College and Research Libraries SELBY U. GRATION AND ARTHUR P. YOUNG Reference-Bibliographers in the College Library One approach to making a college library more relevant~ dynamic, and intelligible is to employ specialists with broad subject compe- tence, thoroughly familiar with the terminology, bibliographic tools, and major writings of several related disciplines. These subject spe- cialists or reference-bibliographers provide reference and instruction- al services, and serve as coordinators between academic departments and the library. A significant increase in the quality of library service is attained with reference-bibliographers both building and interpret- ing the collection. The reference-bibliographer concept is examined from several perspectives: historical antecedents; relationship to the academic setting; and the authors' experience with a staff of subject specialists at a predominantly undergraduate college library during 1969-1972. wHAT WILL BRING THE COLLEGE LI- BRARY COLLECTION TO LIFE? One ap- proach within our grasp is a commit- ment to educate and to employ subject specialists, preferably called reference- bibliographers. Such a librarian would function in the capacities of reference librarian, bibliographic instructor, and selection specialist in a relatively broad area such as the social sciences, humani- ties, or sciences. He would not special- ize in' one narrow field, but rather pos- sess competence in several related disci- plines with knowledge of terminology, bibliographic tools, and major writing. The bibliographer as book/ journal selector has. been a staple in many large public and, university libraries for sev- eral decades. Herman Fussier, formerly Selby U. Gration is director of libraries, SUNY Cortland, and Arthur P. Young is research associate, Library Research Cen- ter, University of Illinois (formerly head of reader services, SUNY Cortland). 28/ of the University of Chicago library, and Cecil K. Byrd, Indiana University library, have described the responsibili- ties and value of subject specialists in a university setting. 1 From the available literature, however, it appears that the major tasks of university bibliographers are related to selection, with only occa- sional attention to reference work or formal instruction. In contrast, the col- lege reference bibliographer devotes ap- proximately equal commitment to refer- ence and selection duties, and increases accessibility by placement in the refer- ence or public services department. The reference-bibliographer possesses more specialized subject competencies than the generalist college reference librarian and a broader subject area mandate than some university bibliographers. Participation in bibliographic instruc- tion is a required activity for the ref- erence-bibliographer. Service and substantive knowledge of a cognate discipline are compatible, in- terrelated requirements for the next generation of college reference librari- ans. Robert Haro has written about a Renaissance bibliographer who per- forms as selector, reference librarian, and teacher. It is toward his idealized mo_del that we have journeyed.2 PHANTASMIC SPECIES In a perceptive speech at the Louisi- ana State University library, Richard H. Dillon asked where the cadre of library subject specialists could be found. With regret, he concluded that subject spe- cialists were almost a phantasmic spe- cies, and that for many years in librari- anship there has been . . . a subliminal understanding that we are servants of scholarly men, hand-maidens of culture, not co-equals with those who research and create. This self-limitation has acted as a gov- ernor on the speed of our progress, as blinders on our vision. We can be the peers of our patrons, however serious and studious they maY be, if we set out to create a partnership. But we must bring plenty of collateral in the form of education, training, knowl- edge.3 Dillon was deploring the myth of the generalist librarian who cannot relate to faculty and students beyond the ve- neer of bibliographic sources, and who does not possess the advanced study re- quired for quality acquisition decisions and specialized reference work. In a recent report commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences and the Social Science Research Council, the call for library subject specialists is con- . sidered a priority: Most major libraries have made major advances in automated services and have hired personnel competent in this area. Similar progress has not been made, however, in training curatorial librarians who combine knowledge of subject and area with skill in library techniques and can thus work with scholars in planning and executing Reference-Bibliographers I 29 programs responsive to new intellec- tual interests. Specialized acquisitions personnel remain one of the weakest links in the library system. Especially needed are persons who are them- selves scholars and thus aware of in- novations in scholarship, so that they can compensate by their knowledge and interests for the inevitable gaps in faculty initiative. All the great li- braries have had people of this kind, but they are becoming scarcer-partly because the best of them are diverted into administrative or teaching jobs, partly because the salaries for this kind of work are not commensurate with the talent and contributions of these specialists. There is clearly a need here to define and institutionalize a new ca- reer with sufficient rewards in money and prestige to attract the talent re- quired.4 Although the report tends to focus on larger institutions, it also applies to the middle-sized academic institution. Ser- vice quality should not be primarily dif- ferentiated by institutional size. In fact, a small- or medium-size college may be more in need of three or four refer- ence-bibliographers than a major uni- versity in order to make discriminating selection and to provide the biblio- graphic instruction possible in a closely knit community of scholars. Cuo's SHADOw A brief foray into library history re- veals antecedent ideas and movements that have influenced the reference-bibli- ographer concept. In some respects it draws from the scholar-librarian tradi- tion of a former age. The early history of American librarianship demonstrates that many individuals, attracted to li- brary work from established scholarly disciplines, profoundly contributed to the substance and stature of the profes- sio~. The rea<J.~r~'j advisor movement, whiCh bloomed m ·the 1920s and 1930s, emphasized the assessment of communi- ty needs and the discriminating recom- mendation of materials to public li- 30 I College & Research Libraries • January 1974 brary patrons. Bibliographic skills were coupled with a knowledge of the litera- ture. Retrieval without the capacity for qualitative advice on the merits of sources was considered a mechanistic fa- cility . . The Library-College movement has contpbuted to the reference-bibliogra- pher concept by aiming at a union of bibliographic expertise and teaching competence. Formal communication of bibliographic knowledge, particularly to advanced students, is a linkpin in the reference-bibliographer's inventory of tasks. · Responding to user inquiries, however creative and skillful, is still an essentially passive activity. A planned, aggressive instructional program is an indispensable corollary to answering random inquiries as it provides the seri- ous library user with the bibliographic context to articulate future questions with precision. REsPONSIVE LmRARIANsiDP AND FACULTY STATUS Responsive academic librarianship for the 1970s and beyond must be based on · a thorough comprehension of cur- ricular trends and the impact of inno- vations in educational/ informational technology on user requirements. Great- er emphasis on independent study, less reliance on lectures, increased use of nonprint materials, and a more sophisti- cated student population have already appeared as significant educational forces in many colleges and universities. Although the influence of these trends on academic librarianship is as yet un- clear, in this period of major education- al introspection. and experimentation, it is imperative that librarians begin to participate in faculty and administra- tive decision-making processes regarding curriculum modification, facilities, en- rollment, and budgetary allocations. A responsive posture cannot be attained by hastily reacting to every shift in cur- riculum and instructional strategy after it has been implemented. Librarians' long-range contribution to the academic community requires an anticipatory pos- ture that attempts to foresee the evolv- ing information requirements of stu- dents and faculty, and thereby to en- hance the bibliographic dimension in the learning environment. It is one thing to proclaim alliance with the faculty and quite another to gain their confidence and respect. To convey the value of proficiency in in- formation-seeking strategies and biblio- graphic sources to faculty requires that the instructor first perceives the librari- an as an intellectual peer. Many profes- sors are blithely unconcerned about de- veloping student competencies in the use of library resources and accept bib- liographic sources and documentation of inferior quality. To achieve a more symbiotic relationship with faculty and students, librarians must attain a com- prehensive knowledge of one or more scholarly disciplines and become famil- iar with the dynamics of scholarly re- search. Faculty can relate to the librari- an who is conversant with different schools of thought as well as primary literature in his discipline, and who can recommend a new title for his perusal. In this role the librarian can strive for a complementary, counselor relation- ship, rather than a competitive one. Sat- isfaction of the instructor's informa- tional needs will generate mutual re- spect and an awareness of the librari- an's capacity to serve faculty and stu- dents. Responsive librarianship may also be enhanced by the current quest for fac- ulty status by librarians. Role and status in a· social system influence relations among members of groups. As informa- tion mediators, librarians are an inte- gral part of the educative process; yet it will be the faculty who will judge the merits of their entry into the profes- soriate. If the lack of faculty status for librarians lowers faculty perceptions of their worth, then librarians must cou- ple their desire for faculty integration with quality performance and educa- tional attainments beyond the basic pro- fessional degree. It is suggested that faculty, students, and administrators will relate more beneficially to those academic librarians (and vice versa) with faculty status, multiple advanced degrees, foreign language proficiency, and scholarly specializations. TowARD A NEw LmRARIAN The following sections describe the reference-bibliographer concept in terms of job responsibilities, organizational structure, and impact on library ser- vices. Comments are derived from the authors' experience in designing, imple- menting, and evaluating a staff of four reference bibliographers, each with at least two master's degrees, at the State University of New York, College of Cortland. Previously the library em- ployed only general reference librari- ans. ] ob Responsibilities Amalgamation of the acquisition and reference functions is the premise for the position of the reference-bibliogra- pher. With the slow but unmistakable shift of selection responsibility from faculty to library, it is increasingly evi- dent that one or two generalist acqui- sition staff members cannot do justice to all fields covered by the curriculum as well as supervise clerical personnel in 'the search/ order process. Furthermore, the traditional base of acquisition per- sonnel in technical services isolates them from the locus of information transfer in the public service area. It is difficult to maintain a sensitivity to the curricu- lum and to evolving informational needs with such a locational constraint. Because faculty-dominated selection is often sporadic and lacking in sus- tained quality, faculty input should be cultivated, particularly in esoteric sub- Reference-Bibliographers I 31 ject areas. Academic librarians must re- verse their frequent abdication of selec- tion decisions to those who are neither trained nor inclined to recommend titles on a sound bibliographical basis. All too often, generalist acquisition personnel have reviewed faculty requests as sacred, without due weight given to present holdings, curriculum requirements, and circulation data. An intensive considera- tion of faculty recommendations and internal selections takes considerable time, both clerical and professional, and above all requires an intimate day-to- day knowledge of collection parameters and use. In addition, determination of whether a title is a valuable contextual addition to the collection requires quali- tative judgments which depend on con- siderable knowledge of subject litera- tures. It is doubtful that most general- ist acquisition librarians possess suffi- cient subject competencies for this high- ly discriminative task. The road toward faculty acceptance of library control over collection devel- opment may be more rocky than some believe. In an incisive empirical analysis of university area specialist bibliogra- phers, Dr. Robert Stueart found signifi- cant role strain between librarians and faculty over selection and weeding ac- tivities. Since 60 percent of his bibliog- rapher sample possessed at least two master's degrees, thus comprising an elite librarian subgroup, it is discourag- ing to find such role dissonance and inadequate articulation by librarians of their professional identity and mission. 5 Libraries have not come to grips with collection growth limits. With the rapid expansion of undergraduate collections, one can readily see that even a some- what attenuated growth rate cannot go on forever. Librarians have failed to communicate to college administrators, trustees, and legislators the importance of continuous acquisitions without infinite collection expansion. Rapid growth periods are not usually accompa- 32 I College & Research Libraries • January 1974 nied by equally active weeding pro- grams: the knowledge explosion is paral- leled by knowledge obsolescence, and at- tention to the latter is crucial to ensur- ing that college collections do not be- come bibliothecal mausoleums. Only subject-competent librarians can intelli- gently discard and only those with a sensitivity to user needs and curriculum objectives can determine multiple copy requirements. Many librarians tend to avoid multiple copies as they cannot judge between the significant and the mediocre. With more liberal circulation . periods, more users, and numerous stud- ies which indicate that most libraries circulate only a fraction of their hold- ings, more multiple copy decisions should be made by libraries which serve undergraduates. Reference-bibliographers purchase ma- terials in all media formats. Discipli- nary interrelationships are emphasized over format distinctions. Although me- dia experts are consulted for specialized media materials and equipment require- ments, selection responsibility in each subject area for recordings, books, and journals, etc., is placed under the unified control of a reference-bibliographer. Uncoordinated selection criteria by for- mat are therefore resisted. One out- growth of this integrated approach to collection development has been our de- cision to apportion block amounts de- rived from quantitative criteria to each subject area, but without stringent inter- nal guidelines as to monies for books, journals, or nonprint resources. This ap- proach recognizes that each discipline has differing bibliographic requirements which only the reference-bibliographer can interpolate. Reference service, along with selec- tion, is a key component of the refer- ence-bibliographer program. Although empirical data is lacking, it is probably fair to assume that most academic li- braries provide satisfactory ready-refer- ence service. However, when a user in- quiry elevates to a level requiring dis- criminative knowledge of bibliographic instruments and the literature itself, the quality of performance may be inade- quate. Patrick Wilson contrasts the bib- liographical consultant with the biblio- graphical aide in order to define the goals of the bibliographer. The biblio- graphical consultant is a creative hunter fully conversant with bibliographic tools, and at the same time, knowledge- able about the major writings in one or more fields. Capable of mediating be- tween user, bibliographic apparatus, and text, he can therefore make inter- pretive judgments and provide substan- tive advice. In contrast, the bibliograph- ic aide, however familiar with biblio- graphic sources, is a drone incapable of discerning beyond the imperfect repre- sentation of recorded knowledge. It is that one step beyond that yields the qualitative difference. 6 Organizational Con figuration Placement of the reference-bibliog- raphers in the reader services depart- ment to ensure maximum visibility and user interaction is an essential consider- ation. Extrication of the selection func- tion from technical processes is a sine qua non of the reference-bibliographer concept. The traditional assignment of selection staff in a nonpublic service de- partment severely reduces the chances for user feedback; often places the se- lector in the supervision and perform- ance of nonprofessional routines; and makes it difficult for the selector to reach out beyond his acquisitive func- tion into instructional or counselor ac- tivities. As a reference-bibliographer unit requires supervision, a new position of collection development librarian was instituted. This individual was respon- sible for generating and implementing collection development policies, budget allocations, and functionally supervis- ing the reference-bibliographers' selec- tion activities. The collection develop- ment librarian also supervised the bib- liographic s-earching and verification of all orders prior to final typing in the or- der department. The transferral of se- lection and searching functions to the collection development staff trans- formed the acquisition department in technical services to an order section. Al- though a minimal hierarchical relation- ship was provided, the reference-bibli- ographers and collection development librarian related to each other in a col- legial context, stressing the consensus approach to decision making. Both the collection development librarian and the reference-bibliographers (in their reference capacity only) reported di- rectly to the reader services director. Dual reporting based on function proved a workable administrative ar- rangement because the policy-making process was dedicated to participative management. Implementation of a smoothly run- ning collection development unit re- quires a pragmatic, evolutionary ap- proach and a maximum of patience and teamwork. Realigning functions to a new location, redesigning work flow, and modifying traditional staff relation- ships takes time and a library-wide com- mitment to innovation. Several prob- lems required continual surveillance. As the library tightened control over selec- tion responsibility, some faculty com- plained that not every request was sail- ing through as before. A major liaison effort was undertaken to explain the new collection development program through visits by each bibliographer to the departments under his purview. As not every reference-bibliographer was fully committed to the instructional di- mension, a little prodding was required. Appreciative faculty and student reac- tions to their initial presentations dis- pelled any lingering hesitancy. The tend- Reference-Bibliographers I 33 ency of bibliographers to sometimes overbuy in their specialties was moni- tored by the collection development li- brarian. It soon became apparent that the ref- erence-bibliographers could not be as- signed to reference work beyond a rea- sonable time limit if they were to cope with their formidable multitask respon- sibilities. To ensure that each bibliogra- pher would not have mandatory desk coverage in excess of fifteen hours per week, an experiment in the use of stu- dent reference assistants was launched. The use of student assistants was deemed valid in light of numerous studies which indicate the high propor- tion of locational and ready-reference types of questions. Several upper-level undergraduate students were given in- tensive tutorials in reference practice and sources, and together with bibliog- rapher back-up, provided valuable re- lease time for the librarians to pursue their professional activities. 7 Impact on Services and Collection With the installation of four sub- ject specialists, several improvements emerged. The referral of tough ques- tions between bibliographers was en- couraged and occurred frequently. Con- tacts among the reference-bibliogra- phers, and between them and the library user, were facilitated by the close prox- imity of the collection development of- fice to the reference desk. Participation in selection, over time, produced an inti- mate knowledge of a major segment of the collection and resulted in a greater number of specific title recommenda- tions to users. After the instructional program gained momentum, more stu- dents, particularly in advanced courses, returned to ask for assistance from a bibliographer by name. By the end of the second year, each reference-bibliog- rapher was teaching ten or more ad- vanced bibliographic sessions annually. 34 I College & Research Libraries • January 1974 The quantity of introductory orienta- tions also climbed. Faculty, too, started to recommend to students a certain bib- liographer for specialized problems. The reference-bibliographers have brought a new personalized dimension to the often impersonal, sanitized ref- erence function. Increased use of book reviews in scholarly journals and fre- quent bibliographer interaction with li- brary users have upgraded collection quality and pertinence. Selections gen- erated by the bibliographers have re- flected a more rigorous assessment of curricular trends, collection holdings, multiple copy needs, and literature ob- solescence. CoNCLUSION If libraries are committed to exercis- ing creative control over their collec- tions and to moving beyond superficial information transfer, present service objectives and staffing patterns must be re-examined. Reference-bibliographers are one approach to providing greater educational depth and diversity of back- ground to a college reference staff. The amalgamation of reference and selec- tion into one position should upgrade the qualitative performance of each ac- tivity. A corps of subject specialists per- mits interpretive access to a physically unified collection with an expertise usu- ally found only in large divisional li- braries. There must be a substantive commitment to provide subject special- ists with salaries and job mobility equiv- alent to most library administrators. Fi- nally, it will be incumbent upon library educators to evaluate various library po- sition requirements, present and future, in order to design appropriate educa- tional programs. REFERENCES 1. Herman H. Fussier, "The Bibliographer Working in a Broad Area of Knowledge," CRL 10:199--202 (July 1949); Cecil K. Byrd, "Subject Specialists in a University Li- brary," CRL 27:191-93 (May 1966). 2. Robert Haro, "The Bibliographer in the Aca- demic Library," Library Resources and Technical Services 13:163--69 (Spring 1969). 3. Richard H. Dillon, "The Phantom of the Li- brary: The Creative Subject Specialist," in Caroline Wire, ed., Library Lectures (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Library, 1971)' p. 103. 4. David S. Landes and Charles Tilly, History as Social Science (Englewood CliHs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1971), p. 103. 5. Robert Stueart, The Area Specialist Bibliog- rapher; An Inquiry Into His Role (Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 1971), p. 101, 156. 6. Patrick Wilson, Two Kinds of Power; An Essay on Bibliographical Control (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968 ), p. 114--24. 7. Arthur P. Young, "Student Assistants: A Re- port and a Challenge," RQ 9:295-97 (Sum- mer 1970).