College and Research Libraries


By J O H N C. A B B O T T and DAVID KASER 

The Coordination of Faculty Services 
Mr. Abbott is librarian of Trinity 

University, San Antonio, Texas; Mr. 
Kaser is assistant in gifts and exchanges, 
University of Michigan Library. 

TH E R E H A S B E E N considerable discus-sion recently about providing better 
library service and facilities to the un-
dergraduate. Many universities are 
thinking in terms of undergraduate li-
braries, either of the L a m o n t type or of 
the lower divisional variety developed at 
Iowa. Colleges, too, are developing their 
own adaptations of these plans. It does 
not appear, however, that equivalent at-
tention is being given to another m a j o r 
component of academic library clientele: 
the faculty member. 

From the service point of view, the 
faculty member has been the forgotten 
m a n in library thinking for some time. 
T h e r e seems to be an assumption that 
he is mature, that he has fulfilled his re-
search apprenticeship, and that he ought 
to know how to get what he wants out 
of a collection of books. T h e result is 
that he has been left largely to his own 
devices. H e has a few troubles, b u t he 
usually feels that many of these are the 
fault of the library. H e may be right. 
T h e fact is, however, that the average 
faculty member can get along only "pret-
ty well" in a library. Certainly there 
must be more effective means for dealing 
with his needs t h a n those currently in 
use. 

U n d e r the functional system of library 
organization the two chief service areas 
are the reference and circulation depart-
ments. A large share of the problems of 
the faculty member, however, are of a 
different nature f r o m those with which 
these departments are designed to deal. 

T h e faculty member comes to the library 
to do research, to see how he can relate 
class assignments to the library's re-
sources, to plan a new course, to discuss 
the development of the library's collec-
tions in his area of specialty. A half 
century ago he would probably have 
taken all these problems to the chief 
librarian, b u t today that position is filled 
by a busy administrator. T h e instructor 
is confronted instead with a battery of 
officers and underlings, each with his 
own separate area of responsibility. H e 
is f o r t u n a t e if he can find a single person 
who has competence in, interest in, or 
responsibility for, his field of interest. 

Yet why should this situation exist? 
T h e r e are probably more people with 
advanced subject training working in 
libraries today then ever before. Many 
specialists are being assimilated into the 
library's order, catalog, reference, and 
circulation departments, or into divi-
sional or departmental libraries, where 
their subject training is often subord-
inated, sometimes overwhelmingly, to 
their other duties. Undoubtedly such 
specialists could do much more to assist 
the faculty member if, for purposes of 
administrative facility, they were not 
tied to a particular department. 

It is the purpose of this paper to sug-
gest that if these specialists could be 
released from their more general library 
duties and each given the responsibility 
of assisting the faculty member in their 
m u t u a l area of specialization, library-
faculty relations could be greatly im-
proved. As a staff officer, the province of 
such a specialist would cut horizontally 
across all conventional lines of library 
departmentalization, thus enabling h i m 
to give many services "between the 

JANUARY, 1956 13-



l i n e s . " D e p e n d i n g u p o n l o c a l c i r c u m -
s t a n c e s , h e m i g h t d e a l w i t h o n l y o n e 
a c a d e m i c d e p a r t m e n t , o r h e m i g h t b e 
c o n c e r n e d w i t h s e v e r a l r e l a t e d d e p a r t -
m e n t s . I n s o m e i n s t a n c e s h i s f u n c t i o n 
m i g h t c u t across s e v e r a l d e p a r t m e n t s , 
b u t n o t f u l l y i n c l u d e a n y of t h e m . I n 
a c t u a l p r a c t i c e i t m i g h t b e m o r e s u i t a b l e 
t o call h i m t h e " H i s t o r i c a l S t u d i e s L i -
b r a r i a n , " o r t h e " S l a v i c S t u d i e s L i b r a r -
i a n , " o r s o m e o t h e r s i m i l a r t e r m m o r e 
p r e c i s e l y d e s c r i p t i v e of h i s d u t i e s . 

