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