LIBRARIAN'S REPORT 1934-5 1935-6 (/) <( x w I­ LL 0 >­ I­(/) 0::: w > z :::> w :c I- The University of Texas Bulletin No. 3707: February 15, 1937 LIBRARIAN'S REPORT 1934-5 1935-6 Dr. Harry Yandell Benedict President The University of Texas Sir: I have the honor to submit my first report as Librarian, for the period September 1, 1934, to August 31, 1936. Since the report resumes a series long interrupted, a more comprehensive picture is undertaken than may be desirable in later reports. The Library reached the size of 506,127 recorded items on August 31, 1936. It retains its position as fourteenth among the major university and college libraries of the United States, and is the largest library south of a line drawn from Washington, D~ C.; to Palo Alto, California. Its rate of growth-about 17,000 volumes per year-is lower than for most libraries of its size. Acquisitions from gift and exchange amount to about 3,600 volumes a year and should be more. The most important gift during 1934-6 is the General Education Board's grant of $33,000 with an equal con­tingent grant. The Library lent 4.6 per cent more books in 1935-6 than in the previous year. Facilities for promoting recreational reading and Freshman English books were improved. Graduate use of general stacks and carrels increased greatly. Demands for help in the use of books increased in all service units. There is a tremendous potential demand for this kind of service latent in the Library's clientele which will be released as organization improves and per­sonnel increases. Formal instructiOn in the use of the Library would ease this situation. · Requests for service from non-University groups continue to increase as the Library becomes more widely known. Texas col­leges account for a large part of loans off the campus. The character of the personnel is satisfactory. All are well quali­fied for their work by study, training, and experience. Careful selection of new personnel has maintained, and in some cases improved the quality of the staff. The Library is handicapped in retaining and attracting well-equipped people by a salary scale somewhat lower than what obtains in the better libraries, and by an unfortunately short annual vacation. Coupled with the distance of the University from library centers, these deficiencies will ~omeincr~asingly injurious unless they are repaired. Additional positions are badly needed in the technicaland general service units. The organization of the Library, generally sound· in its nul.inotit~ lines, has been worked over and activities more closely integrated. Here much remains to be done and certain necessary improvement can result only from added personnel. It is belieyed ,that service to the clientele has been generally improved. An outstanding deficiency in undergraduate service can. be.remedied best .· by the. development of an open-shelf college library in the maill building for Liberal Arts undergraduates. · All major present building and equipment needs will be cared for with the completion of t:he . additional units to the new building. Quarters there for the Rare Book and Newspaper Collections will further the program ·of integrated service; Thanks are due you, the officers of the University, and the Board of Regents for interest in and support of the Library. l\lay I be­speak continued interest and support? I must also record appre­cfation of the fine spirit of cooperation with which the Library staff accepted a new Librarian. My especial thanks are due Mr. E. W. Winkler, Bibliographer, whose long experience at the U,niversity has made him an invaluable colleague. , Respectfully yours .DONALD CONEY Librarian 15 February 1937 PERSONNEL There are four basic elements of nearly equal importance to a library : acquisitions, organization, personnel, and physical plant. Although our rate of acquisition is somewhat less than might be expected from the University's graduate rank and the size of the Library, this element is for the present in a satisfactory condition. Physical plant needs have been well met by the new building and equipment. Organization and personnel must be our immediate concern. Organization has been and is being improved. It cannot reach the necessary degree of increase of personnel. NEW PERSONNEL 1. A professionally trained order department assistant is needed to handle bibliographical routine, re­leasing the time of the Order Libra­rian for closer attention to book markets and cooperation with the faculty. Additional help for the book­keeper is becoming increasingly im­perative. It is likely that a book­keeping machine would relieve this pressure. 2. The Catalog Department lacks a· cataloger with a knowledge of scien­tific literature. Service to the science departments could be much improved by the addition of this position. 3. An additional assistant in the Serials and Binding Department would simplify its reorganization. 4. The present organization of the Loan Department is defective in supervision of desk service. Two or three full-time student assistantships are desirable. 5. A reference assistant to handle the information desk would release time of other reference workers for real reference work. Attention must be called to the effects of the possible discontinuance of the N.Y.A. These student workers have gradually assumed many minor, efficiency, however, without an but necessary, routines. Much of the expansion of service made possible in the new building has been absorbed by these workers. Additions to the Library's permanent personnel will prevent the sudden onset of many problems when N.Y.A. is discontinued. SALARIES The salary scale of the Library needs revision upward to retain val­ued personnel and to attract well qualified new personnel. Two-thirds of the Library salaries-for twelve months service-are below the mini­mum salary ($1800) paid to in­structors for nine months service. VACATION The annual vacation allowance should be comparable with that gen­erally made to university and college library workers. The Library is now in the lowest class in regard to an­nual vacation. Of 34 major college and university libraries, all allow sub­stantially a calendar month except Texas with twelve days, the Univer­sity of Washington with eleven, and Vanderbilt with eighteen. For list of Library staff see The Universityof Texas Bulletin, Catalog Number Part V­General Informa.tum, Main Univertlit11 11185­1936; 1936-1937. ORGANIZATION There is a natural tendency for the operating units of any large enterprise to separate. The personnel is drawn toward the interest of a department's proper work, and repulses implied criticism from other units. The ultimate result of such a tendency is a loose fed­eration of agencies which act most effectively only when closely integrated for a common purpose. This is the penalty of division of labor, in itself a: sound principle. It is the function of adminis­tration to maintain the proper balance between division and integration. Early in 1934-5 it was apparent that separation of units had pro­gressed to a considerable degree, ag­gravated by the task of settling into the new building. This separation has been counteracted by the establish­ment of several means of communica­tion so that each unit might become familiar with the work of the others, identify common problems, and learn the policies of the central adminis­tration. Early in the year a Library Council was set up, composed of the Librarian and those responsible for the chief classes of work. Various other mem­bers of the staff were brought in from time to time, and in 1935-6 all branch librarians were included. A staff man­ual was begun to record policy de­cisions for the information of all concerned. A messenger service was established in the main building to provide an easy means of inter­departmental communication. The lack of convenient telephone service was seen to be a handicap and a building telephone system was in­cluded in the specifications of the building additions. While these plans oriented the work toward the common end of library service, a direct attack on the service problem was made by improvements in the service units. On the assump­tion that the main building service units affected the largest part of the clientele, these were dealt with first. Many changes were made in the Loan Department routines. The charging files were simplified and in February, 1936, completely transformed by the use of punched card sorting machin­ery. This materially reduced the time required to handle overdue notices and fines. The Department was given charge of loan work wherever it oc­curred in the library system. Uni­formity of practice was thus secured, reducing misunderstandings with the clientele and making possible the col­lection of uniform records of use. The handling of stack permits and refunds .was transferred to this department to reduce the number of units with which students needed to make con­tact. These changes were accom­panied by a reduction of part-time labor hours, without damage to serv­ice, in the face of an increasing circulation. The Reference Department was given a desk at the public catalog so that easy contact between the clien­tele and this department could be achieved. The Loan Department took over an hour a day at this desk, re­leasing reference workers for the handling of reference questions and varying the work to the Loan staff. The Geology Library was given an experienced student librarian who im­proved service, inventoried the collec­tion, and overhauled its catalog. The Engineering Library was given an experienced librarian in September, 1935, which resulted in the establish­ing of a buying program and an order routine, the creation of an open-shelf popular reading collection for Engi­neering students, transfer of Engi­neering books from the general collection, inventory, and refiling of the catalog. An assistant in charge of the Texas Collection was appointed in June, 1935, and a part-time staff developed. University theses were taken over from the Archives Collec­tion, rare Texas books were put under stricter supervision, and the first parts of a catalog for the Collection were supplied. Plans for a general rare book unit to include the Wrenn, Stark, and Aitken libraries, were projected for development on the transfer of these collections to new quarters. A direct approach to the faculty was made, beginning in October, 1936, by the distribution of the Library Book List, a monthly record of acces­sions made possible by the cooperation of the Stenographic Bureau. This publication carries notes on current Library activities and offers a con­venient means of communication to the faculty. In the fall of 1935, the Library Guide, a small handbook, was compiled for distribution to all new students each year. Concurrently with these· changes, improvements were made in the tech­nical division. The old bookkeeping system based on invoices paid was supplanted by a new one based on orders placed, preventing deficits in very active accounts, and eliminating the double order-file. The staff of the Catalog Department was increased, an official catalog was begun as a part of the Library of Congress de­pository file, and in 1935-6 the typing of catalog cards was greatly reduced by the use of a Mimeograph. This also freed catalogers of much proof­reading. On the assumption that it is the Librarian's business to develop gen­eral policy and organization plans, and to represent the Library in rela­tion to University and other groups, a considerable amount of routine work was transferred from the Librarian's office to other units. The Bibliog­rapher assumed direction of N.Y.A. work and continued to select material for purchase on the Littlefield Fund. Dictating machinery was introduced to simplify secretarial work. In line with this objective the posi­tion of Associate Librarian was cre­ated at the beginning of 1936-7. This officer has taken over administrative supervision of all branch libraries, the Loan, RefE:rence, Serials and Binding, and Catalog Departments; the Librarian continues direct con­trol of the special collections and acquisition work, and handles general administrative activities. Results to date testify to the wisdom of the plan. USE OF LIBRARY MATERIALS LOAN SERVICE The number of items lent is a rough index to the usefulness of a library. Circulation figures from all units were not collected and combined until March, 1934. Comparisons are possible, therefore, only for the last six months of the years of this report. Sept.-Feb. 1984-15 19SIHI %Change Building use (not 194,085 Home use available) 92,780 Total use 286,865 March-Aug. Building use 254,690 275,605 +8.2 Home use 105,751 101,668 -3.8 Total use 360,441 377,273 +4.6 Total 664,138 The 4.6 per cent increase for the comparable six months is not surprising in view of the enrolment increase which varied over this period from 6.2 to 9.7 per cent. These total figures are analyzed by service unit below. Not all units show increases in number of loans but no inexplicable qecreases have occurred. MAIN LOAN DESK "Negative" Circulation CIRCULATION Although these figures suggest the Table I below shows books with­use made of the general collection, drawn from the general stack through they are not entirely descriptive of the main Loan Desk by faculty and the Loan Department's work. Many all classes of students. requests cannot be met with the books TABLE I 1933-4 1984--6 %Change 193!H; % Chanire Building use 58,628 47,905 -10.6 52,287 +9.1 Home use 94,928 104,851 +10.5 101,068 -2.6 Total use 148,556 152,756 + 2.8 153,355 +0.4 The shift between building and home demanded if they are already in use use in 1935-6 is attributable to the or have been transferred temporarily installation of new tables, chairs, and to another branch of the Library. table lamps in the East Reading Room Such results require nearly as much early in the Spring semester. work as do book deliveries; more im­portant, they mean that the client must lose time in