FIFTH GENERAL SESSION
(Friday morning, June 27, 1913.)
The PRESIDENT: We begin this morning the fifth session of this conference and the theme covering the papers is, "The library's service to business and legislation." Ten years ago it would not have occurred to anyone perhaps that it would be possible to have a series of papers upon this subject, and the surprising expansion of the service in these directions is evidenced by the fact that we have, in order at all to attempt to cover this subject adequately, a larger number of papers on this morning's program than we have on the program for any other of the subjects which have been scheduled. I will ask Mr. C. B. LESTER to start the program with his paper upon
THE PRESENT STATUS OF LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE WORK
It is now more than twenty years since the need of specialization in the library's work on subjects of legislation was recognized in New York in the creation of a special staff for such work, and it is just about ten years since the successful combination in Wisconsin of such special reference work with the formulation of bills aroused most of the states to the possibilities of usefulness in this field. It would therefore seem worth while to examine the work so far done to discover if possible such principles and tendencies as may be subject to generalization.
It is at once obvious that any such generalization in a broad sense must be difficult, for this present year shows in legislation both east and west that we have not yet come to rest on such fundamental principles as to method even though there may be substantial unanimity as to policy. The new laws in Vermont (and I think in New Hampshire) in the east—in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois in the middle west—and in California on the Pacific coast show such differences that it is evident that local conditions must still be very largely controlling. And to go back a full year or more would bring to notice the new work organized in several states through university bureaus but without special legislation, and the proposals before the Congress.
Comparatively little examination shows that the conception of the work to be done differs widely. Mr. Kaiser of the University of Illinois, who is preparing a detailed study of the subject, writes me: "I find that in practically thirty-two states it is attempted in some form or other—the state library as a whole, a division of the state library created within the library, a division created by law, a separate bureau, library commission bureaus, state university bureaus, etc." Obviously this must include practically all states where the state library is other than a law library only or a historical collection only, and must credit with doing legislative reference work those states where general reference work is done on subjects of legislation. But there is a more exact use of the term which takes account of the fundamental principle well suggested in the statement of the Librarian of Congress in his communication to Congress in 1911. "A legislative reference bureau goes further [than the Division of Bibliography]. It undertakes not merely to classify and to catalog, but to draw off from a general collection the literature, that is the data, bearing upon a particular legislative project. It indexes, extracts, compiles." It breaks up existing forms in which information is contained and classifies the resulting parts, and often "adds to printed literature written memoranda as to facts and even opinions as to merit."
Such work as the legislative reference staff should be qualified to do is distinctly informational rather than educational in its reference to the patron. It does the work of research, of gathering, sorting and uniting the scattered fact material wanted and presents the results ready for use. And to be fully effective this work must in some way be co-ordinated with the formulation of legislation, so that the product offered by the legislator may be both firmly founded and properly constructed. This work is so evidently necessary that it will be done in an increasing number of states whether the state library or some other agency undertakes it and protects its efficiency by the impartial, non-political and permanent organization of it which can be there best provided.
Practically all legislation specifically providing for such work has been passed in the years beginning 1907 and it is significant that most of this emphasizes research and drafting. The laws specially providing for such work are as follows: