Probable Trends in University Libraries

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EXCEPT in those state colleges which in reality are universities in all but name, recent years have witnessed few changes of a fundamental nature in the organization and operation of American college libraries. Material strides have been made in the size and strength of many collections, the scope of many has broadened, a larger proportion of the personnel is professionally competent, and reader accommodations have been considerably improved, but the underlying character of the college library as an institution does not seem to change much from decade to decade. Nor does there seem to be any obvious reason why it should. The colleges are free from most of those problems which advances in scientific discovery and technical achievement, and rapidly changing conceptions of man's relationship to man, social, economic, and political, have imposed upon the universities. The astonishing growth of graduate schools, the pressure upon every university to offer graduate work in ever new fields, and the increasing emphasis upon independent investigation in undergraduate courses, are developments of recent years with which university libraries are vitally concerned. Probably it was natural for university librarians to try to meet these changing conditions by adapting old methods and old conceptions, as well as old buildings, to new necessities. At any rate, that is what most of us did. It has become unhappily evident that that is not good enough: the whole situation needs to be restudied. Fundamental changes are called for, embodying conceptions of library service for universities which differ radically from those formerly held. Such changes ought to be carefully planned. The following remarks are intended to set forth some of the considerations involved, as I see them. Most university libraries and all state university libraries are at present called upon to serve two masters. There is Biblical warrant for the belief that such an attempt is unlikely to succeed, and experience seems to bear out the assumption. T o try to care for the differing and often conflicting needs of hordes of undergraduate students on the one hand, and of graduate students, faculty, and research men on the other, in the same building or buildings, with the same collection of books, and very largely with the same staff, is to attempt the impossible. The answer seems to be separate housing, separate book collections, and separate staffs. The needs of most undergraduate and of practically all lower division students are simple, and can be met rather easily and at no great cost. It will simplify matters to eliminate from the present discussion this large and important but not very complicated element, and to consider only the