College and Research Libraries


u n r e s o l v e d . W e find, in t h e same category, 
t h e p l a g u i n g q u e s t i o n of w h e t h e r to k e e p a 
m o n o g r a p h i c series t o g e t h e r o r to classify its 
c o m p o n e n t p a r t s separately. O s b o r n says 
t h a t t h e p r e s u m p t i o n is in f a v o r of scattering 
a series "whose c o m p o n e n t p a r t s s h o u l d ob-
viously b e o n classified shelves by a u t h o r a n d 
s u b j e c t . " W h a t makes such m a t t e r s "obvi-
ous"? D o we d i s r e g a r d b i n d i n g a n d classifica-
t i o n costs a l o n g w i t h p r o b a b l e f r e q u e n c y a n d 
m a n n e r of use if a m o n o g r a p h i c w o r k in 
series looks like a m o n o g r a p h i c separate? W e 
c o u l d use some brass-tack d e f i n i t i o n h e r e as 
well as in t h e t r e a t m e n t of series e n t r i e s o n 
pages 166-69. A n d , alas, t h e m a t t e r of dis-
p l a y i n g c u r r e n t u n b o u n d serials! D o we 
page, o r pay f o r r e p l a c e m e n t s — m a n y of 
w h i c h a r e n o t even a v a i l a b l e to b e p a i d for? 
M a n y l i b r a r i a n s h a v e a r r i v e d at t h e sad for-
m u l a t i o n t h a t those periodicals w h i c h a r e 
most eligible f o r display s h o u l d b e k e p t o n 
closed shelves. O r , n e a r e r despair, you m a k e 
a v a i l a b l e o n shelves a n d tables only w h a t 
you w o u l d discard! 

B u t t h e n , a g a i n , if D r . O s b o r n h a d an-
swered all q u e s t i o n s a n d m a d e p a t decisions 
f o r us in all instances, h e w o u l d h a v e de-
p r i v e d us of f r e e d o m of choice in m a t t e r s 
w h i c h must, f o r t h e t i m e b e i n g , r e m a i n flex-
ible. W e a r e g r a t e f u l t o h i m f o r this a n d f o r 
t h e s p l e n d i d c o m m o n sense a n d b a l a n c e dis-
p l a y e d in w e i g h i n g a v a i l a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e s . 
T h i s a u t h o r has risen a b o v e e m p t y rigidities 
a n d h o l l o w p r o f e s s i o n a l talk w h i c h some-
t i m e s r e v e r b e r a t e s so l o u d l y as to p r e v e n t 
o u r h e a r i n g ourselves t h i n k . H e has r e f u s e d 
m i d w i f e a t t e n d a n c e to m o u n t a i n s l a b o r i n g 
to b e a r those ugly l i t t l e m i c e w h i c h f r i g h t e n 
t i m i d y o u n g l i b r a r i a n s away f r o m " o p e r a t i o n 
serials." 

I f , as O s b o r n indicates, t h e serial is dis-
p l a c i n g t h e c o n v e n t i o n a l b o o k f r o m t h e cen-
t e r of t h e r e f e r e n c e stage, it is t i m e f o r re-
o r i e n t a t i o n . T h i s b o o k a n d its e x c e l l e n t bib-
l i o g r a p h y c o n s t i t u t e a f o u n d a t i o n o n w h i c h 
we can rest f o r m a n y a y e a r . — S i d n e y Ditzion, 
The City College of New York. 

« 

The Harvard Library 
Report on the Harvard University Library: 

a Study of Present and Prospective Prob-
lems. By Keyes D. Metcalf. C a m b r i d g e : 

H a r v a r d University L i b r a r y , 1955. 131 p. 
$2.50. 

T h i s r e p o r t is p e r h a p s t h e last f r o m H a r -
v a r d to b e a r t h e n a m e of Keyes M e t c a l f — 
t h e last of a l o n g a n d d i s t i n g u i s h e d series 
t h a t d o c u m e n t t h e r e c e n t history of t h e 
world's greatest university l i b r a r y . N e v e r 
has a n y o t h e r university l i b r a r y told its story 
so fully, so conscientiously, a n d w i t h such 
b e n e f i t to t h e l i b r a r y p r o f e s s i o n — i t s goals, 
its p r o b l e m s , its needs, a n d its m e t h o d s . T o 
a p p r e c i a t e t h e m a g n i t u d e of this achieve-
m e n t a n d to see this r e p o r t in its p r o p e r 
perspective, o n e s h o u l d look first to t h e 
last s u p p l e m e n t , w h i c h is " A Selected Bib-
l i o g r a p h y " of affairs of t h e H a r v a r d library. 

