College and Research Libraries


By R A L P H T . E S T E R Q U E S T 

Progress Report on the Midwest 
Inter-Library Center 

Mr. Esterquest is director, Midwest 

Inter-Library Center, Chicago. 

I S H O U L D like to begin my r e m a r k s w i t h a brief review of the purpose and objec-
tives of the 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 
( M . I . L . C . ) . I do so because there con-
tinue to be misconceptions concerning the 
real aims of this n e w cooperative enterprise. 
T h e r e are still librarians w h o think of the 
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 as merely 
a n o t h e r storage library. T h i s may be de-
tected one w a y or another. If the l i b r a r i a n 
does not come out and say t h a t the center 
is going to be a huge warehouse f o r storing 
all the dead books in the M i d w e s t , he says 
the same t h i n g w h e n he refers to the center 
as " t h e librarian's F o r t K n o x . " 

T h e M . I . L . C . intends to take the re-
gional storage idea and carry it a f e w steps 
f u r t h e r . T h e first step is to tackle the 
problem of eliminating duplicates. If the 
Universities of Illinois, I o w a , M i n n e s o t a 
and Chicago each have a set of the steno-
graphic proceedings of the G e r m a n Reich-
stag, and each chooses to send its set to the 
M . I . L . C . f o r regional housing, w e are com-
m i t t e d to a policy of looking quite critically 
at the f o u r assembled sets and asking o u r -
selves how m a n y are actually needed to serve 
the research p r o g r a m of the M i d w e s t . If 
the answer is t h a t only one set is needed, 
then the policy of the center is to dispose of 
the other three. 

1 P a p e r p r e s e n t e d a t t h e m e e t i n g o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y 
L i b r a r i e s S e c t i o n , A . ' C . R . L . , C l e v e l a n d , J u l y 20, 1 9 5 0 . 

T h i s is the first s t e p : the elimination of 
duplication of existing holdings. T h e next 
step is to eliminate duplicate efforts to 
maintain c u r r e n t files. W h e n it takes over 
a set the M . I . L . C . u n d e r t a k e s also the re-
sponsibility of m a i n t a i n i n g the set f o r the 
region as a whole. T h u s one subscription 
suffices w h e r e f o u r existed b e f o r e ; one check-
ing card, one claiming activity, one binding 
activity. 

T h e r e is a third and a f o u r t h step. Sup-
pose t h a t in addition to receiving on deposit 
the proceedings of the G e r m a n Reichstag, 
the center also receives the proceedings of 
parliaments of some 25 other countries. I t 
seems logical to us t h a t in such an event 
these t w o f u r t h e r steps be t a k e n : one, the 
collection should be examined f o r gaps 
w i t h i n sets, and the M . I . L . C . should at-
t e m p t to fill in those g a p s ; and t w o , the 
center should, a f t e r a n a l y z i n g the research 
needs of the region, round out the collection 
by acquiring similar files of p a r l i a m e n t a r y 
proceedings f r o m nations n o t represented in 
the nucleus group of 25. T h u s the regional 
cooperative library intends to play a positive 
role in providing f o r its s u p p o r t i n g libraries 
well-rounded and useful collections w i t h i n 
the defined area of little-used research ma-
terials. 

W h a t are little-used research m a t e r i a l s ? 
T h e s e are generally publications which are 
taking space and not paying their w a y in 
reader use. T h e y are housed, r e a r r a n g e d , 
rebound, and sometimes recataloged against 
t h e day w h e n someone m a y need t h e m . 

JANUARY, 1951 67 



T h e y are records of possible i m p o r t a n t use 
to some phase of scholarship or investigation. 
T h e y may be obsolescent, they may discour-
age readers because they are in m i n o r lan-
guages or they m a y appeal to only small 
g r o u p s of specialists in a w o r l d increasingly 
given to areas of very specialized knowl-
edge. 

By assuming responsibility f o r the hous-
ing of such books the M . I . L . C . gives mem-
ber libraries f r e e d o m in the use of space in 
their individual libraries f o r books w h i c h 
have a l a r g e r and m o r e constant research 
audience. I t saves the library the cost of 
the erection of n e w buildings, it gives the 
library a g u a r a n t e e of absorbing the pres-
ent-day u s e f u l books w h e n they become 
little-used and it enables a member library 
to concentrate its efforts in the direction of 
servicing the m o r e frequently-used materials. 

