College and Research Libraries B y J O S E P H I N E A . W E D E M E Y E R Student Attitudes Toward Library Methods Courses in a University Miss Wedetneyer is instructor, Univer- sity of Maryland Library. RECENTLY, because of adverse criticism on the p a r t of students in the campus n e w s p a p e r , it became desirable to e x a m i n e o u r l i b r a r y methods courses. A l t h o u g h some " g r i p i n g " is n o r m a l a m o n g students, the situation had progressed beyond the healthy stage. F a c t s w e r e needed in o r d e r to p r o v i d e appropriate remedies. The Courses. T h e l i b r a r y methods courses are designed to acquaint the stu- dents w i t h the facilities of the university l i b r a r y , and to teach them the use of com- mon research m a t e r i a l s and reference books. T h e courses, L i b r a r y Science I and 2 , are given d u r i n g t w o consecutive semesters. T h e classes meet f o r one hour per w e e k , and yield one semester hour of credit f o r each semester's w o r k . T h e courses are re- quired in most c u r r i c u l a in the C o l l e g e of A r t s and Sciences. T h e textbooks used at the time this study w a s m a d e w e r e Z a i d e e B r o w n ' s Library Key1 and the E n o c h P r a t t F r e e L i b r a r y ' s Reference Books.2 A c - c o r d i n g to u n i v e r s i t y records, the courses have been o f f e r e d since the f a l l of 1 9 1 9 . 3 The Study. A questionnaire w a s used because the students' w r i t t e n opinions w e r e w a n t e d . E i g h t questions covered the f o l - l o w i n g p o i n t s : class status, m a j o r and m i n o r fields, v a l u e of the courses in university 1 B r o w n , Zaidee, The Library Key'. 7th ed. New Y o r k , Wilson, 1949. 2 Enoch Pratt F r e e L i b r a r y . Reference Books. 2d ed. Compiled by M a r y N . Barton. Baltimore, 1 9 5 1 . s Maryland State College. Catalog 1919-1920, p. 1 7 7 . w o r k , importance of each subject covered, time spent in preparation of assignments, and duplication of w o r k in l i b r a r y and other courses. T h e study included only the opinions of students enrolled in the course. T h e bases f o r the questions w e r e the f o u r most common complaints made by the stu- dents. T h e s e complaints w e r e : ( I ) the m a t e r i a l presented does not w a r r a n t the length of time u s u a l l y required f o r com- pleting assignments outside of class ( 2 ) the m a t e r i a l presented is to a l a r g e extent al- ready k n o w n ( 3 ) the m a t e r i a l is duplicated in other classes ( 4 ) there is no use f o r the m a t e r i a l . T h e questionnaire w a s given to 2 3 7 stu- dents in M a y , 1 9 5 2 . T h e students w e r e enrolled in L i b r a r y Science 2 at the time. S i g n a t u r e s w e r e not requested. S U M M A R Y O F T H E S T U D Y A n s w e r s to Q u e s t i o n 4, concerned w i t h the importance to the students of the sub- jects taught, w e r e the most r e v e a l i n g as to student attitudes. T h i s question is sum- m a r i z e d in some d e t a i l ; a brief statement only is made r e g a r d i n g the other questions. Questions 1, 2, 3. T h e a n s w e r s to Q u e s - tion 1 , w h i c h dealt w i t h class status, re- vealed that the classes w e r e composed of 8 5 . 4 % f r e s h m a n and sophomore students, 1 4 . 