College and Research Libraries


By H A Z E L W E B S T E R B Y R N E S 

Service Area of a Teachers 
College Library 

Miss Byrnes, librarian, State Teachers 
College, Mayville, N.D., gave this, the 
first of four papers on the service area of a 
teachers college library, at the meeting of 
the Libraries of Teacher-Training Insti-
tutions Section, June 24, 1942. 

THE COLLEGE CAMPUS does n o t define the boundaries of the service of a col-
lege library. A college program that looks 

toward the development of not only the 

young people w h o make up its enrolment 

but of the adults and the children w i t h 

w h o m these young people have contact in 

their field of service, must recognize an 

abundance of opportunities in the out-in-

the-field service for the college library. 

T h e effort to utilize these opportunities 

has resulted at the State T e a c h e r s College, 

M a y v i l l e , N . D . , in ( 1 ) the establishing of 

a rural adult circulating library and ( 2 ) 

the development of a library-educational 

program in connection w i t h the rural 

schools within the college community. 

T h e rural adult circulating library was 

the outgrowth of different factors. Con-

tributing to its inception was the fact that 

this community was privileged to belong 

to one of the Federal forum demonstra-

tion units for 1938-39. T h e other w a s 

the coming to the college in 1938 of C y r i l 

W . Grace, w h o has the conviction that the 

college belongs to the people and that its 

services should contribute to and promote 

their w e l f a r e . Probably the fact that 

there is developing a new ferment for 

knowledge due to the w o r l d situation also 

had its part in the establishment of this 

service. 

C a l l s began to come from adults in the 

surrounding community, and to aid in 

giving service the college library presented 

the matter to teachers in the rural schools. 

T h e y w e r e glad to cooperate in acting as 

custodians for books and library materials 

which the college library placed w i t h them 

for circulation. School after school be-

came interested and small centers devel-

oped. 

In some cases it came about that one 

school exchanged w i t h another before the 

materials were returned to the library. 

O n c e the library service was started, the 

insistence from the patrons has in most 

cases continued its development through-

out the changes of teachers that might 

take place. 

Y o u are perhaps thinking that the col-

lege must have a large book appropriation 

to handle this demand. T h e contrary is 

true. It has such a pitiably small appro-

priation that last winter when the librarian 

was in attendanec at the midwinter meet-

ing of the A . L . A . , the discussion as to 

appropriations placed it in the scale below 

even the minimum. 

Y e t w e have found that there are on 

library shelves books which can be placed 

for this use, excellent books which perhaps 

have not had a great deal of circulation 

DECEMBER, 1942 69 



since they met for a time some particular 

need. 

F o r t u n a t e l y , too, pamphlets are now 

coming from presses in great numbers and 

can be purchased for small amounts. W e 

have c a r e f u l l y made up a series of those 

considered authoritative and reliable and 

w e d r a w heavily on this pamphlet source. 

F r e e and inexpensive material, too, is 

watched for in lists of every sort. 

Since w e are emphasizing service w e 

shall omit details of management, such as 

the meetings w i t h the teachers early in the 

school year, meeting the rural adults at dif-

ferent gatherings to which w e are invited, 

the regulations of distribution and circu-

lation, and the kinds of library material 

called for, which, incidentally, is of all 

kinds. 

Relations of College and Community 

W e w o u l d say that this service to rural 

adults is having results in bringing about 

a closer, a confident, and kindly relation-

ship between the college and community 

and is helping to awaken the people to the 

possibilities w i t h i n themselves and w i t h i n 

their o w n communities, a point on which 

w e might elaborate to some extent. 

T h e development of a library-educa-

tional program in connection w i t h the 

rural schools w i t h i n the college community 

is, as in the case of the previously men-

tioned service, again responsible to the 

reaching-out policy of the college, to a 

library-minded supervisor of rural educa-

tion ( E l l e n V . J o h n s o n ) , and to the estab-

lished institution of Book W e e k , all of 

w h i c h cooperated w i t h the college library 

to institute such a program. 

B e f o r e the dates set for Book W e e k , 

the college library sends an invitation to 

outlying rural schools to participate in a 

function at the college d u r i n g the closing 

day of the w e e k — o n e year this function 

w a s a book festival, another a book con-

vention. Just w h a t it may be this year w e 

are not sure. A n y w a y that w o u l d be tell-

ing and w o u l d spoil the surprise. 

T h e " F e s t i v a l " year w e invited every-

body and could scarcely handle the c r o w d . 

T h e " C o n v e n t i o n " year brought "dele-

gates" and many other guests, but not so 

many as to seriously disturb the decorum 

of the occasion. 

T h e rural supervisor took materials to 

the schools in plenty of time before the 

date set for Book W e e k . T h e rural teach-

ers and the parents helped find other ma-

terial, and finally a program culminated in 

each school to which the parents w e r e in-

vited. 

B y some method on which they them-

selves agreed, one of the program numbers 

or parts of numbers cut to take not more 

than six to eight minutes each, w e r e se-

lected to be given at the college, as w e r e 

displays w h i c h w e r e to be brought in f o r 

exhibit. 

Finale of Program 

T h e ensemble program in the college 

auditorium w a s the finale of the w h o l e 

function and as such d r e w a huge c r o w d . 

Parents and others in the different rural 

communities made this a time for a general 

gathering. 

D i f f e r e n t members of the college faculty 

helped in c a r r y i n g out the schedule of the 

day. T h e r e w e r e stories, introduction of 

n e w books—some of w h i c h w e r e loaned us 

by the state library commission—demon-

strations by the pupils of various library 

techniques in their o w n schools, explana-

tions by student helpers of h o w to use the 

college library, visits w i t h guides to the 

primary department, the greenhouse, and 

(Continued on page 75) 

70 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



assistance to teachers. T h e r e are out-

standing curriculum laboratories in all 

parts of this country. A n d studies are 

being made of such service. L e t us become 

conscious of these workshops and, as soon 

as w e get them well-established in our 

teachers college libraries, let us widen 

their usefulness by extending their service 

to teachers about us. 

R u r a l schools, alumni, teachers of our 

a r e a — t h r e e important g r o u p s — a l l , w e be-

lieve, merit our attention. B u t h o w far 

shall w e g o ? T h a t ' s the question w e must 

answer. 

Service Area of a Teachers College Library 
(Continued from page 70) 

finally through the tunnel to W e s t H a l l 

where " t e a " w a s served by book characters. 

A n entire year is none too l o n g in which 

to get ready for this annual event. L i -

braries must be built up and put into shape. 

T h a t means there must be money raised to 

help buy books and lists, and books must 

be perused from w h i c h to make the selec-

tion for purchase. A n d , to be sure, once 

the purchase is made, the books must be 

properly cared for. T h e college librarian 

or her helpers have frequent calls to the 

various schools to counsel w i t h the y o u n g 

librarians or to have secret conferences 

regarding program parts. T h e s e parts are, 

likewise, in process all through the year. 

T w o schools have w r i t t e n book plays and 

designed and made their o w n settings and 

costumes. A l l the schools have school 

papers which w i l l be a part of the display 

this coming fall. A n d as to the history of 

books and homemade examples from the 

earliest w a x tablets and parchment (home-

processed) to a beautifully bound book of 

the present day, it is probable that the 

college students v i e w i n g the exhibit k n o w 

less than do these rural school pupils. 

O t h e r than these services outside the 

boundary of the college campus there are 

the usual college library services to alumni 

and services through the office of inter-

library loans. T h e s e are more or less 

taken for granted. I t is the t w o services 

regarding which I have spoken that help 

to define, as w e see it, the service area of a 

college library, which area finally extends 

to w h a t e v e r peoples and places having a 

contact w i t h the college. 

DECEMBER, 1942 75