A National Plan For Public Library Service Prepared For The Committee On Postwar Planning Of The American Library Association

027.4 ASln (3)

This Volume is for
REFERENCE USE ONLY

PLANNING FOR LIBRA I|'.J.#.$::& jtl'lfcB F.R

A National Plan for
Public Library Service

PLANNING FOR LIBRARIES

1. Post- War Standards for Public Libraries. 1943. $1.50.

2. Data collected for No. 2 has been published in No. 3.

3. National Plan for Public Library Service. 1948. $3.

4. Library Planning. 1944. o.p,

5. School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow, 1945. $1.

6. College and University Libraries and Librarianship. 1946.
|2.50.

In preparation: The Public Library Plans for the Teen Age.
Planning Children's Library Services.

<>e<e>>o<x><c><xx^^

A National Plan for
Public Library Service

Prepared for the Committee
on Postwar Planning of the
American Library Association

by
CARLETON B. JOECKEL

and
AMY WINSLOW

WITH A CHAPTER BY
LOWELL MARTIN

AJVTERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Chicago, 1948

COPYRIGHT 1948 BY THE
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

Manufactured in the United States of America

O<>xJ>><S><><><^<><S><><J><2>xJx&^^

Foreword

THIS book can change the course of the Public Library Move-
ment in North America. In particular, it can hasten the day
when there will be no millions without good local public library
service. But the book will not do it unaided. From here on the
success of this planning effort will rest primarily with the state library
organizations and library extension agencies.

It must be gratifying to the members of the Committee and the
kind of reward they would most desire to learn that even before the
book is published, many states are busy translating the National
Plan into action programs suited to their local needs.

It is a pleasure on behalf of the whole Association to thank the
Committee for its hard work and for its very useful product.

CARL H. MIL AM
Executive Secretary
American Library Association

Postwar Planning Committee

GARLETON B. JOECKEL, Chairman; Professor, School of Librarianship,
University of California, Berkeley, California. Formerly Dean,
Graduate Library School, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

ELIZABETH D. BRIGGS, Director, Work with Children, Public Library,
Cleveland, Ohio.

WILLIAM H. CARLSON, Director of Libraries, Oregon State System of
Higher Education, Corvallis, Oregon. Formerly Associate Librarian,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

MRS. MARY PEACOCK DOUGLAS, Supervisor, City School Libraries, Board
of Education, Raleigh, North Carolina. Formerly School Library
Adviser, State Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, North
Carolina.

JULIA WRIGHT MERRILL, 2301 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. For-
merly Chief, Department of Information and Advisory Services, Amer-
ican Library Association, Chicago, Illinois,

CARL VITZ, Librarian, Public Library, Cincinnati, Ohio. Formerly
Librarian, Public Library, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

AMY WINSLOW, Assistant Librarian, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore,
Maryland. Formerly Librarian, Cuyahoga County Library, Cleveland,
Ohio.

* Consultants

MRS. LOLETA DAWSON FYAN, State Librarian, Lansing, Michigan.

PAUL HOWARD, Director, National Relations Office, American Library
Association, Washington, D. C, Formerly Librarian, Public Library,
Gary, Indiana.

LOWELL MARTIN, Professor, School of Library Service, Columbia Uni-
versity, New York, New York. Formerly Assistant Professor, Graduate
Library School, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

MARTHA B. MERRELL, Martha Merrell, Inc., Racine, Wisconsin. Formerly
Librarian, Public Library, Racine, Wisconsin.

CARL H. MILAM, Executive Secretary, American Library Association.

MARY U. ROTHROCK, Specialist in Library Service, Tennessee Valley
Authority, Knoxville, Tennessee.

RICHARD B. SEALOCK, Librarian, Public Library, Gary, Indiana.

RALPH A. ULVELING, Librarian, Public Library, Detroit, Michigan.

vi

<fr&&$&$><$>$>^^

Preface

WITH the publication of this National Plan for Public Library
Service, the American Library Association's Committee on
Postwar Planning concludes the third and last stage of its proposals
for an over-all postwar program for the American public library. 1
The essential first step was the formulation of a statement of public
library standards. This was completed in 1943, when Post-War
Standards for Public Libraries was published. The second stage
was that of inventory and evaluation of present library service in
terms of the standards. While not separately published, much of
the data collected for this purpose has been summarized in Chapter
II of this report, under the caption, "Taking Stock of the American
Public Library/' The final stage is the plan itself. After much pre-
liminary testing, this is now submitted for the consideration of
librarians, library trustees and public officials, and the interested
American public generally,

In drafting the plan, the authors have been confronted by the
difficult problem of striking a proper balance between realism and
vision. Realism may be claimed for the plan since it proposes nothing
impossible. Its recommendations, in the main, are extensions to the
nation of patterns of organization and service already in effect in
many good libraries. On the other hand, the plan may be character-
ized as visionary because the sweeping changes it recommends in the
American public library system are far in advance of present condi-
tions in many states and local units. This is the usual dilemma of
public institutions generally. They progress unevenly, depending
upon the energy and inspiration of their own personnel, the good will
and financial resources of the governments which support them, and
the public interest they arouse. Nevertheless, plans are needed be-

for special types of services within the public library are under way. See p. ii.

vii

PREFACE
&&&&&&4>^^

cause they document and define the national goals of service.

The plan is presented in three principal parts. It begins by con-
trasting the ideals o dynamic library service, as described in Chapter
I, with present-day realities, as appraised in Chapter II. The core
o the plan is contained in the second part, comprising Chapters III
to VII. These chapters outline a proposed system of public libraries
and integrated library functions designed to provide a high level of
service throughout the nation. Although the plan places primary
responsibility on the local library units, it is national in scope and
suggests in detail the appropriate roles of the state and national
governments in the library economy. The third part, Chapters VIII-
XII, implements the basic scheme by consideration of a number of
related topics: library collections, personnel, buildings, citizen inter-
est, and research projects. Chapter XIII is a brief summary of the
whole plan.

The completion of this planning project has been a fine example of
cooperative effort. From the beginning of its work on public library
standards in 1942, the Committee on Postwar Planning has relied
heavily on advice and suggestions from a group of public librarians,
library extension workers, and other librarians. The formal prepara-
tion of the National Plan began at a group conference held in
Chicago in 1944, at which chapter outlines were prepared in some
detail. Since that time, preliminary drafts of the plan and other
materials have been sent to many librarians for criticism and sug-
gested revisions. The Committee is greatly indebted to the many
individuals who have collaborated in the various stages of its work.

Special thanks are due to the Library Service Division of the
United States Office of Education and to the Public Library Office
of the American Library Association for the opportunity to use
advance copies of compilations of recent public library statistics.

Copies of the first seven chapters of the plan were distributed to
all members of the American Library Association Council in ad-
vance of the Buffalo Conference in June, 1946. On June 21, the
Council approved the document and authorized its completion.

Although the preparation of this report has thus been a cooperative
project, actual responsibility for the authorship of the plan in its
present form must fall upon the individuals named on the title page.

vm

PREFACE

0e<;><i><><c><><^^

The first chapter was written by Dr. Lowell Martin; and Miss Amy
Winslow and the undersigned collaborated in drafting the remaining
chapters.

The soundness of the proposals made in these pages will be tested
by time and experience. The plan is a preliminary sketch rather than
a detailed working drawing of the public library structure of the
future. That structure will be built in many parts, in many places,
by many individuals. The Committee on Postwar Planning presents
its proposals with due recognition of their limitations in the hope
that they may prove useful to all those, librarians and many others,
who are responsible for the development of better public library
service throughout the nation.

CARLETON B. JOECKEL, Chairman
University of California
August, 194*]

IX

<>&&$><s>&$><&$><^^

Contents

I. THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY i

II. TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY 18

III. PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION 33

IV, THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY

DEVELOPMENT 54

V. NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE 68

VI. COORDINATION OF LIBRARY SERVICE 84

VIL PUBLIC LIBRARY FINANCE 95

VIII. BOOKS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS 104

IX, PERSONNEL OF THE POSTWAR PUBLIC LIBRARY 113

X. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING PROGRAM 122

XL THE CITIZEN AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY 130

XIL FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION 135

XIII. ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY PLAN 151

INDEX 161

3>4*3*S><><**<6><>0^^

List of Jables

L POPULATION, NUMBER, AND AREA OF POLITICAL UNITS AND
NUMBER OF TRADE AREAS IN THE UNITED STATES, BY REGIONS 4.4

II. PRINCIPAL TYPES OF LARGE-UNIT LIBRARIES PROPOSED FOR
THE UNITED STATES, BY REGIONS 46

III. NUMBER OF LIBRARY UNITS PROPOSED FOR THE UNITED
STATES, BY REGIONS 5

Xill

<^><:>00<>0<x^

CHAPTER I

The Potential Role of the American
Public Library

LOWELL MARTIN

IN BROAD outline the requisites of the American educational sys-
tem are simple. We need homes and communities which foster
character, personality, and social responsibility. We need schools
which impart the skills of learning, the heritage of knowledge, and
the rudiments of a vocation. We need agencies which provide adults
with the information, ideas, and beauty which are the essentials of a
full life and a responsible citizenry.

This is the system toward which America strives. It is the doctrine
to which our concept of the individual and the state commits us.
And it is the solution on which we depend in the face of an ever
more complex society. If we achieve it, America will have citizens
of understanding, individuals of culture, and persons of economic
competence.

The educational program is weakest at the adult level. The aver-
age adult is well supplied with facts about current events by means
of newspapers and the radio. Interpretation of current events is
provided by the few magazines he reads and the few books he buys.
If he lives in a favored community, he may attend formal classes
and lectures for adults. But for the most part the communication of
information and ideas is haphazard, fragmentary, and biased. We are
an educated people lacking the means for gaining the fruits of educa-
tion in adult life.

The function of the American public library is to mediate between
seekers for knowledge and the recorded materials which contain
and promote knowledge. It is therefore pertinent to examine the
public library as an organ of social democracy and an instrument of

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&$>&$>&&<^^

personal self-realization. Is the institution adequate to its task? Does
it show promise of playing a prominent role in the educational sys-
tem? What must be done to enable it to realize its potentialities?
These questions present themselves not to librarians alone but to the
leaders o the nation and to all persons interested in the American
ideal.

THE AMERICAN LIBRARY IN ACTION

When people obtain and use the materials of information, inter-
pretation, and aesthetic expression suited to their needs and abilities,
lifelong education becomes a reality. But most people cannot afford
to buy the materials they need. Most would not know what to buy
if they could afford them. And many would not have access to a
source of supply even if they had money and knowledge for the
purchase.

The American people have long been conscious of their need for
access to the record of man's accumulated experience, and they have
tried to meet it by various cooperative methods. Even before the
Revolution individuals banded together to form reading circles and
group libraries; wealthy persons early opened their private collec-
tions to townsfolk; and commercial agencies, operated for profit,
tried to meet the need. The public library is the modern solution of
the problem.

The public library gathers the materials of enlightenment needed
by the residents of each local community. It organizes the materials
for effective use. It personally aids users in finding and interpreting
materials.

The unit result is not spectacularmerely an individual, seated
in a library or in his home, absorbing wisdom and beauty from a
book suited to his interests and abilities. But multiplied a million-
fold in every section of the country, the result is significant in the
eternal search for personal fulfillment and a better group life.

The director of training of an industrial concern enters the science
and technology department of a library in a large eastern city; he
consults a technology librarian about his problem of training a group
of men in a new fabricating process; in one hour he leaves with
pamphlets, diagrams, and films that will enrich his instruction. A

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
&<><$><>3><>$>3^^

discharged veteran enters the library building in a California town;
he carries a mimeographed sheet headed "Opportunities in Avia-
tion/' given him by a discharge officer; under the guidance of an
information librarian he is soon settled with authoritative informa-
tion from vocational counseling agencies on opportunities and re-
quirements in aviation and with trade journals from which he can
judge actual trends. An aged couple wait by a gate along a country
lane in the South; a truck with books inside and out drives up, and a
professional librarian steps down; the old people select several books
on gardening, a topic of great importance to them,

A librarian stands before a labor union meeting in a great metropo-
lis; a pile of books and pamphlets is on the table beside him; he
describes materials on labor history, on group leadership, on eco-
nomic theory; when the meeting is over, a dozen men leave with
items that have caught their interest. A librarian begins the second
of her talks before the parent- teacher group in a suburb; the topic is
"What are your children reading?'*; discussion is quick and serious;
books are opened, passed around, evaluated. Thirty neighbors gather
round a large table in the basement of a library in a small town; they
carry library copies of a book they have all read; under the librarian's
direction a spirited discussion of the book begins.

This is not the average American public library in action. This is
the best, and the best is far above the average. But the best has been
achieved in some communities, and it could be achieved in every part
of the country. The first hard truth that confronts an observer of
American public libraries is that they have stopped far short of their
potential. The second truth is that at isolated places, and in partial
fashion, they have performed an educational function that is unique
and significant.

Consider the strategic position of the public library. In thousands
of communities the only public recourse the adult has when he seeks
to know, to understand, to appreciate, is his local free library. It
reaches into more parts and corners of the land than any other insti-
tution for adult education, providing a lane of communication
among men and peoples.

Consider its resources. The public library is founded on the
printed page, the form of communication most suited to individual

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<>><><xO<;>x<^

study, tailor-made to each reader, adjustable to the time and pace
that suit his fancy and ability. It supplements the printed page with
whatever forms of communication films, recordings, speech prove
effective, either as a means of education in their own right or as a
stimulus to use print as a means of education. It is the one agency
that has time and ability to assemble the best from the output of
the printing presses and the film laboratoriesrejecting the inaccu-
rate, the shoddy, the dull, selecting the authoritative, the aesthetic,
the interesting.

Consider its service program. The public library is one of the few
institutions that provide educational service to adults as a central
function rather than as an appendage to other tasks. Schools are
primarily for children, churches for religion, labor unions for eco-
nomic betterment* But the public library is the major agency of
enlightenment for adults. And it is a source of recorded experience
for children as they grow into adulthood. The public library is
one of the few agencies that exist to serve their constituents and not
to advance a cause or sell a product.

Great business houses, governmental bodies, educational institu-
tionsall have their own special libraries. But for the little business-
man, the citizens* reform group, the neighborhood discussion club,
the many associations of modern life, there is only the local library.
Schools have their own teachers. For the individual mature student
there are only the "faculty" of authors in his community library and
the librarian to stimulate and guide their use.

THE ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE LIBRARY SERVICE

A library is a collection of materials suited in content and organiza-
tion to the needs of a reading group. The American public library
is a community agency containing the materials required by local
residents to realize their potentialities as individuals and citizens,
arranged and interpreted to facilitate use.

PROVIDING MATERIALS FOR THE PEOPLE

The impact of a library as a service institution depends in the last
analysis on the scope and quality of its stock in trade. In a sense, the
people have said to the librarian, "We need many materials to help

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<$?Q$>&&&2><>><&$^^

us understand public questions, build our homes and families, engage
in our vocations, enjoy our leisure time. Get them for us/*

The need, whether in Farmville or New York, includes, but ex-
tends beyond, classics and the best current novels. If a library can
supply only these, it will not realize the potentiality of the public
library but will merely duplicate the corner newsstand and the un-
used home library, The need extends to the many aspects of life in
which knowledge is useful. It includes the specialized request of the
hobby enthusiast or the perplexed parent as well as the generalized
request of the citizen at election time. We shall not have an adequate
educational system until every person in the country has access to
the materials for a life of reason.

Books continue to be a prime source of information and inspira-
tion. They still provide the most complete treatment of the problems
that confront man. But a collection of books alone would lack many
important items of reading matter. Ours is as much an age of the
pamphlet and the magazine. Taking advantage of newer media of
communication, ours may also become an age of the educational film
and the sound recording. Such materials are increasing in volume
and significance, they are difficult to select, and some of them are
expensive. Society needs an agency of selection and supply for these
materials. The public library, with its central aim of diffusing knowl-
edge, is the logical candidate for this role,

In planning for library service to America it is useful to note three
levels of required materials, distinguished by scope and quantity
of use.

There are, first, the materials needed in practically every American
community, sources of information on topics of current general inter-
est (national affairs, for example) and the significant books of con-
temporary literature.

A second group is composed of materials not required in every
community but which, when needed at all, are in sufficient demand
locally to justify the purchase of at least one copy by a library serving
ten or twenty thousand people. The "core" material and the "local
interest" material should be accessible to every citizen in his own
neighborhood.

A third group is composed of materials which, while not research

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&$&&$>&$>^^

or scientific in nature, are sufficiently specialized that only one or
relatively few readers may want them. These may be on the special
hobbies or interests which people develop, the personal problems
they face, the unusual vocational interests they follow. Only the
larger libraries can afford such materials; the smaller libraries can
neither afford nor justify their purchase. This is not a serious handi-
cap if local libraries have a "second line of defense/' in the form of
state and region-wide libraries to which they can turn when special
items are needed. The American library system will be incomplete
until materials at this, as well as more popular levels, are available
on a nation-wide basis.

A library is not successfully providing materials for the people
merely because it happens to have a half-dozen cases of books and a
file of pamphlets. It is not successfully providing materials merely
because it has one or a few copies of publications currently in the
limelight. It is successfully providing materials if it has most of the
sources of knowledge and significant books of the day needed locally
for intelligent citizenship and personal fulfillment, a sufficient dupli-
cation of such sources to supply local demands when they are fresh,
and a means for procuring specialized materials when required. The
American public library should be at once an individual local insti-
tution and a part of a nation-wide materials distribution system.

DISTRIBUTING MATERIALS TO THE PEOPLE

The distinguishing characteristic of the American public library is
its emphasis on bringing materials and services close to people.
Branches extend the larger institutions out from business centers to
local neighborhoods. Traveling collections carry books into hos-
pitals, prisons, and welfare agencies. Bookmobiles bring materials
from central libraries out into small towns and rural areas.

The aim of local accessibility poses a basic problem of library
extension. If local accessibility is overemphasized in many minute
and isolated libraries, each is unable, for lack of facilities and per-
sonnel, to play its proper role in the educational scheme. Larger
library units, in which local reading centers give each other mutual
aid and strength, are therefore a means of improving library service.

Contemporary society is served by many institutions and groups,

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<>&&<>3><i>&<><^^

public and private, formal and informal, which tend to integrate
forces working for the collective welfare. A portion of each person's
life is associated with such groupsin his business organization or
labor union, in his art group or hobby club, in his civic association
or church class. Economic groups, whether of business, management,
labor, or consumers, increasingly face problems requiring organized
knowledge. Civic and government organizations, planning or re-
forming or legislating, have the same need. Welfare agencies should
be added to the list, and the cultural groups in which people seek
aesthetic enjoyment. Religious centers, as they embark on social
and educational programs, also have need for library materials.

At the meetings of these many associations potential readers, with
common interests, are gathered conveniently and stimulated to inves-
tigate further. Instead of passively waiting for such people to seek
out the library later, effective service anticipates needs and brings
materials to the group, making them accessible when the stimulus
to read is fresh.

Libraries do not distribute materials successfully merely by setting
up an efficient system of circulation records. They distribute mate-
rials successfully when their facilities are made available to potential
readers in outlets convenient to their daily round of economic and
social life and to potential readers when they gather for purposes of
intellectual or artistic stimulation.

HELPING PEOPLE TO USE MATERIALS

In library service that makes a difference in the life of the com-
munity, the function of supply occupies only a portion of the librar-
ian's skill and attention. Far more time is given to facilitating each
individual's search for enlightenment. Few people have sufficient
knowledge of materials to be able to find, without help, the specific
books or pamphlets or films suited to their needs. The librarian
helps the search by arrangement of materials, analysis of materials,
personal aid, and information service. By these means the librarian
mobilizes his books for action.

GUIDANCE BY PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT.-^ arrangement of mate-
rials the librarian possesses an opportunity and a responsibility which
go far toward determining reading. Users of public libraries depend

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

in great measure on the arrangement of materials and find, or fail to
find, enlightenment according to the librarian's skill in this regard.
Books displayed prominently will be used heavily; placed on an
obscure shelf they will be overlooked. Materials related to other
similar publications will contribute to educational growth; isolated,
their cumulative effect will be lost.

For logical arrangement of materials, libraries use book classifica-
tion schemes and usually group materials by subject fields of knowl-
edge. As need arises, items assigned to separated subject areas are
temporarily regrouped to meet a current interest. Semipermanent
groupings into enduring interest areas home life, civic affairs, voca-
tions, hobbiesmark the library which attempts to reflect its com-
munity in book arrangements.

The criterion of physical arrangement of materials is facilitation of
use. Because the approach to popular educational reading varies as
current interests change (in the shift from war to peace, for ex-
ample) , schemes for the arrangement of materials in libraries should
be flexible and sensitive to shifting interests. This requirement raises
a problem of reader-adjusted organization of recorded knowledge
which few libraries have yet solved.

GUIDANCE BY ANALYSIS OF MATERIALS, By his selection of materials
the librarian identifies from among the vast output of items those
useful to his community. However, any one individual will have
need for only a small portion of the community supply. Readers ex-
perience difficulty in selecting from a large collection the few books
of value to them. An element in effective library service is de-
scription and evaluation of individual items to facilitate personal
selection.

The standard method for accomplishing this is the card catalog.
This tool provides an index to collections by furnishing information
for locating specific items. It supplies in convenient form descriptive
material, primarily bibliographic in nature, about single books. It
analyzes reading materials in terms of the subjects treated. Many
readers find the card catalog a valuable aid for identifying and locat-
ing items.

Other readers, however, find the bibliographic and subject infor-
mation of the catalog inadequate for their purposes. They seek inf or-

8

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY

mation about reading level, quality level, and relation to similar
materials for any potential reading item. They seek information
which will identify publications, separating them not only from quite
different publications in other subject areas but separating each from
similar items of its own group.

Such information is needed for the protection as well as the guid-
ance of users. In selecting materials the librarian must sometimes
choose items which have inaccuracies among otherwise useful con-
tent, which make dull and difficult reading even though rich in
ideas, which duplicate materials already held, which fail to achieve
the highest levels of taste. Librarianship is essentially a process of
evaluation conducted by standards of excellence and need. The de-
tails of evaluation should be passed on to the reader.

The device employed to record information not furnished on
catalog cards is the book annotation. This is most commonly placed
in books or on reading lists. It is occasionally placed on catalog cards,
where it enhances the value of the catalog as a tool for guiding profit-
able reading. Book annotations in libraries often lack the critical
evaluation, identification of individuality, and relation to other mate-
rials, which readers require, In whatever form provided, descriptive
and evaluative annotations of individual items, enabling readers to
make intelligent selections, are an essential element of effective pub-
lic library service.

Librarians group books which are alike in content by means of
subject cataloging, which analyzes each publication. The subject
catalog, the record of this analysis, provides the reader with an inven-
tory of resources more complete and convenient than that furnished
by inspection of books on the shelves. Another technique aimed at
the same purpose is the compilation of reading lists on specific sub-
jects of interest, This device has advantages of flexibility and selectiv-
ity: reading lists can be more readily distributed, they can stress
topics of immediate current interest, and they can select items suit-
able to known readers. The test of such lists is the extent to which
they are directed, in content and distribution, at specific reading
groups.

GUIDANCE BY PERSONAL SERVICE. The variety of reading matter
and the variety of readers are astounding. Both in readers and materi-

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<fr$>&&&&&$>^^

als, variations occur in purpose, interest, reading level, and back-
ground of knowledge. Educational growth by means of reading does
not occur more often in adults because of lack of suitability of book
to person. Many a venture in self-education, conceived in hope and
enthusiasm, falters for lack of such balance.

The task of the consulting or reading librarian is to match the vari-
ations of persons and materials in each reading experience. Whether
in recommending a single reading or a systematic program of study,
this task is one of the most difficult in the whole field of education.
But when it is accomplished, the requisites of profitable communica-
tion are met.

To achieve this purpose, a library must have personnel widely
skilled in mateiials, equally skilled in analyzing education needs, and
readily available to seekers. Such specialists may concentrate on indi-
vidual reading problems as readers' advisers; they may serve groups
as community workers and children's advisers; they may specialize
in content areas as subject librarians; they might work in interest areas
as librarians for citizens, for consumers, for family life, for vocational
interests. But whatever the form, personal guidance by qualified
personnel is necessary if a library is to be an intellectual force. Such
guidance helps to bridge the gap between the seekers and the sources
of knowledge.

Library-sponsored group activities provide a specialized form of
library reading guidance designed to stimulate use of materials. Some
agencies have used book reviews, forums, and film showings with tell-
ing effect. Librarians are leading book discussion groups which an-
alyze publications of the ages or materials of current import. The aim
of these activities is to motivate purposeful reading.

Service to children represents one of the most distinctive guidance
functions of the public library. Children turn to the library for help
in preparing school assignments, for skill in acquiring knowledge
from an organized collection of materials, and for voluntary contact
with literature that satisfies their curiosity and imagination. As
school libraries become more adequate, lesson needs will be served
primarily within the school. But no matter how excellent the school
facilities, both schools and public libraries must continue as partners
in promoting library skill, the one in a setting suited to the school,

10

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<$><i><><>$>$>&&^^

the other in a setting similar to that of adult life. And the children's
room in the public library, with its informality and freedom, will
remain the main center of voluntary contact with literature. Libraries
have developed this portion of their programs to a considerable de-
gree of specialization, with a personnel trained in a special literature,
a special reading psychology, and special guidance techniques.

GUIDANCE BY INFORMATION SERVICE. When libraries advise read-
ers in the selection of materials, they are providing reading guidance
service. When libraries supply facts (rather than the means for ac-
quiring facts) , they are providing information service.

Facts are needed in many aspects of life. A businessman telephones
for the facts about the potential market in another city. A factory
purchasing agent wants facts about sources of a new commodity. A
labor union official needs facts about the cost of living. A mother
wants facts about sources of Vitamin A. A voter requests facts about
candidates for office. A discussion leader wants facts about the veto
powers in the charter of the United Nations. A home-owner needs
facts about waterproofing a basement.

There are many fields in which public libraries serve as clearing
houses, compiling and organizing information not otherwise readily
available. Most obvious are the gathering of historical information
about a region and information about near-by educational oppor-
tunities. This same service might be extended to facts about local
industries and cultural and recreational groups. It has been extended
to consumer and vocational information.

The effective library has the necessary sources of information. It
has personnel which on short notice can extract specific facts from
sources. It anticipates questions of current import and has the answers
ready. In short, the public library serves as the intelligence unit in
the American community.

THE DYNAMICS OF EFFECTIVE LIBRARY SERVICE

The preceding elements alone will not insure effective library
service. A library may possess the ingredients of service suitable ma-
terials, a trained staff, a distribution system and still fail in its high
function. Attributes become accomplishments only under the whip
of purpose. Dynamic library service will come only from leadership

11

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&&$>$><^^

by individuals with a sense of purpose, a sense of the reading process,
and a sense of community identification.

SENSE OF PURPOSE

An Institution which educates has an explicit concept of improve-
ments which it aims to foster in its constituents. No matter how
extensive its facilities, an agency which has not adopted objectives
for removing ignorance, intolerance, and insensibility is not an edu-
cational institution but a supply source for whoever decides to make
demands upon it.

Starting from the innocuous proposition that their purpose is to
serve the people, some libraries find themselves in the position of
providing what the people want which is precisely the function of
any commercial agency. Fearing to lead rather than follow their
constituents, some libraries find themselves in an anomalous position,
disregarded by the very citizens they aspire to serve. Libraries furnish
recreational reading materials, but they are not the prime source for
such materials; they provide educational services, but they are not
the major center of such services; they disseminate information, but
they are not the main source of community intelligence. For lack of
clear-cut objectives some public libraries dissipate rich resources
without appreciable effect.

Yet in practice all public libraries exhibit some sense of purpose.
If libraries based their programs solely on majority demand, they
would be filled with comic books, confession magazines, and sex
stories. They continually reject items which many people read. Un-
fortunately, the sense of purpose thus revealed is often so vague that
neither librarian nor reader can report the function of the public
library in concrete terms, and so all-inclusive that energy and atten-
tion are diffused.

Adoption of explicit purposes by public libraries does not mean
denying accepted traditions, championing strange doctrines, or taking
sides in controversial issues. In a democracy the objectives of educa-
tional institutions are limited by the values which the people adopt.
No community would long endure a school or library which under-
mined accepted notions of the individual and the state.

Adoption of explicit purposes by public libraries does mean a

12

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
&&&&&&<$><^

conscious dedication of resources to specific objectives that can be
translated into action. The aim of changing the indifference and
ignorance of the individual as a voting citizen is neither subversive
nor bureaucratic; neither are the purposes of promoting tolerance
by means of knowledge concerning peoples, of providing complete
vocational guidance information, of promoting appreciation of the
cultural output of the twentieth century, of fostering intelligence in
consumers. The benefits at this moment of seven thousand public
libraries devoting themselves to the dissemination of comprehensive,
unbiased, forceful information about atomic energy, or about world
organization for peace, would be invaluable.

A few public libraries, recognizing the pitfalls inherent in too many
worthy purposes and the ease with which meager funds can be dissi-
pated, favor selected objectives, while de-emphasizing others that may
be equally meritorious. One library, conceiving its main purpose to
be service to formal and informal groups, has achieved the position
of materials center for the civic and cultural associations in its area.
Another has selected the role of being source and stimulus for knowl-
edge in political and social affairs and has promoted a variety of indi-
vidual and group activities to this end. Still another emphasizes the
task of rebuilding a degenerating neighborhood. Some agencies
. have taken a few steps toward limiting goals by dedicating themselves
exclusively to supplying "significant" publications.

No one of these institutions has the one correct public library
program. But each, having concentrated its energies, has enhanced
its influence. Its role has become evident, and its disappearance
would cripple one phase of local life. The smaller the library, and
most American public libraries are small, the greater the necessity
for selecting a limited number of objectives for emphasis.

The central problem of dynamic library service is leadership by
means of conscious objectives. The public library will assume its
rightful place in the educational system when its service is unified
and concentrated under the banner of purpose. Only then can its
limited light be so conserved that some men may see, and only thus
will it eventually have enough light to help all men. Any less incisive
program courts social ineffectiveness, public indifference and finan-
cial starvation,

13

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
4>&^&&$&^^

SENSE OF THE READING PROCESS

Libraries achieve their purposes by means of effective communica-
tion, usually in the process o reading. Understanding of the reading
process is, therefore, to the librarian what understanding of the fabri-
cating process is to the manufacturer, of the consuming process to the
distributor, and the learning process to the teacher. Techniques in
librarianship, like techniques in any endeavor, can be performed
rationally only in relation to the total process of which they are a
part. Without reading insight, book selection in libraries becomes
personal caprice, cataloging becomes stereotyped routine, reading aid
becomes false pretension-and claims as an agency of enlightenment
become questionable.

Understanding of reading starts with knowledge of the content of
printed material. It takes shape with knowledge of readers. It grows
with knowledge of how printed materials are used. And it will reach
maturity when the effects of reading are known.

Understanding of reading is the dynamic quality lacking in many
static libraries. Librarians must know content and readers thor-
oughly. They must think of motives for reading, favorable conditions
for reading, handicaps of reading, and results of reading. They must
put themselves in the position of the reader.

In gaining reading insight, librarians face many obstacles. The
range of content to be known is exceeded only by the range of readers
to be served. The scarcity of reliable information about how mate-
rials are used is exceeded only by the scarcity of reliable information
about the effects of reading. But the difficulty in acquiring reading
wisdom should no more deter the librarian than the complexity of
organic disease stops the physician or the complexity of developing
intellectual traits halts the teacher. It is the importance and com-
plexity of these factors which make librarianship a profession.

The librarian should be the community's communication expert.
His skills in cataloging, selection, bibliography, and interpreting are
incidental to this, dependent upon it, and animated by it. He must
see ever in his mind's eye the process by which the people in his
constituency utilize the record of man's knowledge. Improvement
in the profession of librarianship in the years ahead will proceed
mainly from greater understanding of the communication of ideas.

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<>&i>&i><><t><> < ^^

SENSE OF COMMUNITY LIFE

The American public library seeks to be a community institution.
This distinguishes it from other libraries, in this country and abroad.
Rather than serving a special interest or a special purpose group, it
serves the people living in a circumscribed geographic area. This
characteristic places on the librarian the responsibility of achieving
group insight, even as he must achieve individual insight.

Community is an element of group life, like family or church. It
provides personal values, human associations, and common modes of
action. Where people in a neighborhood share interests and prob-
lems, social organization is stable and social consciousness rife. The
twentieth-century American community must be understood as a way
of life which attempts to preserve group values in the face of disin-
tegration resulting from population mobility, faster methods of
transportation, and a wider range of personal contacts.

A library does not become a community institution by virtue of
knowing and serving some individuals who happen to live in its
vicinity. Its knowledge of locality is not complete if it has merely
analyzed census figures and sent staff members to talk to a few
prominent residents. It gains community identification when it en-
ters into that life beyond the individual and family sphere that most
people have. This is accomplished by sensitivity to the common aims
of community residents, sympathy with opposing factions in the
neighborhood, and consciousness of threats to local stability. It is
aided by a community survey which penetrates beyond physical and
statistical characteristics to the joint aspirations, the common mem-
ories, the many organizations, and the individual leaders which give
the area identity. One test of the effectiveness of a community library
is the extent to which not only the individual but the group life of
the area can be grasped by watching the library in action.

Some libraries possess not only the ingredients but also the sense
of purpose necessary for an agency of enlightenment, yet they are
outside the stream of local life, correct, aloof, and deserted. Their
programs are not vital, because they are not animated by the social
stimulus that is so strong in all human life. Their programs are not
sound because they get substantial materials only to literary and edu-
cated folk and not to the plain folk in the area. Their programs are

15

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&fr$>&$>&$>^^

not dynamic because they are founded upon precepts of library ex-
cellence rather than realities of local existence. They are libraries,
but not community institutions.

Community characteristics do not prescribe library purposes. Li-
brary leadership is still needed to sharpen aims and concentrate
energy. But community characteristics set limits outside of which
objectives should not go; they aid in selecting the most feasible or
most important objectives; and they suggest schemes to be employed
in achieving objectives. In short, together a sense of purpose and a
sense of community make possible that uniqueness which must
vitalize every effective public library.

CONCLUSION

The objectives of the public library are many and various. But in
essence they are two to promote enlightened citizenship and to en-
rich personal life. They have to do with the twin pillars of the
American way, the democratic process of group life, and the sanctity
and dignity of the individual person.

The public library serves these objectives by the diffusion of infor-
mation and ideas. By selecting and organizing materials, it makes an
educational instrument out of a welter of records. By providing a
staff able to interpret materials, it eliminates the gaps between the
seeker and the sources of enlightenment. When animated by a sense
of purpose, reading skill, and community identification, the public
library constitutes an important and unique service agency for the
citizen. Lacking these attributes, it is a passive badge of culture toler-
ated by an indifferent populace.

Is the public library a rising or a falling star is its glory in the past
or the future? The answer depends on the extent to which it achieves
its purpose of mediating between seekers for information and ideas
and the materials containing information and ideas. If it achieves
this purpose it will be an indispensable institution in American life.
If it fails it will be superseded by an agency or method which does
achieve it.

The public library is potentially an essential unit in the American
educational system. In isolated instances it has played a crucial role
in the life of the community. In many instances it has in its day-to-

16

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
ex><><tx^<><^^

day performance quietly aided the search for understanding. It comes
closer than any other institution to being the capstone of our educa-
tional system.

An adequate, purposeful library should be brought into the life of
every American. This is the aim of a national plan for public library
service.

<&&&&&&$>&S<><$>&&3><^^

CHAPTER II

Taking Stock of the American
Public Library

Af ITS best, the American public library is an institution of
social power and importance. The introductory chapter has
afforded a glimpse of the kind of library service to which a resident
of the United States is entitled, and which in favored localities he
has come to expect as a matter of course. The best libraries have
demonstrated that, with adequate financing and alert, informed
citizen support, service of high quality is entirely possible. In its
good public libraries the United States has made an outstanding
contribution to democracy, one which has attracted the attention of
visitors from all over the world.

But the libraries which measure up to such standards are rela-
tively few in number. Taken as a whole, library service in the
United States falls far below the standards set by the best libraries
for three major reasons: First, one fourth of the American people
live in places in which there are no public libraries. Second, there
are far too many administrative units; the typical unit is too small
in area and too weak in economic ability to provide effective library
service. And third, the average level of library support is so low that
service in a large proportion of American libraries can be no better
than mediocre.

The purpose of this chapter is to appraise briefly and frankly
present-day library service in the United States. The evaluation is
largely quantitative and is made in terms of good library practice as
defined by the American Library Association in its Post-War Stand-
ards for Public Libraries. Many of the data on which conclusions
are based were obtained from some 400 public libraries in cities and
counties of over 25,000 population which reported to the American
Library Association in 1943. As a group, these measuring-stick li-

18

TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<><><><>$><><><><><^^

braries are considerably above the American average. Thus this
report seems more than fair as a representation of public library
service in general.

In essence, this appraisal enumerates seven plain and simple facts
about the American public library system as a whole. These facts
are widely known, but even librarians are prone to forget them be-
cause of the many outstanding, above-average libraries on which
attention is often concentrated. The general situation must be
clearly understood before a national plan for the improvement of
library service can be formulated.

THIRTY-FIVE MILLION PEOPLE HAVE No PUBLIC LIBRARIES

The social significance and effectiveness of the public library
must be measured by the extent to which it reaches the people. To-
day 27 per cent of the American people over 35 million still live
in governmental units which do not maintain public libraries. Since
1925, this figure has been reduced by about 10 million, but several
states report little or no reduction in the last two decades in the
number of people without public libraries. A break-down by states
shows that only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia are pro-
viding library service for 100 per cent of their populations, although
several other states are very close to the 100 per cent mark. At the
other extreme stands North Dakota with only 28 per cent of its
people served by public libraries. In nine states, library service is
provided for less than half the population.

Most of the people without libraries, 91 per cent, live in small
villages or the open country. Over half the rural population is with-
out public library service. Of the 3,050 counties in the United
States, 661 many of them entirely ruralhave no public library of
any sort within their boundaries. Three fourths of these are in
the South. 1

Among the Negroes of the thirteen Southern states the situation
is even more serious. Library service is available to only 25.2 per
cent of the total Negro population in these states, as compared with
564 per cent of their total population. Moreover, service is avail-

^American Library Association, Equal Chance Supplement (Chicago: American Library
Association, 1947). Revision (using 1945-1946 figures) of tables pp. 26-31 in 1943 ed.

19

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&$>$>&$>$><&$>$>^^

able to only 7.7 per cent of the Negroes living in rural areas. Even
among urban Negroes only 59 per cent have library facilities. 2

Reasons for this general situation may seem obvious: inadequate
economic ability, lack of full educational opportunity, difficulty of
supporting adequate library service in rural areas, and greatly dis-
persed population in many parts of the country. However, less
tangible factors are perhaps just as potent. Persons who have been
ivithout library service and are little aware of its manifold facilities
'are not likely to demand it. This is as true of governing authorities
as of the people at large. The question may therefore be raised
whether state library leadership has not been to a certain extent
at fault. Though there is a high statistical correlation between per
capita income in the various states and per capita library expendi-
tures, 3 there are sufficient striking exceptions to suggest that in some
states the will to good library service has been lacking. Is the low
level of library development in part due to failure of library leaders
to convince the people of the desirability of libraries?

Incomplete coverage is, therefore, the great immediate library
problem. Total absence of library service for one fourth of the
population is serious. If availability of information, of the records
of social experience, is necessary in a democracy, the lack of libraries
is also dangerous.

MOST LIBRARY UNITS ARE Too SMALL

A second basic fact about the American public library system is
that most of the administrative units are too small both in popula-
tion served and in income. Public library income, moreover, should
meet two different standards: the standard for total income, and
the standard for per capita income. Neither standard taken alone is
adequate. The Committee on Postwar Planning of the American
Library Association has fixed these two standards at a minimum of
$37,500 for total income for any library unit and a per capita in-
come of $1.50 for minimum , service. Both these amounts are in-

2 E. A. Gleason, The Southern Negro and the Public Library (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1941); Atlanta University. School of Library Service, Libraries, Librar-
ians, and the Negro (Atlanta: 1944), p. 17.

8 L. R. Wilson, The Geography of Reading (Chicago: American Library Association
and University of Chicago Press, 1938), pp. 356-63,

20

0<*b<X><><><c><><^^

creases over previous recommendations of the Committee, 4 but they
represent only the easily demonstrable differences between prewar
and postwar operating costs.

O the 7,500 American public libraries, relatively few meet these
standards. A recent compilation of public library statistics for the
fiscal year 1945 by the United States Office of Education shows that,
out of 355 cities with populations of 25,000 or more reporting, 189
had annual library incomes of $37,500 or more. The total popula-
tion of these 189 cities in 1940 was approximately 45 million. But
only 19 of these cities, with a total population of 3 million, met the
income standard of $1.50 per capita. 5 The remaining 7,000 or more
public libraries, with comparatively few exceptions, were below the
137,500 standard and, generally, much below the $1.50 per capita
standard. For all public libraries, the complete statistics compiled
by the American Library Association for the fiscal year 1946 show
average annual expenditures of $0.72 per capita for the total popu-
lation actually residing in library service areas. 6

As of 1945, then, the general pattern of public library service
areas may be roughly summarized as follows:

1. Approximately 50 million people are served by municipal and
county libraries with annual incomes of 137,500 or more. Only a
small proportion of the libraries which make up this group, how-
ever, have annual incomes of $1.50 or more per capita.

2. About 50 million people are served by public libraries with
incomes of less than 137,500. Some of the approximately 7,000 pub-
lic libraries in this group are good libraries in terms of per capita
income and records of use, but, in general, the income of the li-
braries in the group is too small for fully effective service. 7

3. Approximately 35 million people live in areas without any
public libraries.

* Previous recommendations were $25,000 for total income and fi.oo per capita for
minimum service. See American Library Association. Committee on Post- War Planning,
Post-War Standards for Public Libraries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1945),
pp. 55-56.

s U. S. Office of Education, Statistics of Public Library Systems in Cities of 25,000 or
more Population, 1944-45 (Statistical Circulars). Complete statistics in Bulletin 1947,
No. 12.

6 American Library Association, Equal Chance Supplement, op, tit.

7 These statistics must be taken as approximations only. They are based on the
sources previously cited in footnotes 5 and 6,

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&fr$>&>^^

One of the great tasks of library planning, as these figures show,
is the organization of a structure of public library units large enough
and financially strong enough to provide effective service. The es-
sential features of such a plan are presented in Chapter III.

This problem of small and effective library units has been solved
only in part by the organization of county and regional libraries.
A body of experience accumulated through the last quarter of a
century demonstrates that a union of small units into a county or
regional library provides the most economical and efficient method
of supplying books and library service to all the people. But there
are 3,050 counties in the United States, and in 1946 only 804 of these
had the advantage of county or regional library service. 8 Obviously,
continued progress in the creation of larger units of library service
is urgently needed.

MANY STATE LIBRARY AGENCIES ARE INADEQUATE
In varying degrees the states have recognized some responsibility
for equalization and improvement of library service. All but one
have established units of the state government which are charged
with bettering the condition of libraries. However, many of these
agencies are so poorly financed that both personnel and performance
are weak, and the agencies are incapable of exerting a forceful influ-
ence throughout their states. The situation is improving; many
states have recently increased appropriations for their library agen-
cies and state grants-in-aid to libraries have grown largely in recent
years. But the quality of achievement of state library agencies still
ranges from very good to very poor. The majority continue to lack
adequate support. Ineffective personnel is due to a large extent to
poor financing, but in a few instances to appointments dictated by
political considerations rather than by professional qualifications.
In many instances, the record of the state governments in advancing
library service has been disappointing.

LIBRARY SERVICE, IN GENERAL, Is MEDIOCRE
Public library service, it has been shown, is available to three
fourths of the American people. But it is a safe generalization that

8 American Library Association. Public Library Office, "County and Regional Librar-
ies/' June, 1946. Mimeographed.

TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
4?&$>$><i><>$>&^^

more than half the available service is inadequate and substandard
in quality and quantity.

True, the over-all picture is impressive. Library collections to-
talled 131 million volumes in 1946, or 14 volumes per capita for
the population served by libraries. 9 And circulation for home use
in the same year reached 356 million volumes, or 3.7 per capita for
persons residing in library areas. 10 But mass statistics are sometimes
misleading, and closer qualitative analysis is necessary.

The quality of an institution's service is difficult to evaluate with-
out an understanding of the goals which are sought. Yet many li-
braries have given little consideration to the basic objectives of
service, and few have defined their goals in comprehensive state-
ments. Many have failed to recognize that their objectives must be
largely determined by the character of the community served. Insti-
tutions which fail to model themselves according to the needs of
their constituencies frequently lack the vitality which makes them
essential. Comparatively few libraries precede any definition of
their objectives by careful community surveys or by studies of
community reading interests.

Book collections, likewise, frequently are not pointed at the im-
portant needs of communities served. The library may perform its
function as a recreational agency with a fair degree of success, but
numerous surveys of the book collections in small libraries show
their weakness in fields of vital social concern. The provision of
technical and business books fitted to community activities is often
lamentably inadequate. Far too little attempt is made to maintain
up-to-date collections. Outmoded materials fill shelf space which is
needed for important recent books and for replacement of worn-out
or discarded materials. There is little experimentation with arrange-
ment of materials designed to attract important population groups.
Formal, standardized arrangement, with little regard for basic inter-
ests or reading abilities, frequently defeats the purpose of an excel-
lent book collection.

The statistics show that a great majority of the public libraries fail
to meet American Library Association standards, either in total

American Library Association, Equal Chance Supplement, op. cit,
Ibid.

23

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<>C*<c><>><K>0<^^

book holdings or in annual additions to their collections. Of 459
libraries in cities of over 25,000 population reporting to the Amer-
ican Library Association for 1942, book collections in 388, or 84.5
per cent, fell below the minimum recommended by Post-War Stand-
ards for Public Libraries. In the number of new books purchased
each year, 94 per cent of the libraries reporting failed to measure
up to minimum standards.

Data concerning the provision of nonbook materials, such as
pamphlets, documents, maps, and more especially audio-visual aids
to learning, are for the most part lacking, but professional literature
and observation testify to inadequate provision of materials in these
fields. Libraries have struggled with mass handling of pamphlets
and documents for many years, but few have yet learned to make
effective use of them or to welcome them as the invaluable aids they
are. Experimentation with audio-visual materials as supplements to
books, or even as substitutes for them, is comparatively new among
libraries, and relatively few are as yet equipped to serve in a field
which will undoubtedly see phenomenal postwar growth.

Two generalizations are warranted by analysis of the available
statistics of registered borrowers and home circulation of books in
American public libraries. First, the average library reaches the
children of its community much more fully than it reaches the
adults. Among the libraries reporting to the American Library
Association in 1943, the median per cent of children between the
ages of 5 and 14 registered as library borrowers was approximately
50. The comparable figure for "adults" (persons 15 years of age
and more) was only 23 per cent. Differences in median per capita
circulation figures for children and adults are even more marked:
approximately 9 volumes per capita for children and 3 volumes per
capita for "adults/*

Regrettably, statistics for registration and circulation of legal
adults (persons 2 1 years of age and over) are not generally available.
Since it has been well established that young people in the 15-20
age group are generally active library users, it is obvious that statis-
tics of library use by actual adults must be materially lower than
those cited above. In one large American city a careful check of
registration of persons 21 years of age and over showed that only

24

TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<<<>0<><c>0O<x-^^

6 per cent were registered as library borrowers. 11 Clearly, library
use by adults in many cities is disappointingly low.

A second generalization regarding library service is that the use
of public libraries, measured by the number of registered borrowers
and the number of books borrowed, fails in a large proportion of
cases to meet American Library Association standards. These stand-
ards of use are expressed in rather wide ranges in order to account
for correspondingly wide variations from city to city in educational
levels and other population factors. 12 More than half of the 429
test libraries reported a circulation of less than 3 volumes per capita
for persons 15 years of age and over and less than 10 volumes per
capita for childrenthe low points in the circulation ranges sug-
gested by the Association. On the other hand, only a very few
libraries exceeded the high points in the Association ranges. In
registration statistics, the showing was somewhat better, especially
in the registration of children, but the median figures were also low.
As always in the American library scene, a few outstanding public
libraries can and do meet the highest standards of use, but the rec-
ord of the great mass of libraries is generally mediocre.

The use of libraries for information and research purposes is dif-
ficult to measure either in quality or quantity. Regardless of many
attempts to devise successful methods of evaluation, there are as yet
few reliable data on which to base conclusions. However, in the
light of observation and of such figures as are available, it may safely
be said that information service is generally below satisfactory levels.
Use of a great many libraries for fact-finding and research purposes
is handicapped both by lack of necessary materials and by personnel
with insufficient educational background.

31 C, B. Joeckel and Leon Carnovsky, A Metropolitan Library in Action: A Survey of
the Chicago Public Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1940), p. 367.

^ Standards for registration:

For adult borrowers: 20 to 40 per cent of the population 15 years of age and over.
For juvenile borrowers: 35 to 75 per cent of the population from 5 through 14 years
of age.

Standards for circulation:

For adult books: 3 to 10 volumes per capita for the population 15 years of age and
over. For children's books: 10 to 30 volumes per capita for the population from 5
through 14 years of age.

American Library Association, Committee on Post- War Planning, Post-War Standards
for Public Libraries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1943), pp. 29-30.

25

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&fr&$>Q<><>^^

PERSONNEL DEFICIENCIES ARE SERIOUS

Notwithstanding notable exceptions, then, the average American
public library supplies only the barest essentials in the printed mate-
rials, and the majority of its potential constituency is untouched by
its influence at least, by direct contact. To what extent is this
situation due to the personnel with which libraries are manned?

The facts reported in this section are based in part on recent
surveys of library personnel in specific localities and in part on re-
turns for the year 1942 from nearly 7,000 professional librarians in
public libraries in the United Statesapproximately half of the pro-
fessional librarians in all public libraries. The available data thus
permit valid conclusions concerning the caliber of American librari-
anship today.

Although public librarians hold positions of great potential lead-
ership, it is apparent that governing authorities of public libraries
have felt much less responsibility for appointing personnel of high
qualifications than has been the case in college and university li-
braries. General and professional education are not the only require-
ments for good librarianship, but in the sample studied in 1942,
38.6 per cent of the librarians holding professional positions were
without college or university degrees. The question naturally arises
whether the preparation of librarians to assume community leader-
ship is on a par with that of other professions. Less than half (43.8
per cent) had the minimum educational requirements for profes-
sional positions a college or university degree including at least
one full year of training in a library school. Only 3 per cent of the
librarians held advanced professional degrees, representing two or
more years of library school education.

Further observations, though not substantiated by statistical evi-
dence, show conclusively that many librarians qualified in academic
requirements are poorly prepared in fields related to librarianship,
such as the social sciences, education, psychology and, to be more
specific, reading and learning processes, understanding of special
groups (e.g., youth and labor), and public relations, and are thus ill
equipped to assume positions of community leadership. Serious
weakness in administration at top and middle levels is also apparent
in many libraries. The demand for persons with special qualifica-

26

TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
<X^<>O><><><x^^

tions in such subjects as science, technology, religion, business, and
economics always exceeds the supply. It scarcely needs to be said
that the high quality of service attained in many libraries attests to
numerous outstanding exceptions to the above statements. These
exceptions, however, further emphasize the general needs. The fact
that the profession is aware of the situation and that efforts are being
made to raise the quality of library personnel should not be over-
looked. The present average, nevertheless, is not encouraging for
the immediate postwar period.

One field of effort to raise the standards of librarianship calls for
special mention. The profession has long been concerned that the
state itself should assume as great responsibility for the quality of
librarians as it has done for teachers. However, efforts to legalize
certification of all public librarians have as yet succeeded in only
seventeen of the states, with provisions for the certification of county
librarians in six others.

Failure of administrators to differentiate clearly between profes-
sional and clerical duties has often greatly handicapped librarians
of excellent quality and acceptable preparation in making maxi-
mum contributions. Job specifications are frequently lacking, and
persons of high caliber are not attracted to a profession in which
clerical routines, even to the casual observer, bulk so large. This
generalization may be expressed in figures by noting that in nearly
70 per cent of the public libraries in cities of 25,000 or over report-
ing for the fiscal year 1945 to the United States Office of Education,
the number of professional staff members exceeded the number of
nonprofessionals. As might be expected, this tendency is least
marked in the larger libraries in cities of 100,000 or over, in which
the number of professionals is 52 per cent of the library staff, as com-
pared with 63 per cent in cities of 25,000-50,000 population. 13
Routine processes are obviously necessary to a high degree in opera-
tions involving mass handling of books, but libraries have been in-
excusably slow in making such analyses and allocations of duties
as would permit professional employees to devote maximum atten-
tion to advancement of major objectives.

33 These statistics include all "library staff" positions, except building staff, measured
in "full-time equivalents.'* U. S, Office of Education, op. cit.

37

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
G>$><!>4><<>&$>^^

Basic to this entire discussion of the inadequacies of personnel
and personnel administration is the fact that low salary levels have
thus far been well-nigh insurmountable obstacles to betterment.
Failure to attract recruits of leadership caliber, insufficient staff to
permit satisfactory differentiation of duties, paucity of genuine
scholarship in the profession, may all be traced in large part to this
financial aspect. Harold J. Laski, writing of English libraries, spoke
with equal truth of conditions in the United States when he said:
"The conditions of work have rarely been sufficiently attractive to
win for the service men and women who think of it as a normal and
natural alternative to medicine or engineering or architecture." 14

During the war and postwar periods, salaries have increased mate-
rially in many libraries. Many large libraries have adopted higher
salary schedules, and salaries in medium-sized and small libraries
have been considerably increased. Generally speaking, however,
public library salaries are still low, especially for senior staff mem-
bers of administrative rank. In achieving the present status of li-
brarianship as a profession, financial reward has not been a major
incentive. If librarianship is to obtain its fair share of qualified
recruits, however, library salaries must be made more attractive.

MANY LIBRARY BUILDINGS ARE OUTMODED AND OUTGROWN

The excellent quality of library service envisaged in Chapter I
obviously calls for housing of superior type, for buildings designed
through simplicity, harmony, accessibility, comfort, and friendliness
to invite use by all members of a community. Recent examples of
library architecture found, for instance, in Rochester, Toledo, Bal-
timore, and Fort Worth, have demonstrated that these objectives
can be achieved and that modern trends in design are eminently
suited to library purposes. The patron of the average public library,
however, need not be called in as a witness to the prevailing situa-
tionhe has protested against poor lighting, long flights of steps,
lack of checkrooms and parking space, dinginess, overcrowding, bad
ventilation, and tomblike atmosphere. His complaints are not un-
justified.

H. J. Laski, "The Library in the Post-War World/* Library Journal, LXX (May i,
83-85-

s>8

TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY
3><><><><><>3 > <^$*^^

Normal building programs have been delayed because of the war,
with the result that library building is seriously in arrears. The
existing acute library building shortage is fully documented by re-
ports received in 1943 from more than 400 libraries serving cities or
counties of over 25,000 population, three fifths of all public librar-
ies of this size in the country. Nearly 60 per cent of the main
library buildings for which data are available were erected before
1915. The best authorities estimate that even a well-planned library
building will outgrow its original capacity in twenty years. Build-
ings erected thirty years ago are usually conventional and unimag-
inative in plan and design, and many were long ago outgrown. Most
of them are now ill adapted to the enlarged and changing concep-
tion of the public library, and few have installed modern lighting
and ventilation systems (a failure which is more of a deterrent to
use than is commonly realized). New central library buildings are
needed by one third of the 400 reporting libraries. Another third
report the need of major additions. Only one third of the libraries
believe their present central buildings are adequate.

A serious lag also exists in branch library building. Many new
branches are needed; many old ones are now poorly situated because
of population shifts and growth; much experimentation with
branches in community centers is in order. Reports from libraries
indicate that 592 new branch library buildings are needed in the
immediate postwar period, and many existing buildings require
additions or remodeling.

In short, reconversion of the physical plant of the public library
to postwar needs is in itself a major problem. The present plant is
barely 50 per cent adequate for existing library services. And for the
hoped-for extension of library service to the 35 million people now
entirely without public libraries, a great new building program
must be undertaken.

LIBRARY INCOME Is INSUFFICIENT AND UNEQUALLY DISTRIBUTED

At the root of the various deficiencies in public library service
described in this chapter, of course, is a correspondingly serious
deficiency in public library revenues. Without adequate support
good library service cannot be expected. As a basis for a national

29

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

library plan, it is important to note four points regarding the finan-
cial position of the public library system.

1. Total national public library income is now less than one
third of the amount required to provide minimum service. The
national average library income in 1946, the latest year for which
total statistics are available, was $0.52 per capita. 15 This figure may
be compared with the standards fixed by the Committee on Postwar
Planning of the American Library Association: $1.50 per capita for
"minimum" service, $2.25 per capita for "good" service, and $3.00
per capita for "superior" service. Obviously, the average amounts
now expended for public libraries must be trebled to attain even
the standard for minimum service.

2. Very great inequalities among the states in per capita expendi-
tures for public libraries are a dominant characteristic of American
library development. In 1946 the extreme range in expenditures
was from $1.34 per capita in the District of Columbia, $1.21 in Mas-
sachusetts, and $1.17 in California to $0.03 in Mississippi. In 28
states, expenditures were less than $0.50 per capita. In 2 states and
the District of Columbia expenditures exceeded $1.00 per capita,
but these states were balanced at the other extreme by 13 states in
which expenditures were less than $0.20 per capita. 16 In the main,
these inequalities follow the well-known pattern of differences in
income between North and South, with library expenditures closely
correlated with per capita income in the various states. But marked
differences are also found between states in the same geographic
regions. Some degree of national equalization of these great differ-
ences between the states in library support must be a major concern
of library planning.

3. Serious inequalities in library expenditures are also found
within each of the states. In some states, expenditure averages are
materially increased by high expenditures in outstanding public
libraries such as Cleveland and Boston. In other states are found
groups of favored libraries with high incomes in well-to-do suburban
cities. The work of these fortunate libraries is widely and favor-
ably known and is often described in the library press. But, re-

15 American Library Association, Equal Chance Supplement, op. cit,
"Ibid.

3

TAKING STOCK OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY

<Xc>>0<>0<cXt>3><><^^

grettably, these above-average libraries are balanced in all the states
by numbers of below-average libraries with very low per capita
expenditures. In Illinois, for example, annual income from library
taxes in 1945 ranged from a high of $2.63 per capita to a low of
$0.15 per capita. 17 And generally throughout the country, library
service to the rural population is materially below, in quantity and
quality, that provided for the cities. It is evident that the library
plan must also provide for the equalization of these intrastate dif-
ferences in library income.

4. As shown earlier in the chapter, very large proportions of the
American public are served by libraries which are weak in total
income or in income per capita. Many are weak in both. The ex-
treme financial weakness of a large part of the American public
library structure is a basic fact in any consideration of library
planning.

SUMMARY

The foregoing appraisal of the American public library today
warrants the conclusion that the United States has "the best library
service in the world and almost the worst." The facts presented in
this chapter regarding library service may be briefly summarized
under three heads: availability, finance, and performance.

The availability of public library service to the American people
is best visualized by the definition of three great population groups
with respect to die distribution of library resources. First, about 50
million Americans are served by public libraries with annual in-
comes of 137,500 or more. Many of these libraries are outstanding.
Almost all are potentially good service agencies, although only a
small number have incomes of $1.50 per capita or more. A second
great block of approximately 50 million people is served by about
7,000 public libraries with annual incomes of less than $37,500. A
third great block of 35 million people has no public libraries what-
ever. Out of this confused and unequal pattern of distribution of
library resources, a satisfactory system of library service units must
somehow be fashioned.

Financial support of American public libraries, in general, is

^"Statistics of the Libraries o Illinois, 1945," Illinois Libraries, XXVII (September,
1945)* 356-8i.

3 1

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

&&&&&b$>$>$^

greatly below standard. Average annual income for all libraries in
the nation is only $0.52 per capita about one third of the amount
required for minimum service, as defined by the American Library
Association's Committee on Postwar Planning. Only a small pro-
portion of libraries have really adequate incomes, and the revenues
available for one fourth of the people in library service areas are
little more than nominal.

The performance of a large proportion of American public li-
braries, in terms of service rendered, books circulated, and informa-
tion questions answered, shows that libraries are reaching only a
small part of their potential users. Much of the professional per-
sonnel is deficient in basic educational qualifications and in ad-
vanced and specialized training. Buildings are not more than 50
per cent adequate for the books to be housed and the work to be done.

The standards of service used in this appraisal are not visionary,
but are based on exceptions to the general norm now found in a few
communities where the library is contributing to many phases of
public life. To such libraries the citizen turns for assistance as
naturally as to the public service departments of his city government.
Measures by which the same high level of achievement may become
nation-wide will be the concern of the following chapters. Remedies
must be sought in a national plan of library organization, imple-
mented by adequate financial support and by highly qualified
personnel.

<&&&&&$><&^^

CHAPTER III

Patterns of Local Organization

success of any plan for American public library service de-
JL pends upon a sound foundation structure of local library units.
Important and necessary as is the place of the state in the extension
of library service, local government will continue to play a major
role in library development. Local libraries are the first line of serv-
ice to the people. They must be strong.

The impetus for the establishment of public libraries has generally
come from the people themselves, from citizen groups operating on
the local level. Under the provisions of state law or municipal charter
the local authority has established the library, when authorized either
by popular vote or by its own direct action. It has provided for main-
tenance of the library by annual appropriations or by special tax
levy, inadequate though support may have been. These factors of
local interest and responsibility are part and parcel of the American
pattern. The value of local initiative has been paramount, and re-
gardless of the forms of future development this great asset must be
retained.

LARGER UNITS OF LIBRARY SERVICE

The time is ripe in many states for a thorough overhauling of the
structure of local library organization. The prevailing small-unit pat-
tern, which has produced the huge total of 7,500 separate public
libraries, must give way to a system of large and efficient adminis-
trative units, just as the small school district is rapidly giving way to
the consolidated district.

NEED FOR LARGER LIBRARY UNITS. Social changes have come rap-
idly to this generation, and authorities in all departments of govern-
ment are faced with problems to which larger units of service provide
the only solution. The metropolitan area presents some of the most

33

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<E*c><^c><c><><^^

complex and difficult problems. But, with the advent of automobiles,
good roads, and shrinking distances, the jurisdictional and service
aspects o government have been greatly affected in areas of all kinds.
The relationship of the city to the adjacent territory is a factor in
such functions as health, police, sanitation, recreation, and, not least
of all, in equalization of library service. Boundary lines are artificial
and meaningless in these fields of administration. Great variations in
economic ability within metropolitan areas further complicate the
problem of distribution of these basic public services. Likewise, the
relationship of cities, towns, and villages to the surrounding rural
areas presents even greater discrepancies in service facilities of all
sorts. The rural resident in America has been the forgotten man in
library service. As shown in the preceding chapter, more than half
the rural population of the country is still without public libraries.

The need for larger units of service, which may disregard vestigial
boundary lines and operate freely in natural rather than artificial
areas, becomes increasingly evident. Future planning for libraries
should look toward types of areas capable of covering the whole state
and nation.

SIZE OF THE LIBRARY UNIT. Obviously, no uniform specification
can be made as to the minimum or maximum size of desirable library
service areas which will apply invariably to all sections of the country.
Population density, economic ability, transportation facilities, and
natural trading areas 1 are all factors which will greatly influence each
local situation.

Basic, however, is the principle that the area must be large enough
to provide adequate library service. Considerable study has already
been given to the question of what constitutes adequate library serv-
ice. Standards for the minimum size of an effective public library
may be stated in terms of annual income required or population
served. In amounts appropriate to 1947 cost levels, the minimum

1 For a discussion of the trade area as a logical library unit, see C. B. Joeckel, Govern-
ment of the American Public Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1934),
pp. 317-20. For maps of trade areas, see International Magazine Company, Inc., Trad-
ing Area System of Sales Control: a Marketing Atlas of the United States with Support-
ing Data (New York: International Magazine Company, Inc., 1931); Hagstrom Company,
Inc., Hagstrom's Loose Leaf Atlas of the United States for Sales Managers, Advertising
Directors, Business Executives f edited by A. G. Hagstrom and J. B. Keeney (New York:
Hagstrom Company, Inc., 1935).

34

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION
&&&&<$><>&S^^

annual Income required for an effective library unit may be fixed at
not less than $37,500, with a population of not less than 25,000 in
the library's service area. These amounts are necessary to secure the
bare essentials of good service. A study made by Martin in 1Q44, 2
based on observation of approximately 60 public libraries serving
populations ranging in size from 5,000 to 75,000, presents a convinc-
ing case for an even larger minimum size. Martin concludes, "Even
modest essential elements of service were not attained with any regu-
larity until the 50,000 population or $40,000 income group" was
reached. 3 At 1947 levels, Martin's estimate of annual income re-
quired would necessarily be increased to approximately $60,000.

Needless to say, the wealthy community with a smaller population
can provide excellent service for itself at a higher per capita cost. In
the over-all picture, however, such communities are relatively few in
number, and their independence tends to perpetuate the present
unequal distribution of service.

In determining the size and boundaries of the library area, ob-
jectives will be the achievement of complete coverage, unity, and sim-
plicity in organization. Ideally, the larger unit should include all
local libraries in a given area. How rapidly such unity can be realized
will depend on a genuine desire for the correction of present in-
equalities of service and on the maintenance of a high standard of
income and performance by the larger unit. Strong local libraries
should be encouraged to join larger units but should be permitted,
by legal provisions, to remain aloof from the unified organization
until they are ready to join on a completely voluntary basis.

SERVICE ADVANTAGES OF THE LARGE UNIT. Given an organization
of library service based on the large unit, with an income meeting
recommended standards, the service available to all people the coun-
try over will begin to approach the excellent service now available
only to favored communities* The central library of the large unit
will approximate in resources and types of service the good city li-
brary of the present time. A radiating system of branches, well
supplied with materials for reading and study, staffed by skilled

2 Lowell Martin, "The Optimum Size of the Public Library Unit," in C. B. Joeckel,
ed., Library Extension: Problems and Solutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1946), pp. 32-46.

*Ibid. f p. 45.

35

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<> <>3><><><><><^

librarians, will act as community centers throughout the area. Smaller
communities, schools, and rural areas will be served by smaller
branches and deposit stations and by bookmobiles or trailers. To any
of these outlets the resources of the central collection will be avail-
able through frequent delivery or mail service and through the serv-
ices of an expert staff. Requests for specific titles or for material on
a given subject can be quickly filled, and the desired items delivered
to an accessible point. Small, ineffective libraries already in existence
will find their resources greatly augmented, while local interest and
participation will be enlisted to a maximum degree.

The large-unit system, it should be emphasized, should not be per-
mitted to level down existing good local library service. No restric-
tions should be placed on raising the level of local service beyond that
provided by the central library. The local library may formally join
the larger unit; or, if it desires, it may affiliate with the central library,
or a group of- cooperating libraries, and continue to operate under its
own library board, thus maintaining a high degree of autonomy.

While the large-unit system should greatly reduce the number of
separate library authorities, it should increase the number of places
at which library service is now provided. Moreover, since good library
service in sparsely populated rural areas is admittedly more costly
than service in areas of concentrated population, the large-unit sys-
tem cannot be expected, in general, to reduce total library operating
costs. It should, however, result in more efficient and more equitable
use of available funds. 4

PATTERNS OF ORGANIZATION

Just as the size of the larger unit will be determined by local condi-
tions, the pattern of organization will also vary from one section of
the country to another, from one state to another, and even within
the boundaries of a single state. Certain patterns have already
emerged; others will doubtless develop in the light of further experi-
ence. The success of several types of large library units has already
been clearly demonstrated in practice. It remains for states and local
authorities to select wisely the type of organization best suited to
their own particular needs. The American Library Association, in its
*Ibid fJ p, 46; Joeckel, Government of the American Public Library, op, cit., pp. 275-76.

36

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION

<>^><^><^><^^

Post-War Standards for Public Libraries,, enumerates six patterns
which are described in the following paragraphs. All but the fifth
are in actual operation somewhere in the United States.

i. INDEPENDENT LIBRARIES IN CITIES OF OVER 25,000. In the 412
American cities of 25,000 population and over, the prevailing pattern
of library organization is the independent city library. Some 80 of
these 412 cities are parts of county or other types of large library
units, but the public libraries in the remaining cities serve only their
own municipalities. This type of organization will assure a reason-
able minimum of efficiency, so long as the city meets the accepted
standards of 25,000 population and a minimum annual library in-
come of 1 1.50 per capita. Library service is provided to a compact
area and is relatively convenient and simple. In the future, many of
these municipal libraries may choose to retain their independence
as library units. But from the point of view of a complete and effi-
cient system of library service to all the people, it seems clear that
many good city libraries are potential centers for service outside their
own municipal boundaries. 5 It is hoped that a large number of inde-
pendent city libraries will, by contract or other arrangement, extend
their services to the counties or regions for which they are the natural
centers.

This kind of extension represents the quite normal expansion of
the service area of an established institution to adjacent territory; it
is closely comparable to the expansion of a retail business, a public
utility, or a municipal school system. The major advantage of the
plan is that the central library in the enlarged unit is already a going
concern, able to provide comparable service throughout the area. It
contains a reservoir of circulating books, a reference and biblio-
graphic collection, and a staff o service and technical specialists; in
short, it is "ready to serve." A major difficulty of the plan, which
should be fully recognized, is that service to outlying districts may
not be equal in quality to that of the central city. This danger may
be avoided by close attention to the needs of the contracting district,
especially by providing it with representation on the governing board
or authority of the city library,

2. COUNTY LIBRARIES SERVING THE ENTIRE AREA OF LARGE COUN-

5 Good examples are found in some of the city-township libraries in Indiana.

37

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<*><S>>00<x-x^

TIES. 6 In this plan, a single, unified library serves the entire county
without regard to subordinate governmental units. 7 The library may
be a department or agency of the county government, or service to
the county may be provided by contract with the municipal library
of the county seat. Under either method, the unified county library
pattern has the great merit of simplicity, but it will provide adequate
service only in states in which county populations and taxpaying
ability are sufficient to meet minimum standards. Almost two thirds
of the American counties have less than 25,000 people, the minimum
standard of size approved by the American Library Association. A
major advantage of this type is that the central library in the county
seat provides a reservoir of books and also specialized personnel for
the whole county. A major difficulty in organizing unified county
libraries, on the other hand, is often encountered in persuading cities
and towns to relinquish their independence and join the county
library system. This type of organization is obviously especially
adapted to counties in which the rural population is proportionately
large.

3. COUNTY LIBRARIES SERVING PARTS OF LARGE COUNTIES. 8 In this
pattern of organization, the county library serves the part of the
county outside of one or more independent city libraries, of which
the county seat library is frequently one. In large counties of this type,
the library serves a patchwork district, composed primarily of rural
areas and small cities and towns. The more the wealthy cities retain
their independence, the weaker the county service is likely to be.
The result may be that the support and resources of the county
library are often on a lower scale than those of the separate city
libraries. One advantage of this type of organization is that in some
cases it may permit concentration on the interests and needs of the
predominantly rural population which the library serves. A major
disadvantage, on the other hand, is that a headquarters separate from

*E. H. Morgan, "The County Library," in C. B. Joeckel, ed., Library Extension:
Problems and Solutions, op. cit>, pp. 59-74; M. W. Sandoe, County Library Primer
(New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1942); L. R. Wilson and E. A. Wight, County Library
Service in the South (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935).

7 Important examples are found in Hamilton County, Ohio (including Cincinnati
and Norwood, population 34,000), Multnomah County, Oregon (including Portland),
and Kern County, California (including an area of over 8,000 square miles).

8 Numerous examples are found in California, New Jersey, and Ohio.

38

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION

<><><><><>><>0<X^^

the county seat library must be specially created, with considerable
duplication of book resources and technical apparatus and proce-
dures. In smaller counties, this duplication is especially unfortunate.

4. REGIONAL OR MULTICOUNTY LIBRARIES. The organization of
library units larger than a single county is an emerging pattern of
rapidly growing importance. With a minimum population standard
of 25,000 for the public library unit, nearly 2,000 American counties
are too small in population and taxpaying ability to maintain efficient
separate public libraries. There appears, therefore, to be an oppor-
tunity for the organization of several hundred regional libraries in
which these small counties are combined into natural regional units,
either by union with other small counties or with larger counties.
The principal advantages of the regional pattern are that it (i)
creates natural service areas strong enough to maintain effective
libraries, and (2) eliminates duplication of resources and administra-
tive overhead. The creation of regional libraries, however, encoun-
ters legal and other complications in the formation of a unit larger
than the county, for which there is no existing counterpart in general
government. However, recent regional library laws in several states
seem to have met this difficulty successfully. 10 Likewise, in other fields
of government, such as" public health, 11 for instance, special districts
embracing several counties have been created in a number of states.
The regional pattern may be expected to make rapid progress in
states in which library development has been slow or in which there
are considerable areas of sparse population or low taxpaying ability.

