The Harvard Library in the 1960's
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Citation Bryant, Douglas W., and Edwin E. Williams. `1967. The Harvard Library in the 1960's. Harvard Library Bulletin XV (1), January 1967: 82-98.
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Doug/((s }fit Bryant and Edwin E. lVillia111s
N the issue ,vith ,vhich the HARVARDlJ1BRARY BULLETINrcsu111cs publication after six years of silence, it seems appropriate to give at least a brief account of the I..ribrary'srecent past, its present situation, and its pl-ans. '''hat n1ajor events ,vould the BuLTJF.TIN ha vc reported during these }rears, and ,vhat are the chief questions con- fronting the Library on ,vhich articles might have been published? There fa no neeu to repeat here the detailed account that is a.vailahle in the A 1111ual Reports and other Lib rar3r pub Iic2 tio ns 1isted in this number of the BuLLETIN b)7 ~'A I-Iarvard Library Hibliography-, r960- 1966.~J Hence this article, after first recording four outstanding land- 1narks since 1960 and then outlining in chronological order a fc,v other not-able dcvclop1ncntsof these y·ears, ,viii look to,vard the Library1s
future l giving particular at ten tio n to the collect ions, prospects for auto- muti on, personnel.,space nee dsJ and sources of support. The most ]ainentahle event of the period in question ,vas the death., on 18 October 1 964, of '~'iilian1 A. Jacksoni Professor of Bibliography and Librarian of the 1-foughtonLibrary. This great bibliographer and librarian) a collector ,vithout peer, had served 1-Iarvard for t\VC11t) 7 ~six )rears. ~'hen such a n1nn dies 2t the age of 59, the loss, both to the l ...ibrary and to the ,vorld of scholarship, is tragic, hl1t this loss ,vould have been greater still if he had not prepared ,vell-qualified successors
1, 7jllia1n I-I. Bond1 ,vho follo-\vshin1 as Houghton l.iihrarian, and .i\1iss!Catharine Pantr.er, ,vho \'i.1illbring to con1pletion during 1969 his great bibliographical ,vork? the nc,v edition of the Sbort-Tit'le Ctrtrt- logue of Books Printed in England~ Scotla11d,& Irelandaud of English Hooks Printed Abroefd.,147 5- 1640. The first part of a biographical account by his student 2nd associate, Dr~ Bond~ appears clsc,vhcrc in this issue. Paul Buck relinquished his responsibilities as Director of tl1e Univer- sity Library 2nd Librarian of Harvard CoJlcgc on 30 June 1964. The regret of the staff at this-loss can be ten1pered at least to son\e extent by the consideration that he rem-a.insat I-1-a.rvardas a University Pro- Si
Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) The I-larvardLibrary in tbe 196o's fcssor and that it ,vo11ldhe ungenerous, after his long y·ears and dis- tinguished achieven1ent.sin administration, to begrudge hin1 this oppor- tunit)7 to devote all his energies to teaching and research. I-lis Libraries
& Uni·versities1 ,vhich ,vas pub]ishcd late in 1964 by the IlL-!]knapPress of Harvard Universit;,TPress,. js both a record of the great advances n1ade during his nine years as Director and a contribution of enduring value to professional literature; the credo ,vith ,vhich it concludes is n staten1ent of polic}T,vhich officers of the Library continue ,vholc- heartedly to support. Professor l\1crlc l1ainsod succeeded A·Ir. Iluck as Carl H. Pforz- heimer University Professor -and Director of the University Library·. Under rev1sed Statrttes that \vent jnro effect at this time, there js no longer a Librarian of Harvard College, instead, there is no,v a U niver~ sity· Librarian, ,vho is the chief executive officer of the Harvard Co}lcgc Library· and ,vho shares responsibilit) 7 for coordination of the ,vholc University Library system ,vith th c D jrcctor and ,vith a nc\v ad visor}r body, the University Libr:uy Committee. Experience of the past t,vo years supports the hope that these adrninistrativc changes \vill con~ tribute to 010 re effective p lann ing and tcan1,v ork in an orga 11iza tion ,vhich., consisting of nearly· one hundred separate library· units, is inevitably· comp lex. Planning for still another unit~ and one involving adn1iniscrative relationships unlike any of the others - began on 9 Noven1her r 961 ,vhen President Kennedy· announced his intention of establishing 2 presjden ti a1 Jibra r)r and 1n11 seu 1n to house his o, vn pa pcrs and those of 1nembersof his fan1ily~nd his administration. In accordance lvith Fed- eral statutes governing such libn1rics, this ,vill be administered by the National ..!.~chivesand llccords Service~ but it ,vjll be closely associated ,vith Harvard. Several more years 111ust elapse before the b nil ding for the ICcnncd) 7 J.jbrary can be constructed~ .filled ,vith n1unuscripts and books, and opened to the students and professors ,vho ,vill be eager to use its unique research materials. Already., ho\vever, the current decade has brought i 11to being the F mncis A~ Co1111t\vay Library of l\.1cdicjnc, ,vhich is clearly one of the n1ost itnportant innovations jn the history of the Harvard Library systcn1. During January 1960 the agreement ,vas· concluded to unite the Boston 1\1edical Library· and the Library of the Schools of l\1edicine und Public Health in Harvard University; ground "ras broken for the building on 1 June 1963~ and dedication
Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) liarvard Library 'Bulletin exercises,vcrc held on 26 =1nd27 i\1ay 1965. 1 The building, designed by· Hugh Stubbins and Associates, is an outstanding architectural achievement that has ,von an A,-i.1"ardof A1crit in the Buildings A,va.rd Program sponsored by the Americun Institute of Arch itects'3American Library A ssociatio n, and National Book Co mn1ittcc. i\1cdical teaching nnd research ,vill be long an This has b ccn an eventful decade for the Harvard 1..-ibrary·,and th ere arc other Ian d 111arks th at ought to h c 111entio ne d in even a ,vell- prun ed outline of its history durjng the 196o~sr These ,vill be noted in chronological order, beginning ,vjth the first issue, for October 1960, of the La,~rSchool Libn1ry's Current J_.egalRibliograJ,by, 1vhich cun1u- latcs as the Annual Legal Bibliograpby. Since it covers additions to the finest collection in its ficldt this list of acquisitions, classified hy subjec..:t,is a bibliography useful to scholars throughout the ,vorld. Several other i1nportant publications of the La ,v Schoo I J.jbrary that have appeared since 1960 arc listed in the Library bibliography at the end of this issue of the BuLLETIN. The Center for Hellenic Studies in \\ 1ashington~ D.C., opened on 1 October 196r t and ,Yas fortunate during its first year of operation in acqujring the library of the late Professor '\'crner Jaeger as the foundation for a relatively small but strong ,vorking col1cction. This is one of fifteen units added to the f-Iarvard University Libracy7 ~1nce 1 July 1960, ·but ten units have been absorbed into others and discon- tin u cd, so th c net in crease for the pcri o d is five.2 • The addr~sscs dclivCTcd on thfa occa.~ion hav('. been published as Jlibliot/Jeca A{edica.~ Pbj•1icio.n for Toinotrow, edited hy David .i\·1cC.Ord.Cambridge 1 IJ~rvard U n1vcrsityPres~, l 966, t: The nc\v departn1enuil Jihraries rrr~ Auosprrce Studies, the Fred N. Rohinson Cdtic Libr~ry1- Geologjcal Sciences~ History, and Near Eastern Langl]ages and Litcr~ture.s. Special and research-institution collections. ate those of the C-Jmbridge Electron Acceleratort Center for HeHenic Srudie~ Ea.st Asian Resc~uch Center, East Asian Reading Roon1~ Gil1b Isfan1ic Seminari-l·l~rv~rd Radto Astronomy St-atiun (Fort Davj~ 1 Texas) 1 and th~ 1\1ihnan Parry Col~ecdun of Ora] Litcratt1rc, The Gr:;1.d uate School of Edu ca tl on has estabUshe.d spec ia] Hbr~ric s for its Center for Studies in Education and De\•dnp1nent~Clearinghouse for Educ;adonri.1DHferencest and Programn1cJ Insu:uction. The libnu-ics djscontinuc Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) 85 During 1962 the Library began to rccci\re puhlications fron1 the United Arab Republic under an an1cndn1cnt to Public Ln,v 480 of 1954 providing for the use of foreign currencies derived fron1 the sale of surplus agricultural con1n1odities ahroa gran1, ,vhich is ~dtninistered b1T the lJbraiy of Congrcssr Useful as the receipts have beenJ they :tre Jess significant thun the precedent th-at has no,v been established for Federal assistance to non~govcrnn1cntal libraries in the acquisition of foreign publications. \\'idcncr's Hcbrc,v Division also dates fron1 1962. This administra- ti,Tc unit of the Co1lege Library~ headed by the Lee l\1. Friedman BibIi o gra p her in Ju daica~ h-an ell es s clcction, ucqu isiti on, cl a:ssific:ation, cataloguing, and specia.Jizedreference ,vork in its area; it js the third unit of its kind, the Slavic Division hnving been established in 1956 and the .l\1iddlcEastern Division ju 1959. Efficient operation and high morale have characterized each of these relatively s111alland specialized organizations. Since the Pub1ic l..ia,v480 program began to bring cur- rent Israeli publications to the J.jbrary during 1 964t it is fortunate that the Hebre\v Division ,vas on the job and prepared to control the flood. As part of a vigorous effort to in1prove circulation servjces in the central rese~rch collection, a punched-card systctn for recording loans ,vas devised nnd installed in \:~7idcncr durjng 1963 .. Records are more accurate and ,vork more efficient as a result of this app]ication of tech~ nolog)· to one of the l_jbrary1s problems, and machines no,v do the filing of charge-sli p.s that used to require n1any hours of h un1an drudgery .. Stack service could also be jn1provcd during 196 3, thanks to the ten1pora.ry· relief of ovcrcro,vding that resulted fron1 transfer of the research co llc cti on for finc arts to the large Iibrary· addition th at had been constructed bct,vccn the l 1~oggl\1useun1 and the nc\v Visual Arts th~ ComputJtion Laboratory {,absorbed by the Gordon 1\-fcKay Library-), the r..1ineralo gi ca1 and j\ fj ning G co]ogy lib ra tics ( 1norgcd in to G cologk al Sciences), the Cyclotron Library (ti ken o,"cr hr the Caa1nhridgeElccuon Accelerator), the J e,vett collection ( .rcpfac-cd by N car Ea !itcrn Languages -nnd Li tcra turcs) 1 th Q Cc ntcr for R esi:are h in PcrsonaHty ( absorbed by-Social Relations), Still n1an Infi rnl::lry ( bsorLcd hy the John Pe auod y l\1o nks Li Lrrn.ry of the U nhTcrsity H eaI th Services), nd the Re,Tie,v·of Econornics and Statfatics (absorbed by the G raduatc School of Public Administration ,s Littauer Library) . Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) 86 Harvard Library Bulletin Center. This brought together under one roof the University's major book collection on fine arts and the extensive Fogg collections of slides, photographsl prints, 2.nd other non-book n1atcrials. Adn1inistra- tivcly the Fine Arts Library· bccan1c an integral part of the College Library at this time. Another n1ajor event of 1963 ,vas the publication1 h1 5 3 volumes, of the Peabody Ivluscun1Jjbrary Catalogue. Since it Hsts periodical articles as ,vell as bool{s by both author and subject'.!this catalogue js in unequalled bibliography of the subjects covered, ,vhich include prehistoric archueologyt ethnology., and physical and social anthro~ pology. The first volumes of another remarkable catalogue a.ppeared in 1964 ,vhen the Belknap Press of Harvard University Press published for the College Library·~sDepa.rtn1ent of Printing and Graphic Arts Frencb 16tb Ceutur y1 Books'.!cotnpilcd by Ruth !vforti1ner, in t\vo volu1nes~ for1ning Part I of the Depart1nent's Catalogue of Books and 111rnzu- scripts. l\1orc than one thousand illustrations arc included in this part of the catalogue of the outstanding collection brought together by Philip Hofer. 'T'hc contents of a research libraf)7 , like the interests of scholars it serves, are endlessly diverse; hence it jg not surprising that durjng the )rear ,vhcn its Dcparttncnt of Printing and Graphic Arts ,vas beginning to issue the catalogue of a bcal1tiful collection~the Library ,vas also organizing a Do cumen ts Divjsion in order to de al more effcctivel )T ,vith a vast body of publications that physically on the ,vhole are ugly ducklings. General docun1ents issued hy national governn1ents and international organizations have been brought together in the '~"\~lidcncr level"' of stack beneath Lan1ont. Though thC)7 fill 111orcth~n three n1iles of shelving, these 1najor 5Crics constitute only a fraction of rlarvard's total govcrnn1cnt docu111cnt holdings, and responsibilities of the nc\Y Division's staff for selection, acquisition, and reference services extend beyond them; govern1ncnt docutncnts throughout the l...rih.ra ry systein are its concern~ ]f there had been any doubts that docu1nents ought to be given spc- cjal attention of this kind) they "\vould quickly have been dissipated b)r comments of professors at some of the meetings that have been held in the course of a study of College Library resources. This sn1dy is an attempt to enlist the help of the F-aculty in defining selection policies and anticipating research needs; it involves a series of small meetings attended by officers of the Library and groups of professors represent- Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) Tbe 1-lar·vardLibrary in tbe 1 fJ6o's ing subdh,.jsionsof each major :field covered by the li._acult}rof J\.rts and Sciences. Some forty n1eetings have been held since the series began late jn 1940., but not all subjects have )ret been covered. It has b ec om e evident that th ere are neglected subjects, geogra phi cal areas~ and types of 1nateria I - particularly government documents, n e\vs~ papers, and personal archive~- in ,vhich the J..,ibraryought to make up serious d efici en ci es. Son1cthing 111ore\vjll be said belo,v of the findings of this sun;cy; at this point, in continuing the chrono]ogical outline of land111arksin the J.JibraryJsrecent histOI) 7 , it is good to be able to note that 1964, ,vhich inaugurated the survey1 also brought the Ford Foundation grant for international studies, ,-vhich is helping the Library to fill some of the gaps to ,vhich the .survey has called attention. Funds fron1 this source arc being used for purchases, filming, binding, costs of acquisition and cataloguing, special selection programs for Africa and for South and Southeast Asia2'and for sonle of the Docun1cnt Division's "'ork ,vith foreign pub]ications. The Ford grnntJ ho,vcvert ~]so sup- ports nine 11c, v prof csso rshj ps and ex tcnsi\Tc res car ch progratn s, so that it js substantiall 1r increasing dcn1ands on the Library und, since it pro- vides funds for .fiveyears only, continuing sources of support ,vill so911 have to be found to take its place. Late in 1965 an allocation by the University· front the '\~larren Be- quest added material1y to the endo,vn1ent inco1ne available to support the J.jbrary'.s coHections relating to American civilization. The post of Cha rl es ,;s;la r ren Bih 1io graph er in A 01 eri can I-Jjstory has been est ab- lished, and a pJ2n h:1.sbeen approved for s3•ste111aticbuilding up of the Co1] ege l..ribra ryts holdings., \vith par Licu lar c111p hasis; at tl1 e hcgiI l nin g on acquiring micro.filrn files of American nc·v{spapcrs. Allocntions ,vcrc also 1nadc to the libraries of the Divinity School, Gradl1atc School of Education 1 and La,v School. The purpose of this important bequest fron1 AnnielouiseBliss "\\l'arren is to Hstin1u]atethe interest in, promote the study of, and aid constructive scholarship in the study of ....t\.mer- ican history.'' Though the Library's An1erican collections have 1ong been outstanding, help ,vas urgently needed to :issnre. their continued strength and hea.1thygro\vth. Fron1 its orjgin ,vith John I-Iarvard's legacy of 163 8, the Co11cge Library has been built up by gifts; it is almost ,vholly the creation of its friends- a t;um of contributions that include single s1nall pan1ph- lets as ,veil as 1najor cndo\v1ncnt funds like the \~'arrcn Bcqucst4 Forty years ago a f c,v of the l~ibrary s b enef actors joined together as the Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) I 88 llar·vnrd Library Bulletin Friends of the Harvard Library; this described itself ns '' nn inforn1al organizationi'~ and eventually bccan1c so ,vholly inforn1al that it could hardly be regarded as an organization. llcaccivation ca1nc during 196 5; the l 1~ricndsof the Harvard College Library 110,v have officers~ headed by Augustus P. l.,oring, J3BJ pay annual dues of $2 s~and enjoy prerogative~ of me1nbership~ including snhscriptions to the HARVARD LIBRA ny· BuLLETIN. "\''hil e n1cmbership rolls presun1ably· nev·er ,vil I include 1nore than n sn1all fraction of all those ,vho contribute to the Library and its collections, the organization pro1nises to be useful both in encouraging gifts and in facilitnting con1111unica.tion.The Lihr but dialo guc is need cd1 and the Ji"ri c n ds~ it is ho pc d~ ~.-vill respond as representatives at 1cast of those \vhosc understanding and support are csscntiaL Since the College Library n1akcs up less than half the ,vhole H-arvard University l.ibrat) 7 for ,vhich the Ilur~LETIN aspires to speak, a ,varm ,velcon1ein the pages of this journal a,vaits any similar initia- tives by friends of other n1ajorunits of the J..-ihrary. It is not anticipated that the Friends ,viii enroll non-human 1nemberst but con1putcrs began to 111::1.kcan important contribution to the Library during 196 51 ,vhcn portions of the \~ridcncr shclflist ,vere fir.st trans- ferred to 1nachinc-rcadablc pllnchc d cards and the print-outs ;,.vere pub- lishcd .. l~he smaJl Crusadesclass \vith ,vhich the experiment began h-as been fo1lo\vedthus far by Twentieth Cent11ryl?..11ssit111 Litarat11re, R11s- sian History L'iince1917~ I ... ati11 Au,~rica aud Latin A111e-rica11Period- icnls~Bihliagrapby 1 and Reference Collections Sbelved i11 tbe Reading Ro 0111 and t be Ac quisiti011 s Deprrrt111e11 t.. U11i ted Stnte s Hi story ,vill soon be added to the Jist. The project provides an jmprovcd tool for the Library's Clussification Div ision~ , v hich nses the she lflist c onstantl y in assigning call 11un1bcrsto nc,v acqnisitionst but it i~interesting -above all as a 111cansof supplying the scholar at H2rvard and clse,vhere ,vith bibliogiaphical information that ,vas not previously available in this form.. Eaclt of the printed shelflists contains an out1inc of the classifi- cation system for the subject it covers, a list of books (\vith their call non1bers) jn the order in ,vhich they stand on the shelves, an alpha- betical list by author, and a chronological list h) 7 date of publication~ These Jists~of course, are produced automatically by the con1putcr f ron1 a .single set of punc hcd cards. Copies can be placed ,vherevcr they n1ay be u~efu],and other ]ibraries have been purchasing them as subject bibliographies. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) Tbe Hnrvard Library in tbe I JJ601s 89 The she]flis t pro g ra 1n 11as also he en a n1eans of gaining experience that should be vnluable ,vhen it js possible to atte1npt tnore ambitious un derta kings to red u cc th c costs of cataloguing and to i 1nprov c the ca.talogue~ Such undertakings, it sccn1s clear, ,,rjll involve interlibrary· cooperadon and naliona l planning; machine-readable bibJiographical data ju standardized forrnat ,vill have to be disserninated as thrce-hy·- five-inch printed cards have heen in tht past. Encouraging beginnings ha,'"e heen made during 1966. I-larva.rd is one of fe,v libraries no,v receiving catalogue infor1nation on computer tapes from the Library of Congress as part of an cxpcri1ncnt kno,vn as "Project n1ARC.,i The Counhva)T Lihrary has become a regional search center of the l\1edica1 Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (i\1EDl.,ARS)., under ,vhich the National Jjbrary· of l\1Iedicine supplies computer tapes to be used by the centers in ans\'leri n g hi b 1i o gra p [1 i cal questions. The national libraries in \\T ~shington can be expected to take an i ncreasingl y prominent role in research library affairs -as auto n1ati on progresses ,gnd the Federal Govcrruncnt accepts gro\ving rcsponsibjl- ities in ed ucati on and research. J\iTc vcrthcl ess~1 ib rarj es 111u st continue to hcl p thc1nsclv cs as 111u ch as possible by· co operative efforr I and th c Center for Research Libraries pron1iscsto be an important i nstrun1ent for this purpose. It ,vas organized jn 1949 as the fvlid,vest lnter-J...,.ibrary- Center, a regional 4'Jibraries' lihrar)r':t for acquiring and housing inf re- quently· used publications, but its collections soon biecan1c narjonnl resources for research, and its microrcproduction progran1s serve li- brnries throughout the country. During I 966 Harvard bccan1c the first libn1ry on the Er1stern seaboard to join the Center. The final iten1 that belongs in a chrono]ogica] list of 1andmarks jg the PJanning Study· of 1966.,an atternpt to take stock of the U niver- sity J.1ibrary and to look ahead~ In beginning a library survey it is logical to look first at the collections, and for I-Iarvard it is reassuring in many-respects to do this. The collections are considerah1)T larger than those of an) 7 other university, and their strength is great. 1"'here are n1any possiblecomparisons that might jnspire complacency 4 Yet th ere are set i ous deficien ci es j n resources; the sel cction of ad di ti o ns to the co 11e c tio ns n1u st be n1ore nnd more discr i1nina ting; tra diti anal n1eth o d s and sources of acquisition 3re no longer capable of brjnging in all that is needed; and there is gro,ving dependence on the collections of other libraries. Son1e of the deficiencies have been mentioned alread)7 t and it has Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) Hnrvard Library Bulletin been noted that the Ford Foundation grant for international studies and the v,'arren Bequest for A111ericanhistory are helping to fill son1e of the gaps. 1~he co11ectionstraditionally have consisted chiefly of books; no,v-, ho\vever, it is evident that research n1akesiucre-a.sing use of other 1n2teri2ls- of 1nicroreproductions of ne\vspapers~ of pam- ph l cts, re ports" and other cphe1n era l publications, of the person al archives of pron1ine11ti11divid nals~ a11dof photographs.,sou11d record~ ings~ and con1putcr