Bryan, Barbara D., M.S. - Oral History (transcript)

              Fairfield University
Oral History Transcripts
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barbara D. Bryan, M.S.
University Librarian Emerita
February 1993
Barbara D. Bryan, M.S.
a brief biography
“It's a very friendly atmosphere and you really knew everyone on
campus… I think we were all working together as part of the
University community. That was the sense - you immediately
were sort of taken into this family. That's something I think we still
have and something I would hope the University never loses, is
that sense of belonging to something.”
Barbara Bryan joined the library staff as Assistant Director of
Libraries in November 1965. She received her undergraduate
degree from the University of Maine, and her masters degree in
library science from Southern Connecticut State University. Prior
to coming to Fairfield University, she was the assistant librarian of
Fairfield Public Library and also held positions at the Harvard
College and Yale University Libraries. In 1974, Barbara Bryan was
named University Librarian, a position she held until she retired in
1996.
Barbara D. Bryan
Barbara (Day) Bryan, 84, died on January 29, 2012, at Bridgeport Hospital
following a courageous six-month effort to regain her health and inde-pendence.
A longtime Fairfield resident, Barbara's life reflected the values of
professionalism, civic engagement, and an active, healthy lifestyle. Born in
Livermore Falls, Maine, she was the daughter of Lorey C. and Olga
(Bergquist) Day. After earning a B.A. from the University of Maine, she began
a career in library science, working as a cataloger first at Harvard and then at
Yale University. While at Yale, Barbara met and fell in love with Robert S.
Bryan, a graduate student in architecture and city planning. They married in
1950 and moved to Fairfield, where Barbara accepted a position as cataloger for the Fairfield
Public Library. She earned an M.S. degree in library science from Southern Connecticut State
University, and was subsequently promoted at Fairfield Public to reference librarian (1954-57)
and assistant director (1957-65). She was then tapped by Fairfield University to serve as
assistant director of Nyselius Library, and was later promoted to University Librarian. At her
retirement in 1996, Barbara was named University Librarian Emerita, a fitting capstone to her 31
years of service to the University, and an honor she treasured. During her long career, she was
active within her profession, serving on and/or chairing various boards at the local, state, and
national level. Barbara was particularly pleased to be recognized for the quality of her service
when, in 1988, her peers named her Connecticut's Librarian of the Year. She was also a
member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. In retirement, Barbara volunteered daily at the
Fairfield Historical Society; served on the boards of the Association of Connecticut Libraries and
Oak Lawn Cemetery; remained a representative to the Connecticut Library Association's
Legislative Committee; and was an active member of both the Fairfield University Retirees
Association (past president) and the University's Institute for Retired Professionals (advisory
board, two terms). In town, Barbara served on the Library Building Committee and the Historic
District Commission, both as a member and as commissioner (2003-2008) of the latter. Barbara
was predeceased by her husband, Bob, who died in 1996, and by her brother, Richard L. Day.
She will be missed by her many, many friends. A graveside service will be held Friday, February
3, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fairfield with the Rev. David Spollett officiating.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson
Road, Fairfield. Memorial contributions may be made to Operation Hope, 636 Old Post Rd.,
Fairfield, CT 06824, or to your favorite charity. For information or to sign an online guest register
please visit www.SpearMillerFuneralHome.com.
Source: Connecticut Post (online), published from February 1 to February 2, 2012.
Please note: this obituary was added to the Oral History after it was originally produced in order to
provide further biographical information.
ORAL HISTORY: BARBARA BRYAN, FEBRUARY 1993
HAD YOU EVER WORKED IN A JESUIT ENVIRONMENT BEFORE?
No, I hadn't. I had a year or two at Yale and a couple of years at Harvard and then Fairfield
Public, rather different atmospheres from what this was when I first came.
WHAT WAS THE UNIVERSITY LIKE IN THOSE DAYS?
Very formal. Formal and informal. It was formal in terms of the conduct of the courses, the
clothing of the students, the shirt, tie, jacket situation, they dressed very formally; the Jesuits
- were wearing Cassocks and birettas. Moving out of the Classical Age really started, as I'm sure
you heard from other people, essentially started with the Classical Course, Classical program
and they were moving out of that at the time. It was informal, I think, in the administrative
sense, that I know the Library had a budget of sorts -- nothing as formal as it is today or as the
process became. I recall the Treasurer was a Father Huss. He and Father Small, I think, were
all on the Board. It was just a Board of 7 Jesuits who really were running the Institution.
Father Huss was the Treasurer. His office was over the Library. The Library at that point was
at Canisius on the ground floor and if Father Small felt he needed more money for books or
wanted to do something, he'd see Father Huss. He'd either go up to the office or he'd see him
at dinnertime or in the evening at the House and he'd say, 'Well, I need $5,000 for this or we
need something extra for these books' and Father Huss would say 'Okay.' So, it was a very
r informal ... it was run very informally; as the University has grown, it has obviously become
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
a much more, it had to become a much more structured situation in terms of finance and
planning and organization. Growth in size and finances mean that, but at that point, it was
pretty small. I think, I don't remember how many students there were. I think we were
probably in the neighborhood of 15, 1600; at one point, there was the feeling that they didn't
want to grow beyond 1800 undergraduates. At the time they built the Library they were saying
'We'll have a maximum of 1800 undergraduates' so the Library got a little small a little fast.
DID YOU WORK CLOSELY WITH ANY OF THE OTHER JESUITS AT THAT TIME?
Not in the sense of really working with them. It's as it still is. It's a very friendly atmosphere
and you really knew everyone on campus. It wasn't a sense of working with them. I think we
- were all working together as part of the University community. That was the sense you
immediately were sort of taken into this family. That's something I think we still have and
something I would hope the University never loses is that sense of belonging to something.
WERE TRERE A NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THOSE DAYS IN POSITIONS?
Very few. I recall, I think there were one or two on the faculty. I think Dorothy Shafer was
on the faculty at that point. I recall Dr. Julia Johnston came, I believe, the year after I came
and she was one of the very early women on the faculty. I think I was essentially the first
woman in any kind of a...there were other women in the Library, but in terms of an
administrative position, one of the very few. Actually, the majority of the higher level
administrative positions were held by Jesuits.
DID YOU FEEL AT ALL UNUSUAL BEING A WOMAN IN THIS SITUATION?
P No, I felt very comfortable, but as I said, because of that community feeling.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
NOW THE LIBRARY, YOU SAID, IN THOSE DAYS WAS IN CANISIUS?
Right. That was its second stop. I believe it was originally, I think, in this building. It may
have been in Berchmans first, I'm not sure but it was in this building for a period until they built
Canisius. Then they moved the basic, the main Library to Canisius and they didn't have
departmental libraries; they had a Science Library, they created the Science Library here because
all of the Science courses were being taught here. Berchmans was strictly Prep and this became
a University building.
COULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE LIBRARY FOR ME IN THOSE DAYS WHEN
YOU FIRST CAME?
T One large room, essentially, in terms of the public area. It took the ground floor, essentially,
an "LW-shapev, ery simple to use, obviously, because you'd walk in one of two doors, small
desk, reading area near the windows, stacks, card catalog but a very simple, just basically one
large room, the offices were in the short leg of the "L" and that comprised perhaps four rooms,
something like that. And then we grew. We moved, in 1968, into the present building and had
a lot more elbow room, had around three floors and considerably larger. I think, at the time,
the current building, the Nyselius Building was built, we had about 100,000 volumes; now we've
over 240,000, so we're beginning to. ..we're filling the space and the student body is larger and
we put in computers that do this and that and the other -- a lot more technology, obviously.
WHEN YOU WERE AT CANISIUS, HOW MANY VOLUMES WERE IN THAT
LIBRARY? - I think at the time we moved out of there, there were about 100,000. I ran across some old
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 3
Annual Reports a few days ago and I think it was around 1950 or '51 which would have been
about the time that the Senior Class graduated, there were something like about 32,000 volumes.
It grew modestly. They had quite a . .. my understanding was that there were quite a few gifts,
I think Holy Cross had some duplicate volumes that they sent down. They did a little bit of a
collection from some of the other Jesuit institutions and then they obviously put their own funds
into it. We still get a number of gifts. We get people who live in the community, in the area,
who think of us and we've had some very fine gifts. We continue to get those. We had a
person who was a reviewer for one of the Science Magazines; she would give us review copies
from time to time. We would get some very nice things. We have a good budget, but we also
have friends.
WHEN YOU JOINJCD THE LIBRARY IN THE SIXTIES, WHAT WAS THE BUDGET
IN THOSE DAYS? DO YOU RECALL?
No, I don't quite. I think we were looking at a book budget that was probably in the $30,000
range while now we're looking at a book budget that's in the $565,000 range, but that budget
currently is not all books. It's all materials, but books alone would probably be running 10
times what it was then or more.
AND BESIDES FATHER SMALL AND YOURSELF, WHAT WAS THE STAFF? HOW
LARGE A STAFF DID YOU HAVE?
There were, at that point, we had, when I came, there was a person who is still with us, a Helen
Lucas, who is one of our very best paraprofessionals. She had been on the staff for about five
f - years, we had a Secretary, we had a Cataloger and I think two clerks, so we had whatever that
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 4
adds up to -- relatively modest, I think we had about seven or eight people. We're now at
full-time people -- we're at about 21.
COMING AS YOU DID FROM THE FAIRFIELD COMMUNITY INTO THE
UNIVERSITY, WHAT WAS THE STANDING OR THE ATTITUDE ABOUT FAIRFIELD
IN THE FAIRFIELD COMMUNITY IN THOSE DAYS?
I don't think I had any real sense of it. I had always thought it was very nice that there was a
good college, that there was a good higher education institution in the heart of town. I think
was the University has done has become a rather side, not a main purpose, but a side value I
would say is that it really has preserved some open space even though there are a lot of
e buildings, it has preserved some open space and some parklike situation in the heart of the
residential district. The underlying zoning, I think, has been, at one point, was an A-zone, that
was a 75 x 150 lot, small lots, and had it not been for the University, we'd have a very dense
housing problem. I think it's preserved a nice atmosphere and people, many people, do come
in and walk here, or jog here and enjoy the open space and greenery. WERE THERE OTHER
FACULTY MEMBERS IN THE SIXTIES WHO STAND OUT IN YOUR MIND --
PEOPLE, IN PARTICULAR?
Well, I think Carmen Donnarumma is a long-time person and a fixture. Father Leeber who is
on the original faculty and has just retired. One really knew all of them because we were in the
building that was the major classroom building except for the Sciences. I think we saw the Arts
and Sciences people more because the Science courses, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, etc. were
,- in Xavier and they did have their own library until we built the Nyselius Library, so at first, we
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 5
didn't see too many of the Science people. We had one staff member over here; we had a clerk
here who just handled books going in and out.
WAS THE SCIENCE LIBRARY UNDER YOUR AUSPICES AS WELL OR WAS IT...?
No, it wasn't, it was a branch, a small branch, a departmental library, staffed by the University
and by the University Library and it was financially supported by them; it was like a branch
library.
HOW MANY VOLUMES WERE IN THAT?
That was quite small. I would say that probably was in the vicinity of only 5,000 or 6,000
volumes. Essentially, a working collection for the faculty and the students over here.
NOW, WHAT WOULD FACULTY DO? WOULD THEY COMEDOWN AND REQUEST
THAT YOU ORDER A BOOK OR PURCHASE A BOOK THAT THEY WOULD NEED?
They would do that. They would use the Library themselves, but those days were less formal
in that sense too. They would just drop in and say they would like to have something. We now
have a little bit. We do allocate funds to the academic departments. We allocate some of the
book funds so that they know that they have at least a certain basic amount and then they send
requests in and we purchase from their account.
WAS THERE ALSO MONEY FOR PERIODICALS?
Right.
I'VE O m WO NDERED, HAVING USED THE PERIODICAL COLLECTION AT
FAIRFIELD MORE THAN ONCE, HOW YOU DETERMINE WITH THE VAST
r NUMBERSTHATYOUHAVE. IMEANTHEREAREOTHERSONTOPOFTHAT
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 6
THATYOUCOULDHAVE.
Oh, there are thousands and thousands of titles. That's one of the challenging things these days,
I think because journals proliferate. We have about 1800 current subscriptions and we obviously
can't meet everybody's demands. We do ... our collection is geared as much as anything to
meet the needs of the students. It's based on the curriculum and the programs. If a new
program's approved, such as Women's Studies Program that was just approved, we allocate
monies, we set aside monies to support an initial collection, to strengthen the collection in that
area and to add a few journal titles. We have an inter-library loan service. We can obtain
photocopies of articles but what's developing now is basically electronic document delivery.
