Stye Itttersttg nf UriitHlj Qlolumbta THE LIBRARY REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN TO THE SENATE DECEMBER, 1926 U.B. C.-THE LIBRARY. REPORT NO. 1-1926. Wc[t Pmfrerstig cf Jlirittglj (Eolimte LIBRARIAN'S REPORT Vancouver, December 30th, 1926. L. S. Klinck, Esq., M.S.A., D.Sc, LL.D., Chairman of the Senate, President of The University of British Columbia. Sir:— In conformity with the Report (presented March 12th, 1926) of the Committee of Senate appointed to Define the Functions of the Library Committee, etc., I respectfully beg to submit the following Report of the Library and its work: The year more immediately under review has been marked by several important developments in the University's library activities. These developments focus on the fact that university work has been transferred from the temporary premises occupied in the City of Vancouver since the Institution was organized to its permanent site at Point Grey. In August, 1925, the Library entered into possession of its new building, and was thereby enabled to give its users greatly enlarged and more efficient service. The removal took place at the close of the summer session. Thanks to careful planning and excellent team work between the Librarian's Report Staff and the Contractor, the main collection of 55,000 volumes, the catalogue, cabinets and office furniture were placed in position for immediate use in the space of two weeks. The library now consists of a little over 60,000 volumes. Of these (at December, 31st, 1926) 57,222 are listed volume by volume in the accessions, and the estimated number of duplicates is slightly in excess of 3,000. In addition, there are about 9,000 pamphlets. Due to the fact that the book collection has been accumulated within the last ten or twelve years, its working efficiency, in proportion to volume-total, is very high. It is doubtful if any library of similar size and scope contains a higher percentage of the Proceedings and Transactions of learned Societies, or of those serial publications that are the fundamental works of reference in the several departments of knowledge. This is the type of book material that gives character, distinction and value to any reference library, and that of this University is fortunate in possessing so large a number. There would be a still larger proportion of these were the Library not hampered by lack of funds for their purchase. In the past two years several opportunities to secure highly-desired sets of such works could not be availed of, because the necessary money could not be granted. Among the more important accessions in this type of book material, acquired since the last Report, the following may be noted: North American Review v. 1-222, 1915-1926 $321.85 Botanishes Centralblatt, v. 1-72, 1880-1914 $300.00 Annals of Botany, v. 1-30, 1887-1916 $337.50 Society Chimique de Paris. Repertoire 1861-1863 Bulletin 1858-1912 $645.00 American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Ass'n. Herd Books, v. 1-34 $105.00 London Geological Society. Transactions, v. 1-11, 1811-1821. v. 1-12 (2nd series) 1845-56 $106.00 Paleontographica, v. 1-23 and Index 1-20 £35. 0. 0 d. The University of British Columbia Biometrika, v. 1-17 £64. 3. 0 d. Annals and Mag. of Natural History. 1st series, v. 1, 1826 to 8th series v. 10, 1926 £225. 0. Od. CIRCULATION The greatly improved facilities for storage and study of books has been reflected in corresponding increases in circulation. This has multiplied six-fold in seven years, the average in 1919 being about 700 volumes per month, while in November, 1926, the total exceeded 4,000. This latter figure is exclusive of "Required Reading" loans. No record of these was possible in the Fairview premises, because no facilities for special custody and issue of these were possible. They were placed on "open access" shelves in the general Reading Room, and students helped themselves to them as they were available. There were no means to prevent an unscrupulous student from keeping such a book for days, to the inconvenience and injury of others who had equal need for, and right to, the volume. As examinations approached, complaints of this kind, both by students and teaching staff, were of frequent occurrence. The system in effect since occupation of the new building renders such unfair monopoly of "Required Books" impossible. They occupy special shelves in Tier 5 of the stack, to which students have no access. They are loaned only for use in the building, and for a period of two hours. Dispute as to the period of loan is prevented by each call slip being stamped by a time clock at the time of issue, and again at the time of return. The service, both of loans and discharge, is speedy, the time average of loans being twelve a minute, while a special method of filing call slips, representing the loans, makes discharge equally prompt. The installation of this system has enabled the Department to keep records of "Required Reading." In November it exceeded 6,000 volumes, thus bringing the total monthly loans to over 10,500, an average of 400 volumes every working day. The increases in book loans, since the records were first systematically kept, can be seen at a glance in the following table: Librarian's Report ORDINARY LOANS 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 January 759 1179 1540 1736 1940 2254 3366 February 760 1189 1501 1710 1767 2139 3419 March 655 1194 1524 1604 1702 2142 3597 April 379 684 853 1147 1104 1271 1915 May 289 531 666 743 702 847 850 June 285 487 641 732 656 680 