CHAPTER IX

THE ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BUSINESS LIBRARIAN

Thoughtful consideration of what the business library does will inevitably lead to one conclusion, namely, that the librarian, who is the director and inspiration of the work, must have greater educational qualifications than can be found in the average office employe who is engaged either in the capacity of stenographer or file clerk. The qualifications which are necessary to make a successful business librarian may be definitely stated as follows:

1. A college education or its equivalent. 2. A library school education or its equivalent. 3. Certain innate mental and social traits. 4. The business man's point of view.

1. A College Education or Its Equivalent

The business librarian, no matter how well educated, will never have a superabundance of knowledge for the prosecution of the task, for the ramifications of business subjects are innumerable and touch the sum total of human knowledge; and while no one person can be master of all subjects, yet a college education, and the mental training which it implies, should give not only a wider knowledge, but a power of adaptability and versatility in working with information, which constitute an indispensable asset in the prosecution of business library work.

The type of college graduate who makes the best business librarian is the one who is able to exercise a high degree of concentration, think clearly and quickly, analyze subjects, understand cause and effects, make logical deductions and wise discriminations, express ideas clearly and to the point, and be able to discuss intelligently the information which he passes along to the business man.

It is only just to state at this point that some college graduates do not measure up to the standards which have been indicated, and that there are many well-educated men and women without college degrees who do; every man or woman must be judged on the basis of individual merit. A business organization, however, can make no more serious mistake than to think it can put its library work into the hands of some one of limited education, who, although he knows the work of the particular business by long apprenticeship, has not the important requisite of a larger point of view which is the result of a broad education, no matter by what means obtained.

W. H. Cameron, when general manager of the National Safety Council, writing of library work as an aid to that organization, stated the facts exactly when he said: "The problem of the industry, the application of the library's information, the method of presentation and the utility of the service, all require trained minds."

2. A Library School Education or Its Equivalent

A liberal education, however, is not sufficient in itself to make a business librarian, unless that education has included the second requisite in the list of qualifications, namely, education in approved methods of library science, according to the standards taught by accredited library schools.

What is meant by library science, and why is it necessary that a business librarian should be trained in it, in order to do adequately the work of the business library? Library science is the standardization of the most approved methods of doing library work, based on the results of many years of study and practical experiment by librarians of large ability who have given their full time and energies to the task. In brief, methods of library work have been standardized by library experts and reduced to a practical, economical, effective science.

If this be the case, what possible justification can be found for business firms who waste time and money, in addition to getting no adequate results, in devising original methods for doing their library work? Trade periodicals, for several years, have published a number of articles treating of original methods adopted by various firms for filing and indexing their printed information. These original schemes reveal many weaknesses and discrepancies and also that many business men are entirely ignorant of the fact that library science has already produced much more excellent ways of working. No man is competent to work with any principle of science, much less modify it, until he is first master of it.

The structure of the business library must be built on the solid foundation of established library science, and there is no fact which business men need to realize more, than that library science as taught in professional library schools is not a simple code summed up in a few text books to be readily mastered by a novice and improved upon at will, but, on the contrary, that it covers a wide range of material, and must be studied by the use of many books devoted to classification, cataloging, reference work and other related subjects. True, there are primers of library science, but as well give a novice a primer on the steam engine and expect him therefore to be adequately equipped to run a power plant, as to put a novice with a library primer in charge of a business library with its highly specialized needs. A business organization would not think of engaging either a stenographer or a bookkeeper who is not trained to do his particular work; how much more, therefore, should a business librarian measure up to recognized standards of library training in order to perform adequately the difficult and important work which he is called upon to do.

The argument for the employment of a trained librarian can be briefly summed up in five words: the trained librarian knows how.

The trained librarian knows how to get and how to use sources of general information, how to keep up with the latest data on business subjects, how to use quickly and accurately the facilities of large city libraries, how to use all kinds of printed indexes, how to classify, catalog, and index material according to standard practice, so that no time or money is wasted in experimenting with inadequate systems, and last but not least, knows how to have a place for everything and everything in its place, so that desired information is immediately available.

As has been intimated, some college graduates cannot grade up to business library requirements, so also, some library school graduates are not suited for business library work, and rarely is a library school graduate, who has not been seasoned first by some thorough library experience, before coming into business library work, fitted for the task. Some trained librarians get so obsessed with the red tape and detail of their library training that they never dare to be original in modifying and adapting their fundamental library principles to new conditions and business problems, and therefore cannot create the type of service which is essential for business.

Some of the advocates of business libraries, having seen library trained people who have "fallen down on the job," speak slightingly of library training, and go to the other extreme, saying that the successful business librarian is born and not made. This is not true, because no innate qualification ever carries with it the ability to succeed in the absence of the proper training. "Both the heritage and the training of the faculties must go hand in hand to insure success." Trained librarians should be estimated by business men in the same manner as they estimate other skilled workers. When an engineer, or in fact any professional man, fails on a piece of work, his employers do not condemn engineering or professional schools as a whole, but try another trained man on the job. If a business man has made a wrong estimate in selecting his librarian, he should not quarrel with library training, but get a higher grade librarian.

The failure of some business librarians who have had both college education and training in library science is due not to inadequate knowledge but to lack of personal qualifications, and while personal qualifications alone will not make a successful business librarian, neither will a college education and training in library science make a successful business librarian without certain innate mental and social traits.

3. Mental and Social Traits

The mental and social traits required for success in any line of business work apply with equal force to the business librarian, and it is not necessary to enter into any academic discussion of them at this time. Everyone knows that good health, accuracy, thoroughness, common sense, good judgment, tact, integrity of character, and memory (particularly in library work) are indispensable to success in any career, but there are certain traits which a long term of service in a business library and an intimate acquaintance with many business librarians have made clear to the writer, as necessary to success in the business of being a business librarian.

The business librarian must be an executive; he must have not only a balanced view of every detail of library work in relation to its particular whole, but he must especially have an adequate vision of library work in relation to the whole work of his organization, and he must have the ability to see this relationship without waiting for some one to point it out to him. Finally, he must be able to relate the particular business and its existing service, to the work of the world at large.

A librarian serving a prominent business organization was recently asked by the writer, what was the scope of the work of their publicity department in furthering the interests of the organization as a whole, with the result that she could not tell. This librarian only knew that her business was to catalog, classify, put away and be able to get out again the material which was assigned to her care. The executive head of another important business organization has often complained because his librarian was afraid to take any initiative and always waited to be told what detailed policy should be pursued by the library; he was too busy to have to carry it on his mind, and more than that, he really did not know, and needed a librarian who did.

The business librarian must see the need, make the plan, and get all the mechanism necessary for its accomplishment into thorough working order, and have backbone enough to hold the point and have power to make others see it. There is no place in a business library for the mere "bookkeeping" methods of a recorded and finished job, for the work of the business library is never finished; it is a living force, and like all living things, it is subject to constant change and progress and never gets to the finished stage which suggests the orderly quiet calm of a graveyard!

What the business man wants from his librarian is results, and it is the business of the librarian to know the best way of getting them. The well qualified librarian can give results abundantly, if the business man will delegate authority to act independently in matters of detail, conferring on his librarian as he should, the freedom of action which he gives to the well qualified head of any department, and trusting his librarian to come to him for a conference when the occasion demands. There is no greater handicap to a well qualified librarian than the type of business man who does not delegate authority, and who because of his success in other lines of business, attempts to guide his librarian in matters of library policy about which he knows absolutely nothing.

The business librarian must be unusually resourceful and know how to meet an urgent need for information with quick decision and immediate action. He never says "impossible" until he has tried every possible source of supply.

Probably one of the finest compliments ever paid a business librarian was given by the executive head of a large institution who, having seen the resourcefulness of a certain business librarian in several difficult situations, remarked, "I am confident that if a twenty-story building fell down on Miss B----, she would find a way to get out from under it," and he might also have added truthfully, "and she would also keep a spirit of enthusiasm in the venture," for to the true business librarian the fascination in the game of finding things never wears out.

The business librarian will not be punctilious about adhering to a time schedule for work or to any standard of rights or privileges; he will put the demand of his work first and his personal interests second. If it is necessary to break an important personal engagement made for his free time, because business of importance has arisen in the office, he will do so without any question or irritation. If he can best serve the company in an urgent need, he will not wait to be waited upon by an office boy, but will go himself rather than trust a boy who cannot be relied upon to hurry. The business librarian will not be old-maidish or fussy over any irregular demands which upset his routine work; there is no place in business for the trained librarian who tells a busy man of affairs he cannot have what he wants until certain regular routine has been carried out, and in return the business man should trust his librarian with a freedom of action which is not subject to a time clock or a time schedule.

The business librarian must be able to work harmoniously with "all sorts and conditions of men," and he must convince every one whom the business library serves of honest good-will and impartiality to all, and genuine loyalty to the organization which he serves. He will be discreet and will not gossip about company business on the aside in the office, or on the outside, and last but not least, he ought to have a saving sense of humor. These qualifications may seem exceedingly trite, but the lack of them has been a severe handicap and a glaring defect in many people filling different kinds of business positions.

The successful business man knows the value and power of acquaintance as a business asset, and the business librarian must maintain a wide acquaintance and friendly relationships with other library and business workers, both for practical help and general stimulation. It is a real part of the work of a business librarian to take time to cultivate these outside relationships and attend library conferences, at the expense of the business organization by which he is employed. The importance of these outside relationships has been noted in the first chapter, as helpful ways of getting information not in print.

The business man who keeps his librarian's nose on the grindstone of routine work, so that he never has an opportunity for outside fellowship and the stimulation that comes from it, soon loses more than he gains by such a policy.

4. The Business Man's Point of View

The business librarian must also have a genuine and intelligent interest in current political and economic events, and in the kind of information in which business men as a class are interested. He must know the contents of the daily newspaper as well as does the closest reader among business men, so that he will not do as one librarian did--endeavor to give an inquirer an item three weeks old when the latest news on the subject was in the yesterday morning's paper, or waste time looking up statistics on a South American town, which current news reports as having recently burnt down. He must be a constant and thoughtful reader on subjects which pertain to the business of his organization.

The business librarian must have the promoter spirit; he must see that the information which he has on hand is applied and working, and he must be alert enough to see in some measure the undeveloped sides of an industry, and endeavor to bring into the organization, information which may stimulate it to new activities.

To sum up all requirements for a successful business librarian: he (or she, as the case may be) must have a liberal education, plus a knowledge of library science, and a sympathetic understanding of business needs, together with the vision and personal power necessary to apply the field of print effectively in meeting these needs.

In conclusion, the business man must face fairly several facts, the chief of which is, that in only a limited number of cases have business libraries measured up to the standards which have been outlined in this handbook, because business firms have not engaged librarians who have the necessary qualifications for success. Some business men have not recognized that there are librarians and librarians, and that many so-called ones are not adequately equipped for business library work. Business men are at fault also because they often do not give personal attention to the selection of a librarian, but leave this selection to an employment manager or a welfare worker who very often does not know just what essential qualifications are necessary for such a position. Sometimes the business man does not want to pay the price for an efficient librarian, for no efficient librarian can be obtained for the average file clerk or stenographer salary. One high grade librarian will accomplish more work, both accurately and effectively, than two mediocre ones can possibly do, and is therefore a money-saver.

If there is any doubt in the business man's mind as to whether there is enough library work in his organization to keep a trained librarian continuously busy, it may be said, that in no instance which has come to the knowledge of the writer, has a trained librarian ever been employed by a business organization which has not found there was immediately developed a valuable library service which required the full time and energy of the librarian.

REFERENCES FOR ADDITIONAL READING

=Bostwick, A. E.=

Some principles of business-like conduct in libraries 1920 30 p. American library association, 78 East Washington Street, Chicago.

=Brush, M. C.=

The so-called librarian's real duties. Special libraries, June 1917, p. 83-84.

=Greer, A. F. P.=

Professional ethics for the library worker. Library journal Nov. 1917, p. 891-92.

=Kilduff, E. J.=

Necessary characteristics of the private secretary. (In his Private secretary p. 293-17).

=Rathbone, J. A.=

Library school courses as training for business librarians. Special libraries Nov. 1917, p. 133-35.

=Walter, F. K.=

Training librarians for business libraries or branches. Paper read before Professional training section American library association conference 1919. Library journal Sept. 1919, p. 578-80.

INDEX

Alphabetic-subject file, 73.

Catalog cabinets, 93.

Cataloging, 75.

Centralization, 11.

Charging records see Loan records.

Classification, 70.

Clipping bureaus, 48.

Corporation files, 75.

Cutter numbers, 74.

Cuts, 68.

Equipment and supplies, 94.

Floor plans, 86, 88, 89.

Government documents, 50.

Indexing see Cataloging.

Lantern slides, 65.

Loan records, 39.

Magazines see Periodicals.

Maps, 68.

Mechanical equipment, 80.

Organization, 7.

Pamphlet boxes, 44, 45.

Periodicals, binding, 43. checking, 33. circulation, 37. clipping, 43, 48. Contents, 31. filing, 43. indexing, 35. selection, 32.

Photographs, 62.

Public libraries vs. business libraries, 14.

Publicity department, 25.

Qualifications of business librarian, 110.

Reference books, 95.

Service rendered, 23.

Shelving, 81.

State documents, 57.

Subject headings, 76.

Trade catalogs, 59.

U-File-M binder strips, 48.

Value of the business library, 18.

Vertical files, 90.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected, but other variations in spelling and punctuation are unchanged.

The half title immediately before the title has been removed.

Italics are represented thus _italics_ and bold thus =bold=.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Business Library, by Louise B. Krause