College and Research Libraries


fie ubiquitously throughout the book, avoid-
ing one another most of the time, but gen-
erally adding to our state of confusion. Mr. 
Mittal has delved widely into the -writings 
of American librarianship-journals, books, 
and even obscure PhD dissertations-and 
the results jam the pages in long quotations: 
"Miss X has rightly pointed out .... " "Dr. 
Y. has remarked .... " "Mary Doe opines . 
. . . "etc. Oliver Goldsmith's method in writ-
ing history was to· r-C~d Hume, Kennet, Ra-
pin, and Carte in the morning, spend the 
afternoon at coffeehouses, and then, after a 
good dinner, write down what remained in 
his head in his own words. The result may 
not reflect the trappings of scholarship but 
it makes for wonderful reading and I heart-
ily commend the method to Mr. Mittal. 

The author does not feel, I am sure, in 
spite of the exaggerated claims on the book 
jacket, that this book will be useful to 
American librarians. It probably would not 
have accomplished its author's purpose if it 
were. I would suggest that, in a revision, 
Mr. Mittal lean less heavily on quotations, 
particularly from American sources; empha-
size principles more and procedures less; ask 
an expert in English to read the manuscript 
before it is released; and insist on a thorough 
job of editing by the publisher. Composition, 
presswork, and binding leave much to be de-
sired.-Guy R. Lyle, Emory University. 

Problems in Planning Library Facilities; 
Consultants, Architects, Plans and Cri-
tiques: Proceedings of the Library 
Buildings Institute, Chicago, July 12-
13, 1963. Edited by William A. Katz and 
Roderick G. Swartz. Chicago: ALA, 
1964. 208p. $4.25. (64-19851). 

This volume presents the proceedings of 
the Library Buildings Institute conducted in 
Chicago, July 12-13, 1963. The foreword 
notes that "ten building or equipment in-
stitutes have been held in the last twelve 
years" and comments further that "interest 
still seems to be high." The recent article by 
Theodore Samore entitled "Academic Li-
brary Buildings: Needs, Legislation, Inven-
tory" in CRL, July 1964, provides ample 
evidence of the reason for this continuing 
interest. Where else can the amateur, faced 
with building problems, find such ready ad-

vice and criticism from architects, building 
consultants, and others recently experienced 
through having survived a building pro-
gram? 

Appropriately, the opening paper is one 
entitled "The Library Building Consultant" 
by Keyes Metcalf. Mr. Metcalf bases his 
discussion on five questions: ( 1) Why have 
a consultant, (2) How do you select him, 
( 3) At what stage in the planning should 
he be selected, ( 4) What do you pay him, 
(5) What should he do? This, along with 
the panel discussion following, provides val-
uable information for the librarian and the 
administrator faced with the prospect of a 
new building. 

The section on college and university li-
braries includes the presentation of plans 
for the following institutions: Harvard Med-
ical School, San Diego State College, Uni-
versity of Waterloo (Canada), University 
of Illinois (Chicago campus) , State College 
of Iowa (Cedar Falls), Bluffton College 
(Ohio), Western Kentucky State College, 
Asbury Theological Seminary (Kentucky), 
University of Notre Dame, and University 
of California (Riverside). The plans range 
in size from the 429,780 square feet for 
Notre Dame to the 19, 112 square feet for 
an addition to an existing building at Bluff-
ton. There is considerable variance in the 
quality of reproduction of plans, but gen-
erally the photographs, drawings, and build-
ing plans give an idea of what is being dis-
cussed in the text. 

In addition to the college and university 
libraries section, there is a public libraries 
section, one on school libraries, and another 
on hospital and institution libraries. 

The public libraries section starts with 
"Programing Before Planning" by Hurst 
John, with Harold Roth, Clarence Paine, 
and Frances Flanders as a panel to discuss 
Mr. John's paper. A later panel discussion, 
moderated by Frederick Wezeman, deals 
with the "Role of the Architect, Engineer, 
and Librarian in Library Planning." 

The school libraries section opens with a 
paper by an architect, Charles J. Benda, Jr., 
on the things an architect should know 
about the library and the information which 
should be supplied to him. This is followed 
by "The School Library Program: What the 
Architect Needs to Know" by John L. Cam-

520 C 0 L L E G E A N D R ESE AR C H L I B R A R IE S 



eron, chief, school housing section, United 
States Office of Education. Other papers in-
clude discussions of "departmentalized" 
school libraries, and of elementary school 
libraries. 

The final section includes a discussion of 
planning for such libraries as that of the 
United States Civil Service Commission, the 
Upjohn Company (pharmaceutical), and a 
correctional institution. 

The concluding paper, by Donald E. 
Fearn, is on "Architectural Barriers and the 
Handicapped, the Infirm, the Elderly, and 
the Physically Limited." It contains a num-
ber of recommended specifications which 
may well be considered by all persons plan-
ning new buildings but especially by college 
and university librarians. 

As in any such collection of papers and 
proceedings, there is considerable uneven-
ness in quality, and some duplication as well 
as contradiction. It is necessary for the 
reader to evaluate those presentations of in-
terest to him, and to keep in mind the 
source of information being given, as well 
as the identity of critics and questioners.-
Archie L. McNeal, University of Miami. 

The University of North Carolina Under 
Consolidation, 1931-1963. By Louis R. 
Wilson. Chapel Hill: The University of 
North Carolina Consolidated Office, 1964. 
xxiii, 483p. 

The Depression which began in 1929 
dealt North Carolina a severe blow, but one 
result was that state and university officials 
decided to take a hard look at the University 
to assure the protection of its good reputa-
tion and the strengthening of its sister in-
stitutions in Raleigh and Greensboro. In 
March 1931 the General Assembly ratified 
the Act of Consolidation which brought in-
to one system North Carolina State College 
of Agriculture and Engineering, North 
Carolina College for Women, and the Uni-
versity of North Carolina. Not everyone was 
happy with the idea of consolidation, but it 
was accepted because it afforded a practical 
means of stretching the limited funds which 
were available. Dr. Wilson's book records 
the story through its first thirty-two years 
with State College and the College for 
Women emerging as The University of 
North Carolina at Raleigh and The Univer-

NOVEMBER 1964 

sity of North Carolina at Greensboro. Af-
fording, as it does, an example of what can 
be accomplished through intelligent leader-
ship and careful planning, the book makes 
a significant contribution to the literature of 
higher education. 

After the decision in favor of consolida-
tion had been reached, Governor 0. Max 
Gardner and the state's educational leaders 
took immediate steps for action. The Com-
mission on Consolidation was appointed by 
the governor, and a survey committee was 
selected to prepare a detailed study of the 
three institutions. It was the work of these 
two groups that set the pattern for con-
solidation; some changes were to be drastic, 
such as the transfer of all engineering pro-
grams to the Raleigh campus, but decisions 
were made with care and changes were de-
signed to come gradually. It is safe to say 
that North Carolinians had little conception 
of what consolidation really meant but, in 
general, seemed to view it as " ... an econ-
omy measure rather than one that might 
transform the institutions into a great, uni-
fied, modern state university which, although 
located on three campuses, would be so 
modified as to provide instruction, research, 
and service to the public for undergraduate, 
graduate, and professional students, and 
North Carolinians generally." 

The volume traces in detail the changes 
which have taken place on each campus, 
and whether the discussion is of physical 
plants, instructional programs, or the men 
and women who translated plans into action, 
it is always the word of a keen and articulate 
observer. Furthermore, it is fitting and log-
ical that Dr. Wilson should have been 
chosen to write this book. He was a mem-
ber of the Commission on Consolidation, 
and, with the exception of ten years spent 
as the dean of Chicago's graduate library 
school, has been for more than half a cen-
tury a source of wisdom and advice fre-
quently drawn upon by the university's 
chancellors and presidents. Chancellor Emer-
itus Robert B. House has recently referred 
to him as "The Silent Force," which is in-
deed an appropriate phrase to describe the 
man who has been such a significant figure 
in shaping the affairs of one of the South's 
great universities.-]. Isaac Copeland, 
George Peabody College for Teachers. • • 

521