A m o n g the m a n y classes of less-used books 
and library materials about which midwest-
ern librarians have been giving t h o u g h t are 
the f o l l o w i n g 10 classes w h i c h have been 
designated as p a r t of the initial p r o g r a m of 
the M . I . L . C . : State documents, including 
legislative j o u r n a l s ; older text books; f o r -
eign and A m e r i c a n dissertations; college 
c a t a l o g s ; t r a d e j o u r n a l s ; house o r g a n s ; f o r -
eign p a r l i a m e n t a r y proceedings; telephone 
directories; and newspapers. 

A f t e r the initial period t h e r e w i l l be 
other classes: Files of old or obscure periodi-
cals ; proceedings and reports of certain 
learned societies; t r a d e u n i o n s ; charitable 
o r g a n i z a t i o n s ; old editions of encyclopedias; 
year books; m i n o r f i c t i o n ; poetry and 
d r a m a ; official g a z e t t e s ; and early census 
reports and m a n y other types of materials 
t h a t do not fall into large class categories. 

T o give its m e m b e r libraries space relief 
is the first p a r t of t h e M . I . L . C . p r o g r a m . 
B u t it is not all of the p r o g r a m . F r o m the 
point of view of the research faculty, the 
second p a r t is m o r e i m p o r t a n t t h a n the first. 

I t concerns the original acquisition of ma-
terials not n o w in the libraries of any of 
the member institutions. W h e n the center 
procures a set of foreign p a r l i a m e n t a r y pro-
ceedings not n o w owned by any of the par-
ticipating libraries, it adds an item to the 
over-all research resources of the region. 
A s this r o u n d i n g out of its collections pro-
ceeds, there w i l l emerge i m p o r t a n t values in 
terms of regional e n r i c h m e n t in research ma-
terials. T h e presses of the w o r l d are t u r n -
ing out m a n y m o r e publications t h a n even 
the wealthiest individual library can hope to 
acquire. 

In s u m m a r y it may be said t h a t the 
M . I . L . C . should make it possible f o r a 
participating l i b r a r i a n to administer his li-
b r a r y on a m o r e economical and practical 
basis. Instead of his library becoming 
c r o w d e d w i t h materials of limited use, thus 
leading it to become a library w i t h a high 
proportion of inactive records, the responsi-
bility for m a i n t a i n i n g these inactive records 
is t r a n s f e r r e d to the c e n t r a l agency. T h e 
individual library is thus f r e e to stock its 
shelves w i t h books t h a t have enough use to 
j u s t i f y their everyday presence. If it does 
not have to add as o f t e n or as much to a 
building or space p r o g r a m , it is able to hold 
d o w n the size of the staff to actual reader 
needs and to eliminate the expense involved 
in staff t h a t is present merely because the 
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of dead m a t e r i a l requires 
more hands. 

I should like n o w to r e p o r t on the m a j o r 
events and accomplishments of the M . I . L . C . 

T e n m i d w e s t e r n universities organized, 
on M a r . 4, 1949, the 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 , on whose board of 
directors each of the 10 p a r t i c i p a t i n g uni-
versities w a s represented. T h e original 10 
w e r e the U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago, Illinois I n -
stitute of T e c h n o l o g y , the U n i v e r s i t y of 
Illinois, I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y , S t a t e U n i v e r -
sity of I o w a , the U n i v e r s i t y of Kansas, 

68 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



M i c h i g a n State College, the U n i v e r s i t y of 
M i n n e s o t a , N o r t h w e s t e r n University and 
P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y . D u r i n g the next f e w 
m o n t h s three r£ew universities elected par-
ticipation : Wisconsin, Cincinnati and N o t r e 
D a m e . A t present t w o more institutions are 
in process of applying for m e m b e r s h i p ; and, 
of course, w e have an open-door policy in 
regard to n e w members.2 T h e representa-
tives of the universities have cooperated in 
f o r m u l a t i n g policies and p l a n n i n g the de-
velopment of the corporation's f u n c t i o n i n g 
agency, the 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 . 

E a r l y in 1949 a capital g i f t of one million 
dollars became available to the corporation 
t h r o u g h t w o substantial g i f t s : T h e Carnegie 
C o r p o r a t i o n of N e w Y o r k provided 
$750,000, and the Rockefeller F o u n d a t i o n 
made a g i f t of $ 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 . T h e capital f u n d 
is being used to erect and equip the building 
in Chicago w h i c h will house the M . I . L . C . , 
and it is paying f o r organizational expenses. 

L a s t J u l y the Board of D i r e c t o r s pro-
vided f o r r e g u l a r a n n u a l income by devising 
a f o r m u l a f o r p r o - r a t i n g the center's a n n u a l 
operating budget a m o n g participating insti-
tutions. T h i s f o r m u l a , based on each insti-
t u t i o n ' s book f u n d , P h . D . p r o g r a m and 
nearness to Chicago, represents an experi-
m e n t a l a t t e m p t to measure in advance the 
service demands to be expected f r o m each 
p a r t i c i p a t i n g university. O n the basis of 
the adopted f o r m u l a , the 13 p a r t i c i p a t i n g 
universities supported a $ 1 2 , 0 0 0 I n t e r - L i -
brary C e n t e r budget d u r i n g the fiscal year 
ended J u n e 1950. T h e budget f o r the cur-
r e n t year has been increased to $33,000, an 
a m o u n t being shared again a m o n g the mem-
bership. O n O c t . 1, 1949, a f u l l - t i m e 
director assumed his duties and established 
an office of the M . I . L . C . in Chicago. 

I n addition to p l a n n i n g a building, the 
Board of D i r e c t o r s , the participating li-

2 J o h n C r e r a r L i b r a r y b e c a m e a m e m b e r in O c t o b e r , 
1 9 S 0 . 

b r a r i a n s and the director have w o r k e d 
together to spell out the policies needed to 
implement the general objectives agreed upon 
at the time of incorporation. Some k n o t t y 
problems have arisen. F o r example, if dup-
lication in holdings is to be eliminated, then 
the libraries sending m a t e r i a l f o r housing in 
the center must relinquish title to the books * 
they send. Since most of the participating 
institutions are state universities whose char-
ters do not p e r m i t the general liquidation of 
state property, the problem of reconciling a 
desired process w i t h legal limitations seemed 
formidable. T h e solution adopted may not 
be final, but we feel t h a t it is the best pos-
sible u n d e r the circumstances. I t provides 
f o r f o u r different categories of deposit and 
f o r the p a r t i c i p a t i n g library to elect the one 
t h a t is appropriate for each case: 

Category A — O u t r i g h t gift, title of owner-
ship relinquished. 

Category B—Title of ownership retained 
by depositing library but deposit is perma-
nent so long as the center shall last. 

Category C — T i t l e of ownership retained 
by the depositing library; deposit understood 
to be indefinite but subject to recall at the 
will of the depositing library. 

Category D-Rental storage for tempo-
rary space relief. 

G r o u n d w o r k has been laid f o r i n t e r n a l 
operation and the activities t h a t will begin 
w h e n the building is opened next A p r i l . 
S t u d y was made to determine how best to 
m a i n t a i n immediate direct communication 
between the M . I . L . C . and its participating 
libraries. I t has been decided t h a t a teletype 
n e t w o r k will be created using the Bell T e l e -
t y p e w r i t e r Exchange System. T h i s will en-
able libraries to get in touch immediately 
w i t h the center, so t h a t m a t e r i a l needed on 
a local campus can be dispatched shortly 
a f t e r it is requested. T h e research scholar 
may thus feel assured t h a t m a t e r i a l housed 
in Chicago will be available f o r his use on 
his home campus the day a f t e r he asks f o r it. 

JANUARY, 1951 69 



/ Decisions have been reached providing f o r 
/ the reproduction of catalog cards in the cen-

ter so t h a t each p a r t i c i p a t i n g library will 
have a catalog record of the holdings of the 
c e n t r a l agency in Chicago. D e t a i l e d plans 
f o r the t r a n s p o r t a t i o n of the initial deposits 
have been m a d e . T h e center w i l l o w n and 
operate its o w n t r u c k . 

A regional p h o t o r e p r o d u c t i o n p r o g r a m is 
accepted as one of the center's activities, and 
a committee !of the p a r t i c i p a t i n g libraries 
will soon begin w o r k on the details of a plan 
f o r microfilming newspapers. 

A m a j o r portion of a t t e n t i o n d u r i n g re-
cent months, however, has been given to 
p l a n n i n g the building which is to house the 
M . I . L . C . D u r i n g the spring of 1949 the 
Board of D i r e c t o r s accepted one of f o u r of-
fers of land on which the b u i l d i n g m i g h t be 
erected. T h e site chosen, a g i f t of the 
U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago, is in the 5 7 0 0 block 
on C o t t a g e G r o v e A v e n u e on Chicago's 
south side. Since O c t o b e r an architect has 
been at w o r k p l a n n i n g a b u i l d i n g designed 
in terms of its special f u n c t i o n s . P a r t i c u l a r 
a t t e n t i o n has been given to a comparison 
of different methods of book storage, and in 
M a r c h it w a s voted to equip the m a j o r por-
tion of the building Stacks w i t h a n e w type 
of hinged compact storage shelving devel-
oped f o r the center by Snead & C o m p a n y . 
Both the hinged storage stacks and the plan 

•> to shelve most of the books by size r a t h e r 
t h a n by subject class will greatly increase 
the potential capacity of the stacks building 
t h a t has been designed. T a b l e I illustrates 
the degree of space-gain achieved by these 
t w o methods. 

T A B L E I 

Space and Cost Savings of Size-Shelving 
and Hinged Stacks 

A. T o t a l book capacity of M . I . L . C . stacks 
space (514,500 cu. f t . ) using: 

1. Conventional stacks and conven-
tional class shelving 755,000 vols. 

2. Conventional stacks and size-

shelving 2,090,000 vols. 
3. Hinged stacks and size-shelving 

3,150,000 vols. 
B. Cost of total building construction per 

volume of stack capacity: 
1. Typical large libraries $2.40 
2. N e w England Deposit Library 

(1941) _ .26 
3. M . I . L . C . with conventional 

stacks .45 
4. M . I . L . C . with hinged storage 

stacks .29 

T h e plans adopted are for a b u i l d i n g con-
sisting of t w o m a j o r p o r t i o n s : ( 1 ) seven-
tier bookstacks covering an area 9 0 ' x 9 8 ' 
w i t h each tier 8 ' high in the clear, the 
column-spacing at intervals of 6 ' x 7 ' 4 " and 
the anticipated capacity of the stacks portion 

,is in the neighborhood of 3 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 volumes 
of books and 2 0 , 0 0 0 volumes of newspapers. 
( 2 ) A w o r k - s t u d y area 3 0 ' x 185', most of 
which w i l l be one-story high but which w i l l 
have a second story at one end providing 
individual study cubicles for visiting schol-
ars. T h e exterior design w i l l show large 
facades of windowless stacks in a light gray 
brick, w i t h the w o r k - s t u d y b u i l d i n g reach-
ing across the f r o n t constructed in brick of 
c o n t r a s t i n g color. G r o u n d w a s broken on 
J u l y I I , and it is expected t h a t the com-
pleted building w i l l be ready f o r occupancy 
in A p r i l 1951. 

T h u s w e move f o r w a r d into the second 
half of the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . T h e t w i n 
problems of the ever-expanding research 
library and the ever-increasing multiplicity 
of research m a t e r i a l s are still w i t h us. N o 
one pretends t h a t the M . I . L . C . is a p e r f e c t 
solution to these big problems of o u r age. 
H o w e v e r , I should like to v e n t u r e to say 
t h a t there is hope f o r the f u t u r e as l o n g as 
librarians and their a d m i n i s t r a t o r s are will-
ing to face the problems realistically and to 
experiment. T h e M . I . L . C . is an experi-
m e n t . T h e g r o u p of librarians w h o are 
behind it have high hopes t h a t they have 
created an efficient device. 

70 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES