Tauber, Maurice F.

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IntroductionMAURICE F. TAUBERSOME YEARS AG0 1 the present chairman of theCommittee on Research of the Association of American Library Schoolsprepared a brief paper on the need for an outline of needed researchin librarianship. With the development of the master's program in theaccredited library schools and the introduction of the doctoral pro-gram in five schools (California, Columbia, Illinois, Michigan, andWestern Reserve), in addition to the older program at Chicago, thetime seemed ripe for a review of the present status of research inthe various segments of librarianship. Moreover, it appeared desirableto point up those areas of the field in which research might provefruitful for faculty members, students, and practicing librarians. Inorder to pinpoint the achievements which have been made, it wasconsidered relevant to discuss to some extent the nature of researchas carried on in the past. The real concern, however, is for the de-velopment of a program for the future.In his paper at the 1948 Conference of the Graduate Library Schoolof the University of Chicago 2 B. R. Berelson observed that "It is notsurprising that research in librarianship (as in other fields outside thenatural sciences) is spotty; it would be surprising if it were not ...some areas within the field have received more attention and someless. (Whether any areas have received enough attention is anotherquestion. )"Berelson commented further upon the unevenness in research andproposed a planned-research economy for the library schools to spon-sor. Designation of research problems of first importance "would pro-vide for the continuity and the coral-like development of genuinescientific activity." Although it is almost ten years since Berelson madethese observations, one is led to conclude that the picture has notaltered to any significant degree.Various writers on the problems of research in librariansrup havecalled attention to the scarcity of librarians with proper training andMr. Tauber is Melvil Dewey Professor, School of Library Service, Columbia Uni-versity.[ 105 ]MAURICE F. TAUBERbackground in research methods. Moreover, many of the graduatesof a doctoral program have gone into administrative positions whichleave them little time for original studies. Finally, the financial sup-port of library investigations has been so meager that there is littleopportunity to do more than peck at major problems, without thecontinuity and coral-like development suggested by Berelson. He fur-ther observed in this connection that "Research takes people, brains,energy, time, money-and it takes a lot of them." 3 Compared to otherfields, librarianship has had relatively little with which to work.In the last few years, there have been some changes in this respect.The grants of foundations to libraries and to library schools have beenstepped up to a significant degree. Industry, too, has begun to associ-ate itself with advanced study and research in library schools. Theestablishment of the Council on Library Resources, Inc., in 1956 undera $5,000,000 grant from the Ford Foundation is a development of thegreatest importance.4 The purpose of the Council is to support re-search and the progress of libraries. Librarians, library school facultymembers, and advanced students have an opportunity to work withthe Council in the isolation and study of major and basic problemswhich will promote and extend the usefulness of libraries.Turning to the contents of this issue Lowell Martin in his paperstates that "Research produces knowledge. Knowledge is needed forunderstanding. Understanding combined with skill leads to effectiveaction." In many ways, these three sentences serve as a theme for theissue. The contributors have had a difficult task in combing the seg-ments of librarianship assigned to them. As Jesse Shera points out inhis paper "research" is a "slippery word." Leon Carnovsky, who hasbeen responsible during the past few years for the compilations inthe Library Quarterly of studies prepared in library schools, has em-phasized that the inclusion of certain investigations, reports, or sur-veys does not automatically qualify them for the label of "research."In the present issue, Carnovsky further notes that librarianship as afield of research depends upon the successful application of the meth-ods and techniques found useful in other disciplines.Undoubtedly, readers will find that certain studies of which theyhave knowledge are not considered by the contributors. They havediffered in their treatments of the fields assigned to them, and haveused such examples of research as they believe make the points withwhich they are concerned. Further, it should be observed that thedifferences among the several fields required a variety of approaches.One of the fields in which there is much discussion is known as docu-[106 ]Introductionmentation. The consideration of research and developments in docu-mentation is provided by Shera. Many librarians have been somewhatpuzzled by the scope of this field, and Shera's paper clearly suggestsits umbrella-like coverage of such areas as bibliography, reference, in-formation services and user problems, cataloging and classification,indexing, microreproduction, preservation, and publication. Mechan-ical searching and translating systems are associated with the field. Inhis listing of current research in documentation, Shera includes cer-tain titles which are referred to by Rudolph Gjelsness in his review ofcataloging and classification. Since it was considered desirable to havethe entire field of documentation outlined, this overlap has been al-lowed to remain. The observation should be made, however, thatlibrarianship and documentation interweave to such an extent thatit is often difficult to note the differences between the two. In hisreview of research in documentation, Shera makes the pertinent refer-ence to the non-library school sponsoring of studies by business andindustrial organizations, universities and other non-profit organizations.governmental agencies, and private individuals. One factor in respectto some of the research by groups outside of library schools is financialbacking; another is the presence of expensive apparatus not usuallypossessed by the schools.Although it may be hazardous to do so, it may be worth while sum-marizing salient points expressed by the contributors. These may belisted as follows:1. The most successful research in backgrounds in librarianshiphas recognized the importance of social, cultural, and other influencesupon the library.2. Research in the fields of philosophy of librarianship and the rela-tions of libraries to government and society has barely begun.3. A good start has been made in the study of library history andbibliography, but the areas are wide open for research.4. Much research needs to be done on the relations between the vari-ous media of mass communication.5. Librarians should be intimately concerned with research intoproblems of communication, even though the areas of study outlinedwill be undertaken primarily by social scientists in the many branchesof their discipline.6. Studies showing the results of research in library management ina variety of types of situations, including the untouched field of humanrelations, should be one of the goals of individual library administra-[ 107]MAURICE F. TAUBERtors, as well as professional organizations, state agencies, and similargroups.7. The quality and effectiveness of service to individuals is largelyundetermined; research on the methods and the resources for expand-ing and extending such service is necessary.8. Research into all phases of resources (Farmington Plan, inter-library centers, specialization in collecting, union catalogs, bibliograph-ical centers, storage libraries, regional distribution of resources, micro-reproduction, serial literature, acquisition policies, and inter-libraryloans) is essential if librarians are to get beyond guesswork in theiroperations and services.9. Studies are needed for the development of standards in descrip-tive cataloging, subject cataloging, and classification on national andinternational bases.10. Exacting investigations of various types of catalogs, as well as ofthe administration of cataloging departments, would provide theknowledge that librarians need as records become more complex withgrowing collections.11. Because of the pressures upon librarians serving researchers (inscience and technology, particularly, but not exclusively), investigationinto ways and means of content analysis, storage of information, andimmediate retrieval has been accelerated.12. Basic examinations are needed of all aspects of library education-programs, curricula, instructional methods, relations between per-formance on the job and library school training, and the place of thelibrary school in the structure of higher education.13. Successful research in librarianship requires recognition of therigid methodologies of other disciplines.14. Coordinated support of research by professional associations inrelation to the library schools and other agencies is essential if investi-gation is to be continuous and systematic.15. Library school faculties, particularly those associated with in-stitutions having advanced or doctoral programs, have a special respon-sibility for the development of integrated programs of research.16. Financial support is necessary for qualified students who needto be free from day-to-day work responsibilities if they are to completeinvestigations which would be useful to the profession.There are some librarians who deplore any emphasis upon researchin librarianship. Is not librarianship an art, they say, not subject to theexact measurements of scientific inquiry or objective study? What is[108 ]Introductionwrong with what we are doing? What possibly could be added to ourknowledge through systematic study? To these individuals, the answerto our problems is simple: librarians should read more books.There is no question that librarians should improve their effective-ness as they acquire depth in book knowledge. Actually, there shouldbe no conflict between the point of view of the book-reader and theexponent of research. Libraries-public, academic, governmental, spe-cial, and school-have become complex organizations, and as the con-tributors to this issue show, careful studies of problems arising out ofthe complexity should provide the librarian with a basis for greaterunderstanding, should improve his judgment, and should reduce theload of his work. Research will never replace the art in librarianship;it may, however, make the practice of such art easier and more effec-tive.The Committee on Research of the Association of American LibrarySchools hopes that this issue of Library Trends will prove useful tothose interested in studying problems of librarianship which requiresolution. It would be revealing, especially since research in the fieldis beginning to attract financial support, to re-examine the situationperiodically. Chase Dane proposes a formal group for reviewing,evaluating, and pressing the application of research. Certainly thereis the need for the coordination which he suggests.References1. Tauber, M. F.: A Research Outline Series in Librarianship. In: Associationof American Library Schools. Report of Meeting. Chicago, The Association, Jan-uary 21, 1949, pp. 26-32.2. Berelson, B. R.: Advanced Study and Research in Librarianship. In: Berel-son, B. R., ed.: Education for Librarianship. Chicago, American Library Associa-tion, 1949, p. 217.3. Ibid., p. 223.4. Council on Library Resources, Inc. [Press Releases dated September 18,1956.] College and Research Libraries, 17:469-473+, Nov. 1956.[log 1

Introduction to Library Trends 6 (2) 1957: Research in Librarianship

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