5. FEDERATED GROUPS OF LIBRARIES. 12 A proposal for the or-
ganization of federated groups of public libraries is made here as an
intermediate step in the organization of larger library units in many
parts of the country in which considerable numbers of small libraries
are already well established. A characteristic feature of the American

9 H. M. Harris, "The Regional Library," in C. B. Joeckel, ed., Library Extension:
Problems and Solutions, op. cit., pp. 87-97; Joeckel, Government of the American Public
Library, op. cit., pp. 271-340.

M Consult the regional library laws of Virginia, South Carolina, Michigan, and other
states.

11 Haven Emerson, "National Health Based on Large Local Units of Service/* in
C. B. Joeckel, ed., Library Extension: Problems and Solutions, op. cit., pp. 98-107.

13 C. B. Joeckel, "Design for a Regional Library Service Unit," Library Quarterly,
XII (July, 1942), 571-82.

39

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<xx^e><><^^

public library system, already noted in Chapter II, is the existence o
several thousands of small, independent local libraries. These are
separate and firmly rooted governmental entities, with vested prop-
erty rights in collections and buildings and with a long tradition of
local autonomy behind them. Many of these libraries are unlikely
to join large units in which their separate identity is completely
merged.

The term "federated group of libraries" is here used to mean a
group of independent public libraries which jointly provide a care-
fully planned program of library service to a region. This plan pro-
poses an informal type of regional library service based on active
cooperation between a group of small, local libraries and the public
library in the central city of the region. Essential elements in the
scheme would include (i) service by local libraries to their own
communities and adjacent territory, (2) centralized ordering and
cataloging of books, (3) complete reciprocity in circulation privileges
among all participating libraries, (4) reference and circulation service
and regional leadership in the project from the library of the central
city, and (5) liberal state grants-in-aid to compensate participating
libraries in proportion to their services in the cooperative project.
The integrated services of such an associated group of libraries would
rather closely approximate those of a formally organized county or
regional library, but the cooperating libraries would retain their com-
plete institutional independence. A somewhat similar precedent is
found in the organization of some thirty "central," or county, li-
braries in Denmark which cooperate actively with the town libraries
in their respective regions. 13 The obvious disadvantage of any such
plan is that objectives must be achieved through voluntary coopera-
tion rather than through more formal administrative direction. Ex-
periments with some federated organizations of this type are greatly
needed in a number of states.

6. SPECIAL STATE DISTRICTS. In some states it may be advan-
tageous for the state itself to undertake direct regional library service.
This type of larger service unit conforms to the general trend toward
state assumption or support of functions formerly performed by local

^C. B. Joeckel, "Realities of Regionalism," in L. R. Wilson, ed, Library Trend*
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937), pp. 74-80.

40

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION

<c>3><><><><3><><<^^

government. In the library field, a variety o services of this kind are
possible. Very small states, like Rhode Island and Delaware, afford
excellent opportunities for the organization of the whole state as a
single public library unit. In other states, the state library agency
may establish supplementary regional services in cooperation with
existing local libraries, as has been done in several New England
states 14 and suggested for New York. Or the state library agency may
organize regional districts as its own branches for direct service to
areas without public libraries. One advantage of this pattern of or-
ganization is that the state may be in a position to act quickly and
effectively in developing regional service at times when local authori-
ties are not prepared to organize this service on their own initiative.
A possible disadvantage, on the other hand, is that the resources of
existing strong local libraries may not be used in service units of
this type.

In the following section of the chapter, more specific suggestions
are made for the use of these different types of large-unit libraries
in the major geographic regions of the country,

A NATIONAL PATTERN OF LARGE LIBRARY UNITS

At the present stage in public library development it would be
inadvisable to attempt to show in detail how each of the large-unit
patterns described above should be used in every state in the union.
The extent of library coverage is increasing rapidly in some of the
states, and new organization patterns will doubtless be devised. More-
over, it is recognized that each state should develop its own public
library program. Yet the immediate postwar period is clearly the
time for making careful plans and for decisive action.

For the purposes of this national plan for public libraries, it seems
best to discuss the application of the various types of large library
units in terms of the principal geographic regions of the country. The
suggestions which follow are made with full realization of the difficul-
ties involved in presenting a general scheme for the nation-wide or-
ganization of public library service. The regions differ greatly in
governmental forms, in distribution of population, in economic abil-

14 Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have established regional services
of this sort.

41

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&$>&>>4>&^^

ity, and in present library development. There are also marked
differences from state to state. Some states included in a region may
not conform to the prevailing regional pattern. Furthermore, there
are sometimes considerable variations in library development and
needs within individual states. Recognition of these regional and
state characteristics, however, provides a reasonable basis for fitting
the proposed types of large-unit organizations to the different sections
of the country.

The accompanying tables supply the basic statistics for the dis-
cussion which follows. Table I presents by regions the essential facts
about the number, population, and size of the political units and also
the number of trade areas. Table II suggests how the various types of
larger library units may be used in the major regions of the country.
This tabulation attempts to show only those types of organizations
which seem likely to be specially important in each region. In other
words, it proposes prevailing patterns which seem peculiarly suited
to the different parts of the country. Since numerous examples of
independent municipal libraries (Type i) are found in all regions,
this type is not included in the table. These proposals are presented
first in the table and later in somewhat more detailed form in the
text. The plan is offered primarily as a stimulus to further study
by state library authorities, planning agencies, and librarians
generally.

NEW ENGLAND. -In New England, where the American public li-
brary movement had its beginnings, certain regional characteristics
affect in a rather positive way the possible patterns of organization of
large library units. In this region the functions of the county are
relatively unimportant. The New England town, on the other hand,
is the historical stronghold of local government. The town combines
urban and rural areas; the government of its central community is
not separated from the surrounding rural territory. Since public
libraries have been established by practically all cities and towns in
New England except in parts of Maine, the general pattern of library
service may be described as virtually complete coverage through a
system of small units. The historical background of these libraries,
their interests, and the strong tradition of local independence in the
towns and cities will doubtless continue to prevent the establishment

42

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION

<><><><c><XcXc><^^

of any form of county or multlcounty libraries. On the other hand,
these same characteristics seem to point rather conclusively to the
need for some form of federated library groups organized about
natural regional centers (Type 5), or to a somewhat similar form of
regional organization supplementing existing libraries sponsored di-
rectly by the state library agencies (Type 6). Perhaps these rather
informal groups of libraries may gradually coalesce into more for-
mally organized regional units, but experiments with cooperation
among loosely federated groups of cooperating libraries seem clearly
indicated as a preliminary step.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES. There is no least common denominator
in the six states and the District of Columbia which comprise the
Middle Atlantic region. From the great metropolitan district of
greater New York to the mining communities of Pennsylvania and
West Virginia or the sparsely populated areas of the Adirondack re-
gion, there are the widest variations in governmental and social
structure, which defy simple classification. The high degree of ur-
banization is perhaps the most important fact for the purposes of this
discussion. More than one third of the people in United States cities
of 25,000 population and over live in this region. Likewise, well over
half the people of the region itself live in cities of this size. The
counties, although much below the national average in area, are
relatively large in population, with nearly three fourths above the
25,000 level. Public library units in the region are very numerous;
New York alone has more than 700 separate public libraries. In only
one state, New Jersey, has the county library movement had marked
success. In the region as a whole, over 6 million persons still live in
areas without public libraries.

In terms of public library planning, the general situation in the
Middle Atlantic states is obviously complicated and difficult. Possible
applications of all the patterns of public library organization may
readily be suggested. The independent city libraries constitute a
powerful group. Although they have pressing problems in their own
communities, they should be encouraged to join large-unit projects
for which they are often the natural centers. There are many oppor-
tunities for the establishment of strong county libraries, in which the
municipal libraries should be ready to cooperate actively through

43

<

6 IT

CO

co -r^* co en or 4t^

co co co * or

S

i cn co co cn ^co co
i or orco cn M ^

CO

or

co Thr-vT^o -4 r^-w coco -*" coco
^ -^ -^co co 10 coco co co toco or

CO rt

or

-<

r~.

^ M co

j^

*-

<

O

B

Q

t:

or

M J>- "sfr< O CO **

cn

M M CO -^ O ^ CO

Cf

co T^ or o ^co co cn J>> I-. M w or

S

iO

*"* t-H HH

a

CO Tj* -i

2^

vx^worw M^W^^CO*-*

1

s

|8

o

co co o to co

or

> o -* cn o r-- o
01 -^co or -^

CO
CO

co M or or cn cnco **-* O co or co co

iO IOCO "- "^ T^ 1 r^ CO t^. ^ IO !> ^

<

r->

W VH CO

X5

J

P cY

2

ll

CO

"fcoor coco w

** CO

O

en

M M co cn coco 10
01 or or

g

oaco^^^o, 0,^^.050

g

p

O "^

g

or

s >*

31

o o or or o co

CO

O O -< oco or or

M i-i CO

CO

s

.t** *^ o +-* ot 10 o J^co ^ cn o c*^

< B

OUNTIES

II

CO

cn

* O -^ or M or

I-H ^tjO O i- CO

co en 10 en or co

%>

cn coco co or co

tO * O iOJC*^-CO
CO "^Jh CO -T^CO Tj^

CO

CO

of ^ O co ^ co co i-i O to or co or
co O MCO coo r-cnoco ^fcoor
x^- i>-co co co r- 10 -^ cnco xh o co

o a

O

"^

to g

1

CO

COCO COO O ^

iO
or

CO O CO w i>-CO O

or or ioco 10

o

j> to r> cn o co or o i>co <o *^ o
co r^-co to or co co o r> ^ cn 10 o

^g

I

or

CO

""

< B

$

to

en co en to or j>

CO

i>- co or w or co O

cn

mo o ^o^co- r-t.- >n-

I ^

d^,

CO
CO

CO IO CO

CO

or

COI>-CO lOCO f !>

w co *-* 10 or or

CO

iO-i>tocoo orco or coor cn^r^

O CO CO tO IS* *O "'d* 1 JS* COCO CO Or CO

ef g

(X, W

S "^

g w

K5

a

1

co o cno o or

or

to

co *-< i>-or cn to o
j>-co co ot or T}< cn

cn co to cn o o

or

CO

co to or co cn j> o or co ^ >- ^j* cn
- or co i-c o r- or -^co cnco ^ cn
O-T^orio-<'-i < ^ii-<orio cnco co

*H

1

j|

CO

CO

CO
CO

*-i cn J>j> to ^

CO

CO

-< or "^co o to r^ cn cn o -< co cn
to LO >o to ^ "^ "^ "<dhco co ^co co
or

<

co

rf

II

fl

.2

8.

or

^ or or or ^f co
or or IT- 10 co or

CO

g> ^ LOOT O -^

too or M M H< cn

CO

o

coco H or orco cnor coo ^OTJC^

cn co "^ j>^co co J>-cO Tj-'co co co -r>-

1

3 ^

0-4 **

5

a*> i>-co >- co en
o TJH M en -* m

a

co co t-i o cn o M
coco orco r--o O
orco co M *3-i cn cn

CO

co -^ cn or Tfr<co co r^ co cn v- >-i r--

co cnco f co co - 10 coco cn x^co

^

00

i i xt*

or

^ ^ cocn M

J>

or i~r >-T co oT oT oT co oT M" oTccT f*T

CO

co

Q

JH

o

$

^

OJ

z

S

J

T

j3

^

tn 3

4J

-H

a

w

5 "c^

?;

W

<

HH

ctf nj

5$

4^ S^S'g

o -S'g

n

S M

1

p

gj

a 3 S IS

rVI

4J ^ cij nS **

-1

?^ o ^ ?2 ^< >. ^-i

CO

pj w ^* 5 br 1 ^ p! cC ^

3

gts^^^5>

| *^ ^^ -M

44

45

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&<&<>>&$>^^

TABLE II

PRINCIPAL TYPES OF LARGE-UNIT LIBRARIES
PROPOSED FOR THE UNITED STATES, BY REGIONS

County

County

Region*

Libraries
Serving
Whole

Libraries
Serving
Parts of

Regional
Libraries

Federated
Library
Groups

Special
State
Districts

Counties

Counties

New England

X

X

Middle Atlantic

X

X

X

X

X

Southern

X

X

East North Central

X

X

X

X

West North Central

X

X

X

Mountain

X

X

X

Pacific

X

X

X

* Composition of regions as follows:

NEW ENGLAND: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.

MIDDLE ATLANTIC: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,

West Virginia.
SOUTHERN: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,

Oklahoma, South Carolina., Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.
EAST NORTH CENTRAL: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin.

WEST NORTH CENTRAL: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota,
MOUNTAIN: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming.
PACIFIC: California, Oregon, Washington.

contract arrangements. A number of areas, also, seem well adapted
to the organization of regional libraries. Excellent opportunities for
the organization of federated groups of cooperating libraries are
found in the metropolitan districts as well as in other areas with
numerous independent public libraries.

In summary, larger library units are greatly needed in the Middle
Atlantic states in order to coordinate existing library resources and
to extend library services to the considerable areas now without them.
In achieving these objectives, it seems evident that several different
patterns of large-unit organization should be used.

THE SouxH.The thirteen states making up the Southeastern and
Southwestern regions constitute a generally homogeneous group,
with several characteristics which materially affect the organization
of library service. In the South, the county is the dominant govern-
mental unit. There are no smaller local units except the cities, and
these are relatively few in number. Counties are small in area, es-

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION
$>&$><&&&^^

peclally in the nine Southeastern states, and most of them are largely
rural in population. Large-scale development of public libraries is
still comparatively recent, and existing library units are not too
strongly rooted. Per capita wealth is low. All of these factors make
the South a region in which bold experimentation in larger units
of library service may be ventured. They point conclusively to the
organization of strong regional and county libraries. Many Southern
counties are large enough to maintain libraries of their own, and the
county pattern will continue to be important. Nevertheless, most of
the strong counties have one or more weak neighbors, and regional
combinations should be planned around the strong units. The South
has a very real opportunity to establish a logically organized system of
regional and county libraries, provided the states contribute generous
grants-in-aid and vigorous leadership.

EAST NORTH CENTRAL STATES. As a group, the five states which
comprise this region rank high in population and economic resources.
Of all the American regions, this has the largest number of cities of
over 25,000 population. Counties are numerous and considerably
below the national average in area; about half are less than 25,000 in
population. County library service is almost complete in Ohio, but
much less well established in other states of the region. In all the
states except Ohio, the development of public libraries has followed
the incorporated-area pattern. Numerous independent libraries have
been established in all of the larger, and in many of the smaller, in-
corporated places. As a result, one characteristic pattern of library
coverage shows library service in the incorporated places but not in
the surrounding rural territory. Many of the existing libraries are
weak, both in income and in book collections.

The conclusion warranted by the foregoing facts is that the East
North Central region should move strongly in the direction of county
and regional library units. About half of the counties are acceptable
library units in population, but in northern Michigan and Wis-
consin and in southern Illinois and Indiana, as well as in other areas,
regional libraries are clearly needed. In parts of these states, in which
existing libraries are numerous and well established, federated groups
of cooperating libraries (Type 5) might be established as a prelim-
inary step on the way toward the organization of more formal types

47

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&fr&&<<><&$>^^

of large units. Opportunities for organized cooperation are numerous*
WEST NORTH CENTRAL STATES. The organization of local govern-
ment in the eight North Central states lying west of the Mississippi
is closely similar to that of the East North Central region, but the
distribution of .population is materially different. Large and medium-
sized cities are much fewer in number and smaller in population.
Counties, while larger in area, are considerably smaller in popula-
tion; more than 80 per cent are below the 25,000 level. The average
density of population per square mile is only one fourth that of the
East North Central states. In number of county libraries, this region
is weakest of all the United States regions. Library development has
followed the incorporated-area pattern very closely. The number of
independent libraries is surprisingly large, and many of these units
are necessarily weak in resources and income.

In the future library development of this region, special emphasis
should be placed on regional libraries. Many of the counties are
much too small to support satisfactory library units. County libraries
are appropriate units in the large counties, but, in many cases, these
counties should be combined into regions with smaller adjoining
counties. In the organization of all types of larger library units in
this region, it is particularly important that all libraries in an area be
included in the large unit. Municipal libraries ought not to be sepa-
rated from county or regional units. In the more populous parts of
these states, where existing libraries are numerous and fall into
natural service areas, federated library groups (Type 5) may be or-
ganized. In general, the need for a successful working pattern of large
library units is probably greater in this region than in any other in
the nation.

THE MOUNTAIN STATES. In the eight states comprising this region,
sparsity of population is a dominant characteristic in relation to the
organization of library and other public services. Population per
square mile is 4,8, far below the national average of 44.2. The aver-
age area of the county in these states, moreover, is 3,085 square miles,
in contrast with the national average of 96 1 square miles. In spite of
their large area, 87 per cent of the counties fall below the 25,000 mark
in population. These facts seern to provide sound reasons for the
organization of county and regional libraries, with both types cen-

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION
<><$>4>&&<$><<><><>^^

tered about the relatively few large cities in the region. In several
of these states, population is so sparse that it is perhaps unwise to
attempt to provide library service through local agencies. For this
reason it may be suggested that public library service in some o the
Mountain states should be provided by the state library, reinforced
by a small number of state branches in strategic locations (Type 6).
Even if local libraries are retained for the principal cities, the state
library agency should be prepared to provide direct service to much
of the remaining territory. The general organization patterns for the
region include, therefore, county and regional libraries, with direct
service through the state library and its branches as a possibility in
at least parts of several of the states.

THE PACIFIC SxATES.The three Pacific coast states are character-
ized by very wide variations in geographic and population patterns,
ranging from densely populated metropolitan districts to great areas
of sparse population. Since counties are important governmental
agencies and are generally large in area, the county library is obvi-
ously a favored pattern of large-unit organization. Despite their large
areas, however, slightly more than half of the counties in the region
are below 25,000 in population* Thus there are numerous oppor-
tunities for the establishment of regional libraries, often by joining
counties with small populations to their larger neighbors. Moreover,
the Pacific Coast states contain a considerable number of distinct
minor regions and trading areas, such as the Inland Empire in Wash-
ington, which are natural locations for strong regional libraries. In
general, the need for large library units based on the county or com-
binations of counties is clearly evident in the Pacific Coast region.

ESTIMATE OF NUMBER OF LIBRARY UNITS. The foregoing proposals
may be made more concrete by the tentative estimate in Table III of
the number of public library units of all types required in each of
the major geographic regions.

The figures shown in Table III are merely preliminary estimates.
Only by a careful and detailed study of library areas in each state
would it be possible to arrive at a more precise enumeration of the
number of library units required in the United States. The estimates
used, however, are based on careful consideration of reasonable pos-
sibilities in the reorganization of library service areas. The number

49

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<X^C>O<><CX;><S^^

TABLE III

NUMBER OF LIBRARY UNITS PROPOSED
FOR THE UNITED STATES, BY REGIONS

New England

Middle Atlantic

Southern

East North Central

West North Central

Mountain

Pacific

Total 1,170

proposed, it should be added, is intended to be large enough to cover
the entire country efficiently, including all areas now without public
libraries.

The total number of library units suggested, approximately 1,200,
may be compared with such figures as the following:

Cities of 25,000 or over 412

Principal trading areas 641

Health units proposed by

American Public Health Association !^97

Counties 3,050

If the population of the 14 American cities of over 500,000 is omit-
ted from the calculation, the average public library unit, according
to this plan, would have a population of about 90,000 and an area of
about 2,500 square miles. These figures are closely comparable, it is
interesting to note, to the average area of California counties (approx-
imately 2,700 square miles) and the average population of California
counties (84,000) when the two California cities of over 500,000 popu-
lation are omitted. The average library unit in the proposed scheme,
therefore, is approximately the same in area and population as the
average California county. In view of the marked success of the
California county library system, the feasibility of the proposed plan
for a greatly reduced number of library units seems obvious. The
actual size of individual units would vary considerably from the
averages suggested above. In the Mountain and Pacific states, the
area of many units in square miles would greatly exceed the average,
while in the more densely populated Middle Western, Eastern, and

5

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION
<&<><>&$><><><<><^^

Southern regions, the land areas would tend to be considerably
smaller. The size of the units in population would vary according
to the size of the larger cities included in each unit,

ESSENTIALS FOR REORGANIZATION

It is certain that better library resources and more expert service
would be available to the citizens of the United States from a total
of some 1,200 large and well-supported public library units than from
the 7,500 existing libraries. But a sweeping territorial reorganization
of library service of this sort cannot be accomplished without the
fullest cooperation of librarians, state and local authorities, and citi-
zen organizations of many kinds. The remapping o the country
required by such a plan calls for a high level of library statesmanship.
State and local leadership will be essential in formulating state-wide
plans and determining desirable service areas. The state must inter-
est itself actively in the reorganization project, both in making the
necessary legal changes and in granting subsidies for the equalization
of library service.

Many states, particularly those in which economic status is low
and population widely scattered, will find it advisable to remake
the library map almost entirely on the basis of topography, trade
centers, and highways. Often the best opportunities for drastic re-
vision of the library organization pattern will be found in the states
or parts of states in which library service is now least well developed.
On the other hand, reorganization may be most difficult in states and
areas in which libraries are numerous and already well established.

Many existing libraries will find it necessary to reorient themselves
toward a larger community. When libraries already maintain a high
level of service, their local autonomy should perhaps be preserved
and their voluntary cooperation in large-unit projects should be
sought. Integration of services throughout a region must in no way
lower the effectiveness of these superior libraries. It is conceivable,
however, that a pooling of resources might bring definite advantages
to such libraries, particularly to suburban libraries located near great
metropolitan collections.

Legal provisions should be made for the voluntary union of politi-
cal units in maintaining library service. Many states already permit

5 1

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<>><><<X>0<^^

joining of two or more counties and of other political subdivisions
for this purpose. Provisions of this sort should be included in all
library legislation and should be further liberalized to permit the
crossing of state boundaries so that the library service area may reach
its natural clientele.

Finally, plans for the creation of larger library units should provide
for active local participation in library government and administra-
tion. Library boards should include members representing the major
political units included in the library system, and citizens* advisory
committees and "Friends of the Library" groups should be organized
to lend support to library development.

SUMMARY

The plan for the organization of local library service outlined in
this chapter is based on the concept that the success of library service
throughout the nation depends primarily upon good local libraries,
organized in efficient large units.

Following American Library Association standards, the plan en-
visages the establishment of library units with total annual incomes
of not less than 137,500 and not less than $1.50 per capita. The
soundness of this minimum standard of size has been amply demon-
strated by careful and continued observation of public libraries in
operation and by special studies of the optimum size of the library
unit.

Because of marked governmental and social differences between
states and regions, it is clearly inadvisable to prescribe a uniform
pattern of local library organization which can be adopted generally
in all parts of the country. In the national public library plan, there-
fore, several distinct types of large library units are proposed, and it
is recognized that still others may be devised.

The independent city library in places of over 25^000 population
is an efficient unit which will continue in substantially all the states.
But in many instances, the separate city library, as the natural center
for its area, should extend its service to its county or region.

The county library,, serving all or part of a county., is naturally the
primary large library unit. It will continue to be used in all regions
except New England, where the town, rather than the county, is the

5*

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION

&Z>&&&$><$>^^

important governmental unit. Nearly two thirds of the American
counties, however, are below 25,000 in population, and should be
combined with still larger areas.

Regional libraries^ comprising two or more counties^ should de-
velop greatly in importance in many states in which counties are
small in population or low in taxpaying ability. Library regions
should usually be organized about the principal trading centers.

Federated groups of cooperating libraries are a possible type of
larger service unit which should be successful in regions like New
England and the Middle West, in which there are numbers of well-
established small public libraries. These cooperating groups will be
informal in structure, but their services should be carefully coor-
dinated about a natural center and should approximate those of
a regional library.

State library services., in the form of state regional districts or
branches of the state library agency, may be used in states with numer-
ous small libraries or in very sparsely populated areas.

In a system of library service organized in large units of this kind,
every American citizen would be within easy reach of a community
branch library or a convenient bookmobile route. Within a distance
of twenty-five miles, and usually much less, would be a central library
with an ample stock of books and other materials and an expert staff
at his command. And beyond this, for his out-of-the-ordinary needs,
would be the state library agency or the great metropolitan public
library acting as a major regional center.

About 1,200 public library units, according to tentative estimates,
would be required for complete coverage in a library system using
organization patterns of the various kinds described. As this goal is
approached, good library service will become generally available to
all people and all regions in the United States.

<&&&$>&$>&$>^^

CHAPTER IV

The Role of the State in Public
Library Development

local public library, as shown in the preceding chapter, is the
1 first line of library service. It is the responsibility of the state to
provide the second line of service.

In the United States of America, the individual state occupies a key
position. It determines its own organization and functions, and it
creates the various units of local government and defines their powers.
The state, therefore, has a basic responsibility for the establishment
and development of public libraries, as well as other agencies of
government. In the making of an effective public library system, the
state plays a decisive role.

But since there are forty-eight states, each with sovereign powers
in its own sphere of government, variations in the organization of
library functions from state to state are inevitable and desirable. No
single plan will serve all states equally well. This statement of a
national library plan, therefore, does not attempt to specify detailed
procedures uniformly applicable to all the states. It recognizes that
such details must be adapted to the varying patterns of state govern-
ment. Nevertheless, there are certain basic responsibilities for library
development common to all the states and certain library functions
which all states should perform. These are described in general terms
in the sections of the chapter which follow.

In prewar years a strong trend toward the strengthening of the li-
brary functions of the states was already discernible. This trend will
almost certainly be continued and accentuated in the postwar period.
As the new era begins, the states are in a strong financial position.
Funded debts have been greatly reduced, and prospects for a continu-
ing high level of revenue are favorable. The states can, if they will,
greatly influence the postwar development of public libraries.

54

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
<**><c>3><><>C><;><>^^

A SOUND LEGAL BASIS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES

The first duty of the state In relation to libraries is to provide a
sound legal foundation authorizing the establishment and mainte-
nance of public libraries. This may be accomplished by appropriate
constitutional and legislative provisions.

The state should formally and specifically recognize, first of all, its
responsibility for complete, state-wide library service. As rapidly as
possible, the states should shift from permissive to mandatory legis-
lation for the establishment and maintenance of public libraries. The
states have long recognized their obligation to provide a minimum
formal education for all inhabitants through mandatory laws. But
they have failed to recognize that this was but a preparation for adult
education. They should now be prepared to recognize an equal ob-
ligation to make books, the tools of education for adults as well as the
young, universally available and accessible. The framework of library
legislation adopted by the state may permit reasonable variations in
the organization and administration of local public libraries, but it
should insure minimum support, administrative units of sufficient
size, and qualified personnel for all libraries.

In other words, the principle that the library is an educational
concern of the state should be established beyond question. 1 In some
states, it may be advantageous to incorporate this provision in the
state constitution. Missouri's new constitution of 1945 provides: "It
is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to promote the estab-
lishment and development of free public libraries and to accept the
obligation of their support by the state and its subdivisions and
municipalities . . ," 2 In Washington, the preamble to the state library
law contains a similar statement of policy: "It is hereby declared to
be the policy of the state, as part of its provision for public education,
to promote the establishment and development of public library
service through its various subdivisions/' 3 Similar specifications are
contained in the preambles of the Virginia and South Carolina li-
brary laws. 4 To be effective, of course, such general pronouncements

1 C. B. Joeckel, Government of the American Public Library (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1935), p. 354.
2 Missouri Constitution, ratified February 27, 1945, Art. IX, Sec. 10.

* Remington's Revised Statutes of Washington, 1940, Title 53, Chapter 2, Sec, 8226-1.

* Virginia Code, 1936, Sec. 347 (11); South Carolina Acts, 1934, p. 1480, No. 873, Sec. i.

55

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<>e*e<><e><><><$^^

must be implemented by comprehensive programs of action for
library development.

THE STATE LIBRARY AGENCY S

Each state should implement its library program through liberal
support of an effective, dynamic state library agency, with a staff
fully qualified to assume responsibility and leadership for develop-
ment and coordination of adequate library service. Achievements
of outstanding state library agencies have demonstrated the indis-
pensable part they can play in furthering the state's program for
libraries. Their functions include a wide range of responsibilities,
which should be planned as an integrated whole, not as unrelated
parts.

ORGANIZATION. The precise form of organization of the state li-
brary agency will be determined by the general pattern of govern-
ment in each state or, perhaps, by historical factors. An effective type
of organization is the centralized state library charged, as one of its
functions, with the development of library service throughout the
state. This plan may combine the general state library, law library,
library extension agency, legislative reference bureau, state historical
library, and other related services into a single integrated service
agency. State school library supervisors may be included in the state
library or in the state department of education. Such consolidation
of library functions is to be encouraged but should be preceded by
careful study and wise planning. The resulting closely-knit agency
may be organized as an independent unit under a state library board,
or it may be made part of the state department of education. In
either type of organization, the essential character of its functions
should be recognized.

Fundamental to reorganization and strengthening of the state
library agency are freedom from partisan politics and political inter-
ference of all kinds, strong professional leadership supported by legal
requirements, and appropriations adequate for state-wide extension

5 For a more complete statement on functions and organization of the state agency,
see American Library Association. Library Extension Board, "The State Library
Agency," Edition 5 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1945; Mimeographed);
Arnold Miles and Lowell Martin, Public Administration and the Library (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1941), pp. 11-59.

56

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
&$><;><><&G>&i>^^

and Improvement of library service. These specifications are essential.

FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE LIBRARY AGENCY IN RELATION TO PUBLIC
LIBRARIES. The state's program of assistance to libraries should be
broad in scope and vigorously administered. From the standpoint of
future library development, perhaps the most important duty is that
of planning for state-wide coverage through efficient areas of service
and coordination of existing resources. The state library plan Is
usually developed in cooperation with the general state planning
agency and the state library association. Such a plan is, of course,
basic to the logical extension of library service and should precede
any future legislation. As a foundation for its planning activities,
the library agency should make studies and surveys of library service
throughout the state. Implementing the state plan, the library agency
will advise the state legislature as to needed legislation.

After the state plan has been clearly formulated, the state library
agency should promote the development of libraries in accordance
with the plan. This will be accomplished by an active publicity cam-
paign and by intensive work of field agents in areas without library
service. But the establishment of new libraries should not be pre-
maturely forced; service areas of newly organized libraries should be
of proper size and income reasonably adequate.

Equally important are the supervisory functions of the state library
agency. Extension of library service to all parts of the state is only
the first step in the program; the library agency must also be actively
concerned with improving the quality of existing library service. It
should set and enforce minimum standards of library performance
and local support. The state agency should also have full authority to
require the filing of annual reports, statistics, and other information
regarding all public libraries. Through regular visits of its field
agents, it should be in close touch with the quality of work done by
individual libraries and with library needs generally. Statistics of
library service collected by the states should be made available to
other state offices, the national library agency, the American Library
Association, and the general public.

A closely related responsibility of the state library agency is the
maintenance of a consultant and advisory service for librarians,
boards of library trustees, and citizen groups interested in library

57

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<&&&$>&$><&^^

development. To perform this function successfully, the agency must
have the full confidence and support of librarians and library au-
thorities throughout the state. By means of .visits, personal confer-
ences, and correspondence, and through institutes, workshops, and
publications, the library agency will make its stimulating influence
and leadership felt at the grass roots.

The state library agency should be charged with the administration
of the state system of grants~in-aid to libraries. Similarly, it is the
appropriate authority for the administration of federal grants-in-aid
to libraries in the state and should be so designated by statute. These
important functions must be exercised with skill and with sound
judgment since the state agency may often determine, in part at least,
the methods of distributing library grants.

Finally, the state library agency should organize a systematic and
continuous flow of supplementary services from its collections and
its expert personnel to the public libraries of the state. In this respect
the state library agency is to the whole group of public libraries what
the central library in a large municipal library is to its branches.
Only as these supplementary services are skillfully organized and
fully integrated can library service throughout the state become a
real system, as contrasted with scattered, individual services offered
by a large number of small, and often isolated, libraries.

The core of this supplementary service will consist of a large-scale,
rapidly-operating interlibrary loan service designed to supply the
needs of individual readers anywhere in the state for books and other
materials. In some states, like California and Ohio, it may be desir-
able to tie in with the interlibrary loan system the book resources of
the entire state by means of a union catalog of the holdings of the
public, and perhaps other, libraries in the state. Whether or not a
state union catalog is needed, the unusual resources of all libraries
should be made generally available to readers everywhere. Traveling
libraries and circuit collections pointed at the special needs of differ-
ent types of communities will also be useful in many states in sup-
plementing the meager book resources of local libraries.

In its supplementary services to libraries, the state library agency
should emphasize particularly nonbook materials, such as films and
audio-visual materials, pictures, prints, and the like. It should pre-

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
<&&&&&&&$>&$^

pare lists of places where such materials can be obtained and should
assist local librarians in the selection and use of these new types of
materials.

But the state library agency must also supply services, as well as
books and materials. It will maintain a centralized information and
bibliographic service to which local libraries should be encouraged
to send their difficult reference questions and their bibliographic
problems. The state agency may also provide centralized cataloging
for libraries desiring this service.

In supplying these supplementary services, the state library agency
will normally work through established public libraries. In parts of
the state without public libraries, the state agency must provide direct
library service to schools, to clubs, and to individuals. In these areas,
the state agency, to a limited extent, takes the place of the local public
library.

STATE AID FOR LIBRARIES*

In addition to providing a basic legal foundation and a wide range
of services for libraries, the state has three other important responsi-
bilities for public library development: (i) state grants-in-aid, (2)
improvement of personnel by certification and other means, and
(3) organization of a system of larger library units. These are not
entirely separate and distinct functions. On the contrary, they should
be closely interrelated, since all three are essential in an effective
organization of libraries. If the state is to subsidize libraries, it ought
to be assured that their personnel is well qualified and that service
units are large enough to be efficient.

The adoption of a sound and continuing program of state aid to
libraries will probably be the most decisive action most states can
undertake on behalf of public libraries-^both in extending library
coverage and also in raising the minimum level of library support.
In recent years, the states which have been most successful in filling
the gaps in library service have been those which have combined
substantial programs of state aid with strong emphasis on larger units
of library service. In several states, unusually rapid progress has

8 J. W. Merrill, "State Aid to Public Libraries," in C. B. Joeckel, ed., Library Extension:
Problems and Solutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945), pp. 195-211.

59

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<>&$>3><>4>&$>$^^

been made through effective use of grants-in-aid to county libraries.

REASONS FOR STATE AID. The state in general recognizes its re-
sponsibility for all its citizens. It has assumed increasing obligations
through financial aid for schools, roads, agricultural extension, social
security, workmen's compensation, and other functions of state con-
cern. These grants are based on a recognition of the need for greater
equality and uniformity in welfare provisions, and for raising social
and educational standards. The arguments for state responsibility
in these generally accepted fields apply with equal logic to state aid
for libraries. The library is potentially a great force in public educa-
tion; its possibilities have scarcely touched the popular imagination
because of the inadequate support which has become almost a tradi-
tional handicap. Fundamental to such aid from the state is the fact
of great economic disparity between different sections of the state
and between urban and rural areas. Moreover, the increasing trend
of revenues away from local to state treasuries intensifies the need
for state assistance.

POLICIES IN STATE AID. In formulating its plan for library subsi-
dies, the state must make several important policy decisions. First of
all, the total amount to be allocated for library aid must be deter-
mined. No standard rule as to the amount of state library aid can
be cited, but it should be large enough to have a positive effect in
advancing the state's library program. The plight of local govern-
ment today in meeting rapidly increasing burdens on local tax re-
sources has been summarized as follows: "The obligations and
responsibilities of local governments have been enormously increased
at the same time that their resources have been more and more cir-
cumscribed." 7 In view of this general situation, it seems reasonable
to propose that not less than 25 per cent of total public library reve-
nues be obtained from state grants-in-aid. This amount is in line with
grants currently made by the states to local governments generally.
In the United States in 1942, local governments of all types received
23.7 per cent of their revenues from the states; counties, 33.0 per

7 T. H. Reed, "Federal State Local Fiscal Relations, a Report Prepared ... for the
Committee on Local Government Activities and Revenues" (Chicago: Municipal Finance
Officers Association of the United States and Canada, 1313 East Sixtieth Street, 1942);
Mimeographed, p. 3.

60

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT

&i><?<$><><>&&^^

cent; school districts, 33.1 per cent; and cities, 15.1 per cent. 8

Second, the state must determine whether state aid to libraries may
be used for general expenditures or limited to a particular purpose,
such as payments for books. The unrestricted grant which may be
used for general current expenditures seems clearly preferable.