choosing another book or in betaking himself to an­other part of the building or campus. A useful check, therefore, on service and costs are "negative" circulation figures. Collection of these figures was begun on April 1, 1935. During the last five months of 1934-5, 15,464 calls were not met with books. These negative results repre­sent over 18 per cent of the total calls for the period. During 1935--6 "nega­tive" calls amounted to 30,917, or about 16 per cent of the total calls. Reserve Reading Room Comparative figures of books with­drawn from the Reserve Reading Room of the main Library building are given in Table II. This circula­tion reflects the activity of under­graduates, particularly of the two upper classes. outside the newspaper-magazine range .of current print. It is reasonable to assume that symptoms of this tend­ency should appear in the college years. Similarly, the burdens of scholarship do not prohibit an interest in current literature and affairs among the faculty. A university library has an obligation to foster these interests as well as those that relate more directly-but no less significantly-to the business of education. With this in mind the Loan Depart­ment set up a collection of popular recent books on open shelves adjacent to the Loan Desk in October, 1935. A number (1268) of suitable books were rotated through this collection for the ensuing seven months. ­ The results were satisfactory and unfortunate. The collection was gen­uinely popular-during the first four months 1284 loans were made from TABLE II 1983-4 1934-6 %Change 1936-6 % Change Building use 127,086 152,313 +19.8 157,239 +3.2 Home use* 43,596 44,006 + .9 41,978 -4.6 Total use 170,682 196,319 +15.0 199,217 +1.5 The discrepancy in total increases for 1934-5 and 1935--6 is probably due to the fact that 1934-5 was the first en­tire year during which the Reserve Reading Room had operated in its new and pleasanter quarters. It is worthy of notice that regis­tration figures show that enrolment increases are occurring in .the upper years rather than elsewhere. If this trend continues, a greater burden will :fall on this service unit in the future. Extra-Curricular Reading Librarians like to think that a col­lege education leads a person to read •overnight loans. the collection. During the whole period of the experiment 1268 titles were displayed-some of them many times-and 38 · of them were stolen~ Such a loss is not very great from a collection of this kind at the hands of a clientele almost wholly unfamiliar with public and school libraries. Nevertheless, the loss toward the end of the period of a considerable nuiµ­ber of brand-new, attractive books led to the abandonment of open shelves. Since then the collection has been kept behind the Loan Desk where access ·can be supervised. This is a far from satisfactory solution to the problem of supplying popular books to faculty and students. A much larger collection of books should be available under conditions which permit free access without un­usual loss. It is to be hoped that such quarters can be found in the new part of the building. Freshman English Collection The English Department requires members of its freshman course to read a number of novels from a large selection made by the faculty. Before the beginning of the second semester of 1934-5 these books were kept in the general stack, chosen by the stu­dents from a list, and called for in the usual manner over the Loan Desk. Because many of the books were al­most always out, much time was lost by students in selecting books and by the staff in delivering them. Often students in desperation sought help from Loan Assistants, and we had the interesting development of a fresh­man's reading being chosen for him by a sophomore or junior. This method was not only unsatisfactory to student and teacher, but expensive to the Library. The obvious solution seemed to be the removal of the barrier between student and books. At the beginning of the second semester of 1935-6 a small group of prescribed books (290 volumes) was placed on open shelves in the East Reading Room. At the end of the first month it had become so popular that only about a fifth of the collection remained on the shelf at any time. It was increased to 435 volumes that semester and by the sec­ond semester of the following year bad been doubled in size. This was obviously a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, losses occurred to such an extent that by the end of 1935-6 a fifth of the collection had disappeared and it seemed doubt­ful if the project should be continued until better supervision could be given. It should be noted that, even with this loss, it had been cheaper for the Library to handle these books in this way. Nevertheless, it seemed bad for student morale to continue under such conditions. The English Department, however, had found this method so satisfactory that it has been continued with the understand­ing that this department will try to instill a proper attitude toward its use in the freshmen. The results of this experiment point to two needs. First, definite and ade­quate provisions should be made for the instruction of students in the use of the Library with attention paid to the inculcation of "library ethics." Second, space and staff should be pro­vided for open-shelf service to under­graduate students. Graduate Use The essence of the graduate service problem is to bring together work­space for the student and the books he needs. While much graduate use takes place in the special collections, the carrels are much used by those whose materials are in the main stack. The growing popularity of the carrels is evident in the 1935-6 increase of assignments by 15 per cent, and of books used in carrels by 75 per cent. The number of carrels has been in­creased from 51 in 1934-5 to 197 by the delivery of new furniture. Loans from Other Libraries Important in the use of any library is the attempt to supplement its mate­rials by borrowing from other libra­ries. Certain ethical considerations must be kept in mind: acquisition should be preferred to borrowing un­less the material is very expensive or likely to be little used; a student should not expect to borrow the bulk of his research material for a given problem; borrowing should not be substituted for foresight in acquisi­tion. As the figures show, there was a decline of 20 per cent of volumes bor­rowed in 1935-6. 