I n a d d i t i o n t o h i s a d v a n c e d s u b j e c t 
t r a i n i n g , t h i s s p e c i a l i s t w o u l d h a v e a n 
e x t e n s i v e k n o w l e d g e of t h e l i b r a r y , its 
c a t a l o g s , its c o l l e c t i o n s , a n d its p e c u -
l i a r i t i e s — t h o s e e v e r - p r e s e n t i n d i v i d u a l i s -
t i c e l e m e n t s w h i c h o n l y t h e h i s t o r y of 
t h e i n s t i t u t i o n c a n e x p l a i n . B e s i d e s h a v -
i n g a w i d e f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h b i b l i o g r a p h i -
c a l tools, h e w o u l d k n o w s o m e t h i n g of 
t h e h i s t o r i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t of h i s s u b j e c t , 
b e f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e b o o k t r a d e , a n d 
h a v e a b a s i c k n o w l e d g e of t h e p r i n c i -
p l e s of b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n . H e 
s h o u l d h a v e t r a i n i n g i n f o r e i g n l a n -
g u a g e s . H e s h o u l d b e a c q u a i n t e d w i t h 
t h e e x i s t e n c e i n o t h e r l i b r a r i e s of re-
s e a r c h c o l l e c t i o n s p e r t a i n i n g t o h i s s u b -
j e c t . H e s h o u l d b e e x p e c t e d t o b e l o n g 
t o p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n h i s spe-
c i a l s u b j e c t a r e a as w e l l as t o t h e a p -
p r o p r i a t e l i b r a r y a s s o c i a t i o n s . 

I n t h e w a y of r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n c e , h e 
w o u l d n o t o n l y c o m p i l e b i b l i o g r a p h i e s 
f o r f a c u l t y m e m b e r s , as is a l r e a d y b e i n g 
d o n e i n s o m e a c a d e m i c l i b r a r i e s , b u t h e 
w o u l d a l s o a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e s a n d b o o k s , 
a r r a n g e f o r t r a n s l a t i o n s of a r t i c l e s w r i t -
t e n i n l a n g u a g e s o u t s i d e t h e l i n g u i s t i c 
c o m p e t e n c e of t h e i n s t r u c t o r , s e a r c h f o r , 
c o l l e c t , a n d o r g a n i z e d a t a , c a r r y o n cor-
r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h o t h e r r e s e a r c h l i b r a r -
ies r e g a r d i n g m a t e r i a l s ; i n s h o r t , d o 
e v e r y t h i n g u s e f u l t o t h e r e s e a r c h e r w i t h 
t h e e x c e p t i o n of t h e a c t u a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n 
of t h e d a t a . S i n c e h e w o u l d d e v o t e m u c h 
of h i s t i m e t o t h i s t y p e of w o r k , h e c o u l d 
p r e s u m a b l y d o it b e t t e r , m o r e a c c u r a t e -
ly, efficiently, a n d r a p i d l y t h a n a n in-

s t r u c t o r , w h o , b e c a u s e of h i s o t h e r aca-
d e m i c o b l i g a t i o n s , c a n d e v o t e o n l y a f e w 
h o u r s a w e e k t o its a c c o m p l i s h m e n t . 
T h i s p r i n c i p l e h a s l o n g b e e n r e c o g n i z e d 
i n l e g i s l a t i v e r e f e r e n c e services a t b o t h 
t h e f e d e r a l a n d s t a t e levels. 

T h e o b l i g a t i o n s of t h e l i b r a r i a n i n 
t h i s t y p e of w o r k w o u l d e x t e n d w e l l be-
y o n d t h e r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n c e f u n c t i o n . 
S i n c e h e w o u l d b e a l m o s t as m u c h a 
m e m b e r of t h e a c a d e m i c d e p a r t m e n t as 
of t h e l i b r a r y staff, h e m i g h t , w e l l b e 
o b l i g a t e d t o a t t e n d a l l d e p a r t m e n t a l 
f a c u l t y m e e t i n g s , a c t i n g as a r e s o u r c e 
p e r s o n t o t h e f a c u l t y i n l i b r a r y p r o b -
l e m s . H e m i g h t w e l l s e r v e o n d i s s e r t a -
t i o n c o m m i t t e e s . I n t h i s c a p a c i t y h e 
w o u l d b e e s p e c i a l l y h e l p f u l i n t h e be-
g i n n i n g stages w h e n t h e s u b j e c t of t h e 
d i s s e r t a t i o n is b e i n g assessed i n t e r m s of 
t h e a v a i l a b l e l i b r a r y r e s o u r c e s . I t w o u l d 
b e h i s d u t y t o k e e p i n f o r m e d r e g a r d i n g 
t h e a s s i g n m e n t s b e i n g g i v e n by i n s t r u c -
t o r s . I n t h i s w a y h e w o u l d b e i n a posi-
t i o n t o m a k e s u g g e s t i o n s t h a t w o u l d 
k e e p s u c h a s s i g n m e n t s r e a l i s t i c a l l y re-
l a t e d t o t h e r e s o u r c e s of t h e c o l l e c t i o n s . 
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , h e w o u l d b e a b l e t o 
see t h a t t h e l i b r a r y a n t i c i p a t e d t h e de-
m a n d s t h a t w o u l d b e m a d e u p o n i t . 
W h e n n e w c o u r s e s w e r e b e i n g c o n s i d -
e r e d , h i s a d v i c e r e g a r d i n g t h e l i b r a r y ' s 
r e s o u r c e s i n t h e a r e a w o u l d b e v a l u a b l e . 
H e h i m s e l f w o u l d p r o b a b l y b e t h e n a t u -
r a l p e r s o n t o t e a c h c o u r s e s i n b i b l i o g r a -
p h y a n d t o l e c t u r e o n l i b r a r y u s e a n d 
f a c i l i t i e s . 