We're investigating currently a service that many libraries use called C4RL Uncover. Carl is
a Library consortium based on Colorado: Colorado Alliance Research Libraries, I believe it is,
which also has electronic systems. They have a database and you can search that database
through the internet, through this big national network and identify the particular article you may
want. There are abstracts, there are title pages, tables of contents, you can identify the article
and it can be downloaded, you can download it to a computer or you can have it faxed within
24 hours or you can print it off so you can get really immediate service. That's something
we're investigating at this point.
DOES THIS MEAN THAT EVENTUALLY A LIBRARY WOULDN'T NEED
NECESSARILY TO HAVE ALL THESE HARD COPY OF PERIODICALS?
There are basic ones, basic ones that you need. We would not think of increasing our collection
,- by very much except as we need to, for new programs because there are these other means of
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 7
access now, means of retrieving things. That is something that we are exploring, we will be
doing. I think that libraries, in general are saying now -- they've been using a business
expression and I've been hearing it from librarians a great deal that basically you don't . . . the
operating theory is getting to be now not just in case, but just in time. You don't buy a book
or subscribe to a periodical just on the off-chance that somebody may want that sometime, but
you essentially try to get the information or the item to the person at the time of their need and
that's what the document delivery services are responding to and why libraries are putting money
in electronic information sources and delivery sources rather than adding to collections that may,
essentially, be a waste of money.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
WAS THERE ROOM IN TFIE LIBRARY, FOR INSTANCE, FOR A STUDENT TO
COME IN AND STUDY RIGHT THERE?
They had some very large study tables, quite a few of them that I would say they seated, they
probably seated a hundred students, close to 100 students
WAS IT USED EXTENSIVELY?
Well, it was convenient too because it was on the ground floor of one of the main classroom
buildings. They would come down between classes and study. There were fewer other places
to go. They had just finished the Campus Center. That was brand new. Gonzaga was around,
Loyola was around but there was a lot of building subsequent to that, subsequent to Canisius.
WERE THERE NEW PROGRAMS THAT CAME IN DURING TFIE SIXTIES THAT
AFFECTED BOOKS, YOUR COLLECTION, BOOKS THAT YOU HAD TO ... ?
Well, I think one of the major ones was probably the Graduate School of Corporate and Political
Communication which started, I think, the year, probably around 1966 and that, of course, was
one that dealt greatly with the written word, the printed word so that did, we did develop a
fairly extensive collection and that did need more journals and periodicals and the people, the
faculty in that course were library-users, just by the nature of the topic, of the subject and the
sorts of courses that they were doing and greatly involved a great deal of writing, a great deal
of research. That was one of the major ones. Another one, not in Canisius days, but later on
/-
in the seventies was the development of School of Business. There had been a department,
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 9
essentially, a Department of Accounting, really that broadened to include other aspects of
Business and then it became a school in the late seventies, around that time and that was
obviously meant substantial development in the areas of Business topics.
IN THE CASE OF SOMETHING LIKE THE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS, WHAT
TYPICALLY HAPPENED? DID SOMEONE LIKE THE DEAN COME OVER AND SIT
DOWN AND SAY TO YOU 'NOW THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO TEACH AND
THESE ARE THE KINDS OF BOOKS.'
Well, this was when Father Small was still the Director then. I became the Director after he
passed away in 1974, but they tended to work with Father Small in terms of some of the actual
collections more than they did with me. I essentially was doing a lot of the operational oversight
and planning and that kind of thing, though I did work with faculty closely. We also took our
turns at the desk in the evening, helping out with Reference and that kind of thing, but they
would work out a program and a plan and the budget for developing the collection. The sorts
of things that they needed -- they were people, they were words people, would have
bibliographies and basically knew the kinds of things that they wanted to do.
WERE TFIERE ANY BOOKS OR PERIODICALS THAT WERE, IN THE LEAST BIT,
DIFFICULT TO GET OR CONTROVERSIAL OR ANY OF THAT, THAT YOU
RECALL?
I think that has been one of the remarkable ... that makes me think of two things. One is that
there was something called The Index that essentially were books that were restricted, that people
, were not encouraged to read or were discouraged from reading. We had a group of those in a
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 10
cage before I came. There were a group of them, those had been segregated in a cage in
Canisius, not a large number and they were identified in the Card Catalog by an "X" after the
call number. They tended to deal with what could be considered questionable political sorts of
things, Marxism, Communism, some Protestant religions, certain philosophers; it was a fairly
extensive list that was put out by the Church and I think it was the year before I came that
apparently some students got into the Library one night, got into the cage (you could do it by
crawling over the top of the stacks), took out all of the books and interfiled them with the rest
of the collection and that was the end of the cage. Father Small said 'Fine, let's let it go', so
the decision was to do that and I think one of the most interesting things is the question you ask
is one that other people have asked from time to time and I think most remarkably that I recall
in all of my years here only perhaps two complaints about materials in the Library and both of
these came from townspeople. There'd never been any question about what we might purchase
or not purchase and I think this is just a sign of the openmindedness of the quality of the
academic life here. One townsperson, I know, complained because we, Der Spiegel had a rather
fascinating cover one issue, sort of like the Sports IIlurtrated Swimsuit issue and the person
didn't think that was appropriate for college students to see and the other one was a topic which
I don't recall at the moment but something that the person just felt was a controversial topic that
should not be represented in a place where there were young people who might be
impressionable, so within the University there has never been any difficulty at all.
WHEN YOU CAME IN, WERE PLANS ALREADY UNDERWAY FOR THE NYSELIUS
r LIBRARY OR WAS THAT SOMETHING...?
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
It was just in the beginning. Father Small had written a Building Program; interestingly enough,
the Public Library that I had been at was planning a branch building and I went to a
Pre-Conference at the American Library Association, I think in the summer of '65, the Building
Institute and Father Small and the Campus Engineer were also at the Building Institute so we
became quite friendly there. They were in the initial steps of planning the Nyselius Library.
When I came back, I think it was after that, that Father Small did approach me and thought that
having been at the Building Institute, maybe I could be useful, so he had written a Building
Program, he had surveyed the students to see what they felt should be in the Library, that the
Library should be like what it should offer in terms of atmosphere and facilities. He had done
the same thing with the faculty. He did a very excellent study and had done a preliminary
Building Program and it was at that point, had developed a Building Committee and it was at
that point that I came, so I was in it from probably not the first stage by the second, just beyond
the first, so I was around to see it built. I was around to supervise the moving. Father Small
was ill for a period and one day he said 'O.K., you're the one who's going to move it.'