616 July 370 477 602 831 931 1012 1199 August 436 533 597 888 703 603 895 September 550 975 1147 938 1224 405 1110 October 740 1327 1762 1938 2174 2325 3085 3942 November 917 1542 1568 1874 1970 2159 3415 4197 December 467 2124 1033 8382 1056 1080 1208 1174 1559 2560 11635 13963 15683 16387 19412 27666 Average monthly Circulation 708 690 969 1163 1307 1365 1618 2306 "RESERVED LOANS" 1925 1926 October 1322 4784 November 3754 6483 December 1657 4041 January 2262 February 3419 March 4877 April 2121 19,412 15,308 (3 mo.) Average per month 1618 5102 LIBRARY REGISTRATION The increased use of the Library since moving into the new building is reflected in the number of students, proportionate to enrollment, who take advantage of its facilities. Before books are loaned, each student makes formal application on a printed form. The University of British Columbia These are numbered serially and divided into the three Colleges constituting the University, and into short Course, Summer Session, or Extra Mural Readers. There has been a regular annual increase in the proportion of students using the Library. This is evident from the following table, giving figures for the last ten years: Year Student Enrollment Library Percentage (Degree ' Courses only) Registration of Enrollment 1918-19 538 338 63 1919-20 890 485 54 1920-21 962 622 65 1921-22 1014 681 67 1922-23 1194 819 69 1923-24 1308 934 80 1924-25 1451 1169 80 1925-26 1463 1282 88 1926-(to Dec. 31st .) 1543 1371 88 EXTRA MURAL READERS The use of the Library is not confined to the students and teaching staff of the University. Its primary obligation of service is undoubtedly to these, but throughout the Province are many others, engaged in research or technical practice, to whom its facilities would be of great assistance. Since the establishment of the University, it has been part of its library policy to give (subject to the superior claims of its own people) such help as is possible to any person, outside the Institution, engaged in serious study. Service to these now constitutes a considerable proportion of the work of the Department. Four hundred and ninety persons to-day look to the Library for supply of widely-varied book needs. All these have enrolled themselves as "extra-mural" readers within the past three years, when, to prevent the accumulation of a lengthy list of persons, some of whom had ceased to use the Library, the roll was "purged," and a new registration made. The readers included in the "extra mural" class have very varied interests and requirements. A good proportion are graduate students of this University, following up, either as a vocation or an avocation, subjects in which they specialized while in residence. Others are teachers, taking advantage of the rapidly growing collection in educa- Librarian's Report tional history, theory and practice. A score or more of our own Summer School Students are regular patrons, while a dozen ministers, many in remote parts of British Columbia, use and appreciate the books. Several students proceeding to their degrees at Queen's, or other universities, are on the list. Then there is a totally different class, who enroll themselves as "extra-murals" for very practical reasons, altogether unconnected with scholarship. Wholesale merchants use the Library to study theories of distribution, to make research into some obscure fermentation, or for kindred purposes: structural or electrical engineers to consult files of technical journals; the Board of Trade, the B. C. Electric, the Astrophysical Observatory at Victoria, and the Marine Biological Station at Nanaimo, to supplement the resources of their own libraries. As the Library has no funds to meet the expense of mailing its books to those who cannot make their loans in person, its practice is to request a deposit of $2.00 for postal charges. When this is exhausted, a further deposit is made. In the event of a volume on loan to an "extra-mural" being required by a professor or student, notification is made, and, whether or not the borrower has finished with the book, it is at once returnable. By this regulation the superior requirements of those in the University are met, while, at the same time, appreciated book service is given to other British Columbian0 to whom it is of the utmost value. INTER-LIBRARY LOANS The 60,000 volumes in the Library, while reasonably sufficient for the requirements of ordinary under-graduate work in the courses at present offered, are quite inadequate for the needs of specialized and advanced study. Authorities in higher education give it as a dictum that, for under-graduate work alone, a university library should have 100 volumes per under-graduate student. On this basis this library should have more than twice its present volume total— and this takes no account of the requirements of post-graduate work. Since the very beginning this University has every year had students who, side by side with their regular work, have prosecuted some chosen and special line of study. Much of the reputation achieved among sister institutions is due to the work of these brilliant young specialists. Many of the junior members of the teaching staff are spending their free time in work for superior degrees, while a The University of British Columbia 9 number of the professors are, from time to time, publishing articles or books on subjects within their own spheres of interest and knowledge. In the case of some of these latter, the facilities for research that the Library could offer was a matter of serious enquiry before