College and Research Libraries
By DONALD E. THOMPSON
A Self, Survey of the University
of Alabama Libraries
A SELF-SURVEY sometimes takes . the form of investigating one or more
processes of a department or it may consist
of a study and analysis of the library's com-
plete operations, including an analysis of
the book collection, administration, finance,
departmentalization, work proced..ures, and
other matters and activities.
In September 1940, when the University
of Alabama began a self-survey of its li-
braries, a special fund was established for
the expense of the project and for th~ pur-
chase of recommended books and periodicals.
The survey was conducted by the director of
libraries and two specially appointed assist-
ants, 'with the cooperation of the faculty.
There were .two major aims: the first
was to describe in detail the titles, types of
material, and subjects represented in the
university's book collections; the second was
to plan a book-buying program for the fu-
ture, including subject areas of desired
emphasis, types of material to be acquired,
and specific titles . recommended for pur-
chase.
Closely related to the general aims were
several other projects. A survey of book
markets was to be made to determine the
best sources of purchase. A consultation
service was to be made available to the
faculty to assist in selecting library ma-
terials. A new book-ordering procedure
and a more adequate system of library
records were to be inaugurated.
In order to proceed effectively it was
considered necessary to obtain a clear state-
ment of the university's aims and future
APRIL, 1947
program, together with those of the various
schools, college~, and subject departments.
These statements would show where em-
phasis should be placed 'in the buying pro-
gram. They would indicate the addition,
omission, or strengthening of any major
fields of study within schools or departments
and would also show at what level any
change was likely to occur: undergraduate,
graduate, or research. Contact was made
with each department head and dean to
obtain, if possible, such a statement. Al-
though some of the deans indicated new
subject fields that might possibly ' be added
to certain schools and colleges, department
heads were more easily able to suggest new
courses which would probably be added to
their curricula.
The questionnaire sent to deans, depart-
ment heads, and other policy-determining
officials was as follows :
1. What are the aims or objectives which
your school or department ·is trying to achieve
in the categories mentioned below:
(a) In undergraduate teaching?
(b) In graduate instruction?
(c) In individual research?
(d) In exte~sion work. or other under-
takings? •
2. What is the x;nethod by which new book
orders and periodical subscriptions are deter-
mined in your school or department? Are you
satisfied with this type of selection? If not,
please state criticisms or suggestio5ls.
Broad principles of future university
policy were sought from the president and
other administrative officials. Since these
147
.I
principles would necessarily be different and
more general than those of the- deans and
department heads, they could not be formu-
lated as easily. The best information that
could be obtained was that the university
was embarking on an expanded program of
instruction which would probably, in the
future, include the doctoral degree. The
first thing to be accomplished, however,
was to improve facilities for undergraduate
instruction and work for the master's de-
gree.
The most important . part of the survey
was to evaluate the resources of the uni-
versity libraries and to build up the collec-
tion. When the survey was inaugurated,
notices were sent to all faculty members
inviting them to discuss their needs in the
various subject fields with the director of
libraries and the survey assistants. Many
individual faculty members, department
heads, a~d deans came to the library in
response to this invitation. Some depart-
ments and schools held faculty meetings to
which they asked members of the survey
staff to come and discuss their library prob-
lems in detail.
A questi·onnaire was sent to the faculty
asking the following:
I. What is your teaching load per week
(credit hours) ?
2. What research projects are you carry-
ing on?
3· Can you supply us with a list of books
cited in all the courses you teach? Do you
use a syllabus for each course?
4· What professional literature· do you con-
sult regularly?
5· What professional materials do you need
which the library does not have?
6. What can the library do to make itself
more useful to you individually?
7· What' can the library do to make itself
more useful to you as a teacher?
8. Do you know of any bibliographies which
the library should check for possible pur-
·chases?
g. Are you willing to check book catalogs,
etc., which the library will supply?
10. Important library holdings (please in-
dicate): Undergraduate-Graduate-Research
Some faculty members recommended
bibliographies to be checked. For example,
one English professor suggested that the
library should have every book reviewed in
the periodical, American LiteratureJ not in-
cluding books that were listed without being
reviewed. The first eleven volumes con-
tained 6o8 titles, of which the library had
332. The remaining 2 76 titles have been
purchased or are on order and those in sub-
sequent v..olumes have been obtained.
Another group of bibliographies suggested
by the faculty was that on various fields of
engineering ·published by the Engineering
Council for Professional Development.
The fj.ve bibliographie~ in this series were
checked and, of 1335 titles listed, the uni-
versity owned 575. Many of these titles
have been purchased since, so that now the
university libraries have more than 50 per
cent as compared with 43 per cent when the
lists were checked.
From many other bibliographies suggested
by the faculty, purchases have been made
for titles that were not in the libraries.
In one subject field a more thorough
check was made at the request of the de-
partment head. The pertinent parts of the
shelflist of a large university library, which
has one of the largest and best collections
on that subject, were microfilmed and slips
were typed from the film. It was realized
that the University of Alabama w,ould prob-
ably never need to duplicate this collection,
but the film was obtained so that selections
could be made by the department for li-
brary acquisition.