tapes. l\1aps call for 1nuch 1norc attention than the I~ibrary has been able to give them. It is no longer enough to collect books; neither is it enough to collect only the publications of North America and "\\7estern Europe, ,vhich used to produce n1ost of the materials required by Harvard re.search. Thanks to the foresight of Archib nld C-a.ryCoolidge., ,vho ,vas D irec- tor of the Library f ron1 191 o to 1 91 8 and , l' ho contrib n te d large su 111s from his personal fortune to hl1ilding up the collections rc1ating to Eastern Europe,, the I ...ib rary , vas , vell pre pared for th c r isc of Siavie scholarship. For the Far East there is the great classical collection of the Harvartl-Yenching J .,ibrary. For lJadn Arnerica there is at ]cast a goo inadequate financialsupport durjng recent years1 notably the Peabody l\,Iuseum Library, the Industrial Relations collection ~t Littauer, and the libraries of the Faculties of Design and Education. Shortcomings of th is kiu d can be b] an1 ed at ]c-ast in part on the Library's decentralization, ,vhich can a]so lead to undesirable duplica- tion and inadvertent on1issionsin borderline areas. On the ,vholcJ ho,vever, the quality of selection has gained from a systern under ,vhich 3 A n1o ng the 1nost no te,vorthy persu-nal '°'re h.i,res acquired during the current d c Cl de -are: tho sc of Paul Tillich at Andover-Harvard ; , Vin throp Aldrj ch and Th.om a.~\V. Lamont ~t BrJ~er Library; Felix:Frankfurter, Learned Hand, ilnd Roscoe Pound at the La\V School1 Lyman Spaldi11g ( of the Medical class of 1797) at Count- ,v-ay; 3 n d I a1norag nlor,c than thirty im por-t~ nt m Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) T!Je Harvard Librnr':l in tbe 196o's 91 many subjects arc covered by·special units ,vhosc librarians can ,vork closely ,vith 1nc111bcrsof the faculty in building collections. In "'\~1id- enert the .specialdivisions for I-Icbrc\vt Near Eastern~ and Slavic n1a- ter iaIs ha vc also been particular ]y .succ cssfu l j n doing this. Subjcct specialists have recently been added to the staff for A f rica1 Latin An1erica, Southern Europe! S011th -and Southeast Asia, sciencc1 and 1n:tps; in addition, selection js an in1portant function of the ne,v Docn- tnents Diyision and of the Charles ,, 1arren Bihliographef' for A1ncrican I-Iistor)r. In all, son1e seventy·1nen1hers of the Universitf Library staff no,v regularly engage in the ,vork of selecting additions to the collec- tions~ and no one has atten1pted to count the n un1ber of professors on ,vhon1 they caH for help and ad vice; even so~ n1ore specialists arc needed • .A..sthe geo graphical scope of co llcctin g has expand cd an j ncreasi ng portion of the intake has co tn e f ron1 countries lacking an ad eq ua tc bibJiography·and nn organized book tr3dc; hence it has gro,vn increas- ingly difficult to discover ,vhat has been published and to obtain \vhat is ,vantcd.. Often there js no substirntc for personal contacts. Likc- ,vise, in the antiquarian market, so ninny ne,v and rapjdly gro\ving libraries arc looking for books that dealers often need not issue lists; they kn o,v that Iibrari ans , vi 11con1 c to t hcn1. As a result~ th c Library hus been sending 111orcmembers of its staff abroad on buying 1nissions and taking advantage of foreign travel by professors. A strong ex- change program is a]so essential; there arc rnany· important foreign hooks and journals that cannot he bought but are a,,ailahle from insti- tutions eager to obtain pub1icationsof the I-Jarvard University Press, duplicnte copies, or other n1aterials that the Library· can supply. As has already been noted, under the Pub]ic La,v 480 prognun the Library of Congress is no,v obtaining cur rent publicgtions of several f orcjgn countries for I-Iarvard and other research libraries. The Jcgis- lation authorizing chis ,vould not have been approved if Congress ,vere not no,v convinced that the collections of these libraries arc national resources. They·arc also interdependent. The Har,TardJ .... ibra ry·has long rccog .... nized that it cannot hope to collect everything that may·be needed by Harvard scholars; it has therefore taken into account the holdings of other libraries and tried to avoid duplicating thc1n needlessly. It is one of sixty participants jn the l~armington Plan, 11nder ,vhich, since 1948, it 11asaccepted responsibHit)Tfor collecting con1prehensive]ythe cur- Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) 92 Hnrvnrd Library Bulletin rent pub]ications in a nurnbcr of subjects, including ::l.nthropolog)r, Dutch literature, the fine arts., and Ja,v.. In these fields it has been trying to build up national research collections, including a11ne,v hooks that ought to be avai lahle in the United States regardless of ,vhether or not they ,vould have been selected if Harvard~s 11eedsonly had hee11 con- sidered; in return, it has had the assurance that it could borro,v hooks fro1n sin1ilar]y-con1prehensivc collections in :ill other subjects, for ,vhich irs fcllo" 7 participants had accepted responsibility·. It no,v seems possible that Federal assistance may enable the Center for Re- search Libraric.s to take ayer Farn1ington Plan responsibi1ities from individual libraries. Cooperative effort is also needed to cope ,vith the problcn1 of paper deterioration. A1ostbooks printed during the past cen tu l)r are r~pidl y· disintegrating, and a Federally supported program has been proposed to insure the preservation, in its original form if possible, of one cop)T of each publication, as ,vell as to dissc111inatemicrofihn and full-size photographic reproductions as they· are nccdcd'" ,\ 7ork on the collections does not end) therefore., ,vhen they have been selected., acquired, and catalogued; physical nlaintenance is a major problem .. f'~tensivc repair and rebinding \viH continue to be required even after an effective national plan has provided a reliable source for replacen1cnt. Soon, too, it is hoped that de~acidi.fication of paper on a large scale ,vill be practicable ns a means of prolonging the ]ifc of thousands of volnn1cs nOVl on the shelves. "\Vceding is also ,vork that can never be .finished. 