accepting British Columbia positions. All of these require book material far beyond the resources of the Library's present collection. Its deficiencies have been compensated, and its usefulness supplemented, by special loans from other libraries in Canada and the United States. The demands made have been very numerous—sometimes as many as ten or twelve a week— and in every case possible the response has been prompt and generous. The Library, and all it serves, are under deep and lasting obligation to the librarians of other institutions for the kindness that, with no possibility of present return, has simplified and stimulated literary, historical and scientific research by our own staff and students. Among the libraries to whom such acknowledgments are due may be mentioned, in Canada:—The Library of Parliament, Ottawa, the Legislative Libraries at Victoria and Toronto, ,and McGill, Toronto, Queen's, Western, Manitoba and Dalhousie University libraries. The great proportion of such inter-library loans, however, came from United States institutions, and the kindness of their librarians should be appreciated the more because of the vexatious American customs regulations that put unnecessary obstacles, in the way of red tape declarations, etc., to the easy and speedy return of its own property to the lending library. The list of those to which this Library is under special obligation include: The Library of Congress; the California State Library; Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Princeton, Minnesota, Washington, California, Michigan, St. Louis and Oregon Universities ; the public libraries of Seattle, Portland, New York, Boston and Chicago. STACK ROOM AND CARREL PRIVILEGES The equipment of the new building includes 39 "carrels," or •semi-private studies in three of the seven tiers of the book stack. Those on Tier 1 are not in use, because study tables have not yet been installed. 10 Librarian's Report This accommodation for work involving more or less extensive book consultation is, in quality, as fine as can be obtained, and in quantity greatly exceeds that usually found in libraries of corresponding size. Their use by the teaching staff, and responsible students, greatly reduced the work of the circulation department, for, if those given carrel privileges had to call by title for each volume their work made it advisable to consult, more than the full time of an additional member of the staff would be required. The financial savings represented by this fact are supplemented by another advantage to the student—he can get his needed material by personal selection from the total book resources of the Library. Carrel rights, too, involve the privilege, appreciated by every scholar, of "browsing" among books. The privilege involves administrative risks, and these must, as far as possible, be guarded against by the Library Staff. Every book in the collection is findable by position, and a book misplaced is a book lost,—at least, until the annual check. A certain proportion of the students—and even of faculty—fail or forget to realize the importance of this, and as a result volumes sometimes cannot be found when required. The circulation department has no record of the book being on loan, and criticism of the service sometimes follows, though the fault was the carelessness of some person, with privilege of entry to the stack, who had put the book in some convenient vacant place in the shelves, away from its proper position. To protect itself against such conditions, the majority of university libraries refuse all under-graduate students permission to enter the stacks. Because of this University's emphasis on special studies in the senior year, however, this Library has from the beginning thought it inadvisable to make so stringent a regulation. Both the categories of students to whom the privilege was given, and the rules governing the same, were changed from time to time to meet varying conditions at Fairview, but with the removal of the University to Point Grey, and the excellent and special facilities provided in the new building, a complete revision of all such rules became necessary. The present (December, 1926) basis of allotment of carrels for students is as follows : Graduate students, proceeding to superior degrees—3 periods per week. The University of British Columbia 11 Graduate students, Teachers' Training Course—1 period per week. 4th Year Students, Honors—2 periods per week. 4th Year Students, Pass—1 period per week. 3rd Year Students, Honors—1 period per week. One hundred and fifteen Permits have been issued during the present session, and, in addition, eight hundred and eighty-five Temporary Permits, entitling the holder to carrel privileges for a limited or special time. BINDING Annual appropriations have made possible the continuance of the work of putting periodicals and paper-bound books in permanent bindings. Six years of effort have resulted in this section of the Library's work being within measurable distance of current needs. The following statement shows the amount of binding done and paid for from the appropriation made by the Board of Governors for this purpose: 1921-22 622 volumes 1922-23 2603 1923-24 1745 1924-25 1841 1925-26 1117 1926-(to Dec. 31)661 8589~ In those cases where long runs have to be bound, and length of absence from the Library is not of urgent importance, advantage is taken of cheaper binding costs in England to have these bookes bound there. The Comptes Rendus of the Academie des Sciences, the complete runs of the Living Age and the North American Review—the former consisting of 319 and the latter of 223 volumes—were bound by Chivers, of Bath. In France, publishers usually issue their books in paper covers, the buyer having them bound to suit his own purse and taste. To take advantage of the lower cost—about 40 per cent, of the competitive local price—all such books are ordered bound before shipment. 