T h i s b i b l i o g r a p h y is impressive. T h e 
Harvard Library Bulletin is a significant 
f e a t u r e . A l t h o u g h most of t h e p u b l i c a t i o n s 
o r i g i n a t e d d u r i n g M e t c a l f ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 
a few of t h e o l d e r classics, such as C u r r i e r ' s 
"Selective C a t a l o g i n g at t h e H a r v a r d Li-
b r a r y " (1924) a r e i n c l u d e d . A m o n g t h e fifty 
o r so titles t h a t follow, t h e r e a r e O s b o r n ' s 
" T h e Crisis in C a t a l o g i n g , " a n d all t h e 
f a m i l i a r works of M e t c a l f ' s o t h e r colleagues 
— E d w i n W i l l i a m s , D a v i d W e b e r , W i l l i a m 
J a c k s o n , Susan H a s k i n s , a n d P h i l i p McNiff. 
Yet Metcalf's o w n c o n t r i b u t i o n s d o m i n a t e 
t h e list—his w o r k o n a c q u i s i t i o n , space, fi-
n a n c e , c o o p e r a t i o n a n d specialization, a n d 
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . T o h i m t h e c r e d i t is largely 
d u e f o r this e x t r a o r d i n a r y r e c o r d of t h e 
H a r v a r d l i b r a r y d u r i n g o n e of its most 
critical periods, w h e n it finally f a c e d t h e 
o v e r w h e l m i n g p r o b l e m of g r o w t h . 

T h i s r e p o r t is t h e last of t h e series as 
f a r as M e t c a l f ' s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n is c o n c e r n e d ; 
it is h o p e d t h a t his successors will carry 
o n . I n d e e d , this last official s t a t e m e n t was 
w r i t t e n f o r his successors, p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e 
n e w d i r e c t o r of t h e library. I t deals w i t h 
t h e s i t u a t i o n of t h e l i b r a r y as h e l e f t it, "its 
weak spots a n d t h e things t h a t m i g h t h a v e 
b e e n d o n e o r s h o u l d h a v e b e e n d o n e , b u t 
h a v e n o t . " I t also discusses " i n some d e t a i l 
t h e library's financial s i t u a t i o n a n d its needs 
f o r t h e f u t u r e . " 

T h e c h a p t e r o n a c q u i s i t i o n summarizes 
t h e f a m i l i a r p e r e n n i a l p r o b l e m s t h a t r e l a t e 
to t h e b u i l d i n g of t h e collections: t h e effect 
of a c q u i s i t i o n o n s u b s e q u e n t l i b r a r y costs, 
t h e f o r m u l a t i o n of a n a c q u i s i t i o n p r o g r a m , 
t h e d i l e m m a of d u p l i c a t i o n , a n d t h e de-

MARCH, 1956 1.187 



v e l o p m e n t of n e w fields. R e g a r d i n g t h e last 
a n e x c e l l e n t s t a t e m e n t of policy, as a d o p t e d 
by t h e L i b r a r y C o m m i t t e e of t h e Faculty 
of A r t s a n d Sciences, is r e p r i n t e d i n f u l l . 
T h i s m a y be u s e f u l to m a n y l i b r a r i e s which, 
like H a r v a r d , h a v e h a d difficulty in o b t a i n -
i n g a d v a n c e r e c o g n i t i o n of l i b r a r y n e e d s as 
t h e university e x p a n d s i n t o n e w p r o g r a m s 
of t e a c h i n g a n d research. T h e s t a t e m e n t e n d s 
d i s a r m i n g l y : " t h e c o m m i t t e e t h i n k s it neces-
sary to state t h a t a c q u i s i t i o n s can b e m a d e 
only w i t h difficulty i n a n e w field unless 
f u n d s a r e p r o v i d e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e . " 

I n c a t a l o g i n g H a r v a r d has l o n g b e e n a 
l e a d e r ; a g a i n , t h e n a m e s of C u r r i e r , O s b o r n 
a n d H a s k i n s a r e n o t a b l e . I n this c h a p t e r , 
Metcalf t r e a t s of arrearages, " w o r k t h a t does 
n o t stay d o n e , " results of u n c o o r d i n a t e d cat-
aloging, special i n d e x e s a n d catalogs in 
W i d e n e r , catalogs in b o o k f o r m , a n d t h e ef-
fect of increased a c q u i s i t i o n f u n d s . T h e sec-
tions o n special i n d e x e s a n d catalogs a n d 
o n catalogs in b o o k f o r m a r e especially in-
teresting. I t m a y b e r e c a l l e d t h a t H a r v a r d 
played a significant role in t h e e v o l u t i o n 
n o t only of t h e International Index b u t also 
t h e Art Index a n d t h e Index to Legal Pe-
riodicals. T h e possibility of p r i n t i n g p a r t s 
of t h e l i b r a r y catalog, such as t h e e n t r i e s 
f o r c e r t a i n v o l u m i n o u s a u t h o r s , is n o w u n d e r 
c o n s i d e r a t i o n . 

U n d e r service to readers, p r o b l e m s relat-
i n g t o t h e care a n d p r e s e r v a t i o n of t h e col-
lections a r e reviewed, t o g e t h e r w i t h p r i n -
ciples of service t o r e a d e r s a n d such special 
p r o b l e m s as h o u r s , l o a n p e r i o d s , a n d fines. 
I t is r e p o r t e d t h a t $265,000 is n o w n e e d e d 
f o r r e l a b e l i n g , r e p a i r , a n d r e b i n d i n g of 
m a t e r i a l s in t h e W i d e n e r stack a l o n e . 

I n t h e c h a p t e r o n i n t e r l i b r a r y coopera-
tion, a f t e r a review of such p r o j e c t s as 
f o r e i g n n e w s p a p e r microfilms, Short-title 
Catalogue, a n d N e w E n g l a n d D e p o s i t Li-
brary, Metcalf a g a i n p r o p o s e s t h a t t h e d i r e c t 
costs of i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n s m i g h t well be 
p a i d by t h e b o r r o w i n g libraries. A possible 
charge of $3 p e r l o a n , i n a d d i t i o n to trans-
p o r t a t i o n , is i m p l i e d . T w o reasons a r e g i v e n : 
" i n t e r l i b r a r y c o o p e r a t i o n will i n e v i t a b l y b e 
c h a l l e n g e d , p a r t i c u l a r l y in times of financial 
stress, unless a c h a r g e is m a d e f o r t h e a c t u a l 
cost of service r e n d e r e d , " a n d "a service 
c h a r g e m i g h t even t e n d t o increase t h e n u m -
b e r of r e q u e s t s f r o m smaller libraries, w h i c h 

n o w o f t e n h e s i t a t e to ask f o r l o a n s because 
they realize t h a t they a r e u n l i k e l y to h a v e 
a n o p p o r t u n i t y to r e c i p r o c a t e . " S u b s t a n t i a l 
charges a r e also suggested " f o r o u t s i d e r s 
w h o a r e w o r k i n g a t H a r v a r d o n specially 
financed research p r o j e c t s or o n scholar-
ships, a n d also f o r o t h e r s w h o use t h e l i b r a r y 
intensively a n d f o r l o n g p e r i o d s . " T h e s e 
possibilities m a y be d i s t u r b i n g to some li-
b r a r i a n s a n d scholars, b u t they c a n n o t be 
t a k e n lightly w h e n they come f r o m t h e uni-
versity l i b r a r y t h a t f o r g e n e r a t i o n s h a s con-
t r i b u t e d m o r e t h a n any o t h e r to t h e scholar-
s h i p of t h e n a t i o n . 

T h e c h a p t e r o n space o u t l i n e s a long-
r a n g e policy of physical d e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n as 
a m e a n s of c o n t r o l l i n g t h e cost of h o u s i n g 
t h e collections. As a n a l t e r n a t i v e to b u i l d i n g 
a n even m o r e g a r g a n t u a n W i d e n e r , 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 o u g h t o n , a n d 
L a m o n t , t o g e t h e r w i t h e x t e n s i v e u n d e r -
g r o u n d stacks a r e b e i n g used to a b s o r b t h e 
g r o w t h of t h e collections. I t is e s t i m a t e d 
t h a t by u s i n g storage a n d o t h e r d e c e n t r a l -
ized m e t h o d s , H a r v a r d s h o u l d be a b l e to 
h o u s e 120,000 a d d i t i o n a l v o l u m e s p e r year 
f o r a n a n n u a l p r i c e of $100,000 f o r n e w con-
s t r u c t i o n , w h e r e a s t h e same space w o u l d cost 
a b o u t $180,000 in a n e w c e n t r a l library 
b u i l d i n g . 

T h e r e a r e c h a p t e r s o n p e r s o n n e l a n d 
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , t h e n a final o n e o n finances. 
I n t h e s u m m a r y it is n o t e d t h a t " T h e U n i -
versity L i b r a r y as a w h o l e is in n e e d of 
n e a r l y $9,000,000," d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t H a r -
v a r d is n o w s p e n d i n g " m o r e t h a n $2,400,000 
p e r year to s u p p o r t t h e largest u n i v e r s i t y 
library in t h e w o r l d . " T h e reasons a r e to b e 
f o u n d in t h e c u m u l a t i v e g r o w t h of t h e li-
brary, t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g rise i n u n i t costs 
of processing a n d service, a n d t h e a d d i t i o n a l 
d e m a n d s f o r service t h a t i n v a r i a b l y r e s u l t 
f r o m i m p r o v e m e n t s in t h e l i b r a r y p r o g r a m . 

S u p p l e m e n t A is " T h e H a r v a r d U n i v e r -
sity L i b r a r y : a G r a p h i c S u m m a r y " a n d Sup-
p l e m e n t B " T h e D e v e l o p m e n t of L i b r a r y 
Resources at H a r v a r d : P r o b l e m s a n d P o t e n -
tialities," b o t h r e p r i n t e d f r o m r e c e n t issues 
of t h e Harvard Library Bulletin. A m o r e 
d e t a i l e d analysis of " C a t a l o g u i n g in t h e H a r -
v a r d L i b r a r i e s " is p r e s e n t e d i n S u p p l e m e n t 
C, a n d S u p p l e m e n t D c o n c e r n s " T h e Pro-
posed M e r g i n g of C a t a l o g u e s a n d R e l a t e d 
C h a n g e s in W i d e n e r . " S u p p l e m e n t E is 

188 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



" T h e P r o p o s e d T r a i n i n g P r o g r a m f o r Li-
b r a r y A d m i n i s t r a t o r s , " a p r o v o c a t i v e p l a n 
t h a t involves t h e G r a d u a t e School of A r t s 
a n d Sciences in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e G r a d -
u a t e Schools of Business A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , 
E d u c a t i o n a n d P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n . Sup-
p l e m e n t G is a s u m m a r y of " N e e d s f o r Ad-
d i t i o n a l F u n d s , P a r t i c u l a r l y f o r t h e College 
L i b r a r y , " a n d t h e final s u p p l e m e n t is t h e 
b i b l i o g r a p h y . 

I n g e n e r a l , t h e r e p o r t is a brief b u t fairly 
c o m p r e h e n s i v e a c c o u n t of t h e t h i n k i n g , 
a c h i e v e m e n t s , a n d a s p i r a t i o n s of Keyes Met-
calf as H a r v a r d ' s l i b r a r i a n . H i s a d m i n i s t r a -
t i o n was u n u s u a l l y successful in t h a t h e d i d 
accomplish all of his m a i n objectives: H o u g h -
t o n , 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 , La-
m o n t , a n d t h e u n d e r g r o u n d stacks. T h e s e , 
t o g e t h e r w i t h W i d e n e r , comprise a n e w de-
sign f o r t h e H a r v a r d l i b r a r y of t h e f u t u r e . 
T h e y a r e a g r e a t c r e d i t t o M e t c a l f ' s vision 
a n d s t a t e s m a n s h i p a n d to t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
of t h e university a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t h a t s u p p o r t -
ed h i m . H i s work is a m o d e l f o r university 
l i b r a r i a n s everywhere. 

Metcalf w e n t to H a r v a r d in 1937, r e t i r e d 
in 1955. T o P a u l Buck, his successor, h e l e f t 
this r e p o r t . H e h a s n o w j o i n e d t h e staff 
of t h e n e w g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y school at R u t -
gers U n i v e r s i t y , a n d it is h o p e d this n e w as-
sociation will be f r u i t f u l a n d long. T h e 
f u t u r e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s of o u r university li-
b r a r i e s can l e a r n m u c h f r o m Keyes Metcalf 
— h i s a p t i t u d e f o r t h e b o l d d r e a m , his re-
spect f o r t h e fact, his i n d u s t r y , his modesty, 
a n d his r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t t h e p r o b l e m s of t h e 
university l i b r a r y r e q u i r e f o r t h e i r s o l u t i o n 
t h e best efforts of l i b r a r i a n s , faculties, a n d 
p r e s i d e n t s alike. I n t h e u n i v e r s i t y c o m m u n -
ity, t h e l i b r a r y is everybody's serious busi-
n e s s . — R . C. Swank, Stanford University 
Libraries. 

