Cornell Law Library Annual Report 1950

LAW LIBRARY CORNELL LAW SCHOOL Report for 1950

Our last report was filed In January 1950 for the calendar year 1949.

We changed to the calendar year

from the aoademlc year in order to have a proper considera­ tion of our law library problems before the completion of the annual law school budget for the coming fiscal year.

More suitable time Is allowed for reflection and

consideration of the future of the law library.

Acquisitions The past year brought to us the most valuable acquisition whloh we have obtained in years.

Through the

generosity of Earl J. Bennett LL.B. 1901, we have been able to make the purohase of the notable, rare and historically interesting original Reports of the Revisers of the New York State Statutes 1826-28.

Previous revisions

had been mere compilations or oolleotlons of statutes arranged either chronologically or arranged by subject.

This revision of the statutes is the most remarkable work of its kind among the peoples using the Anglo Saxon System of law.

There had been several so-called revisions

during the New York Colony and three during the statehood.

An act of the Legislature of 1824 provided for a new revision to follow the old lines.

The Junior members

of the revisers, Benjamin F. Butler and John Duer, con­ ceived the idea of a bold and radical change in the method of revision.

Without the indorsement of their

senior oolleague, Erastus Root, they submitted to the Legislature of 1835 a eoheme which called for a replacing of the mass of disconnected statutes, by a new oomplete system based upon the existing statutes, English, colonial and state, and upon the common law, and made serviceable by the symmetrical and scientific arrangement of them.

The revisers proposed to take the existing statutes and round them out and fill them in with the oommon law.

After heated debate, a bill passed the legislature giving them this authority.

The revisers finished their work

during the years 1826-1828, and it was enacted into law by the Legislature In the two latter years.

The passage

of the Revised Statutes was one of the decisive battles in progress and reform of law, and led directly to the greatest of reforms in the laws of English speaking peoples, namely, the reform of procedure by the State of New York in 1848, which has been followed in all Juris­ dictions, English and American.

The first of these

reports was submitted on March 15, 1826.

These were

enacted by the Legislature separately at the sessions of 1827 and 1828.

Each of these separate reports consisted

usually of an introductory explanatory note followed by the text of the proposed part of the revision.

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The text

In eaoh case is annotated by references showing the sources from whloh they are derived.

It is these notes that make

the reports useful to students of statute law.

These

notes consist of references to the common law, to statutes, to commentaries and to interpretation of the law by Judges, as found in the court reports of England and of the United States.

The Revised Statutes are the basis

of all subsequent revisions in New York State.

To find

the original source of the major part of our existing statute law it is necessary to have recourse to these notes.

It is our understanding that our set is the

most complete one in existence.

Valuable additions have been made to our collec­ tion of United Nations publications, the field of inter­ national law and comparative law.

Our collection of United States Supreme Court and New York Court of Appeals records and briefs is bound and is in excellent order.

Use of them is greater because

of the increased moot court work and researoh in library problems.

Important additions have been made to our fine collection of legal periodicals by speoial price and exchange.

Our collection now totals 115,990 books.

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Budget We are experiencing continued difficulties with our small budget during the present school year.

Prloes

for continuations lnorease In large amounts due to Increased labor costs and the high cost of paper and binding.

The

trend in law library continuations is to more annual pocket supplementation with annual increases as the material accumulates.

More and more textbooks and subjects

are being covered In loose leaf service form, thereby creating annual cost for supplementation.

The older

method was by printing a new edition of a textbook, which would leave an area of a few years when we had no cost. ’•*'© have had the following annual appropriations from 1945 to date: 1945- 46 -

46,000

1946- 47 -

#10,000

1947- 48 -

#10,000

194819491950-51

49 #10,000 plus #3,987 .50 from Law Sohool Summer Term 50 #14,000 -

#10,100 plus Saokett Fund #3,900 (This fund represents accumulated inoome, and a new source must be found.)

VanCleef Fund - #1,000 per year Tansey Fund - #28 per year VanH&mee Fund - #40 per year beginning 1950-51.

A comparison of our present annual budget with other law libraries of equal size and standing reveals that each of those libraries receives over twice as much as we do for necessary operations.

It is only a question of time how

long we can stagger under suoh a tremendous financial load.

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We have already reached the point where we are unable to make necessary acquisitions and oomplete necessary bind­ ing.

A law school of our size and importance should not

be burdened as we are in its library.

Staff We all enjoy working in a library which is so beautiful and spacious in size.

We appreciate a very

cooperative and interested faculty.

We are very fortunate

in having a most faithful and loyal law library staff.

We have a very large student body which has nearly doubled in size since the war. our faoulty.

We have had several additions to

The work and problems for our library staff

have grown correspondingly with the above Increases in size of our student body and faoulty.

There is no law

library our size which is operated by such a small staff.

We have had to operate without a suitably trained reference librarian at the control desk, due to no available money.

I regard this with dismay, because our students do not receive adequate training in the law books, which are the tools of their trade.

