College and Research Libraries By E D W I N B. C O L B U R N The Value to the Modern Library of a Technical Services Department Mr. Colburn is chief of technical proc- esses, Northwestern University. TH E O R G A N I Z A T I O N of departments of technical services in libraries to cover the processes of ordering, cataloging and preparing material for use is a compara- tively new development, having taken place largely within the past 10 years. Even in this comparatively short time, however, con- siderable discussion has arisen concerning the advisability of establishing such units, the purposes they are intended to serve, and the benefits to be derived from them. T h e articles by Raynard Swank1 and Alex Ladenson,2 and the papers presented at the A.L.A. conference in J u n e 1948,3 are typi- cal of such discussions. T h e purpose of this paper is not to de- fend such units, but to indicate some of the objectives sought in their organization and particularly to describe some of the means of attaining these objectives. Objectives M r . Ladenson, in the paper referred to above, has stated very well the aims he has constantly kept in mind in organizing the work of his department at the Chicago Public Library. Supplementing the ob- jectives which he sets forth, we may con- sider the reasons which have often been 1 Swank, Raynard C., " T h e Catalog Department in the Library Organization," Library Quarterly 18:24- 32, January 1948. 2 Ladenson, A l e x , " T h e Acquisition and Preparation Departments," Library Quarterly 18:200-05, July 1948. 3 " T h e Technical Services Division in L i b r a r i e s : A S y m p o s i u m , " College and Research Libraries 10:46-68, January 1949. advanced for the creation of technical serv- ice departments. One of these is decreasing: the span of control of the librarian. T h e r e are many drawbacks to having a large number of lines of communication between the li- brarian and the various departments of the library. If regularly scheduled meetings of department heads are held, it is rather difficult to transact business or discuss and establish policies if the membership of the council is too large. T h a t is an aspect which makes a large committee practically as useless as no committee at all. If the communication is by means of individual conferences, a large part of the librarian's time is consumed by these conferences, to the detriment of his other duties. In either case, situations are bound to arise in which one division head will raise a problem which involves another closely related division. Let us say that the head of the order divi- sion reports the imminent receipt of a large collection of material. Such an event in- evitably requires special planning by the head of the cataloging unit and the person in charge of mechanical processing to avoid the creation of a bottleneck. A consulta- tion with the librarian of the three people involved is then indicated. Perhaps ideally it might at times be possible to do this without the librarian's participation, but in practice the tendency to view the prob- lem only from the point of view of one's own division makes this inadvisable. If, however, there is one person responsible for the work of all three units, he can conduct JANUARY, 1950 47 the necessary planning, referring to the li- brarian only those matters which involve general library policy. Another objective sought in the creation of a technical services department is an in- crease in the flow of materials. T h e r e is probably no library of any size which does not have somewhere within it a backlog of some magnitude of materials awaiting proc- essing. I do not mean to imply that such a backlog can be eliminated overnight by the creation of a technical services department, but certain steps can be taken and some results achieved through this medium. Of these I shall have more to say later. Cooperation among divisions within the department is another objective of the technical services department. Everyone of us has a tendency, more pronounced in some cases than in others, to look at matters from the point of view of our own section or part of the work. T h i s is natural and in- evitable, and will continue to be as long as human beings and not robots are doing library