O n e of t h e m o r e i m p o r t a n t f u n c t i o n s 
of t h i s s p e c i a l i s t w o u l d b e as b i b l i o g r a -
p h e r i n h i s s u b j e c t a r e a , w h e r e h e w o u l d 
b e c h a r g e d w i t h a m a j o r p a r t of t h e 
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e s y s t e m a t i c d e v e l -
o p m e n t of t h e b o o k c o l l e c t i o n s . H e 
w o u l d i n f o r m f a c u l t y of a v a i l a b l e i t e m s 
l i k e l y t o b e of i n t e r e s t . F a c u l t y r e q u e s t s 
w o u l d g o t h r o u g h h i m f o r h i s sugges-
t i o n s , if n o t a p p r o v a l . H e c o u l d w o r k 
closely w i t h t h e d i r e c t o r a n d t h e d e p a r t -
m e n t i n l o c a t i n g a n d assessing s p e c i a l 
c o l l e c t i o n s t h a t m i g h t b e p u r c h a s e d o r 

14 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



obtained for the library as gifts. H e 
would aid in filling in gaps in the col-
lections that might be called to his at-
tention by new instructors. I n short, he 
would keep his bibliographical acumen 
at all times at the faculty's disposal. 
Conceivably, over a period of time, as 
the faculty learned respect for his schol-
arly integrity, it might choose to relin-
quish to h i m the m a j o r b u r d e n of book 
selection. 

T h e r e are, of course, many other ways 
in which such a person could facilitate 
the faculty member's work with the li-
brary's collections. He could see that a 
dictating machine is available to the 
faculty member who chooses to take his 
notes on tapes or wires or cylinders. T h e 
same could be true of typewriters, photo-
copying devices, or whatever other me-
chanical conveniences science is making 
available. H e could have student assist-
ants search current periodicals, notifying 
faculty members when articles appear on 
subjects in which they have indicated 
their interests. H e could see that local 
indexes were maintained of subject ma-
terials which do not receive that treat-
ment f r o m usual indexing media. H e 
could keep informed as to the location 
of other research collections; and he 
should be free to travel to consult such 
collections when a particular research 
problem being pursued demands. Ex-
perience and imagination would indi-
cate other areas in which such a librar-
ian could render valuable service to the 
faculty member. 

Of course the specialist's services need 
not be confined to the faculty. Certain-
ly he frequently would be called u p o n 
by the library staff itself to assist in solv-
ing complex classification problems and 
in answering reference questions that 
required special knowledge. If the un-
dergraduate h a d needs that the refer-
ence d e p a r t m e n t was unable to fill, the 
student could consult the specialist. 
Graduate students would consult him 
more often, but since they are expected 

to perform for themselves certain aca-
demic "finger exercises" as part of their 
educational experience, they would re-
ceive more guidance t h a n active assist-
ance. Probably the specialist's services 
would not be too much in d e m a n d by 
students, however, because their concern 
with the library is unidimensional; they 
are interested in it only as a source of 
information. T h e faculty member not 
only shares this concern, b u t in addition 
has obligations regarding the selection of 
books and the coordination of his course 
work with the resources and services of 
the library. 

In addition to the better service and 
better book collections that would re-
sult f r o m such a program, it would seem 
reasonable to expect several other fortu-
nate developments. For example, it is 
probable, that such assistance would 
f u r t h e r stimulate productive research in 
the campus community. It should help 
to minimize f u r t h e r departmentaliza-
tion of the collections, since in the per-
formance of his duties the specialist 
would be providing many of the services 
that the faculty expects to gain u n d e r 
the departmental arrangement. It would 
help to raise the status of librarians 
among academic personnel. T h e crea-
tion of such a position would make the 
profession more attractive to capable 
persons with strong subject backgrounds. 
I n addition to being an excellent train-
ing g r o u n d for higher administrative 
responsibility, it would also be an area 
in which capable people not interested 
in administrative work might rise to the 
top of the profession. 

It is not supposed that full acceptance 
of this service could be established over-
night. In some areas there would be 
skepticism. Advances would have to be 
made a step at a time; there would have 
to be adaptations to fit local conditions. 
For example, the local library would 
probably find it impracticable to estab-
lish immediately a department of sub-

(Continued on page 40) 

JANUARY, 1956 15-



that the Library of Congress p r i n t e d catalog 
does not by any m a n n e r of means include all 
the references in the Library of Congress 
card catalogs, a precedent which might well 
hold for the published National U n i o n 
Catalog. And for entries u n d e r a variety of 
forms, the editors must do their best a n d 
allowance must be made in the published 
work for a certain a m o u n t of inconsistency. 
I t would be easy to spend millions of dollars 
in editing the catalog, b u t this must be 
avoided. A bird in the h a n d is worth two in 
the bush. 

T h e i n t e n t of this p a p e r is to urge the 
acceptance of a limited program for the 
publication of the National U n i o n Catalog. 
I n essence the publication would be com-
plementary to the Library of Congress print-
ed catalog, as well as to the various other 
accepted bibliographies. It would not be a 
complete a n d perfect bibliography, but it 
would be a tremendously valuable biblio-
graphical tool, both for the location of 
copies a n d for the compilation of bibliogra-
phies of various kinds. W i t h the proposed 
expansion of the Library of Congress Au-
thor Catalog into a u n i o n catalog, b e g i n n i n g 
next year, the time has come to reproduce 
the retrospective National U n i o n Catalog 
to the best of o u r ability. If general agree-
m e n t can be reached on this proposal, we 
could ask the Library of Congress to study 
the costs involved, to estimate the size of the 
subsidy, if any, that would be required, to 
make possible a publication at a low enough 
price so that the whole project would be-
come feasible. 

Future Program 
(Continued from page 12) 

provide readers with information on de-
velopments in the audio-visual field. A 
number of readers have already ex-
pressed favorable comments on this new 
feature. Librarians in practice can assist 
in improving the journal by writing and 
by encouraging their staff members to 
write. If there is any single criterion to 
guide writers, it is to present new ideas. 
Contributors should follow the basic 

style of the journal in presentation, foot-
note citations, and tabular organization. 
We are counting on your full coopera-
tion.—Maurice F. Tauber, Editor. 

Faculty Service 
(Continued from page 13) 

ject specialists, but the functions of the 
specialist might well be performed im-
mediately under the office of the direc-
tor, or out of a subject divisional li-
brary, or out of a departmental library. 
It is believed, however, that once the 
service is created the confidence and sup-
port necessary to its success would soon 
be established in sufficient degree to 
make the innovation successful. 

Certainly the librarian convinced of 
the efficacy of his calling will not cringe 
at improving or increasing services. Let 
the faint-hearted but look back over the 
progress of the last half-century and see 
how far he has come already. He should 
note also that special libraries have al-
ways given most of the services discussed 
above. Indeed, the coordination of fac-
ulty services entails little more than the 
adaptation of certain special library 
practices to an academic situation. 

Use of TAAB 
(Continued from page 18) 

which TAAB service provides. 
In conclusion, it might be said that 

the TAAB method has the virtue of be-
ing cooperative, comprehensive and 
competitive. It is cooperative in the sense 
that libraries and booksellers derive mu-
tual benefit in a new and imaginative 
way. Comprehensiveness is achieved by 
the large-scale attention given by book-
sellers to an individual library's wants. 
It is competitive because of the number 
of dealers involved and this tends to en-
courage low quoting on items desired. 
T h e method has much to recommend it. 

40 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES