ht. Libr. Rev. (1974) 6, 5-12

INTAMEL MEETING 1973, INDIA*

(1) Survey of Progress 1968-72 H. C. CAMPBELL7

The metropolitan urban area has been the scene throughout history of many developments in library services which have been beyond the capacity of smaller cities. The rise of the metropolis came about because it represented a larger market for goods and services and because it could attract a wider range of human resources than the smaller town or village. The growing number of metropolitan cities in the world, with populations of over 1 million, indicates the steady rise of the large city in all countries.

The urban public library system in a metropolitan centre is a unique phenomenon. Free public library systems in all parts of the world have grown in size and scope from small beginnings at the end of the 19th century. Many have the status and size of large scale businesses. The existence at the present time of over 150 metropolitan public library systems in various countries of the world has produced a wide variety of institutional styles and organizational patterns.

Metropolitan areas in the world now fall into one of the following general categories: (a) areas with one or two principal public library systems; (b) areas with many separate public library systems; (c) areas with few or recently established systems; (d) areas with regional systems in operation or proposed.

The concept of a system of free libraries, as distinct from an individual library, has been accepted in most of the world’s metropolitan cities. No city authority expects any longer that a few isolated libraries can cater to the needs of more than a million people.

In a world rapidly growing more compact, and one where increasing possibilities exist for rapid communication between libraries, there is

* Contributions have been edited and shortened by G. Chandler, Director, INTAMEL Publications and Documentation Centre, College of Librarianship, Aberystwyth, Cardigan- shire, Wales, from whom copies can be obtained.

7 President of INTAMEL, Toronto Public Library, 40 St Clair Avenue East, Toronto 290, Canada.

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growing awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of different systems. One of the features of the decade of the 1970s that has been in marked contrast to earlier decades was the appearance of an active and forceful international grouping of the leading metropolitan public library systems in the world. This organization, the International Association of Metro- politan City Libraries (INTAMEL), was created in 1968 in response to the need for direct and active consultation between large city public library systems and the need for a cooperative programme of study and research directed towards the problems faced by them.

The aim of INTAMEL is to encourage international cooperation between public libraries serving cities with a population exceeding 400,000 situated in a larger urban setting. It also develops exchanges of books, staff and information needed by each system. The International Association of Metropolitan City Libraries consists of a General Assembly to which all members of the Association belong; an Executive Committee, made up of at least five members elected by the General Assembly for periods of 3 years. The officers include a President, Vice- President, a Secretary-Treasurer, or a Secretary and a Treasurer. The following may become members of the Association on recommendation of the Executive Committee: (a) Libraries serving cities with a popula- tion exceeding 400,000 which are also associate members of the Inter- national Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). (b) Libraries serving cities with a population exceeding 400,000 not associate members of IFLA.

INTAMEL has a close connection with the International Federation of Library Associations, since it is part of IFLA’s Section of Public Libraries, and encourages its membership to become associate members of the Federation.

The General Assembly of INTAMEL consists of the directors of member libraries or members of their staff delegated by them. The General Assembly meets once a year. It approves an annual report and the accounts of the past year. Whenever voting takes place in the General Assembly, a simple majority of the members present or re- presented by proxy is required.

INTAMEL held its first meeting at the Liverpool Public Library in 1968. Its concern at that time was to set up an information centre to serve the needs of metropolitan public libraries, and distribute informa- tion in connection with their activities. These concerns have been realized, first with the establishment of a centre in Prague, and then by its transfer to Liverpool in 1972, where it functions under the direction of the Liverpool Public Library. An impressive record of published reports and studies which have had a wide international circulation

INTAMEL MEETING 7

have marked INTAMEL’s work. Many of these appeared in the International Library Review, published quarterly by Academic Press in London and New York.

At INTAMEL’s second meeting in Gothenburg in 1969 it began a 3-year programme in order to compile guide lines for the management of metropolitan library systems. Subsequently, in 1971 in Baltimore, these were adopted and have provided an agreed scheme of services and responsibilities of metropolitan public library systems from that date.

The objectives of these guide lines state that each metropolitan city library system should act as the basic public source of knowledge, opin- ions and information on all topics needed in the metropolis. The library system can do this by maintaining, promoting and making available reference and lending collections of library material-books, manu- scripts, prints, audio-visual materials and the like in, if possible, uni- versal libraries located in or near busy centres. Such a location is essential if full public use is to be made of the libraries and the cost per unit kept low, and if easy access is to be provided to the information required by the public in connection with their civic, cultural, educa- tional, industrial, recreational and social activities.

If there is no national, state or copyright reference library in the city centre the city central public library will have to carry more extensive collections than would otherwise be the case. It was stressed in the INTAMEL guide lines that the scope and services of different types of libraries might overlap in certain areas. The city central library is concerned mainly with current needs for knowledge, opinions and infor- mation, whereas a national, state or copyright library is concerned with conservation of materials both for current research needs and for posterity.

The services which metropolitan city libraries provide may be grouped as follows: (1) Reference Libraries; (2) Special Collections; (3) Local Collections; (4) Subject Libraries; (5) Special Services to Special Groups; (6) Central Lending Library; (7) Central Junior Library; (8) Centralized Technical and Administrative Services; (9) District and Branch Library Services.

REFERENCE LIBRARIES

Public reference libraries should be multi-disciplinary and inter- disciplinary and should concentrate on official publications, reference works, bibliographies, current and back files of representative periodi- cals, maps, and representative collections of books of various periods in accordance with the library’s acquisition policy.

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SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

City central libraries will often find it necessary to maintain a number of special collections. These may be based on topics of particular interest to the locality-special collections of rare material presented by local benefactors, etc.

LOCAL COLLECTIONS

All city central libraries should maintain collections relating to local studies, but their size will depend on relationships with other libraries. Because city central libraries serve a public which is often interested in matters affecting other cities in the world, there are many occasions when they will need specialized information relating to overseas cities. Hence direct links between all city libraries throughout the world are desirable.

SUBJECT LIBRARIES

The object of subject libraries, which may be reference, or lending or combined reference and lending, is to provide a more efficient service to the public needing access to subject information by grouping subject collections together, by having them in the charge of subject specialists and by giving more intensive readers advisory services than are possible in general collections.

SPECIAL SERVICES TO SPECIAL GROUPS

Special services in support of specific groups of civic, cultural, educa- tional, industrial, social welfare or recreational importance are often offered by metropolitan libraries and tend to be accommodated in the City Central Libraries. Special services to civic groups-councillors, corporation departments and the like are necessary to ensure that full information is available for the formulation and execution of city decisions.

Cultural societies benefit greatly from the loan of multiple copies of drama or music and by advisory services. Educational institutions need special services in connection with their research and teaching. Industrial organizations need up-to-date information services in related fields to supplement their own specialized provision. Social welfare institutions- hospitals, prisons, old people’s homes and homes for the handicapped persons and the like need special services. Recreational services for youth and adults need often to be reinforced by special library services.

INTAMEL MEETING 9

CENTRAL LENDING LIBRARY

In addition to reference and subject libraries, a City Central Library needs to provide a Central Lending Library or General Readers’ Library or Browsing Library to meet the needs of readers who want a book to read, rather than subject information.

The size of the Central Lending Library will vary in accordance with local policy but should not be less than that of the largest adult branch library, for its function is to provide the most comprehensive collection of general reading in the city. It will contain representative non-specialist books on all topics, and particularly strong collections in literature and fiction.

CENTRALJUNIOR LIBRARY

A Central Junior Library is provided in most city central libraries, even though the number of children in the vicinity may be limited. There is a need for a good collection of children’s literature to meet city-wide needs. Parents and teachers will need to have access to it, even if the local child population is small. The bulk of provision of children’s literature will, however, be decentralized in most city library systems and will be provided in branch libraries accessible to children.

CENTRALIZED TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Processing services should be provided by City libraries for the whole library system in order to reduce costs and ensure maximum efficiency in the acquisition, accessioning, classifying, cataloguing and indexing services and in executing decisions for the ultimate disposal or conserva- tion of library materials.

The organization of the preservation services for the whole library system should also be centralized, although some of the conservation services must be decentralized in whole or in part.

Preservation services aim at maintaining the library materials in good condition and at protecting them from loss, theft or against fire and other hazards. They comprise the treatment, repair, binding, physical housing and protection services.

Another group of services of which the organization should be located centrally is aimed at promoting the use of the libraries. Some of these services might be decentralized in part. Promotional services comprise advertising, instruction in the use of the libraries, guided tours, lectures and recitals related to material in the libraries, cultural activities and publications.

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Provision should be made by all city central libraries for exhibition and for facilities to mount them.

DISTRICT AND BRANCH LIBRARY SERVICES

The services to be provided in district and branch libraries should aim at attracting and encouraging public interest in civic, cultural, educational, industrial, recreational and social welfare activities. They should provide quick reference collections, collections for adults, young people and children, and facilities for extension activities.

District and branch libraries should receive centralized support services from all the departments of the central libraries, and particularly from the administrative services, such as those concerned with process- ing.

STANDARDS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

At the Association’s meeting in Milan in 1972, it embarked on a new research programme to extend its activities to meet the interests of metropolitan public library services in developing countries. This was a direct response of the request of the International Federation of Library Associations, which had asked all of its member groups to give attention to this field. INTAMEL received financial assistance from both the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa and UNESCO in Paris in 1972 and 1973, in order to hold several meetings with developing countries members’ participation.

One of the important matters which the Association undertook at its Milan meeting was to establish a statement of principle dealing with its r61e in assistance to libraries in metropolitan areas. In this declaration it asserted that a vigorous public library system is necessary to the life of metropolitan cities in all parts of the world, and re-affirmed its readiness to work in every way possible with municipal, regional and national authorities in order to assist them in the development and extension of metropolitan public library systems.

RE-ORGANIZATION OF CITY LIBRARY SYSTEMS

The continuing growth in the size of large cities has brought about the need to reorganize and change the nature of public library services in many countries. The single most important influence on the restructur- ing of public library services in metropolitan areas has been the influence of consolidation of local government authorities, in order to reduce the number of duplicating services, and in order to provide for more uniform services and their more economical operation. This matter has been of

INTAMEL MEETING 11

the greatest importance in all metropolitan centres, since the growth of large populations brought about the need to expand all civic services to serve many additional millions of persons. For this reason, the consolida- tion of local government services may be expected to continue in the future.

Three methods which have been adopted to secure such consolidation include: annexation; combining city and county governments and organization of a metropolitan government. The annexation of local municipalities within a metropolitan area has been one of the basic ways in which the local government services have been extended to progressively larger groups of the population. Annexation is continuing in all parts of the world, but it is often accompanied by various forms of decentralization, since there is an effort to avoid creating metropolitan city structures which are too large for the effective participation of citizens.

COMBINING CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS

This arrangement has been one which has been used to deal with the problems of metropolitan areas and to assist core cities to improve their financial resources. For the county government such a combination has resulted in it receiving a much larger share of the benefits once restricted to residents of the city centre. In the combining of the city and the county governments, a pattern somewhat different from annexation is followed. In some cases the city maintains certain key responsibilities and the county loses much of its individual autonomy, although gaining participation in the planning of the region as a whole. In other cases, as in city-county government re-organization under the Local Government Act 1972 in Great Britain, some city services lose some of their autonomy.

METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT

Over the past 20 years a federated form of consolidation of local govern- ment units has been worked out in some metropolitan areas of the world. This has been achieved by providing for a federation of local govern- ment authorities and creating a second tier of government which manages the resulting federation. This has meant that certain responsi- bilities of each local area that are considered to be of metropolitan wide need are taken over by the metropolitan government. Such functions are then carried out by the metropolitan authorities on behalf of the area as a whole. The local authorities still remain in existence, and carry out a wide range of services and functions for their citizens. Examples of

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metropolitan federation include Greater London in the United King- dom, Metropolitan Toronto in Canada, and Metropolitan Miami-Dade County in the U.S.A. The exact pattern of the resulting federation may vary once the basic concept of metropolitan organization has been adopted.

To public library authorities the value of a form of federated metro- politan government is that metropolitan wide library responsibilities such as the financial support of the central library and the provision of central technical and administrative services can be clearly allocated to the metropolitan authority. The local library authorities can retain responsibility for dealing with library activities which have direct refer- ence to the needs of local users. The revenue redistribution advantage of the metropolitan government is also important, since this will permit financial support for those library services which are used by all residents throughout the area. It also provides a means of equalizing the financial base of local library services.