1934-5• 1935-6 Volumes borrowed 179 142 Number of libraries 55 42 English, Romance Languages, and Education borrowed 57 per cent of the 1935-6 total. Texas, Southern, and Middlewestern university libra­ries bore the brunt of the borrowing, but the Library of Congress is still the greatest source-primarily be­cause its holdings are known through the copy of its author catalog de­posited in this library. Delivery Time A test of a good loan department­and one often used by a protesting clientele-is the promptness with which calls for books are reported back. Several checks on speed have been made during the period of this report, showing a range between one and six minutes, with an average of a little over three minutes. BRANCH LIBRARIES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS All but two of the units reporting specific loan figures show increases­in two cases, quite remarkable ones. The Law Library loans in 1934-5 increased nearly one-third over the previous year. Based partly on esti­mates, this increase may be more ap­parent than real. The Education Library reported a 21 per cent in­ •oct. 1984-Aug. 1935. crease in 1934-5 but a decrease of 10 per 'cent the next year. The decrease is certainly attributable to a decline of 7 per cent in advanced class en­rolment and to the transfer of nearly all books for freshman and sophomore courses to the Reserve Reading Room. Since the Business and Social Science Room is an open-shelf collection, loan records in terms of books are unavail­able. The monthly count of individ­uals using the room shows a small increase in 1935-6-2888 as ag11inst 2801. The Rare Book and Newspaper Col­lections are not yet organized for record keeping. Their loan work, however, is so closely associated with their reference service that a good idea of it can be got from the dis­cussion below. The Texas and Latin­American Collections show a com­bined increase in loans of 44 per cent on the basis of the comparable last six months of 1934-5 and 1935-6. Be­tween 80 and 85 per cent of these loans come from the Texas Collection and nearly all loans from both col­lections are used in their common reading room. The increase is due to Centennial interests, University theses, and improved facilities. In the Archives Collection very large increases in use of all classes of ma­terial except maps were brought about by the Centennial. Increased work was somewhat off-set by the transfer of University theses to the Texas Collection. In 1934-5 the Architecture Library had the largest circulation in its his­tory; in 1935-6 this figure was topped by 62 per cent. These remarkable in­creases illustrate the use that will be made of a generally useful collection (the Architecture Library is really a fine arts collection) when opportunity is given to get at it. During the Sum­mer Session of 1936, on the advice of its usefulness will not greatly in­the Architecture Librarian, the Li­crease until a full-time assistant is brary was kept open mornings as well provided. The Engineering Library as afternoons in the first term, and showed an increase in loans in 1934-5 during the second term, afternoons, of 35 per cent, but a decline of 6 per instead of being entirely closed as cent the next year, the large increase before. The Chemistry and Pharmacy the first year being due, no doubt, to Library reported the surprising in­more careful collection of figures un­crease of 48 per cent at the end of der a new full-time librarian. It is 1934-5, and an increase of 19 per cent expected the loans will increase as the next year. Geology figures are the reorganization of this School not available, but it is probable that progresses. REFERENCE SERVICE The earlier paragraphs of this section deal with the use of library materia:ls in terms of quantity of items withdrawn through the various loan agencies. A library's direct service is, however, of two kinds: the simple delivery of materials specifically requested, and bibliographical guidance in the discovery of suitable materials. The work of a loan department exemplifies service of the first type; the activities of a reference department, the second. In both instances the service involves library personnel as an intermediary between client and material. In examining these personal services we should not ignore an impersonal agency which carries the greatest load of guidance of client to book-the card catalogs of the library. REFERENCE DEPARTMENT The general reference department of a university library is notoriously a catch-all of duties, varying in im­portance and unprovided for other­wise. The accidental character of this department's work is due to its de­pendence on the clientele's demand for its services. Unconfined by a regular routine, a reference depart­ment invites duties often better done elsewhere. Administrative failure to define the proper activities of this department may result in a curtail­ment of a much needed guidance serv­ice. The work may range over as diverse a field as giving locations of rooms in the library building, instruc­tion in the use of the catalog and simple reference books, tracking down the elusive author of a quotation, or bringing together a group of books on an obscure subject for a research worker. It is apparent that not all this work is of equal value and that some of it might be well-performed more cheaply by other means. In each of the two years covered by this report, the Reference Department has sampled the questions asked of it. Ninety per cent of the questions lie in three groups: 1. Use of catalog, indexes, etc. 50 % 2 . . Location of offices, books, etc. 26% 3. Requiring more help than (1) 16% It is important to observe that the figures do not represent proportions of time spent in answering questions. It is quite likely that the time re­quired for group (3) exceeded that needed to handle the much larger number in group (1). The signifi­cance lies in the justifiable assumption that the qualitatively valuable service represented by ( 3) must frequently have been impeded by the less impor­tant questions of (1) and the trivial ones of (2). It is necessary to direct people about the building and to be courteous to visitors; economy directs that it be done by other means than an expensive reference staff. A clientele of tim thousand gen­erates enough work of this kind to warrant division of labor. The large proportion of questions relative to the use of the Library suggests need for formal instruction where the job could be well-instead of half-done. Direc­tions, simple assistance, and atten­tion to visitors call for a sort of bibliothecal receptionist. The ques­tions that are hard to crack ought to have first claim on the reference staff's uninterrupted time. BRANCH LIBRARIES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS The reference service of the special service units of the Library is con­ditioned by their specialties, and the personnel is less subject to questions of casual informational character. The social science units-the Law and Education Libraries, and the Business and Social Science Room­generally report increased demands for reference service following enrol­ment increases. The Business and Social Science Room-a year and a half old-is too new and in too cramped quarters to have developed the collection of ephemeral material from which much of its reference service must spring. Education and Law are subject to increasing de­mands from the faculties of their own and other University groups. Educa­tion reports considerable demand from administrative officers and fac­ulty