College and Research Libraries


For Type II schools to qualify to give in-
struction in this area, high standards of cur-
riculum, support, and faculty (at least three 
full-time full professors are specified) would 
be set for accreditation. D r . Danton sug-
gests that a number of super-professorships 
are desirable in our library schools. He says 
that "the prestige and quality of professional 
education would be enormously increased by 
four or five such professorships, at $10,000 
to $12,000 each" (p. 34). 

As part of this program of reform, the 
Type I I I library school would cease to exist. 
This proposal will not please those who have 
recently been arguing for an increase in their 
number. 

The basic question Dr. Danton has posed 
for us is whether or not we have a middle 
service in our libraries. For if we grant this, 
the educational aims of our library schools 
can be clarified accordingly and their instruc-
tional programs be made so much the more 
effective. The Germans recognized such a 
level of service and planned their library 
school programs with definitely limited aims. 
But we have left the question unanswered, 
although we have discussed the matter from 
time to time, until now it is put before us 
in a forcible way; and we should not rest 
content unless we win through with a satis-
factory answer. 

I believe that Dr. Danton is on right 
ground entirely when he proposes his three 
levels of instruction. It makes sense to say 
that we ought to turn to terminal education 
to provide trained personnel to take care of 
the routine operations of our libraries, just 
as we ought to exploit high schools, manual 
training schools, and filing schools for clerical 
workers of various kinds. With the empha-
sis on routines so removed, existing library 
schools could then be strengthened and de-
veloped to prepare people for the middle 
ranks. And last but not least, we need to 
develop new and specialized programs for 
library administrators and subject specialists. 
How we are to do this, and where it should be 
done, are important matters that call for clear 
thinking and sure action. 

W e may not agree with Dr. Danton in 
regard to all the details of the triple pro-
gram, especially the administrative-specialist 
part. But at this stage details should be kept 
in the background so that we may concen-

trate on the broad issues. The author has 
done education for librarianship a distinct 
and important service by presenting these 
fundamental issues for our serious considera-
tion. 

The pamphlet should be read and studied 
carefully by librarians generally, whichever 
branch of the service they may be in. They 
will find in it many topics of interest not 
touched upon in this review, such as, for ex-
ample, the proposal for national certification 
of librarians.—Andrew D. Oshorn. 

Education for Librarianship: Criticisms, Di-
lemmas, and Proposals. [By] J . Periam 
Danton. [New York City] Columbia Uni-
versity School of Library Service, 1946. 35p. 
The opening paragraph in which Dr. Dan-

ton limits his inquiry especially to academic 
librarianship disturbed me. If this restriction 
was necessary because the broad scope of 
training problems required some delimiting I 
have no questions to raise regarding the 
author's approach to the subject. If on the 
other hand it implies that present training is 
more inadequate for the reference-research 
services than for the general community edu-
cational services, my observations impel me to 
object quickly. For the Detroit Public Li-
brary which operates what is tantamount to 
two distinct libraries—one for reference and 
research purposes and the other for the fur-
therance of mass education—it has been more 
difficult to recruit and develop a staff compe-
tent to appraise the needs of heterogeneous 
library patrons and to stimulate and guide in 
a meaningful way the reading of such people 
than it has been to secure and develop a staff 
of comparable excellence for reference-re-
search work, except in a few unusual subject 
fields. The more definitely defined knowledge 
requirements of the reference staff, the more 
highly developed tools and methods used in 
that service, and the relatively similar char-
acter of the patrons to be served—in short, 
the intensity of the latter type of work— 
contrasts sharply the extensity of knowledge 
of books and of people required for true pro-
fessional service in the former type of work. 
I know this point of view will not be readily 
accepted by many of our professional col-
leagues, largely I believe, because many lead-
ers high in professional circles are without an 
understanding of the basic philosophy funda-

360 COLLEGE AND RESEARCLI LIBRARIES 



mental to a popular educational service. They 
see that service in terms of book circulation, 
whereas I am referring to a professional 
service of a type too rarely achieved in public 
libraries of today. 

Beyond Dr. Danton's first paragraph, how-
ever, I found myself in almost complete ac-
cord with the author. He has defined the 
problem admirably and the framework of his 
proposals can be readily adapted to meet the 
training requirements for general public li-
brary service. In fact, if I were to charac-
terize the monograph in a few words, I 
would call it one of the most important docu-
ments issued on this subject within my pro-
fessional experience. Certain differences of 
opinion exist, of course, but they are not 
fundamental. 

Three points in particular I wish to under-
score as appearing important to me: 

1. T h e e f f o r t to h a v e one c u r r i c u l u m , w i t h 
slight l e e w a y f o r electives, s e r v e all our p r o f e s -
sional needs has persisted too long. I n e v i t a b l y 
in such a system the t r a i n i n g o b j e c t i v e is l o w , 
f o r it is influenced by the m e d i o c r i t y of a v e r a g e 
s t a n d a r d s of p e r f o r m a n c e in the profession. 

2. T h e s h a r p d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n b e t w e e n skilled 
technicians and p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s is emi-
nently sound. Small l i b r a r i e s w i l l p r o b a b l y 
n e v e r be able to m a i n t a i n three l e v e l s of staff 
m e m b e r s — c l e r k s , technical assistants, and pro-
f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s — b u t the l a r g e r institutions 
cannot a c h i e v e their best d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h o u t 
such a p l a n . T h e recommended t r a i n i n g pro-
g r a m set up by D r . D a n t o n I am not competent 
to j u d g e . It a p p e a r s plausible, though my o w n 
t h i n k i n g had led me to v i s u a l i z e the t r a i n i n g f o r 
p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s h i p as something t h a t 
w o u l d be secured a f t e r t w o or three y e a r s of 
successful e x p e r i e n c e in actual l i b r a r y s e r v i c e . 

3. T h e f e a r t h a t l i b r a r i e s w i l l not p r o v i d e 
opportunities f o r the highest l e v e l of p r o f e s -
sional competence to me seems i l l - f o u n d e d . 
L i b r a r i e s can and w i l l a d a p t their staff o r g a n i -
z a t i o n s once superior people become a v a i l a b l e . 
I am sure, h o w e v e r , that they cannot and w i l l 
not accept e v e n the superior t r a i n i n g here re-
f e r r e d to as the total of p r e p a r a t i o n r e q u i r e d 
f o r filling key positions in our l a r g e r institu-
tions. E x p e r i e n c e w i t h the public, w i t h a staff, 
w i t h book collections, is i m p o r t a n t f o r l e a d e r -
ship. I stress this point because I h a v e at times 
detected in some educators a f e e l i n g of resent-
ment because able students w i t h more than a v e r -
a g e t r a i n i n g and n a t i v e ability a r e not i m m e d i -
ately p l a c e d in positions of command w h e n they 
l e a v e school. F o r v a r i o u s reasons that w o u l d be 

i m p r a c t i c a l and it should be so r e c o g n i z e d by 
f a c u l t y a d v i s o r s . 

In concluding this brief comment let me 
say that until some significant change is 
achieved in training—something as basic as 
the plan proposed by Dr. Danton—we cannot 
expect salary levels in libraries to move far 
beyond their present status. The past few 
years have brought important changes in the 
matter of compensation for librarians. From 
this point on a high level of professional per-
formance will be necessary to secure the 
larger recognition we associate with other 
professions. As in all activities, proven com-
petence must precede the claim for greater 
rewards. Dr. Danton's proposals point a 
way to divorcing the clerical and skilled ac-
tivities from what we now broadly refer to 
as professional librarianship. Once this is 
accomplished and the elements of true pro-
fessionalism in library service will begin to 
mature, the inadequacies we now complain of 
will gradually and naturally disappear.— 
Ralph A. XJlveling. 

Progress & Problems in Education for Li-
brarianship. By Joseph L. Wheeler. [New 
York City] Carnegie Corporation of New 
York, 1946. I07p. 
The library profession in America, and 

indeed everyone who is concerned to any sig-
nificant degree with libraries and their serv-
ices, is again indebted to the Carnegie 
Corporation for a vivid and illuminating essay 
on the training of librarians. The report pre-
pared by Joseph Wheeler in 1946 will take 
its place alongside the Williamson report of 
1923, as a careful, intelligent appraisal of the 
conditions which exist today, and, if M r . 
Wheeler has nothing so concrete as William-
son's recommendation that library schools be 
moved to universities, his report nevertheless 
embodies suggestions of potentially far-reach-
ing consequences to American librarianship. 

In attempting to grapple with any problem 
and find a solution to it, it is frequently de-
sirable to set down as compactly as possible 
all of the criticisms or problem areas involved. 
This service is performed admirably by M r . 
Wheeler, who seems to know, or to have 
heard at first hand, all of the faults and short-
comings which are ascribed to training for 
librarianship as it is found today. T o a 

OCTOBER, 1946 361