It does require, however, ample funds for assistants and for duplication of books. Where adequate funds have not been provided, this system of decentralization of books has many more disadvantages. The attempt to organize such a system with insufficient funds has often resulted in "concealed decentralization": Books locked up in professors' offices and unavailable to the average students.

The sciences to-day are closely interwoven. It is impossible to say that certain books will be used only by chemists or by bacteriologists. In one day, volumes of the Journal of Biological Chemistry were requested by chemists, a plant physiologist, a bacteriologist, a nutrition expert in home economics, a zoologist (physiologist), and a veterinarian. If a library can afford to duplicate

111490°-30-VOL 1-45

such material and provide special library assistants, departmental libraries are desirable. If not, the books should be kept where they are generally available to all who desire to use them. If the distant location of some departments requires departmental collections, this fact should be recognized by suitable library appropriation for this purpose.

The opinion of faculty members in regard to centralization of book collections has been mentioned under the use of books. It will be noted in Table 2 that all departments which had any considerable experience with department libraries favored greater centralization of books except chemistry and civil engineering.

Conclusions and Summary

The organization and administration of libraries of a large majority of the land-grant institutions are decidedly unsatisfactory. The statement of Dr. F. A. Ogg in regard to university library administration as related to research applies with much force to the library administration in three-fourths of the land-grant institutions as related both to institution and research. "The situation in general is unsatisfactory-in many reputable institutions notoriously bad; and it is with satisfaction that one notes the present stress in various quarters upon improvements in library administration, which, when realized, can hardly fail to better research conditions."

It is recommended that: (a) The librarian, subordinate only to the president, be placed in direct charge of all libraries (including experiment-station and law libraries) connected with the institution: (b) the library committee or council, of which the librarian is a member, act in an advisory capacity only and on matters of general policy such as the correlation of the library service with the instructional and research activities of the institution; (c) all library assistants in the institution be appointed only after favorable recommendations of the librarian; (d) all purchases of books for any libraries connected with the institution be approved and made by the librarian; (e) all books be entered in catalogue of central library; (f) departmental or school libraries be not organized (unless distance renders imperative) where expenditures for library purposes are less than $100,000 per year.

The foregoing recommendations do not imply that expenditures for books and salaries of library assistants should not be carried on the budget of any department, school, or station, if it be so desired. It does mean that the librarian shall have jurisdiction over these expenditures. The expenditures for library purposes from departmental funds should be shown also under the heading, "Library Expenditures."

31 Ogg, F. A. Research in the humanistic and social sciences, 1928, p. 366.

Chapter VII.-Personnel

Importance

Questions in regard to the personnel of the library arise in the consideration of nearly every phase of the activities of a library. The preceding discussions on control and book selection emphasize the importance of placing responsibility for the administration of a library upon the librarian. The preceding section on usability of libraries noted the opportunities of a library staff in increasing the use of books.

A statement by Mr. Arnold Bennett in regard to the need of an adequate staff for public libraries applies equally to college libraries. Public libraries are either insufficiently used, or misused, or (sometimes) not used. Just as 80 per cent of the heat of a coal fire is wasted, so is 80 per cent of the value of a public library wasted. And the reason is the inadequacy of the staff. One hears that public libraries do not spend enough on books. I would reply that if they spent less on books and more on an educated staff far better results would be obtained. It is not books that lack in the libraries; it is the key to their effective employment. That key is the individualities and the attainments of librarians and their staffs."

If the library is a major factor in education, if the library is actually the "center of the intellectual activities of the campus," then it follows that the qualifications and compensation of the members of the staff which supervise this important center should receive careful consideration. Appointments to library positions should be regarded as of as much importance as any in the institution. The qualifications include both general and professional education, professional experience, business and administrative abilities, a human interest in students, a willingness to serve, and a thorough sympathy with, and understanding of, educational processes. In institutions interested in research, additional scholarly qualifications are necessary. Salaries should correspond with the duties and the qualifications.

A library staff is measured best by the service the library renders. Do students and faculty consult the library staff? What is the influence of the librarian on the campus? What aid does the library staff render in the selection of books? Do the assistants give the students an opportunity to see and use the new books that are received or do they distribute them to favored members of the faculty

Publishers' Circular, Nov. 3, 1928.

as soon as received? Does the loan attendant make a decided effort to see that a student receives the book he wants or is he sent upon useless wanderings? Is the instructional work of the institution conducted with little reference to the library or are the resources of the library utilized? If these statements are recognized as fair criteria, then data collected in this survey and noted in Chapters I and II on usability of libraries clearly indicate that the personnel of the library staff is the one element in the library service of land-grant institutions that needs the most careful attention and the greatest emphasis.

Without an efficient staff funds spent for books and buildings may be and have been wasted. An efficient library staff will know book and building requirements and will emphasize the importance of use of books in instructional work. Through this emphasis an efficient staff will affect decidedly the amount allotted for books and periodicals, since it will be able through presentation of facts to support budget recommendations. Books and buildings are worthless unless used. An efficient library staff is an absolute necessity in securing adequate use.

The characteristics of the library staff are treated under (a) Duties, (b) General and professional educational qualifications, (c) Professional experience, (d) Salaries, (e) Faculty status, (f) Hours of service, (g) Educational opportunities, library schools, (h) The clerical staff, (i) Size, number of assistants on staff, and (j) Reorganization of staff.

The work of a library falls into two divisions. Much of it requires expert knowledge; other portions such as shelving of books, labeling, etc., do not require any special education or training. Several libraries have, upon this basis, divided their staffs into (a) the professional class, and (b) the clerical class. The clerical staff is given separate consideration later in this section; the qualifications of the professional staff alone are considered at this point. For convenience in discussion, the duties, qualifications, and salary of the librarian are considered first separately.

The Professional Staff-The Librarian

Duties.-The important duties required of the head of a modern college library are not understood in all institutions. In the introduction, reference was made to the fact that, in the nineteenth century, libraries were considered of so little importance that the duties of the librarians were assigned to professors as part-time work. This practice still exists in four land-grant institutions. In two of them, professors of English are serving as part-time librarians. In one, 50 per cent of the time of the librarian is given to the directorship