In addition to suggesting bibliographies,
some of the faculty made intensive studies
of their subject fields in a manner similar
to those studies made for the Pennsylvania
148 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES
survey. 1 From these studies they submitted
requests.
In addition to the evaluation of the li-
braries' resources made by the faculty, a
few library staff members checked the li-
braries' holdings in fields of their subject
knowledge. Their findings were coordi-
nated with those of the faculty members in
the same s~bject fields.
Checked Bibliographies
To supplement the faculty study, the sur-
vey staff checked approximately seventy-five
standard and authoritative bibliographies.
Some of these were general, such as Shaw's
List of Books for College Libraries and
Supplement and Mobrhardt's List of Books
for Junior College Libraries. Some were
subject bibliographies, such as Crane's
Guide to the Literature of Chemistry,
Scholes' List of Books about Music in the
English Language, Altsheler's National
History Index-Guide, Bentley's Bibliogra-
phy of Works on Accounting by American
Authors, Burchfield's Student's GuiJ.e to
Materials in Political Science, etc. Still
others were bibliograph{es in standard text-
books. Reference lists issued by the North
Central Association of Colleges and
Secondary Schools and the Southern As-
sociation of Colleges and Seco]ldary Schools
were checked. Lyle's . Classified List of
Periodicals for the College Library was
used, in addition to the perioaical lists com-
piled by Shaw, Mohrhardt, the North
Central AssoCiation, and the Southern As-
sociation.
It was tho"4ght that eventually all of the
books and periodicals listed in Shaw, Lyle,
the North Central Association, the South-
ern Association, and perhaps Mohrhardt,
should · probably be in the university li-
1 Bibliographical Pianning Committee of Philadelphia.
A Fa culty Survey of the University of Pennsylvania
Libraries. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1940.
APRIL, 1947
braries. On the other hand, the libraries
could not hope to buy, and would probably
have no use for, all of the titles listed in
Crane, Scholes, and certain other inclusive
bibliogr·aphies.
From all of the lists checked a composite
table of broad subjects, such as ancient lan-
guages, art, business and economics, chemis-
try, etc., was made. If a more specialized
subject bibliography, e.g., theatre, was
checked, it was put into .the most closely
related larger subject, e.g., speech. The
subjects were listed, together with the num-
ber of titles in the publications and the per
cent of titles in the university libraries.
Checking Interlibrary Loans
Another method of determining possible
needs was the checking of interlibrary loan
correspondence for several years. Records
were made of the requests and a majority
of the books requested frequently was pur-
chased. Periodical requests were examined
more critically. If a definite need was
indicated, a current subscription was placed
and an attempt made to complete the set.
Certain outstanding titles were pur-
chased when found, even before the survey
was completed. A complete bound file of
the Times (London) and its index from
1839 to date were obtained. Bound volumes
of the New York 'Times were completed
back to 1920 and earlier volumes will prob-
ably be obtained on microfilm.
The final result of the survey of library
resources was the compilation of a file of
needed materials that would probably · cost
several hundred thousand dollars to pur-
chase. Some of the items were to be pur-
chased from the regular book budget.
As each subject was completed a report
was compiled. This report included:
1. An evaluation of book holdings by a"4-
thoritative bibliographies
149
2. An evaluation of periodical holdings by
authoritative bibliographies
3. An evaluation of all titles requested by
faculty members
4· Tables showing needs with their approxi-
mate cost
5. An attempt to compare present holdings
with' data in Downs's Resources of Southern
Libraries
6. Conclusions and recommendations.
From time to time. mimeographed memo-
randa were sent to the faculty to keep the}ll
informed of the progress of the survey and
to request their continued participation.
From the questionnaire sent to the faculty
the survey staff was able to obtain a general
idea of fa~ulty . needs, many of which re-
sulted in new services a~d procedures.
New Order Procedure
A new order procedure was definitely
needed. A new order card was designed in
duplicate so that the requestor . could keep
his own record of all titles ordered. A
system was developed whereby book and
periodical orders, previously placed through
the purchasing agent of the university, could
be placed directly from the library, thus
facilitating receipt of the orders. A quad-
ruplicate manifold process was adopted
consisting of the official order, dealer's
record, Library of Congress card order, and
faculty notice. The whole new order pro-
cedure was.- more economical and efficient.
The physical arrangement of the library
was changed so that service could be in-
creased. Some staff members were changed
to different positions and the number of
staff members was almost doubled. Depart-
m~ntal organization was changed to increase
efficiency.
The initial work of the survey was com-
pleted in a year , and a half. Purchases of
recommended materials have continued over
the past five years but have been hindered
by the unavailability of foreign materials.
Special funds, are now available for foreign
and domestic purchases.
Accomplishments
The fundamental accomplishments of the
survey have been a compilation of needed
books and periodicals from which to make
purchases and a reorganization of library
procedures and personnel so as to give the
best possible service to the library's patrons.
In addition, the staff and budget have been
increased by the university administration.
In 1.939-40, total library expenditures were
$69,987; in 1940-41, $uo,587. During
the early war years the budget had to be
decreased. During the past two years the
budget has been increased again so that for
1946-47 it is $135,000. The value ·of the
library program at the University of Ala-
bama is recognized by the administration
and is generously supported.
150 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES