Add to ORKGIdeas containing overgeneralizations must not be allowed to obscure the necessity for stating and coming to grips with some of the specific problems of the book collection of the small and medium- sized library. The smooth waters of library philosophy may belie the hidden reefs once the test of practicality is made. It must be mentioned that this paper will not presume to have the answers. It will only seek to measure a few everyday library dilemmas against a point of view. It hopes to pose some questions, let some possible answers hover tentatively, and pray that the members of this Institute exert their godlike possibilities and help bring order from the writer's chaos.published or submitted for publicatio