work. T h e appointment of one person to supervise the various aspects of processing makes it possible to have an in-> dividual whose prime allegiance is not to any one unit. H e or she will thus have a broader point of view and can plan and direct the work with more objectivity. This person can also tactfully indicate to the various division heads the problems of the others and create a better understand- ing of their mutual difficulties. Costs of processing have long been a matter of concern to librarians, and also to boards of trustees. I know of one member of the board of a large library who became convinced that the processing costs were much too high. Accordingly, he constituted himself a committee of one to investigate the matter, much to the embarrassment of the librarian, and even more to the head of the catalog department. T h i s trustee simply could not be convinced that after a book was purchased, it was necessary to allow an amount almost approaching the purchase price to prepare it adequately for use by the library's patrons. W e are all only too well aware that books do not arrive in the library completely ready to be placed on the shelves or issued by the circulation desk, and that cards for them do not miraculously appear in the catalog. I do not pretend to know what is the proper percentage of the library budget for processing, or what the average cost for processing a book for use should be. Statistics of this type are diffi- cult to obtain, and figures for the average cost of processing a book are unreliable at best, as they do not take into account other work done by the processing units. But we must admit that the processing administrator and the librarian will do well to consider the possibility of reducing costs, especially in these times when gifts of money are decreasing in size, and requests for ap- propriations are being more carefully scanned by those in charge of allotting funds. T h e technical processes organiza- tion may be able to help in the reduction of such costs. Correlated Order Forms O n e device which has attracted wide attention since its appearance a little more than 15 years ago is the correlated or multi- ple order form. By this term is meant any or all of the various systems of preprinted order forms which come in a varying num- ber of copies up to nine and perhaps more. Most of these are precarboned, although some are not. Those which are generally incorporate the snap-out principle for the removal of the carbons after the typing operation is completed. T h e y may come in pads containing one to five sets of forms, or in long strips composed of several hun- dred sets. I should like to review the pro- cedures followed with ours at Northwestern University to indicate how we are attempt- 48 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES ing to streamline our work by their use. W e do not claim that our forms as now constituted are perfect. In fact, we are already planning changes to be made when the time comes to reprint them. N o r do we maintain that they are superior to those in use at other libraries. T h e sole reason for using them as examples is my familiarity with them. T h e forms consist of seven parts, all bearing the same serial number in red, and come in strips of 400. W h e n the typ- ing operation is completed, the sets are detached from the strip, the carbon paper snapped out and discarded. T h e individ- ual parts can then be disposed of, as will be shown later. So much for the mechanical details. Requests for material may be received on form slips provided for the purpose, or simply in the catalog or list received from the dealer. In either case the searching is done by use of the medium supplied, that is from the slip, catalog, or list. In the searching process, any bibliographical in- formation which may be of use in ordering the book, or in aiding the dealer in identifi- cation of the item, is added to the citation. If this is of help to the catalogers also, so much the better. T h e items are then sorted according to the dealer with whom they are to be placed, if this is not obvious from the source of the quotation, and given to the typist, who prepares the order as indi- cated above. P a r t one is the "original purchase or- der." Information typed upon this in- cludes, in addition to the author, title, place, publisher, date, and other necessary bibliographical data, the fund to which it is to be charged, the name of the dealer, the date of order, the number of volumes if more than one, the number of copies de- sired, the eventual location of the book (if other than the main stacks), the person and department making the recommenda- tion, the source of the quotation, and the estimated or list price. T h i s information, by means of the carbon, carries through to all the other parts of the set. T h e lower portion, which differs on each part, gives general directions to the dealer for filling the order. These are supplemented by more detailed instructions on the verso of the slip. Experience has taught us that too lengthy instructions are of little value, as the dealer will not take the time necessary to read them. T h i s part goes to the dealer and he can keep it for his records if he so desires. P a r t two is a report slip which also goes to the dealer. Prominently printed in red upon this slip is the instruction " R e t u r n this slip with the book." By having this slip in the book when it arrives, we are able to locate those other parts of the form which are filed by order number, as well as those which are filed alphabetically. It is also possible to shelve the books numeri- cally by order number while they are await- ing checking in or other steps in the process- ing. At the bottom of this second part is a note to the dealer requesting him to re- turn the slip with the book if it is available, or if not, to report on the reverse side where he may check in the spaces provided any of several listed reasons for nondelivery. T h i s saves correspondence on the part of the dealer. A f t e r the book has been checked in and forwarded for processing, this report slip is used as the permanent record in the "dead file." H e r e it will in the f u t u r e an- swer questions concerning source, date of purchase, cost, etc., in case of loss or neces- sity of replacement. P a r t three is the fund slip which is used in the bookkeeping procedure, of which more will be said later. P a r t four is the order slip for Library of Congress cards. T h e bottom of this slip contains the report symbols to be used by L. C. when cards are not available. These JANUARY, 1950 49 s l i p s a r e f o r w a r d e d t o t h e C a t a l o g M a i n - t e n a n c e S e c t i o n , w h i c h is r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c a r d o r d e r i n g . C a r d s f o r c u r r e n t i m p r i n t s a r e o r d e r e d i m m e d i a t e l y . F o r n o n c u r r e n t i t e m s , t h e o r d e r is p l a c e d w h e n t h e m a - t e r i a l is r e c e i v e d . I f t h e c a r d n u m b e r is f o u n d in t h e v e r i f i c a t i o n o r s e a r c h i n g p r o c - ess, i t is s u p p l i e d o n t h e o r d e r f o r m s a t t h e t i m e of t y p i n g . If n o t , c a r d s a r e o r d e r e d b y a u t h o r a n d t i t l e . T h e p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e c a r d o r d e r s f o r m e r l y o c c u p i e d t h e m a j o r p o r t i o n of o n e a s s i s t a n t ' s t i m e . N o w m u c h of it is d o n e in t h e s a m e p r o c e s s as t h e t y p - i n g of t h e p u r c h a s e o r d e r . P a r t five is a c l a i m s l i p . T h i s is u s e d as a f o l l o w - u p i n cases w h e r e t h e b o o k o r a r e p o r t is n o t r e c e i v e d in a r e a s o n a b l e l e n g t h of t i m e . T h e l e n g t h of t i m e a n o r d e r is o u t s t a n d i n g c a n e a s i l y be d e t e r m i n e d b y c h e c k i n g t h e f u n d file, w h i c h is f i l e d b y o r d e r n u m b e r , a n d is t h e r e f o r e a c h r o n o - l o g i c a l r e c o r d . A n o t e t o t h e d e a l e r a t t h e b o t t o m of t h e slip s t a t e s t h a t n o a n s w e r h a s b e e n r e c e i v e d o n t h e o r d e r , a n d r e q u e s t s h i m t o s u p p l y t h e b o o k o r r e p o r t i n t h e s p a c e s p r o v i d e d o n t h e r e v e r s e s i d e of t h e s l i p . T h e s e a r e i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h o s e o n t h e r e p o r t s l i p . U s e of t h e s e s l i p s s a v e s w r i t i n g l e t t e r s t o t r a c e i t e m s n o t r e c e i v e d . P a r t s e v e n is t h e t e m p o r a r y c a t a l o g c a r d . T h i s is f i l e d i n t h e p u b l i c c a t a l o g i m m e d i - a t e l y , b e f o r e t h e o r d e r is m a i l e d . T h u s w e h a v e a n a d d i t i o n a l c h e c k t o a v o i d d u p l i c a - t i o n . T h e b o t t o m of t h e s l i p b e a r s a n o t e t o t h e u s e r of t h e c a t a l o g , i n f o r m i n g h i m t h a t t h e t i t l e is o n o r d e r o r in p r o c e s s . If t h e i t e m is u r g e n t l y n e e d e d i t c a n be r e - q u e s t e d a t t h e c i r c u l a t i o n d e s k . I f i t h a s b e e n r e c e i v e d , t h e c a t a l o g i n g c a n be s p e e d e d o r t h e b o o k u s e d in t h e l i b r a r y a t o n c e . B y p l a c i n g t h e s e c a r d s in t h e p u b l i c c a t a l o g , w e h a v e o n l y o n e p l a c e t o s e a r c h b e f o r e o r d e r i n g . W e a l s o h a v e a r e c o r d of t h e p r e s e n c e of t h e b o o k f r o m t h e t i m e of i t s r e c e i p t , a f a c t w h i c h is m u c h a p p r e c i a t e d by t h e f a c u l t y . T h e o r i g i n a l r e q u e s t s l i p b y w h i c h t h e o r d e r w a s o r i g i n a t e d b y f a c u l t y o r s t a f f m e m b e r h a s m e a n w h i l e g o n e wTith t h e b o o k t h r o u g h t h e c a t a l o g i n g p r o c e s s . I n t h i s w a y it c o n v e y s t o t h e c a t a l o g e r a n y b i b l i o - g r a p h i c a l d a t a o b t a i n e d in t h e s e a r c h i n g p r o c e s s . F i n a l l y , it is u s e d t o n o t i f y t h e p e r s o n o r i g i n a l l y m a k i n g t h e r e q u e s t t h a t t h e b o o k is n o w r e a d y f o r c i r c u l a t i o n . B y t h e use of t h e s e slips, w e h a v e r e d u c e d t h e n u m b e r of t y p i n g o p e r a t i o n s , t h e n u m - b e r of p l a c e s in w h i c h s e a r c h i n g m u s t be d o n e b e f o r e o r d e r i n g , a n d t h e a m o u n t of t i m e r e q u i r e d in p r e p a r i n g L . C . c a r d o r - d e r s . W e h a v e a l s o d e v i s e d a m e a n s of c o n v e y i n g a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e c a t a l o g e r s , a n d of p r o v i d i n g t e m p o r a r y c a t a l o g i n g f o r o u r p u r c h a s e s . T h e r e a r e u n d o u b t e d l y o t h e r u s e s w h i c h c a n be m a d e of t h e s e f o r m s . W e a r e n o w c o n s i d e r i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of u s i n g o n e p a r t as a b i n d i n g slip, b u t t h i s is s t i l l in a v e r y t e n t a t i v e s t a g e . Bookkeeping O n t h e basis of t h e m u l t i p l e o r d e r slip s y s t e m I h a v e j u s t d e s c r i b e d , w e h a v e a l s o d e v i s e d a n e w a c c o u n t i n g a n d b o o k k e e p i n g s y s t e m f o r b o o k p u r c h a s i n g . T h e a m o u n t of b o o k k e e p i n g n e c e s s a r y v a r i e s in d i f f e r e n t l i b r a r i e s , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e g u l a t i o n s of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o r g o v e r n m e n t a l s y s t e m of w h i c h t h e l i b r a r y m a y be a p a r t . T h e r e - f o r e , a g o o d s y s t e m f o r u s a t N o r t h w e s t e r n m a y n o t b e s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r a n o t h e r l i b r a r y , b u t I s h o u l d l i k e t o e x p l a i n b r i e f l y w h a t w e h a v e w o r k e d o u t , a s a n i n d i c a t i o n of t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r t h e s t r e a m l i n i n g of t h i s p r o - c e d u r e in a d e p a r t m e n t of t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e . A s h a s a l r e a d y b e e n i n d i c a t e d , o u r b o o k - k e e p i n g s y s t e m d e p e n d s v e r y c l o s e l y u p o n o u r m u l t i p l e o r d e r f o r m s . O n e s l i p in t h e set is c a l l e d t h e " f u n d s l i p , " a n d is d e - s i g n e d p r i m a r i l y f o r a c c o u n t i n g use, a l - t h o u g h it a l s o s e r v e s o t h e r p u r p o s e s . B y a g r e e m e n t w i t h t h e b u s i n e s s office of t h e u n i v e r s i t y , b i l l s a r e s e n t t h r o u g h f o r p a y - 50 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES m e n t t h r e e t i m e s a m o n t h . F o r e i g n b i l l s g o t o t h e b u s i n e s s office o n t h e t h i r d of t h e m o n t h , i n o r d e r t o a l l o w t i m e f o r p r o c e s s - i n g a n d p a y m e n t b y t h e 3 0 t h f o r i n c l u s i o n o n t h e m o n t h l y s t a t e m e n t of b u d g e t e x - p e n d i t u r e s . D o m e s t i c b i l l s g o t h r o u g h o n t h e 1 2 t h a n d 2 2 n d . T h e s e d a t e s w e r e c h o s e n t o a v o i d c o n f l i c t w i t h b i l l s c o m i n g f r o m o t h e r p a r t s of t h e u n i v e r s i t y . T h i s c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e b u s i n e s s office a n d t h e l i b r a r y is i n d i c a t i v e of w h a t c a n b e d o n e b y t h e h e a d of a t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e s d e p a r t - m e n t . P e r h a p s it c o u l d b e d o n e a s e a s i l y b y t h e o r d e r l i b r a r i a n , b u t i n o u r o r g a n i z a - t i o n a t l e a s t , i t h a d n o t b e e n d o n e p r e v i - o u s l y . A s t h e p a y m e n t p e r i o d s a r e t h u s s p a c e d a t i n t e r v a l s of 1 0 d a y s , w e h a v e a d o p t e d t h e s e p e r i o d s a s b a s i c in o u r s c h e m e . I n o t h e r w o r d s , t h e b o o k s a r e c o m p l e t e l y b a l a n c e d , s h o w i n g c o m m i t m e n t s , e x p e n d i - t u r e s , c a s h b a l a n c e a n d f r e e b a l a n c e a t t h e s e i n t e r v a l s . E a c h d a y as o r d e r s a r e p r e p a r e d , t h e f u n d s l i p s a r e f o r w a r d e d t o t h e b o o k k e e p e r . T h e y a r e d i v i d e d b y f u n d , a n d a r e p l a c e d i n a s e p a r a t e p a r t of t h e file u n t i l t h e t i m e f o r b a l a n c i n g t h e l e d g e r a r r i v e s . A t t h a t t i m e t h e c o m m i t m e n t s , i.e., t h e e s t i m a t e d o r l i s t p r i c e s f o r i t e m s o r d e r e d o n e a c h f u n d , a r e t o t a l e d a n d e n t e r e d in t h e c o l u m n of t h e l e d g e r p r o v i d e d f o r c o m m i t m e n t s o u t s t a n d - i n g , a n d t h e e s t i m a t e d f r e e b a l a n c e r e d u c e d a c c o r d i n g l y . T h e d e a l e r s a r e r e q u e s t e d t o i n d i c a t e o n t h e b i l l s r e n d e r e d t h e n a m e of t h e f u n d a n d t h e o r d e r n u m b e r f o r e a c h i t e m . T h i s s i m - p l i f i e s t h e p u l l i n g of t h e f u n d s l i p s a s t h e b i l l s a r e p r o c e s s e d . W h e n t h e b i l l s a r e r e a d y f o r p a y m e n t , t h e f u n d s l i p s f o r i t e m s r e c e i v e d o n e a c h f u n d a r e c o l l e c t e d a n d t h e t o t a l s of c o m m i t m e n t s a n d a c t u a l e x p e n d i - t u r e s c o m p u t e d . T h e c o m m i t m e n t s t h u s p a i d a r e e n t e r e d in t h e l e d g e r c o l u m n f o r t h i s p u r p o s e , a n d t h e b a l a n c e of c o m m i t - m e n t s o u t s t a n d i n g r e d u c e d a c c o r d i n g l y . T h e t o t a l of e x p e n d i t u r e s f o r t h e p e r i o d a r e a l s o e n t e r e d in t h e l e d g e r , t h e t o t a l t o d a t e c o m p u t e d a n d t h e c a s h b a l a n c e r e d u c e d a c - c o r d i n g l y . S i n c e t h e e s t i m a t e d p r i c e is o n l y a n a p p r o x i m a t i o n a n d d o e s n o t t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t h e d i s c o u n t s w h i c h w i l l be g i v e n b y t h e d e a l e r , i t is a l s o n e c e s s a r y t o a d j u s t t h e e s t i m a t e d f r e e b a l a n c e . T h i s is e a s i l y d o n e b y c o m p u t i n g t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n e s t i m a t e s a n d e x p e n d i t u r e s . I f w e h a v e o v e r e s t i m a t e d , t h i s d i f f e r e n c e is a d d e d t o t h e f r e e b a l a n c e . I n c a s e w e h a v e u n d e r e s t i - m a t e d , t h e d i f f e r e n c e is s u b t r a c t e d . O n c e e a c h m o n t h a r e p o r t of t h e s t a t u s of t h e i n d i v i d u a l b o o k f u n d s is p r e p a r e d f o r t h e l i b r a r i a n o n a f o r m d e s i g n e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e . H e is t h u s i n a p o s i t i o n t o see t h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h f u n d s a r e b e i n g e x p e n d e d a n d w h i c h d e p a r t m e n t s a r e s p e n d i n g t o o r a p i d l y a n d w h i c h t o o s l o w l y . A s t h e e n d of t h e fiscal y e a r a p p r o a c h e s , i t m a y b e n e c e s s a r y t o p r e p a r e t h e r e p o r t m o r e f r e - q u e n t l y . M e a n w h i l e , i t is p o s s i b l e t o d e - t e r m i n e f r o m a g l a n c e a t t h e l e d g e r t h e s t a t u s of a n y f u n d u p t o a p o i n t n o t m o r e t h a n 1 0 d a y s p r e v i o u s . O r w e c a n p r e p a r e a r e p o r t o n t h e s t a t u s of a l l f u n d s in t h e t i m e i t t a k e s t o t y p e o u t t h e f o r m , a p p r o x i - m a t e l y a n h o u r . T h e p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e r e p o r t f o r m e r l y r e q u i r e d t w o d a y s o r m o r e , as it w a s n e c e s s a r y t o r e c o m p u t e t h e o u t - s t a n d i n g c o m m i t m e n t s e a c h t i m e a r e p o r t w a s m a d e . T h u s f a r t h i s s y s t e m h a s w o r k e d v e r y s a t i s f a c t o r i l y f o r t h e l i b r a r y a n d t h e b u s i n e s s o f f i c e . O n e r e q u e s t f o r i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e b o o k k e e p i n g p r o c e d u r e h a s b e e n r e c e i v e d , w i t h t h e a n n o u n c e d i n t e n t i o n of c o n s i d e r i n g it f o r a d o p t i o n in a n o t h e r l a r g e u n i v e r s i t y . T h e f u n d s l i p s a l s o s e r v e o t h e r p u r p o s e s . S i n c e t h e y a r e filed b y o r d e r n u m b e r , a n d t h e n u m b e r s a r e c h r o n o l o g i c a l , i t is v e r y e a s y t o see w h a t o r d e r s h a v e r e m a i n e d u n - filled f o r a l o n g p e r i o d . A s t h e s l i p s a r e t r a n s f e r r e d t o a n o t h e r file a f t e r p a y m e n t , t h e y s e r v e a s a r e c o r d of t h e p u r c h a s e s o n e a c h f u n d d u r i n g t h e fiscal y e a r , if s u c h i n - JANUARY, 1950 51 f o r m a t i o n is d e s i r e d . W e h a v e a l s o k e p t t h e s l i p s of i t e m s r e p o r t e d as u n a v a i l a b l e by t h e d e a l e r . T h e s e m a y g i v e u s s o m e i n s i g h t i n t o t h e t y p e s of m a t e r i a l w h i c h w e a r e f a i l i n g t o o b t a i n . Consolidation of Files I n s o m e l i b r a r i e s t h e r e is a d u p l i c a t i o n of files b e t w e e n t h e o r d e r d i v i s i o n a n d t h e c a t a l o g i n g o r o t h e r d i v i s i o n s . T h i s s i t u a - t i o n i n e v i t a b l y l e a d s t o e x t r a w o r k , s o m e of w h i c h c a n be a v o i d e d b y c o n s o l i d a t i o n a n d c o o p e r a t i o n . I n a n u m b e r of i n s t i t u - t i o n s w h e r e c o r r e l a t e d o r d e r f o r m s a r e n o t u s e d , a n o r d e r f i l e is k e p t a s w e l l a s a n i n - p r o c e s s f i l e of m a t e r i a l r e c e i v e d a n d a w a i t - i n g p r o c e s s i n g o r b e i n g p r o c e s s e d . T h e s e t w o files c a n o f t e n b e u n i t e d . T h e o r d e r s l i p s c a n t h e n b e m a r k e d t o s h o w r e c e i p t of t h e v o l u m e a n d i m m e d i a t e l y r e p l a c e d in t h e file, t h u s s a v i n g o n e f i l i n g o p e r a t i o n . F r e q u e n t l y d o u b l e r e c o r d s a r e k e p t f o r p e - r i o d i c a l s , t h e o n e in t h e o r d e r d i v i s i o n s h o w i n g , in a d d i t i o n t o t h e s t a t u s of t h e l i b r a r y ' s h o l d i n g s , d e c i s i o n s u p o n c o n t i n u i n g s u b s c r i p t i o n s a n d f i l l i n g g a p s , w h i l e t h e o n e in t h e p e r i o d i c a l d i v i s i o n g i v e s t h e h o l d i n g s a n d t h e b i n d i n g s t a t u s . A s s u m i n g t h a t t h e d i v i s i o n s a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y close t o g e t h e r i n l o c a t i o n , o n e file c a n o f t e n be u t i l i z e d t o c o n t a i n a l l t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n . Personnel T h e h e a