ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL News ■ May 1998 / 355

A value that bonds
The library as a uniquely democratic institution

by John W. Collins III

A
s ACRE President W. Lee Hisle contem ­
plated his term in office, and probably 
even earlier as he considered his candida

h e s e tt le d  o n  th e  th e m e  “F a c in g  th e  
Millenium: Values for the Electronic Infor­
mation A ge.” All presidents have themes. 
Them es focus the activities o f an organiza­
tion and provide a sense o f cohesion and 
direction for the membership. In Hisle’s case, 
he has given us all the opportunity for re­
flection and renew ed comm itm ent. While 
not the first person to discuss the issues of 
values in the electronic age, Hisle— through 
a year o f programs, discussion, focus groups, 
videos, editorials, etc.— has raised the bar 
by focusing the entire Association o f Col­
lege and Research Libraries on the values 
that are inherent within the profession of 
academ ic librarianship. He is to be co m ­
mended.

As I reflect on these matters, the usual 
topics emerge: intellectual freedom, equity, 
serv ice, cultural preservation. All virtues 
worthy o f aspiration for any academ ic li­
brarian. I am struck, however, by the co m ­
mon them e inherent in all o f our values—  
libraries are the em bodim ent o f the dem o­
cratic ideal.

Libraries are uniquely dem ocratic insti­
tutions. All American libraries fit this mold 
in one way or another. It is a value that 
tran scen d s types o f lib raries— acad em ic, 
public, school, etc. It is a value that bonds 
different types o f librarians. It is the over­
riding value that is basic to our profession, 
one from which our other values spring.

cy,

Within academ ic libraries, collections at­
tempt to present a variety o f views. Equal 
 access to information is promoted among 
the clientele and the clientele, like the co l­
lections, is diverse. Libraries are neutral and 
nonjudgm ental. Even within co lle g e  and 
research libraries, the dem ocratic image o f 
the self-ed u cated individual can b e seen 
daily as users pursue their studies within 
the stacks. The prom otion o f lifelong learn­
ing is a value em bodied within higher edu­
cation.

Now the question before us is how is 
this dem ocratic ideal to b e viewed in Hisle’s 
new millennium? I believe that we do not 
have to reinvent our core values, they are 
enduring. Rather, we must meet the chal­
lenges and opportunities o f the information 
age fortified by our convictions and firmly 
anchored in our values.

The third wave
I put the value o f libraries as the em bodi­
ment o f the dem ocratic ideal in the follow ­
ing context. It can be argued that we are in 
the midst o f a third great wave o f exp an ­
sion o f libraries in this country. The first 
period o f rapid growth was the result o f 
Andrew C arnege’s vision and largess. His 
b elief in the value o f the library in the de­
velopm ent o f a nation was steadfast. The 
second period o f growth occurred during 
the third quarter o f this century and was the 
result o f the rapidly expanding— and mov­
ing— population o f the United States. Sub­
urban growth, college and university exp an­

A b o u t th e  a u th o r

John W. Collins III is librarian and m em ber o f  the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School o f Education; e-mail: 
john_collins@harvard. edu



3 5 6 1 C&RL News ■ May 1998

sion, and LSA and LSCA governm ental sup­
port contributed to this period. T he value 
o f libraries as a critical co m p o n e n t o f  a 
d e m o c ra tic  s o c ie ty  w as th o ro u g h ly  e n ­
grained in our national psyche.

Now w e are in the midst o f a third w ave 
o f trem en d ou s e x p a n sio n  in A m erican li­
braries. This tim e, how ever, grow th is not 
m arked by new  bu ild ings, and certain ly  
not by a large influx o f new  m oney. It is 
m arked by the e x p a n sio n  o f the c a p a b ili­
ties o f libraries to a c c e s s  and d eliv er in­
fo rm atio n  in light o f te c h n o lo g y . N ever 
b e fo re  has the o p p o rtu n ity  b e e n  so great 
for libraries.

The stakes are high. F ee-b ased  services 
and com m ercial contracts limiting access to 
particular groups threaten to create a so ci­
ety o f inform ation rich and poor. Increas­
ingly diverse constitu encies are dem anding 
increasingly diverse collection s. Interdisci­
plinary research is. becom ing the norm. Even 
the e x p e n s e s  asso ciated  with tech n o lo g y  
threaten already overtaxed library budgets. 
The question is raised as to w hether librar­
ies can remain free in the ideological as well 
as the m onetary sense.

A leveled playing field
High stakes, however, imply a high return. As 
those o f us in the profession know well, the 
opportunities that now exist for libraries to 
fulfill their mission on a grand scale are real. 
The delivery o f information to poor, inner- 
city schools in the same quality and time as 
that received in wealthy settings addresses is­
sues o f equity like never before. Access to 
huge collections by small libraries brings re­
sources heretofore undreamed o f to their co n ­
stituencies. Academic and public libraries shar­
ing resources with teachers and students over 
great distances break down barriers to learning.

We, as librarians, must champion the demo­
cratic ideal and the opportunities that tech­
nology presents to libraries to promote it.

The list is long: resource sharing, docu­
ment delivery, interlibrary loan, digital projects, 
cooperative collection development, distance 
learning, to name a few. As academic librar­
ians, we have a responsibility to our primary 
constituents, the students and faculty at our 
institutions. As librarians, we have responsi­
bilities to our profession and the democratic 
values em bedded within librarianship.