Steve McCarthy, former Librarian at Cornell University and later Executive
Director of the Association of Research Libraries, once said that although
there are some great libraries without universities (for example, New
York and Boston Publics), there are no great universities without great
libraries. He added that itıs impossible to tell which came first. Certainly,
the history of some of Americaıs oldest and most prestigious universities
is inextricably intertwined with that of their libraries. Harvard was
named to honor John Harvard, who, upon his death in 1638, left his library
and half his estate to the new institution. The legend at Yale is that
the university was created in 1701, when a group of Congregationalist
ministers gathered, each bringing the gift of a handful of books from
his own library, "for the founding (of) a college in this colony." A
later historian labeled the story as apocryphal, but went on to say
that it demonstrated "an early appreciation of the libraryıs central
role in what became Yale University."
As for Brown, early supporters of Newport as a home for the new college
argued that the proximity of the Redwood Library, then one of the largest
libraries in the colonies, offered a benefit Providence was unable to
match. Moved there nonetheless, the college made it a point early on
to acquire some books, sending a faculty member to England on a buying
mission. In 1777, the library was viewed as such a critical asset that
Rev. William Williams, a member of Brownıs first graduating class, hid
its books in his Wrentham, Massachusetts parsonage until the British
occupation ended. He would have agreed with a librarian who wrote two
centuries later of another library collection: "within those covers
was the very body and substance of learning the indispensable material
for a university and that to lose them was to lose all."
In an era of digital information, multiple formats, and "Googling" things
on the Internet, is todayıs Library still as central to the business
of the university? To academic excellence? According to the students
and faculty whoıve responded to our recent surveys, it is. Hereıs what
some of them have had to say about the Library:
- The library should be first and foremost a location for research:
complete collections and journals are most important. Faculty member
in the humanities
- Access to journals is my most important need and the number of
journals I have electronic access to is acceptable but not outstanding.
Faculty member in engineering
- It is very important for my research that the library try to buy
older books in my field that should have been purchased when they
were first published. Faculty member in the humanities
- My number one priority would be to see more materials available
online (more journals for longer periods of time). Graduate student
in the social sciences
- It is important for me to have access to the latest materials.
However when compared to most other universities, Brown's collection
of works [in my area] is pretty shabby. Graduate student in the
humanities
- I think that the trend toward offering electronic resource retrieval
and searching is immensely helpful for graduate students; additional
resources should be devoted to enhancing the progress already made
by the library in this regard. Graduate student in the social sciences
- For myself and (I believe) most of my undergraduate peers, libraries
are primarily a place to go and study rather than somewhere to access
print materials. In general I get almost all the research I need off
journals that are available online. Library services should focus
on making journals available to students online in general they
do a very good job. Library services should also be more aware of
the environment they set up and whether it is conducive for studying.
The SciLi Mez is too crowded. Too many of the carrels in all the libraries
are in areas that are not well lit or are heavily-trafficked. Undergraduate
in the social sciences
- It is important for me that the library be a comfortable environment
to perform academic studies. Undergraduate in computer science
- I would like to use the library almost as a living room. When I
want to really get down and study or do work hard-core I can lock
myself in my room or go to my office. But it's nice to also have a
place where I can lounge and study. Graduate student in the social
sciences
- It would also be good to have more computers for use in the library.
Sometimes the wait to use a computer can be very long. More stations
to hook up notebook computers to the Brown network would be very helpful.
Graduate student in the sciences
- MOST IMPORTANTLY! The library should be a place I WANT to go to.
I do not feel that Brown's libraries are inviting places to study.
I wish there were more secluded rooms in which students or groups
of students could study. I think the libraries need some renovation
make the place look nicer and I'll be much more inclined to study
thereUndergraduate
- I found the help at the library extremely helpful. As a freshman
I am not knowledgeable about the library system at Brown, but when
I had a research paper last semester the help I received exceeded
my expectations. Undergraduate in biological sciences
- I want a library that has the resources I need with easy do-it-yourself
access. Graduate student in the social sciences
- I'd like be able to find and access everything by myself, but the
fact is that knowledgeable reference staff are indispensable to good
research and development of our resources, and so I don't actually
want to be able to get everything by myself. I often learn something
new in conversation with a reference librarian. Graduate student
in the humanities
- The people who work at the desk at the Hay are wonderfully helpful
and personable and have made my research much more enjoyable by their
willingness to come to my assistance. Undergraduate in social sciences
- I come to the library much less now that many journals are on-line
and accessible from my office. Faculty member in computer science
- The electronic services are quite good and very useful, but it is
difficult at times for some services to access them from home. Graduate
student in the social sciences
- Computer classes offered through the library and CIT (Endnote, etc.)
are very helpful. Graduate student in the sciences
Clearly, anyone who comes to the Library to work will be delighted by
the recent improvements made to several important reading areas in the
Rockefeller, Sciences, and John Hay libraries through funds from President
Simmons. Those who use our online journals from their offices or dorms
are "in the Library" too, since nearly $1 million of the acquisitions
budget goes to digital materials. In recent years, weıve made some additions
in the print collections, including the addition of some superb special
collections. While it will be difficult to sustain similar efforts in
an era of flat budgets and continuing cost inflation, weıre fortunate
to have direct borrowing agreements with three library consortia, thus
vastly extending the collections easily available to our faculty and students.
It is also clear that a scholarly and technologically sophisticated Library
staff remains as critical to academic excellence as ever. Whether they
are offered help with a database or a special collection, graduate students
will not be the only clients who "learn something new in conversation
with a reference librarian."
As much as we improve collections and services, our community continues
to tell us that we have more to do, especially given President Simmonsı
agenda for academic excellence. I pledge to you that in the years to come
we will do all we can to ensure that the Libraryıs quality matches and
enhances that of our faculty and students. We remain alert to what you
tell us about your information needs, even as those needs change and evolve.
So, in a sense, itıs irrelevant which comes first. As scholars have known
for centuries, it is indeed impossible to separate the great university
from the great library. Brown needs to be, and have, both.
--
Merrily E. Taylor Joukowsky Family University Librarian
