College and Research Libraries B y R A L P H T . E S T E R Q U E S T Cooperation and the Physical Book1 Mr. Esterquest is director, The Midwest Inter-Library Center. T I B R A R I A N S d o n o t h a v e t o be r e m i n d e d ' t h a t w e a r e l i v i n g i n a n a g e c h a r a c t e r - i z e d b y a flood t i d e of b o o k s , p e r i o d i c a l s , a n d o t h e r m a t e r i a l s of r e s e a r c h . T h e y k n o w a l r e a d y t h a t o u r f o r e s t s a r e b e i n g l a i d w a s t e in o r d e r t o p r o v i d e t h e p a p e r t o f e e d o u r h u n g r y p r i n t i n g p r e s s e s , m i m e o g r a p h m a c h i n e s , a n d a l l t h e o t h e r d e v i c e s n o w u s e d t o b r i n g t h e w r i t t e n w o r d b e f o r e t h e r e a d e r . I t m i g h t b e e m p h a s i z e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t , i n c o p i n g w i t h t h e flood, l i b r a r i a n s a r e f a c - i n g a d o u b l e c h a l l e n g e : O n e i n v o l v e s t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t , t h e o t h e r is t h e m a t t e r of a d e q u a t e l y m e e t i n g t h e n e e d s of t h e s c h o l a r . T o e x p l a i n w h a t I m e a n , l e t u s t a k e a s a n e x a m p l e a r e c e n t r e s e a r c h i t e m — t h e f u l l r e p o r t s of t h e N u r e m b e r g w a r - c r i m e s t r i a l s . I a m t o l d t h a t t h e r e p o r t s , t e s t i m o n y , a n d a c c o m p a n y i n g d o c u m e n t s w e r e i s s u e d i n m i m e o g r a p h f o r m , a n d t h e f u l l s e t f i l l s m a n y l a r g e p a c k i n g c a s e s — a n e n t i r e f r e i g h t c a r . I n c o n s i d e r i n g t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s of a c q u i r - i n g t h i s s e t , t h e l i b r a r i a n first f a c e s t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t . D o e s h e h a v e r o o m f o r i t i n h i s s t a c k s ; d o e s h e h a v e s t a f f e n o u g h t o u n p a c k , s o r t , a r r a n g e , l i s t , c l a s s i f y , c a t a - l o g , b i n d , a n d s h e l v e t h e m a t e r i a l ; h o w m u s t h e a l l o c a t e b u d g e t t o p r o v i d e s t a f f , b i n d i n g , a n d s u p p l i e s i n v o l v e d i n p r o c e s s i n g i t ; w h e r e is i t t o b e s h e l v e d i n o r d e r t o b e c o n v e n i e n t t o i t s u s e r s a n d s t i l l n o t b e i n 1 A paper presented at a joint meeting of the Asso- ciation of College and Reference Libraries and the Reference Section of Illinois L i b r a r y Association, at Grand Rapids, Mich., Nov. 10, 1949. t h e w a y of o t h e r s ? T h i s is t h e h o u s e k e e p - i n g a s p e c t , a n d i t is t h i s a s p e c t t h a t h a s p r i m a r i l y c o n c e r n e d l i b r a r i a n s w h e n t h e y w o r r y w i t h t h e i r p r e s i d e n t s a b o u t m o r e s t a c k s , l a r g e r s t a f f s , a n d b i g g e r b u d g e t s . I t is t h e p r o b l e m w e a r e t h i n k i n g a b o u t w h e n w e r e a d i n F r e m o n t R i d e r ' s b o o k t h a t u n i - v e r s i t y l i b r a r i e s d o u b l e i n s i z e e v e r y 1 6 y e a r s . T h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t is, h o w e v e r , o n l y o n e s i d e of o u r l a r g e r p r o b l e m . P e r h a p s , of t h e t w o s i d e s , i t is t h e less i m p o r t a n t . T h e o t h e r s i d e c o n c e r n s t h e c o m p u l s i o n t o p r o v i d e a d e q u a t e l y r e s e a r c h m a t e r i a l s f o r t h e s c h o l a r . F o r s h o r t , l e t u s c a l l t h i s t h e r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g a s p e c t . I n t h e c a s e of t h e N u r e m b e r g t r i a l s e x a m p l e , t h i s a s p e c t i n v o l v e s s u c h q u e s t i o n s a s : C o n s i d e r i n g a l l t h e r e s e a r c h n e e d s o n t h e c a m p u s , is t h i s s o m e t h i n g w e