LIBRARY EXTENSION WORK OF AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES
Extension work is now a name to conjure with. Its most popular aspects, the corn train, the wheat special, the farmers' short course, where a thousand or more men and women from the farms gather for a week's instruction, have all been exploited in the newspapers to such an extent that they are well known everywhere. The new methods of extension work were developed in the agricultural colleges or agricultural departments of universities. It seems now as though many of these methods were to be applied in other fields. The moving cause for all this activity is the desire to bring opportunities for education to every man, woman and child in the state who has sufficient energy and ambition to desire them. Along purely agricultural lines the extension work carried on by the State college of agriculture at Cornell, is typical. The December number of the "Announcer" outlining this work contained eight quarto pages giving information under twenty-five separate heads. The work carried on by a university as a whole is best illustrated by Wisconsin, whose university extension division has carried this work further than any other similar department. The phrase, "The university that goes to the people," applied to Wisconsin, and the slogan, "If you can't come to the college, the college will come to you," used by North Dakota agricultural college, illustrate the aims of the workers in this field.
Of course much of this extension work is altogether outside of the sphere of the library, but there are signs that the libraries of agricultural colleges, and of the land grant colleges especially are waking up to the fact that there are public needs which they are best fitted to supply. The extension departments of the various colleges have found a number of problems confronting them in which they need the help of the college library, such for instance as matters relating to the use of books for special study, and the general problem of awakening in the farm community an interest in books and reading. I shall attempt briefly to characterize the various phases which this library extension work has taken, or may take, without more than passing reference to the work of specific institutions.
The first letter of enquiry sent by a farmer to his state college or experiment station, might be said to have originated the entire extension work, and the growth of correspondence between farmers and the college, with its professors and experts, indicates the nature of the demand on the part of the public, and the success of the work of the stations and colleges in arousing this interest. This correspondence forms and always will form a very important phase of university extension work. To get in touch with individuals, to have them take the trouble to write you concerning their needs is a sure indication of their interest. Just as the correspondence of the commercial house is systematized, and form letters used where possible, so the growth of this extension work has led to the publication of brief bulletins, or circulars in place of the elaborate and lengthy bulletins so often issued by the experiment stations on the same subjects.
One of the needs which was soon felt in correspondence was that for a brief list of books on agriculture, which could be sent in response to inquiries from individuals and libraries. This list is sometimes a simple mimeographed list, or a short printed list, or even a more elaborate bulletin, such as the Cornell publication, "What shall the farmer read" or the more recent one, "Reading in the farm home." There is real need for these lists, and every college library or extension department should have such a list available for distribution. There is room perhaps for some co-operation here in order to secure greater uniformity and the opinions of many who are in close touch with the needs of the farming community.
One of the outcomes of the extension work in agricultural colleges, was the forming of reading and study clubs and clubs for social and civic purposes, and the publishing of study outlines for reading courses, which might be taken up individually or by groups. In some cases all the reading necessary was included in the bulletins published, such as the Cornell reading courses. In others special books were assigned which could be purchased from the extension department, or borrowed from it. Thus began the lending of material from the college library or some department of the college, a practice which I believe is destined to grow to large proportions, especially when we secure parcels or book post. In several states this work is now well organized. The University of Wisconsin, the North Dakota agricultural college and perhaps others are prepared to send out what they call package libraries to individuals, clubs, societies or schools for a certain fixed period of time. These package libraries consist of pamphlets, speeches, newspaper clippings, articles clipped from magazines, bulletins issued by the university and other miscellaneous matter.
North Dakota gives a list of subjects on which they are prepared with package libraries in agriculture, biography, education, science, municipal affairs, etc. They will even lend typewritten copies of declamations, dialogues, orations and printed copies of amateur plays.
Wisconsin in addition to its package libraries issues bibliographical bulletins on subjects of general interest, as does the University of Texas. If these package libraries are made more elaborate including larger pamphlets and books, they can be dignified by the name of traveling libraries. So far as is known by the writer, this work is not carried on by the college library except in one instance, the library of Massachusetts agricultural college, where Prof. Charles R. Green has this work in charge. In other colleges it is managed by the extension division or department with, however, the co-operation of the college library and other library interests, as in Wisconsin. It will readily be seen that this work duplicates to some extent, the work of the public library, or at least the work that the public library should be doing. It is evident too, that this work would have its best field in states where there were few public libraries in the smaller towns and villages.
The looking up of references on domestic science, the boy scouts, or the fireless cooker and other similar subjects is supposed to be the work of the public library. It may be that notwithstanding the emphasis placed by the public library on its reference work, and work with schools, the college by its extension service is going to enter this field and do at long range what the public library is not doing for its own local community. If there is sufficient demand from the rural districts for the service given by the public discussion and information divisions of the extension work (as it is often called) it is certainly a strong argument in favor of the extension of the public library service over the counties or townships as is now being done in several states. There is a good field here for co-operation between the local library, the organized library interests of the state, the college library and the extension service of the college or university.
An interesting feature of the work of the extension department at Purdue university is the combination of the printed list of books, the sample library, and the actual sale of books to the farmers. Some months ago by consultation with members of the station staff and actual examination of many volumes, a list of about 75 titles relating to agriculture, was compiled and printed. Several sets of these volumes were then obtained from the publishers, and arrangements made with them for mail orders of these books at certain discounts. The printed lists and sample volumes were taken to county fairs, institutes, farmers short courses, and on special trains. The lists were distributed, the books shown to the farmer, and his order taken on the spot at list price. Many orders come in later by mail. There is good psychology in this method of getting the book to the farmer. He can examine the book for himself, give the necessary weight to the recommendation of the man in charge, and having confidence in the university as represented by the extension department, he trusts it with his money.