British Union List 
British Union-Catalogue of Periodicals: A 

Record of the Periodicals of the World, 
from the Seventeenth Century to the Pres-
ent Day, in British Libraries. Vol. 1, A-C; 
to b e c o m p l e t e i n 4 vols. N e w York: Aca-
d e m i c Press, 1955- . By s u b s c r i p t i o n , 
$26.60 p e r vol.; a f t e r p u b l i c a t i o n , $32.20. 

T h e a p p e a r a n c e of t h e first v o l u m e of t h e 

British Union-Catalogue of Periodicals (BUC) 
m a r k s a n i m p o r t a n t e v e n t a n d p r o v i d e s a 
p u b l i c a t i o n of c o n s i d e r a b l e i m p o r t a n c e f o r 
a n y l i b r a r y i n t h e U n i t e d States c a t e r i n g to 
t h e n e e d s of those e n g a g e d in research a n d 
scholarship. H o w can this b e so? Most 
A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i a n s a n d t h e i r clientele h a v e 
l i t t l e c o n c e r n f o r t h e h o l d i n g s of British 
libraries. F u r t h e r , it m a y be said t h a t , a f t e r 
all, t h e r e is very l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n a 
Union List of Serials in the United States 
and Canada a n d a u n i o n catalog of p e r i o d i -
cals in t h e B r i t i s h Isles. T h a t " l i t t l e differ-
e n c e , " however, is p r e s e n t a n d becomes a 
m a t t e r of vital c o n c e r n to a n y o n e e n g a g e d 
in processing a n d servicing serial publica-
tions. 

BUC is a r e c o r d of t h e p e r i o d i c a l s of t h e 
w o r l d f r o m t h e s e v e n t e e n t h c e n t u r y to t h e 
p r e s e n t day, in w h a t e v e r l a n g u a g e a n d o n 
w h a t e v e r subject, filed p e r m a n e n t l y i n Brit-
ish libraries. I t i n c l u d e s p a r t i c u l a r s of over 
140,000 titles c o n t a i n e d in 440 libraries. T h e 
second e d i t i o n of o u r Union List, 1943, con-
t a i n e d 120,000 titles. T h e a r r a n g e m e n t is 
a l p h a b e t i c a l by title. All p e r i o d i c a l s h a v i n g 
a specific i n d i v i d u a l title, w h e t h e r issued 
i n d e p e n d e n t l y o r by a n o r g a n i z a t i o n , a r e 
e n t e r e d u n d e r t h e first w o r d , n o t a n article, 
of t h e i r n a m e s . A p e r i o d i c a l issued by a n y 
k i n d of o r g a n i z a t i o n is e n t e r e d u n d e r t h e 
n a m e of t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n if this n a m e f o r m s 
a d i r e c t o r i n d i r e c t p a r t of t h e m a i n title, or 
if t h e title is n o t specific i n itself. All peri-
odicals a r e e n t e r e d u n d e r t h e i r earliest 
k n o w n names, f o l l o w e d by p a r t i c u l a r s of all 
changes of n a m e in c h r o n o l o g i c a l s e q u e n c e . 
R e f e r e n c e s a r e given f r o m all l a t e r n a m e s 
to t h e o r i g i n a l n a m e . ( T h i s is j u s t t h e o p p o -
site f r o m t h e Union List.) 

I n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e a l p h a b e t i c a l o r d e r of 
e n t r i e s c e r t a i n d e p a r t u r e s f r o m a strict al-
p h a b e t i z a t i o n h a v e b e e n m a d e : 

1. Articles a r e p r i n t e d , b u t i g n o r e d i n 
filing. All c o n j u n c t i o n s , p r e p o s i t i o n s 
a n d m i n o r c o n n e c t i n g words a r e 
p r i n t e d , b u t i g n o r e d , e.g. Annates du 
Midi comes b e f o r e Annates de Norman-
die. T h e a r r a n g e m e n t is by words 
p r i n t e d i n heavy type. T h i s h a s b e e n 
d o n e t o avoid t h e u n c e r t a i n t i e s caused 
by such c o n n e c t i n g words as de, de la, 
des, ueber die gesamte, etc. 

MARCH, 1956 1.189