ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 8 2 6 / C& RL News Academic research libraries in Germany By Elma Mittler D irector o f the U niversity L ibrary Heidelberg, Federal R epublic o f G erm any The Heidelberg experience: A century o f collaboration. H eid elb erg 1888: Isolation Karl Z an g em eister b e cam e university librarian in 1873, th e first professional lib rarian in H e i­ delberg. W ithin several years, h e re s tru c tu re d th e lib rary ’s collection, refining th e divisions e s ta b ­ lished by his pred ecesso rs. N evertheless, individ­ ual s h e lf n u m b e rs w ere rare. G roups o f books by one p articular author, or about a specific topic, had th e same shelf n um ber, a disadvantage even today. H e d e v e lo p e d a u n iq u e system , how ever— n o t c o m p a rab le to any o th e r in G erm any. Such in d i­ vidualism is com m on in G erm an libraries. Z an g e­ m eiste r also exten d ed th e library o p e ra tin g hours, re su ltin g in trip lin g th e use o f th e rea d in g room w ithin two years and doubling th e n u m b e r o f book loans. A part from th e system atic catalog a n d s h e lf o rd er, th e library bu ild in g bears th e stro n g e st m arks o f Z an g em eister’s work. The state arc h ite c t o f B aden, D u rm , b u ilt it as a “castle o f s c ie n c e,” a ro u n d th e M anesse m an u scrip t. T h e C odex M a- nesse is th e m ost valuable m anuscript in G erm any, with m ore th an 5,000verses o f M innesingers (tro u ­ b a d o u rs o f th e M iddle Ages) a n d — even m ore im portantly—with 139 full-page p o rtraits o f p o e ts. It was lost in th e T h irty Y ear’s W ar, a n d w hen r e tu r n e d from Paris in 1888 it tu rn e d th e U n iv er­ sity o f H e id e lb e rg L ibrary in to a national sa n ctu ­ ary. This, and only this, explains th e construction of th e m agnificent castle building, featuring m odular, steel-concrete book stacks. It is n o tab le th a t Z a n g e m e iste r’s seven-page, h a n d w r itte n p a p e r o f N o v e m b e r 4 ,1 8 9 7 , has b e ­ com e a classic text fo r library a rc h ite c tu r e . A sec­ tio n u n d e r “G e n e ra l N e e d s ” d e m a n d e d c e n tral heating: “In th e book stacks, a te m p e ra tu re of te n d eg rees C elsius, forty-nine F a h re n h e it, is suffi­ c ie n t in w in ter. This was th e decision by th e Aca­ dem ic S enate o f th e U niversity.” O bviously th e U niversity w a n te d to save e n e rg y and d id n o t in ­ te n d to open up th e stacks to re a d e rs’ intensive u s e . Unlike libraries in th e U nited States, w here open access is th e norm , G erm an libraries feature closed stacks. T h e seem ingly g rea t service o f having a book b ro u g h t to th e re a d e r’s desk, in fact, involves tro u b leso m e w ork for th e re a d e r at th e catalog and in o rd erin g th e b o oks. It is in te re s tin g to n o te th a t, at th e sam e tim e as th e first professional librarian was hired , an e x te n ­ sive expansion o f th e d e p a rtm e n tal libraries began in H e id e lb e rg . N ob o d y knows if this expansion cou ld have b e e n avoided w ith a d iffe re n t library philosophy tow ard a ce n tral library. T he expansion of th e institute was linked with an increasin g te n d e n c y to w a rd scientific specializa­ tion. R ese a rc h an d te a c h in g d e p e n d e d m ore and m ore upon th e existence o f G erm an in stitutes with d e p a rtm e n ta l lib raries. D u e to th e co m p e titio n b e tw e e n G e rm a n univ ersities and u n iversity a d ­ m inistrations, th e B aden governm ent was forced to p rovide th e n ecessary m eans to s u p p o rt d e p a rt­ m en ta l lib raries in o rd e r to o btain, or even keep, professors. T h e faculties, therefore, built th e ir own October 1989 / 827 book collections and th e main library becam e m ore and m ore isolated. This is evident in b udget cuts to th e U niversity Library by th e M inistry o f E d u c a ­ tion. N evertheless, Z angem eister and his succes­ sor, W ille, m anaged to increase th e library b udget to th e considerable sum o f 60,000 RM, which only Leipzig University Library could m atch at the tim e. A lthough this position could n o t be m aintained forever, it lasted