12 Librarian's Report These conditions cannot be taken advantage of, however, in the great majority of cases. The nearly 500 periodical publications cannot be spared for the four months it takes a freight shipment to go and return from Vancouver to England. There is also the fact that the University is a British Columbia Institution, maintained by the money of its citizens, and that consideration is due their interests in the necessary business it has to offer. The standard binding adopted by the Library—buckram, with leather labels—is durable and substantial, as well as attractive in appearance. HOURS AND EVENING ATTENDANCE The Library is open during the session for thirteen hours a day, from 8.45 a.m. to 9.45 p.m., except on Saturdays, when it closes at 5 p.m. The length of this working day necessitates the "staggering" of the hours of duty of the Circulation Staff. On days they are assigned for evening duty do not report for work until 1 p.m. This session the Reading Room was opened in the evening in the second week of the session (on October 4th), and the attendance indicates great gains. The average for the month was 32, and for November 53, while for December, to the opening of examinations, it rose to 126, there being 190 students in the building the evening of December 7th, which constituted a record. STUDENT ASSISTANTS The work at the Loan Desk, extending as it does through a thir- teen-hour day, cannot possibly be covered by the one member of the permanent, and two of the sessional, staff. It is, therefore, supplemented by students, in hours they can spare from lecture and laboratory work. For this they are paid 30 cents an hour—an appreciated item in the personal budgets of those who are working their way through the University. One such student is on constant duty for the loans of "Reserved" books, while another helps out the regular staff during the "rush hours" for ordinary loans. The work is distributed among 15 students from the senior years, preference in appointment being given those with previous experience, and those (of whom there are several) looking towards library work as a professional career. The University of British Columbia 13 BOOK EXPENDITURES The minimum ordinary annual requirements for book purchase, in a library doing the work of serving a constituency such as this, is $10,000.00. Of this amount $2,500.00 will be absorbed by subscriptions to periodicals; $5,000.00 should be distributed among the Departments; and $2,500.00 should be reserved for such special items as Transactions and Serials as they from time to time come on the market, and which the ordinary departmental funds could not procure. Such an annual income for book purchase would, of course, not enable the Library to acquire anything extraordinary—manuscripts, incunabula, etc.—or give it eminence and distinction in any special field of scholarship. For this it would have to depend on special gifts, bequests, or endowments. It would, however, enable it, in course of time, to carry out with reasonable efficiency the important part that a Library should play in university education. Heavy expenditures were made on book purchases in the early years of the Library's organization. The financial resources of the University, however, have failed to keep step with its rapid growth. The competitive claims of many expanding Departments have necessitated what is hoped to be but a temporary reduction in the Book Appropriation. For both the University Years 1925-26 and 1926-27 this was $4,000.00. In practically every year, however, the main appropriation has been increased by a supplementary grant, that for last year being $4,800, bringing the total to $8,800. It is recognized that this matter of necessary revenue, to properly carry out its share of the University's work, is outside the jurisdiction of the Senate, and properly belongs to that of the Board of Governors. The condition and the need, however, find proper place in this Report, which seeks to summarize library developments and activities. It should be added that the President and the Board of Governors have given repeated proof of their desire to develop the Library to its maximum of usefulness—the supplementary appropriations made to the Book Fund are sufficient testimony as to this. At the request of the President, these requirements will be the subject of a special memorandum to the Board of Governors. The total number of book orders forwarded to the Library's agents, since regular records were kept amounts to 23,553; 1,477 were placed from the beginning of the present University year to the 14 Librarian's Report end of December. The total orders for the University year 1925-26 were 2,420. VALUE OF LIBRARY The annual valuation for insurance purposes was made as usual in March. It showed the collection to have cost $156,973.26. The additions in the year then closing amounted to $12,602.85. The estimated additions in recent years is shown in the following table -. 