committees dealing with educa­tional problems. Students from Government, Economics, and Business Administration make use of the Law Library. Except for the Rare Book Collec­tions, the special collection units have found their reference work much in­creased by the preparation of State and local groups for the Centennial. The Texas, Latin-American, Archives, and Newspaper Collections have prob­ably contributed more to the factual data required by Centennial groups than have any other agencies in the State. Centennial interest has in­creased student use of these collec­tions with correspondingly more demands for reference service. The Rare Book Collections (including the Wrenn, Stark, and Aitken Libraries) reported for 1934-5 a decrease of local reference requests by compari­son with the previous five years­corresponding to smaller enrolments in the English Department semi­nars-but find the tide turning in 193!Hi. The science branches-Chemistry and Pharmacy, Engineering, Archi­tecture, and Geology Libraries-re­port increases, especially in Chemistry and Architecture where heavier de­mands are being made by groups other than their own. This may be re­garded as a sign of general employ­ment of specialist services-a healthy symptom. Architecture served, in addition to its own department, Edu­cation, Home Economics, and English, as well as giving a good deal of help to members of the faculty engaged in building houses. SERVICE TO NON-UNIVERSITY GROUPS Not the least of the Library's service is its use by non-University groups. As a part of the State's University, and as the largest library in the South between North Carolina and California, it has an inescapable regional obligation. The lending of materials off the campus is the lesser part of this service. Almost every service unit of the organization maintains contacts with non-University groups. EXTRAMURAL LOANS they are undertaking more and more work of a kind for which their library Prior to October, 1934, correspond­resources are inadequate. ence and packages relating to books During 1935-6 the Loan Depart­lent to other libraries and to non­ment handled from all sources 1260University borrowers were handled letters requesting 1954 books of which by the Librarian's office, the books · 1107-about 57 per cent-were sup­ requested being supplied by the Loan plied. This service is not inexpensive,Department to the Librarian's Secre­but much of it is justified. Certainlytary. Late in October this divided the University owes this service to itsroutine was abandoned and all the citizens until public libraries are bet­work was turned over to the Loan ter distributed and supported. ItDepartment in line with the policy of should repay debts incurred through centralizing control of all loan work its own borrowing from other libra­in this functional agency. ries. But when it must lend manySince detailed records were not books to other State colleges there iskept until March, 1935, only the last reason to believe that their librariessix months' work of 1934-5 and lack proper support or their enthusi­1935-6 can be compared. During this astic faculties are extending theirperiod a small decrease (5 per cent) work beyond available facilities. in the total number ·of books re­quested is noticeable, a circumstance BRANCH LIBRARIES AND due to a decrease in requests from SPECIAL COLLECTIONS individual borrowers off the campus which was not compensated by an in­The non-University groups making crease in institutional borrowers. use of the Library are extraordinary The decrease is too small to be in their variety. Local groups are, of significant. The increase in library, course, numerous. When the Legisla­and the decreas.e in individual bor­ture is in session not a day passes rowing may be due to an increased without at least one call from the use of local libraries as intermedi­State Library. The Austin Art aries, to improvement in certain local League draws much of its program library collections, or to an increase material from the Reference Depart­in graduate work or faculty research ment and the Architecture Library. in colleges throughout the State. Each year the Latin classes of the Texas colleges and universities are Austin High School visit the Library the heaviest library borrowers and it for material on Roman life and cus­is becominir increasingly clear that toms. A . large department store sent its clerks to learn about the manu­facture of knitted merchandise. The Law Library makes its books avail­able to fifteen or twenty local and out-of-town lawyers each year. The Chemistry Library serves workers in State and Federal laboratories, and its librarian has helped high school and college libraries select chemistry literature. As might be expected, the scholarly reputation of the special collections brings an ever-increasing flow of re­quests for information. The materials in the Wrenn, Stark, and Aitken Libraries are becoming better known each year outside Texas and about one-fourth of one person's time is re­quired to handle the "mail-order" questions resulting. The Latin­American Collection is visited each year by scholars from the United States, England, and Mexico. Need­less to say, the interest in Texas his­tory, generated by the Centennial, visited a heavy burden of off-campus work on the staff of the Archives, Texas, and Latin-American Collec­tions. The Archivist served on the Advisory Committee on Historical Exhibits for the Central Centennial Exposition. The Collection was used by the Board of Control in verifica­tion of data for Centennial statues and markers; by the National Park Service in its restoration of forts and m1ss1ons; by the State Planning Board, and ·the Works Progress Administration. EXHIBITS An interesting and informal use of library material is made by means of exhibits. It was early observed that little real use was being made of the exhibit cases in the ground-floor cor­ridor, by which hundreds of students pass each day. Early in 1935 Miss Julia Harris of the Reference Depart­ment was given charge of exhibits under general orders to change them every two weeks and keep them simple. This forestalled a natural tendency to let an arduously compiled show outrun public interest. The pro­gram has been eminently successful. The Library has a wealth of exhibit­able material which, by the testimony of finger-prints on the exhibit cases, is of interest. During these two years the Rare Book Collections continued their dis­plays in the Wrenn Library. For two of these, on Lamb and Shelley, de­scriptive bibliographical pamphlets were prepared by several collab­orators from faculty and staff. INSTRUCTION IN USE OF THE LIBRARY It is abundantly evident in all serv­ice units that students are greatly handicapped in their class work by lack of familiarity with library prac­tices. It is impossible to so administer a large library as to make its easy use crystal clear. Size makes for complexity and confers the obliga­tion to learn-and teach-ways and means. Unless