into th e 1930s. H e id e lb e rg r e ­ m ained one of th e top university libraries in G e r­ many— a library in splendid isolation. H eidelberg 1930s-1940s: Frustration Tw enty years afte r its construction in 1888, th e library building was supposed to b e expanded, according to arch itect D u rm ’s plans; yet in 1925, no one rem em bered this. The only building built by th e U niversity was th e “N ew U niversity,” also called the “W hite H ouse.” The American ambassa­ dor to G erm any, Schurm an, raised funds in th e U n ited S tates for its constru ctio n in 1928. In th e main library, on the oth er hand, o th er worries w ere m ore pressing du rin g th ese years. O nly w ith th e g rea test difficulty could foreign lite ra tu re be ac­ quired. In o rd e r to e n su re th a t at least one copy of the most im portant foreign publications was held in G erm any, a system o f sh ared acquisition was started , called th e “Special Subjects C ollection Plan.” H eidelberg, even then, had a specific obliga­ tion to collect books on art history, archeology, and egyptology. In this shared acquisition system, H e id e lb e rg University L ibrary had a recognized position. This can still be d e te c te d in th e library hierarchy estab ­ lished by th e in terlib rary loan office in B erlin in 1928. F irst cam e th e P russian Libraries, followed by th e C ounty L ibrary o f Saxony in D re sd en , and th e U niversity L ibrary o f Leipzig, im m ediately followed by H eid elb erg . O n th e o th e r hand, th e nam es o f th e o th e r libraries of th e State o f B aden cam e up considerably later. A sa co nsequence o f th e shared acquisition sys­ tem , an a tte m p t was m ade to c re a te a p rin te d G erm an U nion C atalog. T he U nion C atalog o f Prussian Libraries, a card catalog, served as a basis. In Nazi G erm any, all librarians had to in tro d u c e unified cataloging rules in 1936. T hose rules c o n ­ sisted o f th e Prussian cataloging rules established by librarians w ho w ere classicists in Breslau and in B erlin a b o u t 1900. T h ey organized th e titles ac­ cording to gram m atical o rd e r ra th e r th an given- w ord order. “T he G reat Book o f Librarianship,” for exam ple, will be found in a G erm an catalog u n d e r “book,” n o t u n d e r “g rea t.” T he p ro o f sheets for bibliographic description, p rin te d according to th e P russian U nion Catalog, w ere sen t from one G erm an library to th e next. Every library e n te re d additional title s. A fter th e second W orld W ar, th e e ndeavor was n o t contin u ed . T he records w ere lost, and one- th ird of th e c o n te n t o f G erm an libraries was d e ­ stroyed during th e war. Not surprisingly, a G erm an U nion Catalog has not been established until now. G erm an librarians had b e e n discouraged to start a m odern, national union catalog. H eid elb erg 1988: Challenge F ortu n ately , H e id e lb e rg was sp ared from war destruction because th e Am ericans had decided to establish th e ir h e a d q u arte rs th e re . T he table th at G eneral E isenhow er u se d in his office as Com - m ander-in-C hief o f th e Am erican Army continues to be a tourist attraction. T he H e id elb erg U niver­ sity L ibrary was u se d for th e p rep a ra tio n o f th e N urem berg trials against th e Nazi leaders and was, hence, em p tied out completely. Several Am erican soldiers rem oved p rin te d books, or even m an u ­ scripts. Som etim es such item s are retu rn e d : for exam ple, in 1987 a m edieval m anuscript o f th e “M inneburg,” th e castle o f love, was retu rn ed by an American. In th e 1950s, th e library building seem ed func­ tional, even tho u g h it was already far too small. W hereas o th e r cities, d e stroyed by th e war, built one new university library building after another, in H eidelberg nothing ever passed the planning stage. Only a branch library for the sciences on th e new cam pus in th e “N e u e n h e im e r F e ld ” o p e n e d in 1978, b u t this library also had to serve as a storage library for th e hum anities so th at the m ain building could be renovated. I was able to use this situation as an o p p o rtu n ity to in tro d u c e som e o f th e func­ tions of a m odern library building