1918-19 $7,052.75 1919-201 12 592 15 1920-21J i^o^.i3 1921-22 14,056.87 1922-23 6,282.98 1923-24 11,280.35 1924-25 13,034.31 1925-26 12,602.85 While the foregoing figures represent actual costs, the book collection could not be replaced for considerably more than this amount. Even if all the books could be duplicated (and in the case of some of the sets this would take years), a similar library could not be bought for $200,000.00. GIFTS Friends of the University have continued their contributions to the collection. Governments, some learned Societies, and other organizations have forwarded their publications as issued. The full list would unduly extend this Report, and it is therefore omitted. Acknowledgments to the donors have been forwarded in each case on arrival. An exception should be made, however, in the cases of two members of Faculty, who presented to the Library very valuable sets. Dr. R. H. Clark gave nearly a hundred volumes of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Chemical Abstracts, and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. This was the second largest gift received by the Library from any private donor. Many of the volumes are out of print, and owners willing to sell can charge for them practically any figure they please. Dr. Buchanan also made a valuable donation in his gifts of "Cir- colo Matematico di Palermo: Rondiconti: Tomo. 35-47, 1913-1923, and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, vols. 1-17; 1907-1923. The University of British Columbia 15 Chancellor R. E. McKechnie, R. L. Reid, K. C, and James Porter, of the City Engineers Department, and Mrs. H. E. Young, Victoria, were among other British Columbian donors making appreciated gifts of books within the past year. The estimated total value of the book gifts received by the Library since organization exceeds $24,000, as is shown by the following statements. From organization to March, 1917 $12,760.80 University Year 1917-18 1,850.00 " 1918-19 1,641.00 " 1919-20 940.00 " 1920-21 560.00 " 1921-22 950.00 " 1922-23 1,623.25 " 1923-24 1,115.00 " 1924-25 925.00 " 1925-26 1,025.00 " 1926-1927 (to Dec. 1926) 650.00 $24,040.05 LIBRARY COMMITTEE The Library Committee consists of the following: Dr. D. Buchanan, Chairman, Messrs. R. H. Christie, H. M. King and M. Y. Williams (from the Faculties), Miss A. B. Jamieson and the Rev. A. H. Sovereign from the Senate at large, President Klinck, ex-officio, and John Ridington, Secretary. The Committee was appointed in December, 1924. Twelve meetings have been held in the intervening period, at which regular reports of the work of the Department have been presented, and matters of Library policy discussed and decided. Over and above these formal meetings, there have been frequent consultations between the Librarian and all available members of the Committee, to the better adjustment and general advantage of both organization and service. For this valued cooperation, the Librarian places on record his appreciation and thanks. All of which is respectfully submitted. JOHN RIDINGTON, Librarian.
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Title | Report of the Librarian to the Senate |
Publisher | [Vancouver : The University of British Columbia Library] |
Date Issued | 1926-12 |
Subject |
University of British Columbia. Library |
Geographic Location |
Vancouver (B.C.) |
Genre |
Periodicals |
Type |
Text |
FileFormat | application/pdf |
Language | English |
Notes | Alternative titles in chronological order: Report of the Library Department for the University years 1920-21 and 1921-22 Report of the Library Department for the University year 1922-23 Report of the Librarian to the Senate Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Ninth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Tenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Eleventh Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Twelfth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Thirteenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Fourteenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Fifteenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Sixteenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Seventeenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Eighteenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Nineteenth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Twentieth Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Twenty-first Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Twenty-second Report of the Library Committee to the Senate Twenty-third Report on the University Library to the Senate Report of the University Librarian to the Senate The Report of the University Librarian to the Senate The Report of the University Librarian to Senate Annual Report of the University Librarian to the Senate of the University of British Columbia The Report of the University Librarian to the Senate of the University of British Columbia The Report of the University Librarian to the Senate of the University Report of the University Librarian to the Senate |
Identifier | Z736.B74 A4 Z736_B74_A4_1926 |
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University Publications |
Source | Original Format: University of British Columbia. Archives |
Date Available | 2015-07-15 |
Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
Rights | Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from University of British Columbia Library: http://www.library.ubc.ca/ |
CatalogueRecord | http://resolve.library.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/catsearch?bid=1217574 |
DOI | 10.14288/1.0115289 |
AggregatedSourceRepository | CONTENTdm |
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