d of t h e t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e s d e - p a r t m e n t is o f t e n in a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t h a n t h e d i v i s i o n h e a d t o s e p a r a t e t h e c l e r i c a l f r o m t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l d u t i e s of t h e s t a f f . T h e g r e a t e r o b j e c t i v i t y w h i c h c a n b e a c h i e v e d i n t h i s p o s i t i o n , a n d t h e o v e r - a l l v i e w a f f o r d e d , c o n t r i b u t e t o t h i s . M o r e - o v e r , g r e a t e r flexibility is p o s s i b l e i n s h i f t i n g c l e r i c a l p e r s o n n e l f r o m o n e d i v i s i o n t o a n - o t h e r as o c c a s i o n d e m a n d s , o r i n t h e s h a r - i n g of t h e t i m e of s u c h p e r s o n n e l b y t w o d i v i s i o n s . N o r is s u c h flexibility c o n f i n e d t o t h e c l e r i c a l s t a f f . P r o f e s s i o n a l w o r k e r s c a n a l s o b e s h i f t e d if t h e i r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s p e r - m i t a n d t h e i n t e r e s t s of t h e d e p a r t m e n t so d i c t a t e . S i n c e t h e h e a d of t h e d e p a r t m e n t is a w ^ r e of s p e c i a l p r o b l e m s o r a n i n c r e a s e d w o r k l o a d in o n e d i v i s i o n , p l a n s c a n be f o r m u l a t e d t o a v o i d b r e a k d o w n s i n p r o c - esses in a l l d i v i s i o n s of t h e d e p a r t m e n t b y a d v a n c e p r e p a r a t i o n o r t e m p o r a r y r e - a l i g n - m e n t s . T h e flow of w o r k c a n b e m a i n - t a i n e d m o r e e v e n l y a n d t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of i n f o r m a t i o n e x p e d i t e d . A s a r e s u l t of t h i s s a m e o v e r - a l l v i e w - p o i n t , t h e h e a d of t h e t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e s u n i t is i n a b e t t e r p o s i t i o n t o d r a w u p r e a l i s t i c j o b s p e c i f i c a t i o n s a n d t o e v a l u a t e t h e r e l a - t i v e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e v a r i o u s p o s i t i o n s i n t h e d e p a r t m e n t . T h u s a m o r e e q u i t a b l e s a l a r y s c a l e c a n be a c h i e v e d , a n d a m o r e r e a s o n a b l e b u d g e t r e c o m m e n d a t i o n p r e - p a r e d f o r p r e s e n t a t i o n t o t h e l i b r a r i a n . I n - d i v i d u a l s t a f f m e m b e r s w o u l d t h u s s e e m t o be a s s u r e d of a f a i r e r e v a l u a t i o n of t h e i r a n d t h e i r p o s i t i o n ' s w o r t h i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e o t h e r p e o p l e a n d p o s i t i o n s in t h e d e p a r t - m e n t . T h e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e o r g a n i z a t i o n f o r t h e o r d e r , c a t a l o g i n g a n d m e c h a n i c a l p r o c e s s i n g d i v i s i o n s m e a n s t h a t o n e p e r s o n is c o n c e r n e d w i t h p e r s o n n e l r e c - o r d s , s u c h as a b s e n c e s , v a c a t i o n s , a n d l e a v e s . I t s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e t h a t o n e p e r s o n c a n k e e p s u c h r e c o r d s f o r 6 0 p e o p l e m o r e q u i c k l y a n d e a s i l y t h a n c a n t h r e e p e r s o n s f o r 2 0 p e o p l e e a c h . M o r e o v e r , c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of s u c h r e c o r d s p r o v i d e s f o r g r e a t e r u n i f o r m i t y in t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of r u l e s p e r t a i n i n g t o s u c h m a t t e r s . Relations with the Public R e l a t i o n s of a l i b r a r y w i t h t h e p u b l i c is a m a t t e r w h i c h s h o u l d be of p r i m e c o n c e r n t o t h e s t a f f . F r o m t h e p o i n t of v i e w of t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e s , w e h a v e o n t h e o n e h a n d t h e d e a l e r . W h a t e v e r w e m a y s a y c o n c e r n - i n g i n d i v i d u a l a g e n t s , w e m u s t a g r e e t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e m a r e w i l l i n g a n d e v e n 52 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES a n x i o u s t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e i r c u s t o m e r s , t h e l i b r a r i e s . T h e h e a d of a t e c h n i c a l s e r v - ices d e p a r t m e n t is in a g o o d p o s i t i o n t o s m o o t h t h e p a t h t o w a r d b e t t e r r e l a t i o n s in t h i s s p h e r e . If h e k n o w s h i s w o r k , h e is c o n v e r s a n t w i t h t h e p r o b l e m s of t h e o r d e r d i v i s i o n , t h e c a t a l o g e r s , t h e s e r i a l r e c o r d s s t a f f a n d t h e p e o p l e p r e p a r i n g m a t e r i a l f o r b i n d i n g . W i t h t h i s k n o w l e d g e , h e is b e t t e r p r e p a r e d t o p r e s e n t t h e o v e r - a l l p r o b l e m s of t h e l i b r a r y t o t h e d e a l e r a n d t o w o r k o u t m e a n s of c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h h i m . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e r e a r e t h e f a c u l t y a n d t h e s t u d e n t b o d y . I n his r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e m t h e t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e s s p e c i a l i s t is a b l e t o b r i n g a b o u t b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g b y d e v e l - o p i n g w a y s a n d m e a n s of g e t t i n g t h e m a - t e r i a l s t h e y n e e d i n t o t h e l i b r a r y m o r e q u i c k l y , a n d of c a t a l o g i n g a n d c l a s s i f y i n g t h e m m o r e s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . T h e r e s u l t i n g s a t i s f a c t i o n w i l l p a y l a r g e d i v i d e n d s . T h e s e a r e o n l y s o m e of t h e n u m e r o u s d e v i c e s w h i c h c a n be u t i l i z e d in a t e c h n i c a l s e r v i c e s d e p a r t m e n t t o s t r e a m l i n e a n d i m - p r o v e o p e r a t i o n s . M o r e c a n be f o u n d , a n d in t h e d i s c o v e r y a n d a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e s e t h e s p e c i a l i s t i n t h i s f i e l d w i l l f i n d a c o n - s t a n t c h a l l e n g e a n d a r e w a r d i n g s a t i s f a c t i o n . T h i s is n o t a s t a t i c f i e l d , b u t a c o n s t a n t l y c h a n g i n g o n e , w h i c h o f f e r s g r e a t p o s s i b i l i - t i e s t o t h e a d v e n t u r o u s . L i f e is n e v e r d u l l , a n d t h e p e r s o n e n t e r i n g t h i s f i e l d c a n e x p e c t t o e n j o y h i s w o r k w h i l e h e l p i n g t o i m p r o v e l i b r a r y t e c h n i q u e . Agricultural Research and the Exchange Problem (Continued from page 46) Directory of Agricultural Libraries and of Libraries Specialized in Subjects Related to Agriculture ( R o m e , T h e I n s t i t u t e , 1 9 3 9 . 3 1 1 p . ) R e v i s i o n s of o t h e r l i s t s i s s u e d by t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e of A g r i c u l t u r e , s u c h as t h e International Directory of Ani- mal Husbandry Institutions ( R o m e , 1 9 3 3 . 322p.), t h e International Directory of Ag- ricultural Engineering Institutions ( R o m e , !939- I52p.)> t h e International Directory of Dairying Institutions ( R o m e , I 9 3 4 - 4 5 ° P - ) > t h e International Directory of Ag- ricultural Experimental Institutions in Hot Countries ( R o m e , 1 9 3 4 . 5 6 3 P . ) , a n d In- stitutions Agricoles dan les Pays Tem- peres ( R o m e , 1 9 3 3 . 3 o 6 p . ) , w o u l d a l s o be of g r e a t v a l u e . W e c o u l d c e r t a i n l y a t t a c k , t h r o u g h r e g i o n a l c o m m i t t e e s , t h e q u e s t i o n of w h i c h l i b r a r i e s w e r e t o b e d e s i g n a t e d as d e p o s i t o r i e s f o r d u p l i c a t e s of f o r e i g n a g r i - c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l r e c e i v e d by t h e l a r g e r r e - s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s . I n a n y case I p r o p o s e t h a t w e a t t e m p t t o d o s o m e t h i n g c o n c r e t e a b o u t t h e f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e s i t u a t i o n . If e n o u g h i n t e r e s t is a r o u s e d I see n o r e a s o n w h y a d e c i s i o n in f a v o r of d e c i s i v e a c t i o n c a n n o t be r e a c h e d a t t h e n a t i o n a l m e e t i n g of t h e A . L . A . i n J u l y 1 9 5 0 . JANUARY, 1950 * 53