6 % j u n i o r and senior students. T h e responses to Question 2 showed that Social Studies 4 w a s either the m a j o r or m i n o r 4 I n this study social studies include sociology, politics and government, history, economics and geography. JULY, 1954 285 T A B L E I R a n k i n g o f S u b j e c t s T a u g h t b y F r e q u e n c y o f A n s w e r M o s t I m p o r t a n t L e a s t I m p o r t a n t S u b j e c t F r e q u e n c y S u b j e c t F r e q u e n c y C a r d C a t a l o g 2 0 1 P a r t s o f the B o o k 1 2 3 P e r i o d i c a l I n d e x e s 1 9 6 G o v e r n m e n t D o c u m e n t s 95 88 R e f e r e n c e B o o k s in S p e c i a l F i e l d s 1 7 9 C o n s t r u c t i o n o f a B i b l i o g r a p h y 95 88 T o u r o f the L i b r a r y 1 5 5 D i c t i o n a r i e s 86 G e n e r a l E n c y c l o p e d i a s 1 3 1 G e n e r a l E n c y c l o p e d i a s 68 I n d e x e s to C o l l e c t i o n s 1 2 8 C l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f B o o k s 64 C l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f B o o k s 1 2 6 I n d e x e s to C o l l e c t i o n s 6 0 Y e a r b o o k s 1 2 5 Y e a r b o o k s 58 C o n s t r u c t i o n o f a B i b l i o g r a p h y 1 2 1 T o u r o f the L i b r a r y 3 9 D i c t i o n a r i e s 94 R e f e r e n c e B o o k s in S p e c i a l F i e l d s 3 1 G o v e r n m e n t D o c u m e n t s 69 C a r d C a t a l o g 2 1 P a r t s o f the B o o k 5 5 P e r i o d i c a l I n d e x e s 1 8 T o t a l s 1 5 8 0 7 5 1 field of the l a r g e s t n u m b e r of students. A c c o r d i n g to the students, the courses in w h i c h l i b r a r y methods proved most v a l u - able w e r e E n g l i s h first and S o c i a l Studies a " p o o r ' ' second. S u b j e c t s f o r w h i c h the courses w e r e said to be least v a l u a b l e w e r e sciences and l a n g u a g e s . I m p l i c a t i o n s of these f i n d i n g s i n c l u d e d : ( i ) d e t e r m i n i n g w h a t f r e s h m a n and sopho- more students are required to k n o w about the l i b r a r y ; ( 2 ) l e a r n i n g h o w best to meet the needs of j u n i o r and senior s t u d e n t s ; ( 3 ) k n o w i n g w h a t provisions have to be made f o r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s ; ( 4 ) f i n d i n g out h o w to meet the problems of students m a j o r i n g in the social sciences. Since the study w a s m a d e , m o r e i n d i v i d u a l assignments have a p p a r e n t l y helped the j u n i o r and senior stu- dents in their w o r k . G a p s in the collec- tions are being f i l l e d , w i t h W i n c h e l l ' s listings in S o c i a l Sciences used as a g u i d e . 5 Selections are made w i t h consultation of the S o c i o l o g y and other departments of the u n i v e r s i t y . 6 Question 4. T h i s question w a s stated as f o l l o w s : B Winchell, Constance. Guide to Reference Books. 7th ed. Chicago, A L A , 1 9 5 1 . PP- 1 4 8 - 2 1 5 . 6 I t should be mentioned that many departments in- cluding Sociology were consulted in the fall of 1 9 5 1 and asked for suggestions as to materials for presenta- tion to the classes. T h e subjects usually presented in L i b r a r y Science 2 are listed below. In the ap- propriate columns to the right of the list check the items you feel are most im- portant (in the sense of practical applica- tion) to your needs, those which you feel are least important, and those f o r which you have no reaction. T h e students w e r e f u r t h e r instructed to " G i v e an e x a m p l e , or m a k e a statement to support y o u r check m a r k s . " Results and Conclusions. T a b l e I is a s u m m a r y of the students' checking. F r o m the results of this table, the general conclu- sion can be d r a w n that a m a j o r i t y of the students ( 5 5 . 6 % ) considered the sub- ject m a t t e r of the course " m o s t i m p o r t a n t " as compared to the students w h o considered it " l e a s t i m p o r t a n t " ( 2 6 . 4 % ) or indicated apathy t o w a r d the subjects ( i 8 % ) . 7 H o w - e v e r , o v e r one f o u r t h of the opinions indi- cated that some of the subject m a t t e r w a s of least importance. I t w a s necessary to discover w h y these opinions existed. T h e r e w a s also concern f o r the apathy, even though it represented but 1 8 % . T h e r a n k i n g of the subjects u n d e r " m o s t i m p o r t a n t " f o l l o w s the anticipated p a t t e r n , w i t h the possible exceptions of " T o u r of 7 This percentage includes groups " N o Reaction" and " N o t Checked." These groups are not shown on Table I . 