into th e old walls o f th e m ain library building. T h e fo rm e r closed stacks w ere c hanged into open-access stacks and reading areas. Because o flim ite d space, however, th e accession o rd er in Germ any, called “N um erus cu rre n s” h ad to be m aintained. All books bought in th e last tw enty years w ere bro u g h t into th e open- access areas. Fo r subject access, users m ust use th e systematic catalog. Books and readers are no longer isolated; th ey are now bro u g h t together. An inform ation c e n te r for th e catalogs o f th e library was created. This includes th e Union C ata­ log o f th e co m p lete holdings o f m ore th an 100 departm ental libraries and about 20 oth er libraries in H eidelberg, including th e public library. In this way, th e libraries are working together. In o rd er to store th e old er book collection in th e city ce n te r again, u n d e rg ro u n d stacks are being constructed. T hese will be c o n n e cte d to th e library by an a u to ­ m atic tra n sp o rt system. W e hope th a t patrons will b e served b e tte r so they will no longer have to wait m ore th an two days for books o rd e re d from th e N e u e n h e im e r F eld. T hese days, m ore th an 600,000 books a y e ar are tra n sp o rte d b etw een th e 828 / C &R L News m ain a n d th e b ran c h libraries. T h e division o f th e library in to a b ra n c h library for sciences and m edicine, and in to a m ain library for th e h u m a n itie s , m ad e a u to m atio n a necessity. Since 1978 H e id e lb e rg has u se d a system called D o b is-H eid i, first for circulating and now also for cataloging. Since 1983 th e library has a d e d ic a te d c o m p u te r, an IBM 4380. M ost im p o rtan tly , th e university library c o m ­ p u te r is linked to th e m ainfram e o f th e university C o m p u te r C e n te r. This e n ab les u sers to retrie v e d a ta from th e u n iversity library c o m p u te r from over 800 term inals in th e university. D ep artm en tal lib raries are hoo k ed up to th e library system and in p u t catalog inform ation. T h e datab ase o f th e library system , h e n ce, is b ecom ing th e a u to m a te d U nion C atalog o f th e university. T h e H e id e lb e rg system , th o u g h a local, in te ­ g ra te d system , is n o t an isolated one. C ataloging is done in th e Regional Southw est G erm any L ibraiy N etw ork w ith its m ainfram e in K onstanz. To do this, new cataloging rules h a d to b e in tro d u c e d in 1986— th e so-called RAK (“R ules for A lphabetic C ataloging”), w hich u n fo rtu n a te ly does n o t agree w ith AÂCR2 in m any details. M oreover, th e G e r ­ m an D a ta F o rm a t, MAB (m a c h in e -re a d a b le ex­ change form at for libraries) is n o t com patible w ith MARC either. L ib rarian s in H e id e lb e rg n e v e rth ele ss are a d ­ ju stin g th e local system to th e regional netw ork. T h u s , th ey are optim istic th at th ey will be success­ ful in using th e data o f large A m erican databases in o rd e r to sta rt th e retrospective conversion o f th e ir collectio n o f books b e fo re 1986. T h e y m atc h ed a selection o f som e 100 catalog cards o f th e ir total holdings against th e databases o f O C L C and UTLAS, resulting in a 46% m atch. F or p arts o f th e catalog u n d e r th e P russian Rules, w ith titles p u b ­ lished b etw een 1936-1985, th ey found a hit rate of 86% w ith O C L C . T h e y are p re p a rin g a c o n tra c t w ith one o f th ese u tilities in o rd e r to co nvert this catalog o f ab o u t 800,000 e n tries. T h e ir extensive e x p e rien c e in c o n v ertin g d a ta from national a n d regional services is e n a b lin g th e m to co nvert th e A m erican M ARC d a ta in to th e ir MAB form at. T h ey will have to assess th e e x te n t o f th e d iffe r­ ences b e tw e en AACR and RAK rules next. H e id e lb e rg U niversity L ib rary is looking fo r­ w ard to c o o p e ra tin g w ith A m erican academ ic li­ braries for global inform ation sharing. E d ito r ’s Note: This article is based on a talk by th e a u th o r a t the F ifth A C R L N ational Conference in C incinnati, A p r il 7,1989. ■ ■ October 1989 / 831 CD-ROM II Teleconference set for November T h e A ssociation o f C ollege a n d R e se a rc h L i­ braries, its C om m unity and Ju n io r C ollege L ib ra r­ ies Section (C JC LS), a n d th e C o m m u n ity C ollege A ssociation for In s tru c tio n a n d T ech n o lo g y (C C A IT ) will c o -sp o n so r C D -R O M II, a n a tio n a l te le c o n fe re n c e fe a tu rin g th e d e v e lo p m e n t and ad v an ce m en ts o f C D -R O M tech n o lo g y , on W ednesday, N o v e m b e r 15,1989, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m . C ST, from th e studios o f th e C ollege of D u P ag e, G len Ellyn, Illinois. T h e te le c o n fe re n c e is d e sig n e d especially for inform ation m an ag em en t specialists a n d library or LR C p e rs o n n e l w ith som e C D -R O M fam iliarity. Scheduled events include: • P ractitio n ers’ F orum : direct, first-hand expe­ rien ce o f professionals from p u b lic, special, and academ ic libraries. • N etw orking News: P re se n ta tio n s o f new n e t­ w orking p o te n tia ls in clu d in g C D -R O M O PA Cs (O nline P ublic Access C atalogs), licensing a g re e ­ m ents, training and technical support, LANs (local area n e tw o rk s) an d W AN s (wide a re a n e tw o rk s). • F u tu re D evelopm ents: w h ere th e technology is h e a d ed a n d w h a t it will be like for th e inform ation providers. • V e n d o r F o ru m : A discussion o f C D -R O M softw are a n d technology from th e p ro d u c e rs . Q uestions from th e view ing p a rticip a n ts will be answ ered d u rin g each m odule. Follow ing th e te le c o n fe re n c e th e r e will b e a special fe a tu re , th e C D -R O M Show case, from 12:30-1:30 p.m . V endors will p r e s e n t a 6 0 -m in u te show case o f c u rr e n t C D -R O M p ro d u c ts as an o p ­ tio n a l e v e n t at no extra charge. V ideotaping is encouraged. In stitu tio n s m ay re g is te r as receiv e sites for $ 175. T he fee entitles th e institution to videotaping rig h ts, te le p h o n in g rights, Ku a n d C -b a n d re c e p ­ tio n , a n d th r e e p a rtic ip a n t packets. E a c h p a c k et will in clu d e copies o f lan d m a rk articles, an evalu­ ation form , an e n try c o u p o n for a fre e e q u ip m e n t and database draw ing w hich will b e h e ld at th e end o f th e p ro g ra m , a n d an overview discography. A dditional packets are $ 10 each, m inim um o rd e r of three. A dditio n al in fo rm a tio n on th e te le c o n fe re n c e , w hich is b e in g p ro d u c e d u n d e r th e auspices o f th e College o f D uP age, may be o btained from B ernard F rad k in , D e a n o f th e L e a rn in g R esources C e n te r, College o f D uP age, 22d S treet and L a m b ert Road, G len E llyn, I L 60137-6599; (312) 858-6090. ■ ■ White House Conference set for July 1991 T h e W h ite H o u se C o n fe re n c e on L ib ra ry a n d In fo rm a tio n Services (W H C L IS II) has b e e n sc h e d u le d to b e h e ld in W ash in g to n , D .C .’s C o n ­ vention C e n te r from T uesday, July 9, th ro u g h S at­ urday, July 13, 1991. W ith state a n d te rrito ria l p re c o n fe re n c e activities ex p ected to be h e ld from May 1990 through April 1991, th e re will b e tim e for recom m endations d eveloped at th e state and te r r i­ torial level to be p ro cessed for consideration at th e W ashington m eeting. T h e th re e overall conference th em es are: library and in fo rm a tio n services for prod u ctiv ity , lib rary a n d in fo rm a tio n services for literacy, a n d library and in fo rm a tio n services for dem ocracy. T h e N a ­ tional C o n fe re n c e is e x p e cte d to c o n s id e r such topics as: • how lib ra ry a n d in fo rm a tio n services can provide business a n d in d u stry (and especially small business) im proved access to n e e d e d inform ation; • h o w to ensure access to new inform ation te c h ­ nologies; • h o w to m e e t th e inform ation a n d o th e r needs o f senior citizens, th e disabled, th e disadvantaged, th e functionally illiterate, and those w hose prim ary language is n o t English; • how to use new technologies m ore effectively to serve learners; • tra in in g a n d e d u c a tio n p ro g ra m s in p e n a l institutions; • how to im prove services th ro u g h cooperation w ith th e priv ate sector; • h o w to m ake use o f tec h n o lo g y to sto re, a n a ­ lyze and transm it inform ation n e e d e d by th e public and by g o v e rn m e n t decision-m akers; and • h o w to h e lp inform ation users sift th ro u g h an e v e r-e x p an d in g in fo rm a tio n supply, e x tra ctin g w h at is useful, reliab le a n d tim ely. A fter th e c o n fe re n c e is co n c lu d e d , a p u b lic r e ­ p o r t o f its findings a n d re c o m m e n d a tio n s will be su b m itte d to th e P re sid e n t a n d to C o n g re ss. T h e c o n fe re n c e was a u th o riz e d by P u b lic Law 100-382 and signed by P resident Reagan on August 8 ,1 9 8 8 . Its p u rp o se is “to d evelop re c o m m e n d a ­ tions fo rth e fu rth e r im provem ent of th e library and 832 / C& RL News inform ation services of th e N ation and th e ir use by th e p u b lic .” T h e co n fe re n ce will be p la n n e d and c o n d u c te d by th e U.S. N ational C om m ission on L ibraries and In fo rm atio n Science (N C L IS ) with th e assistance a n d advice o f a 3 0 -m e m b er W hite H o u s e C o n f e r e n c e A d v is o ry C o m m itte e (W H CA C) w hose m em b ers r e p re s e n t all areas of th e U.S. N C LIS chairm an Jerald C . N ew m an has w ritten all state a n d territo ria l governors, inform ing th em of th e conference and urging th em to subm it appli­ cations for federal funds to help initiate p rec o n fe r­ en c e activities. Initial grants to th e states will be shares o f th e $1.75 m illion a p p ro p ria te d by C o n ­ gress. As additional funds becom e available, states and territories may be eligible for o th e r support for preconference activities. Participants in th e state and territorial program s a n d at th e National C o n fe re n c e are to re p re s e n t a b ro a d sp e ctru m o f th e p o p u latio n . T h e law p r o ­ vides th a t a fourth o f th e p a rticip an ts will be se­ lected from th e library and inform ation profession; a fo u rth will be se le c te d from tru ste e s, friends groups, and oth er individuals who are active library a n d inform ation su p p o rters; a fo u rth will b e se­ le c te d from federal, state o r local officials; and a fo u rth will be selected from th e g eneral public. ■ ■ Benefits received by college librarians By John Robson Library Director Rose-H ulm an In stitu te ofTechnology and Susan A. Stussy Library Director St. N orbert College A survey o f 119 college libraries in the Midwest. A l t h ough ALA p ublishes annual salary surveys, no nationw ide survey o f th e b e n e fits receiv ed by college librarians n W e believe th a t b e n e fit issues are particularly c ru cial for academ ic librarians d u e to th e u n c le a r social status and politically v ulnerable position o m any, if n o t m ost, librarians in h ig h e r education. Job classifications are a p eren n ial p roblem for aca dem ic librarians, and they may adm it an em ployee to th e eligibility pool for significant in stitutional benefits o r exclude th at em ployee from considera tio n for institutional b en efits g ran te d only to indi viduals in m ore highly reg a rd e d jo b classifications. W hile re c e n t legal changes have re s tric te d th e ability o f em ployers to discrim in ate b e tw e en classes o f em ployees c o n cern in g access to crucial b e n e fits such as h e a lth care a n d p en sio n funding, discrim ination still exists even in th ese key areas. ow exiTsthse. A CRL College Libraries S ection’s Ad Hoc C o m m itte e on Real In co m e th o ro u g h ly consid­ e re d th e issue o f th e benefits received by academ ic librarians betw een 1985 and 1988. Susan A. Stussy c h a ire d th a t co m m ittee, and Jo h n R obson was a m em b e r. U n fortunately, this c o m m ittee was u n ­ able to accom plish a great deal d u e to th e inexperi­ en c e o f b o th th e m em bers a n d th e chair. A fter th e co m m ittee co n c lu d e d its work, th e au th o rs resolved to find o u t w h ere college lib rari­ ans in th e five states o f Illinois, Indiana, M ichigan, O hio, a n d W isconsin stood in term s o f access to stan d ard em ployee benefits and eligibility for aca­ d em ic benefits such as sabbaticals and te n u r e . ­ f ­ ­ ­