The proper technique and skill in

using the available sets of law books is a tremendous asset.

When we are financially able, our first additional

staff member should be a competent reference librarian.

I can think of no other good law school library which does not have a properly trained and competent reference librarian.

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I repeat from past years our second great deficiency Is the lack of a secretary In our library administration.

Our many records and other clerical

work and correspondence have been greatly inconvenienced and handicapped because of the lack of a secretary.

We

have had to operate by writing letters in leng hand and asking the assistant law librarian to do secretarial work.

When we are able financially, the addition of a

secretary would be a very wise investment, both from the point of view of releasing us to do projects needed in the growth of our library, as well as having a more efficient operation.

These two deficiencies greatly

effect the proper operation of our staff work, since reference work and secretarial work have to be assumed by the present staff members who more properly should be doing other things.

Salaries I appreciate that the problem of adequate salaries these days is a serious one. holds is purely speculation.

What the future

There are some facts,

however, which reveal to me that our staff members are not treated on a par with the rest of the university librarians.

A librarian who begins work on the univer­

sity library staff; with a liberal arts degree plus a degree from library school, receives a minimum salary of #2400.

Such a person has the prospect of an annual

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Increase of 1120 per year fer each year of employment thereafter for a reasonable length of time.

Our highest

paid staff member has a B.S. degree In Library Science and has been with us sixteen years.

She receives #2580

per year, whiohis only 1180 more than a beginner in the other University libraries.

We have one other member

who has an A.B. degree and a B.S, in Library Science, who has been with us twelve years.

The lowest paid clerical assistant on the University Library staff, with no oollege degree, receives #1800 per year as a minimum salary, with annual increases over a reasonable period of time.

WŠ have one staff

member, with no college degree, who has been with us six years who is not yet receiving the minimum salary given by the University Library.

Our other full time member

of the staff, who has no college degree, is in her fifth year on our staff and does not yet reoeive the minimum salary paid by the University Library.

I know that all

of our staff members have a very difficult problem in maintaining a living and existence on the small salary whioh is received.

Unless adequate increases are forth­

coming we may expect to lose some of our staff members because of the absolute financial need whioh they have for a higher salary.

If we are faced with the problem

of replacing <kne of our staff members one can easily see in what a financial orisls we will be.

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I Conoluslon The situation of the Law Library regarding its Inadequate annual budget, and staff members with their less than minimum salaries grows more critical each year, as inflation and high prices continually mount.

Some solution must be found in order to main-

tain a law library and a staff that will come up to the proper standard of our Cornell Law Sohool.

Hespeotfully submitted,

January 10, 1951

Lewis W. Morse, Law Librarian

Ct

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June 14o 1950

CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR VARIOUS ANNUAL REPORTS

Please complete this form and return to S. A. McCarthy,, Cornell University library, before July 10„ 1950.. i»

Name of library Librarian

^

Report for the year

^1 j ^

—

^

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4*

Number of volumes lent for home use exclusive of reserve books

5.

Number of reserved bookss used in library ~Xo -■le g e n d lent for overnight or weekend use yto . w A*.

®*

Number of interlibrary loansi

^ '

R eferen ces

borrowed from other libraries ^ o loaned to other libraries }fo

No. of directional questions ~)to No* of general questions .

No. of search questions 'Mn Total No. of bibliographies compiled ")?px-e ®*

Z/3 OV j

Number of volumes1 at beginning of year

7 0

Number of volumes added by purchase Number of volumes added by gift " r —

‘fc-'U

°f

>—

U. Number of volumes lost or withdrawn from records 12 II5 Z<z 7 • Total number at end of year ^3• Newspapers currently received* by gift or exchange

U.

Periodicals currently received? by gift HWEffhHgge

) / £>

by subscription ____ s total

7

by subscription

* Library income* a. appropriation ____ b. income from endowments

IA

total

. *» 6

^ 7 ,

~h

c» gifts d. e. f. g.

IT

^

■f-/aoa.n

’ )%/b,S~L

fees,, fineso etc. ____________ total l & XI L .vTk reappropriated balance from previous year total funds available ^ ■%t C, ■ 5~6

(OVER)

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Funds available for purchase of books, periodicals.^binding for next year *) 5 0 o o. <rb

17.

Library expenditures a. Salaries of library staff _______ b. Wages of student assistants s/ W ‘ h. c. Books "7 ' *9. 7 7 0 . 3 V ^ d. Periodicals^ _____________ e. Binding S 2.C *£' ?

193.57 f. Supplier Supplie and equipment g. ©ttter 9 3 .7(0 h. Total $ IS:^ / <J.S L

18.

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Library Staff (each group given in full time equivalent) Number of professional staff members -3 Number of clerical staff members % JiJlt (~~tCvL l Number of student assistants __3

ft* U/bj VryJa. <fna. A a w JuT«* •*

libtc w nA . Jtn

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This report prepared by

you prepare an annual report for the Department Head, Dean, or Library Committee, we would appreciate having a copy filed with the University Library.