need t o a c q u i r e ? I s t h e c o s t of t h i s i t e m s o m e t h i n g t h a t I c a n j u s t i f y , e i t h e r i n t e r m s of a n h o n e s t a l l o c a t i o n of b o o k f u n d s o r in t e r m s of p r o p e r u s e of s t a t e m o n e y — o r i n s t i t u t i o n m o n e y ? I n m a n y w a y s , t h e r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g a s p e c t is t h e m o r e d i f f i c u l t s i d e of t h e l a r g e r p r o b - l e m , s i n c e t h e l i b r a r i a n m u s t d r a w t h a t d i f f i c u l t l i n e b e t w e e n w h a t h e w i l l a c q u i r e a n d w h a t h e w i l l n o t a c q u i r e — a l i n e t h a t c a n n e v e r b e d r a w n t o i n c l u d e w h a t h e w o u l d like t o a c q u i r e o r w h a t h i s f a c u l t y f e e l s t h a t h e must a c q u i r e . D u r i n g t h e l a s t 3 0 y e a r s t h e r e h a v e b e e n a t t e m p t s o n t h e p a r t of A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i a n s t o m e e t t h i s o v e r - a l l p r o b l e m c o o p e r a t i v e l y . S o m e c o o p e r a t i v e p l a n s h a v e e m p h a s i z e d t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t , o t h e r s t h e r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g a s p e c t — m o s t of t h e m h a v e a t l e a s t t o u c h e d b o t h s i d e s . I t is m y p u r p o s e in t h i s APR1L, 1950 115 paper to mention some of them and to at- tempt to indicate to what degree each one has met one side or the other of the double- headed problem. Early in this history we come upon the Union List of Serials, p r o b a b l y o n e of t h e most successful cooperative ventures Am- erican librarians have undertaken. H a s it solved any of our problems on the house- keeping side? T h e answer is "yes," at least to the degree that librarians have avoided the purchase of little-used periodicals found to be available in neighboring institutions. One does not know how much this kind of use has been made of the Union List, but we are probably justified in thinking that over the years it has been considerable, especially among the medium and smaller- sized libraries. O n the resources-enriching side, the Union List has been of enormous importance. Every time an interlibrary loan librarian uses it to locate and borrow a requested periodical t h e Union List has served to provide a reader with a "resource" not otherwise available locally. W e can say that, in a generalized way, the Union List increases many times the available resources in the library that uses it. Carrying the Union List idea into the world of separates, we have the notion of the union catalog. Being a larger and more complex problem, the union catalog has not had the universal success of the serials list. Except for three or four, most of the re- gional union catalogs have had uncertain histories; most of them came into existence through the happenstance of cheap W . P . A . labor. Those attached to bibliographical centers have prospered because of continu- ous support. And of all the union catalogs, the national catalog in the Library of Congress has, of course, been the most suc- cessful. Let us attempt to evaluate the union catalog in terms of its ability to solve the double-barreled problem under discussion. Theoretically, a regional catalog should help the university librarian to decide whether or not to purchase a given item requested by a faculty member. I do not believe, however, that this use is often made. For three years the Pacific Northwest Bib- liographic Center advertised to its members a service providing the checking of proposed buying lists. T h i s was offered as a plan for encouraging libraries not to buy expensive and less-used sets already available in the region when book funds might be spent more wisely for something else. D u r i n g the three years, I do not recall that the Bibliographic Center checked more than two or three such lists, although I believe the library in which the center was located did occasionally check order cards against the regional union catalog. T h i s is a case of a potential not adequately exploited, and may be explained by the nature of the insti- tutions involved. As for using the national Union Catalog for this purpose, I should be surprised to learn that locating requests sent to Washington are very often used in deciding whether or not to buy, to discard, or to store material. Locating for interlibrary loan, however, is another matter, and we justify the cost of maintaining union catalogs, I am sure, in terms of this service. According to our division of the problem, this is a successful cooperative device for enriching resources. T h e three bibliographical centers are im- portant cooperative ventures intended to meet the problem under discussion by means of a sensible sharing of resources. Due to lack of adequate funds, unfortunately, the bibliographical centers have not lived up to their promise. M u c h of their activities have centered around the unien catalog and its locating and interlibrary lending services —not because it was planned that way, but because the small available budgets were largely spent in maintaining the dispro- portionately expensive union catalog. 116 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES S t i l l a n o t h e r c o o p e r a t i v e a t t e m p t t o g a i n c o n t r o l o v e r t h e p h y s i c a l b o o k h a s b e e n t h a t of s u b j e c t s p e c i a l i z a t i o n a g r e e m e n t s . T h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c c e n t e r s h a v e t r i e d t o p r o m o t e t h e m , l o c a l a g r e e m e n t s h a v e b e e n d i s c u s s e d a n d i n s o m e i n s t a n c e s i n f o r m a l u n d e r s t a n d - i n g s h a v e . b e e n f o l l o w e d o v e r m a n y y e a r s . I n 1 9 4 1 a n a t i o n a l s p e c i a l i z a t i o n c o n f e r e n c e b r o u g h t s o m e 3 5 l i b r a r i a n s t o g e t h e r in N e w Y o r k C i t y t o c o m e t o g r i p s w i t h t h i s c o m - p e l l i n g b u t c o m p l e x p o s s i b i l i t y . T h e p u b - l i s h e d p r o c e e d i n g s of t h i s c o n f e r e n c e a r e a n e x c e l l e n t s t a t e m e n t of t h e p r o b l e m , b u t t h e y i n d i c a t e t h a t l i t t l e t h a t w a s t a n g i b l e r e s u l t e d . I n C h i c a g o , t h e N e w b e r r y a n d t h e J o h n C r e r a r l i b r a r i e s h a v e a l w a y s h a d a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g a s t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e a r e a s , a n d t h i s h a s m e a n t e n r i c h e d r e s o u r c e s f o r t h e s c h o l a r i n t h e i r t e r r i t o r y . B u t , a s i d e f r o m i n s t a n c e s l i k e t h i s o n e , v e r y l i t t l e h a s b e e n a c c o m p l i s h e d — c e r t a i n l y in t h e M i d d l e W e s t — t h a t h e l p s t h e u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i a n c o p e w i t h t h e g r e a t flow of r e s e a r c h m a - t e r i a l s . T h e N e w E n g l a n d D e p o s i t L i b r a r y is a n o u t s t a n d i n g e x a m p l e of a t a n g i b l e d e v i c e t o m e e t t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t of o u r p r o b l e m . A n e l i g i b l e N e w E n g l a n d l i b r a r y w i t h s t a c k - s p a c e t r o u b l e c a n g e t r e l i e f b y r e n t i n g s p a c e a n d s t o r i n g i t s l e s s - u s e d m a - t e r i a l in t h e B o s t o n w a r e h o u s e , a n d it c a n s t o r e t h e r e f o r less m o n e y t h a n i t c o s t s t o k e e p i t i n i t s o w n s t a c k s . T h e a d d i t i o n a l p r i c e i t p a y s , of c o u r s e , is t h a t d e p o s i t e d m a t e r i a l is a v a i l a b l e o n 4 8 - h o u r c a l l i n s t e a d of o n f i v e - m i n u t e c a l l . D u r i n g i t s f i r s t 1 0 y e a r s , t h e N e w E n g l a n d D e p o s i t L i b r a r y h a s n o t f u l f i l l e d i t s f o u n d e r s ' h o p e s i n t e r m s of i t s r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g p o s s i b i l i t i e s , a n d n o t m a n y N e w E n g l a n d l i b r a r i e s h a v e u s e d i t t o s o l v e h o u s e k e e p i n g p r o b l e m s . A s a c o o p e r a t i v e d e v i c e , t h e F a r m i n g t o n P l a n m u s t b e m e n t i o n e d . I t s a i m is p r i - m a r i l y t o e n r i c h r e s o u r c e s , s i n c e it l o o k s t o w a r d b r i n g i n g i n t o o n e o r m o r e A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i e s a t l e a s t o n e c o p y of e v e r y t h i n g p u b l i s h e d a b r o a d . S i n c e t h e c o m p l e x i t i e s , t h e t r o u b l e s , a n d t h e c r i t i c i s m s of t h e F a r m - i n g t o n P l a n a r e w i d e l y k n o w n , w e n e e d n o t g o i n t o t h e m h e r e , e x c e p t t o m e n t i o n t h a t m a n y l i b r a r i e s f e e l t h a t t h e p r e s e n t s y s t e m of a s s i g n i n g F a r m i n g t o n a c q u i s i t i o n s t o li- b r a r i e s a c c o r d i n g t o s u b j e c t p r i o r i t i e s is f a r f r o m b e i n g p e r f e c t , a n d t h a t it w o u l d b e b e t t e r if w e h a d r e g i o n a l d e p o s i t o r i e s i n e a c h of w h i c h w o u l d be p l a c e d o n e c o p y of e v e r y F a r m i n g t o n a c q u i s i t i o n . A n d y e t , t a k i n g e v e r y t h i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n , t h e F a r m i n g - t o n P l a n is p r o b a b l y t h e o u t s t a n d i n g c o o p - e r a t i v e s t e p A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i e s h a v e t a k e n i n t e r m s of t h a t r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g a s p e c t of t h e p r o b l e m a b o u t w h i c h w e a r e s p e a k i n g t o d a y . T h e r e m a y a l s o b e c e r t a i n h o u s e - k e e p i n g a s p e c t s s o m e F a r m i n g t o n p a r t i c i - p a n t s a r e r e a l i z i n g . T h e s e s h o w u p , h o w - e v e r , o n l y w h e n a l i b r a r y r e s i s t s t h e t e m p - t a t i o n t o a c q u i r e a n i t e m k n o w n t o b e a v a i l - a b l e in a n e i g h b o r i n g i n s t i t u t i o n . T o m e n t i o n o t h e r c o o p e r a t i v e v e n t u r e s w o u l d b e t o m a k e m y r e m a r k s l o n g e r t h a n t h e y a l r e a d y a r e . I h a v e s a v e d f o r t h e l a s t t h e l a t e s t c o o p e r a t i v e p l a n , a n d p r o b a b l y o n e of t h e m o s t p r o m i s i n g . I r e f e r t o t h e p r o m i s e of t h e M i d w e s t I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n t e r , r e c e n t l y c r e a t e d b y t h e M i d w e s t I n t e r - L i b r a r y C o r p o r a t i o n w i t h i t s o n e - m i l l i o n - d o l l a r c a p i t a l f u n d . L i b r a r i a n s w h o h a v e w a t c h e d t h e d e - v e l o p i n g p l a n s of t h e M i d w e s t I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n t e r h a v e t h o u g h t f i r s t a n d p r i m a r i l y of t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t s . T h e y see t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of r e l i e f f o r o v e r - c r o w d e d l i b r a r y b u i l d i n g s i n t h e c h a n c e t o s t o r e l i t t l e - u s e d r e s e a r c h s e t s i n t h e C h i c a g o c e n t e r . T h e y see t h e s a v i n g s i n a d d i t i o n a l b u i l d i n g , a n d s o m e t i m e s t h e y see t h e s a v i n g s in s t a f f . S o m e of t h e m , h o w e v e r , h a v e n o t c o m p l e t e l y u n d e r s t o o d t h e t r e m e n d o u s p o - t e n t i a l f o r i n c r e a s i n g r e g i o n a l r e s o u r c e s , a n d s i n c e t h e p l a n s f o r