The Farmington Plan: Problems in National Acquisition of Library Resources

Abstract

　Reviews the national development of liberary resources in the United States with special emphasis on the Farmington Plan.
　The well known Farmington Plan, which started just after the World War II, was the first cooperative effort on nation-wide basis to attain comprehensive coverage of research materials published in the world.
　Although started with this far-reaching goal, the Plan encountered many problems and limitations—such as financial deficiencies, lack of the established selection and acquisition policies—, it did not attain so much as it was expected, while the publications of the world were ever more increasing, corresponding to the expanding need of research activities. Therefore the more centralized acquisition program supported by the government was sine qua non for solving the problem.
　In 1965, this urgent need was recognized at the federal level, and Title II-C of the Higher Education Act enabled the Library of Congress to collect and catalogue important research materials of the world. With the operation of this new program (NPAC), it was regarded that the function of the Farmington Plan was substantially taken over, and the Plan ended in 1972.