Third, the state-aid program should provide that local govern-
ments continue to make a reasonable effort to support library service
before state grants are allotted. Matching of state grants should not
be required, but the state may reasonably stipulate that communities
receiving state aid shall not reduce their local appropriations after
receiving state funds. 9 Or the state may require that local units levy a
tax of at least a minimum rate before state grants are made available.

Fourth, state grants must be made and administered in such a way
that they do not perpetuate ineffective libraries in their inadequacy
or strengthen unqualified personnel in their present positions. Local
libraries which receive state grants must therefore be required to
meet reasonable standards of performance, determined and enforced
by the state library agency.

Finally, as stated above, administration of state grants-in-aid should
be placed in the hands of the state library agency. This procedure
will insure the necessary professional guidance and stimulation aimed
at raising service levels, and should avoid an excess of state control
and interference.

FORMULA FOR STATE AID. Each state must determine its own for-
mula for the distribution of state aid to libraries in the light of its
own needs and problems. In some states, authority to allocate the
state grants may be vested in the state library agency; in others, the
plan of allocation may be embodied in the state-aid law. But whether
allocation is determined by law or by administrative action, the for-
mula used should be as simple as possible and equitable in appli-
cation.

Population is the simplest and most easily administered measure
for the distribution of state aid to libraries. Since the need for library

8 U. S. Bureau o the Census, Governmental finances in the United States,
(Washington: Government Printing Office, 1945), pp. 14, 27.

*For example, see Michigan Statutes, Annotated, v. 11, 1941, Supplement, Sec 15.
1791 (8), par. a.

6l

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<><>3><><>3><>>^^

service is measured largely by the number of people to be served,
there is justification for the use of population as a partial basis for a
state-aid formula. Moreover, the shrinkage of local revenues in many
cities, in contrast with marked increases of state revenues, is a further
justification of this basis for allocation. The same argument may be
made on behalf of grants to large metropolitan cities, which serve
as natural centers for information and research for large regions.
However, it is readily apparent that a population formula aids the
wealthy city or county in the same proportion as it does the under-
privileged community. Therefore, a population formula should not
be used alone, but should be modified by other measures of economic
ability or need. 10

Equalization of library service should be a major objective of the
state-aid formula. Cities and counties of low taxpaying ability need
library service fully as much as their more fortunate neighbors, and
it is the task of the state to provide a minimum level of support for all
public libraries. In many states, the most convenient measure of
taxpaying ability is the assessed valuation of property per capita. The
equalization formula will then provide larger per capita grants-in-aid
to communities with low per capita assessed valuations, and vice
versa. A common method of applying the equalization formula is to
require each local unit to levy a tax of at least a minimum rate; the
state then adds to the amount produced by this tax in each unit a sum
sufficient to reach a predetermined minimum per capita revenue for
the whole state. This method requires an equal effort on the part of
each community and makes the state responsible for maintaining a
minimum level of library support. Whatever the kind of formula
adopted, the state should make a substantial proportion of its library
subsidy available to the libraries which need assistance most.

Grants to county and other large-unit libraries may be emphasized
in states in which the rapid extension of library service to new areas
is a major objective. In such situations, the state may decide to throw
the weight of its influence into the development of a strong system of
large-unit libraries. This may be accomplished by devoting the en-
tire state subsidy to grants of this type or by allocating a substantial

10 C. H. Chatters, "State and Federal Aid to Local Governments," in C. B. Joeckel, ed.,
Library Extension; Problems and Solutions, op. cit. t p. 189.

6s

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
<$>4><>3><>&&&i>3^^

part of a general subsidy to large-unit grants. 11 In other instances,
the state may itself operate regional services designed to supplement
and coordinate the facilities of existing libraries through bookmobiles
and lending libraries. 12 Or the state may establish demonstration
libraries supported largely by state funds in responsive areas. 13 While
such demonstrations are not strictly grants-in-aid, they accomplish
much the same purpose. All types of large-unit grants will effectively
stimulate the organization of the specific types of library units in
which the state is primarily interested.

A composite formula., including, as major factors, equalization,
population, and large service units, may be used in states with com-
prehensive programs of state aid to libraries. The relative weights
assigned to the different elements may be varied in accordance with
the stage of development reached at any particular period in the
library history of the state.

The case for state grants to libraries is convincing on the grounds
both of need and results. In general, grants to libraries should be
greatly increased and should become a recognized obligation of all
state governments.

STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LARGE SERVICE UNITS

The state's responsibility for creating an efficient pattern of local
units of library service has already been stressed at several points in
preceding pages, and the subject of larger service units was discussed
in detail in the preceding chapter. The subject of library areas is
introduced here for the purpose of emphasizing the point that the
state, through its library agency, should plan the development of a
system of local libraries strong enough to provide service of high
quality. The state may influence the development of a library system
of this kind in several waysthrough state grants-in-aid to county and
regional libraries, through careful planning and surveys, and through
the close contacts of its field representatives with local libraries.

Moreover, the system of book and bibliographic services described
above operates most successfully in connection with a strong group

11 Various types of large-unit grants are found in North Carolina, Arkansas, Penn-
sylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Michigan.

"Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts have services of this kind.
33 Louisiana and Illinois af e examples.

63

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&&$>&&^^

of large-unit libraries. The efficient local library is able to fill many
requests without referring them to the state library agency; the latter,
in turn, can deal more effectively with unusual and more difficult
inquiries.

DIRECT STATE LIBRARY SERVICES

Already a few states are providing direct library service on the
local level as one of the functions of the state library agency. It may
be predicted that this type of service will be considerably expanded
in the postwar era. With its own funds, the state agency may carry
on demonstrations and experiments in service to wider areas than the
state pattern has yet displayed. In some instances, this may take the
form of regional branches established to aid local libraries; in others,
the state branches may provide service to areas entirely without local
libraries. In time, perhaps, very small states, or states with widely
scattered populations, may concentrate all public library service in a
single unified organization. 14 Most states, however, will continue to
direct their efforts toward the development of strong local library
units.

PERSONNEL STANDARDS

The state is also responsible in large part for the quality of the per-
sonnel in its public libraries. The first and basic step is certification.
A comprehensive statute should be passed requiring the certification
of the professional librarians in public libraries of all types. The
simplest and most effective type of certification law is one which
creates a certification board or agency and authorizes this agency to
determine the grades and types of certificates and to administer the
certification system. This method has the advantage of flexibility.
It permits changes in types of certificates as personnel qualifications
and standards improve. Certification laws and regulations should
facilitate the easy transfer of qualified librarians from state to state.

If public library staffs are governed by state civil service regula-
tions, the state library agency should participate actively in establish-
ing civil service policies affecting library positions. A special effort

14 This has been suggested for Rhode Island, Delaware, and New Mexico. See C. B.
Joeckel, Government of the American Public Library, op. Kit., pp. 1296-297.

6 4

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
<X^O<><><c><c><X^^

should be made to insure examinations which are open to qualified
candidates throughout the country generally.

Certification should be only the initial step in the state's program
for its library personnel. The state library agency should assist ac-
tively in the recruitment of personnel for the public libraries of the
state. It should foster good personnel administration and should
concern itself continuously with the improvement of the status and
qualifications of library personnel. It should work actively for higher
salary levels, improvements in working conditions, and the inclusion
of librarians in pension systems. It should use its influence in secur-
ing the adoption throughout the state of sound practices in personnel
administration: appointment for merit only, probationary appoint-
ments, tenure, classification and pay plans, and service ratings. An-
other aim should be the encouragement of in-service training through
institutes and conferences aimed at reaching the rank and file of
librarians throughout the state. The library agency should also
stimulate the use of appropriate professional literature by public
librarians by providing a generous supply of books and periodicals
for loan to staff members of the smaller libraries.

STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS

Library development in a state will not progress far without active
and strong support from the state professional organization. The li-
brarians of the state, organized primarily for the improvement and
extension of libraries, will join with the state agency in study and
planning, in formulation of effective policies and procedures, in
campaigning for legislation and support, and in implementation of
the state plan at every step in its development. Through the state
organization, the state agency can often effectively reach individual
librarians as well as the citizens of the state.

State library trustee associations likewise can be of great impor-
tance in developing and furthering state plans for libraries. Associa-
tions of this kind have been organized in only fourteen of the forty-
eight states, and some of the existing organizations are relatively in-
active. A strong state trustees* organization is a direct channel to
citizen interest and support. It can bring much influential opinion
and the background of valuable experience to bear on legislative and

65

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&$>$>$><-><^

planning programs. The interest of the trustee should be state wide.
The state associations will also, independently of the state agency
perhaps, undertake programs of investigation and study, recruiting,
improvement of local library services, solution of personnel prob-
lems, and a broad program of public relations activities. Where state
agencies are as yet weak and ineffective, it is to the state library asso-
ciations that local progress, legislative improvement, and cooperative
efforts are largely due. Rapid progress toward realization of a state-
wide library program is to a large extent dependent on the existence
of strong organizations working in close sympathy and harmony with
a vital, liberally supported state agency.

SUMMARY

The great library task of the state is to sponsor the development
of an efficient and integrated system of public libraries available to all
its people. Local libraries will normally provide direct service, but
the state must supply important supplementary services and must
enforce general standards of satisfactory performance. The major
responsibilities of the state in furthering the library plan may be
briefly summarized as follows:

1. The state should insure a strong legal foundation for its public
libraries by constitutional or legislative provisions which recognize
public library service as a state concern and make the establishment
of public libraries mandatory throughout the state.

2. For the direction of its library program, the state should estab-
lish a strong library agency in which the library functions of the state
are unified in a single organization. To perform the important duties
assigned to it, this agency must be staffed by expert personnel, tech-
nically competent and capable of vigorous leadership. Budgets of all
state agencies should be substantially increased, especially in states in
which agencies are now weak. The state agency will plan and pro-
mote the extension and more efficient organization of library service;
it will conduct a consultant and advisory service for local librarians
and trustees; and it will supply supplementary book and biblio-
graphic services to libraries and also to areas without public libraries.

3. Through a system of grants-in-aid to public libraries the state
should insure at least a minimum level of library support throughout

66

ROLE OF THE STATE IN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT
><e><><Sx*><x^^

its whole territory. Formulas for state aid should be adapted to the
specific needs of each state but will normally be based on such factors
as population, financial need, and larger service units.

4. The state should strive continuously to improve the quality of
its public library personnel through certification laws and regulations
and through in-service training by means of institutes and con-
ferences.

5. The state should also use its influence actively in the organiza-
tion of a state-wide pattern of large service units.

6. In some states, the library agency may itself provide direct li-
brary service to selected areas through demonstrations of various
types of large units or through supplementary services to regional
groups of libraries.

The general objectives of the state library program are to systema-
tize public library service and to put good libraries within reach of
all the people. The achievement of these goals will require active
cooperation between state and local authorities. In most states, it will
require also a greatly strengthened state library agency which can
furnish leadership of the highest quality.

&&<><&<><>&<S>$><><><><><><i^^

CHAPTER V

National Responsibilities for
Public Library Service*

r I'^HE postwar role of the federal government in a nation-wide pro-
JL gram of public library service will be one of increasing impor-
tance. But it should be clearly recognized as an auxiliary role. In the
American system of federal government, public library service is a
responsibility of the states and local governments and has been duly
authorized by all the states. Control, administration, and basic sup-
port are, in general, functions of local government, although, as noted
in Chapter IV, the states are accepting increasing responsibility for
support and in some cases for direct service.

But education is also a concern of the federal government. Active
federal interest has been shown in various adult education projects;
moreover, the government's provision of many important kinds of
library service already indicates an awareness of its obligation in this
related field. Such evidence of federal interest in libraries, though
they are creations of state and local government, is entirely legitimate
and desirable. No government which draws its authority from the
will of the governed can be indifferent to the availability of informa-
tional resources to those who are the ultimate reservoir of power.
Books and other sources of recorded information must be available to
all the people. The federal government, if it accepts this premise,
must therefore be concerned with the general improvement of the
quality of public library service.

In determining its policy of assistance in the development of a
national library program the federal government should be guided by
several underlying principles of basic importance:

i. National library agencies should not attempt, directly or indi-

1 C. B. Joeckel, Library Sen/ice; prepared for The Advisory Committee on Education
(Staff Study No. 11), (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1938), pp. 33-53, 64-90.

68

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<><>O0<O^x^<X><<Xc^^

rectly, to control the organization or administration of local library
service.

2. The federal government should recognize its peculiar responsi-
bility for maintaining throughout the country as a whole a high
minimum level of library service. Only with the assistance of the
national government can this end be achieved.

3. The library and bibliographic services of the federal govern-
ment should be expanded and extended so as to attain their maxi-
mum usefulness to the libraries of the nation. These services should
be offered as a planned program of assistance to libraries not merely
as by-products of the normal functions of federal libraries.

4. Research in methods and techniques of library service and
demonstrations of varied patterns of library organization in action
are important and appropriate federal functions.

5. Full and systematic cooperation between federal and other
libraries in library functions and services should be a major end in
library planning. Federal libraries may be expected to assume a posi-
tion of leadership in such cooperative projects.

FEDERAL SERVICES TO LIBRARIES

The library services provided by federal agencies are already nu-
merous and extensive. The specific items here singled out for men-
tion should be considered only as examples and not as a complete
catalog of present or future federal services to libraries. Moreover,
the services listed are obviously not limited in application to public
libraries but are of general interest to libraries of various types.

"Good library management/* the Librarian of Congress has re-
cently said, "can perform statesmanlike services for the people of this
Nation/' 2 The task of coordinating the many functions now per-
formed by federal agencies on behalf of libraries is indeed one which
requires skillful management. These functions are not centralized in
a single organization unit but are administered by various libraries
and offices which are parts of different governmental agencies. The
general effectiveness of these services would be materially increased

2 L. H. Evans, The Job of the Librarian of Congress, an address by Luther H. Evans,
Librarian of Congress,, Station WTOP, Columbia Broadcasting System, Washington,
D. C. . ., July 21, 1945 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1945).

6 9

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<$>&&S>&$><><$>^^

by the creation of appropriate coordinating machinery for the federal
libraries. Possibilities include the organization of a Federal Library
Council, a National Library Advisory Council, 3 and the continuation
of the Experimental Division of Library Cooperation in the Library
of Congress. 4

THE LIBRARY SERVICE DIVISION. The most tangible recognition of
national responsibility for public library development will come with
the strengthening of the Library Service Division in the Office of
Education. Its objective "is to assist the libraries of the country in
enlarging and extending their services." 5 In the national plan for
public libraries, the Library Service Division will perform at least
four major functions.

First of all, it should be responsible for the collection and prompt
publication, at regular and frequent intervals, of statistics of public
library service throughout the nation. These reports should be based
on standard forms developed in cooperation with the American
Library Association and the state library agencies. Accurate and up-
to-date facts about library service in all parts of the nation are
essential in library planning. They disclose the areas of strength and
weakness and provide a national view of the library scene.

Second, the Library Service Division should act as an agency of
continuing evaluation, experimentation, and guidance. It should
conduct surveys and research in the public library field. It should
undertake experiments and demonstrations designed to stimulate the
development of new types of library service and new forms of library
organization. A half-dozen effective demonstrations, showing various
types of larger units in action, might be definitive in changing and
improving present patterns of local library service.

Third, in cooperation with the state library agencies, it should plan
and participate in conferences, in-service training institutes, and
workshops, and should render consultative service in the field as
required.

Finally, the Division should serve as the national administrative

8 Joeckel, op. cit. f pp. 65-66, 73.

*H. A. Kellar, Memoranda on Library Cooperation, No. i, September, 1941. (Wash-
ington: Library of Congress). Mimeographed.

5 U. S. Commissioner of Education, Annual Report, 1941 (Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1942), pp. 57, 58.

70

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&$>&$><$>$>&$^^

agency for whatever forms of federal aid to libraries may be adopted
by the national government.

Thus far, this potentially important agency in the postwar library
program has had only a token appropriation from the federal gov-
ernment. A substantial increase in its budget is essential if its work
is to be really effective.

FIELD SERVICES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES. The activities of the federal
government are spread throughout the nation by means of branch
agencies and direct services of many kinds. It is through these ac-
tivities that local libraries have most direct contact with federal pro-
grams of education and information.

The provision of books for the adult blind through the Library of
Congress is a well-conceived example of cooperation between the
federal government and a selected group of state and other libraries.
The printing of books in raised characters and the manufacture of
"talking books" comprise "the largest single publishing enterprise** 6
of the Library of Congress. These books are made available to blind
readers through twenty-five regional distributing libraries and
enjoy the federal franking privilege in the mails. This well-estab-
lished service should be continued. The twenty-five libraries which
cooperate in the project receive no financial assistance from the
federal government for the administration of the project. Moreover,
a number of the libraries are responsible for service to blind readers
outside their normal service boundaries. Eventually, such libraries
should be aided by federal money grants as well as by allotments of
books.

Another outstanding example of federal cooperation with state and
local library authorities in the provision of library service is found
in the Tennessee Valley Authority. In this area, regional libraries
have been established for service both to TVA service personnel and
to residents of the various districts. State library and educational
agencies, county governments, and local library units have been
drawn into cooperative agreements. The influence of the federal au-
thority in the development of these significant experiments has been

*U. S. Library of Congress, Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress for the
Fiscal Year Ended June 30, *944* (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1945),
p. no.

71

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

>o<>ec><$><><^

conspicuous and deserves wide interest. If other federal regional
authorities are established, similar cooperative library projects should
be undertaken.

The existence of a well-organized and complete network of public
library agencies throughout the nation is essential to the full success
of the various federal educational programs. Among these, the great
nation-wide program of rural adult education known as the Agri-
cultural Extension Service is outstanding. This undertaking em-
braces recreational as well as educational aspects and is by no means
confined to agricultural subjects. It represents the concern of the
federal government with greater equality of opportunity for rural
people. Pamphlet material in vast quantities supports the many
projects. These publications, however, while not confined to agri-
cultural topics, are for the most part utilitarian in content. The
need for books and library service in this great program is obvious;
in many places, close cooperation between agricultural agents and
library authorities has produced excellent results. However, since
more than half of the rural population of the nation lives in areas
without libraries, the effectiveness of the program is materially re-
duced. Clearly, the federal government has a stake in the develop-
ment of rural library service.

Field activities of the federal government make much use of
libraries, either as distribution points or as direct service centers. The
function of the library as a distributing agency was greatly augmented
during the war. As a means of direct communication with the people,
the library has played an important part, serving frequently as a
channel for information of immediate concern. The State Depart-
ment, Office of War Information, and agencies concerned with
civilian defense, price control, food production and conservation,
health maintenance, and victory loan campaigns solicited the aid of
libraries as outlets for information on vital international and domes-
tic issues. Obviously, the services of libraries should also be enlisted
in the peacetime activities of the federal government.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC, REFERENCE, AND INDEXING SERVICES. Federal li-
braries in Washington exist primarily for service to Congress and to
the administrative arms of the government, but many of their serv-
ices are of direct benefit to libraries and research throughout the

72

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
$?&$><&&$>&^^

nation. Piece by piece, an impressive array of bibliographic machin-
ery has been constructed in Washingtonpartly as by-products of the
present functions of the federal libraries, partly through grants from
individuals and foundations, and partly through deliberate planning
by the agencies concerned. The term "bibliographic machinery** is
here used to cover the widest possible range of indexing services, in-
cluding card catalogs of library holdings, indexes and check lists of
documents of all kinds, and catalogs and lists of books on many sub-
jects and in many special collections. The specific items described
below are only selected examples of a great array of similar tools.

The time is ripe for the libraries of the federal government to
perfect and to systematize the various elements in this complicated
bibliographic apparatus. Of the list of bibliographic enterprises
suggested in the following paragraphs, some are already fully in
operation, some are in part new, but the genesis of all is already
clearly evident.

The Library of Congress, now fully established as the national
library, is the natural focus for this machinery. It recognizes its
responsibility to libraries and to scholars as one of its major concerns.
Its reference facilities and those of other federal libraries provide a
highly competent type of service to scholars and research workers
throughout the nation.

The strategic position already achieved by the Library of Congress
in scholarship and research makes it inevitable that it should be for-
mally recognized as the national center for bibliographic informa-
tion. It should coordinate the services of the various regional biblio-
graphic centers, such as those of Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, and
others as they are organized. Bibliographic publications, prepared
by specialists on its staff, embrace many fields of human knowledge.
The vast resources of the largest library in the world are thus made
known to research workers and serious students throughout the
country. Recent study of its publishing and bibliographic activities
looks toward a more integrated program. A new publication, the
United States Quarterly Book List, although designed primarily for
use by the republics of the Americas, will be of great value also to
the libraries of the United States, containing as it does descriptive
reviews of important new books and biographical sketches of their

73

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<><x2><^$><>3>0<^^

authors. Likewise, its new Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions
will inform the research libraries of the country of the materials
currently added to the Library.

Of paramount importance to serious users of libraries everywhere
is the development of the Union Catalog in the Library of Congress,
"which has as its objective the recording of at least one location for
every significant research title represented in American libraries/' 7
Many important research libraries are cooperating in this project,
with the result that the scholarly resources of the entire nation are
made increasingly accessible. Work on this basic research tool should
proceed as rapidly as possible.

The existence of the Union Catalog places upon the Library of
Congress the obligation to act as a national center for mterlibrary
loans for research purposes. Eventually, it may be anticipated, the
national library will not only furnish information concerning the
locations of needed titles but will also participate actively in the
interloan process.

The compilation and publication of a definitive national bibli-
ography of American imprints also appears to be a natural and appro-
priate federal responsibility. The American Imprints Catalog, to
which the Library of Congress holds title, covers American publica-
tions through 1876 and later for some states. 8 This inventory, to-
gether with the privately compiled bibliographies of American publi-
cations, constitutes a substantially complete historical background
for a national bibliography. For die current publications, the Catalog
of Copyright Entries, and the Cumulative Catalog of Library of
Congress Printed Cards, both issued regularly by the Library of
Congress, provide a satisfactory base for a complete record. With this
substantial beginning, the compilation, as a national service, of a
complete and continuing national bibliography seems a reasonable
possibility. This project is not likely to be undertaken by any other
than a national agency.

In the field of subject bibliography, also, many federal agencies
are becoming increasingly active. Numerous current bibliographies
and digests of publications in specific subject fields, of which the

*Ibid., p. 81.

8 U. S. Library of Congress, op. tit., 1942, p. 48.

74

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<>0<><c**><><>^

Bibliography of Agriculture, compiled by the Department of Agricul-
ture Library, is an outstanding example, are now regularly issued by
various federal libraries. The further development of federal bibli-
ographic enterprises should be carefully planned and coordinated.

As part of the system of bibliographic apparatus, the library agen-
cies of the national government should strengthen and extend the
present array of catalogs and indexes of public documents and cur-
rent legislation. Already the federal government has made itself re-
sponsible for the cataloging of federal and state documents and the
indexing of federal and state legislation. It is in a strategic position,
likewise, to undertake similar comprehensive services in the field of
municipal and local government. . In the national system of biblio-
graphic machinery, the broad area of public documents federal,
state, and local should be assigned to the federal government.

This nation is on the eve of unparalleled developments in research.
In these great postwar developments the national government and its
libraries must participate to the fullest extent. The ultimate goal
should be to make the past and future findings of research quickly
and surely available everywhere through interlibrary cooperation,
bibliographic and reference services, and abstracting and translating
services. 9 The activities suggested in preceding paragraphs are only
the beginning of a much more far-reaching plan.

Participating in this complex machinery of research activities will
be government, learned societies, educational foundations and insti-
tutions, and industry. 10 The precise role of the federal libraries in
the future organization of research resources remains to be deter-
mined, but inevitably it will be one of major importance. Some of
the functions will be performed directly by federal agencies; others
will almost necessarily be performed in federal libraries, just as the
Union List of Serials was compiled in the Library of Congress. The
more the collections of the federal libraries are enlarged and their
bibliographic devices perfected, the more essential will be the role
of the national government in organized research.

a Vannevar Bush, Science the Endless Frontier,, a Report to the President (Washing-
ton: Government Printing Office, 1945), pp. 112-15.

10 American Library Association. Committee on Indexing and Abstracting in the
Major Fields of Research, "A Plan for Proposed Unified Indexing and Abstracting
Service/' A.L.A. Bulletin, XXXIX (October 15, 1945), 426-27.

75

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&&&>>&&<^^

CATALOGING AND CLASSIFICATION SERVICES
In the related field o cataloging and classification, the Library of
Congress has provided the libraries of the nation with technical
services of basic importance. The standards it has set in cataloging
and classification have become models for the nation. As a by-product
of the classification and cataloging of its own collections, it makes
available at a nominal price to libraries printed catalog cards for all
materials processed by the Library itself and also by the group of
libraries cooperating with it. About 7,500 libraries of all types
subscribe to this service. Included on the cards are both Library of
Congress classification numbers, generally acknowledged to be best
suited to the needs of scholarly libraries, and Dewey Decimal classi-
fication numbers, used in the great majority of public libraries.

This system of card distribution, as already stated, has developed
as a by-product. Cards are prepared for use in the huge catalogs of
the Library of Congress; but they are not always well adapted to the
needs of the average public library. Forms of author entries and
many subject headings are often too complex for use in small li-
braries. If the full potential advantages of this great system of cen-
tralized cataloging are to be achieved, it may be necessary to
inaugurate an entirely separate series of printed cards designed for
use by public libraries. For example, a great need for popular li-
braries of all sizes is a special series of catalog cards with descriptive
book annotations. Standard scores for readability of the titles in
this series might also be shown on the catalog cards. The annual
publication of annotated catalog cards for approximately 2,000
selected titles would meet the needs of the great majority of public
libraries. The national library is already deeply committed to the
centralized production of catalog cards for American libraries. The
next and logical step is to adapt this service to the needs of popular
libraries in such a way that it may be most economical and useful,
further study of this problem of providing a simplified series of
catalog cards for public library use might indicate that publication
of the catalog in cumulative book form would be most useful for
many small libraries and for many branches in large library systems.
A project of this kind would greatly reduce the time and cost of
cataloging in public libraries.

76

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<>O<cX<;X:^^

DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL PUBLICATIONS

The federal government operates a publishing business of colossal
proportions. On its list of publications it carries 65,000 titles and
claims an annual sale of 18 million items. These publications are
issued presumably for the information of the people of the United
States. Relatively few are confidential in character. The national
government has recognized libraries as logical channels through
which federal documents should be made available to the people.
A network of 555 depository libraries is designated to receive free
one copy each of all publications which are for general distribution.
The privilege of selection granted to these libraries has reduced to
about 124 the number of libraries which receive all classes of mate-
rial available to them. Other libraries may secure documents by
various arrangements, sometimes free, but more often by purchase
from the Superintendent of Documents. These provisions scarcely
amount to a systematic plan of distribution, especially for the quanti-
ties needed for popular use.

The complex and cumbersome procedures now in effect could be
reduced to a minimum by the adoption of a single simple principle:
Public documents should be made freely available to libraries in
such quantities as are actually needed. This rule would bring to
"the people of a democratic society , . . free of charge those publica-
tions of their government in which they are interested." 11

FEDERAL GRANTS-IN-AID TO LIBRARIES

The foregoing brief review of federal library relations makes it
apparent that the national government recognizes a considerable
obligation to libraries and that its services are many, some of them
as by-products of its major activities, others as direct acknowledgment
of responsibility. It is also evident that the government uses libraries
as tools or channels for the dissemination of information. All this
represents close cooperation between national and local authorities
in library activities. But the public libraries of America need more
than cooperation and services from the federal government*

21 L. C. Merritt, The United States Government as Publisher (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1943), pp. 147, 150.

77

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&$>&$><&$&^

EQUALIZATION GRANTS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES. The present great
Inequality in public library service throughout the nation can be
fully corrected only by a permanent system of federal grants-in-aid
to libraries. National subsidies in substantial amounts are essential
if the basic goal of a high minimum level of library support is to be
achieved. In a nation in which per capita income in the several
states varies almost as much as three to one, and among major geo-
graphic regions almost as much as two to one, 12 state and local effort
alone will not produce the amounts required to finance an adequate
public library system. It is reasonable to expect state and local gov-
ernments to make an equal effort to support public libraries, but it
is obvious that equal effort in the form of tax rates or appropria-
tions will not produce equal per capita revenues for all libraries
throughout the nation.

Federal aid to libraries, based on the premise that an intelligent
and informed citizenry is a national need fully as much as a state
need, should be designed to promote a high, nation-wide minimum
of library service. The amount appropriated annually should begin
at not less than f 15 million and should be advanced to $30 million
over a period of five years, during which state plans for the use of
federal grants should be tested and perfected. The proposed grants
would provide a great stimulus to the public library system of the
country. They would go far toward closing the present great gaps
in public library coverage.

Raising the national level of library service and advancement of
public libraries as unique instruments of education would be the
goal of such a program. Local autonomy in the use of federal grants
should be safeguarded, but ample provision should also be made for
such national direction as would insure maintaining, and gradual
raising of, service standards. Administration on the national level
should be vested in the Library Service Division in the Office of
Education, but grants to the states should be directly administered
by state library agencies, which will understand local plans, condi-
tions, and needs. State agencies should file with the Library Service

12 C. F. Schwartz and R. E. Graham, Jr., "State Income Payments in 1945," U. S. Bureau
of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Survey of Current Business, XXVI (August, 1946),

11-22.

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&$>&&<>><&Z^^

Division their plans for the use of federal grants. Over-all plans for
administration should provide for a minimum of federal control,
except as necessary to insure the use of funds for the purposes
designated.

The proposal just made calls for continuing aid to the whole public
library system of the nation through federal subsidies. In addition,
federal funds should be made available for other projects of a more
specialized character.

GRANTS FOR LIBRARY BUILDINGS. Any postwar program of public
works should give consideration to the building needs of libraries.
As pointed out in Chapters II and X, there is urgent need for re-
modeling, enlargement, or replacement of many existing library
buildings, as well as for an extensive building program to supply the
needs of 35 million people as yet unserved by libraries. Local in-
ability to meet these needs to any considerable extent is fairly evident
from the generally inadequate per capita support of libraries. States
in which the average annual support is three, ten, or thirteen cents
per capita are not likely to witness a library building program of
necessary proportions.

GRANTS TO METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES FOR REGIONAL SERVICE. The
system of federal equalization grants proposed above would insure
at least a minimum level of library support in all parts of the nation.
Through a network of local libraries, some library service, at least,
would be available to substantially all people. But such a system of
grants alone could not raise the general quality of service to the level
of the high metropolitan standard maintained in some of the great
American public libraries. Libraries in small or medium-sized com-
munities, however good, cannot possibly provide the many diversified
and specialized services available in the large municipal libraries
any more than the small local hospital can provide the same quality
and variety of service provided by the great metropolitan medical
center. The large metropolitan libraries contain great stocks of books
and other materials, well-organized and costly systems of biblio-
graphic apparatus, information services in business and other fields,
and their personnel includes specialists in reading, in adult educa-
tion, and in many fields of knowledge. They stand potentially ready
to serve the people of their natural geographical regions, just as the

79

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&fr&&<*>&&<&&^^

public utilities, the great hospitals, banks, and retail stores stand
ready to serve the same regions.

The public libraries in metropolitan cities, as shown in the follow-
ing chapter, serve to a considerable extent as natural reference centers
for entire regions. Smaller libraries throughout these regions cannot,
and should not, provide the resources needed for the research worker
or for the general reader whose needs and interests extend beyond the
relatively narrow limits of the collections available in his local li-
brary. On the other hand, it may be questioned whether the metro-
politan cities, in fairness to their own taxpayers, should freely provide
their special facilities to a population outside their taxing areas.
While many large public libraries are already generous in giving
certain types of service beyond their legal boundaries, present or-
ganization patterns and sources of library revenues obviously do not
permit the extension of their potential service to its natural and
logical limits.

As an important part of the national plan for public libraries, it is
therefore proposed that federal grants-in-aid for regional library
service be made available to a selected group of twenty or more metro-
politan public libraries, strategically located throughout the nation.
Under the terms of these grants the designated libraries would make
their collections and their facilities available to libraries and to read-
ers in their respective regions.

It is not the intent of this plan to set up a group of metropolitan
regional libraries as competitors of the present state libraries. In
general, this proposal for metropolitan centers would be subject to
certain general limitations. First, the functions of the state libraries
would remain unchanged, and certain of the larger ones might be
designated as regional centers. Second, library users would normally
obtain materials readily available in state and local libraries from
those libraries. The services requested of the metropolitan libraries
would usually be special in character and beyond the scope of other
libraries which the reader might use.

Except for these limitations, readers in any region might use the
metropolitan center library under the following conditions:

i. Individuals in any community throughout each region would
be permitted to use the facilities of the central metropolitan library

80

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&$>&&$><>4>^^

in person on the same basis as residents of the city for reference,
readers* advisory service, and for home circulation.

2. Individuals anywhere in the region would be permitted to use
the central library by mail or telephone*

3. Local libraries throughout the region might freely call upon
the regional center for bibliographic service and for advice from the
specialists on its staff as required.

Thus the most isolated rural or small-town reader would have
access to the same kind of library service enjoyed by the resident of
the metropolitan community. He would have available not only the
"minimum" service of his local library but also the "maximum"
service offered by the best large public libraries. This maximum
service would be provided by a natural and easy extension of existing
metropolitan library facilities to the relatively small group of read-
ers sufficiently interested to use the central library in person or to
communicate their inquiries and needs by mail or telephone.

Federal grants to the metropolitan centers undertaking this form
of extended service should be substantial. Experimental grants might
first be made in favorably situated regions in order to determine as
accurately as possible the types and costs of services desired. The
system of maximum-service regional centers would then be expanded
gradually to cover substantially the whole country.

ROLE OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION IN THE
NATIONAL PLAN

Consideration has been given to the role of the national govern-
ment in the advancement of public libraries and to the direct finan-
cial assistance which is necessary before all citizens can have the full
benefits of library service. Another aspect of national participation
in library development should be mentioned. The role assumed by
the American Library Association will be, as in the past, indispen-
sable in carrying out a national plan for libraries.

"The American Library Association is an organization of libraries,
librarians, library trustees, and others interested in library service
.... It now has 16,000 members distributed in every state and
Canadian province and in the major countries of the world/* 13 One

13 4JL4. Bulletin, XL (December 15, 1946), H-424. AJLJl* Handbook,

81

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<^><^><^^>^^

of the chief objectives of the Association is complete and adequate
library coverage, and to that end it has worked actively since 1925*
Through numerous boards and committees it seeks to raise the stand-
ards and level of library activities, procedures, and personnel. With
an able headquarters staff, it implements the work and recommenda-
tions of its members, and furnishes advice and stimulation to state
and local library authorities. As a supplement to this brief statement,
attention should be called particularly to the work and annual reports
of the Library Extension Board and the Committee on Federal
Relations, though the interests of no Association committee or board
are unrelated to a national plan for the advancement of public
libraries.

It is obvious that the American Library Association, a membership
organization, cannot itself assume the responsibility for nation-wide
extension of public library service. It has neither the resources nor
the governmental status for such a role. Its contributions, along with
those of supporting state associations, will continue to be those of
planning, guiding, stimulating, and administering special grants for
research and demonstrations.

SUMMARY

A national program of action in the improvement of public library
service can be achieved only by the joint efforts of federal, state, and
local governments. "The final result should be a cooperative part-
nership in library development in which the Federal government
shares responsibility with the states and the local units/' 14 The fed-
eral portion of the joint program will include the following functions
and services:

1. An enlarged and greatly strengthened national agency equipped
to provide effective leadership in the extension and improvement of
library service throughout the whole nationthe Library Service
Division in the Office of Education.

2. A national bibliographic center in the Library of Congress,
prepared through a continuing and expanded Union Catalog and
appropriate bibliographic machinery to direct interlibrary loans and
other services for scholars and research workers.

14 Joeckel, op, tit., p. 90.

82

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&$>&$><i><;><^^

3. Compilation by the Library of Congress of a complete and con-
tinuing national bibliography of books and pamphlets published in
the United States.

4. A complete system of catalogs and indexes of federal, state, and
local documents, laws, and ordinances.

5. Free distribution of government documents to libraries in
quantities sufficient to meet actual needs.

6. Continuation and improvement of the project of books for the
blind in the Library of Congress, with grants-in-aid for administrative
costs to cooperating regional libraries.

7. Necessary library services in all regional and field services of
the federal government, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and
the Agricultural Extension Service, provided by cooperation between
federal, state, and local governments.

8. Provision of a greatly expanded repertory of printed cards for
library catalogs, issued in varying forms suitable for use both in
scholarly and popular libraries.

9. Federal grants-in-aid to libraries in a variety of forms:

a) Equalization grants to public libraries increasing from $15
million to $30 million annually, based primarily on need, and de-
signed to assist in extending library service to all the people and to in-
sure a high, nation-wide level of library service.

b) Grants for "maximum" library service to twenty or more
metropolitan libraries for regional service to libraries and readers
in their geographic regions.

c) Grants for the construction of library buildings, as part of a
general public works program.

