The Impact of the Major Urban Resource Library Grants on the Collections at the Chicago Public Library

In 1992, then Acting Commissioner of the Chicago Public Library Karen Danczak-Lyons asked all librarians seeking grants to direct their grant funds to help supplement the book budget and make a major impact on building the library's collections. It was determined that the most significant impact could be made by using the resources of the Major Urban Resource Library grant (MURL) to strengthen the library's materials. The MURL program, an integral part of the Library Services & Construction Act, was directed towards public libraries located in cities exceeding populations of 100,000. Since 1979, MURL funding was available to libraries in the largest cities in the state, including Chicago, Rockford and Peoria.

As project director of the MURL grant, I was asked to take a fresh look at the process in place and devise a new method that would systematically build collections. To help me, I assembled a team of librarians from each of the subject divisions at the central library, from the two regional libraries and from each of the library's four districts. The committee was composed of both adult and children's librarians. It was decided that the grant would be used for both adult and children's materials and that to have maximum impact, the funds needed to be used to build collections in one primary subject area for each grant application. The committee also decided that the materials would have to be ordered centrally by a MURL grant committee. To determine what subjects should be covered by the grant, the MURL committee sent out extensive questionnaires to all librarians in the system asking for their input on what materials were most heavily used and what was needed in the system. The librarians were also asked to tally their reference questions by subject for one week in each month from September 1993 to January 1994. Significantly, the tally results were identical to the results from the questionnaire. In November 1993, for example, more than 5,000 reference questions had been counted in this area; in December 1993 there were more than 4,500 questions related to science and technology. From the results, the committee determined that the subject area that most needed strengthening was science and technology. The subject area that came in second was history. The committee decided that the MURL grant for 1994-95 would be used to enhance science collections throughout the system, and the 1995-96 grant would be used to strengthen the system's history collections. The committee also decided that all funds allocated to the branches would be divided equally between the adult and juvenile collections. More money would be given to the central library and the two regional libraries so they could build research collections. This fact-finding committee then disbanded and a new committee of science specialist was appointed.

1994-95 Science and Technology

Six months before the MURLs grant application was due, 12 librarians from the branches, regional libraries and the central library were chosen to serve on a new MURL science committee. All the librarians had expertise in different areas of science. The committee then surveyed librarians on specific needs in the fields of science and technology and on what topics students needed for science projects. The committee analyzed circulation figures and interlibrary loan requests in the Library of Congress Classification areas of Q, R, S, and T to see the subjects of greatest demand. The MURL committee also analyzed data from the 1989 collection assessment that was done for the Illinois State Library to determine on what levels the science collections were ranked. We found that no branch had a science collection ranked higher than 1A, which is a minimal level collection with uneven coverage. The two regional libraries were only ranked at 2A, which meant their collections were only on an introductory basic information level. Clearly, we saw that the science collections needed to be upgraded throughout the system, but exactly what types of books should we get?

* Merle Jacob, Adult Materials Selection Specialist, Chicago Public Library.

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Reports such as Educating Americans for the 21st Century from the National Science Board Commission on Precollege Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology, The Condition of Education from the U. S. Department of Education, and the Participant Handbook from the Chicago Public Schools gave us background into the types of knowledge students should have in the different areas of science. The selection committee also attended the Chicago Science Fair display to see the types of science projects students had entered and to talk to the students to see the types of materials they wanted in libraries. All these findings became part of the grant proposal that I wrote. Only after all this extensive research did the committee actually start to look for materials.

An adult and a juvenile librarian from the selection committee were assigned to each of the subclasses of the Qs and Ts and asked to find the best materials. Every two weeks the committee met to share their findings and discuss availability of written materials in specific areas. As project manager, I contacted numerous publishers and asked them to send sample copies of promising titles. Some meetings were devoted solely to evaluating the books that were sent, and the librarians were extremely critical. Books that made the cut were put on an ever expanding master list. Finally, the committee stopped searching and began the difficult task of actually choosing the books for the system. Because the Chicago Public Library branches vary in size, they were divided into small, medium and large branches. Thirty-seven adult titles and 63 juvenile titles were selected for the smallest branches, 52 adult and 82 juvenile for the medium branches, and 64 adult titles and 103 juvenile titles for the large branches. Subjects covered were ecology, introduction to science, mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, biology, botany, zoology, anatomy, plant culture, technology, optics, environmental pollution, electronics and aeronautics. One copy of each title was selected for each branch using MURL grant funds. All the titles were also put on selection lists so that the librarians could order extra copies of needed titles from their own budgets. Each regional library and the Science and Technology Department of the central library were allowed to choose more titles from the large master list that had been created. My department, the Adult Materials Selection, prepare all the orders so that the day the Grants Office received the signed contract from the Illinois State Library, the orders were given to the Acquisitions Department.

As soon as the books began to be delivered to the branches they circulated. Delmar's Standard Textbook of Electricity was checked out four times in just 10 weeks at one branch, while Science Explained: the World of Science in Everyday Life circulated five times in that same period. In just one two-month period, the MURL science materials circulated more than 3,769 times. Librarians and patrons were delighted to have access to books on molds, fungi, crystals, hydroponics, holograms and many other hard to find topics. One librarian stated that for the first time, her branch was able to set up an adult science fair collection.

In the final month of the grant, I worked with the Acquisitions Department to identify any orders not been filled by the vendors. These orders were canceled, and the library used the rest of the grant funds to purchase science titles directly from Oxford University Press. As its final job, the MURL selection committee created two annotated bibliographies that were sent to all libraries in the state and to all Chicago Public Library locations. The bibliographies have been reprinted numerous times and are distributed to students when they come in for science fair materials.

1995-96 Cultural History

Using the MURL grant to purchase materials systemwide was so successful in both building well rounded core collections and increasing circulation, it was decided to expend all future MURL grants using this same process. I immediately set up a new MURL committee for 1995-96 charged with the responsibility of selecting titles for the topic of the origins of world cultures. Again, the committee members came from branches, regional libraries and the central library and all had expertise in areas such as art, literature and the history of diverse cultures. Since this was an extremely broad subject area, the committee did extensive surveys to determine which books were most heavily used or requested by patrons. One of the surveys was designed to see how may reference questions were asked in the areas of history, art, music, costume, literature, religion, architecture, military science, biography and celebrations for the early cultures in North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The surveys showed that the largest demand was for books about North American indigenous cultures. Books about the ancient Egyptians and Greeks and about African cultures were the next two most requested topics. Within each of these areas, students were requesting information on history, biography, celebrations and art, Knowing this, the committee was able to narrow its focus on what to select. The committee also looked at the National Standards for World History and the National Standards for United States History from the National Center for History in the Schools, the State of Illinois educational mandates, and the Annual Report of the Illinois State Board of Education to see what new multicultural curriculum requirements were being proposed for Illinois schools. The selection committee also asked our librarians to send them copies

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of school assignments that students brought into the library. High school and grade school assignments covered such topics as written reports on the creation myths of Eskimo, Mayan, Greek, Nigerian, Egyptian and Chinese cultures; the role of Native Americans in the first Thanksgiving; information on Mayan mural paintings; how the Romans build Hadrian's Wall, and comparisons of Mesopotamian and early Roman art.

Like the previous year's grant, the librarians were each assigned to specific areas, in this case to one of the five cultures, and asked to look for materials. We also looked for general books that covered subjects such as writing, costume, religion, history timelines and mythology for all cultures. Several multivolume sets on ancient cultures were ordered for both adults and children. By purchasing a large number of these sets at one time, the library negotiated outstanding discounts. As with the MURL science grant, the number of titles a branch received depended on the size of the branch. The smallest branches received 22 core titles, plus the 25-volume Time-Life Time Frame set for their adult collections, and 28 core titles and the 24-volume Time-Life Lost Civilizations series for their juvenile collections. Medium-sized branches received an additional five adult titles and eight juvenile titles, while the largest branches received another 20 adult titles and 13 juvenile titles, plus one eight-volume set on the Indians of the Southwest and Southeast. The two regional libraries and the central library ordered more titles from the master list the committee created. As soon as the books were delivered to the libraries they immediately began circulating. During a two month period, Greek Temple, a juvenile book showing how a Greek temple was constructed, was checked out three times at one branch and five times at the regional library. Another juvenile title. Ancient China, circulated eight times in three months in another branch. Even scholarly titles, such as the World's Writing Systems and the Smithsonian Timelines of the Ancient World, circulated two and three times during this period. As with the previous grant, the selection committee developed two annotated bibliographies for all Chicago Public Library locations and for libraries around the state.

1996-97 Online Reference

Because the 1996-97 MURL grant was the last year of the LSCA grants, the Illinois State Library asked that MURL funds be used for reference materials. As in previous years, a new MURL selection committee was appointed, and they immediately began to survey librarians for their reference needs. It became apparent from the surveys that all the branches wanted reference tools, such as complete sets of Contemporary Authors, business indexes, Disclosure and other similar titles so patrons could find information locally and save making a trip to the central library. The committee decided that the best way for every agency to get the information they wanted was to purchase online network databases for the entire system. The committee looked at numerous databases and finally settled on four — GaleNet (a collection of eleven databases for both adults and children), SIRS Researcher, Business Index with Company Profiles and NoveList. These databases covered literature, social science, science, business and fiction. Each database enhanced a different part of the library's total holdings. NoveList is the most unique of the databases because it is the only electronic tool that helps librarians and patrons find fiction. The committee also prepared path finders for each database to help patrons learn how to locate information on them.

After the databases were ordered, there were still funds left in the MURL budget. The committee decided to use the rest of the money to purchase print reference sets. One of the areas not covered by the databases was multiculturalism, so the committee looked at a number of specialized reference tools and decided to purchase The Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, The Latino-American Encyclopedia and The Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism for all libraries. None of the branches had these new sets, and the committee believed that these tools would be very helpful during African-American History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Asian Heritage Month. The sets arrived in early January and gave librarians and students new sources for information during African-American History Month.

Impact of the MURL Grant

The MURL grant as it was applied from 1994-97 has had a very positive impact on the collections of the Chicago Public Library. By focusing all the funds on one core topic each year, the library was able to purchase a large number of very useful titles for each location. Librarians were encouraged to weed out-of-date titles and damaged materials in these subject areas and replace them with new materials. Physically, the collections look new and inviting, which encourages circulation. Most importantly, the selection process was thorough and comprehensive. The titles selected were chosen by a committee of experts who had extensively surveyed the needs of the system. Many of the titles were materials that the branch librarians would not have known. The branches also received many expensive titles they would not have been able to purchase because of the high cost of these materials. This was especially true for the multi-volume sets and online databases that previously might only have been purchased by the central library subject divisions or the two regional libraries.

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Another important outcome of the MURL grant was that it allowed the library to give core collections of important titles to every library location. This means that every neighborhood in the City has access to these materials. In the final year of the grant, the databases enabled neighborhood branches to have access to very detailed and expensive information that would have normally only been available at the central library. By focusing all MURL funds in one subject area each year, the library was able to enhance collections systemwide, a goal identified in the library's strategic planning process. The subject bibliographies also have publicized these collections and promoted usage. They also helped students and their parents find appropriate materials easily and quickly. The bibliographies have been so popular that they have been reprinted many times and are now distributed by the Children's Services Department to teachers throughout the city.

An unexpected but very exciting result of the grants is the cooperation it fostered among librarians in the neighborhood branches and the central library. Librarians from throughout the system worked together with librarians they might not previously have met. The MURL committee members regularly talked to their colleagues at district meetings and children's cluster meetings. At these meetings, the librarians discussed their collection needs and made suggestions on what to purchase. A dialogue on collection development throughout the Library was started and that discussion has been encouraged under the direction of Commissioner Mary Dempsey.

Significantly, the Chicago Public Library has continued the systemwide collection development efforts begun with the MURLs grants using its own book and materials budget. For the past three years, the library has used funds to purchase core titles in a wide variety of subjects by systematically upgrading each of the Library of Congress classification areas on a rotating schedule. Some subject areas, such as science, medicine, computers and test books, are updated annually because they are time sensitive in nature. Other subjects, such as cooking, holidays, wedding books, literary classics and literary criticism, need to be updated every few years. In every subject, when a large core group of titles is purchased, all the neighborhood library collections are enhanced. Branches also are able to use their individual book budgets to buy specialized materials to add in the core areas or to meet specific needs of individual neighborhoods. Larger, more well-rounded collections have helped increase circulation by more than 6 percent.

The process adapted to use grants helped set the pattern for substantive and consistent collection development at the Chicago Public Library. By building better collections, the library is providing access for its library patrons to the information and knowledge they need to meet the future. The Major Urban Resource Library program, part of the Library Services & Construction Act, has had a lasting impact on the library's collections.

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