the learning of its ways are made easy for the under­graduate, it is doubtful if he ever learns. The situation is 'acute at this University, in a state where there are almost no public and few school libraries to pave the way for the undergraduate. When one considers that university graduates are likely to continue in the use of books in their professions and businesses, and that libraries are where books are most found, it seems as though some formal instruction along this line is a duty of the University. The staffs of the service units con­tinually instruct informally, but the benefits are inconsiderable and the labor detracts from their proper work. Since the Fall of 1936, a pocket-size pamphlet-the Library Guide-has been distributed to all new students­and faculty members. The results are incalculable, but persistent reference to it would unquestionably be helpful to students. That it is of great value is too much to expect. The apparent solution to this problem is a short course of instruction given to all stu­dents of sophomore or junior rank. In the long run it would improve the quality of class work. COLLEGE LIBRARY PROJECT Service to undergraduates is not so satisfactory as is that to graduates and faculty. Many books used by undergraduates are shelved in the general stack where the students can­not have direct access to them. It is certain that better use of these books would be made if the most used of them were segregated in an open­shelf collection under supervision adequate to prevent loss and suitable to provide guidance. THE STATE OF THE BOOK COLLECTION SIZE OF THE LIBRARY On August 31, 1935, the number of volumes of books, newspapers, periodicals, pamphlets, and accessioned maps stood at 490,345. A year later the Library passed the half-million mark with 506,127 items. The Archives Collection comprised approximately two mil­lion documents in manuscript, transcript, or photostat form. Additions to the Library for the past six years are shown below. With- Net Purchase Gifts Bindery Pama. Total drawals Total 1930-31 6,933 5,455 5,051 1,101 18,540 0 18,540 1931-32 3,886 2,464 4,296 1,427 12,073 0 12,073 1932-33 4,117 5,326 3,607 1,007 14,057 32 14,025 1933-34 13,987 3,403 2,768 3,430 23,588 0. 23,588 1934-35 10,720 1,736 3,919 1,311 17,686 1,178 16,508 1935-36 9,551 3,500 5,503 553 19,107 325 18,7S2 The sharp increase in number of volumes purchased in 1933--4 was due to the operation of the "Special Fund." Because of extra work made by this appropriation, there were no withdrawals in 1933--4 and withdrawals for 1934--5 were thu~ abnormally large, throwing the net totals off balance for both years. At the beginning of 1930-1 the Library comprised 405,611 items. Its subsequent increase by more than 100,000 items, although sub­stantial, is at a slower rate than that shown by most libraries of its class. Large libraries tend to double within twenty years. This library will not reach -the million mark, at the present rate of growth, for thirty years. NEEDS Traditionally a university library emphasizes its need for research ma­terials because these are expensive and because research is what distin­guishes a university from a college. Nevertheless, a university contains within its walls a large liberal arts college--a circumstance often neg­lected in the preoccupations of grad­uate work. In this university books for undergraduates can be thought of chiefly in terms of assigned and recreational reading. Many books assigned by instructors have been literally read to pieces. A replace­ment program, begun on a small scale in 1935-6, should be continued until this material is in good condition. Needs for additional books for recre­ational reading will be more apparent in 1937-8 when the two recreational reading rooms in the new part of the building are ready. There should be available books of such character as to persuade students that reading can be a pleasure as well as a task. As for research needs, our general policy should be directed toward the acquisition of journal sets and so­ciety publications--especially for the science departments-and the earlier monumental works of scholarship. Special needs must be recognized and anticipated. The expansion of the University's interest in petroleum studies must be underwritten in the near future by the development of a good petroleum collection. If work in geography is to be undertaken soon, an effort should be made to acquire three of the four leading journal sets in this field as well as society publi­cations. If the proposed program in fine arts is begun, a very considerable outlay will be necessary to supple­ment the present fragmentary ma­terials. The English Rare Book collections, the Latin-American, and Texas Collections-all functioning pri­marily on a research level-should be augmented constantly if they are to retain their present high positions. EXCHANGE PROGRAM Large quantities of exchangeable books have been accumulated and should be traded with other libraries for usable material. It is unlikely that this project can be carried on without additional clerical help. PURCHASES In 1933 a special appropriation of $60,000 for books and equipment en­abled all departments to improve their collections in varying degrees, depending on appropriations and availability of the books selected. A general view of acquisitions from this source indicates that most depart­ments tried to fill gaps in research materials. GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD GRANT This grant available in February, 1936, led to renewed efforts of simi­lar kind. The English Committee, working over a broad program, ac­quired numerous items of Western and Southwestern travel, biography, sports, and popular humor, added to the excellent collection of early Eng­lish dictionaries, to the holdings in eighteenth century drama and poetry, and acquired a sixty-three volume run of the London Chronicle (1757-1811) for the collection of early British newspapers, among other items. The Spanish and Latin-American Commit­tee began negotiations in Spain for an important drama collection, the delivery of which is still delayed by war. The Library acquired several bibliographical items, notably Har­risse's copy of Medina's Bibliotheca Hispano-Americana, and Hinrichs' Funfjahrs-Katalog (21v). LITILEFIELD FUND FOR SOUTHERN HISTORY This fund acquired 240 volumes in 1934-5 and 611 volumes in 1935-6, the largest addition to the Library from this source in recent years. Of the 611 volumes, about 300 are books dealing with the slavery question, agriculture, biography, military and political history during 1820-80. About 225 volumes are periodicals, mostly in broken sets which supple­ment files already held. The news­paper files purchased include new titles and extension of files already here. Two important collections of Louisiana plantation papers were ac­quired: the William Whitmell Hill Pugh (1811-1906) Papers comprising about 7,000 pieces and 13 account books; and the Alexander Franklin