All of these services should be freely offered by the federal gov-
ernment to the libraries and people of the nation as part of its con-
tribution to public education. The. federal government should not
direct and control local library activities but should aim at full co-
operation with libraries of all kinds in building an integrated pat-
tern of library service.

CHAPTER VI

Coordination of Library Service

EACH individual, in a coordinated library system, has a right
to "an open channel to specialized services/' 1 Predicated on
the belief that no person, because of the location of his residence,
should be deprived of free access to library facilities adapted to his
unique needs, proposals have been made in previous chapters for
the creation of larger local areas of service and for the participation
of state and federal governments in the achievement of this goal.
The present chapter will consider certain cooperative steps toward
greater equality in library facilities which may be achieved within
the existing governmental framework.

Because of the great variety in human needs, subject interests,
levels of specialization, or reading competence, even the best-
equipped public libraries are subject to demands for service which
cannot be supplied by their own resources. If, in the millennium,
each independent library were to become wholly self-sufficient,
wasteful duplication on a wide scale would result. A partial solu-
tion of this problem may be found through well-planned coordi-
nation of library resources which will strengthen the facilities of
each library and will prevent needless duplication of materials and
effort.

In short, the movement toward formally organized larger units
of library service should be accompanied by an almost equally im-
portant movement toward informal but systematic coordination of
existing library resources and services. Public libraries should coop-
erate not only with other public libraries, but also with school
libraries, with college and university libraries, and with special
libraries. Carefully planned programs of coordinated library services

1 J. H. Kolb and E. de S. Brunner, A Study of Rural Society, Its Organization and
Changes (Boston; Hougfaton, Mifflin Co., 1935), p. 597,

COORDINATION OF LIBRARY SERVICE
$>&b&&&&fr^^

may be the initial stage on the way toward the later organization
of large service units.

Broadly speaking, two major types of library cooperation may be
distinguished. The first is regional cooperation between all types
of libraries in certain geographic areas. The second is classified
cooperation, in which libraries of each type cooperate mainly with
other libraries of the same type. 2 Major emphasis in this chapter is
placed on regional cooperation, since this method seems to fit the
American library scene most realistically. In the sections which
follow, the subject is developed, first, by a brief review of the
devices of library cooperation and, second, by the description of
typical situations in which cooperation is most needed.

DEVICES IN LIBRARY COOPERATION

The possible methods of library cooperation are many and varied.
They range all the way from a few tentative experiments to an
extensive system of coordinated services approximating in net results
a large library unit. Most of the devices useful in cooperation are
already apparent to librarians, but few, if any, have been pushed to
the limits of their full possibilities. These devices may be consid-
ered briefly under the three heads: (i) organization, (2) resources,
and (3) services.

ORGANIZATION OF COOPERATION, If cooperation is to be effective
in a particular region or area, it should be organized. However
informal the organization may be, it provides the potential leader-
ship necessary in planning and developing cooperative projects.
Whatever the field of cooperation, careful, long-range planning is
essential. Objectives, types of clientele, and service areas must be
defined. The formation of a permanent council of librarians seems
the obvious and essential first step 3 in organizing most cooperative
schemes. In order to achieve the broadest coordination of library
effort, the council should probably include representatives of all
types of libraries in any particular area, with the public library

a J. H. P. Paffiord, Library Co-operation in Europe (London; The Library Association,
i935) P- 25.

8 Amy Winslow, "Library Co-ordination and Consolidation in Metropolitan Areas/*
in C. B. Joeckel, ed., Library Extension: Problems and Solutions (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1946), pp. 143-44.

85

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

&&$>&&S$>3^^

representatives working closely together on special projects. The
major functions of the council should be the planning and general
direction o cooperative projects. It should meet regularly. Its
members should feel as great responsibility for its success as for the
successful administration of their own libraries, since the activities
it sponsors should be mutually beneficial to all libraries concerned.

In less well-developed areas, the state library agencies should per-
haps initiate and guide the advancement of regional cooperation.
In the long run, however, success in cooperation will depend on
conviction and determination among the local librarians directly
concerned.

COOPERATION IN RESOURCES. In the postwar years, the readiness
and ability of libraries to cooperate in building their collections of
books and other materials will be severely tested. Some notable
examples of cooperative action of this kind may already be cited,
but, in general, the effective coordination of library resources
remains an urgent task for the future. The continuing production
of huge quantities of printed and audio-visual materials will even-
tually force librarians to confront this problem with bold and com-
prehensive plans.

For the large libraries of the nation, cooperation in building col-
lections means a great extension of the concept of "sponsorship for
knowledge" the voluntary assumption of responsibility for devel-
oping and maintaining strong collections in particular subject fields
or in special kinds of materials. One cooperating library agrees to
build up its collections in certain subjects and to devote a substan-
tial annual outlay to increasing its holdings in these subjects, while
other cooperating libraries are free to develop other subjects of
special interest to them. In this movement toward subject speciali-
zation, the large metropolitan public libraries must carry their fair
share of the load. But the basic principle inherent in sponsorship
for knowledge may be applied also to smaller libraries; in their own
more limited service areas they 3 too, may specialize in certain subjects
or types of materials.

Hope for the future in this field of cooperation lies in the nego-
tiation by the libraries of America of a series of basic "treaties"
defining their mutual responsibilities in the development of their

86

COORDINATION OF LIBRARY SERVICE
^^^^^^^^

collections. Sometimes these treaties will be national in scope,
sometimes regional, more often, probably, metropolitan or local.
The adoption of such agreements, at whatever level, will greatly
strengthen and unify the resources of library groups of all kinds.

Closely related to cooperation in developing library resources is
the inevitable accompanying problem of storage of surplus or little-
used books. This insistent problem, which has been discussed by
librarians and others for over half a century, can be solved most
effectively by the building of a chain of regional reservoir libraries,
strategically located throughout the country, in which the surplus
materials of many libraries may be stored. The proposed nation-
wide network of regional storage libraries may be jointly financed
by cooperating libraries, but complete success of the project is likely
to require federal and state subsidies, at least for the construction
of buildings.

COOPERATION IN SERVICES. Real success of projects for library co-
operation will be achieved only by increasingly complete and unre-
stricted fusion of services rendered to library users. The measures
used as illustrations here should be regarded only as a preliminary
listing of possibilities.

The effective coordination of library resources will require, in
many places, the organization of regional bibliographic or informa-
tion centers, similar to those of Philadelphia, Denver, and Seattle, 4
The basic purpose of these centers is to serve as clearinghouses for
regional cooperation among library groups. They locate books and
other materials and facilitate their circulation between libraries;
they direct research workers and students in search of materials on
particular subjects; and they initiate plans for library cooperation.
In some situations, the compilation of complete or partial union
catalogs may be essential; in others, regional information centers
may operate successfully without these expensive tools.

The list o library functions which may be performed cooper-
atively is long. Groups of libraries may cooperate in selecting, buy-
ing, and cataloging books and materials. In serving readers, they

* Bibliographic Centers: What They Are, What They Do, How They Serve (Leaflet
issued by The Philadelphia Bibliographic Center, The Bibliographic Center for
Research, Denver, the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center, Seattle: 1944).

8 7

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

may coordinate the activities of their information departments.
Readers' advisers and children's librarians may be jointly employed
to serve the clientele of several libraries. Union lists o holdings of
periodicals and reference books may be compiled for groups of
libraries. Cooperative public relations programs may be organized,
with joint use of traveling exhibits and posters. Through such
projects, services to library users will be substantially increased, and
costs to individual libraries reduced.

Interlibrary loan facilities among American libraries should be
greatly extended and liberalized. Essential in the achievement of
this goal are, first, the more systematic organization of information
about the location of books and materials through regional biblio-
graphic centers and union catalogs and, second, greater freedom in
making loans available to serious general readers, as well as to
scholars and research workers. The British system of "regional
bureaux" for facilitating interlibrary loans has many lessons for the
American librarian. 5

In metropolitan districts and in compact areas with numerous
cities and towns, substantially complete "reciprocity" among public
libraries in circulating books to borrowers of other libraries should
be a major objective of library coordination. In its final form this
kind of reciprocity would permit registered borrowers of any library
in the cooperating group to borrow books in person from any other
library in the group. When state subsidies to public libraries become
general and liberal in amount, it will be appropriate for the state
to require that all libraries receiving state grants make their collec-
tions generally available to registered borrowers of other libraries.
This would be one method of roughly equalizing the book resources
available to individual readers. Library collections are now generally
free to all comers for reference and information services. In a fully
coordinated system of public library service, the privilege of bor-
rowing books from more than one library should be equally free.

AREAS FOR COOPERATION

The devices of library cooperation briefly described above may
be applied in many situations and many geographic areas, of which

5 Pafford, op. tit., pp. 43-48.

88

COORDINATION OF LIBRARY SERVICE
<><><>e0<c><><>0^^

only a few of the more important are selected for consideration here.

LARGE REGIONAL AREAS. Largest of all the areas of library coop-
eration are the several great natural regions of the United States.
Cooperative enterprises are already well developed in several of these
regions, and interest in regional cooperation is widespread. The
greatest need for cooperation, perhaps, is found in regions in which
total library facilities are relatively weak and geographically widely
dispersed. In regions with many strong libraries, on the other hand,
the need for planned coordination and accurate description of
resources may be almost equally urgent.

The focal point for the coordination of library service at this
level will be the regional bibliographic center. In a national plan
for the more efficient correlation of book resources, provision must
be made for the organization of a number of strong regional agencies
of this sort. These centers will systematize their knowledge of the
holdings of the libraries in their regions. Their work, in turn, will
be closely linked with the national bibliographic center, which is
rapidly developing in the Library of Congress.

Coordination of library resources for research will doubtless be
the major objective of the regional bibliographic centers. But many
of the larger public libraries will cooperate actively in regional
projects, and some, like Denver, will become leaders in developing
regional plans. As the demands of business, industry, and govern-
ment for bibliographic services steadily increase, the need for public
library participation in regional centers will become correspondingly
greater.

METROPOLITAN AREAS.- The greatest opportunities, and likewise
the greatest difficulties, in organized library cooperation are found
in the metropolitan areas. In the 140 areas classified by the United
States Census as metropolitan districts is massed nearly one half
of the nation's total population and, with few exceptions, its great
concentrations of library strength. Some of these metropolitan dis-
tricts are also the natural centers for the great geographical regions
described in the preceding section. Although most of them are more
limited in their spheres of influence, nearly all are the centers for
tributary areas of considerable size. It will be recalled that it was
suggested in Chapter V that the public libraries in some twenty of

89

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

the large metropolitan districts should be subsidized by the national
government as "maximum-service" libraries for their respective re-
gions; to these large libraries the people of the region might turn
for special services of all kinds as needed.

Many of the special services available through groups of metro-
politan libraries may readily be extended to regions much larger
than the metropolitan district proper. For some functions, the
service area might be limited to one or two counties; for others, it
might cover a dozen or more counties. Cooperative projects might
be financed by contracts between large libraries and their smaller
neighbors, based on costs of service rendered. Or groups of smaller
libraries might jointly finance certain new types of service. Or state
or federal grants might be made available for cooperative projects,
To make these general proposals more concrete, a plan of action
for a cooperating group of libraries in a metropolitan area is sug-
gested. Books for this library group are ordered for all cooperating
libraries by the order department of the central library; order
routines are speedy and efficient, and discount rates are materially
increased. Books for all libraries are cataloged and classified by the
central library. Attractive book lists on many subjects of common
interest are jointly compiled and used by all the libraries. A travel-
ing book repair specialist visits the smaller libraries on a regular
schedule. Traveling collections of books in foreign languages are
circulated to outlying libraries as needed. Reference and research
questions which cannot be answered by smaller libraries are referred
to special libraries or to the central metropolitan library. A group
of itinerant specialists readers* advisers, vocational counselors, and
children's librarianstravel throughout the region, offering their
services on a regular schedule advertised in advance of their visits.
A working collection of educational films and music and sound
recordings is jointly purchased and made available as needed any-
where in the service area. And finally, a regional storage reservoir
for little-used books is erected in a central location, to which all
libraries may freely send their surplus materials. This list of coop-
erative services might be greatly extended. The essence of the scheme
is: the numerous independent libraries maintain their separate legal
status, but a common reservoir of essential services is available to all

9

COORDINATION OF LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&&$>&$><$>^^

libraries in the cooperating group; and any reader has access to
ail the book collections in the area.

A cooperative project o a different sort is the joint maintenance
of a branch library located at or near the tax boundaries of two
independent public libraries. The joint branch library is thus made
available to all residents of its natural area; costs are equitably
divided among the cooperating library authorities; and complete
amalgamation of the two library systems is not required. The ex-
ample, common in many metropolitan areas, of neighbors living
on opposite sides of the street but with totally different library service
is sufficient proof of the need for such common-sense cooperative
arrangements.

SUBURBAN AREAS. Within many large metropolitan areas are
found groups of suburban communities which form relatively com-
pact and homogeneous units. Westchester County in the New York
metropolitan area, the "North Shore" towns and the "Burlington
group*' in Chicago, the "Peninsula" communities south of San Fran-
ciscothese are examples of many similar groups. These subdivisions
of the metropolitan complex afford unusually favorable oppor-
tunities for library cooperation, and several instances of good begin-
nings in coordinated service might be cited. Beginning with union
check lists of periodicals and reference holdings, and planned special-
ization in important subject fields, these cooperating groups might
continue by permitting complete reciprocity in borrowers' privileges,
which would permit any borrower of any library in the group to
borrow books in person or by interlibrary loan from any other co-
operating library. 6 These favorably situated suburban areas should
lead the way in bold experimentation in cooperative projects.

AREAS WITH NUMEROUS INDEPENDENT LIBRARIES. Equally favor-
able opportunities for library cooperation are found in many non-
metropolitan areas in which public libraries cluster closely together.
The library map of the East and the Midwest, for example, is thickly
dotted with many town and small-city libraries, often only a few miles
from their library neighbors in near-by communities. Most of the
devices of cooperation suggested above for metropolitan and sub-

6 A number of contracts o this sort have been made between public libraries in the
Los Angeles area.

9 1

NATIONAL PLAN fOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&$><$>&$>&$>3>^^

urban areas may be applied with equal effectiveness to regions o this
sort. Usually the region has a natural center perhaps a county seat
or a major trading centerwhich is in a favorable position to assume
leadership in a cooperative project. Eventually, these types of
informal cooperation may develop into more formally organized
federated library groups, aided by state subsidies, such as those pre-
viously proposed in Chapter III.

COOPERATION BETWEEN PUBLIC AND COLLEGE LIBRARIES. In hun-
dreds of American communities, public and college libraries exist
side by side. True, they are established to serve different clienteles,
but to a considerable degree the reading interests of their respective
constituencies overlap. Many books in college libraries are of interest
to general readers in the town, and many college students have
occasion to use public library books. The need for cooperation
between the two types of libraries is evident; the smaller the com-
munity, the greater it is likely to be.

College libraries and public libraries located in the same town
should carefully determine their respective fields of specialization
and emphasis in building up their book collections. They should
exchange information concerning titles ordered, or under consid-
eration, in order to prevent unnecessary duplication. The catalogs
of each library should contain entries for important items in the
collection of the other. Each library, likewise, should be thoroughly
familiar with the reference and periodical resources of the other*

So far as possible, reciprocity in circulation privileges should be
permitted between the college and town communities. College stu-
dents, as temporary residents of the town, should be permitted to
register as public library borrowers; and citizens of the town should
be permitted, with reasonable limitations, to use the college library.
Thoroughgoing coordination of resources and service between the
two libraries will materially strengthen each institution in meeting
the needs of its own readers.

SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES. There is no invariable
general rule for cooperation between school libraries and public
libraries, but the guiding principle which should apply is plain:
"School libraries and the public library should work together to
provide a coordinated and complete library service to school children

COORDINATION OF LIBRARY SERVICE
&$>4>$><>&i><><^

without unnecessary duplication o activities." 7 Both school libraries
and public libraries are supported by the same public, and both
agencies serve common age groups. Each must see clearly its own
role in a combined pattern of service to children and young people;
likewise, each must understand and respect the role of the other.
The line of demarcation between the service of school libraries and
public libraries will not be drawn at the same point in all places.
In large urban communities, probably, it will be drawn most easily
and most definitely. In small towns and in rural areas, on the other
hand, cooperation between the two types of libraries is most essential.
In these areas of sparse population and limited tax resources, a for-
mula for joint cooperative service should be developed by continued
study and experimentation.

SUMMARY

Coordination in services between neighboring public libraries, or
between public libraries and libraries of other types, seeks to achieve,
without change in the existing governmental and administrative
structure, some of the ends best attained, perhaps, by a thorough
overhauling of the existing pattern of library service. If library
authorities are firmly convinced of the values and possibilities of
cooperation, library service in many communities and areas may be
greatly improved.

A comprehensive scheme of library coordination should include
the following essential features:

1. Its operation should be planned and directed by a council of
librarians representing the libraries included in the project.

2. Definite agreements should be made among the cooperating
libraries covering their respective fields of specialization in acquiring
books and other materials.

3. Libraries should experiment actively with a wide range of
common cooperative services to their combined groups of readers.

7 American Library Association. Division of Libraries for Children and Young People,
School Libraries for Today and Tommorow: Functions and Standards, prepared by the
Committees on Post- War Planning of the American Library Association, Division of
Libraries for Children and Young People and Its Section, The American Association of
School Librarians, Mrs, Mary Peacock Douglas, Chairman. (Chicago: American Library
Association, 1945), p. 9.

93

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&$>&$><$^^

One of the most importaift of these services is complete reciprocity
in circulation privileges designed to permit all readers to borrow
books from any library in the group.

These devices of cooperation may be used in varied ways in dif-
ferent geographic areas. In the great geographic regions of the
nation, the process of coordination will have its focus in the regional
bibliographic center, which will systematize information about the
library resources of the region. In the metropolitan areas, in groups
of suburban towns, or in areas with numerous independent libraries,
the goal should be the development of a common pool of services,
freely available to the people of the region. Likewise, every effort
should be made to coordinate the functions of public libraries with
those of college libraries and school libraries.

94

&&4>&&$><$>^^

CHAPTER VII

Public Library Finance

WITHOUT adequate income, good library service is impos-
sible. To provide the kind of public library system proposed
in this national plan will require revenues far in excess of present
levels. These additional amounts are needed for personnel of high
quality, for ample stocks of books and audio-visual materials, and
for attractive and efficient buildings not only in favored communi-
ties, but also throughout the whole nation. The sums named are
large, but they must be obtained if American libraries are to realize
their full potentialities as intelligence centers for all the people.

ESSENTIALS OF SOUND FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

A public institution must rest on a sound financial structure. It
should be able to guarantee to its constituency proper returns based
on clear-cut objectives and a long-term plan of development. Its
revenues should be dependable, so that operational commitments
can be made and continuity of service assured- The public library
is no exception to this general rule.

Public library income should have a sound basis in law. Sources
of revenue should be assured, within reasonable limits, and final
authority for determining the annual library income should be
vested in the legislative body of the political unit or units served by
the library. 1

Libraries are nonprofit institutions, and their returns to society
are of an intangible quality which is as yet only partially subject to
measurement. Yet their benefits are demonstrable, and requests for
funds should be justifiable to appropriating bodies in terms of needed
community services and of past achievements. The American people

1 American Library Association, Committee on Post- War Planning, Post-War Stand-
ards for Public Libraries {Chicago: American Library Association, 1943), pp. 54'55-

95

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&$ > &&^^

have, for the most part, been willing from the beginning to tax
themselves generously for public education. With public libraries
oriented primarily toward educational objectives, funds for library
development and extension should be forthcoming.

Whether the library is to be supported by a special tax levy or
by an appropriation from general funds is a question which usually
may be left for general trends in public finance to determine. 2 "If
the library tax rate is variable within reasonable limits, either
method permits the appropriating authority to determine the
actual amount allocated to the public library/' 3 In the future, it
seems probable that libraries, like other governmental agencies, will
tend to rely more heavily on sources of revenue other than the gen-
eral property tax.

Adequacy of library revenues may be measured in terms of two
accepted standards. The first measures library financial resources in
terms of annual per capita expenditures. The second measures the
library's income in terms of the total minimum income below which
no library unit, regardless of size, should fall. These two standards
are inseparable; neither should be applied without the other.

The American Library Association's Committee on Postwar Plan-
ning has proposed as standards for annual per capita support for
public libraries: $1.50 for "minimum service, $2.25 for "good"
service, and $3.00 for "superior" service. 4 These amounts can be
justified by long observation of good public libraries in action or
by statistical analysis of the costs of library functions and operations.
The achievement of a national minimum income of $1.50 per capita
annually is therefore a primary goal in all library planning. The
standards here stated are based on the assumption that the operating
costs of school libraries are borne by school districts, not by the
public library. In cities and counties In which school libraries are
administered by the public library, total income per capita should
be substantially Increased.

The standard of minimum total income for a public library has

3 E. A. Wight, Public Library Finance and Accounting (Chicago: American Library
Association, 1943), pp. 27-31.

* American Library Association. Committee on Post- War Planning, op, cit., p. 55.

* This recommendation increases the amounts 1.00, $1.50, and $2,00 fixed as stand-
ards in Post-War Standards for Public Libraries, p. 56.

96

PUBLIC LIBRARY FINANCE
<&&&$><><>&&^^

been set by the Committee on Postwar Planning of the American
Library Association at $37,500 annually. 5 Experience and research
alike demonstrate the fact that adequate library income cannot be
provided until taxing and service areas are made considerably larger
than is the general rule today. This conclusion may be justified by
estimating the minimum costs of the essential elements in efficient
library service and by showing that these cannot be financed for
less than $37,500 annually. 6 Martin's study in 1944, already cited in
a previous chapter, concludes that essential elements of service were
not generally attained until annual incomes reached the figure of
approximately $4O,oooJ In 1947, this amount should be increased
to approximately $60,000.

A combination of these two standards makes it obvious that a
population of 25,000 is usually required to provide the minimum
essentials of good library service. The public library in a small
community may meet the specific standards of income per capita
but still come far from providing the essential services to its people. ,
On the other hand, a library in a larger city may easily meet the
standard for minimum total support, but its low per capita income
may make its service inadequate both in quantity and quality.

NATIONAL NEEDS

The three purposes for which increased library revenues are
needed are (i) for current operating revenues, (2) for capital outlays
for new buildings and reconditioning of outmoded structures, and
(3) for capital outlays for the initial book stocks of new libraries
and the replenishment of book stocks in many older libraries. Only
an integrated federal-state-local program of library support is likely
to produce the sums required for these three purposes.

REVENUES FOR CURRENT OPERATION. Based on the standard of
$1.50 per capita for minimum service fixed by the American Library
Association's Committee on Postwar Planning, at least $200 million
is needed annually for the support of public library service to the

5 This is an increase from $25,000, previously recommended. Ibid,, p. 55.

6 I bid., pp. 45-47-

7 Lowell Martin, "The Optimum Size of the Public Library Unit," in C. B. Joeckel,
ed., Library Extension: Problems and Solutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1946), pp. 32-46. See p. 35, supra.

97

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&$>&&&&$^^

entire population. This provides for an estimated population of
140 million. It will take time to reach this new national level of
library support. But this goal must be reached if all the American
people are to have a satisfactory minimum of public library service.
A large share of the proposed increase in public library revenues
must be assumed by the state and federal governments. In recent
years, local governments "have felt the pinch of limited resources/' 8
and the national government and the states must come to their aid,
especially in the general field of public education. It is therefore
proposed that the total sum of $500 million for the annual operation
of public libraries be divided approximately as follows among the
local, state, and federal governments:

Approximate
Source Total Appropriation Per ent O f Total

Local Appropriation $120 million 60

State Aid 50 million 25

Federal Aid 30 million 15

Total $200 million 100

This suggested division of financial responsibility among the three
levels of government corresponds rather closely to present and pro-
posed plans for the distribution of expenditures for general gov-
ernment and for educational purposes. In 1942 school districts
received 36 per cent of their revenues from other governments. In
the same year, general local governments received 25 per cent of
their revenues from other governments. 9 And in a careful study of
postwar fiscal requirements of the nation in 1949, the Brookings
Institution proposes that 37 per cent of the total cost of local edu-
cation be borne by state grants-in-aid. 10 Thus, the allocation of at
least 25 per cent of the local support of public libraries to the states
appears to be in line with current trends in the financing of public
services of general interest.

S J. P. Harris, "States and Cities," in Book of the States, 1945-46, Vol. VI (Chicago:
The Council of State Governments, 1945), p. 49.

8 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Governmental Finances in the United States > 1942
(Washington: Government Printing Office, 1945), pp. 14, 16.

10 L. EL Kimrnel, Postwar fiscal Requirements: Federal, State, and Local (Washington:
The Brookings Institution, 1945), p. 87,

98

PUBLIC LIBRARY FINANCE

Likewise, the quota of 15 per cent proposed as the federal con-
tribution to local public library support seems justified by the great
disparities among the states in average income per capita and, in
density of population, already discussed in Chapter V. Universal
library coverage, with special emphasis on rural areas having little
or no library service, must be one concern of the federal government
as it looks to the general welfare of the people.

But the financial plan for adequate library revenues must rest
upon a sound foundation o reasonable local effort to support public
libraries. The proposed share of local government in library sup-
port is fixed at 60 per cent of the total requirements, or approxi-
mately $120 million annually. This is $50 million in excess of total
public library revenues in 1946* Since this proposed local contri-
bution would be distributed over the entire nation, the average
local expenditure would be approximately $0.90 per capita, as com-
pared with $0.72 per capita in 1946 for the population actually
served by public libraries. 11 It should be possible for local govern-
ments to increase their total public library expenditures to the
extent suggested.

The proportionate contributions of the local, state, and federal
governments outlined above, it should be emphasized, are proposed
only as an over-all total. Necessarily, proportions will vary from
state to state and from local unit to local unit, in accordance with
different plans adopted for state and local finance and in accordance
with taxpaying ability. Proportions will change as fiscal policies
change, but there can be little question of the need for the total
sum of $200 million for the annual support of public libraries in
the United States.

CAPITAL OUTLAYS FOR BUILDINGS AND BOOKS. Thus far, this con-
sideration of the financial needs of American public libraries has
been limited to revenues for current operation. But before libraries
can operate successfully, they must be housed in appropriate build-
ings and stocked with modern collections of books and other mate-
rials. Revenues for these purposes can be obtained only in small

11 American Library Association, Equal Chance Supplement (Chicago: American
Library Association, 1947). Revision (using 1945-1946 figures) of tables pp. 26-31 in
1945 ed.

99

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<x00<<><x<c^^

part from current operating funds; in general, they must be derived
from capital outlays. These outlays are obviously most urgently
needed in the areas now totally without public libraries, but they
are also badly needed in the many areas of the nation in which
present library service is below minimum standards.

To provide library buildings for the 35 million Americans now
living in areas without public libraries, and also new and remodeled
buildings in areas with substandard library service, it is estimated
that a capital outlay of at least $500 million will be required. 12 The
need for this amount is justified in detail in Chapter X, "The
Public Library Building Program."

For the original book stocks of new libraries for 35 million people,
$125 million is the lowest estimate of actual needs. These new
libraries should be stocked with a minimum of 50 million volumes
at an average cost of $2.50 per volume. For the replenishment of
book collections in the substandard libraries, another $50 million
should be made available.

A minimum sum of $675 million in capital outlays, then, is needed
to bring the buildings and book collections of American public li-
braries up to standard. The length of the period during which this
amount is to be raised will depend upon the rate of library extension
to new areas and also upon the raising of library standards through-
out the nation. No prediction of the time required is hazarded.
Given a period of general prosperity and successful operation of the
national economy, with corresponding success in library planning
and leadership, large-scale physical rehabilitation of public library
resources might be achieved within a decade.

It will require the joint efforts of all levels of government to raise
the capital sums required for buildings and books for public libraries.
Many communities should be able to finance their own needs; many
others will need assistance from the states and the nation. The
greatest hope for the attainment of library needs lies in the inclusion
of library buildings in general public works programs. Library

13 United States National Resources Planning Board, National Resources Development
Report for 1943, Part I: Post-War Plan and Program (Washington: Government Print-
ing Office, 1943), p. 73. The sum of $400 million recommended by the Planning Board
is increased to $500 million to provide, in part at least, for increased building costs.

IOO

PUBLIC LIBRARY FINANCE
$&&&&&&$^^

authorities and governmental agencies must be ready with their
blueprints when funds for public buildings programs become gen-
erally available.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

The substantial increases in public library revenues proposed
above should be accompanied by improved procedures in the finan-
cial administration of libraries. In an integrated national plan for
public library service, in which local, state, and federal govern-
ments participate, the many authorities involved should report their
expenditures fully and promptly, and efficient financial administra-
tion must be assured. A few key points essential in financial admin-
istration are selected for emphasis here.

The financial procedures of the library should be recognized as
essential tools of administration. The board of trustees, or other
governing authority, takes an active part in securing adequate sup-
port for the library and assumes responsibility for fiscal policies.
The librarian, as chief executive of the library, is its financial admin-
istrator. He prepares the budget for consideration by the board
and municipal or county authorities and expends library funds
within the budget and financial policies approved by the board.

The budget is the key to successful financial administration of
the library. It balances planned expenditures against estimated
revenues. Its total amount is determined by the immediate service
program of the library and also by the library's long-range financial
plan, providing each year for definite steps toward future objectives.

In preparing the annual budget, the library administrator must
determine what proportion of total operating expenditures shall be
allotted to each of the three major subdivisions of the budget:
salaries of the library staff; books, periodicals, and binding; and
miscellaneous operating expenditures, including salaries of the build-
ing staff. It would be unwise to prescribe inflexible proportions for
these three items which should apply invariably to all libraries or
to any library at all periods in its financial history. As a general
norm applicable to many public libraries, the following proportions
of expenditures may be suggested: 60 per cent for library salaries;
20 per cent for books, periodicals, and binding; and 20 per cent

101

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

><>e<^eX;><X^

for other operating expenditures. In many other libraries, especially
in larger cities, it may be desirable to adopt a 65-17.5-17.5 per cent
ratio for these three items. Whatever distribution formula is used,
the total budget should be large enough to provide adequate funds
for both salaries and books. When total library income per capita
is seriously below standard, it may be impossible to conform to
standard proportions in expenditures.

In the development of the library plan, an integrated system of
financial reporting is essential. To provide local, state, and federal
authorities and interested citizen groups with a clear view of the
distribution of the cost of library operations, financial reports must
be complete, accurate, and prompt. So far as possible, library author-
ities should follow standard forms for financial reporting approved
by state library agencies, the American Library Association, and the
Library Service Division of the United States Office of Education.
Likewise, accounting, auditing, and purchasing procedures should
conform to the best financial standards of public administration.

Finally, progress of the national library plan will be facilitated by
the use of improved methods of cost accounting in public libraries.
Unit costs of library functions and operation should be carefully
analyzed in public libraries of different sizes and types. More reliable
data on the costs of library operation under various types of library
organization will provide information of basic importance to experi-
ments in the development of larger units of service.

SUMMARY

The success of the national library plan depends upon the ade-
quacy of its financing. Support of the public library should be
guaranteed by sound legislation so that continuity of service may
be assured.

A combination of two inseparable financial standards should be
used as the measuring stick of the adequacy of library revenues.
In annual income per capita for the population served, library
income should range from $1.50 for minimum service to $3.00 for
superior service. In total annual income, no library unit should
fall below 137,500 annually. Unless public libraries meet both these
standards, they are not likely to be efficient.

102

PUBLIC LIBRARY FINANCE
<$&&&<$><&&$^^

For the financing of the national library plan, large increases in
library income will be required, and only a combined program of
federal-state-local support can be expected to raise the amounts
needed. Current operation of a public library system serving the
entire population of the United States calls for a total of at least
f 200 million annually. It is proposed that this sum be distributed
among the levels of government approximately in the following
proportions: 60 per cent from local units, 25 per cent from the
states, and 15 per cent from the federal government.

In addition to current operating revenues, it is estimated that
capital outlays of $500 million for new buildings and for enlarge-
ment and repair of older structures are needed over a period of
several years. An additional outlay of $175 million is needed to
stock new libraries with books and to replenish the collections of
substandard libraries. These capital sums should be obtained, when
possible, from funds allocated to public works programs.

Great responsibility attaches to the methods of financial admin-
istration employed in the use of the largely increased library revenues
recommended. Modern procedures in budgeting and cost account-
ing should be followed. For the purposes of long-range planning,
it is particularly important that complete and integrated reports
of library financial operations be published regularly and promptly
by all agencies of government.

103

4>&&3>&$^^

CHAPTER VIII

Books and Library Materials

AT THIS point in the national library plan, emphasis shifts from
the pattern o library organization to library operations. Pre-
vious chapters have been mainly concerned with proposals for a
scheme of organization for the postwar public library system. It
now remains to implement this framework by a series of chapters
on other aspects of the library plan. First consideration is given to
the books and other materials which make up the collection of the
library. 1

This subject may be introduced by observing that the pattern of
library organization proposed in this national plan will eventually
have a significant effect on the materials which the library collects.
As the units of library service steadily increase in size and income,
the size of the library's book stock will increase correspondingly in
the number of volumes available for use. Equally important will
be the increase in the bibliographic spread of the larger collections,
measured by the number of titles they contain. A large library system
equal in volume content to many small libraries will usually have
in its collection more titles than the small libraries combined.

Moreover, in a planned library economy, no library need be lim-
ited by the size or scope of its own collection. As its second line of
service it may call on the collections of the state libraries and the
oxeat metropolitan libraries, as described in previous chapters. 2 And
cooperative arrangements with neighboring libraries will make the

1 For a more general treatment of this subject, see American Library Association.
Committee on Post- War Planning, Post-War Standards for Public Libraries (Chicago:
American Library Association, 1943), pp. 66-74; C. B. Roden, "Standards for the Public
Library Book Collection/' in E. M. Danton, ed., The Library of Tomorrow: A Sympo-
sium (Chicago: American Library Association, 1939), pp. 87-95; C. B. Roden, "Theories
of Book Selection for Public Libraries," in L, R. Wilson, ed., The Practice of Booh
Selection (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1940), pp. 1-19.

2 See pp. 58-59, 79-81.

104

SOCKS AND LIBRARY MATERIAL^
&fr&$>&$><>^^

book stocks of all libraries available to readers in all communities
in the cooperating group. Agreements between groups of libraries
as to fields of specialization in their respective collections will also
serve to strengthen the joint resources of libraries in natural regions.
As the mechanism of cooperation becomes in reality a closely inte-
grated system, the books and materials of many libraries in states
and regions will become more nearly a fluid collection, standing
ready to supply the needs of all serious readers, regardless of the
particular political units in which they may happen to live.

THE COLLECTION OF THE POSTWAR LIBRARY

The postwar public library will doubtless change more radically
in the character of the books and other materials it assembles for its
users than in any other respect. The library dares not fail to adapt
its collection and its services to changing methods of communicating
information and ideas. How sweeping these changes will be can
only be conjectured; at the very least, they will be extensive.

The public library will continue to rely upon the book as its
foundation. The heart of the library will doubtless remain a col-
lection of books,, carefully selected, properly classified and cataloged,
maintained in good physical condition, accurately recorded when
in circulation by a standard charging system. When worn out in
service, these volumes will presumably be replaced by new copies
or by new titles of greater utility. No librarian is likely to deny the
continuing need for this sound backlog of resources in print.

But it seems probable that the postwar public library will become
much less formal in its methods of recording and servicing a consid-
erable portion of its printed materials. For example, it may stock
in multiple copies large numbers of standard paper-bound books
and pamphlets, perhaps similar in format to the Armed Services
Editions. Copies may be sold to readers at cost or exchanged for
other titles on a piece-for-piece basis without making formal charg-
ing records. Bold experimentation with this and similar methods
of mass distribution of materials may result in reaching entirely
new sources of readers.

But the progressive public library is much more than a collection
of books. Traditional conceptions of the library already find a place

105

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

for periodicals and newspapers, pamphlets, government publica-
tions, maps, pictures, sheet music, and local history records of all
kinds. The modern librarian, moreover, sees in many o these tra-
ditional materials great new possibilities as instruments of popular
education. Pamphlets and convenient, paper-bound books are fre-
quently effective educational tools, prepared by experts skilled in
graphic, condensed, readable methods of presenting information.
The alert library today, if it is awake to possibilities, makes these
materials available in quantity, displays them with skill, and gives
them away if sufficient numbers can be secured free of charge. The
building up of a picture collection becomes a major project. Pictorial
and graphic material on every available subject is lent for use by
teachers, parents, illustrators, group leaders, advertising men, and
even for home decoration, A map is no longer a reference item to
be consulted only in the library, but goes traveling, to home, con-
ference, or office with the user. Government publications, despite
their bibliographical complexities, are recognized as sources of
vital information which must by any conceivable short cut be placed
in the hands of the user with all possible speed.

Newer types of records are rapidly finding their places in the
modern library. Music recordings are made available, accompanied
by scores, and if possible the borrower's choice is facilitated by sound-
proof music rooms or by listening tables. Records for the study o
language and literature are acquired, including poetry and drama
readings, and in some places record players are provided for lending*
Realization is growing that the wide use of educational films by the
military services has created for such materials a postwar demand
which stimulates the imagination. Many libraries are already build-
ing collections of films and records and are making wide use of them
with discussion groups. The American Library Association's Audio-
Visual Committee has recognized the obligation to learn what the
library's opportunities may be in this new field, and the Council
of the Association has strongly endorsed the extension and improve-
ment of film service through libraries. 3 The use of microfilm for

3 See Annual Report of the American Library Association, Audio-Visual Committee,
AX. A. Bulletin, XXXVIII (October i, 1944), 374-76. Action of the A.L.A. Council
on this subject is noted in AJLA. Bulletin, XL (September 15, 1946), P-aS, and XLI
(February, 1947)* 5^

1O6

BOOKS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS
<&&<?&&<<><><^^

preservation of important records and documents, including files
of newspapers and journals, is widespread. It promises to alleviate
the storage problem in many large libraries.

Progressive libraries are already fully aware of their responsibil-
ities and opportunities for supplying materials far different in form
from the library's traditional book stock. In the postwar years, non-
book materials will be increasingly recognized as an essential part
of the collection, not only of the unusual library, but also of the
average library.

In short, the public library must decide to what extent it will
broaden the front of its operations. Shall it seek to reach a greatly
increased number of users by materials and methods which supple-
ment the printed book? The answer seems plain. For large numbers
of Americans, print is not necessarily the best medium of communi-
cating ideas. For all Americans, it is only one of a variety of methods
of communication. The public library must explore thoroughly this
new field and must adapt the best of the new materials to its own uses*

Obviously, this venture into a specialized field is not likely to be
successful if made by small and relatively weak libraries. Once more,
the need for a system of strong, large-unit libraries, able to acquire
and service the new materials, is apparent,

PROBLEMS IN BUILDING THE COLLECTION

Basic in the development of the library's collection is an accurate
determination of its objectives and its fields for emphasis. The
major objectives of the American public library are usually stated
as education, information, aesthetic appreciation, research, and rec-
reation. 4 The smaller the library, the greater the need for deter-
mining the field of emphasis; and the larger the library, the greater
its probable success in meeting all these objectives. The most diffi-
cult decision for most libraries will be to determine how to draw
the line between the objectives of education and recreation. The
dividing line is never wholly clear, either for libraries or for the
people who use libraries. 5 In the postwar years most libraries will
doubtless place major emphasis on education. More and more, purely

* American Library Association. Committee on Post-War Planning, op. ci., pp. 19-24*
s Roden, "Standards of the Public Library Book Collection," op. cit., p. 93.

107

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<$>&&&$><$><&$^^

diversional reading will be de-emphasized and left to the commer-
cial agencies. This decision must be made i the library is to perform
an educational function worthy of the name.

Intelligent formulation of objectives must be preceded by a deter-
mination of the needs of the individual community. A thorough
survey o the area served is necessary to reveal salient facts about
the population its occupations, age distribution, reading interests
and abilities, educational levels, and other characteristics. Complete
information regarding other sources of reading matter available is
necessary for the coordination of educational resources. Given this
basic knowledge of community needs and resources, the librarian
will be constantly alert to changes and developments and responsive
to the varying needs of his community.

In meeting the community's needs, libraries will do more than
respond to demand. They will seek not only to anticipate but also
to stimulate interest and demand. Matters of vital importance in
the contemporary social scene will be represented by up-to-date,
readable materials. The library will seek to stimulate thought and
discussion on controversial issues by provision of fair and repre-
sentative publications on all sides of such questions. Criteria in the
selection of debatable materials will include (i) value and interest
to the community served, (2) sincerity and honesty of presentation,
(3) factual correctness, and (4) value for historical or research
purposes.

For the individual library's objectives, it may be unnecessary to
build up a well-rounded collection. The interests of the community
may call, not for balance, but rather for a reasonable degree of com-
pleteness in certain fields. The librarian will also be governed by
other sources of reading and research materials in the region and
the extent to which library cooperation makes them generally acces-
sible. Interlibrary loan policies, reciprocal service agreements, and
availability of microfilm facilities will be determining factors in this
connection.

In building its collection, the library will recognize that, as a
responsible public agency, it has an obligation to maintain standards
of quality. If it claims educational objectives, it will recognize its
position of leadership and its compulsion to furnish guidance and

108

BOOKS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS
<->0<><cX;><><><><>^

stimulation. Its policy must be active, not passive. From time to
time, it may have an obligation to determine that certain demands
by its constituency are not within its province to supply. In expen-
diture of public funds, it may frequently confront the necessity of
choosing between satisfying transitory popular demands and more
important social needs.

The good postwar library must also look to the quantities of its
stock of books and materials. It may measure its total holdings by
reasonably flexible standards. 6 But these over-all measures will be
useless unless the collections are up to date, alive, and responsive to
popular needs. Tomorrow's library must recognize that hundreds
of readers may wish to read the same book at almost the same time
or, at least, are interested in the same subjects as great numbers of
their fellow citizens. Duplication of useful and worth-while books
in generous quantities to meet the important current needs of the
community promptly when interests are alive and urgent is there-
fore essential. 7

Closely related is the library's task of public enlightenment. It
is the responsibility of the public library to disseminate widely infor-
mation on current issues and problems of special interest to the
community, the nation, and the world. "Libraries should make it
difficult for the people of the community to remain ignorant about
the matters of great social importance." 8 Programs organized for
this purpose need not rely solely upon routine circulation and
advisory services. The effective "Atomic Energy Institute" con-
ducted in 1947 by the Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore is an
outstanding example. This Institute included a program of addresses
by nationally known speakers, supplemented by carefully planned
exhibits, displays of books and pamphlets in large quantities, and
the distribution of thousands of book lists. 9 While only a small num-

c American Library Association. Committee on Post- War Planning, op. cit, f pp, 71-73.

7 C. H. Milam, "The Public Library of the Future/* School and Society, XLVIII
(October 15, 1938), 477-82; Roden, "Standards of the Public Library Book Collection/*
op. cit., p. 94.

8 C. H. Milam, "Notes from the Corner Office/* AJL-A. Bulletin, XLI (April, 1947),
99-100. See also C. H. Milam, "The Library and Today's Problems," AJLJi, Bulletin,
XXXIII (December, 1939), 721-22.

8 Kate Coplan, "Baltimore's Atomic Energy Institute," Library Journal, LXXII
(March i, 1947), 67-71.

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&$>&&&&4>^^

ber of libraries may be able to undertake ambitious programs of
this sort, the plan can be scaled down to meet the needs of smaller
libraries. Moreover, this type of project lends itself to extensive
duplication if sponsored by the American Library Association or
by groups of libraries.

The postwar public library must really come to grips with the
problem of obsolescence. The average public library, certainly, has
no responsibility for retaining on its shelves large numbers of vol-
umes which are, for its purposes, at least, outdated and outmoded.
The library's book stock, in order to maintain vitality and maximum
usefulness, must be constantly weeded. Surplus volumes will go to
regional storage reservoirs, where the final sifting process will take
place, and where all titles retained will be available for the use of
any library in the region. The library administrator must include
in his budget liberal amounts for new books and for replacement
of old ones lost or worn out in service.

Finally, the library must get its books read, its materials used.
In addition to the more usual publicity devices, regional radio book
talks may serve to call attention of many potential users to the
resources of all the libraries in a large cooperating group. Within
the library, specialists in the various types of library materials will
provide expert guidance for the library user. Experiments should
also be made with new types of arrangement of library materials.
Instead of the traditional arrangement of books by classification
numbers, many libraries may prefer to display parts of their collec-
tions by broad groupings based on reader interestbooks for the
home, for the citizen, for the mechanic or artisan, and for other
groups. 10

PRODUCTION OF NEEDED MATERIALS

The postwar public library will also become an active agency in
influencing the production of materials suited to its special needs.
F SFthe library recognizes more generally its responsibilities in the
field of adult education, its administrators will become increasingly
aware of the lack of materials appropriate for many aspects of the
program. There is now a dearth of books and pamphlets suited to
w See pp. 7-8.

I IO

BOOKS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS

<XcX-X-><X><;X^^

the needs of the adult whose experiences are mature but whose
educational background and reading ability are at a low level. Diffi-
culties of comprehension discourage ambition, and materials on an
appropriate reading level are usually written for the immature.
Furthermore, there is need for study of the types of books on various
topics needed to make the adult education service to readers more
effective. "At present, libraries are dependent largely on the output
of publishers and authors whose criteria for needed publications
do not necessarily match those for an informal education service
to adults. Such a service perhaps needs some preliminary research
on diagnosing the needs of readers and on types of reader Interest
Thorough and effective adult education service through reading is
definitely dependent on achieving a suitable supply of reading mate-
rials, prepared . . . with the specific purposes of a library adult edu-
cation program in mind/'i* ''

Close cooperation with publishers, writers, and others concerned
with production of educational materials is therefore needed to
secure new materials in poorly covered fields and suited to various
reading levels. The list of needs also includes educational media for
those unaccustomed to the use of print. Libraries should obviously
greatly increase their use of educational films, recordings, and graphic
means of presentation. Study will be needed to determine types of
media best suited to various purposes, subjects best adapted to such
means of instruction, and important gaps in subject matter covered.
The librarian's task, in other words, goes beyond securing and using
available materials and includes influencing the actual production
of new and experimental materials.

SUMMARY

The collection of the postwar American public library, although
still based primarily on print in all its forms, will be materially
different in form and content from the collection of the present-day
library. Not all of the possible changes can be clearly foreseen, but
some of the more likely ones may be summarized as follows.

The book stock of the large-unit library will be more extensive

21 John Chancellor, "Tentative Statement on Adult Education Standards for Libraries,
Prepared for the AX.A. Post- War Planning Committee" (March, 1942). Mimeographed.

Ill

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<XC*X$><E><><><;^^

because it will contain more titles than the group of small, inde-
pendent libraries it replaces. Its bibliographic spread will be greater,
especially in nonfiction. More effective systems of cooperation be-
tween libraries will also tend to increase the number of titles readily
available to serious readers everywhere.

At the same time, the public library of tomorrow will emphasize
large-scale duplication of important books, so that many persons
may be reading the same title at approximately the same time.
Multiple copies of standard books and pamphlets in paper-bound
editions will be widely distributed by sale or exchange, without
the necessity of formal charging records.

Perhaps the most striking change in postwar library content will
be the greatly increased emphasis on nonbook materials. Examples
are: pictorial and graphic materials of many kinds; recordings of
music, poetry, plays, and speeches; educational films; microfilms of
newspapers, official records, and books not readily available in print.
Such materials will be common in public libraries generally.

Whatever its form, the postwar library must conscientiously main-
tain the quality of its collection. It should strongly emphasize its
educational objective and should correspondingly de-emphasize the
purely diversional aspects of its recreational objective.

In postwar years, the library will be forced to deal drastically with
its obsolescent books and materials. These must be discarded or
sent to regional storage reservoirs for final sifting.

Finally, the public library will actively influence the publication
of new types of books and pamphlets useful in its program of adult
education. Specially needed are books of mature content for adults
of limited reading abilities.

112

CHAPTER IX

Personnel of the Postwar
Public Library^

BOOKS alone do not make a library. The success of the postwar
public library depends in large measure upon the qualifications
of the postwar librarian. For a library which aims to take its full
part in the creation of an intelligent and informed populace, it is not
enough to supply books and other materials in sufficient and access-
ible quantities, well selected for each population group. Equally es-
sential is a library staff fully qualified to fit books and materials to
specific reader needs and to create and foster a desire for reading and
information.

The staffing of the system of public libraries proposed in preceding
chapters will necessitate major changes in the numbers and qualifica-
tions of library personnel. The discussion of personnel in this chap-
ter, however, will be limited to a few significant points essential in
the development of a plan for postwar library service.

By way of introduction, it may be noted that the creation of the
system of large public library units described in Chapter III of this
report will materially affect the character of library personnel. The
organization of larger units will tend to concentrate library adminis-
tration in fewer and stronger hands. Essential in the new system,
therefore, will be the development of able chief administrators and
middle administrators. Likewise, the technical processes of acquisi-

*For more extended treatment of personnel administration in public libraries, see
the following:

C. W. Herbert, Personnel Administration in Public Libraries (Chicago: American
Library Association, 1959); Lowell Martin, ed,, Personnel Administration in Libraries
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946); E. W. and John McDiarmid, The
Administration of the American Public Library (Chicago: American Library Association
and University of Illinois Press, 1943), pp. 168-201; American Library Association.
Committee on Post- War Standards, Post-War Standards for Public Libraries (Chicago:
American Library Association, 1943), pp. 75-82.

"3

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
x^<>><x^<o><;>^^

tion and preparation of books and materials will be more and more
concentrated In the hands of specialists skilled in these functions.
This, In turn, will permit greater emphasis on improved methods
of library service. Staff specialists in adult education, in the tech-
niques and problems of reading, in reading guidance, and in service
to children and young people will be attached to the larger units.
Skilled service by the expert will be as generally available as library
service itself. The functioning of the larger service unit, further-
more, will facilitate the distinction between professional and clerical
duties, so difficult to achieve in small libraries. Many subprofessional
or clerical activities may be effectively concentrated at headquarters
or in regional or other large branches. In short, the larger unit will
permit the specialization in staff functions which is the foundation
of good library administration.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARIAN

The kind of public library service described in Chapter I can be
attained only by personnel of many and varied qualifications. The
public librarian of the future must have a vision of the library's
place In society and an awareness of Its relationship to other libraries
and other social Institutions. He must be qualified, both in under-
standing and in personality, to Integrate the library with other com-
munity activities. He must be comparable in intellectual caliber,
education, and personal qualifications with other social and educa-
tional leaders. His knowledge of the life of the community and his
active participation in it will enable him to make the library's serv-
ices widely known to its people.

The Increasing volume and complexity of print and other tools of
learning require expert knowledge and skill In making these re-
sources known. Not only must the librarian have a thorough knowl-
edge of local resources, but he must also know those accessible else-
where in the region, the state, or the nation. 2

The complexities of our social structure, as well as of recorded
knowledge, are making Increased demands for specialization. The
librarian, therefore, must not only have a broad intellectual equip-
ment but also specialized knowledge in chosen fields.

2 See Chapter VI, "Coordination of Library Service."

114

PERSONNEL OF THE POSTWAR PUBLIC LIBRARY

&&&&&&$>&^^

Leadership is a basic qualification of the librarian. Yet he has
often been reluctant to accept this role. Too often he has been con-
cerned with techniques and processes, too little concerned with peo-
ple themselves, or with community programs. His bookish qualities
have tended to accentuate the monastic instinct, and he has found
the cloistered desk more attractive than the forum. The combination
of book knowledge and of active community participation is not im-
possible, as many library leaders have demonstrated. The role calls
for imagination, vision, and initiative, for fearlessness and self-
confidence, and for the outgiving personality rather than the consti-
tutional recluse. The librarian who will insure for his institution
the place which it must occupy will start with people rather than with
books. He will seek understanding of men and sympathy with the
individual's needs and abilities. His interest in people will not be
an academic concept, but the result of an inner warmth which makes
itself felt.

Although personal qualifications have been considered first, the
educational qualifications of the librarian are no less important. For
professional library personnel, a broad academic foundation is essen-
tial. The public librarian who expects to serve as community leader
should have no less than four years of general college or university
education. In view of his responsibilities, advanced study is as im-
portant for him as for the teacher or for the college or university
librarian. His interests must be wide, and his knowledge of books
should qualify him as the book expert of his community. He will
find his greatest satisfaction and usefulness if he seeks expertness in
one or more major subjects. Finally, his academic training should
inculcate in him precision of thought and an analytic, objective atti-
tude, very necessary in skillful servicing of books.

The librarian also needs at least a year of professional education,
beyond college, designed to give him a broad knowledge of profes-
sional resources and developments on a national scale, a well-balanced
bibliographic equipment, and proficiency in the necessary techniques
and skills. His professional education should also give him an under-
standing of varying reading abilities, habits, and interests of people,
and skills in applying print and audio-visual materials to diverse
needs of groups and individuals. An increasing number of public

115

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<$>&><&$><$>&^^

librarians will find it desirable to undertake advanced professional
study in addition to the basic program o one year. Library authori-
ties should be generous in granting leaves of absence to able staff
members for this purpose.

During his professional preparation, the librarian will be helped to
find the field of work for which he is best adapted and to prepare
himself specifically for his choice. He may choose to specialize in
work with certain groups (e.g., in the fields of business, labor, public
administration, religion, or social service) or special age levels (e.g.,
adolescents or children). He may prefer to specialize in some subject
field, such as history or biological science, or in use of special types
of materials, such as educational films and other media of audio-
visual instruction. Or, the area of general library administration or
of personnel administration may appeal to him most.

For each of these areas of specialization, certain personal qualifica-
tions and aptitudes will be necessary. For executives, particularly in
the large library, vision, imagination, and organizing and managerial
ability are essential. The prospective extension librarian, looking
toward service in county or regional libraries or in state library
agencies, must understand the organization of rural communities
and must know the special problems involved in providing rural
areas with adequate library service. The branch librarian in a city
or county library system is responsible for the first line of service to
his community and must know intimately its needs and its activities.
The librarian preparing for work with children needs not only abil-
ity to get along with the child, but also a knowledge of child psychol-
ogy and modern educational procedures, as well as an acquaintance
with an entire field of literature not usually familiar to the adult.
Whatever the goal of the prospective librarian, his objective while in
training will be to acquire those skills which are essential in meeting
the needs of the individual with appropriate printed materials. He
will gain comprehension of that function of librarians stated by
Pearl Buck: "They cannot consider their work done until they have
books in the hands of readers and until they have the contents of
those books in the minds and thinking of citizens/* 3

8 Pearl S, Buck, "Not Ready for Victory," AJLA. Bulletin, XXXVII (February, 1945),
85-36.

116

PERSONNEL OF THE POSTWAR PUBLIC LIBRARY
<&4>&i><i><><i>G>4^^

The demand for personnel of the kinds just described can be met
only by the further development of public librarianship as a career
service steadily advancing in personal satisfactions, in service ren-
dered, and in reasonable rewards for work well done. Many librari-
ans will find satisfying careers within a single library. But often
opportunities for advancement in one library will be too few, types
of work too specialized, and salary scales too limited. Great freedom
of transfer from library to library should therefore be encouraged.
As classification and pay plans are perfected, it may be possible to
standardize job descriptions and even salaries for typical positions
in many libraries so that the successive steps in the career ladder may
be more readily distinguished.

Two parallel channels of promotion should be clearly recognized
in the careers of public librarians. One is the administrative chan-
nel, in which the librarian advances from a position as an individual
worker to a minor administrative post and then successively to more
and more important administrative positions. But this obvious type
of administrative advancement is not well adapted to the capabilities
and interests of many able librarians. Another career channel of
professional advancement as a subject or functional specialist must
also be kept open. The expert in bibliography or cataloging, the
specialist in science, in fine arts, or in other subjects, the reading
specialist, the children's librarian these and other specialists should
be enabled to advance in rank and salary without assuming important
administrative responsibilities. The development of these two paral-
lel career ladders will bring many librarians to satisfying positions
which will permit the best use of their special qualifications.

The staffing of postwar public libraries will require the recruiting,
first of all, of a backlog of professional personnel to perform the
fundamental and traditional functions of public libraries: adminis-
trators, catalogers, reference librarians, circulation librarians, and
librarians for work with children and young people. There will also
be greatly increased need for personnel with other special qualifica-
tions, trained and qualified to meet changing conditions. Coordina-
tion of existing resources and development of large regional service
areas will call for administrators of unusual imagination, tact, and
organizing ability. The demand for specialists in subject fields will

117

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&&&&&$^^

also increase. The rapidly emerging employment of audio-visual
materials as educational media indicates a demand for librarians
prepared to use such materials, skilled in discussion techniques and
in linking reading materials to the more ephemeral impression left
by the film.

If the public library is to aid adult citizens to become informed
thinkers on personal and social problems, its staff must include li-
brarians qualified to suggest books for specific reader needs and to
create among nonreaders a desire for reading and information. This
calls for reading-aid specialists who are not only thoroughly ac-
quainted with the world of books but skilled in interviewing, guid-
ance techniques, and in interpreting reading difficulties. Many
libraries will need such reading specialists, some serving as con-
sultants to the individual reader within the library, others acting as
extramural group workers. They will make library resources known
to religious, labor, youth, civic, and other groups and will coordinate
library service with the various educational programs in the com-
munity. The ultimate aim of such group work will be the fusing of
the content of books with the thinking of the individual citizen.

Large increases in the personnel of American public libraries will
be required in the immediate postwar years. One careful survey es-
timates that 3,500 additional professional librarians will be needed
by 1950, thus increasing present staffs to more than 15,000 profes-
sionals. 4 If public library service of reasonably high standard were
extended to all the 140 million people of the United States, the total
personnel requirements of American public libraries would approxi-
mate 60,000 full-time staff members professional and nonprofes-
sional. 5 These should be divided into two approximately equal
groups, one composed of professional librarians and the other of
nonprofessional assistants. Present ratios in public libraries tend to
exceed 50 per cent for professionals, but as library units are enlarged

4 "Post-War Library Personnel: a Report from the American Library Association on
Post- War Educational Opportunities for Service Personnel." January 29, 1944. Mimeo-
graphed.

5 This estimate is based on the standard for "man-hours'* of public service proposed
in American Library Association. Committee on Post- War Standards, Post-War Stand-
ards for Public Libraries, op. ciL, p. 32, and on a ratio of approximately one full-time
library staff member per 2400 population served, derived from data in "Public
Library Statistics," AJL^d. Bulletin, XXXVIII (April, 1944), 154-67.

118

PERSONNEL OF THE POSTWAR PUBLIC LIBRARY
<xX*c*>O<xc><c^^

and work programs revised, it may be expected that the ratio between
professionals and nonprofessionals will gradually strike a rough
balance.

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

Much of the success of the library staff member on the job in his
library depends upon skillful personnel administration "the art of
giving shape to human powers/* 6 Alert governing authorities realize
that the social objectives of the library cannot be attained until its
functions are so organized and managed as to provide intellectual
satisfaction, continued stimulation, security, and opportunity for
maximum growth and individual contribution for each staff member.
The staff of the library must be so organized that each member can
contribute to the group effort his highest abilities and skills.

Selection of personnel must be carefully controlled in all libraries
and at all levels in the library career service. Each state should have
an adequate certification law, designed to enforce basic minimum
qualifications for the principal personnel grades. Some local authori-
ties will supplement the state's certification requirements by civil
service regulations, others by their own merit systems. Often several
adjacent jurisdictions may conduct cooperative examinations for the
selection of library personnel in comparable grades. In all systems
of control, the selection of personnel should be governed solely by
fitness for the given position and restricted in no way by residence
requirements or by racial or religious factors.

Personnel policies should be carefully codified in all public li-
braries, and responsibility for personnel administration clearly fixed.
Public libraries with staffs of 150 or more should have full-time per-
sonnel officers; in smaller libraries, the chief librarian himself should
usually supervise this function.

The position classification plan is the essential tool which ob-
jectively fixes requirements and describes duties for each position
and which locates each position in the proper and logical place in the
organizational framework. The professional librarian will make his
contribution in professional activities, the clerical or subprofessional
assistant, trained for service in nonprofessional activities, will release

6 J. D. Kingsley, "Personnel: the Key to Progress," in Lowell Martin, ed,, op. tit., p. 2.

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<>0<><<><^ee<c><$^^

the librarian for the type of work for which he has been specially
prepared. Furthermore, careful study in the individual library will
determine the reasonable work load for each member of the staff,
so that each department and activity may be adequately staffed*

The library should be so administered as to give each staff member
opportunity for democratic self-expression and development. Pro-
vision should be made for free participation in planning and experi-
mentation. Both for institutional and individual growth, in-service
training of appropriate types should be provided. Opportunity for
advancement to higher rank should be insured by fair and clearly
understood promotion policies. Cooperation between libraries can
be greatly facilitated by occasional exchange of personnel.

Compensation of the public librarian should be adequate, first, in
salary on the job and, second, in pension after retirement. To secure
recruits of high caliber for the library profession, salaries in the lower
brackets and in small libraries must be materially improved. Ade-
quate salary scales for each position, comparable with those offered
other professional groups in the community and responsive to the
changing cost of living, are a prime necessity. Supplementing decent
living standards, library authorities will also look to adequate welfare
provisions, such as group insurance, standard vacation and sick leave
allowances, leaves of absence for study, and retirement plans. Study
should be given to plans for interchangeable pensions, so that trans-
fer of personnel between libraries may be facilitated. At the present
time, libraries in which excellent retirement systems are in effect too
often find themselves faced with a serious problem of stagnation.

SUMMARY: ELEMENTS IN A NATIONAL PERSONNEL SYSTEM

Essential for a postwar library program is a new concept of librari-
anship. The librarian of the past is usually pictured in the role of
custodian or watchdog. He has fortunately progressed beyond that
stage in his development and has become the dispenser of books,
often with his eye fixed nervously on circulation figures. But the full
potential of the public library in the American educational scene
will not be realized until its objectives and activities are concerned
with quality rather than quantity. Until the library has reoriented
Itself toward a more positive educational role, it will not become the

PERSONNEL OF THE POSTWAR PUBLIC LIBRARY
<>O<x0<txX><^0<><><^^

"university of the people" it has claimed to be. This will necessitate
sufficient funds to attract recruits of unusual ability and to provide
highly qualified personnel equipped to serve as leaders and guides in
our complex society. The essential elements in a national plan for
adequate public library personnel are these:

1. For the education of public librarians, there must be a group of
strong library schools capable of supplying professional librarians
in numbers sufficient to fill both current vacancies and also the large
arrearages in personnel which developed during the war period. The
efficiency of the schools should be assured by a national accreditation
plan. The accrediting authorityprobably the American Library
Association's Board of Education for Librarianship should be strong
enough to enforce high standards in the programs of the schools. 7

2. State laws for the certification of librarians, supplemented by
local personnel or civil service systems, are necessary to safeguard
entrance into the library profession and advancement within it.

3. When public library service of good quality is provided for all
the people of the United States, a working force of some 60,000 per-
sons will be required to man the public libraries of the nation.
About half of these will be professional librarians and the remainder
nonprofessional assistants.

4. Public librarianship should be recognized as a distinct career
service* It should provide two parallel channels of advancement, the
first in administrative rank and the second in rank as a subject or
functional specialist.

5. Enlightened personnel administration is needed within each
library. The best methods and devices used in public service gener-
ally should be employed.

6. Salary schedules should be attractive to personnel of high
quality in all grades of library service. Salaries should be supple-
mented by pension and welfare systems insuring financial security
for old age or illness.

*J. P. Danton, Education for Librarianship (New York: School of Library Service,
Columbia University, 1946), pp. 28-30.

121

&&&&<fr&&&^^

CHAPTER X

The Public Library Building
Program

THE physical plant of the library network of the future must be
adequate. Gradually, the national plan for public library service
will take shape in library buildings. To commit the plan to steel and
concrete involves making decisions of far-reaching importance. Er-
rors in judgment regarding the location of library buildings, their
layout, and their book capacity are often impossible to correct; at
best, necessary alterations are difficult and costly.

This chapter is not an extended discussion of public library build-
ing problems. It will consider only certain aspects of library building
which are closely related to the national library plan.

Responsibility for the preparation of detailed inventories of public
library building needs rests primarily upon the state library agencies
and the larger local library systems. They should have ready careful
estimates of the future building requirements of their states, counties,
or cities. State maps of effective larger units may disclose the need
for regional headquarters libraries in place of existing small-town
libraries, or for branch buildings in localities now without library
service. Planning for library buildings should be related to over-all
postwar plans for state and local areas and should be integrated with
local, state, and federal public works programs.

COST OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY BUILDING PROGRAM

The existence of a very serious arrearage in public library build-
ings has already been noted in Chapter II of this report, where it was
estimated that the physical plant of the present library system was
only about 50 per cent adequate. 1 The public library building needs
of the nation may be classified in the following major categories:
1 See pp. 28-29.

122

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING PROGRAM

<>$>&<><<><^^

1. New buildings are needed for the very extensive areas popu-
lated by the 35 million people now entirely without public library
service. These areas are largely rural and are often sparsely popu-
lated. Service to the people of such regions will require many head-
quarters buildings and large numbers of small library buildings,
some of which may be combined with community centers or with
schools.

2. A large number of obsolete library buildings, in cities large
and small, should be replaced by modern, functional structures.
Many of these buildings were erected before the first World War and
are now well over thirty years old.

3. Even in cities and counties with established library systems,
many additional branch library buildings are needed. In New York
City, for example, a recent survey shows that capital outlays amount-
ing to about $10 million are needed for new branch sites and build-
ings, with nearly $4 million more required for the initial book stocks
of these branches. 2

4. Finally, there remains the great task of remodeling, moderniza-
tion, and enlargement of American public library buildings. Hun-
dreds of existing libraries are antiquated, outgrown, and ill adapted
to modern needs. In view of the high average age of public library
buildings in the country, the financial requirements of this program
of renovation and enlargement may approach rather closely the capi-
tal sums needed for new buildings.

Only a complete nation-wide inventory could determine accurately
the amounts actually required under each of the above classes of
building needs. The best available estimates of the capital outlays
required to bring the public library building plant of the nation up
to standard fix the total need at approximately $500 million, 3 This
figure is based on accepted standards of per capita expenditures re-

2 New York City Planning Commission, Program for the Public Libraries of New
York City. Prepared under the direction of Lawrence M. Orton by Alfred Morton
Githens and Ralph Munn, Consultants (New York: City Planning Commission, 1945)*
pp. 12-16.

* United States National Resources Planning Board, National Resources Develop-
ment Report for 1943. Parti: Post- War Plan and Program (Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1943), p. 73. Other estimates made by Paul Howard, National Rela-
tions Office, American Library Association, March 18, 1946, and by Carl H, Milam,
Executive Secretary, American Library Association, October 5, 1944.

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<$>&$>&><&$>4>$>^^

quired for central and branch libraries in cities o varying size. 4 It
is also based on estimates received from a large sample of public
libraries which made reports on their building needs. Building costs
have risen materially since these calculations were made, and the
estimated amount required for public library buildings today may
be fixed at $500 million or more.

TYPES OF PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDINGS

The large-unit library, depicted in these pages as the essential
element in a nation-wide plan for effective library service, will re-
quire several different types of library buildings, each designed to
fill certain definite needs. It is pertinent to recall here that the
national library plan proposes a total of approximately 1,200 library
administrative units, 5 each with an appropriate number of branches
as outlets for the distribution of library materials and service. The
most important types are described briefly in the paragraphs which
follow.

THE HEADQUARTERS BUILDING. The focal point of each library
unit should be a modern, functional headquarters or central build-
ing, planned for at least twenty years of expansion and community
growth. In sections of the country where library service is introduced
for the first time, strategic locations must be chosen for the head-
quarters building, and building plans must envisage large new areas
of service. For some county library headquarters a location in a
modern county government building, planned for library occu-
pancy, may be a proper solution of the building problem. But in
most situations, both urban and county or regional library service
may be provided most economically by developing a central building
which will extend modern library service both to the city and to the
region from a common center,

THE REGIONAL BRANCH. In the large-unit pattern, the regional
branch with its extensive book collections will become an agency of
strategic importance in many situations. In large cities the regional

* American Library Association. Committee on Post- War Planning, Post-War Stand-
ards for Public Libraries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1943), p. 65; J. L.
Wheeler and A. M. Githens, The American Public Library Building (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1941), pp. 38-44.

5 Seepp. 49-51.

124

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING PROGRAM

<>&*>$><t><>&i^^

branch may function primarily as a service center for a group of
smaller community branches in its region, but it may also function
as an administrative center for die same group of branches. Pioneered
by Chicago, with its three important regional branches, 6 the regional
branch is growing in favor. New York's branch plan provides for no
less than eleven regional branches in the city's five boroughs. 7 Like-
wise, the regional branch may also become an important cog in the
distributing machine of the large county or multicounty library.
An excellent example is Los Angeles County's regional branch at
Lancaster for the Antelope Valley region. 8

THE COMMUNITY BRANCH BuiLDiNG.In the larger municipal
libraries and in county and regional libraries, the community branch
will bring library service directly to the people at strategic points.
Since branch buildings tend to follow more or less standardized
patterns in many library systems, the branch building plan deserves
unusually careful study. The branch library should not be a monu-
mental structure, and it must always be easily accessible, attractive
in appearance, and efficient in interior arrangement. 9 When popula-
tion patterns are reasonably well matured, branch buildings will
usually be permanent structures, with book collections ranging from
10,000 to 40,000 or more volumes. In less populous areas, smaller
branches may prove adequate. In localities where population is
shifting or where trends are uncertain, rented quarters may be
preferable to permanent investment in buildings. Experimentation
already under way with small prefabricated buildings may point to
newer, more flexible types of small branch units especially adapted
to use in county and regional libraries. 10

LIBRARY BRANCHES IN COMMUNITY CENTERS AND ScHOOLS.Under
favorable conditions, branch libraries may sometimes be housed in
buildings designed primarily for other functions, such as community
centers, schools, or grange buildings. If such branches are planned

6 C. B. Joeckel and Leon Carnovsky, A Metropolitan Library in Action: A Survey
of the Chicago Public Library (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1940), pp. 256-58.

T New York City Planning Commission, op. cit. f pp. 4-5, 29-30,

8 H. E. Vogleson, "A Regional Branch Library," Library Journal, LX (May 15, 1935),
429-30.

J. L. Wheeler and A. M. Githens, op. tit., pp, 375-83.

10 "Tennessee Library Council and TVA Specialists Develop a Coordinated Group
of Small Libraries/* Architectural Forum, LXXXIV (January, 1946), 118-21.

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&&&$><>^

for service both to adults and children, several important specifica-
tions must be made: a central and accessible location; library quar-
ters near the entrance or with a separate entrance; adequate space for
readers and collection; and convenient hours of opening. These
combined service agencies make it possible to extend library service
into many small communities. They take advantage of the common
interests of users of the whole group of agencies, and they are obvi-
ously economical in construction cost and operation,

BOOKMOBILES. As the highway system of the country is extended
and automotive equipment perfected, the use of the bookmobile or
trailer will doubtless continue to increase. Service of this type is
clearly indicated, not only in sparsely populated areas, but also in
many cities and metropolitan areas.

REGIONAL RESERVOIR LIBRARIES. Finally, to complete the public
library building program, there is need for a chain of storage or
reservoir libraries to house the surplus or little-used books of public
and other types of libraries. These buildings should be warehouses
designed for the economical storage of large quantities of books no
longer in active demand. The building of these reservoirs would
permit libraries to clear their shelves of outmoded and obsolescent
materials. The working efficiency of many libraries would be mate-
rially increased by this weeding process, but the volumes withdrawn
from the various libraries would still be available in case of need.
Funds for the reservoir libraries might be secured through federal
and state public works programs, aided by contributions from par-
ticipating libraries.

ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES IN PLANNING LIBRARY BUILDINGS

In planning the various types of public library buildings for ef-
fective community use, certain principles should be recognized as
basically important. Some of these principles essential in a national
plan for library service may be summarized as follows:

i. THE LIBRARY BUILDING SHOULD BE EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO ITS
POTENTIAL CLIENTELE. Location is all-important if the public li-
brary is to achieve its maximum usefulness. If a book can be picked
up along with the day's groceries, it is likely to go into the shopping
bag with the bread and butter. But if it is to be had only by climbing

126

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING PROGRAM
<><2><>&$>&<i>&^^

a monumental flight of steps, or by walking three blocks farther to
the handsome residence converted into a library, or even by seeking
the library in the center of the little green park, the book may remain
unused on the library shelf.

2. THE LIBRARY BUILDING SHOULD BE FUNCTIONAL. Fortunately,
this principle Is now generally accepted. The emerging concept of
the public library building of today is quite different from that of
yesterday. The modern public library is not a monumental show-
piece but a working instrument designed to serve readers and to
house its collection conveniently and efficiently.

