While the majority of agricultural departments at Illinois favor
departmental libraries, they all make it conditional--"If we had a
proper and secure place for them." All with whom I have talked have
also emphasized the advisability, almost the necessity, of keeping all
books on the campus, whether in departmental libraries, laboratories or
main library, under the central administration and the supervision of
the librarian of the university.
=3. Opportunity to use books and periodicals purchased by other
colleges of the university.=
It can readily be seen that books and periodicals purchased especially
by the College of Science may also be of use to the Agricultural
experiment station. The agricultural faculty also benefit by the
periodicals, university publications, etc., received in exchange for
publications of other colleges in the university.
=4. Greater educational opportunities.=
The agricultural experiment station, while receiving the benefits thus
enumerated from its close connection with the university library,
is able also to extend its circle of influence through the library,
which naturally reaches more people than the station could by itself.
Not only do the students and faculty of the other colleges of the
university have an opportunity to use the agricultural books, but
people throughout the state can and do borrow them from the library.
Discussion on the same type of library administration was continued
in a paper prepared by Mrs. IDA A. KIDDER, librarian of the Oregon
Agricultural College library.
She said in part:
Our policy of one central library was rather thrust upon us by the
exigency of our situation than deliberately chosen, for we began with
a single librarian and one part time student assistant, but after
four years' experience I should pursue the same general course. It is
evident, however, that in libraries growing at the almost incredible
rate of many of our western libraries, one must have principles of
organization and administration, rather than a fixed policy, or
inflexible plans.
At the Oregon agricultural college we have the advantage of having all
our class room and laboratory buildings located near each other.
We have had no difficulty or complication as to funds, since nearly
all our station funds have been used for experiments and laboratory
equipment. At first we had almost no college funds for the purchase
of books and periodicals, having only such portion of the general
equipment fund as could be spared after equipping our rapidly growing
laboratories, but at the last session of our legislature the library
was granted a fund of $15,000 for the biennium for books, periodicals
and binding, and of the Crop Pest fund of $15,000 a year, granted for
investigation, ten per cent could be spent for books and periodicals.
This has been used and the library has therefore had this biennium,
$9,000 a year. Most of the Crop Pest fund has been spent for books
directly useful to the station investigator. Of the regular college
library fund, the station departments have received their share along
with the strictly instructional departments. The library fund is
apportioned by the president of the college, after consultation with
the librarian, the basis of judgment being the need of the department
together with its present equipment. The books purchased from station
funds are usually for some specific investigation and are kept in the
laboratory collection of the department purchasing. A record is kept of
the books purchased under each different fund.
The head of each department is responsible for the books in his
laboratory collection, and once a year an inventory is taken. In our
general catalog we have the cards of every book kept in a department
stamped, under the call number, with the name of that department;
thus it is possible to locate from the catalog all books except those
out on loan. All our freshmen have one semester's instruction in the
use of the library, that is, one lecture and one practical problem a
week, with one college credit allowed. During this period we urge the
students to feel at liberty to go to any laboratory to consult any book
needed for their work, but with all the encouragement we can give them,
I feel convinced that the books kept in the laboratory collections do
not have the general use from the students which they would have if
they were located in the general library.
We expect soon to place in our agricultural building duplicate catalogs
of the publications of the United States Department of agriculture and
of the state experiment stations. This will be a great accommodation to
the men working in the station.
We keep our duplicate reports and bulletins arranged so that at a
moment's notice any duplicates may be found. We have one department
whose work it is to secure and care for the continuations of value to
an agricultural college. This is one of the most valuable features of
our organization, and though it was difficult to give the service for
such a definite department, from our small library force, it seemed
imperative and has proved a wise step. The reference librarian of the
college does the reference work for the station as far as called upon.
She borrows for the use of the station from a number of other libraries.
It seems to me that the problem of administering the college and the
experiment station library, whether separately or combined must always
present a number of almost insurmountable difficulties; men engaged in
research demand all material for their work closely and immediately
at hand, instructional work requires that all the material on the
campus shall be easily accessible to its use. To meet these so often
conflicting demands without extravagant duplication requires of the
librarian a broad-minded impartiality of judgement.
The next topic was a symposium of recent reference books and new
periodicals of special interest to agricultural libraries, which
was treated under the following heads: (a) New periodicals, by E.
Lucy Ogden, Library of Congress; (b) Agricultural reference books,
by Elizabeth S. Ingersoll, of Cornell university library, and (c)
Reference books in sciences relating to agriculture, by Emma B. Hawks,
of the U. S. Department of agriculture library.
Miss Claribel R. Barnett, librarian of the U. S. Department of
agriculture library was re-elected chairman for the coming year.