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Academic Branch Libraries, Robert A. Seal

University Libraries: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Few issues in academic librarianship inspire as much controversy as the branch or departmental library. At the center of this controversy is the question of whether or not collections should be centralized in the main university library or located in part in separate branch libraries. Although vigorously debated since the beginning of this century, the centralization-decentralization dilemma became even more of an issue following World War II, when college and university enrollments and academic libraries began to grow at unprecedented rates and the pressure for adequate library services and collections increased. This particular issue has never been resolved completely, nor …