t h e C h i c a g o c e n t e r a r e s t i l l e v o l v i n g , I s h o u l d l i k e t o t a k e t h e t i m e t o r e l a t e t h e c e n t e r ' s i n i t i a l p r o g r a m t o APR1L, 1950 117 t h i s r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g a s p e c t . H i g h o n t h e l i s t of i n i t i a l p r o g r a m s is a s t a t e d o c u m e n t s p r o j e c t . U n d e r t h e p l a n , l i b r a r y m e m b e r s w i l l s e l e c t t h o s e s t a t e d o c - u m e n t s f r o m t h e i r c o l l e c t i o n s t h a t t h e y w i s h t o d e f i n e a s " f r e q u e n t l y u s e d . " T h e r e s t w i l l b e p i c k e d u p b y t h e I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n t e r i n i t s t r u c k . I n t h e C h i c a g o b u i l d - i n g t h e l e s s - u s e d d o c u m e n t s f r o m 11 m e m - b e r i n s t i t u t i o n s w i l l b e a s s e m b l e d . A t r a i n e d s t a f f w i l l o r g a n i z e , a r r a n g e , a n d s h e l v e t h i s m i s c e l l a n e o u s c o l l e c t i o n , e l i m i n a t . i n g d u p l i c a t e s , a n d u n d e r t a k i n g t o a c q u i r e a n y a n d a l l i t e m s t h a t a r e l a c k i n g . W i t h a s t a f f t h a t is l a r g e e n o u g h , i t is h o p e d t h a t w i t h i n o n e y e a r ' s t i m e , t h e c e n t e r m i g h t a n n o u n c e t h a t i t h a s a s s e m b l e d a r e a s o n a b l y c o m p l e t e s t a t e d o c u m e n t s c o l l e c t i o n of t h e 4 8 s t a t e s . S u c h a c o l l e c t i o n w o u l d b e a n a c t i v e o n e , k e p t c u r r e n t b y a d d i n g p u b l i c a - t i o n s a s i s s u e d . L i b r a r i a n s w i t h w h o m t h e s t a t e d o c u - m e n t s p r o g r a m h a s b e e n d i s c u s s e d f e e l t h a t i t s h o u l d s e r v e a n u m b e r of p u r p o s e s : ( I ) I t w i l l r e l i e v e c r o w d e d c o n d i t i o n s i n d o c u - m e n t s s t a c k s , ( 2 ) i t w i l l r e d u c e s t a f f . c o s t s n o w d e v o t e d t o a c q u i r i n g , c h e c k i n g , a n d l i s t - i n g c u r r e n t a c q u i s i t i o n s , ( 3 ) i t w i l l r e d u c e s i g n i f i c a n t c a t a l o g i n g a n d b i n d i n g c o s t s , a n d ( 4 ) a b o v e a l l , i n " m o s t of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s , i t w i l l m e a n t h a t t h e r e s e a r c h s c h o l a r w i l l h a v e a c c e s s t o a m o r e c o m p l e t e c o l l e c t i o n t h a n h e h a d b e f o r e . T h i s l a s t p o i n t is t h e i m p o r t a n t o n e . I t m a y s e e m t o p r o v i d e t h e s o l u t i o n t o t h e d i l e m m a p u t i n t h e s e w o r d s b y a M i n n e s o t a l i b r a r i a n . " I t is h a r d f o r m e t o j u s t i f y s p e n d i n g M i n n e s o t a m o n e y f o r a c o m p l e t e c o l l e c t i o n of o u t - o f - s t a t e d o c u m e n t s , a n d y e t I f e e l t h a t w e s h o u l d h a v e t h e m a v a i l a b l e f o r o u r f a c u l t y . " S o f a r , m o s t of t h e i m p o r t a n t l i b r a r i e s i n t h e a r e a h a v e a t t e m p t e d t o a s s e m b l e r e a s o n a b l y c o m p l e t e c o l l e c t i o n s , b u t w e w o u l d b e w i s e t o a s k o u r s e l v e s if 1 0 o r 12 c o m p l e t e s t a t e d o c u m e n t s c o l l e c t i o n s a r e n e c e s s a r y i n t h e M i d d l e W e s t w h e n a c e n t r a l c o l l e c t i o n i n C h i c a g o c o u l d d o t h e j o b . A s i m i l a r a p p r o a c h is b e i n g m a d e a m o n g o t h e r t y p e s o f r e s e a r c h m a t e r i a l s . T h e t e x t - b o o k p r o g r a m c a l l s f o r a s s e m b l i n g i n C h i - c a g o t h e l a r g e a n d s m a l l t e x t b o o k c o l l e c - t i o n s n o w t o b e f o u n d i n m e m b e r l i b r a r i e s . T h e c e n t e r w i l l o r g a n i z e t h e s e i n t o o n e u n i f i e d a n d w e l l - r o u n d e d c o l l e c t i o n , so t h a t t h e s c h o l a r w i l l f i n d i n o n e p l a c e a c o l l e c - t i o n f a r m o r e a d e q u a t e t h a n h e h a d b e f o r e . T h e f o r e i g n d i s s e r t a t i o n s p r o g r a m w i l l u n d e r t a k e a s i m i l a r j o b . W o r t h m e n t i o n - i n g a l s o , a r e t h e t r a d e o r g a n s a n d h o u s e o r g a n s c o l l e c t i o n s , a n d t h e c o l l e g e c a t a l o g s . T h e s e a r e u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n a s p a r t of t h e i n i t i a l p r o g r a m b e c a u s e c o m p l e x i t i e s w i l l n o t t o o m u c h i n t e r f e r e w i t h r a p i d a c c o m - p l i s h m e n t . T h e y a l l h a v e m e r i t i n t e r m s of b o t h t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a n d t h e r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g a s p e c t s of c o o p e r a t i v e e f f o r t . O n s e v e r a l c a m p u s e s w h e r e I h a v e t a l k e d w i t h l i b r a r i a n s , f a c u l t y , a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a b o u t t h e M i d w e s t I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n t e r , I h a v e f o u n d t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s b e c o m e e n t h u s i a s t i c a b o u t t h e s a v i n g s i m p l i e d i n t h e h o u s e k e e p i n g a s p e c t s , b u t i t is t h e f a c u l t y t h a t sees t h e g r e a t p r o m i s e i n t h e r e s o u r c e s - e n r i c h i n g . T h r e e e x a m p l e s w i l l s u f f i c e t o i l l u s t r a t e t h e k i n d of t h i n g s t h a t a p p e a l t o t h e r e s e a r c h m a n . T h e d e a n of o n e of o u r l a r g e r l a w s c h o o l s b r o u g h t u p t h e N u r e m b e r g w a r - c r i m e s t r i a l p r o c e e d i n g s . H e w a x e d e l o q u e n t o v e r i t s i m p o r t a n c e i n l e g a l r e s e a r c h i n t h e y e a r s t o c o m e . H e b e c a m e e c s t a t i c a t t h e t h o u g h t of h a v i n g t h e c o m p l e t e r e c o r d s o n h i s o w n c a m p u s , b u t h e b e c a m e s e r i o u s l y r e a l i s t i c w h e n h e a d d e d t h a t i t w a s h a r d l y s o m e t h i n g h i s l i b r a r y s h o u l d i n v e s t i n , b u t c o u l d n o t t h e l a w s c h o o l s i n t h e r e g i o n a c q u i r e it j o i n t l y a n d k e e p i t i n t h e C h i c a g o c e n t e r ? A t a n o t h e r u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r y a h i s t o r y p r o f e s s o r e n t e r e d t h e l i b r a r i a n ' s office w h i l e I w a s t h e r e . H e h a d o r d e r c a r d s f o r s e v e n 118 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES G e r m a n n e w s p a p e r s — m i c r o f i l m files, h e w a n t e d , c o v e r i n g t h e p e r i o d 1 9 1 8 t o 1 9 3 5 . H e m a d e a v e r y e l o q u e n t p l e a t h a t t h e y be a c q u i r e d — h i s r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m d e m a n d e d i t , h i s s t u d e n t s w o u l d u s e it a g a i n a n d a g a i n o v e r t h e y e a r s . T h e l i b r a r i a n p o i n t e d o u t t h a t i t w o u l d c o s t a b o u t $ 1 5 , 0 0 0 . F o r a m o m e n t t h e p r o f e s s o r b e c a m e t h o u g h t f u l , a n d t h e n h e s a i d : " T h e s e n e w s p a p e r s s h o u l d b e i m p o r t a n t t o r e s e a r c h i n s e v e r a l of o u r m i d w e s t u n i v e r s i t i e s . C o u l d n o t t h e s e v e r a l l i b r a r i e s c h i p i n a n d b u y t h e m a n d d e p o s i t t h e m i n t h i s n e w C h i c a g o l i b r a r y ? " T h e r e a r e p r o b a b l y t h r e e o r f o u r c o p i e s i n m i d w e s t l i b r a r i e s of t h e Stenographische Berichte of t h e A u s t r i a n P a r l i a m e n t . N o n e of t h e s e c o p i e s is w h a t y o u w o u l d c a l l h e a v i l y u s e d . B u t