College and Research Libraries By I. T . L I T T L E T O N The Off-Campus Library Services Of Universities TH E E X C H A N G E O F B O O K S and jour-nals for research and serious study is an established practice among univer- sity libraries. Generally, research materi- als are lent to libraries freely if there is no prior need in the lending library or if the materials are not too rare or valu- able. There is, however, considerable variation in the lending of non-research materials to individuals, high schools, and libraries. In many states, this exten- sion function is performed solely by state libraries or their equivalents. In others, both the state university and the state library lend directly to individuals, aid book clubs, and supplement the collec- tions of public libraries. Library exten- sion service has been, since the early 1900's, a function of many state universi- ties. In a study1 made by the National University Extension Association in 1951-52, thirty-two out of fifty-two uni- versities offered library extension serv- ices, all developing after 1900 and the majority between 1910 and 1930. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, the public demand and interest in education and reading grew more rapidly than public library resources. Many state universities filled this demand by establishing library ex- tension departments. As public library resources have improved during the past fifty years, some state universities have 1 N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y E x t e n s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n . Univer- sity Extension in the United States ( U n i v e r s i t y , A l a . : U n i v e r s t y of A l a b a m a P r e s s , 1 9 5 3 ) . Mr. Littleton is Head of Technical Services, D. H. Hill Library, North Car- olina State College, Raleigh. withdrawn entirely from library exten- sion; others have withdrawn partially and gradually; and others have main- tained active library extension services. Tradition, leadership, and special circum- stances in each state have been different, thereby accounting for the variations in the practices and policies of off-campus services of state university libraries. In connection with planning for and a subsequent revision of the off-campus services of the University of North Caro- lina Library, the author became inter- ested in these services of university li- braries and the relation of university li- brary extension to other state-supported library extension services, such as those rendered by state libraries and library commissions. In January 1958 a ques- tionnaire was mailed to all state univer- sity libraries and to selected private uni- versity libraries in each state. T h e same questionnaire was sent also to university library extension libraries administered separately from the general university libraries. T h e present report is a sum- mary of the findings of this study. It at- tempts to answer the questions: T o what extent does the university library lend non-research material to off-campus read- ers? What are the trends regarding uni- versity library extension services in the United States? The libraries. Information was ob- tained from seventy-four university li- braries, including those of forty-nine state universities and twenty-five repre- sentative privately supported universi- ties. T h e state universities of only forty- seven of the forty-eight states are includ- 300 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES ed since New York has no one state-sup- ported university library. Direct loans to individuals by mail. Included on the questionnaire was this item: "What is your policy regarding the loan of material by mail directly to indi- viduals who are not students or faculty of your university?" All of the private universities and about 60 per cent of the state universities stated, in effect, " W e do not lend." None of the twenty-five private university libraries has a general policy of lending by mail to individuals, nor do any of them have separate extension li- braries. Generally, the private university library lends library materials by mail only through interlibrary loan. However, a number of them make exceptions for their alumni, Friends of the Library, or groups with a special relation to the uni- versity. In the case of some church-sup- ported universities, direct loans are made to ministers of those denominations. State universities are particularly sen- sitive to the needs of the people of their states. There are two forces operating which determine the state universities' library extension loan policy. One of these is the interest in the aims and wel- fare of the people who support it. Frank Graham, on the occasion of his inaugura- tion as president of the University of North Carolina in 1931, gave eloquent expression to this idea: It is the function of a state university not only to find its bits of truth and teach the truth gathered from scholars everywhere, but to carry the truth to the people that they may take it into their lives and help make it prevail in the world of affairs . . . to make the resources of the universities, the discoveries of science, the findings of the social scientists available to the people of the Commonwealth. The state univer- sities come from the people and should go out to the people. The intellectual life of the university should be quickened by contact and interchange with the people. They have a common