College and Research Libraries


By C A R T E R D A V I D S O N 

The Future of the College Library 

President Davidson, of Knox College, 

Galesburg, Illinois, read this paper at the 

meeting of the College Libraries Section, 

June 23, 1942. 

T SUPPOSE I must be an unorthodox ad-

ministrator, for I assume that w h e n I 

have a speech to deliver it is the duty of 

the faculty to help me prepare i t — I look 

to their learning and experience to guide 

me. T h e r e f o r e , w h e n I knew this paper 

was scheduled to be born on June 23, I 

set the faculty to w o r k to see that it had 

the proper parentage. O n M a y 8 and 9 

w e held a symposium on planning for the 

f u t u r e of the college library, participated 

in by six members of the faculty, a stu-

dent, a trustee, and D r . M c E w e n , the 

librarian of Carleton C o l l e g e . I know 

the participants profited from preparing 

their papers; I believe the large audience 

enjoyed the discussions; I hope the college 

program w i l l be improved by the sug-

gestions made t h e r e ; but to me the greatest 

value of the symposium was that it pro-

vided me w i t h the material for this paper. 

M y remarks are, therefore, not w i l d 

dreams concocted from my o w n diseased 

imagination, but are the sober nightmares 

of nine other muses. 

Perhaps w e are foolish to attempt to 

plan the f u t u r e of college libraries in 

1 9 4 2 ; possibly the events of the next f e w 

months may change the w h o l e direction 

of our civilization and, w i t h it, the func-

tions of our colleges and their libraries. 

B u t w e must not assume defeat nor antici-

pate diversion; w e must build on our high 

hopes, not our abject fears. 

A college library is, and w i l l continue 

to be, a collection of b o o k s — b u t it is much 

m o r e : it is a service bureau for all aspects 

of college life. A s w e look at its prob-

lems, perhaps the one that looms clearest 

is a strictly physical one: the housing of 

this collection in a building. W h e r e w i l l 

libraries of the f u t u r e be located and how 

w i l l they be constructed? T h e period 

1900 to 1940 has been one of immense 

numerical g r o w t h in our book collec-

tions—result, the four most important li-

brary officials have been the donor w h o 

wanted a memorial monumental building, 

the architect w h o followed the 1893 

W o r l d ' s F a i r style or the skyscraper tech-

nique of L o u i s Sullivan, the cataloger w h o 

ran up the accession numbers into the 

hundreds of thousands, and the janitor. 

I have visited libraries which have ex-

panded the building three or four times 

by adding wings and floors and tunnels—• 

architectural monstrosities and labyrinths 

of darkness and complexity. B u t w e can't 

afford to build a new library building 

every twenty years and our donors w o n ' t 

finance a building to a l l o w for thirty-two 

times as many books a century from now. 

W h a t can w e do? W e can cull, we can 

weed, w e can keep the size of our active 

book collection at some reasonable figure, 

say f i f t y thousand volumes for a student 

body of five hundred, and w e can store 

MARCH', 1943 1 1 5 



those of the others w e should keep. B u r n , 

bury, sell, or give a w a y the rest. M a y b e 

the students w o u l d like some to take home 

for keepsakes. H o w is a library book 

different from an I n d i a n ? T h e only good 

book is a live book. 

T h e r e f o r e , be satisfied w i t h the size of 

your building, unless it is w o e f u l l y inade-

quate or antiquated. If you are building 

a new one, don't overbuild in size, but 

consider especially its location and uses. 

N e a r the center of a c t i v i t y — y e s ! N o t 

out in the woods for quiet, but near the 

dormitories and classrooms, so the students 

can't miss it. 

T h e library of 1950 should be built 

f u n c t i o n a l l y — f o r use, not external im-

pressiveness. C a n you wonder that some 

students shun its dark fastnesses, w h e n 

they look upon it and realize that those 

massive G o t h i c stone w a l l s w e r e modeled 

a f t e r the medieval crypts and dungeons? 

Stone w a l l s may not a prison make, nor 

iron bars a c a g e — b u t w h e n you're outside, 

you try to stay out. 

Library Buildings 

F o r the past forty years librarians have 

been fighting for buildings of their own, 

separate f r o m classrooms and faculty 

offices; f o r the next forty they w i l l prob-

ably be fighting to bring classroom in-

struction back into the library, through 

seminar rooms, instruction in the use of the 

library, the encouragement of honors w o r k 

in carrels, and the building of faculty 

offices immediately adjoining the sections 

of the stacks w h e r e books in the appro-

priate fields are located. T h e emphasis in 

the building of the f u t u r e must be, not on 

the housing of books, but on the housing 

of students w h o are using books; there-

fore, reading room space for a larger por-

tion of the student body w i l l be sought 

before more stacks are added for books. 

In the past, the library has rarely been 

considered in the determination of the 

general program and curriculum of the 

c o l l e g e ; f r o m now on, the librarian should 

serve as a member of the curriculum com-

mittee, helping to plan, and ready to 

adjust the services of the library to almost 

every new development in courses or 

teaching method. Previously, the librarian 

or his faculty committee has determined 

w h a t books w e r e to be purchased on the 

basis of a well-balanced collection; in the 

future, more study must be given to the 

purposes of the college and its curriculum, 

for they w i l l determine the areas for 

emphasis. Instead of a l l o w i n g the cata-

loger to classify books by a mechanical 

system, it may even be necessary to w o r k 

out an individualized basis of classification 

and arrangement to fit the areas of instruc-

tion designated by the college. 

Effects of War 

A l r e a d y w e are beginning to see the 

effects of the present w a r upon our cur-

riculums and therefore on our book 

purchases—great increases in the fields of 

physics, aeronautics, military science, 

geography, and international relations, 

especially L a t i n A m e r i c a n and Chinese 

history and economics. A new survey 

course for freshmen may shift the reading 

habits of a large part of the student popu-

lation, so that the librarian must be in on 

the planning of such courses. Since one 

of the current w e l l - k n o w n curricular ex-

periments advocates the careful reading of 

one hundred books, the selection of those 

books is tremendously important to the li-

brary of that college. T h e librarian may 

w e l l be the instigator of curricular changes, 

by suggesting library resources w h i c h 

should be better used and by bringing cur-

116 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



ricular literature to the attention of the 

faculty. 

Faculty and Library 

F o r it is obvious that the faculty mem-

bers are really the people w h o build the 

collection over the years, w h o determine 

its uses and its emphases. T h e r e f o r e , 

every faculty member should be con-

sidered ex officio a member of the library 

staff, not an intruder, but a cooperator. 

I prophesy that librarians w i l l be asking 

that faculty be released from some of their 

instructional duties in order that they may 

render reference service to students in 

bibliography. I k n o w f r o m experience 

that teaching experience makes better li-

brarians and library service makes better 

teachers. 

M a n y faculty members w i l l need no 

u r g i n g to make f u l l use of the l i b r a r y ; its 

books they read carefully in the prepara-

tion of lectures which cover a much w i d e r 

field of reading than the student can be 

expected to study. T h e y cannot afford to 

buy all these books for themselves, so the 

library is their friend in need. Sometimes 

they become too demanding, ask for books 

obviously too advanced or limited in scope 

for college students, demand that the li-

brary purchase books for their o w n re-

search. Unless special funds have been 

provided for this purpose, college librarians 

must resist such demands, but offer the 

facilities of microfilms, interlibrary loans, 

and catalogs of books available elsewhere. 

T h o s e faculty members, often in the 

sciences and fine arts, w h o do not seek the 

library voluntarily, must be lured into the 

building on every pretext—exhibits, teas, 

or special invitations. I t is true that they 

have their o w n laboratories and studies 

and the library is a laboratory f o r the 

social sciences and humanities, but it must, 

likewise, be made more useful to the fine 

arts and natural sciences. Books are their 

heritage as w e l l as test tubes or easels or 

pianos. 

B u t w h e n w e come to the last analysis, 

we are agreed that it is not faculty but 

students w e wish to serve. I am some-

times disturbed by the nightmare that, for 

some students, the library is positively im-

moral in its effects. M o s t of our students 

enter w i t h textbook habits: one book to 

the course and every student has one. 

Immediately w e attempt to pull them out 

of this adolescent attitude and insist that 

they find the answers to their questions 

in the thousands of books in the library. 

Students are l e t h a r g i c — t h e y seek short 

cuts, and, oh, h o w many short cuts the 

library provides! W h y read the w h o l e of 

a great literary classic w h e n the library 

provides neat summaries of its contents? 

W h y w o r k hard to prepare a term paper, 

w h e n you can probably find one all ready 

for summarizing, w i t h a bibliography all 

w o r k e d o u t ? W h y stand in line and w a i t 

your turn on a reserved book w h e n you 

can probably w a l k out w i t h the book un-

noticed and return it later surreptitiously? 

W h y buy a required textbook if there is 

one in the library w h i c h you can remove 

from circulation for the duration of the 

course ? 

Rules for Students 

In the library of tomorrow something 

must be done to impress on the student 

that there is no royal road to learning, 

that results in the mind are comparable 

to the efforts expended. Y e t the rules set 

up to prevent dishonesty must not be such 

as to hamper the sincere student, w h o , w e 

hope, is in the m a j o r i t y . T h e library is 

there to serve, not to preserve. T h e stu-

dent w h o is frustrated in his attempt to 

MARCH', 1943 117 



find w h a t he needs in the library w i l l begin 

to seek elsewhere or stop looking. 

M a n y colleges w o r k on the assumption 

that new freshmen already k n o w w h a t a 

library is for and h o w it works. B u t the 

truth i s — t h e y don't. M a n y have never 

had to use a library extensively before 

and others don't know the peculiarities 

of this library. T h e chemist doesn't turn 

his students loose w i t h o u t instruction on 

the l a b o r a t o r y ; he c a r e f u l l y shows them 

its equipment and where other aids may be 

f o u n d — i t is a gradual process, and the 

student may not feel completely at home 

in the laboratory for some months; so it 

must be w i t h the library. 

Teaching Unit for Student 

F o r the student, the library must be a 

teaching unit, organized to show him how 

and where to learn w h a t he needs to k n o w . 

Since most students do much of their 

studying in the library, the library of 

tomorrow w i l l try to control his study 

habits and improve them by providing an 

atmosphere conducive to study. Since 

most of that study w i l l be reading, the 

library must give instruction in h o w to 

r e a d : how to skim rapidly or absorb w i t h 

slow intensity, h o w to take notes and use 

the index. T h e reading room takes the 

place of the old study hall in preparatory 

school, w i t h a staff member present to 

help develop good reading habits. Since 

some students are dull and others bright, 

books w i l l be made available for all levels 

of intelligence and knowledge and pre-

scribed according to needs by an expert. 

T h e student w i l l be urged, not to limit 

himself to the books on reserve, but to 

browse through the stacks, finding w h a t 

he needs in unexpected places. Some 

rooms w i l l be kept quiet for concentrated 

study, but others w i l l permit the oral dis-

cussion so necessary to debate teams or 

others studying together; still others w i l l 

be fitted up purely for recreational reading. 

Producing Qualities of Mind 

T h e library must aid in producing the 

same qualities of mind aimed at by the 

whole educational program. T h e r e is 

very little the library can do for physical 

fitness, social grace, or manual dexterity, 

but its atmosphere and procedure can 

teach students how to concentrate their 

attention on the matter under considera-

tion rather than allow their minds to 

wander while they are supposedly study-

ing. Readers can be taught accuracy in 

observation and encouraged to develop a 

retentive memory. If the librarian can 

also aid in perceptions of relationships, 

logical reasoning, restrained judgment, 

and creative imagination, he is leading the 

student in the paths of mental g r o w t h as 

effectively as any course in the regular 

classroom instruction. 

T o carry out so ambitious a program, 

obviously a well-trained library staff of a 

size comparable to the student body w i l l 

be needed. T h i s may seem to some of you 

unorthodox, but to me the staff functions 

seem to f a l l into four categories: direction 

of studies, personnel, cataloging, and 

clerical w o r k . F o r the first task the li-

brarian is obviously needed, and he must 

be a person who, in training and scholarly 

accomplishment, need not yield to any 

other member of the teaching f a c u l t y ; the 

doctor's degree for librarians w i l l in the 

f u t u r e be as commonplace as it is among 

chemists. Personnel relations w i t h stu-

dents and faculty, both for reference w o r k 

and the circulation of books, w i l l require 

both knowledge and a pleasant approach, 

w i t h an ability to supervise student as-

sistants. T h e cataloger's task w i l l involve 

118 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



more w i t h d r a w a l s of books and more 

modifications of arrangements to suit a 

flexible curriculum. T h e clerical func-

tions w i l l probably not require special 

library training. 

O n e of the great sources of support for 

libraries in the future w i l l come from 

alumni, organized into such groups as the 

Friends of the K n o x College L i b r a r y , 

which E d w a r d C a l d w e l l , of N e w Y o r k 

C i t y , has developed in the past ten years 

into a vital part of our whole library 

structure, spiritually and financially. 

Relations with Administration 

Perhaps I should say a last w o r d about 

f u t u r e relations of the college administra-

tion to the library. It is safe to say the 

trustees and executive officers have always 

been concerned—the history of K n o x 

shows that back in 1853, w h e n the total 

educational budget of the college was only 

$4350, the trustees appropriated $500 for 

library expansion. T h e library of the fu-

ture has a right to expect continued support 

from the administration, but it must be re-

membered that every department must be 

judged by the results it produces, and if 

the library uses its plant carelessly, fails 

to adjust itself to the changing curriculum, 

discourages faculty members, or hampers 

the educational development of the stu-

dents, it is on the spot. 

B u t today, in 1942, the library on the 

average college campus is not on the s p o t — 

it is rather on the threshold of great new 

opportunities, not for physical expansion, 

but for important educational service. 

Government Publishing in Wartime 
(Continued from page 106) 

defense and w a r publications. H o w e v e r , 

comprehensive recording as w e l l as selec-

tive listing is needed. 

A d e q u a t e listing is essential not only to 

efficient distribution but also to the 

current and f u t u r e handling and use of 

documents by librarians, teachers, stu-

dents, and research workers. 

Recommendations 

30. W e believe that some agency of the 
government should issue weekly or bi-
weekly lists of current printed and 
"processed" publications. T h i s might be 
accomplished as a new service or might 
be incorporated in some existing weekly or 
biweekly government periodical. Provision 
should also be made for quarterly or semi-

annual subject indexes to these lists. 
31. W e recommend that, pending the 

inauguration of periodic listing of all gov-
ernment publications, each department or 
independent agency be encouraged to issue 
lists of all of its own publications. 

32. A l l publications, including those 
vhich are restricted or confidential, should 
be included in such lists if not contrary to 
the public interest. 

If government publishing is, as w e 

believe, a tool for use in achieving im-

portant national objectives, it is w o r t h the 

effort now being made to develop a posi-

tive policy and program for the employ-

ment of that tool for the best possible 

results. 

MARCH', 1943 119