3. STANDARD TYPES OF LIBRARY BUILDINGS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED.
All public library buildings, of course, should not be alike. But
several different types of buildings are closely similar In function,
wherever they may be located. Special study should therefore be
given to the development of building types which may be useful
in many typical situations. New York City, for example, is planning
a special type of large city branch adapted to the needs of a great
metropolitan area. The county library branch is another type of
building which will be widely used. The small-town library, which
may serve as an independent library or perhaps later as a branch of
a large-unit library, is another. Architectural competitions for the
more important types of buildings, and for buildings suitable to
different climates, might assist in developing standard plans usable
in many different places.

4. MANY PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDINGS SHOULD BE ADAPTABLE FOR
EXPANDED SERVICE IN COUNTY OR REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEMS. As
the large-unit library plan develops, many now-independent public
libraries will join or affiliate with county or regional libraries. Some-
times these libraries will serve as the headquarters for county li-
braries, sometimes as regional or community branches. This partici-
pation in a pattern of extended service will affect library building
requirements in two ways. First, many persons outside the limits
of the city or town in which the library is located will use the build-
ing. Second, the building should include necessary space for the
headquarters of present or future extension activities. In short, when
new library buildings in many communities are erected or old ones
enlarged, adequate provision should be made for the possibility of

127

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&2?&$>3>&^^

extended service In the future as part of a county or regional library
unit.

5, THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING OF THE FUTURE SHOULD BE
PLANNED AND EQUIPPED AS A MODERN EDUCATIONAL CENTER. -As has
been said many times in this report, the postwar public library will
emphasize its functions as an educational agency. This fact has impor-
tant Implications for the library building. It must provide rooms for
meetings and conferences of organizations and discussion groups of
many kinds. It will need installations of audio-visual facilities, pro-
jection rooms where films may be shown, and soundproof listening
rooms where recordings may be heard. Space for these educational
and group activities should be provided in all new buildings and
in the enlargement of old ones.

CONCLUSION

If the national library plan Is to approach reality, the library
building program must be projected well Into the future. This is
difficult because the proposed pattern of library service is only par-
tially complete. Yet this difficulty is in part offset by prospective
postwar developments in building materials, lighting, and equip-
ment, and also by a new spirit in architecture, based on a definite
purpose to fit the library building to the essential functions It
performs.

Even a short-range view of postwar public library building needs
shows them to be very great: for new buildings for the 35 million
persons living In areas without public libraries; for additional
branches in many established municipal and large-unit libraries; for
replacement, modernization, and enlargement of hundreds of ob-
solescent structures. Provisional estimates indicate that these varied
building needs will require a capital outlay of not less than $500
million.

The public library building of the future must be designed to ful-
fill a clearly understood purpose. The standard types of buildings-
central library and system headquarters, regional and community
branches in cities and counties, and library agencies in community
centers and schools must all be studied and perfected as units in a
planned system of library service. The library building must be

128

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING PROGRAM
&&&&$>&$>&^^

accessible to readers and attractive to them. As a prospective unit In
a national plan of library service, it must be adaptable, when neces-
sary, to extended service beyond the boundaries of its immediate
community. It should be planned and equipped to serve as a modem
community intelligence center.

129

<&&$>&$><$><$><$^^

CHAPTER XI

The Citizen and the Public Library^

IF LIBRARY planning is to succeed, at any level of government,
active citizen support is essential. The American public library
has developed as an expression of American democracy. It can reach
its full usefulness only as it serves the entire nation through local
community enterprises, and only as large numbers of citizens share
in its activities and its development. Such participation has always
been free and voluntary, a striking demonstration of democracy at
work.

In every community, there exists a dual relationship between the
citizen and his library. It can be stated in terms of mutual obliga-
tions of the library to the citizen and of the citizen to the library.
The citizen is at once the benefactor and the beneficiary of the public
library.

CITIZEN USE OF THE LIBRARY

The public library exists for the citizen. Its service is primarily
to the individual, seeking to anticipate his needs and to fit functions
and materials to those needs. The library, ideally conceived, aims
to aid each individual in the full development of his intellectual,
social, and cultural capacities. Chapter I has shown the public library
at its best. We have seen the citizen as he turns to his library for
help in business, recreation, study, and in all the multiple problems
of home and community life. He comes for specific information, for
guidance in reading, and for aid in research.

The library serves also as a community center to which the citizen
turns as he seeks expression of his interests and desires through group
affiliation. More and more, the library seeks to serve the individual
through the groups to which he belongs. Existing groups use library

*The assistance of Paul Howard in drafting this chapter is gratefully acknowledged.

IgO

THE CITIZEN AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
<><<c><c><>O<x:xK>^^

meeting rooms for lectures, forums, club and committee meetings,
and group-sponsored activities of many kinds. The library, in turn,
frequently is instrumental in organizing groups for reading and dis-
cussion of books or for the consideration of important social issues*
It brings together groups of children for story hours and of young
people for film forum discussions or perhaps for poetry evenings.
It organizes listening groups for symphony programs or for self-
expression on topics discussed in the Town Meeting of the Air. Clubs
and other organizations turn to the library for aid in planning and
conducting their annual programs.

The librarian's aim is to correlate the library with the activities
of all groups having social or cultural objectives. He establishes con-
tact with racial or nationality groups, with organizations of parents,
teachers, business, and labor. He affiliates himself through personal
membership with civic, welfare, and art groups. Some large libraries
have field representatives who devote most of their time to work
with special groups, such as civic and labor organizations, making
library resources known and assisting in the development of educa-
tional programs.

Among the many motives which lead the citizens of a community
to establish and operate a library, there is one basic, clear-cut purpose
to provide the entire community with well-organized, easily acces-
sible information about the problems which confront the community,
and to provide recreational and cultural materials of high aesthetic
and moral value. It is the obligation of the library to supply all the
services necessary to achieve this purpose: to establish a library sys-
tem of branches, stations, deposit collections, and bookmobile serv-
ices; to organize materials by classifying, cataloging, shelving, and
staffing, so that they will be readily available on demand and so that
all of the major informational needs of the community will be met
with a minimum of delay and red tape.

CITIZEN Am TO THE LIBRARY

The alert citizen, in turn, realizes that he has certain obligations
to the library, whether it be purely a matter of self-interest or the
broader motive of providing opportunities for the children and
adults of the community* He realizes that social institutions do not

131

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&<&&&&4>&><>^^

grow in a vacuum and that libraries cannot be taken for granted. He
must provide financial support and physical facilities sufficient to
enable the library to do a good job.

This obligation rests particularly upon the actual users of the
library. They are a select body which receives the benefit from the
whole community's effort. They know the facts about library service
better than any other group. They benefit most from good library
service and are most harmed by poor service. For this reason, they
have an obligation to support the library program if it is one they
approve, and an obligation to change it if they do not approve. This
can be done as individualsby talking with library officials and mem-
bers of the library board, and staff members, by letters to the papers,
by individual discussion all evidence of an active, intelligent interest
in community affairs.

Citizen interest is illustrated most strikingly, perhaps, by some
35,000 members of library boards who serve without compensation
as trustees of the 7*500 public libraries in the United States. These
trustees are usually appointive officers, chosen for their sense of
civic responsibility. They contribute time for board meetings, at
which they seek an understanding of the problems of the library and,
in cooperation with the librarian, formulate its policies. They repre-
sent the library to their communities, many of them actively and with
informed interest. Theirs is the obligation of studying the library's
needs and securing adequate funds for its operation. Many of them
spend unceasing energy interpreting the library to other citizens
and contributing toward an informed public opinion. Their interest
often extends beyond the confines of their own communities, and
they lend active support to state and national library programs. In
many states, and on a national level, library trustees have organized
associations to work for the general betterment of libraries and for
exchange of ideas and experience.

Citizen interest is, however, by no means confined to trustees.
Individually and through organized groups it has expressed itself
through the years in ways too numerous to catalog. The individual
citizen, be he newspaper editor, a voice in the contributors* column,
a self-appointed library ambassador, or an encouraging library pa-
tron, can do much to further understanding of the library and to

132

THE CITIZEN AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
<&$>&&&$>&&^^

build good will. The merchant allows the library to use his store
windows for displays and mentions library books in the house organ
of his business. The teacher instructs her pupils in the use of the
library and instills in them a love of good reading. The minister
calls the attention of his congregation to the library's books on re-
ligious topics. The labor leader refers the members of his union to
the library for books on labor problems. The lawyer suggests to his
clients that valuable book collections may be willed to the library.
Sooner or later most citizens will find opportunities to make the
library better known in their communities.

Organized support of libraries is no new thing in the American
scene. Many libraries had their beginning through the activities and
energy of some women's club. In many communities and states,
groups of men and women, organized primarily for other purposes,
have been instrumental in the passage of special library tax levies
or increased appropriations, bond issues for new buildings, or better
library legislation. The list of such organizations is a long one. It
includes service clubs, parent-teacher associations, university women,
business and professional women, voters* leagues, labor unions, farm
bureaus, granges, youth organizations, and many more. Librarians
and trustees are frequently identified with one or more of these
groups as working members. Greatly increased cooperation should
be fostered and stimulated. These groups are well organized and
their influence is far-reaching. In general, their common aim is civic
betterment. Their contribution to the advancement of libraries
can be very great.

Finally, there are the "Friends of the Library" groups, organized
to become acquainted with the services of libraries and to help inter-
pret their program to the community. Such groups realize that li-
brarians and trustees alone cannot perform the common task of
making the library a real educational force. "Friends of the Library"
are strong and going concerns in many communities. They have
worked to secure building funds, to stimulate gifts (both of money
and books), to awaken consciousness of the library's needs, to provide
special collections and special equipment (such as bookmobiles), and
to sponsor lecture series under library auspices. In one case, at least,
they sponsored a survey of library resources and needs and appointed

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

<&&&&&&$><$>$>^^

committees to work on different library problems under the direction
of a new librarian.

In some instances, "Friends of the Library" groups, variously
named, operate on a state-wide basis. Their concern is usually with
better legislation, the development of a strong state library agency,
and the extension of complete library service throughout the state.
One such group sponsored and successfully supported a program
that culminated in the establishment of a county library.

Many more such organizations are needed. They can stimulate
interest and spread information through their membership. They
can provide active leadership to work in cooperation with state li-
brary associations and state library agencies. They can work with
state legislatures to secure state aid and better library laws. And they
can carry conviction to Congress of the need for federal aid for
nation-wide library development.

These "Friends of the Library" organizations will not be "pressure
groups" in the accepted sense of the term. Their function will not
always be to support a larger library budget; sometimes it will be
to see that a library earns its appropriation. They will seek to rein-
force the claims of public libraries for reasonable public support-
not in the interests of a few, but for the benefit of all the people.

CONCLUSION

The major thesis of this chapter is that the relationship between
the citizen and his public library is best described as a mutual obli-
gation between two parties to a jointly useful contract. The library
exists to serve the citizen as an individual or as a member of many
different groups. The citizen, on his part, has it in his power to aid
the library in many ways as an individual, as a library trustee, or as
a member of the "Friends of the Library" or other appropriate
organizations.

From this participation in library affairs, the citizen will derive
many satisfactions. To be intimately connected with this peculiarly
American institution, to watch its growth in service and influence,
to aid it in bringing aesthetic satisfactions, social understanding, and
economic competence to many individualsthese are public services
which bring their own rewards.

134

<>3><x><><l>$>$><i>^

CHAPTER XII

Fields of Research and
Investigation

AT MANY points in preceding chapters, the need for extended
research and investigation in the whole public library field has
been apparent. Research is an indispensable foundation for library
planning and for the development of library services. It identifies
needs and discovers methods of meeting them. It evaluates the results
achieved by library programs. Library objectives, the framework of
organization, techniques, service proceduresin determining all of
these, research is useful and essential. 1

The word "research** is used broadly throughout this chapter. It
includes fact-finding in all forms and also such related activities as
library surveys and demonstrations. Emphasis is naturally placed on
applied research which may be directly useful in the solution of
library problems, but the importance of basic research which may
have little immediate practical application is fully recognized. The
major purpose of the chapter is to identify important areas of re-
search and to suggest special research projects by way of illustration.
No attempt is made to consider detailed methods of investigation.
And it is obviously possible to select for consideration only a limited
number of topics.

CENTERS FOR RESEARCH

Before attention is directed to specific fields of research, it is
pertinent to raise the question: Where should research be done?
The first important group of centers for research includes the various
agencies of the federal, state, and local governments. Of these, the
Library Service Division of the United States Office of Education is

1 E. S. Griffith, The Modern Government in Action (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1942), pp. 78-81.

135

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<Xc*c>><cXxx^^

potentially, perhaps, the most important. Since it is the national
center for public library statistics, the Division is well equipped to
undertake studies of the over-all development of public library
service* Its staff should include specialists competent to undertake
research of many kinds, 2 Likewise, many of the state library agencies
or other state offices should become research centers for their
respective states. The survey of the public libraries of New York,
initiated in 1945 by the Division of Research of the State Education
Department, is an outstanding example of library research by a
state agency. Municipal research bureaus, whether officially parts
of municipal government or not, may also devote increasing atten-
tion to public library affairs. Several examples of library investi-
gations by state or municipal agencies may already be cited. 3 The
staffs of these agencies are experts in research methods and may be
able to bring a fresh approach to the study of library problems.
One of the most important of these municipal studies is the survey
of library service in New York recently sponsored by the New York
City Planning Commission. 4

The library schools, particularly those with programs for advanced
study, are also potentially important centers for research in the
public library field. Faculty members interested in public library
problems should be encouraged to undertake research projects them-
selves and to direct theses and studies by competent students. 5 The
awarding of fellowships, scholarships, or special grants to practicing
librarians and to potential public-library leaders for study and re-
search at advanced library schools should be encouraged in every
way possible. 6

2 Paul Howard, "Whither AX.A.?" AX, A. Bulletin, XL (October i, 1946), 304-8.

8 Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and Texas are examples.

4 New York City Planning Commission, Program for the Public Libraries of New
York City. Prepared under the direction of Lawrence M. Orton by Alfred Morton
Githens and Ralph Munn, Consultants (New York: City Planning Commission, 1945)."

s An example is the series of "Community Studies in Reading," by faculty and
students of the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago, This includes
the Lower East Side (New York), Hinsdale, Illinois, Queens Borough (New York), and
Alliance, Ohio. Library Quarterly, III (1933), 1-20; V (1935), 1-30; VT (1936), 1-33; IX
(1939), 72-86.

e American Library Association. Committee on Fellowships and Scholarships, Educa-
tion for Librarianship: Grant$-in-Aid Financed by the Carnegie Corporation of New
York, jr$2$~i$4a (Chicago: American Library Association, 1943).

136

FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION

O<><;><>00<><$><^^

Individual public libraries may also undertake or sponsor research.
Surveys of libraries, whether made by the library's own staff or by
outside specialists, employ research techniques and may be valuable
contributions to available factual data regarding public libraries. As
techniques for self-surveys are perfected, it may be anticipated that
many libraries will undertake surveys of their own services and
functions. Research assistants competent to analyze and evaluate
the operations of libraries should be employed as regular staff mem-
bers of large library systems. The development of a center for the
tabulation of statistics on library use and community reading at
Montclair, New Jersey, 7 suggests the possibility of establishing
similar centers in selected communities of different types. Other
libraries might be used as centers for the study of projects of
different kinds.

A closely related device is the experimental or demonstration
library. Perhaps many large public library systems should have
"experimental" branches, such as the South Chicago Branch of the
Chicago Public Library, 8 in which new ideas and plans of many
sorts may be tested in practice. The need for demonstration libraries
has already been mentioned in Chaper V of this report. 9 Here
it may be emphasized that the research opportunities of library
demonstrations should not be overlooked. Whenever demonstration
projects are undertaken, essential records of costs and services should
be kept, results should be carefully recorded and evaluated, and
findings published.

The American Library Association is also an important center
for public library research. It has to its credit, for example, an
early study of special interest in the field of library extension/ and
it collected much of the factual data used in the present report.
Numerous public library surveys have been made under its auspices.

'Montclair Public Library, Central Records Control by Punched Cards (Montclair,
New Jersey: 1942). See also Margery Quigley, "Library Facts from International
Business Machine Cards," Library Journal, LXVI (December 15, I94 1 )' 1065-67,

8 Lowell Martin, "Outline of Experimentation in the South Chicago Branch
Library" (Chicago: Chicago Public Library, December, 1940). Mimeographed.

* See p 70.

10 American Library Association. Committee on Library Extension, Library Exten-
sion: a Study of Public Library Conditions and Needs (Chicago: American Library
Association, 1926).

137

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

ooe<$<><><><$xc><c>^^

It should increase Its research, activities in the future. Some of the
stronger state library associations may also be able to undertake
research through their own committees. 11

Of the great educational foundations, the Carnegie Corporation
of New York has been most active in sponsoring public library
research projects. On April 14, 1947, the Corporation announced
a grant of $175,000 for a two-year study of the effectiveness of
public library service in the United States and Canada, to be con-
ducted under the direction of a special committee of the Social
Science Research Council. This study, called "The Public Library
Inquiry," is planned as a searching "appraisal in sociological, cul-
tural, and human terms ... of the public library's potential and
actual contribution to American society." Its five major subdivisions
will include: library functions and objectives, internal operations,
governmental controls, present services, and relations of the library
to new developments in the field of communication. 12 Library
authorities and organizations should seek opportunities for enlist-
ing the cooperation of other foundations in investigations of interest
to public libraries.

Finally, the individual librarian should be encouraged to under-
take research projects on his own initiative. Often he has at hand
in his own library excellent raw materials for study and analysis.
If his research projects are carefully planned, his findings may be
interesting and valuable.

The foregoing enumeration of places in which research on public
library subjects may be undertaken suggests at once the need for a
clearinghouse of research projects planned or in progress. This
function might be assumed by an Advisory Committee on Library
Research, created under the joint auspices of the American Library
Association, the Library Service Division of the Office of Education,
and the Association of American Library Schools. This committee
would keep records of research completed or in progress and would
also stimulate the planning of a broad program of new research
projects.

31 See, for example, "Library Tasks: a Classified List, Revised, September, 1941,
by the Library Standards Committee, California Library Association," California Library
Association Bulletin, III (September, 1941), 21-27.

32 "The Public Library Inquiry/' Library Journal, LXXII (May i, 1947), 698, 720-24.

138

FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION
<x^e<><><><^e<><^^

BASIC STATISTICS OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Fundamental to research in the public library field is the collec-
tion and publication of basic statistics of library use and support.
A good beginning has already been made in the cooperative use of
uniform annual report blanks by state library agencies, the Library
Service Division of the Office of Education, and the American
Library Association. This plan for uniform reporting should be
continued and perfected. The systematic compilation of public
library statistics on a nation-wide plan should include the follow-
ing elements:

1. Annual collection and publication by the various state library
agencies of public library statistics for their respective states.

2. Biennial collection of statistics of the public libraries of the
nation by the Library Service Division of the Office of Education*
Some data might be collected and tabulated without publication
but made available for research purposes through punched card
or other mechanical devices.

3. Annual publication by the Library Service Division of statistics
of a carefully selected sample of American public libraries to
show short-range trends on a national scale.

4. Compilation by an appropriate agency of up-to-the-minute statis-
tics of a small sample of good public libraries of different sizes,
designed to show current trends in library registration and circu-
lation. These data would be published in the form of index num-
bers calculated in relation to a base year. They would be some-
what comparable to the "Dow-Jones" averages of stock and bond
prices. Their major purpose would be to inform librarians quickly
and accurately of changing trends in library use, as shown by rep-
resentative good libraries.

LIBRARY GOVERNMENT

Most plans for the expansion and improvement of library service
necessarily depend to some extent on the place of the library in
the governmental structure at the local, state, or national levels.
Although some pioneer studies in this general area have been made, 13
the field as a whole should be a fruitful one for research projects

18 C B. Joeckel, The Government of the American Public Library (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1935).

139

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE

of many sorts. Both librarians and students of government and
public administration should be interested in its research possi-
bilities. Most attention has been given to the place of the public
library in local government, but similar studies of the position of
library services in the several states and in the national government
are also of basic importance.

The following list of research projects is offered as an introductory
suggestion to the many kinds of research needed in this field of
library governmental relations:

1. Relations of the federal government to libraries and library
service

2. State library relations, with special attention to the different types
of state library agencies and their relations to local libraries

3. Federal and state grants-in-aid to public libraries, with suggested
formulas based on economic ability, density of population, extent
of urbanization, and other factors

4. Detailed studies of public library government in the several states

5. Historical treatment of the development of public library legis-
lation

6. General analysis of public library legislation

7. Certification of librarians and its results

8. Civil service in relation to public libraries 14

9. Evaluation of the trustee system of public library administration
in action

10. Relations between public and school libraries, with special em-
phasis on integration of service

UNITS AND AREAS OF LIBRARY SERVICE

The plan of public library service proposed in this report rests
squarely upon the organization of local library units large enough in
size and income to give service of high quality. Therefore, research
in the field of units and areas of library service is of special impor-
tance. Analysis of the organization of different types of larger library
units should be the objective of one group of studies, with demonstra-
tions and controlled experiments indicated as essential in determin-

* Herbert Goldhor, "Civil Service in Public Libraries," Library Quarterly, X1I1
(July, 1943), 187-211; American Library Association. Subcommittee on Civil Service
Relations, Civil Service and Libraries (Chicago: American Library Association, 1947).

140

FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION
<><x*$>0<<$>00^^

ing results. Another area of research should be concerned with
methods of serving readers in large-unit libraries. Cooperation be-
tween libraries is a third major subdivision of this general field of
investigation. Examples of research projects on this subject are the
following:

1. Determination of the optimum size of the library unit 15

2. County and regional libraries: organization and functions

3. Methods and results of extending library service by contract

4. Branches and stations in large-unit libraries

5. Library service through groups of cooperating libraries

6. Definitive study of automotive library service; advantages and
disadvantages, methods, and costs

7. Effect of sparsity of population on methods and costs of library
service

8. A geographical and governmental analysis of areas now without
library service

9. Role of the central library in extending service to rural areas
10. Library service in schools and community centers

LIBRARY FINANCE

Most problems of library organization and service have obvious
financial implications. Hence, many of the topics listed in other sec-
tions of this chapter might quite logically be repeated here under the
head of finance. For example, there is the all-important question of
federal and state aid to libraries, previously mentioned in the section
on library government.

In general, the major problems of financial administration in pub-
lic libraries fall into two groups: (i) library revenues and (2) costs
of library functions and services. Research is much needed in both
fields. In the first group, research studies should aim to show the
general trends in library support and to analyze the different sources
of library revenues. In the second group, cost accounting, the possi-
bilities for research projects are almost unlimited, since practically
every library function is a possible subject for analysis. One impor-

** Lowell Martin, "The Optimum Size of the Public Library Unit," in C B. Joedcel,
ed., Library Extension: Problems and Solutions (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
PP- 32-4&

141

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&&&&<Z>&&^^

tant general cost study 16 has already been published, but additional

Investigations of the costs of many library functions may be projected.

The following list suggests topics for investigations in this field:

1. General history of the growth of public library revenues and
expenditures

2. Sources of library revenues, with special reference to comparison
of income from tax levies and from appropriations

3. Ratio of library expenditures to total expenditures for local
government 17

4. Per capita costs of major library services, e.g., information service,
children's service, etc.

5. Unit costs of specific activities, e-g., comparison of circulation by
mechanical or manual methods, reproducing catalog cards, etc.

6. Comparative costs of different types of organization, e.g., depart-
mentation by subject vs. departmentation by function

7. Effect of cooperative effort on unit costs, e.g., on costs of pur-
chasing and cataloging books

8. Methods of allocating book funds to departments and branches

9. See also financial topics included under "Library Government"
and "Units and Areas of Library Service," preceding

LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION

Thus far, this chapter has considered research in fields largely
external to the library itself government, service areas, and finance.
But research is equally essential in the internal administration and
operation of the library. Investigation in this field may well begin
with a study of the public library's own research and staff functions,
a subject which has had relatively little attention. The larger public
libraries should perfect their own research techniques.

Administrative organization of the public library is another field
in which research will have fruitful results. Full-length studies of the
effectiveness and cost of different types of library departmentation
are needed to guide administrators in planning the structure of their

M E, V. Baldwin and W. E. Marcus, Library Costs and Budgets; a Study of Cost
Accounting in Public Libraries (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1941).

17 R. H. Belly, "Public Library Expenditures in Cities of over 100,000 Population
in Relation to Municipal Expenditures and Economic Ability" Library Quarterly,
XHI (January, 1943), 1-20. (Summary of unpublished doctoral dissertation with same
title, Graduate Library School, University of Chicago, 1941).

142

FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION
<&&&&i><><><>$>^^

libraries. Detailed studies of the organization and internal adminis-
tration of particular departments are very few in number. 18 Like-
wise, there have been few investigations of the different types of
branch libraries and deposit stations, including county as well as
municipal agencies. Research of this kind should begin with accurate
descriptions of the functions of the various library departments but
should eventually attempt to evaluate the results of administrative
procedures.

A few examples of research projects in the general field of library
administration follow:

1. Staff and research functions in library administration

2. Evaluation of library service under different types of departmental
organization

3. Administration of departments and functions in libraries: book
selection, order, catalog, reference, service to children, readers'
advisory service, etc

4. Administration of branch libraries and extension systems

5. Organization and functions of different types of branch libraries

6. Experiments in modifying or eliminating the dictionary card
catalog in libraries

7. Mechanization of routine procedures in circulation of books

8. Physical care and preservation of books and other library ma-
terials

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

In the general field of personnel administration in public libraries,
two groups of research projects may be selected as examples for brief
consideration. One of these research areas is the selection and train-
ing of library personnel. There is need for refined procedures in
the selection of librarians for public library service. Satisfactory tests
for evaluating intangible factors such as personality, social attitudes,
and special abilities of high order, are yet to be developed. Tests of
this sort are needed by libraries and also by the library schools, since

18 See, for example, M. R. Lucas, The Organization and Administration of Library
Service to Children (Chicago: American Library Association, 1941); R. B. Phelps, "The
Effects of Organizational Patterns on Reference Work in Three Typical Metropolitan
Libraries: Boston, St. Louis, and Los Angeles" (Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
Graduate Library School, University of Chicago, 1943)'

143

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<xSx>x<><00^^

both institutions are deeply concerned with the selection of poten-
tially qualified personnel. Further experiments are indicated with
the available educational tests and also with specially devised tests
for prospective librarians. Experiments may also be suggested in
pointing library school curriculums and instructional procedures
toward meeting the emerging needs of the public library as an active
educational institution.

Another group of research projects is perhaps somewhat more
practical in character. Clearer demarcation is needed between pro-
fessional and nonprofessional duties, and the proportions of person-
nel required for each of the two groups should also be studied. Like-
wise, working formulas for the ratio of library staff members to
population served in branches and in cities and communities of
different size and types should be more exactly determined. Only a
few of the possible subjects for investigation are included in the list
which follows:

1. Testing techniques useful in selecting prospective librarians

2. Library education in relation to the emerging character of pro-
fessional service in public libraries

3. Ratio of staff members to population served in branch libraries
in cities of different size and in rural areas

4* Distinctions between professional and nonprofessional positions
and duties in public libraries

5. Proportion of professional and nonprofessional personnel re-
quired in public libraries of different size

6. Analysis of programs of in-service training

7. Role of the staff and staff associations in public library administra-
tion

SERVICE TO READERS*

Since the major function of the public library is to serve readers,
research in this field is of primary importance. Moreover, its poten-
tial scope is unlimited in extent. Almost any detail of library service
is worthy of careful analysis and evaluation. Investigation in this
field may profitably include numerous case studies of different func-

18 Arnold Miles and Lowell Martin, Public Administration and the Library (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1941), pp. 246-90.

144

FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION

tions in Individual libraries. Thus, many studies may be directed at
careful reporting of present services and their results, but others
should be pointed at the future and the possibility of new and im-
proved service methods.

Research on the subject of service to readers may appropriately
begin with the analysis of the statistics of library use and the deter-
mination of standards of performance in service. Obviously, measure-
ment of service must be related to standards. 20 It is important that
uniform methods of counting and reporting statistics of library serv-
ices be defined and used throughout the nation. Usually these mass
statistics of library use relate primarily to registration of borrowers
and circulation of books for home use, but other types of library
service, particularly reference and readers' advisory service, should
also be reported and analyzed. Studies of this type are usually quan-
titative measures of services rendered. They make little attempt to
develop standards for measuring the quality of library service;
neither do they attempt to tabulate and analyze the many failures
in library service. 21 Research on both these topics would yield im-
portant results.

Analysis of public library readers has already received much atten-
tion in research studies, but there are many opportunities for further
investigation in this field. For example, the reporting by the United
States Census of educational levels by political units and by census
tracts makes possible interesting studies of correlations between li-
brary use and varying community levels of education. But it is not
enough to study the users of libraries. Much more should be known
about the great mass of people who do not use libraries. Research
in this field might suggest many concrete plans for reaching new
readers.

Much experimentation is required in methods of opening library
resources to the nonscholarly reader. Bibliographic tools, such as
reading courses and book lists, must be more specifically adapted to
the needs of special groups. The value of the card catalog as a key
to the library for the average reader should be studied. What modi-

20 Ibid., pp. 249-58.

^Ibid., pp. 285-86. See also John VanMale, "The State as Librarian/* Library
Quarterly, XIV (January, 1944), 36-46.

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&$>&&&^^

ficatlons in card content and In methods of filing are required to
make this expensive tool an instrument for the average library patron
rather than for the scholar and the librarian? Methods of describing
and evaluating the individual book also need further study.

In its current tentative experiments with the newer media of
learning, particularly sound and visual materials, the library is en-
tering a little known field which calls for extensive investigation.
Controlled experiments should be arranged to determine the feasible
methods of linking these newer materials to the collections of print
on which the public library has almost exclusively relied in the past.
Cooperation between librarians and producers of films is necessary
to determine content and method of presentation best suited to the
educational needs of the library. Equipment adapted to informal
use and to the facilities of small libraries is also required. Likewise,
methods must be devised for relating adult education programs
and group activities of all kinds to reading and use of library
materials.

Finally, public library service should be evaluated. It is generally
assumed that the public library exists for the social good. But how
much of its service is worth while, and what are the effects of service
on the individual reader? Such questions have not been answered in
detail. More studies are needed to explore the social contribution of
the library.

The list of research subjects relating to library service might be
greatly extended. The suggestions which follow should be considered
only as an introduction to the subject:

1. Standards of performance and units of measure in service to
readers

2. Uniform statistics of service

3. Standards for measuring quality of service performance

4. Standards and statistics of reference service in public libraries

5. Failures in library service

6. Analysis of public library users and nonusers by age, occupations,
educational levels, income, and other factors

7. Experimentation in bibliographic tools for average readers

8. Detailed analysis of the use of the card catalog by different reader
groups

146

FIELDS OF RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATION

<C*cX;><c><;XcX^

9. Use of new media of library service: sound and visual materials*
microfilm and microprint

10. Relating adult education programs and group activities to reading
in the public library

1 1 . Evaluation of the social contribution of public library service

BOOKS AND READING INTERESTS

Research in the basic field of the reading habits of the American
people should be of the greatest interest to public librarians generally.
Investigation in this area has already been more extensive than in
any of the other fields considered in this chapter. 22 Yet it is clearly
the responsibility of the public librarian to master the essential find-
ings of past research on this subject and to apply them concretely
to the work of his own library. Although not in itself research, per-
haps one of the most useful projects in the field would be a selective
interpretation for the public librarian of the important results of
previous reading studies. The necessarily brief comments which fol-
low should be considered only as an elementary approach to a very
large subject.

There is still need for additional case studies of popular reading
interests, particularly in smaller cities and towns and in rural areas.
One method of obtaining the necessary data might be to establish
a selected group of "reading laboratories" with mechanical tabulat-
ing equipment, similar to the installation in the Montclair Public
Library, 23 so that the collection and tabulation of factual data might
be done quickly and cheaply. Many reading studies, on the other
hand, may be made without the assistance of machines.

It seems likely that a major shift in the direction of reading studies
is about to occur. Interest is shifting from "who reads what" 24 to
"what reading does to people" 25 from the relatively simple tabula-
tion of the kinds of reading done by different groups of readers to the

22 R. A. Beals, "Implications of Communications Research for the Public Library,"
in Douglas Waples, edL, Print, Radio,, and Film in a Democracy (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1942), pp. 159-81.

^Montclair Public Library, op. tit., Margery Quigley, op. cit.

^Douglas Waples and R. W. Tyler, What People Want to Read About (Chicago:
American Library Association and University of Chicago Press, 1931).

^Douglas Waples, Bernard Berelson, and F. R. Bradshaw, What Reading Does to
People (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1940).

147

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&2>&$4>&^^

much more difficult analysis o the effects of reading on readers. The
role which reading plays in the lives of urban and rural people is as
yet too little understood. Despite its obvious difficulty, research in
this general area promises results of fundamental importance to pub-
lic librarians.

Another basic change in which the public librarian is deeply con-
cerned is the current shifting in the relative importance of the three
great forms of communication of ideas: print, radio, and film. 26 Any
pronounced change in the balance between these three media of
mass communication will profoundly affect both the scope and the
methods of public library service. The interest of the public li-
brarian, therefore, must necessarily be extended from research in
reading to an almost equally active interest in all forms of mass
communication.

Similarly, recent international and scientific developments appear
to put new responsibilities upon all of the agencies for the dissemina-
tion of information and ideas and for the diffusion of knowledge. A
study of libraries in relation to the other important agencies is indi-
cated. It should disclose what library objectives and activities are
likely to be of greatest significance, what fields can appropriately and
confidently be left to the other forms of communication.

The book collection of the public library constitutes a field of
investigation and research in which librarians have an immediate
concern. Graduate library schools have already tested several meth-
ods of evaluating book and periodical collections. These methods
should be further refined for application to libraries of different
types, sizes, and purposes, and also to varying reader needs. Obsoles-
cence of the book collection is another subject for research which
today is forcing itself upon the attention of most public libraries.

The lack of reading materials suited to the adult with limited edu-
cational background and reading ability has already been mentioned
in a previous chapter. 27 Close cooperation with publishers over an
extended period of time should result in production of readable
books, keyed to various reading levels, but written from the adult

98 Douglas Waples, ed., Print,, Radio, and Film in a Democracy , op. cit.; H. C. Link
and H. A. Hopf, People and Books: a Study of Reading and Book-buying Habits
(New York: Book Industry Committee, Book Manufacturers Institute, 1946),

27 See pp. iio-n.

148

IEO3S Of kESEAUCH ANJb INVESTIGATION
<^<cx><c><x><><^^

standpoint. These are needed In practically every subject field in
much greater numbers than are now available.

A few of the possible subjects for research in the field of books
and reading are listed below; they should be considered as broad
fields for investigation rather than as specific research projects:

1. Reading interests of the American people

2. Effects of reading: what reading does to people

3. Role of reading in the lives of people: in large cities, small towns,
and rural areas 28

4. Print in relation to other media of communication

5. The public library in relation to other agencies for the diffusion
of knowledge

6. Methods of evaluating the library's book collection

7. Obsolescence of the public library book stock

8. Publication needs: subjects and educational levels of books
needed for different types of readers

9. Educational films: subjects and educational levels needed for
different types of people

CONCLUSION

This chapter has shown that research about public libraries and
their problems is of many types, that it may be conducted by many
different agencies, and that it may deal with a wide variety of sub-
jects. In a report on public library planning, it is appropriate to
repeat the recommendation that an Advisory Committee on Library
Research be created as a national clearinghouse for research projects
and plans.

It is just as important to plan the research program for the Amer-
ican public library as it is to plan the organization of the library
systemperhaps even more important. Research will gradually pro-
duce the materials on which the basic decisions regarding library
policy, organization, and functions may be safely founded. It will also
supply the sources for generalizations in the form of comprehensive
monographs and textbooks on all phases of library operation.

Many of the unsolved problems of public library operation lie in

38 J. G. Hodgson, "Rural Reading as Supplied by Land-Grant Colleges and Libraries"
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Graduate Library School, University of Chicago,
1946).

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&$>&$><&&^^

the difficult but important field of social evaluation. Solutions in
many cases must wait upon further development in methods of in-
vestigation. In other areas, however, significant contributions to our
knowledge of libraries have already been made. Nevertheless, addi-
tional studies of many kinds are required, with applications to li-
braries of varying sizes and types. Solutions to many of the problems
mentioned in this chapter will add greatly to the efficient operation
of libraries. Answers to others might conceivably revolutionize our
concept of the purpose of the public library and redirect many of
its efforts*

150

&i>&<> < &*>4><><$>^^

CHAPTER XIII

Essential Features of a National
Library Plan

POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY

THIS plan for the postwar public library in America is based
on the conviction that the library should live up to its poten-
tial. It assumes that the high quality of service already achieved
in some communities could be achieved in every part of the country
if organization were perfected and support adequate.