1'1ultiplc copies of a boo1{are often needed for some ·years after its pub]ication~but the duplicates ought to be identified and rejected ,vhen they have out- lived their usefulness. Relocation of books ,vithin the Harvard systen1 is often desirable;as ,vill be en1phasizcd later i11this article, the ,~Videner building is desperately· short of space 1 aud there must be continued shifting of 1naterials to storage or to other ]ibrarics at Harvard or else- ,vhere in so far as is possible ,vithout seriously han1pcring research. It may be add cd that clecisi ons on transfer and sto ragc are n1ore diflicu It on the ,vholc than decisions on ,vhat is to he added to the col1ections. There l1uvc been hopes, of course, that technology ,vill solve the proble1ns of gro,vth.. 1\1icrofii1n1copies take only· a fraction of the space rcquire Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) The Harvard Library in tbe 196o's 93 logical innovation cannot be expected to have a sjgnificant effect on gro,vth of the collections by 1976; evidently there is even less likeli- hood that it ,vill do so during the con1ing t,vo or three years. It is reasonable to believe, ho,vever, that considerab]c advances can be 1nade in autornation of records and jn bibliogrgphical control The punched-card circulad on systcn1 in "'\i\1idcncr 111ay be improved, and similar sJrstcn1s n1ay be insta 11e d in other uni ts of th c Li brar) 7 • 0 rd er records, serial receipts~ and accounts can be mechauized; a good deal of ,vork in the serials .field l1asalready- been done at the BusinessSchool and Conntlvay·. In cara]oguingt ,vhich takes n1orc staff ti1nc than nny· other operation in the Librar 1~1 prospects seem particu]arly good for 1najor savings and in1provemen ts. 1 ...h e shelflist project has a]re ad)r b ccn 111cntion ed, as ,vc1I as th c 1'.fARC exper in1en t I under , v hich the Library of Congress is beginning to distrjbute cataloguing data on 111achinc-rcadablctapes. Thanks to recent Iegjsl-atio11,the Library of Congress is greatly ex- panding its cat-aloguing and foreign acquisitions progr:tn1s, and seeking to obtain nc,v foreign public3tions by· air as soon as they are issued. If this progran1 is successfu], Harv::1rdshould be able to 1nake use of Library of Congress cataloguing for most of the nc,v books jr acquires .. A comprehensive systetn of hi bliogra phical control n1ust cover periodical articles as \Vell as books. The [VJEDI_JARSprogram of the National Library of l\1edicine, of ,\rhich Count\vay has no,v becon1e a regional search center~ is the first major automated systen1 of this kind~ The sciences prcsu111ably,vill be the first subjects to be covered in this ,vay; automation ..vill come more slo,vly clsc,vhere, and scholars ,vhosc research dra,vs upon extensive collections of non-current books and journals n1ay he the Jast to benefit. Even so, mechanization of the National Union C3ta1ogis no\v in prospect., and this ,vould enable each research library to provide it.s.readers instantly ,vith inforn1ation regarding the holdings of other institutions throughout the count!J 7 • 0 fficc-copying n1a chi ncs are 11nspc c tacn Iar con1 pared to computers, but rapid copyjng has been gro\ving faster than any other library· service during the past t\VO or three years, and the de1nand for it con~ tinues to jncrease .. It may norn1ally·be regarded by the public as a convenient substitute for note-taking or copying by hand, but it is sjgnificant to the librarJ7 as a substitute for lending~ Copying is no,v almost unjy ersa11 y regard cd as pref era b Ic to inter~1 ibra r)r lending of periodicals. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) 94 Harvard Library Bulleti12 11/hile technology- has in1pro ved library· services and promises further in1provements jn the near f uturc,. it l1~snot reduced the n.111nbcr of librarians ,vho nrc needed and probably ,vill not do so. Auto1nution of records 1 in so far as it saves mun-hours, ,vill save at the clerical rather than the professional level; it js hoped that technology and coopenition ,vill reduce duplication of professional ,vork in catalogu- ing, but much of the tin1c that is saved 111aJT be devoted to subject- analysis of the content of books and journals. At Harvard jt is expected that the staff ,viU not have to increase in slze as n1uch as \vonld other~ ,vise be necessary, but there seems to be no prospect that increase can be avoided. 