Showing papers in "College & Research Libraries in 1948"

The Library of Congress and the Other Scholarly Libraries in the Nation

Abstract: I n the same year the director of the O f f i c e of Scientific R e s e a r c h and D e v e l o p m e n t ( D r . V a n n e v a r B u s h ) in his report to the President entitled Science, the Endless 12 Memorandum, November 27, 1939. A National Acquisition Policy. Typescript. L . C. files. »A.L.A. Bulletin 39: 370-71, Oct. 15, 1945Frontier,1* suggested that exist ing g o v e r n m e n t agencies, such as the A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y and the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , could do m u c h to i m p r o v e exist ing bibliog r a p h i c facilit ies if provided w i t h sufficient m e a n s ; and that federal aid for the l ibrary system of the c o u n t r y m i g h t w e l l h a v e as its central o b j e c t i v e the s t r e n g t h e n i n g of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s so that it could foster p r o g r a m s of cooperation. S t i l l in 1 9 4 5 it w a s f o u n d to be in the national interest that the L i b r a r y of C o n gress should extend to other research libraries its o w n facilities f o r acquisition ( i n c l u d i n g State and W a r D e p a r t m e n t c h a n n e l s ) in countries w h e r e c o m m e r c i a l channels w e r e not avai lable as a result of the w a r . A t the same t ime the l ibrary c o m m e n c e d , on its o w n initiative and at its o w n cost, the p r o g r a m of d o c u m e n t distribution w h i c h has since developed into the D o c u m e n t s E x p e d i t i n g P r o j e c t . I n 1 9 4 6 the P r i n c e t o n C o n f e r e n c e on I n t e r n a t i o n a l C u l t u r a l , E d u c a t i o n a l , and Scientif ic E x c h a n g e s directed f o u r of its t w e n t y f o u r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t o w a r d the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s — r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s h a v i n g to do w i t h the complet ion of the union c a t a l o g , the compilat ion of a union list of w a r t i m e periodicals, the preparation of plans f o r a national b i b l i o g r a p h y , and the p r o c u r e m e n t and distribution of f o r e i g n g o v e r n m e n t a l publications. 1 5 T h e latest s t a t e m e n t on the s u b j e c t is still fresh f r o m the press, and is being reprinted in the 1 9 4 7 a n n u a l report of the L i b r a r i a n of C o n g r e s s . T h e H o u s e A p p r o priations C o m m i t t e e , in 1 9 4 6 , had reported a reduction in the l ibrary's estimates, p a r t l y as it stated, in order \" t o give attention to the need f o r a determination as to w h a t 14 Washington, Government Printing Office, 1945, p. 112. 15 Recommendations Adopted by Conference on International, Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Exchanges . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1947. 122 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES the policy of the Library of Congress is going to be in the way of expansion and service to the public and to Congress.\" In order to provide a basis for the discussion of this question, Dr . Evans appointed the Library of Congress Planning Committee, headed by the director of libraries of Harvard University, and consisting of leaders in various walks of life—the law, the humanities, specifically history, research libraries, public libraries, federal libraries, the natural sciences and bibliography. This committee was requested to review anew, \"in a spirit of free inquiry,\" the role of the library, and to report recommendations which might be laid before the appropriate committees of Congress. The report is now before Congress awaiting action. It spells out the relations of the library in the federal system; it specifies the kinds of collections which the library should amass. With respect to the relationships with nonfederal libraries and with the public the report states that \"the Library of Congress as the National Library and as the largest and most nearly complete of all the libraries in the United States, should supplement the other libraries in the country, should take a leading part in cooperative movements among libraries, and should thereby help to bring about satisfactory nationwide library service to research workers and other seekers for information.\" Specifically \"as its share of the national library program,\" the committee recommended a long list of services so carefully worded that it would be unfair to attempt to abridge them here; these include not only most of the services mentioned in previous discussions, but added certain new ones, such as \"the printing at regular intervals of as complete a list as possible of publications currently issued in the United States,\" and a program of traveling exhibits. It is apparent from the foregoing that if the library wants ambitions, it has not far to seek. But I refuse to call these objectives the ambitions merely of the Library of Congress. If they are not the ambitions of the American library world, and if the American library world cannot truthfully declare, as it did in 1881, that with respect to these objectives \"it shares the conviction of the people of the United States of America,\" then the Library of Congress may properly disown these ambitions. Let me give you the status of the more important of them. Ambitions—Present Posture In matters relating to bibliographical organization, the fundamental operation is still the system of card distribution. There is still much work to be done. Cards are not printed quickly enough, and they are still far from complete in coverage. Whi le we are busily cataloging the publications of foreign countries, their libraries are busily cataloging ours. The cooperative cataloging operation, though contributing to the usefulness of the system, does not rest upon a sound policy either in logic or finance. But card distribution, though in many senses fundamental, is itself an end-product; it is made possible by a number of antecedent operations—among them those of cataloging and classification. When we say at L .C. that we catalog and classify primarily for our own uses we are stating a policy to guide immediate operations only. In the long run it is hardly the fact. The proof of this is that we are involved up to our ears in the revision of the A .L .A . catalog code; and with respect to classification—we have recently witnessed the expenditure of a large sum, which will be matched over and over by expenditures into the indefinite future, in the elaboration of a new schedule for medicine, simply because the L .C. schedule had not been sufficiently