The Harvard University Library: A Century of Changes in Administrative Structure

Abstract

This article reviews efforts during the past century to coordinate Harvard's federation of libraries, each of which is administratively responsible to the individual faculty, department of instruction, research institution, office, or other entity on which it depends for funds. A director, with particular responsibilities for coordination, was first appointed in 1910; functions of the position were reexamined in 1978 by a special president's committee, which also reaffirmed the long-standing policy of coordinated decentralization. The university library's personnel policy is one noteworthy achievement in coordination. Another, more recent achievement, is development of a computerized, distributable union catalog of holdings and consolidated record of orders, making resources more accessible and facilitating the coordination of collection building.