The good public library of today performs a unique and signifi-
cant educational function. Its service is founded on the printed
page, the form of communication best suited to individual study,
but it supplements the printed page with the new media of com-
municationfilms, recordings, radio, forums. It is the one agency
that has time and ability to assemble the best from the output of
the printing press and the film laboratory. The unit result of library
services is not spectacular, but multiplied a millionfold in every
section of the country, it is significant in personal fulfillment and a
better group life.

In essence, the objectives of the public library are two: to promote
enlightened citizenship and to enrich personal life. Every library
should have a clear sense of purpose, a sense of the reading process,
and a sense of community identification. It should formulate an
individualized statement of objectives fitted to the special needs of
its own community.

TAKING STOCK OF THE LIBRARY TODAY

At its best, the American public library is an institution of social
power and importance. In its good public libraries, the United
States has made an outstanding contribution to democracy in action.

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<<><X><>X><><>0<>^^

But there are serious deficiencies in present-day public library
service, taken as a whole. Frankly stated, they may be summarized
as follows:

Thirty-five million people in the United States have no public

libraries.
Most public library administrative units are too smallin population

served, in total income, and in income per capita.
Many state library agencies are inadequate.
Personnel deficiencies are serious*
Many library buildings are outmoded and outgrown.
Total library income is insufficient and unequally distributed.
Library service in general, because of these conditions, is seriously

below accepted standards in quantity and quality.

This postwar plan recognizes these deficiencies. It proposes a
pattern of organization designed to strengthen library service in
action.

PATTERNS OF LOCAL ORGANIZATION

The goal of the national library plan is to bring into the life of
every American an adequate, purposeful public library. The core
of the plan is the pattern of strong local library units which are the
first line of service to the people. But the program here outlined
can be achieved only by the joint efforts of local, state, and federal
governments.

Public library service in the United States should be provided by
approximately 1,200 effective library units, each with a minimum
annual income of not less than $37,500. Because of marked gov-
ernmental and social differences between states and regions, it is
inadvisable to prescribe a uniform pattern of local library organi-
zation generally applicable to all parts of the country. Instead, six
possible patterns of satisfactory library units are recognized:

1. Independent municipal libraries in cities of over 25,000 popu-
lation. In many instances, however, these now-separate city librar-
ies are the natural centers for county or regional library systems.

2. County libraries serving the entire area of large counties. This

15*

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY PLAN
3>&>&<>$><><><^^

unified type of organization is specially adapted to counties in
which rural population is large.

3. County libraries serving parts of large counties. In this type one
or more city or town libraries remain outside the county unit,
but gradual consolidation into single county units may be antic-
ipated,

4. Regional or multicounty libraries comprising two or more coun-
ties. This type of library unit, organized about a principal
trading center, should develop greatly in areas in which counties
are small in population or low in taxpaying ability.

5. Federated groups of cooperating libraries. These informal co-
operating groups are indicated in regions in which there are
already numbers of well-established public libraries.

6. State library services, such as state regional districts or branches
of the state library agency. These may be used in states with
numerous small libraries or in very sparsely populated areas.

ROLE OF THE STATE

The great library task of the state is to sponsor the development
of an efficient and integrated system of public libraries available to
all its people. The local public library is the first line of library
service; it is the responsibility of the state to provide the second line.

The state should insure a strong legal foundation for its public
libraries by constitutional or legislative provisions which recognize
public library service as a state concern and make the establishment
of public libraries mandatory.

The state library agency should be well financed and capable of
furnishing dynamic leadership. It should fix and enforce standards
of library performance. It should provide an integrated system of
auxiliary services supplementing the facilities of local libraries.

Through grants-in-aid to public libraries, the state should insure
at least a minimum level of library support within its boundaries.
State aid should be used to equalize the differences in taxpaying
ability within the state and also to stimulate the organization of
larger units of library service.

The state should strive continuously to improve the quality of
its library personnel through certification laws and regulations and
through programs of in-service training.

153

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<*>00<><XX>O^

NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The federal government, in the national library plan, should
play an important but auxiliary role. It should aid public libraries
by services and by subsidies, but it should not attempt, directly or
indirectly, to control local library service.

The Library Service Division of the United States Office of
Education should be greatly strengthened in staff and functions so
that it may furnish effective leadership in the extension and improve-
ment of library service throughout the nation.

The federal libraries should provide a carefully organized system
of bibliographic and other services designed to supplement the
services of state and local libraries. These should include:

A national bibliographic center in the Library of Congress

A complete and current national bibliography of American publi-
cations

Catalogs and indexes of federal, state, and local documents and
laws

Free distribution of public documents in quantities sufficient to
meet actual needs

A repertory of printed catalog cards specially designed for public
library use

Continuation of service to the adult blind in the Division for the
Blind in the Library of Congress, with grants-in-aid to cooperating
regional libraries

The federal government should make grants-in-aid to public
libraries in a number of forms:

Annual grants increasing from $15 to fBO million, based primarily
on need, and designed to insure a high nation-wide level of public
library service. Grants for library demonstrations may precede or
accompany the system of permanent grants-in-aid

Grants for "maximum" library service to twenty or more metro-
politan libraries in their respective regions

Grants for library buildings as part of public works programs

COORDINATION OF SERVICE

The movement toward formally organized larger units of library
service should be accompanied by the systematic coordination of

154

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY PLAN
&&& < t>&S>&$^^

existing library resources and functions. Public libraries should
cooperate actively with other public libraries and also with other
types of libraries.

Comprehensive schemes of library coordination should include
the following essential features:

Direction by a council of library administrators

Definite agreements concerning fields of specialization in library
holdings

Reciprocity in circulation and other services to all users of the co-
operating libraries

These devices of cooperation may be used in varied ways in dif-
ferent situations:

In the great geographic regions of the nation, the focus of coordina-
tion will be the regional bibliographic center.

In metropolitan districts, in groups of suburban towns, and in areas
with numerous independent public libraries, the goal of coopera-
tion should be the development of a common pool of services,
freely available to the people of the region.

College libraries and public libraries located in the same com-
munities should formulate plans for the effective coordination of
resources and services which will mutually strengthen each insti-
tution in meeting the needs of its readers.

Cooperation between school libraries and public libraries should
be emphasized, especially in small towns and rural areas where
population is relatively sparse and tax resources are limited.

FINANCE

The national library plan rests upon adequate financing. Support
of the public library should be guaranteed by sound legislation so
that continuity of service may be assured.

At least $200 million annually is required for the efficient opera-
tion of a nation-wide public library system. Only a combined pro-
gram of support by local, state, and federal governments can be ex-
pected to raise a sum of this size. It is therefore proposed that this
amount be distributed among the various government units con-
cerned approximately in the following proportions: local units, 60

155

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
&&>&S>&3>^^

per cent; states, 25 per cent; and federal government, 15 per cent.
Capital sums of $500 million for new and reconditioned public
library buildings and $175 million for new and replenished book
stocks should also be provided from funds allocated to public works
programs.

BOOKS AND LIBRARY MATERIALS

The collection of books and other materials which the postwar
American public library assembles for its users will be at once tradi-
tional in form and content and yet materially different.

The bibliographic spread of the collection of the large-unit library
will be greater than that of the group of small libraries it replaces.
It will contain more titles in its book stock, and the number of titles
available to serious readers will be further increased by closer cooper-
ation between libraries.

The public library of tomorrow will duplicate important titles on
a large scale and will distribute widely paper-bound editions of books
and pamphlets.

The most striking change in library content will be the greatly
increased supply of audio-visual materials, such as:

Pictorial and graphic materials
Music recordings and scores

Recordings for instruction and literary appreciation
Educational films

Microfilms of newspapers, official records, and books not readily
available

The postwar library should strongly emphasize its educational
objective and should correspondingly de-emphasize the purely di-
versional aspects of its recreational objective. This general change in
policy will result in a corresponding change in its collection. The
library will discard or send to regional storage reservoirs its obsoles-
cent books and materials.

Not content merely to distribute printed materials now available
in the book trade, the public library will actively influence the publi-
cation of new types of books and pamphlets needed in its program
of adult education.

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY PLAN

PERSONNEL

An essential part of the postwar public library plan is the recruit-
ment of a working force of librarians and other personnel adequate
in number and of high qualifications.

Approximately 60,000 professional and nonprofessional staff mem-
bers will be required to man the public libraries of the United States
when library service of good quality is provided for all the people of
the nation. About half of these will be professionals, the remainder
nonprofessional assistants. As library units increase in size, the pro-
portion of professionals on library staffs will tend to decrease.

The postwar public librarian should be prepared by a high level
of general and professional education to play a positive educational
role as a leader in the integration of books and community needs.

State laws for the certification of librarians, supplemented by local
merit or civil service systems, are necessary to safeguard entrance into
the profession of librarianship and advancement within it.

Enlightened personnel administration should be provided through
direction by personnel officers, classification and pay plans, and the
best methods and devices used in public service generally.

Salary schedules must be attractive to personnel of high quality in
all grades of library service. Beginning salaries should adequately
reflect increased living costs in the postwar period. Salaries should
be supplemented by pension and welfare systems insuring financial
security for old age or illness.

BUILDING PROGRAM

The national plan for public library service will gradually take
shape in library buildings. The physical plant of the library will
determine in large part both the quantity and quality of service
rendered.

Responsibility for the preparation of detailed inventories of public
library building needs rests largely upon the state library agencies
and the larger local library systems. They should be prepared with
careful estimates of the future building requirements of their states,
counties, or cities. Whenever possible, library building programs
should be integrated with general public works programs.

A capital outlay of not less than $500 million will be required to

157

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<><>&$>&$>&$>&^^

meet postwar public library building needs. Among the major
categories of building requirements are:

New buildings to serve 35 million people in areas now without public
libraries

Additional branches in many city, county, and regional library
systems

Replacement, enlargement, and modernization of hundreds of ob-
solescent library buildings

The standard types of public library buildings should be studied
and perfected as units in a planned system of library service. Some
of the most important types of buildings are:

The central library and headquarters for city, county, and regional

libraries

Regional branches in large city and county library systems
Community branches in cities or counties
Public library branches in community centers and schools
Regional reservoir libraries for the cooperative storage of obsolescent

or little-used books

In planning the public library building of the future, the following
principles are basically important:

The library building should be easily accessible and attractive to

readers.
The building plan should conform to the technical and service

functions performed by libraries.
Many public library buildings should be adaptable for expanded

service in county or regional library systems.
The public library building of the future should be planned and

equipped as a modern educational center.

CITIZEN AND LIBRARY

The American public library is an expression of American democ-
racy in action. If library planning is to succeed at any level of
government, active citizen support is essential.

The relation between the citizen and his public library is a mutual
obligation between two parties to a jointly useful contract. The

158

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A NATIONAL LIBRARY FLAN
3>&&$><:>G>&$^

library exists to serve the citizen as an individual or as a member of
many different groups. The citizen, on his part, may aid the library
in many ways: as an individual, as a library trustee, or as an organiza-
tion member.

A characteristic feature of the American public library system is
the great body of thousands of library trustees who represent the
people of their communities in the development of efficient library
service. With their administrative officer, the chief librarian, they
are responsible for the formulation of library objectives and policies
and for the presentation of the library's fiscal needs to tax-levying
agencies. Locally and nationally, their role will be of continuing
importance.

"Friends of the Library'* organizations are particularly effective
in helping to interpret the public library program to the community
and the state and in securing adequate financial support for library
service*

RESEARCH

Research is an indispensable foundation for public library plan-
ning and for the further development of library service. It will gradu-
ally produce the facts on which the basic decisions regarding the
policy, organization, and functions of the public library may be
safely founded.

Research in the public library field may be conducted by many
different agencies, including governmental authorities, library
schools, the American Library Association, educational foundations,
and many individual libraries and librarians. As a national clear-
inghouse for research projects and plans, an Advisory Committee on
Library Research should be created by joint action of the interested
agencies.

Fundamental to research in many subdivisions of the public library
field is the collection and publication of the basic statistics of library
use and support. These statistics should be made available at regular
and frequent intervals by cooperative action of local, state, and fed-
eral authorities.

Some of the more important areas for public library research may
be enumerated as follows:

159

NATIONAL PLAN FOR PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
<&&&>&&$>&:>$^^

Governmental relations of public libraries

Units and areas of library service

Public library finance

Internal administration of libraries

Personnel administration

Service to readers in all its aspects

Books and reading interests

The results of investigation in these fields will add greatly to the
efficient operation of libraries and may change materially existing
concepts of the purpose of the public library.

CONCLUSION

This library plan should be recognized for what it is a general
guide to the organization of public library service throughout the
United States. It is not a detailed prescription of precisely how serv-
ice is to be provided in every state, every county, and every city in the
nation. It is proposed by the American Library Association for the
thoughtful consideration of governmental agencies, library authori-
ties, and librarians everywhere. They may approve, amend, or adapt
it to their special needs. The plan need not be followed in detail,
but it is hoped that the principles on which it is founded will have
general application.

Above all, it is a national plan. It proposes a nation-wide minimum
standard of service and support below which no library should fall.
No community, on the other hand, is prevented from exceeding the
minimum as much as it may desire. The plan places primary respon-
sibility on the local library unit, but it provides for assistance from
both state and nation through carefully integrated special services
and generous grants-in-aid. All three levels of government should
participate actively and steadily in advancing the plan.

160

^<><>0<><>O<><><>0<xS>0<>e*><>>x^^

Index

Accessibility of library service, 6, 126-27,

128, 158

Accounting, library, 102, 103, 141-42
Adirondack region, 43
Adult education
American system, i
federal interest, 55, 68, 158
in libraries, 3, 4
materials, 110-11

See also Audio-visual materials; Educa-
tional system, American; Group
service; Guidance; Library service,
program; Materials, library; Read-
ing

Agricultural Extension Service, 72, 83
Agriculture, Department of, Library, 75
American Library Association
Audio-visual Committee, 106
Board of Education for Librarianship,

121
Committee on Postwar Planning, vi-ix,

20, go, 32, 96, 97
Council, viii, 106
denned, 81

objective of coverage, 82
Public Library Office, viii
research center, 137-38, 159
role in national plan, 81-82
standards, 18, 25
book collection, 23-24
circulation and registration, 24-25
expenditures, 20-21, 30, 31, 35, 37, 5 2 >

96-97, 102, 103
financial reporting, 102-3
population, minimum, 35, 37, 38, 39,

97

statistics of public libraries, 1945-1946* 21

uniform library statistics, 139
Analysis of materials, 7-9
Annotations, book, 9, 76
Appraisal of public libraries, 18-32

A.L.A, standards of evaluation, 18, 23-24
book collections, 23
arrangement, 7-8, 23, no
below A.L.A. standards, 23-24
obsolescence, 23, no, 112, 148, 149
buildings outmoded and outgrown, 28-

29, 123, 152

circulation below A.LA. standards, 24-25
evaluation of library service, 146
income inadequate, 20-21, 29-31, 96-97,

152

incomplete coverage, 19-20
personnel deficiencies, 26-28, 118, 152
registration of borrowers, 24-25
service mediocre, 18, 22-25, *5 2
state library agencies inadequate, 22, 152
35,000,000 without libraries, 18* 19-20,

152

units too small, 18, 20-22, 152
Association of American Library Schools,

138

Audio-visual materials
Committee of A.L.A., 106
experimentation, 24
financial requirements, 95
future, 24, 156

in metropolitan libraries, 90
inadequate provision, 24
installations, 128
records, 106-7, 1 5^
research, 146, 148, 149
specialists, 118

Baltimore, Md., library building, 28
Bibliographic machinery, 72-75

book lists, 73-74

card catalogs, 73, 154

centers, 73, 87, 89, 94, 155

check lists of documents, 73

indexes, 73, 154

Library of Congress focus, 73, 154

INDEX

&fr&<&&>&&$^^

national bibliography proposed, 74, 83,

154

subject bibliographies, 74-75
Blind, library service to, 71, 83, 154
Book collections, 104-12
adult education materials, 110-11
arrangement, 7-8, 23, no
below A.LA. standards, 23-24
branch libraries, 125
building the collection, 107-10
community interests, 5-6, 23, 108
cooperation in use, 105
duplication, 109, 112
evaluation, 148, 149
expenditures, 101-2
influencing publishers and writers, 111,

112, 156
objectives

community needs, 108
education and recreation, 107-8, 156
public enlightenment, 2, 109-10
quality standards, 108-9, 112
quantity, 109, 112
obsolescence, 23, no, 112, 148, 149
paper-bound books, 105
postwar changes, 105, in
publicity, no

titles available, 104, 112, 156
See also Materials, library
Bookmobiles, 3, 6, 36, 53, 63, 126
Borrowers, registered, 24-25
Boston, 30
Branch libraries; see Buildings, public

library

Buck, Pearl, quoted, 116
Budget, proportions, 101-2
Buildings, public library, 28-29, 122-29, 157
architecture, 28
arrearage, 29, 122
cost, 123-24, 157-58
needs, 122-23, 128, 158
areas without libraries, 29, 123, 128
branch libraries, 29, 123, 124-26, 128,

137' 143^ *58
remodeling, 123, 128
replacement of obsolete, 28-29, 123,

128, 158

planning programs, 122
principles governing
accessibility, 126-27, 12 $ 1 5^
community intelligence center, 128,

129, 158

expansion, adaptable for, 127-28* 158
functional, 127, 158

types, 127
branches in community centers and

schools, 125-26

community branches, 29, 125, 158
headquarters buildings, 29, 124
regional branches, 124-25, 158
regional storage reservoirs, 87, 90, 110,
126, 158

California, 30, 50, 58
Capital outlays

book collections, 99-100, 103, 156

buildings, 99-101, 123-24, 156, 157-58
Carnegie Corporation of New York, library

research projects, 138
Catalog, book form, 76
Catalog, card, 8-9, 14, 76, 145-46
Certification of librarians, 27, 59, 64-65, 67,

119, 121, 153, 157
Chancellor, John, quoted, in
Chicago Public Library

experimental branch, 137

regional branches, 125
Children, service to

circulation of books, 24

guidance, 10-11

personnel specialization, 11

registration, 25

Circulation of books, 23, 24-25, 88, 143
Citizen support, 130-34, 158-59

"Friends of the Library" groups, 52,

133-34* 159
good will, 132-33
legislation, 134
library boards, 101, 132, 159
mutual obligation of library and citizen,

130-32, *34> i5 8 -59

organized support, 133, 159
City libraries; see Municipal libraries
Classification of books, 8, 76
Cleveland, Ohio, 32
College libraries, cooperation with public

libraries, 84, 92, 155
Community center libraries, 130
Community identification, sense of, 12,

15-16, 151

Contracts, library service, 37, 38, 43, 46
Cooperation, 84-94

areas, 88-92

book collections, 104-5

classified, 85

devices, 85-88

functions, 87-88

162

INDEX
<&&&&$><><2>^^

large regions, 89
metropolitan areas, 89-91

audio-visual materials, 90

book lists, 90

cataloging and classifying, 90

information service, 90

joint branch libraries, 91

ordering, 90

specialists, 90

storage reservoir, 90

traveling collections, 90
organization, 85-86, 93

council of librarians, 85-86, 93

planning essential, 85

state agency direction, 86
public and college libraries, 84, 92
public and school libraries, 84, 92-93, 94
public and special libraries, 84
regional, 85

regions with many libraries, 91-92
resources, 86-87

storage reservoirs, 87

subject specialization, 86, 93

"treaties" defining responsibility, 86-87
services, 87-88, 93-94

bibliographic centers, 73, 87, 89, 94,

155
interlibrary loans, 58, 74, 87, 88, 91

readers' advisers, 88

reciprocity in circulation, 88, 91, 94,

union catalogs, 58, 74, 82, 87
union lists of serials, 88
specialization, fields of, 86-87, 93
sponsorship for knowledge, 86
suburban areas, 91

See also Contracts, library service; Fed-
erated library groups
Coordination of library service; see Co-
operation
Counties, number, area, population, by

states and regions, 44~45 ( Taole *)
County libraries, 22, 36, 37-39* 43> 4$,
(Table II), 47> 48-49* 5* 5*"53 12 4>

152-53

Coverage, library
for Negroes, 19-20
reasons for inadequacy, 20
rural areas, 19
-states, breakdown by, 19
35,000,000 people without libraries, 19

Delaware, 41

Democracy, library relation to

danger in incomplete coverage, 20
library as organ of democracy, i, 130
library contribution, 18, 151
Denmark, central libraries, 40
Denver, bibliographic center, 73, 87, 89
Denver Public Library, 89
Depository libraries, 77
Dewey Decimal Classification numbers, 76
Distribution of library materials, 6-11
District of Columbia, 19, 30, 43
Documents, federal, distribution, 77, 83,
154

East North Central states, 47-48
Educational system, American

adult level weakest, i

library role, 2, 3, 6, 16-17, 60, 151

requisites, i, 5

See also Adult education
Enoch Pratt Free Library, 109
Evans, Luther H., quoted, 69
Expenditures

books, periodicals, binding, 101-2

budget proportions, 101-2

miscellaneous, 101-2

operating, 95, 97~99> 1O 3 *55

per capita, 21, 30-32

present level, 20-21, 29-31, 152

salaries, 101-2

standards, 20-21, 50, 31, 55* 37> 5* 9-7>
102

See also Accounting; Capital outlays; In-
come; Salaries

Federal aid, 77-81, 83, 98, 99, 154

administration by state library agencies,
58, 78-79

equalization grants, 78, 83, 154

library buildings, 79, 83, 154

metropolitan libraries for regional serv-
ice, 79-81, 83* 89-90, 154

national administration by Library Serv-
ice Division, 70-71, 78

research, 140-41

Federal Library Council, suggested, 70
Federal library service, 68-83

bibliographic and indexing, 7*-75 8 3*
154

cataloging and classifying, 76, 83, 154

depository libraries, 77

distribution of federal publications, 77,

$3> *54

field services, 71-72
books for adult blind, 71, 83, 154

INDEX

&&&fr$><:><$><^^

public libraries as outlets, 72

TVA cooperative regional libraries,

71-72

principles, 68-69, 154-55
public documents, indexes, 75, 83
Federated library groups, 36, 39-40, 43, 46,

47"48, 53* 9<> 153
Finance, public library, 95-103

See also Accounting; Budget, propor-
tions; Capital outlays; Federal aid;
Financial administration; Income;
Salaries; State aid; Tax levy, library
Financial administration, 101-3
financial reporting, 102, 103
role of trustees and librarian, 101
Fort Worth, Texas, library building, 28
"Friends of the Library," 52, 133-34, 159
See also Citizen support

Government, library, research projects,

139-40

Grants-in-aid; see Federal aid; State aid
Great Britain, regional bureaus, 88
Group service, 6-7, 10, 118, 130-31
Guidance

analysis of materials, 8-9

arrangement of materials, 7-8, 23, i 10

information service, 11

personal .service* 9-11

reading guidance, 9-11, 14

service to children, 10-11

Illinois, 31, 47
Income, 29-32
A.LA. standards
per capita, 20-21, 30, 31, 32, 37, 52,

96, 97, 102

total, 20, 21, 31, 34-35, 53, 97, 102
deficiency in national revenues, 29-30
federal aid, 77-81, 83, 98, 99 ,154
inequalities among states, 30
inequalities within states, 30-31
legal basis, 95-96
Martin's estimate, 35, 97
national needs

buildings, 95, 97, 99-100, 103, 123-24,

155> 157-58
current operating revenues, 95, 97, 98,

i3> 155
materials, books and audio-visual, 95,

97, 99-100, 103, 123-24, 156
1946 per capita income, 30, 32

proportions from local, state, federal
sources, 98-99, 155-56

research on sources, 141-42

state aid, 22, 59-63, 66-67, 9 8 * A 53

tax levy, 96
Indiana, 47

Information service, 11, 25, 145
Inland Empire, Washington, 49
Interlibrary loans, 58, 74, 87, 88, 91

Joeckel, Carleton B., ix
Kolb, J. H., quoted, 84

Large-unit system, 33-53
national pattern, 41-53

effective size, 22, 34-35

number of units, 49-51

objectives, 35

population and area, 50-51
need for large units, 33-34, 35
patterns of organization, 36-53

county library serving entire county,

37-38, 52-53* *52-53
county library serving parts of large

county, 38-39, 52-53, 153
federated groups of libraries, 39-40, 43,

46, 48, 53, 153

independent city library, 37, 52, 152
regional or multicounty library, 39, 47,

49* 53* 153
special state districts, 40-41, 43, 49, 53,

153

table, by regions, 46
service advantages, 35-36
Laski, Ha'rold J., quoted, 28
Legislation, library, 55, 66, 95, 140, 153
Librarians; see Librarianship; Personnel,

library
Librarianship
evaluation process, 9
financial reward no incentive, 28
guidance function, 7-11
a profession, 14
requirements, 26
sense of purpose, 12-13, 15-16
sense of reading process, 14
Libraries; see College libraries; County
libraries; Municipal libraries; Public
libraries; Regional libraries; School
libraries

Library board; see Trustees, library
Library coverage; see Coverage, library

164

INDEX
3*&<*><>&^^

Library objectives

adult education, 4

citizenship, enlightened, 16, 151

community identification, 12, 15-16, 23

democracy, i

diffusion of knowledge, 5

education, 107* 156

enriched personal life, 2, 16, 151

group service, 6-7, 10, 118, 130-31

mediation between people and ideas, i,
2, 5, 16

public enlightenment, 2, 109-10

reading process, 14

recreation, 23, 107, 156

selected, 13

sense of purpose, 12, 13, 151
Library of Congress

bibliographic information, 73-75, 82, 83,

89* 154

books for adult blind, 71, 83, 154
cataloging and classification services, 76,

% 154

Experimental Division of Library Co-
operation, 70

national bibliography proposed, 74, 83
publications, 73-74
American Imprints Catalog, 74
Catalog o] Copyright Entries ,, 74
Cumulative Catalog of Library of Con-
gress Printed Cards, 74
Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisi-

tions> 74

U.S. Quarterly Book List, 73
research and resources, 75
union catalog, 74, 82, 154
Library schools, 121, 136
Library service

dynamics, viii, 11-16
sense of community identification, 12,

15-16

sense of purpose, 12-13, 16
sense of reading process, 12, 14, 16
elements, 4-11

distributing materials, 6-7
helping people use materials, 7-11
providing materials, 4-6
examples, 2-4
failures, 145, 146
program

adult education, 4

anticipates needs, 7

availability, 31

best service, 3, 18

children, service to, 10-11, 24, 25

circulation, 24-25
distributing materials, 6-7
educational function, 3
gathering and organizing materials, s
guidance, 7-11
information sources, 11, 25
leadership, 11-12, 13
local reading centers, 6
registered borrowers, 24-25
See also Appraisal of public libraries;
Large-unit system; National plan
for library service

Library Service Division, US. Office of
Education, viii, 70-71, 78-79, 82, 102,
i35-36 138, 139* 154
administration of federal aid, 70-71
collection of library statistics, 70, 139
conferences and institutes, 70
evaluation, experimentation, guidance,

70

Library units; see Units, library
Local units; see County libraries; Feder-
ated library groups; Municipal librar-
ies; Regional libraries; Units, library
Los Angeles County regional branch, 125

Maine, 42

Martin, Lowell, viii
estimate of required library income,

35> 97
"The Potential Role of the American

Public Library," 1-17
Massachusetts, 19, 30
Materials, library, 4-6, 104-13
adult education needs, 110-11
book stock; see Book collections
government publications, 24, 106
nonbook materials, 5, 24, 106-7, 112 1 5&
audio-visual, 24, 156
educational films, 106, 112, 156
microfilms, 107,, 112, 156
pamphlets, maps, 24, 106, 156
pictorial and graphic materials, 106,

112, 156

records, 106-7, *5$
research, 146, 148, 149
objectives in building collection; see

Book collections, objectives
production of, 110-12, 156

151ms and records, 1 1 1
See also Book collections
Metropolitan libraries, federal aid for
regional service, 79-81, 83, 89-90, 154
Michigan, 47

165

INDEX

<3 X 5>0<i><*<><<><^^

Middle Atlantic states, 43 , 46

county libraries, 43

larger units needed, 46

independent city libraries, 43

planning complicated, 43

urbanization, 43
Milam, Carl BU quoted, 109
Mississippi, go
Missouri, 55
Montclair, N. J., 147
Mountain states, 48-49

county and regional libraries, 48-49

state library service, 49
Municipal libraries, 37, 42, 45> 4$ 47 >
52, 152

National Library Advisory Council, pro-
posed, 70

National plan for library service, vii, viii,
ix, 41, 151-59, 160

aim, 17, 152, 160

AJL.A. role, 81-82

books and materials, 156

building program, 28-29, 122, 157-58

citizen support, 158-59

coordination of service, 154-55

equalization of income, 30, 31

financing, 32, 95, 102, 103

national responsibility, 68, 154, 155-56

pattern of local units, 6-53, 4 l '42

152-53

personnel, 32, 113, 120-21, 157

research, 135, 159

state role, 54, 153

1200 units, 50, 51, 53, 124, 152
Negroes, library service, 19-20
New England

coverage through small units, 42

federated library groups, 43

local government, 42

supplementary regional services, 41
New Jersey, 43

New York (City), 123, 125, 127, 136
New York (State), 41, 136
North Dakota, 19

Objectives; see Library objectives
Ohio, 50, 47, 58

Pacific states

county libraries, 49

geographic and population patterns, 49

regional libraries, 49
Pennsylvania, 43

Personnel, library, 113-21

administration, 27, 113, 119-20, 121, 143-

44> 157

career service, 117, 121
certification, 27, 59, 64-65, 67, 119, 121,

*53> 157

deficiencies, 26-28, 32
duties, professional and clerical, 27, 114
exchange, 120
in larger units, 113-14
nonprofessionals, 27, 119-20, 157
pensions, 120, 121, 157
policies, 119

position classification, 7, 119
professionals, 26, 119, 157
promotion, 117, 120
qualifications

communications experts, 14

community participation, 114

education, 26, 114, 115-16

group insight, 15

knowledge of books, 115

leadership, 20, 26, 1 15

personal, 114-16

reading guidance, 9-11, 14
ratio of professionals and nonprofession

als, 118-19, 121
salaries, 28, 120, 157
specialists, 10, 114, 116, 117-18

audio-visual experts, 118

children's librarians, 10, 114, 117

readers' advisers, 10, 114, 118

subject specialists, 10, 26-27

vocational advisers, 10
state program, 65
survey of needs, nS, 121
welfare, 120, 121, 157
Philadelphia, bibliographic center, 73, 87
Population
minimum standards for library unit, 35,

3*> 39
per square mile, by states and regions,

44-45 (Table I)
Post-War Standards for Public Libraries,

vii, 18, 24^ 37
Public libraries

agency of enlightenment, 2, 109-10
characteristic, distinguishing, 6
community institution, 3, 15
defined, 4, 11, 18
diffusion of knowledge, 5
distribution of resources, 6-7, 31
educational function, 2, 3, 4
in action, 2-4 ,

166

INDEX

<>&&< > ^^

intelligence unit, 11

organ of social democracy, i

outlets for federal agencies, 72

recreational agency, 23

resources, 2-3

standards, 20-21, 23-25, 30, 52, 96-97, 102

units too small, 20-22

See also Appraisal of public libraries;
Book collections; Buildings, public
library; County libraries; Expendi-
tures; Federated library groups; In-
come; Library objectives; Library
service; Municipal libraries; Nation-
al plan for library service; Person-
nel, library; Regional libraries;
Research and investigation
Public Library Inquiry, 138

Reading

book annotations, 9

circulation of books, 24-25

effects of reading, 147-48

readable materials for adults, 110-12,
148-49

readers' advisers, 10, 114, 118

readers, research studies, 145

reading guidance, 7-11

reading interests, 12, 147

reading lists, 9

reading process, 14, 16
Reciprocity in circulation privileges, 88, 91,

94> 155

Reference service; see Information service
Regional bibliographic centers, 73, 87, 89,

94 155

Regional cooperation; see Cooperation

Regional libraries, 22, 39, 46 (Table II),
47, 48-49, 53, 153

Regions, major geographic, population,
political units, trade areas, 44-45
(Table I)
See also Names of regions

Registration; see Borrowers, registered

Reorganization of local units, 51-52, 152

Reporting, financial, 102, 103

Research and investigation, 135-50, 159-60
administration, 142-43
books and reading interests, 147-49
centers for research, 135-38, 159
finance, 141-42
importance, 135, 149-50, 160
library government, 139-40
personnel administration, 143-44
service to readers, i44"47 J 6

statistics, 139

units and areas of library service, 140-41
Research, library, advisory committee pro-
posed, 138, 149, 159
Revenues; see Income
Rhode Island, 41

Rochester, N. Y., library building, 28
Rural areas

federal concern, 72

library service costly, 36

without libraries, 19, 34, 72

Salaries

Budget proportion, 101-2
Increases needed, 28, 57, 120
School libraries, 10-11, 84, 92-93, 94, 96
cooperation with public libraries, 92-93,

94

Seattle, bibliographic center, 73, 87
Sense of: purpose, 12-13, l6 *5*
Social Science Research Council, 138
South Carolina, 55
Southern states, 46-47
county dominant government unit, 46-47
low per capita wealth, 47
Negroes, service to, 19-20
regional and county libraries, 47
Standards; see American Library Associa-
tion, standards

State aid, 22, 59-63, 66-67, 9^ 1 53
administration by library agency, 58, 61
formula, 61-63, 140-41
composite, 6
equalization of service, 62
large service units, 62-63, 67
population, 61-62, 67
policies, 60-61
reasons for, 60
relation to certiEcation and large units,

59

research, 140, 141

State library agency, functions, 56-59, 66
administration of federal and state aid,

58,61

centralized cataloging, 59
consultant and advisory service, 57-58, 66
direct library service, 49, 59, 64, 67
inadequate performance, 22
information service, 59, 66
interlibrary loans, 58
leadership, 20
nonbook materials, 58-59
personnel standards, 64-65, 153
planning, 56-57

167

INDEX

<$><$>&<>&&&;>&^^

promoting development of libraries, 57
relation to public libraries, 57
supervisory functions, 57-58
standards of performance and support,

57* *53

supplementary services, 58-59, 66

traveling libraries, 58
State library agency, organization, 56-57, 66

adequate appropriations, 22, 56-57

consolidation of library functions, 56, 66

free from politics, 56

professional leadership, 56, 153
State library associations, 65-66

trustee associations, 65-66
State library districts, 40-41, 43, 46 (Table

H), 49> 53> 153

State library relations, 54-67, 153
certification, 27, 59, 64-65, 67, 119, 121,

*53 *57

direct services, 63-64, 67
larger units, 59, 63-64, 67
legal foundation, 55, 66, 95, 153
library functions strengthened, 54
mandatory legislation, 55, 66, 153
responsibility for libraries, 54, 55, 153
system available to all people, 66
See also State aid; State library agency
Storage libraries, regional, 87, 90, no, 126,

Tax levy, library, 96

Tennessee Valley Authority library service,

71-72, 83

Toledo, Ohio, library building, 28
Trade areas, 34, 44-45 (Table I), 50, 51,

53> 155

Traveling libraries, 6, 58
Trustees, library, 52, 65-66, 101, 132, 159

Union catalogs, 58, 74, 82, 87
U.S. Office of Education
Library Service Division, viii, 70-71,
78-79, 82, 102, 135-36, 138-39, 154
public library statistics, 21, 27
Units, library

number, 18, 33, 49-51, 53, 152
size, 18, 33-35, 38-39, 50-51
See also County libraries; Federated
library groups; Large-unit system;
Municipal libraries; Regional li-
braries; State library districts

Virginia, 55

Washington, 49, 55
West North Central states

county or regional libraries, 48

federated library groups, 48

incorporated-area pattern, 48
West Virginia, 43
Winslow, Amy, viii
Wisconsin, 47

THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

The American Library Association, established in 1876, is an
organization of libraries, librarians, library trustees, and others
interested in the responsibilities of libraries in the educational,
social, and cultural needs of society. It is affiliated with more than
fifty other library associations in this country and abroad. It works
closely with many organizations concerned with education, recrea-
tion, research, and public service. Its activities are carried on by
a headquarters staff, voluntary boards and committees, and by divi-
sions, sections, and round tables, all interested in various aspects
or types of library service. Its program includes information and
advisory services, personnel service, field work, annual and mid-
winter conferences, and the publicationnot for profitof numerous
professional books, pamphlets, and periodicals.