i n M i n n e a p o l i s I t a l k e d t o a p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e p r o f e s s o r w h o had u s e d it f r o m t i m e t o t i m e . H e v o l u n t e e r e d t h i s i d e a , a n d I u s e h i s o w n w o r d s : " I c o u l d g e t a l o n g a l m o s t a s w e l l w i t h a c o p y in C h i c a g o — o n 2 4 - h o u r c a l l . C o u l d n ' t y o u a r r a n g e t o h a v e t h e t w o o r t h r e e o r f o u r c o p i e s of t h i s t h i n g s e n t t o C h i c a g o , a n d t h e n c o u l d y o u s e l l t h e d u p l i c a t e s e t s a n d u s e t h e p r o c e e d s t o a c q u i r e s o m e t h i n g i m - p o r t a n t t h a t none of u s n o w h a v e ? " T h e s e t h r e e i n s t a n c e s s h o u l d i l l u s t r a t e t h e p o i n t . T o m e t h e y i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e r e m a y be a s o l u t i o n t o t h e e v e r - m o r e - c o m p l i - c a t e d p r o b l e m of c o n t r o l o v e r t h e flood t i d e of t h e p r i n t e d w o r d . I n t h e d i s t a n t f u t u r e w e m a y k n o w of o t h e r m e t h o d s f o r t h e d o c - u m e n t a t i o n of h u m a n i d e a s . F o r s o m e l i t t l e t i m e , h o w e v e r , w e w i l l b e d e a l i n g w i t h b o o k s a n d p e r i o d i c a l s , n e w s p a p e r s , m i c r o - films, a n d m i c r o c a r d s . I s t h e M i d w e s t C e n t e r t h e final s t e p ? O f c o u r s e n o t . T h e i n g e n u i t y of l i b r a r i a n s w i l l g o o n t o o t h e r d e v i c e s f o r m e e t i n g t h e c h a l l e n g e i m p o s e d b y t h e g r e a t i n c r e a s e of m a t e r i a l s . W h a t t h i s f u t u r e is w e c a n n o t k n o w . B u t w e h a v e h i n t s t h a t t h e m i d w e s t p l a n m a y be t h e p a t t e r n f o r d e v e l o p m e n t s e l s e w h e r e a n d p o s s i b l y f o r a n a t i o n a l p l a n . D u r i n g t h e l a s t t w o o r t h r e e w e e k s , a m e m - b e r of t h e H a r v a r d l i b r a r y s t a f f h a s b e e n v i s i t i n g r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s b e t w e e n B o s t o n a n d P h i l a d e l p h i a f o r t h e p u r p o s e of d i s - c u s s i n g a n o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n a l l i b r a r y p a t - t e r n e d i n m a n y w a y s a f t e r t h e M i d w e s t C e n t e r . I h o p e I a m n o t r e v e a l i n g a n y s e c r e t s if I r e p o r t t h a t a r u r a l s p o t i n S t a m - f o r d , C o n n . , h a s b e e n m e n t i o n e d a s a p o s - s i b l e l o c a t i o n f o r a n o r t h e a s t e r n r e g i o n a l l i b r a r y , a n d t h a t l i b r a r i e s i n t h e a r e a a r e t a l k i n g p r e t t y s e r i o u s l y . R e g i o n a l l i b r a r i e s , s e r v i n g a s r e s e r v o i r s of m a r g i n a l m a t e r i a l s f o r e x i s t i n g r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s , a n d a n a t i o n a l p l a n t o d e v e l o p t h e m r a t i o n a l l y , m a y b e a t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y s o l u t i o n , a n d p e r h a p s a f e w of u s m a y l i v e t o see t h e m i n o p e r a t i o n . Drexel Offers Scholarships T h e D r e x e l I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y S c h o o l of L i b r a r y Science w i l l g r a n t t h r e e t u i t i o n s c h o l a r s h i p s f o r t h e a c a d e m i c y e a r 1950-51. A p p l i c a n t s f o r t h e s e s c h o l a r s h i p s m u s t be g r a d u - a t e s of a c c r e d i t e d colleges o r u n i v e r s i t i e s . A p p l i c a t i o n s h o u l d be m a d e t o t h e D e a n of t h e S c h o o l of L i b r a r y Science, D r e x e l I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y , 3 2 n d a n d C h e s t n u t S t r e e t s , P h i l a - d e l p h i a 4, P a . , b e f o r e A p r i l 15, 1950. APR1L, 1950 119