1~hisis an un\velcome conclusion because the shortage of librarians is so great that it is difficult indeed to attract and hold a staff of the high quality· that Har,"ard needs. The personnel prograrn is sound, and .salary-scales have been brought up to a competitive level during recent years, yet recruiting rcq uircs 111ore and n1orc tin1c and effore. The problcn1 of intense co n1petition for personnel is by no mean~ confined to the junior levels of the .staff; during the past t\vo years Harvard has supplied a ne,v Universi~yl.ribrarian to Yale and a nc,v Director to the Boston Public l ..ibra·ry·. It is good to see men like Jan1esTanis and Philip 1\icNiff take charge of major research libraries, and it is obv-ious that on Iy a yer)r strong staff could n1ake sueh con tri- b u tio n s; but it is also obvi ou s that rep lnccn1en ts 1n 11st be of con1 parable quuI i ty if this strength is to b c main ta incd. Througl1 the internship progran1 that has been developed during tl1c past six years, the Library has been atten1 pt ing ,vi th conside rab 1c suc- c ess to recruit outstanding young n1en and ,vomen to the profession of librarianship. Under this program a college gradna:te can ,vork in the Library ,vhile deciding ,vhethcr or not to tnakc a career of research library lvork, and can continue as a 1nen1berof the Library- .staff ,vhilc · earning his professional degree asa part-time student in the Library School at Sinunons College .. The Library covers half his ruition and contributes son1c ti1nc; it is also possib]cto arrange for a leave in order to undertake fnll-tin1e graduate study else,vhere. By the middle of 1966, so1ne r45 n1en and ,vo1nen, carefully· selected from 600 appli- cants) had been appointed as interns, of ,vho1n 51 had then already obtained their library degrees an Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) The Hnrvard Library in tbe 1!)6o's 95 to date have more than justified the cffort and the n1 onctary costa The PJanning Stud}r suggested that, if foundation or govcrn1ncntal support can be obtained, it ,vou]d be desirable to .supplement the .internship progrmu at the '-=1niddlen1anagen1ent') Jevel by offering son1cthing rcscn1bling Nic111anFc1lolvships to a fe,v experienced lihrari'1ns ,vho ,vo11ld come to Harvard to do advanced ,vork in .subj cct fields and in adrn inistra tion 4 The internship program has not been confined to the ccntn.ll units of the College Library; one of its n1ost attractive features is the ,vidc range of experience that can be offered in a system consisting of n earl)r one hundred units~ Apropos of this, it 1snote,vorthy that until recent years each maJOI unit of the Library ,vas largely.. sclf-.sufficicnt in per~ sonnel matters; but the critical shortage of lihrarians has brought a. rjsing flood of requests for assistance to the Personnel Office in "\Videner. ,, 7hile difficulties of attracting and holding a qnali.fiedstaff have been 1ea ding to in creased co or din a.tion and centralization of p ersonn eI ,vork, difficulties of finding space for the Libmry·ts books have been 1cad ing to in ere ascd physic aI d cccn t ra Iiza ti on 4 Th c "\i~liden er b uildin g ,-vas full in r93 7, and a great deal has had to be moved out during the past thirty· years in order to make roon1 for additions to the collections th at have ren1ained th ere~ In I 942 the lioughton Librar3r provided for rare books 2nd n1anuscripts, and inf rcq u cntl y used hooks have heen transferred to the Ne ,v England Deposit Library ever since it opened during the same year4 The J_jamontJ--'ibrary took over undergraduate co lIcc tions and servi ccs in 1 94 9. The research co I 1ectio11 in 111u sic ,vas removed from '~'idener in 19561 and fine arts, as ,vas noted earlier jn this article 1 fol1oYvedin 1963~T\vo substantial transfers from ,\ 7idener n1a.ybe possible during the next fc,v )rears \vhen the Graduate School of Education constructs its nc,v liLrary and the proposed Scjcncc Center is built, though jt 1vill he far from easy to decide ,vhich 111atcrialson education and science should be transferred and ,vhich should be re- tained in ,~ 7idencr, since it scc1ns inevitable that s-on1emen1bers of the Faculty-,vi11be adversely affcctcd~ It is estimated that these moves~plus n1inor transfers and continued ,vccdingt ,vill remove fron1 ,,lidener on1}7 2. 35,000 volun1cs during a decade that is expected to bring 870,000 additions to the l\-'idener collection~ a collection that is already too crolvded for efficient op cratio n. If further d ec en tralizati on is to provide space for th cse Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) Harvard Librnry Rull etin books, it 1nust involve either the removal to storage of a substantial part of the present collection or the provjsion of ne" 1 librat) 7 space to house history, the social sciences~ or languagesand Jiteratures .. Storage on the scale in quesrjon here ,vould serjously han1per re- search, yet this possibility might deserve serious consider-ation if, as is often supposed, insufficient space for books \Vere "\\1idener's n1ajor 7 dcficicnc) ~ ]n fact 1 ho\Ycvcrt the Planning Study dc1nonstratcd that professor.s and grad n ate srn dents in ((\ ~r iden er fields'1 of research have been increasing in nurnber more rapidly than the book collectiuns1 and estin12tes obtained from the departments of instruction indicate that this increase can be expected to continue. Ren1ov2l of hooks to storage ,vould not -alleviatethe gro\ving shortage of stalls and studiest and it scc1ns ,vastcfu I to maintain t l1 c lar gcst of uni vcrsi 1:)7 res carch co 11ccti ons -..vithou t pro vi ding sa tisf ac tory fa cili ti cs for its use. If a n1ajor subject division ,vere transferred to scp~ratc qnarterst students and professors "\vonldof co11rscmove ,vith it, so this -a.lterna.... tive may· seem more promising than n1assi ve storage4 The subjects no,v ren1aining in '''idener are so closely inter-related 1 ho,vever~ that se- rious inconvenience ,vould seen1 inevitable. Indeed, the rapid develop- ment of interdisciplinary research durjng re-cent years is pro1npting 111jsgivin gs regardiug the extent to ,v hi ch Harvard has a]ready f rag- n1ented j ts re.search co11 