destiny in the ad- venture of building a nobler common- wealth. The state university cannot be an institution of class . . . based on blood, money, or intellectual background. It can never lose its common touch without treason to its own nature and without drying up the springs from which flow the living waters of its own life.2 On the other hand, there is the strong belief that residents of a state should utilize all available local and state li- brary resources and that the university should be called upon only for the more difficult research materials or for those materials which the local and state li- braries cannot supply. Thirty of the forty-nine state universi- ties, or about 60 per cent of them, re- sponded that they do not lend directly to individuals by mail. Eight of these thirty stated that exceptions would be made, such as loans to adults engaged in serious research or to graduates of pro- fessional schools. Four will lend directly to residents of their states for a fee. T h e University of New Hampshire, for instance, will lend up to five books at once to a person who will be residing in New Hampshire for twelve weeks for a fee of one dollar per year. In cases of emergency, when indi- viduals cannot make arrangements with their local libraries, the University of Arkansas will lend directly to individuals for a five-dollar fee which is returned when the books are returned. T h e Uni- versities of Washington and Texas will honor non-university requests for those who have purchased a borrower's card. Texas will issue this card to in-state resi- dents for five dollars. T h e charge at the University of Washington is three dollars and may be issued to in-state and out-of- state residents. Three others (Idaho, Mississippi, and Missouri) will lend di- rectly by mail to residents of the state if the material cannot be obtained from the local or state libraries. Fifteen, or about 20 per cent, of the 2 Ibid., p. 2. JULY 1959 301 state university libraries lend directly by mail to individuals or permit materials from their collections to be lent through a separate extension department. Eight libraries lend material to individuals di- rectly by mail from the circulation or reference departments of the general libraries. Of these, only Wyoming and West Virginia had more than a thousand off-campus requests. Both of these stated that they loaned freely to individuals residing in their respective states. T h e other six libraries in the group had so few requests that extension loans ap- parently have not created any problems. T h e general university libraries that lend materials through extension librar- ies are those of the Universities of Ala- bama, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Missis- sippi, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. There are other universities with exten- sion libraries but only the above have a policy of circulating books by mail to individuals from the general library col- lections. A number of state university libraries send out books directly to cor- respondence students. Extension libraries. Only the Univer- sities of Colorado and Michigan have extension libraries administered by the general university libraries. There are, however, fourteen other state universities with extension libraries administered separately from the general library. One of the main functions of most of the ex- tension libraries is to provide books for correspondence courses. Although the services offered by the sixteen extension libraries vary, most of them offer pack- ages of pamphlets or books dealing with educational, social, or political topics; a play-lending service for schools, little theaters, clubs, and libraries; and study outlines for book and community clubs. Generally, university library extension services are available only to residents of the particular state, but one or two will serve out-of-state residents for a fee. T h e Library Extension Service of the General Library of the University of Michigan offers help to local communi- ties throughout Michigan, primarily by supplementing school and public library collections. In 1956-57, the Michigan Ex- tension Library received 1,978 requests requiring loan of 26,499 pieces of materi- al, and 251 requests for children's books totalling 21,611 books. Michigan's serv- ice include packages of pamphlets deal- ing with current educational, economic, and social problems; the lending of plays; the distribution of general infor- mation about the United Nations; sup- plementary materials for the Michigan schools participating in forensics and speech activities; the lending of chil- dren's books to areas in the state without adequate local library facilities. Although the extension library is administered by the general university library, books from the general library of the Univer- sity of Michigan are not lent except through interlibrary loan. Miss Clover M. Flanders has described in detail the off-campus services of the University of Michigan Library.3 T h e University of Colorado Library, through its extension service, lent over fourteen thousand items in 1956-57. Gen- erally, loans are made to residents of Colorado only, but exceptions are made for out-of-state correspondence students and for those who wish to examine plays. Books from the general library collection which are not too valuable or hard to re- place and those not needed in the teach- ing and research program of the univer- sity are lent to individuals by mail. No fee is charged for this service. Indiana University Division of Uni- versity Extension has one of the most extensive package library and study out- line services. Package libraries on nu- merous topics of current interest are available for the cost of postage to Indi- ana residents, whereas a flat fee of one 3 C l o v e r M . F l a n d e r s , " O f f - C a m p u s S e r v i c e s o f the U n i v e r s i t y o f M i c h i g a n L i b r a r y , " CRL, X V I I ( 1 9 5 6 ) , 160-68. 302 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES dollar plus postage is charged out-of-state residents. In 1956-57, about sixty-two thousand items were mailed from the Indiana University Extension Library. T h e University of South Carolina Ex- tension Division lent 20,000 plays, read- ings, package library materials, and books from the university library collec- tion in 1956-57. T h e service is free to in- state residents but a small fee is charged out-of-state patrons. T h e University of Florida also has an extensive library service for in-state resi- dents. A circulation of 74,166 items was reported for 1956-57. Although separate from the University Library, the Exten- sion Division Library lends materials from the general university library col- lection directly to individuals in Florida. N o fee is charged. T h e University of Kansas Extension Library with its establishment in 1909 was a pioneer in extension service. It has one of the most extensive programs, in- cluding assistance to book clubs, package libraries on various current topics, a loan collection of materials on Kansas, the loan of books from the University of Kansas Library, a drama loan collection, a collection of art prints, a United Na- tions collection, pamphlets and other materials on vocations and occupations, and reviews of current books. A single loan rate of twenty-five cents and a year- ly service rate based on the number of loans within a calendar year are charged. T h e Kansas Library reports that 4,500 requests for books were received during 1956-57. Of this number, 500 packages were sent out for individual use, some 2,300 for school use, 1,600 for club use, and 80 were for small public libraries in Kansas. In addition to these six, the Universi- ties of Tennessee, Alabama, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia have extension libraries that mail materials to individuals, but only seven of the sixteen extension libraries lend materials from the general university library collections. Requests for non-research material from libraries. T h e ALA's "General In- terlibrary Loan Code 1952" states that the purpose of interlibrary loan is "to make available for research and serious study library materials not in a given library, with due provisions made by the lending library for the rights of its pri- mary clientele."4 T h e libraries included in this study were asked if they loaned non-research or recreational materials to high school, public, or college libraries. T h e answer to this question is an indi- cation of how strictly the university li- braries attempt to adhere to the Code. Forty-eight of the seventy-four libraries or about 65 per cent (thirty-one state- supported and seventeen private) said that it was their policy not to lend non- research or recreational material to li- braries. In some cases, however, there are extension libraries within the universi- ties which will fill these requests from the general collection. Of the twenty-six others, two said that they would handle requests only if the state libraries could not do so. Fifteen, or about 20 per cent, honor any request from a library; five answer any in-state request from a library and six answer any request from a college or public library, but not a high school library. T h e libraries that d o not lend non- research material by mail refer requests to the local or state libraries. Sometimes the requests are sent to the local libraries and the patrons are notified; other li- braries return the requests to the patrons with an explanation that loans are made only to libraries. Trends in library extension. These data indicate that the strength or weak- ness of public and state library resources is the principal determinant of univer- sity library extension service. State uni- 4 American L i b r a r y Association, " G e n e r a l Interli- b r a r y Loan Code 1 9 5 2 , " CRL, X I I I ( 1 9 5 2 ) , 350-58. JULY 1959 303 versity libraries in states with a long tra- dition of good public and state library service have never found it necessary to establish library extension services. This was expressed by several librarians of libraries that do not lend to individuals. Typical comments were these: "With the good public library system in Georgia we have little justification for developing an extension library service." "All indi- vidual requests are filled through local libraries. This idea is fairly well estab- lished in our state and most requests come from local libraries." Several librarians stated the conviction that services of state and public libraries should not be duplicated by university and college libraries. T h e librarian of a New England state university says, "Care must be taken to avoid centralized serv- ices that should and could be provided at the local level. In this state, the col- lege libraries have avoided duplication of services offered by the State Library, and are unanimous in their support of public libraries." Generally, as public library resources of a state increase, state university exten- sion services are withdrawn. Several ex- amples of this gradual withdrawal were revealed in this study. For many years, the University of Indiana Division of University Extension had a large library of books which were lent to anyone in the state requesting them. By 1949, it seemed that Indiana was adequately tak- en care of by the State Library Extension Service and by the Interlibrary Loan Service of the University Library. T h e book collection was discontinued and the magazine files were reduced to clipped articles that are classified. Today, the University of Indiana extension di- vision collection consists of a large num- ber of unbound materials—periodical clippings, pamphlets, newsletters, and bulletins from organizations of all types. These files are used by a great many stu- dents, but their principal use is for pack- age libraries that are prepared on re- quest and mailed to people all over the country, but primarily to residents of Indiana. T h e University of Virginia Library provided an extension service which was abolished in 1942 because there was too much duplication between the Univer- sity Library and the Virginia State Li- brary. T h e University of Virginia Li- brary concentrates on research, scientific, and highly specialized materials which the State Library cannot provide. Among state university libraries, there is still the feeling of great responsibility toward the residents of their states, but a determined effort not to duplicate serv- ices which local and state libraries can provide. Some state university libraries have definite agreements with their state libraries that requests from individuals and public libraries will be referred to the local libraries or to the state libraries and that only those requests which can- not be filled by the public library re- sources will be handled by the university library. T h e director of libraries at the University of Mississippi says, "Mississip- pi is attempting to develop a statewide system of library service based on munic- ipal, county, or multi-county libraries. W e hold the belief that this practice [of referring requests from individuals to local libraries] will make the individual more conscious of the service possibilities of the local library and will eventually increase the materials possibilities." T h e West Virginia University librarian says, "Our long range plan is to get out of the public library field. As public library re- sources improve, we withdraw." T h e University of Missouri Library and sev- eral other large libraries in Missouri co- operate with the State Library in giving supplemental service upon request. Tele- type has been installed recently in these libraries for extra service. From the evidence in these data, the trend is clear. As public library resources 304 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES and services improve, state university li- braries are withdrawing gradually from direct service to residents of their states, but on the other hand, they are ready and willing to provide service when local and state libraries are not able to do so. As has been pointed out earlier, tra- ditions and circumstances in each state are different and these account for differ- ences in practices. T h e withdrawal of a long-standing service to residents of a state without adequate provisions that the people will receive the services they need from other agencies can result in serious damage to public relations and, possibly, to support of the library. The North Carolina solution. In Jan- uary 1958, the Extension Department of the University of North Carolina Li- brary, which had given direct service to citizens of North Carolina for more than fifty years, was discontinued. T h e books in this library were incorporated into the general collection of the University Li- brary and the decision was made to refer requests from individuals to county, regional, or city libraries, or to the State Library. This policy was adopted only after cooperative agreements with the State Library and other libraries in the state had been arranged. T h e library extension service of the University of North Carolina developed in the early part of this century when public resources in the state were inade- quate. T h e library situation in 1958 has changed considerably. There are now only six counties without local library service. T h e State Library was strength- ened in 1956 by combining it with the Library Commission and increasing its support. As early as 1952, it was suggest- ed at a trustee-librarian institute that the University of North Carolina's library extension department was duplicating library services. In 1957, the Committee on Cooperative Library Resources of the North Carolina Library A s s o c i a t i o n adopted the following motion: That the Cooperative Library Resources Committee of the North Carolina Library Association recommend to the Library of the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina State Library, and public libraries of North Carolina that the North Carolina Union Catalog at the University Library be expanded with additional pub- lic, college and special library holdings; and that direct line communication be initiated between the University Library and its Union Catalog and the State Li- brary; and that the State Library be authorized to participate in the develop- ment of a cooperative Interlibrary Service Center to be located at the University Li- brary to assist in reference and interli- brary loan work for public libraries and citizens of the State.5 This plan was approved in principle by the Administrative Board of the Univer- sity Library, the State Library Board, and the membership of the North Carolina Library Association. An interlibrary center, replacing the extension library, was established at the University Library to serve as a focus of operations for accomplishing the objec- tives outlined in the motion. T h e major public, college, and university libraries in the state have agreed to provide ma- terials to other libraries when the need is beyond the resources of local libraries. North Carolina is fortunate in having the nucleus of a Union Catalog which lists the holdings of the major research libraries in the state. This catalog is lo- cated in the Wilson Library of the Uni- versity of North Carolina near the quar- ters of the Interlibrary Center. Since the establishment of the Center, many of the larger public libraries and several special libraries have added their holdings to this catalog and are contributing cards regularly to it. T h e primary biblio- graphical resources of the Center are this catalog and that of the University Li- brary. T h e Center is especially organized to 5 " I n t e r l i b r a r y Center at Chapel H i l l , " North Caro- lina Libraries, X V I ( 1 9 5 8 ) , 50. JULY 1959 305 supplement the normal services provided by the State Library and public libraries in the state. Requests are sorted at the Center and at the State Library to deter- mine the ideal point of service. Both the State Library and the Center will at- tempt to insure maximum utility of lo- cal library resources. Requests from indi- viduals and high schools are referred to the local libraries, or to the State Li- brary if the individual has no county- wide library service. Every effort is made to assure the State Library of an oppor- tunity to work with county, regional, and research libraries in providing materials which are beyond the level of the small public library. Requests from public li- braries for non-research material are re- ferred to the State Library or to another public library if a location is given in the Union Catalog. T h e State Library refers requests from public libraries which it cannot serve to the Center. T h e Inter- library Center checks these against the Union Catalog and refers them to a li- brary that does have the material, or sup- plies it from the University Library if not needed by students and faculty. T h e Interlibrary Center then becomes the final resort for requests, after local and State Library resources have been ex- hausted. Both the State Library and the Center attempt to keep informed of the subject strengths of other cooperating libraries so that direct inquiries or ques- tions pertaining to those fields can be directed to a specific library. Every at- tempt is made to utilize to the maximum all library facilities in the state without duplication of effort. There has been a continuous flow of correspondence and messages among the State Library, the Interlibrary Center, and some of the larger public and uni- versity libraries. T o speed up referrals and locations of materials, new devices and practices are being sought. Plans are being made to install teletype in the State Library, the Interlibrary Center, and representative libraries throughout the state so that Union Catalog locations and referrals of requests can be trans- mitted within a matter of hours. Truck service on alternate days (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays) has already been instituted among the State Library and the libraries of Duke University, North Carolina State College, and the University at Chapel Hill. Dr. Jerrold Orne, librarian of the University of North Carolina, says of the project, "Our experiment on a state-wide scale may well serve as a proving ground for a larger enterprise. Rapid communications methods and devices which we may dis- cover in the course of our operations may later serve as models to be applied in a national plan. Our kind of opera- tion may serve that purpose, as well as others, since this is a new concept of serv- ice and outspokenly seeks new means of furthering these services. It is most logical that it should serve as a pilot or experi- mental proving ground for such de- vices."6 After nine months of operation, it can be reported that the system is working successfully. T h e number of individuals making requests directly to the Univer- sity Library has been reduced consider- ably and public libraries have estab- lished the habit of making requests for non-research material to the State Li- brary first. T h e State Library and public libraries report increased demands upon their collections. By skimming off the requests for non-research materials which can be answered by other libraries, the University Library is able to give more attention to its main business of provid- ing research and teaching materials. At the same time, a bibliographical center has been established which will permit a better utilization of resources and freer movement of materials among all the libraries in the state. 6 J e r r o l d O r n e , " A New P a t t e r n of S e r v i c e , " North Carolina Libraries, X V I ( 1 9 5 8 ) , 53. 306 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES