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Organization of College and University Libraries

01 Jan 1952-
About: The article was published on 1952-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 6 citations till now.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In 1989, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) celebrated its fiftieth anniversary as discussed by the authors, which was a period of great change and progress in academic librarianship.
Abstract: n 1989, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. The years since its founding have been a period of great change and progress in academic librarianship. Academic libraries have evolved from relatively small, self-sufficient institutions to large, multifaceted organizations electronically interconnected and linked in ways not yet envisioned fifty years ago. The librarians who work in these institutions, although sharing many of the same attitudes and values of their predecessors, are called upon to have knowledge of processes and to provide services unforeseen in 1939. Academic librarianship in the United States has changed more rapidly and radically during the past fifty years than it had during its prior 300-year history. This paper will examine some of these changes and attempt to chart the course of academic librarianship from 1939 to the present. To do justice to this history, far more space would be needed than is provided here. What follows is a much compressed and highly selective look at the topic, but it is hoped that the account will be comprehensive enough to permit the identification of the most important trends and influences and to isolate some useful generalizations. Tracing the development of academic librarianship results in two seemingly contradictory impressions. On one hand there are fundamental changes: Libraries have begun to make the transition from manual to electronic systems, and many central components, including collections, organization, personnel, and services, have been modified. The libraries of today are very different institutions from those of fifty years ago. On the other hand there are great similarities, so that an old adage seems to be applicable: the more things change the more they st~y the same. Many contemporary issues and concerns were articulated and shared by academic librarians working in the field fifty years ago. More discouragingly, many of the problems that seemed intractable in the late 1930s have indeed proven to be unyielding and are yet to be resolved. The first issues of C&RL contained articles on topics such as the appropriateness of the Ph.D. and the advisability of faculty status for academic librarians, the necessity for research by academic librarians, the problem of low salaries for librarians in relation to faculty, the percentage of the institutional budget that should be devoted to libraries, and the advantages and disadvantages of library centralization.

26 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of the literature on the organization and management of libraries in terms of their formal characteristics, emphasizing the relationships of hierarchy of authority, size, rules and the division of labor.
Abstract: Two MAJOR THEMES can be discerned in much of the literature on the organization and management of libraries. The first considers libraries in terms of their formal characteristics, emphasizing the relationships of hierarchy of authority, size, rules and the division of labor. The objective of the study of the formal structure of libraries is to find ways to organize the library in order to achieve maximum administrative eEiciency. The study of the formal structure is guided by the concept of achieving specific objectives at minimum cost. The second theme considers the informal processes in the library. This approach seeks to describe the experiences, attitudes and behavior of individual staff members as they participate in a complex organization. The objective of the study of informal processes and unofficial practices is to find those organizational characteristics or elements which inhibit the achievement of the library’s goals of service. Each of these approaches to the study of libraries as complex organizations complements the other. Each tells much about the organization and management of libraries. Rarely are studies of formal structure and of informal process carried out simultaneously, however, for the approaches are derived from different theoretical frameworks and require different methods of research. The management literature has sought to synthesize the two theoretical perspectives, since each contributes to the understanding of organizational behavior. The literature of librarianship, for the most part, has reflected one or the other theme with little synthesis of perspectives into a single framework.

23 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the last half of the 1800s, many of the large academi9 libraries of today were in fledgling institutions, and often the libraries were run by a part-time faculty member with the aid of a few students who kept the library open and circulated books-activities often lim ited. to a few hours a week.
Abstract: IN THE LAST HALF OF THE 1800s, many of the large academi9 libraries of today were in fledgling institutions, and often the libraries were run by a part-time faculty member with the aid of a few students who kept the library open and circulated books-activities often lim­ ited . to a few hours a week. Book collec­ tions were small and were often housed in a single room. In many libraries no formal classification system was used, and books were placed on the shelves with a fixed location by broad subject groups. ~ According to recent patterns of devel~ opment, libraries, and hence library staffs, were slow to grow. Book ordering, handling of accounts, personnel, and other library functions were often man­ aged by the librarian's office. The small staff that existed was concerned primar­ ily with housekeeping tasks; and because the span of control was so limited, there "' was little need for formal organization. In the early years of American aca­ demic library history, organization ap7 pears often to have been the result of happenstance or a consequence of insti• tutional development rather than a care~ ful analysis of the library's needs. In 1900 no library in the U.S. had a book collection of over 1 million volumes. By 1937 there were thirteen such libraries, ~ and by 1951 there were twenty-eight and only half of these were academic li­ braries.1 In 1975 there were thirty-nine libraries, twenty-six of them academic, Organization is the means by which management channels and directs work flow through operating units; establishes lines of authority, su­ pervision, and controls; and coordi­ nates relationships for the accom­ plishment of the goals for which the library exists.

10 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented a collegial management method to increase the effectiveness of managers' organizational behavior by using descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson correlation and multi variant regression correlation.

6 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Allopathic college library professionals in the survey were more participative than their counterparts in other medical areas, although across the board, professionals seemed motivated for their organizations to succeed and were keen to be involved in the management processes in achieving that.
Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevailing managerial situation in medical college libraries in Orissa, India related to participative management.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on survey research with structured questionnaire.Findings – Allopathic college library professionals in the survey were more participative than their counterparts in other medical areas, although across the board, professionals seemed motivated for their organizations to succeed and were keen to be involved in the management processes in achieving that.Research limitations/implications – The research is limited to one state of the country of India, but may be of interest to researchers in other countries investigating similar issues around participative management.Originality/value – The paper provides a snapshot of a specific regional approach to organizational characteristics.

3 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: "WHY is the cataloging so slow?"
Abstract: \"WHY IS THE cataloging so slow?\" This is a question that has been repeated for many years. In the public library, the few books that stay in the catalog department only a few days are still too slow in reaching a demanding public. In the college library (as elsewhere) many books may remain on the shelves for months awaiting Library of Congress cards. In the research library, where many titles are in foreign languages and where costs are extremely high, speed-except for \"rush\" or \"haste\" titles-is generally nonexistent. Even the rush books take 24 hours. There are no L.C. cards for too many titles. The filing gets behind. . Staff shortages play havoc with schedules. Large and unexpected gifts slow up the process still more. Temporary cataloging has been advocated as a solution for this problem, and is undertaken in the case of some of the more important titles in many libraries. Generally, however, even temporary cataloging shows up in the card catalog only after days or weeks. This is due principally to the fact that permanent classification and shelflisting of the volumes are usually parts of the \"temporary\" process, making it necessary for the cataloger to exami~e the books themselves. This slows up the process. When temporary cataloging is undertaken as rush work it is a nonroutinized activity and therefore unduly expen-

3 citations