ection s. '''Lile decentra1ization has served to postpone the necessity for enlarging the space to house the central col lee ti ons., it has called for a continuous series of smaller building projects, :and 1nany n1ore are in prospect. In spite of the fact that nc,v or enlarged quarters l1ave been provided for fifteen units of the Library during the past ten ycars,1a1 additional space ,vj]l be needed near]y cver)T\vherc throughout the system except a.t Count,vay during the coming decade. The proposed Science Center and the ne,v Graduate School of Education Library have already been mentioned. The School of Design is no,v attempting to ra.isc funds for~ bnilding progran1 th2t ,vill include greatly enlarged library quarters. Plans have been 1nade for additions at Andovcr- H<1rvardand the i\1usic J..Jibrary,and alternative possibilitiesare under consideration at Baker Library, Harvard-Yenching, the La,v School, and Pea bod }T1\,1 uscum. Estin1atcs of constrnction costs ,vere not included in the Planning ,.In additiont the hri.ndsonle ne,v HUles Library at Radcliffel clo.i;;cly associated ·with the I-Ia rvard Li bra ry systcrnt op crte d Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) Tbe Har-vard Librar,, in tbe 196o's 97 Stud)\ but an effort ,vas n1ade to forecast as realistically as possible ho,v n1uch it ,vjll cost to operate the Library in 1976. The past decade has been a period of rjsing costs! and 111uch less a]arn1ing tota]s could have been predicted for 1976 if it could have been assun1cd thnt this trend ,vould not continue~bnt there secn1ed to be no sound reason for suc.:h~n r!Ssun1ption.I-I ence it ,vas su ppo.~e continue to go up at the rate that has prevailed o-vcr the past t\vcnt) 7 - six ye~rs. Si111ilarassun1ptions \VCrcaccepted for binding costs, build- ing n1aintcn anee, and other ch arg cs. 1 ...h e res u It., for the University Library as a ,vho]e, is sho,vn by- the follo,ving table: Estiuurte for 1953/54 1964/65 ,975/76 1.-ibrarv.. l\1aterials - • I 4 $ 42 2looo $1,210,000 $3,3 27,oqo Salaries and,,, ages-. • • 4 I i,1II,.000 3,383,000 8,252,000 Bjnding an collections only) . I • 228i,OOO 402,000 I ,200,000 I Other Expenditures . • I 247,000 510,000 11098,000 Total • 4 4 I I • $ 2.,096,000 $5,728,000 $ 14!-656~000 1-Jigh as the rate of incre::1.sc1nay appear to be, the Planning Study pointed out that, ,vhilc total University I .ribrary expenditures ,vere increasing b) 7 2.. 7 33 dn1es ( f ron1 $2.,096,000 to $ 5,7 .z8~000), total ex- pcndi tures of the University ,verc increasing b}r 3.045 tirncs (fro1n $39~057-,000 to S 11 8,936!000) over the sa1nc eleven-year period. Like~ ,yiseJ if total expenditures of the Library's central coUections are con1- pared ,vith total cxpcndin1resof the Faculty of Arts and Sciences 1 the Library has in creased h y z. 49 6 tin1es o vcr eleven years as con1p arc d ,vith 4.081 ti1nes for the Faculty. If expenditures of the Uuivcrsity and of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences continue to jncrease at the san1c rn tcs as du r j n g ·the p1st eleven yea rs1 th c Library's pcrccn tagc of their totals!-on the basis of the P}anning Study cstin)atcs., ,,,ill continue to decline. The Study· c111phasizcdthat these comparisons ,vcrc not n1eant to in1ply that the J..iihrary is in sorne ,vay entitled to any constant percentage of total exp~nditl1res, and it noted that n1uch of the increase for both University and }?acult)7 Ieflected government contract re~ Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967) HarrtJardLibrar)j Bulletin ceipt.sand other special sources of incon1e of ,vhich 0111)7 very restricted portion~ could be devoted to the I _,ibrary. Regardless of comparisons- and of the fact that, since continuing inflation has been -assumed~the 1975 / 76 dollars of the estitnatcs are inflated dollars - it is evident that the Library ,vill have to ccono1nizc as n1nch as possible and that it must make the most of every available source of funds. T'he generosity of its friends ,viU continue to be in- dispensable~ ~nd it is hoped th:it contribution~ ,vill increase substan- tially; ot h cr,v ise it ,v ill no Ion gcr be possible as it has been in the past to support the acquisitions program of the central research collections entirely from the jncome of endo,ved hook funds and current gifts. Foundations can be expected to continue and to increase their support~ and there is some ground for hope that foundations n1ay make grants for library cndo,vmcnt. The Planning Sn1d}7 concluded~ ho,vever, that the best reason for son1e opti1nisn1 regarding the Library\ finan- cial pro spects is that the next ten years can reasonably be expected to bring substantial Federal funds for its support" In addition to the Fede.ralprograms ju automation, centralized catalogllingt and preserva- tion) a11 of \V hi ch should help to red nee costs of l ..,i brary opcra tio n:, direct Federal assistance for academic libraries has begun ,vith grants under the H'ighcr Education Act of 1965. Seven years ago Prcsj dent Pu scy dcscribed the Ljb rary us ''a resource ,vith \vhich our country could not safely dispense,'t and observed that ''It has taken kno,vledge and skill, concern and energy, devotion, and enor1nous sutns of 111onC)7 to build this 1ibr8r)r. It ,viUrequire gro,ving an1ounts of all these things to keep it going.n 5 Thus far during the 1960)~ the Library ha.s kept going. It is not about to stop. Report of tbe President of H atrr.rardCollc-ge and RepoTts of Dep.lrnuents, 1958'- I959i IO-I I. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XV, Number 1 (January 1967)