286 COI.LEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES L i b r a r y " and " Y e a r b o o k s . " I t m i g h t h a v e been expected that the " T o u r " w o u l d be rated l o w e r a n d " Y e a r b o o k s " h i g h e r . T h e r a n k i n g in " L e a s t I m p o r t a n t " indicates an a l m o s t p e r f e c t n e g a t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n w i t h the r a n k i n g in " M o s t I m p o r t a n t . " G e n - e r a l l y , s u b j e c t s r a n k i n g high in the " M o s t I m p o r t a n t " c a t e g o r y w e r e l o w in " N o R e a c t i o n " or " N o t C h e c k e d . " O n e m a y c o n c l u d e that the f i r s t six items in the " M o s t I m p o r t a n t " c a t e g o r y in T a b l e I meet w i t h s t u d e n t a p p r o v a l as n o w pre- sented. T h e last six need special s t u d y . T h e r a n k i n g s in other categories in g e n e r a l s u b s t a n t i a t e this conclusion. Reasons for Response. T h e s t a t e m e n t s m a d e to s u p p o r t the check m a r k s f o r each c a t e g o r y w e r e g r o u p e d into positive a n d n e g a t i v e statements. S t a t e m e n t s w e r e con- sidered " p o s i t i v e " that indicated a g a i n in l e a r n i n g ; " n e g a t i v e , " those t h a t i n d i c a t e d there w a s no g a i n . S t a t e m e n t s w e r e omit- ted in some instances. T h e statements indi- c a t i n g a g a i n in l e a r n i n g i n c l u d e d such items as the f o l l o w i n g : l e a r n the s u b j e c t i t s e l f , k n o w l e d g e is of g e n e r a l a n d / o r spe- cific application to u n i v e r s i t y w o r k , the k n o w l e d g e saves time, the m a t e r i a l is in- teresting a n d is n e w . T h e " n e g a t i v e " g r o u p i n c l u d e d the opposites of these items, and also the o b s e r v a t i o n s that the s u b j e c t w a s a l r e a d y k n o w n , and that instruction w a s too d e t a i l e d . A s u m m a r y of the n u m b e r and kinds of response is g i v e n in T a b l e I I . T h e r e s u l t s indicate that less than one T A B L E I I D i s t r i b u t i o n of P o s i t i v e , N e g a t i v e and N o S t a t e m e n t R e a c t i o n s T o S u p p o r t E v a l u a t i o n S t a t e m e n t F r e q u e n c y P e r c e n t a g e P o s i t i v e 1 3 0 4 4 5 . 8 N e g a t i v e 839 2 9 . 5 N o S t a t e m e n t 7 0 1 2 4 . 7 T o t a l s 2844 1 0 0 . 0 half s h o w a g a i n in l e a r n i n g . O n e m i g h t h a v e assumed that the n u m b e r of " P o s i - t i v e " a n d the n u m b e r of " M o s t I m p o r - t a n t " t a b u l a t i o n s in T a b l e I w o u l d a g r e e . Since this w a s not the case, it m i g h t be in- , f e r r e d that there are reasons o t h e r than the s u b j e c t m a t t e r itself that led to the dis- c r e p a n c y . A n i m p l i c a t i o n is that s o m e t h i n g w a s w r o n g w i t h the t e a c h i n g m e t h o d . T h e r e are other f a c t o r s i n v o l v e d , but teach- i n g is an i m m e d i a t e c o n c e r n . A c o m p a r i s o n of the positive and n e g a t i v e a n s w e r s r e v e a l s that m a n y m o r e students consider the m a t e r i a l u s e f u l in g e n e r a l and specific a p p l i c a t i o n to u n i v e r s i t y needs than consider it not u s e f u l ; m o r e s t u d e n t s indi- cate that the m a t e r i a l is a l r e a d y k n o w n than state it is n e w ; interest has a l o w r a t i n g in both the positive and n e g a t i v e a n s w e r s ; du- plication w a s m e n t i o n e d in the n e g a t i v e re- sponses. T h e f a c t t h a t the s t u d e n t s w e r e able to s p e c i f y the u s e f u l n e s s of the m a t e r i a l im- plied the need f o r the course. T h e n e g a - tive aspects should be o v e r c o m e . T h e prob- lem of repetition of w o r k l e a r n e d else- w h e r e could be e l i m i n a t e d to a l a r g e e x t e n t t h r o u g h a s c r e e n i n g test. S t u d e n t s w h o passed the test m a y be excused f r o m the course. ( E x p e r i e n c e at M a r y l a n d in g i v i n g pre-tests at the b e g i n n i n g of the semester in L i b r a r y Science I r e v e a l e d t h a t s t u d e n t s a n s w e r c o r r e c t l y o n l y about one t h i r d of the questions a s k e d . ) T h e aspect of d u p l i - cation can also be o v e r c o m e w i t h c a r e f u l p l a n n i n g a m o n g divisions of the u n i v e r s i t y . T h e less t a n g i b l e p r o b l e m of interest b r i n g s us back a g a i n to a consideration of t e a c h i n g m e t h o d . I t should be kept in m i n d that the p u r - pose of the course is to teach s t u d e n t s to use the l i b r a r y , and not to t r a i n p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s . K n o w l e d g e of s t u d e n t s as hu- m a n beings is essential in this a p p r o a c h . JULY, 1954 287 B o o k s , 8 staff m e e t i n g s , o b s e r v a t i o n s of o t h e r teachers on the c a m p u s ( w i t h their per- mission, of c o u r s e ) c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h m e m - bers of the staff of the C o l l e g e of E d u c a - tion s h o u l d help w i t h the p r o b l e m . A b o v e a l l , close o b s e r v a t i o n of the s t u d e n t at w o r k in the l i b r a r y g i v e s f i r s t h a n d i n f o r m a t i o n as to type of i n f o r m a t i o n he needs and his p r o b l e m s in l o c a t i n g the m a t e r i a l . A l l of the i n s t r u c t o r s w i t h one e x c e p t i o n are as- signed to desk d u t y . S o m e of the specific m e a s u r e s t a k e n to m a k e the m a t e r i a l m o r e m e a n i n g f u l to the s t u d e n t s , w h i l e not w o r l d s h a t t e r i n g , h a v e helped. A n u n u s e d u p p e r floor of a tem- p o r a r y b u i l d i n g is a v a i l a b l e f o r s u p e r v i s e d s t u d e n t use of m a t e r i a l s discussed in class. T h i s s u p e r v i s e d use of the indexes, y e a r - books and other m a t e r i a l s has a l l o w e d us to do a w a y w i t h the o u t - o f - c l a s s assigned w o r k . B e c a u s e of m e c h a n i c a l p r o b l e m s , m o t i o n p i c t u r e s or slides c o u l d n o t be used. C a r d s h a v e been used s u c c e s s f u l l y in t e a c h i n g the c a r d c a t a l o g . O n e c a r d w a s cut into pieces, s h o w i n g a u t h o r , i m p r i n t , etc. T h e s e p a r t s w e r e d i s p l a y e d on a flock b o a r d piece by piece and the use a n d m e a n i n g of each ex- p l a i n e d . T h e o t h e r c a r d w a s l e f t i n t a c t so that the " w h o l e " m i g h t be seen r e a d i l y . T h i s e x a m i n a t i o n of p a r t s w a s also f o u n d h e l p f u l in " t r a n s l a t i n g " the items on a cata- l o g c a r d into acceptable b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l f o r m . F o r items r a t e d c o n s i s t e n t l y l o w by the students, v a r i o u s a p p r o a c h e s h a v e been de- v i s e d . I n the case of g o v e r n m e n t docu- m e n t s , p o p u l a r m a g a z i n e s h a v e been help- f u l . A case in point is the a r t i c l e w h i c h a p p e a r e d e n t i t l e d " U n c l e S a m H a s the A n - 8 Books that have proved helpful a r e : Cole, Luella. The Background for College Training. New York, F a r r a r & Rinehart [01940], U . S . Presi- dent's Commission on Higher Education. Higher Educa- tion for American Democracy, a Report. Washington, U . S . Government Printing Office, 1947. Wilson, Louis, Lowell, Mildred Hawksworth, and Reed, Sarah Rebecca. The Library in College Instruction; a Syllabus on the Improvement of College Instruction through Library s w e r s , " 9 in the S a f e w a y S t o r e m a g a z i n e . P a r t s of the book, also of l o w r a t i n g , h a v e been presented in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h o t h e r a s s i g n m e n t s . T h e a n s w e r s to Q u e s t i o n 4 s u g g e s t t h a t " d e t a i l " a n d " t i m e s p e n t " in p r e s e n t i n g m a t e r i a l are i m p o r t a n t , positive aspects of the s t u d e n t ' s l e a r n i n g process. T h e raison d'etre of o b v i o u s l y u s e f u l m a t e r i a l s , f o r e x - a m p l e , g o v e r n m e n t d o c u m e n t s and y e a r - books, has not a l w a y s been m a d e c l e a r to the s t u d e n t s . I t e m s r a t e d l o w by the s t u d e n t s r e q u i r e c a r e f u l c o n s i d e r a t i o n . Questions 5 and 6. T h e s e questions w e r e designed to m e a s u r e the intensity of the r a t i n g in Q u e s t i o n 4. Question 7 . T h i s question c o n c e r n e d the time spent in p r e p a r a t i o n f o r l i b r a r y science a s s i g n m e n t s . T h e r e s u l t s i n d i c a t e d that too m u c h time w a s spent in c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t i m e spent on o t h e r s u b j e c t s . A s a conse- quence, the assigned w o r k w a s c u t d o w n , m u c h w a s c o m p l e t e d in the s u p e r v i s e d periods m e n t i o n e d above. Question 8. T h i s question r e g a r d e d du- p l i c a t i o n of w o r k presented in the l i b r a r y courses and in other courses. T h e s t u d e n t s w e r e asked to indicate w h i c h p r e s e n t a t i o n w a s " b e t t e r " or " w o r s e " and to g i v e rea- sons. V a r i o u s d u p l i c a t i o n s w e r e l i s t e d ; the s u b j e c t r e c e i v i n g the l a r g e s t n u m b e r w a s b i b l i o g r a p h y w i t h 1 8 4 . T h e l i b r a r y science p r e s e n t a t i o n received 1 1 3 " b e t t e r " a n s w e r s . T h e reasons g i v e n s u b s t a n t i a t e a n s w e r s in Q u e s t i o n 4 , n a m e l y , m o r e d e t a i l e d i n s t r u c - tion and m o r e time spent on the s u b j e c t . T h e s t u d e n t s also m e n t i o n e d the m i m e o - g r a p h e d f o r m used in the l i b r a r y courses as h e l p f u l . T h e " w o r s e " a n s w e r s men- tioned c o n f u s i o n on the p a r t of the s t u d e n t s because of the d i f f e r e n t f o r m s used on the c a m p u s . ( T w o m e e t i n g s w e r e held w i t h a m e m b e r of the E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t s t a f f . Use. New York, Wilson, 1 9 5 1 . 9 Lewis, Rose G., I n Family Circle Magazine, March, 1 9 5 3 , PP. I 3 3 - I 3 4 - 288 COI.LEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES A b i b l i o g r a p h i c f o r m acceptable to both de- p a r t m e n t s w a s w o r k e d o u t . ) T h i s p r o b l e m of d u p l i c a t i o n needs f u r t h e r s t u d y . C O N C L U S I O N O n e o v e r a l l benefit f r o m the s t u d y w a s the r e v e l a t i o n of t a n g i b l e evidence of the s t r e n g t h and w e a k n e s s of o u r e f f o r t s to teach the s t u d e n t s s o m e t h i n g about the use of l i b r a r y resources. M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y , w e l e a r n e d that some of o u r preconceived con- cepts c o n c e r n i n g the s t u d e n t a t t i t u d e s w e r e w r o n g , some w e r e r i g h t . C o n c l u s i o n s con- c e r n i n g the f o u r items m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r are as f o l l o w s : 1 . T o o much time spent on assigned w o r k seemed to be proven correct, and w e have tried to rectify this situation by shorter and more practical assignments. 2. T h e f a c t that the material is to a l a r g e extent already known w a s mentioned by a comparatively f e w students. T h e problem w a r r a n t s f u r t h e r study. A " s c r e e n i n g " test may be indicated. 3. T h a t there is duplication of w o r k in L i b r a r y Science courses and other courses has been proven true. T o eliminate all duplication of w o r k in courses offered in a l a r g e university is perhaps impossible. Duplication in the broad sense of " o v e r l e a r n i n g " is not necessarily detrimental to the best inter- ests of the students. A s one English instructor put it, " T h e more times the students are told about the dictionary the b e t t e r ! " H o w e v e r , in the specific instance of bibliography and the dic- tionary it is possible f o r the library to a r r a n g e with the English D e p a r t m e n t a program that w i l l reduce duplication of subject matter. 4. T h a t there is little use f o r the material seems to have been proven false. T h e students indicated that the material w a s u s e f u l . B e y o n d these f o u r points, the f a c t that there m i g h t be s o m e t h i n g w r o n g w i t h the p r e s e n t a t i o n of the m a t e r i a l w a s b r o u g h t out in the a n s w e r s to Q u e s t i o n 4 . T h e need f o r c l e a r e r presentation to the s t u d e n t s of the purpose of each s u b j e c t t a u g h t should e l i m i n a t e some of the c o n f u s i o n e v i d e n t in a n s w e r s to Q u e s t i o n 4 . T h e d i r e c t o r of l i b r a r i e s has appointed a c o m m i t t e e composed of f o u r i n s t r u c t o r s in l i b r a r y science to m a k e an intensive s t u d y of the l i b r a r y ' s i n s t r u c t i o n a l p r o g r a m . T h i s c o m m i t t e e is at w o r k on f i v e m a j o r p o i n t s : ( 1 ) the p r o v i s i o n f o r i n s t r u c t i o n f o r upper- class and g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s ; ( 2 ) the ex- pansion of the p r o g r a m to include s t u d e n t s not n o w i n c l u d e d . R e q u e s t s f o r special lec- t u r e s on l i b r a r y p r o c e d u r e by the C o l l e g e s of E d u c a t i o n , H o m e E c o n o m i c s a n d A g r i - c u l t u r e m a k e it c l e a r that i n s t r u c t i o n is needed in these colleges. A t the present time o n l y students in the C o l l e g e of A r t s and Sciences are r e q u i r e d to take the courses. T h e c o m m i t t e e is a t t e m p t i n g to d e t e r m i n e w h a t changes m u s t be m a d e in the courses in o r d e r to s a t i s f y the needs of the s t u d e n t body as a w h o l e ; ( 3 ) T h e re- duction in d u p l i c a t i o n of e f f o r t by the E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t and the l i b r a r y es- pecially in the fields of b i b l i o g r a p h y and d i c t i o n a r y s t u d y ; ( 4 ) P r o v i s i o n f o r m o r e e x t e n s i v e use of v i s u a l a i d s ; ( 5 ) A s t u d y of the s t u d e n t s ' p r o b l e m s of a d j u s t m e n t . A set of slides s h o w i n g h o w p e r i o d i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n m a y be obtained f r o m the U n i - v e r s i t y of M a r y l a n d l i b r a r y has been m a d e . T w o of the students in the l i b r a r y science courses and a p h o t o g r a p h e r f r o m the C o l - lege of H o m e E c o n o m i c s assisted in m a k i n g the slides. P r e l i m i n a r y c o n s u l t a t i o n s w i t h the E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t h a v e been h e l d . M u c h needs to be done. T h i s s t u d y has g i v e n us a point of r e f e r e n c e f r o m w h i c h to p l a n f o r better l i b r a r y i n s t r u c t i o n f o r the s t u d e n t s . W e s h a l l continue to m a k e e v e r y e f f o r t to u n d e r s t a n d as t h o r o u g h l y as possi- ble a l l aspects of the p r o b l e m that con- f r o n t s us so that w e m a y be able to w o r k out a s a t i s f a c t o r y solution. JULY, 1954 289