Pugh Papers comprising about 3,000 pieces and a diary in 22 small volumes. Purchases from departmental book accounts show that most departments are trying to keep abreast of publica­tion in their fields with occasional forays into the second-hand market for earlier material. No notable jour­nal sets were acquired by the science division, partly because certain sets did not appear in the market. The English Department acquired several desirable Shelley and Byron items, a copy of the photostat edition of the Huntington Piers Plowman manu­script, and contributed (with the general library fund and the History Department) to the purchase of a run of Lloyd's Evening Post and British Chronicle (1758-1775). A new fund secured by the Dean of the School of Education cared for material on adult education, new education peri­odicals, and general education books. Notable among · History purchases was the Revolutions de Paris (1789­1794) in twenty volumes. The Law Library continued to round out its state session laws, court reports, and law reviews. It is interesting to note that the Law School's book selection begins to overlap Economics, Govern­ment, and Business material. The character of purchases from the general library account is too various to describe fully. In general the policy is to maintain and improve the bibliographical and reference col­lections, buy scholarly books which are outside the immediate interests of departments, replace worn books, buy popular reading, and supplement the funds of departments when neces­sary and desirable. During the past two years the gen­eral account has added several files to the early British newspapers in the Rare Book Collections, Latin­American Collection, a considerable number of duplicates to the Texas Collection to meet greatly increased use. A good deal of material on the :history of colleges and universities, books and libraries, music, the the­ater, and American poetry have been acquired from this account. A sum­mer course in children's literature was implemented with a collection of illustrative books. Engineering jour­nals and society publications were bought for the Engineering Library. Much of this account goes for journal subscriptions and binding. Its uses are many, and vary with demand and <>pportunity. GIFTS The special collections have been the outstanding beneficiaries of do­nors during the two years of this report. The Texas and Newspaper Collections habitually benefit greatly from gifts because their stock-in­trade is resident in the State in large quantities. Accessions to the Archives Collection, whose materials are pri­marily in Texas and Southern fields, derive almost entirely from gifts. Public attention has been focused on English rare books by the outstand­ing quality of the Wrenn, Stark, and Aitken Libraries with the result that the Rare Book Collections often re­ceive substantial gifts in keeping with· present holdings. The Latin-American Collection secures all of its official publications through the generosity of Central and South American govern­ments. The general, departmental, school, and college collections, however, less frequently receive gifts of an unusual or extensive character. This is not said in deprecation of the very useful gifts that are being received from the Library's many friends. It is intended, rather, to point up the fact that pub­licity given to the special collections has attracted outstanding gifts for a number of years. The less spectacular but very necessary collections are less known and their needs, therefore, less appreciated. The Library has now reached such size and importance as to merit the interest of the citizens of the State it serves. An effort should be made to bring to their at­tention the value of private benefac­tions to the University Library. The successful operation of the Littlefield Fund for Southern History in creat­ing in the Library the finest collection of material on all aspects of that sub­ject in the South is ample testimony to the value of such gifts. GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD GRANT In February, 1936, the General Edu­cation Board made an outright grant of $33,000 over a five year period for four fields: Biblio2'raphy and Ref­erence, English, Spanish and Latin­American History and Literature, and Social Science. The Board offered further, another $33,000 ~or the same program and period, provided an equal amount is secured by the Uni­versity over and above the usual book appropriation. A situation has thus been created wherein the donor of any fund to the University for books can be assured that an equal amount will become available to the Library for this program. Reference to the number of gifts in the acquisitions figures above will suggest the impossibility of listing all :gifts or even donors in the brief space available in an annual report. The gratitude of the Library and the University is no less great and our appreciation has been expressed indi­vidually on receipt of the gifts. The outstanding gifts mentioned below characterize the types of bene­faction which add greatly to the Library's strength. In May, 1936, the Carnegie Cor­poration of New York presented a set of fine arts reference material com­prising 2,074 photographs and prints, and 187 books, touching on nearly all fields and periods of the arts. In January, 1936, the Directors of the John Crerar Library, Chicago, ap­proved the recommendation of their librarian, Mr. J. Christian Bay, that a set of their printed catalog cards be deposited in the University Li­brary, together with all future issues. As a result, we received 185,000 entries representing books in that library, an admirable supplement to the Library of Congress and other cards in the Union Catalog. Large bequests of books were re­ceived by the wills of Mrs. Laura Bryan Parker of Philadelphia and the Reverend Harris Masterson, Jr., late rector of AU Saints' Church. Dabney E. Petty of San Antonio presented, for the Geology Library~ 44 volumes of the Reporttt of the "Challenger" expedition. Mr. H. J. Lutcher Stark has con­tinued to augment his mother's: col­lection, the Miriam Lutcher Stark Library. The Archives Collection has bene­fited by the receipt of two outstand­ing gifts, the Ballinger and Jack Papers (1819-1924) from Mr. Bal­linger Mills of Galveston, and 18, 741 pages of transcripts from the James Stephen Hogg Papers from Miss Ima and Messrs. Mike and Tom Hogg, THE CATALOGS A modern subject catalog composed of detailed bibliographical entries is the factor which most distinguishes a library from a simple accumulation of books. One measure of the efficiency of a. library is the speed with which cataloging follows upon acquisition.. ·This is shown for the past three years below. 1938-4 1984-6 1936--6 Volumes acquired 23,588 17,686 19,107 Volumes cataloged Difference 17,977 -5,611 14,411 -3,275 21,156 + 2,049 Cataloging work is conditioned by factor and temporary staff changes in ·character of staff and books. In 1934-5 reduced the amount of work 1933-4 the .operation of the special done in that period. By 1935-6, how­book appropriation had brought in ever, three members of the depart­large quantities of more or less cur­ment who had been on leave or rent books in English which were transferred for part or all of the easily handled. To keep up with the preceding year returned and two new flow of accessions, difficult books were workers had been added, with the re­accumulated for later handling. This sult that for the first time in three years arrears in work were being caught up. The condition of the Library's cata­logs is steadily improving. There is no more delay in handling of current acquisitions than is caused by laeen supplied with the first parts of a complete catalog, to the great im­provement of service in that unit. UNION CATALOG The Library has had for many years a file of the author ·entries of the Library of Congress-the "L. C. Depository." For a number of years similar cards were purchased from the Newberry Library and interfiled. T~is subscription was dropped during the Depression to be renewed in July, 1935. Such a file of entries in other libraries is useful to the clientele and staff, and the gift of ·a complete file of available John Crerar Library cards makes an extensive and valuable addition. Plans are under way for the purchase of cards issued by the Vatican Library. Others should be added as opportunity offers. RARE BOOK COLLECTIONS The cataloging of ·the Aitken Li­brary begun· late in December, 1933, was virtually compl~ted by August 31, 1936. This important collection is now displayed . .for the first time in the general catalog as well as in the Collection's own catalog. Author en­tries were supplied to the Library of Congress for its Union Catalog. Work commenced on the Wrenn Library in accordance with I\ program of full cataloging for all rare books. NEEDS The most apparent needs are for an additional cataloger familiar with scientific literature, for recataloging ea:rly acquisitions mostly ina\lequately handled, and for thorough overhauling of branch library catalogs, especially those which have been or are in charge ·Of others than members of the Library staff. . · .SPANISH ARCHIVES TRANSLATION · -On September, 1934, the translation of the Spanish Archives of Texas was begun. The staff .comprising a trans­lator and a typist has been augmented annually by from eight to twenty stu­dent N.Y.A. workers. By August 31, 1936, approximately 3,000 pages had been translated ·and nine volumes of translations (2,182 pages of docu• ments) ·had been · deposited with the Bexar County Court in compliance with tne University's . agreement. A manual of practice and a · glossary of obsolete Spanish terms have been compiled to.facilitate.the work. COSTS Books and Binding Equipment Maintenance Part-time wages Salaries 1984-6 $ 53,969.71 2,107.73 4,380.97 11,811.32 46,298.31 1985-6 $ 49,299.30 2,960.35 6,026.96 18,145.99 64,322.09 Total 118,568.04 140,754.69 The decrease in expenditure for Books and Binding does not imply a reduction of income. On the contrary, $10,133.14 more than the previous year's expenditures were available­a balance of $14,803.55 being carried over to 1936-7. A large part of this balance represented incumbrances for outstanding orders not yet filled at the end of the fiscal year. Some de­partmental balances were carried over in the absence of favorable oppor­tunities to buy certain journal sets. It is certain that this balance would have been less had the Order Depart­ment staff been larger. Accession figures describe the work of this de­partment better than do expenditures. Nearly 1,500 more items were added to the Library in 1935-6 than during the preceding year. About one-half of equipment ex­penditures has gone both years to the purchase of printed catalog cards. This item increased in 1935-6 because of the greater productivity of the Catalog Department. Increased maintenance expense is due principally to greater use of printing and office supplies resulting from expansion of activities. Over half the 1935-6 increase in part-time wages was caused by the restoration of the part-time wage rate following the cut of 1933-4. The remainder must be charged to im­proved and extended service. Over $15,000 of the 1935-6 expenditures went to student assistants, with the result that from thirty to forty stu­dents were enabled to attend the University. In salaries again most of the in­crease is attributable to the salary restoration policy adopted by the Uni­versity for the 1935-7 biennium. SPECIAL FUND In September, 1933, a special fund of $125,000 was appropriated to the Library and departments to be ex­pended for books or equipment. Qf this, about $60,000 was set aside for the purchase of books, and actual ex­penditures for books were as follows: 1933-4 $34,934.32 1934-5 12,709.88 1935-6 647.21 Total $48,291.41 For official record of Library funds and expenditllres see The Unl•enicy of Texaa Bulletin, Report of th,,, Auditor 1934-1985: 1985-1936. PHYSICAL PLANT In January, 1934, the first unit of the new Library building was oc­cupied. Almost immediately plans were commenced for the construction of two further units on a PWA grant. The Library's share in the new units is relatively small, though important --comprising three stack floors, a newspaper reading room and stack, two recreational reading rooms, libra­rian's offiees, and commodious quar­ters for the Rare Book Collections. Half of the tower-the upper four­teen floors-will be used for faculty offices and small classrooms. The major part of the front unit is de­voted to University administrative offices and classrooms. All units have been planned for ultimate library use. It is hoped that the building of other quarters for offices and classrooms will be con­current with expanding library re­quirements. New furniture for the first unit was installed in the early months of 1936. All public rooms except the Periodical Reading Room and the Archives Collection are well and beautifully equipped. It is a pleasure to report that all the major equipment needs of the main building have been met or are in prospect. It should be observed that these optimum physical conditions-satis­factory as they are now-are bound to require change as service needs change. A large library building is like a :factory or any continuous process enterprise. One set of activi­ties flows into another and wherever physical conditions impede this flow, service suffers and expense occurs. Physical plant should reflect organi­zation--organization the demands of clientele, which in turn are condi­tioned by the University's educational policy. LAW LIBRARY This service unit obtained relief from overcrowding in the summer of 1935 when the auditorium under the library quarters was remodeled :for use as a supplementary reading room. Published by the University four times a month and entered as second-class matter at the post office at Austin, Texa·s, under the Act of August 24, 1912.