Everyone was very helpful.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
NOW THE MONEY FOR THE BUILDING. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?
There was a Federal Library Building Program at that point and Federal loan monies. I don't
know 100% about the financing. I know there was certainly federal money in it, basically loan,
basically loan. There was some institutional money going into it and certainly a substantial
mortgage. It cost less to build buildings in those days, too. I think the total cost of the building
and equipment was around a million 6.
I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHY IT'S CALLED THE NYSELIUS LIBRARY.
Well, there was a man named Gustav Nyselius who lived in Stamford. He was a Swedish
fl. immigrant; he had founded the Mount Vernon Tool and Die Company -- D.I.E., Mount Vernon
Die Company. A number of the Swedish people who came in this area and Stamford and that
area were involved in machine tools and that kind of things as Mr. Bannow was. Apparently,
Mr. Nyselius and Father McInnes, who was then President, had met each other somewhere and
became good friends and Mr. Nyselius put some money into the Library. He was one of the
major donors and the decision was made to name the Library after him and his wife.
DO YOU REMEMBER ANY OF THE MEETINGS THAT WENT ON IN THE
PLANNING AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LIBRARY AT ALL? WHAT KINDS
OF ISSUES CAME UP OR DISCUSSION?
I know the basic thing was to have a building that was attractive, would be flexible, would have
open space so that as the change world and as the Library world changed and services changed,
r-- they'd have the flexibility to move things around and to do things and it has proven that. The
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 13
Building Committee was really in the initial stages and sort of reviewing the recommendations,
the student and faculty suggestions and that kind of detail came down to working with Father
Small working with the architects. Then Eggers and Higgins. Now, Higgins, Associates. The
Project Architect was a man from Darien named Gates Beckwith. He has been on the Board
of the Darien Public Library so he had a particular interest in libraries. The partnership and had
done other library buildings and they seemed to have a good sense of what we were talking
about. Father Small had done a preliminary sketch himself which I've seen not too long ago.
What the building became is very much indicated by that first little drawing of what I would like
to see here and what I would like to see there and the relationships of things that you don't put
- the staff, as used to happen in Libraries that the staff that's doing the processing, processing
books don't get buried somewhere. They're a part of the mainstream and near other staff
members and near the activity because they support that other activity. It makes for a closeness.
The one change that was made, the major change that was made was really an institutional
decision that in Father Small's original drawings and I think the very preliminary drawings by
the architects had shown an area of the building as a sort of Media Center. We obviously knew
the need to have a Media area and this would have been one that involved the delivery;
essentially, it was an institutional decision to have a separate Media Center and not to have it
in the Library, so basically that was taken out and this is what this groundfloor of Xavier
became because Dr. Hefzallah came along about three years -- he and his wife, Mona Hefzallah,
Dr. Hefzallah's wife has joined the Library staff as cataloger when they came in 1968; she came
/-
just about the time that we were moving into the building and then Heb came to get this center
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 14
going. We do now have a small Media Department. We had a grant in 1981, because the
Library world in ways of learning says 'Yes, you have to have Media'. When the Nursing
School was open, we had a Typing Room; we turned that into a small Media Room and we had
a grant in 1981 and we developed a Media Department in the Library; it's nothing that competes
with this Media Center. Essentially, it's just a place where we hold videotapes, we hold
audiotapes, we maintain the microphones; it's just another area of the Library with non-print
resources in it and resources, but that was the one major change in the original plan for the
current Library was to move the Media Center out and essentially it was going to be a Book
Library. Now, it's books and a few other things.
- FATHER SMALL HAD OBVIOUSLY THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT THAT.
He was a very foresighted person, I think. He saw the direction. He understood, he saw the
direction in which libraries were going, education materials and methods were going.
DID YOU WORK AT ALL WITH FATHER MCINNES IN ANY OF HIS BUILDING
COMMITTEE MEETINGS OR PLANNING?
Well, just ve ry... for a relatively short time. At the time that we were planning the move
because Father Small was ill and was away for several months or absent for several months, I
did work with Father McInnes initially on deciding how we were going to handle it, bringing
in a professional mover and that type of thing.
THAT MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE A JOB, MOVING ALL THOSE BOOKS.
Well, it's one of those things -- you know you have to do it, you do it and we did find that there
/- was a mover in New Haven who had moved libraries. He had done some moving for Yale and
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 15
it was a matter of all of us pitching in and doing the planning and one person being responsible
and one for another, marking things, measuring things, knowing that what you're going to do
is going to fit. I think one of the major challenges was that at the time that the decision was at
the time Canisius opened, we would move the Science Library, integrate the Science Library
with the Nyselius Library. We would be integrated so there would be just a single Library.
That was another relatively major decision. I think the Science Faculty, some of them were a
little disconcerted initially, but Bannow was the Bannow Science Center was in the planning
stages so they felt the proximity of that building to the Library really made it unnecessary to
maintain a separate facility because they're right next door and they do, they pop back and forth,
,- pop into our door, their door into our door.
HOW WAS THE AREA OF THE CAMPUS SELECTED IN WHICH TO PUT THE
LIBRARY? DO YOU KNOW HOW IT GOT TO BE WHERE IT IS?
Some of what I think I know is not necessarily knowledge as much as hearsay. Oral history,
so to speak, but my understanding was they were looking in the ... they've had a series of
Campus Plans and I think in the Campus Plan that was then the current Campus Plan, they were
looking at having the campus divided into a number of areas: there'd be the Residential Area
which is the three-fourths of a quadrangle that exists with Regis, Campion and . . . Gonzaga is
there and Loyola is residential. That was going to be the residential court. Then they would
develop in the heart of the campus would really be an academic corps -- it would include from
Canisius down, but they were looking at having the center around the vicinity of where the
P Library was planned. Bannow was there, the Library and this plan envisioned and I think there
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 16
is a current plan that envisions some sort of a classroom building that would be just to the
southwest of the Library, that there would be this sort of instructional corps and a residential
corps, that everything here would revert to Prep, that Xavier and Berchmans would revert to
Prep, as they largely have, but that was why the Library was located where it was. SO, we
were sort of in isolation for a period. We were very happy to see the Quick Center come into
the south of us so that now we had a pedestrian way in front of us and we don't feel quite so
remote and I think in people's minds, we're not so remote; it's something now that the Quick
Center is even more remote, a little farther down. So, you've got us back a little more into the
mainstream.
DO YOU SERVE THE PREP AS WELL?
No, the Prep has its own Library, but the Prep students do use us and we do issue cards to the
juniors and seniors at Prep. They tend to use us and if they have research component, we're
open to the upperclassmen. THE SIXTIES, AS I'M SURE YOU RECALL, WAS A TIME
OF FAIR AMOUNT OF TURMOIL GOING ON, RIGHT HERE, AND ELSEWHERE.
WAS THE LIBRARY AT ALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT
OR AFFECTED BY IT OR AT ALL?
Had we still be in Canisius we certainly would have, but in later sixties, we were out really just
before much of that occurred and I think because of the remoteness, we knew what was going
on, we heard what was going on, but it really had very little affect on us and we didn't have a
real sense of it because of our location.
c FATHER MCINNES LEFT M THE EARLY SEVENTIES.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
Right.
HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE HIS LEGACY TO THE UNIVERSITY?
I think he was very deeply involved in community relationships and I think certainly in building
the community bridges. When he left he gave many things to the archives and there were
innumerable plaques recognizing his contributions from this organization and that organization
and I think that was one of his great strengths -- getting into the community, participating in
community affairs in Bridgeport, actually in the region and developing that way, I think, some
strong relationships and friendships for the University.
WAS THERE A, DO YOU THINK FROM THE TIME YOU CAME IN IN 1965 UNTIL
HE LEIT AROUND '72, '73, HAD THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE UNIVERSITY
CHANGED DO YOU THING?
I don't really have a sense of that. I think each President brings something different and I think
that was his strength. Father Fitzgerald in the 1970's, University's had a few of them, Tom
Fitzgerald. I think that he built on inside strength. His was the development of the internal
community and I think Father Kelley is somewhat a combination of these. Father Kelley is
again, because of the Capital Campaign and the other things that have happened during his
administration has been, had to be an outside man, too and building the community relationships,
but also I think strengthening the inside community, bringing the alumni into the campaign and
into other activities.
DID YOU WORK AT ALL CLOSELY WITH FATHER FITZGERALD WHEN HE WAS
- HERE? DID YOU GET TO KNOW HIM AT ALL?
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
He was known pretty well. He was a man who enjoyed maintaining lines of communication,
a very responsive kind of person, he had an occasional newsletter that went to people. He was,
I suspect that other people have told you stories about him. He was a person who was very
interested in everything that went on. I heard stories about him. Apparently he was an
insomniac, did have sleeping problems and he would wander the campus early mornings or late
at night and if he saw a lamp out, he'd call Maintenance or call Security and he'd call
Maintenance first thing the next morning and say 'There's a lamp out on the walkway between
the Library and the Campus Center.' He was a very observant person of these details up to the
point that they expected a daily phone call from him about the Physical Plant, reporting on
- conditions.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
DID HE AFFECT THE RUNNING OF THE LIBRARY AT ALL?
No, except he was a great Library user. I think he was in there nearly every day. I'd see him.
He'd come in around lunchtime and card catalog and we'd say 'Hello'. People would come up
and speak to him. He'd come in and look something up, go upstairs in the stacks, get the book,
go. He was a frequent visitor, a good supporter. All the Presidents have been good supporters
of the Library.
AFTER THE COLLEGE WENT CO-EDUCATIONAL IN 1970, DID NOW HAVING
WOMEN ON THE CAMPUS, DID THAT IMPACT YOUR COLLECTION OR THE
TYPES OF BOOKS YOU WERE...?
Well, to the extent that the I think it was the School of Nursing which started the year the
University went co-ed, had an obvious impact on the collection. I think in the other sense there
wasn't. Had it not been for the School of Nursing, I think there would not have been a
substantial impact. I think that the impact of women on the collection is that of the last fifteen
years, essentially as from the ERA Campaign on forward to the realization that women are real
people and having the same aptitudes and skills and abilities as men and I think the development
of our starting a Women's Study course a little later than other people did, but I know it's been
discussed for quite some time. I think the impact of women on the collection has been more in
recent years as current with newer faculty and courses that were developed on women novelists
and courses that do include women's points of view, as was ... we've gotten more
multi-cultural, the collection is getting more multi-cultural, too. Dr. Rinaldi in the English
.- Department is teaching courses in Native American Literature. We're getting more courses in
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 20
terms of the Third World Countries. We're looking to the East in terms of courses in Religious
Studies and History, looking to the East and looking to Africa. We've been looking in
Literature to the contributions of the African American, the Asian American, so I think it's a
much broader view of the world and a much better view of the world and I think that obviously
we've responded to that in terms of our collection and the faculty, in responding to that in terms
of helping us develop the collection. We have a liaison system that we started about five years
ago in which a Librarian is assigned to each department and then the department has a liaison
and these people world together on developing the collection and reviewing the collection so
that's been strengthening it.
WERE YOU INVOLVED AS A RESULT OF THE SCHOOL OF NURSING BEING
STARTED WITH FATHER SMALL IN DECIDING WHAT KINDS OF BOOKS WOULD
BE ADDED TO THE COLLECTION?
Well, we worked very closely with the Nursing faculty, the Nursing Dean and the Faculty that
came in in that development. Basically, it was their recommendations; we went with their
recommendations. There were some basic bibliographies, too, Nursing Bibliographies. One of
the things that one always does is look at basic bibliographies; there are some very good
selection tools.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
WHO WAS THE DEAN?
I'm trying to remember. I don't recall the name. It was Betty. We do a whole thing here of
first names. I don't recall right at this moment, her last name.
NOW WHEN THE BUSINESS SCHOOL BECAME A SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, YOU
WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING, TOO, I TAKE IT, WHERE ADDITIONAL
BOOKS...
We had had somewhat of a collection, but we worked with John Griffin was the Department
Chair and the first Dean and we worked very closely; I worked closely with him on that. That
, was a situation in which I actually developed library plan for the School of Business and there
was some extra money available. We looked at Indexes and we looked at basic lists and we
developed a 'wish list' in terms of journal subscriptions, reference materials, and that type of
thing and worked with him and the faculty. His wife was a librarian too so he had an
understanding of what librarians need.
BY THIS TIME, NOW, I GUESS FATHER SMALL HAD DIED AND YOU WERE IN
CHARGE.
Yes.
YOU WERE DIRECTOR OF THE LIBRARY AT THIS POINT. WHAT WAS THAT
LIKE AS YOU TOOK OVER THAT POSITION? DID YOU FEEL A SENSE OF
GREATLY INCREASED RESPONSIBILITY?
F Yes, immediately. No, I did. It was a little overwhelming, I think, because of the suddenness.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
Essentially, he died in his sleep. A phone call on Monday morning, wondering why he hadn't
come in and we had a call from the Rector and he said that Father Small had passed away, so
the whole staff was stricken, of course, and I think we were all sort of overwhelmed at the
enormity of what had just happened. Dr. Barone, who was the Provost, Dr. Barone talked with
me and asked me if I would be willing to take over the position and I thought about that for a
little bit because I was a little overwhelmed at the idea -- suddenly being thrust upon you, or you
suddenly being thrust into it, so I did accept and I think that was ... it was helpful as far as the
staff went because it was a continuity. It gave some continuity and I was honored to be asked.
DID YOUR WORK CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY NOW AS A RESULT OF THAT?
I- Yes, to an extent in that there was a lot more administrative responsibility. I did go out and find
a very good -- the then Reference Librarian was Dorothy Kajenko was promoted to Assistant
Librarian and she had been on the staff so she could easily take over some of the Associate
Librarian duties, but it was dealing with the budget, doing reports, doing self-study reports for
Accreditation visits and a lot of that kind of responsibility that I hadn't had before.
HAS THE WORLD M LIBRARY, LET'S SAY BEGINNING IN THE MID SEVENTIES
UP THROUGH THE PRESENT, HAD THE WORLD OF LIBRARY CHANGED HERE
ON CAMPUS?
I don't really think so. I think the Library has always had -- I think the function has always
been the support of the student study needs and student and faculty research needs and so far as
we can meet them, I don't see it as a different role, a source of information, a center of
- information. I think the role is changing now. I don't think it changed then. The role is
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 23
beginning to change just because information delivered is changing, that people now, that faculty
now can sit in their offices and search library catalogs. We're getting a new automated system.
We have been in the shared system for circulation and limited on-line public access catalog. We
still have the card catalog. The University's investing this year in a major change to our own
automated system and that will mean since the Library's database will be on the University
computer that anyone on the campus with access to a computer can search the Library database.
They also do because the Internet and those networks, they have other sources, other information
sources they can go to, so the role of the Library is ... there'll still be books and we'll still
circulate books and that kind of thing, but also it's helping people to find what resources are
r available, teaching them how to use these resources and being a facilitator and a teacher as much
as it is to sit there and check books in and out. That's a difference. It's a fast-changing world,
library world.
WAS THERE MONEY IN THERE?
I'm not sure that they quite met the goal but we did get a substantial amount in and that,
essentially, those monies went for Library endowment and we purchased materials from the
income from that.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
IS THERE GOING TO BE MORE MONEY RAISED FOR THE LIBRARY? ARE
THERE OTHER CHANGES THAT ARE GOING TO BE OCCURRING?
Well, they've been doing fund-raising for the automated system. The Long-Range Plan does
indicate that not within the five-year scope of that plan, but just beyond that, there probably
should be an enlargement of the Library in some fashion, but within this five years is the
beginning of planning to see what should be done about the building, some probable expansion
and renovation.
SO THAT WILL MEAN AN EXPANDED ROLE, IN A SENSE, FOR WHAT THE
LIBRARY.. .
I would guess. That's part of the planning because the planning for it, as I said, because of the
changes and the delivery . . . the way information is delivered, the sources of it and that kind of
activity, I think it's essential to start planning now to see what is the best way to go. It may
well be that combining some of the other resources on campus such as the Computer Center,
the Computer Labs, it may be that some of them should go into an expanded building, that we
have not only a Library, but a larger central resource. I don't know whether or not that's going
to happen. I think this is one of the many things that you look at.
DO YOU SIT AT OTHER COMMITTEES HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY?
I'm ex officio on the Educational Technologies Committee. Dr. Hefzallah is also ex officio on
that and Dr. Schurdak of the Computer Center and Julie Rooney of Academic Computing - Services -- the four of us are seen as the administrators who are involved in Educational
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 25
Technologies. It is a committee of the faculty and then I, obviously, am a member of the
Library Committee, Faculty Library Committee and I am ex officio on that.
WHAT DOES THE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES COMMITTEE DO?
Well, they're trying to develop ... they're working on coordinating technologies. They also, this
year, have worked on a plan to notify changes in software. Things were done very informally
and they're trying to codify some things. I'm not sure I'd call it Ethics, but essentially, it's a
Code of Ethics for the computer user. Looking at the coordination among academic computing
in the Computer Center and the rest of us, working on developing some kind of a plan to,
looking into information and planning.
,- ARE THERE ANY, KIND OF A GENERAL QUESTION, ARE THERE ANY
ANECDOTES FROM THE PERIOD OF THE EIGHTIES THAT INVOLVE THE
LIBRARY THAT COME TO YOUR MIND, FUNDING PROBLEMS, PLANNING,
UNUSUAL REQUESTS THAT FACULTY OR STUDENTS HAVE OR ANY OF THAT?
You ask Librarians for funny stories and there really aren't that many. There were amusing
things, but there weren't that many amusing thing that stand out in my mind but from day to
day, yes, there are some things, but I have no particular special one. I think one of the things
about the eighties has been the fact that we've been able, with grants, to do some of the things
that we wanted to do. The University has ... I think now there are some very good grants people.
One is a Barbara Kunin who is a former Library Staff Member who has been doing some of the
grant writing for Library projects and she, of course, brings a very good perspective to it and
r knowledge that we, as I mentioned, we had a Brooks Foundation Grant that did the Media, that
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 26
has, set up our Media Department. We had a second Brooks Foundation Grant that started us
off on the Compact Disc, the CD-ROM information stations. We had . .. Dr. Alan Katz worked
with the Grants people. A third Brooks Grant that provided an endowment for Asian Studies,
for materials for the Library, the E.L. Cord Foundation gave the Library a grant last year that
let us take our CD-ROM work stations and put them into a network so that there are multiple
access to multiple databases. So, I think, that to me, has been one of the really bright spots has
been the help that we've had from the Grants Office and the Development people in terms of
bringing these, getting these things, developing these services.
HOW HAS THE ROLE OF WOMEN ON THE CAMPUS AND I'M THINKING MAINLY
IN TERMS OFFACULTY AND ADMINISTRATION CHANGED OVER THELAST 10-15
YEARS?
Well, I think certainly in numbers. I think there has been a strong desire on the part of the
Administration to enlarge the number of people and faculty and the number in Administration
and I think there was ... we've had close to 50% of the faculty are new within the last several
years because we had quite a number of people who reached, when there was a mandatory
retirement age, federally mandated retirement age for people in Higher Education. A number
of people who had been here for many years left and we have a young, new group of faculty,
with quite a few women on it who are very enthusiastic. I think that the newness, the number
of new faculty and the spirit and enthusiasm that they bring has been a very important factor,
not just in developing the Library collection and developing new courses, but sort of pervades
,- the campus and the academic part of it.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
DO YOU FEEL ANY CHANGE IN YOUR STANDING OR POSITION OR PROFILE OR
WHATEVER AS A WOMAN HERE AS A RESULT OF ANY OF THIS?
No. I've been here so long that I'm just sort of a fixture so I don't really ... I welcome seeing
... I welcome the efforts the University has made in order to bring more women in and there
are very many capable people.
YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE'S A NEW WOMEN'S STUDIES PROGRAM.
That was just approved and will be initiated this Fall.
NOW WILL YOU BE INVOLVED IN ORDERING BOOKS FOR THAT?
We're beginning to work on that now.
, -- THAT, AGAIN, INVOLVES MEETINGS WITH PEOPLE?
Welt, there are two: the Program is being run essentially by there's an Operating Committee
and a Committee that is planning it and has seen it through a fairly extensive approval process.
There were co-Chairs, Johanna Garvey of the English Department, Bev Kahn who's the
Assistant Academic Dean of Arts and Sciences: she's not one of the Co-chairs but she's been
involved in the development of it. We have been aware of the proposal from the very
beginning, from its development. We also will be working with all of these people in terms of
developing the collection and they've already been in touch with us. They've been in touch with
us for some time because they realize it takes time to work on that. We have been paying a fair
amount of attention to women's materials, materials by and about women because there's a
Women's Resource Center which essentially is a committee of faculty and administrators that
r arose maybe five years ago or so and we have a small collection in the Library. They
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 28
contributed to it and they collected books for it and we've been spending, so we do have, we
have the nucleus of a fairly good collection. Obviously it needs expansion.
IS THERE SPECIAL FUNDING OF SOME SORT?
There was money in the proposal for some initial expenditures and then those things, they would
get folded into the Library budget.
ARE THERE OTHER AREAS IN WHICH THE LIBRARY IS ALSO TRYING TO
EXPAND ITS COLLECTION?
Well, our Keith Stetson who is our Collection Development Librarian sits with the Arts and
Sciences Curriculum Committee so he works with them, makes them aware of what resources
we have and what kinds of resources are needed when they talk about new courses and because
of Liaison Program, we can keep track of that with other areas.
WHAT ROLE DOES THE LIBRARY PLAY WITHIN THE FAIRFIELD COMMUNITY?
I think a very definite role that we tend to see quite a few members of Fairfield community in
the area community using the Library. We are open to the public; we are not restricted; we are
open to the public. We have many people who come in to use the collection, to look at the
journals; quite a number of business people, local business people, the area business people
because we do have a good Business Reference Collection. Adult citizens of the Town are
eligible for guest cards so they can borrow up to three books with us, so we essentially are a
community resource too. We are just starting a "Friends of the Library Group", "Friends of
Nyselius Group", had our first committee meeting, the initial operating committee meeting this
r ' week and we will be going, I think even more extensively into the community with that.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
YOU'VE ALSO BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE STATE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, I
THINK.
I chaired the State, I was on the State Library Board for about fifteen years and I chaired it for
the last five; I was on the State Library Board from 1978 to 1992. I've also been active over
the years in the Connecticut Library Association and on several statewide planning committees;
I've been active in the profession in the State and I have held some committee posts in the
American Library Association.
IS THERE ... HAS THAT HELPED GIVE THE LIBRARY HERE AT FAIRFIELD AS
WELL AS THE UNIVERSITY A GREATER PROMINENCE WITHIN THE STATE?
T- I think any of the activities that people get involved in has two values. I think it makes Fairfield
University Library or Fairfield University known and it also allows us to make a professional
contribution. I see it that way. I think that having both for professional development and in a
sense, publicity for the University, it is valuable and I think my activities certainly ... I look at
in two ways -- it does make Fairfield people know that there is a Fairfield University, but I think
also that say in the State Library Association and on the State Library Board just an awareness
of an academic library, that the whole world isn't public libraries; there are academic libraries
and that they have a role; they have a role in the community and in resource sharing; they're
not just sitting there in isolation serving only their own people; that's been one of the things I've
been trying to talk about for years. Academic libraries aren't that different from public libraries.
HAS THERE BEEN AN ACCEPTANCE, DO YOU THINK, OF THAT?
,F- I think there's tended to be because there are other people who are trying to carry the same
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 30
message -- a person from the University of Connecticut and people from Eastern Connecticut
State University who have sewed as Presidents of Connecticut Library Association and I think
they have developed a sense of community, of library community that doesn't have barriers
among types of libraries. There are Regional Library Councils that encompass all kinds of
libraries -- school libraries, special corporate libraries, academic libraries and public libraries
-- that kind of thing has helped too.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE LIBRARY HERE OVER THE NEXT, SAY, 10 YEARS?
COULDYOULOOKAHEADTHATLONG?
Libraries only look about 5. It's technology.
- HOW DO YOU SEE THE LIBRARY CHANGING OVER THAT PERIOD?
I see a lot more recourse to external sources of information which is happening now, but I see
much more of that, but I also pretty much, the external sources we're dealing in words. What
is developing is dealing also in images that you can deliver, you can deliver images and sounds
as well as words with what's being developed. I think it's going to be quite different in that
sense and I think, as I mentioned, I see the Librarian as a facilitator. I still see the Library,
particularly in the academic institution, I still see the Library as a place, in five or ten years,
we're certainly still going to have the book as such, we're going to have the journal as such but
I think there's going to be an increasing amount, in an academic library, an increasing amount
of recourse to outside sources of information. The Public Library will probably change a little
less because I think people go to the Public Library to take a book home, to take something
I.- home and do recreational reading. Here, you tend not to get that kind of use. Here, people are
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 3 1
looking for the research, use the information and that's the kind of thing that you will need to
go to outside sources for. Many of the automated systems that libraries have do provide
gateways to databases and to these sources and that's something that you can build on once
you've got the system.
WHAT DOES THAT DO ... I TALKED TO SOMEONE THE OTHER DAY TALKING
ABOUT THE BUDGET THAT UNIVERSITIES HAVE TO DEAL WITH IN ORDER TO
AFFORD ALL THIS TECHNOLOGY - WHAT IMPACT DOES THAT HAVE ON A
BUDGET FOR A UNIVERSITY?
I think that's where you make choices that I think particularly in the Journals Budget that you
/'-
don't buy that ... let's take Chemical Abstracts for instance for which we were paying probably
$6500 a year at the educational small college rate that what institutions are doing now is
essentially saying 'I don't think we can afford that if we can do a lot of on-line searches; we can
get a lot of articles delivered for that price and still have money to put for other purposes.' I
think I have talked to two or three librarians who have essentially done that and have discussed
it with the American Chemical Society because the American Chemical Society accredits
Chemistry programs and the ACS is beginning to be willing to accept the idea that easy on-line
access can be a substitute as long as they provide access to Chem Abstracts; that will satisfy the
accreditation need so that's the kind of thing that we all need to look at. A Chemist needs to
know how to use Chem Abstracts but it doesn't mean you have to continue to subscribe to it at
a very increasing price. I think some of it's going to be re-allocation of funds. Obviously, there
I- will have to be some new funds but I think the re-allocation will take care of some of the needs.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 32
DO YOU FIND YOURSELF, AS YOU PUT TOGETHER A BUDGET SAY FOR TFIE
NEXT FISCAL YEAR, DO YOU HAVE TO THEN GET INTO A DISCUSSION WITII
OTHER PEOPLE HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY FIGHTING FOR YOUR...?
Well, the immediate Department Head is sort of insulated from that. The staff and I prepare
a budget and our submission, our request goes to the Academic Vice President and he discusses
it with me, but he's the one who has to defend it. He is the one who looks at the academic area
budget. Basically he makes, if there's a cut, he makes the first cut. He looks at what the
College of Arts and Sciences is asking for, what the Library is asking for, what the School of
Business is asking for, what the Registrar's Office is asking for; he looks at all of his
- departments and sees what he thinks are the good things, then the process is changing a little bit.
There was a Budget Committee and essentially they estimate income and say 'all right,
academics can have this much' and then that's when the A.V.P. goes back and says 'Well, my
requests total this much; I only have this much. Where can I make some reductions?' This year
there is a new Finance Committee and I'm not sure anyone is quite sure how that may really
operate, but essentially the Library has been favored; we've been very well treated and we've
been favored because there is the understanding and the sense and knowledge that the Library
needs development so people have been as generous as they can be.
AS YOU LOOK BACK ON THE TIME YOU CAME IN 1965 AND EVEN MOVING
AHEAD TO MOVING INTO NYSELTUS, I MEAN, WHAT HAD BEEN THE MAJOR
MILESTONES AS FAR AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LIBRARY, THE MAJOR
r CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED?
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
The move to Nyselius, obviously, was a major change; the School of Nursing was a major
change in terms of an affect on our facilities. I think School of Business in terms of collection;
Nursing and Business, both, in terms of their collection. A growing . .. when you move into a
new facility, you get more use. Our staff has grown in order to meet that. I think a really
major change in Operations was the coming of on-line cataloging, something what was then
known as the Ohio College Library Center, which is now OCLC, Inc., our on-line computer
library company -- started out as a consortium of Ohio libraries who got together to develop an
on-line cataloging system and then expanded so actually it's worldwide, not just nationwide, with
some 6,000 libraries and millions and millions of items in the database. That was a major
0 change in the way we operated. We used to grind out our own cards on the duplicator or
typewriter or whatever it might be and this became a matter of punching a button and getting
the catalog cards. It also made us part of a huge database and it provided cataloging
information; it wasn't . . . before that system, every librarian was sort of re-creating the same
record here and thousands and thousands of time, somebody was doing the same thing in
thousands and thousands of libraries. This way it made operations much more efficient, but it
certainly changed completely the way the Technical Services area worked. We were one of
their, I think, the first three libraries to participate in this system and when it had just been
expanded nationwide. The other landmark that system created was some few years when they
. developed an on-line inter-library loan system which meant that instead of just sending
something blindly out to a library and hoping they had it and then a week later, they'd send a
\ a notice back and say 'Well, the book is out or we don't own this book'; it could take you weeks
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 34
and weeks to get what someone needed. With an on-line system, you can request, you can
determine the ownership because the OCLC record shows what libraries hold material, then
when you make the request on-line, you can specify five libraries to which you shall go and then
automatically goes from one to the next to the next, depending on the answers that it gets, so
it's really made it much more efficient and less of a shot in the dark. Technology has been the
landmark -- the CD-ROM databases too.
DO YOU HAVE A GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS WHO WORK IN THE LIBRARY?
No, we are a completely paid staff and we rely very heavily on students; we have about 60
students who work for us, who do all kinds of things; it's not just the desk and the shelving --
they work in the Cataloging Department, the Acquisitions Department, the Serials Department.
DO MANY OF THESE STUDENTS EVER GO INTO THE FIELD OF LIBRARY
SERVICE?
I think about three that I know of over the years; they don't tend to, but they certainly develop
,-- an understanding of it, but I don't think we've recruited a lot of librarians.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT, FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW, FOR A GREAT
UNnTERSITY LIKE FAIRFIELD TO HAVE A FINE LIBRARY FACILITY?
Well, I don't think . . . you can't teach a course . .. the Library is the support for the curriculum.
It's the support for the faculty. If you're going to have a university of good quality, the
academic standards are high, the Library helps bolster those academic standards; it supports
those academic standards. You have a faculty .. you expect a faculty that's going to be active
in the community, going to be active in its professional organizations, it's going to be actively
contributing in terms of literature or productions, or whatever it may be and the Library is a
resource for them in their work too. It's basically a foundation for a great deal of activity.
DO YOU THINK THAT THE STANDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OR THE
REPUTATION OF THE UNIVERSITY IS, IN PART, BASED ON THE LIBRARY?
Very definitely. That's obvious, I think, when you go through the Accreditation Process. One
of the things that agencies such as the State of Connecticut looks at when it looks at program
approval, New England Association of Schools and Colleges for our ten-year accreditation,
Library's a very, very important factor. The services it can give, the size, I think there's a little
r over-emphasis numbers of books, but essentially ... but they do look very carefully, the
Oral History: Barbara Bryan 36
qualifications of the staff and these are very important items and when you see the reports from
the Accrediting Groups, the library is always mentioned as a factor.
I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS I HAVE.
Okay.
IF THEY HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM INSIDE THE BOOTH, LET'S JUST
WAIT AND SEE AT THIS POINT.
Oral History: Barbara Bryan