LOCATION OF LIBRARY SCHOOLS IN 1921 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE A REPORT PREPARED FOR THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK BY CHARLES C. WILLIAMSON NEW YORK 1923 D. B. UPDIKE � THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS � BOSTON TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE FOREWORD V INTRODUCTION vii CHAPTER I. TYPES OF LIBRARY WORK AND TRAINING 3 II. THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 12 III. ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 26 IV. THE TEACHING STAFF 34 V. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 40 VI. TEXT-BOOKS 48 VII. FIELD WORK 53 VIII. JOINT COURSES, ACADEMIC CREDIT, DEGREES, AND ACADEMIC STATUS 69 IX. FINANCIAL AND OTHER STATISTICS 72 X. THE RELATION OF SALARIES TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIBRARY SCHOOLS 83 XI. THE PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY SCHOOL AND THE UNIVERSITY 86 XII. ADVANCED OR SPECIALIZED STUDY 91 XIII. PLACEMENT OF LIBRARY SCHOOL GRADUATES 103 XIV. RECRUITING FOR THE LIBRARY PROFESSION 107 XV. TRAINING IN SERVICE 110 XVI. CORRESPONDENCE INSTRUCTION 114 XVII. STANDARDIZATION AND CERTIFICATION 121 XVIII. THE PROBLEM OF THE SMALL LIBRARY 130 XIX. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 136 APPENDIX � I. GENERAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE FIFTEEN SCHOOLS STUDIED IN THIS REPORT 149 � II. ENTRANCE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS OF LIBRARY SCHOOLS 152 a. Specimen Questions, New York Public Library School 152 b. Typical Questions, Various Schools 155 INDEX 159 LIST OF STATISTICAL TABLES PAGE Number of Hours of Class-room Instruction given by Eleven Library Schools in the Major and More Important Minor Subjects in the Curriculum 22 General Education, Technical Training, and Library Experience of Library School Instructors in 1920�21, including only those giving Courses of at least Ten Class-room Hours 85 Library School Budgets: Totals for All Purposes and Amounts of Salaries at Various Periods 72 Salaries of the Directors, Principals, and Leading Instructors of Library Schools in 1921 78 Student Fees in 1921 74 Library School Statistics: Maximum Capacity and Registration in 1920� 21; Average Initial Salaries of Graduates in 1914- and 1921 75 General Statistics of Graduates of Library Schools 78 Salaries of Graduates of Five Representative Library Schools in 1921 81 FOREWORD THE study on which the following report is based was undertaken in accordance with a resolution of the trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York passed on March &8, 1919, and Dr. Charles C. Williamson, then Head of the Division of Economics and Sociology at the New York Public Library and now Director of Information Service of the Rockefeller Foundation, was invited to undertake the enquiry. An advisory committee consisting of Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress, Dr. James H. Kirkland, Chancellor of Vanderbilt University, and Dr. Wilson Farrand, Principal of Newark Academy, was appointed to cooperate in the study and to review the report. The verdict of these gentlemen was most favorable: they reported that the publication of the study "would, in the judgment of the committee, be highly desirable." The subject of training for library service, while possessing an intrinsic importance that is as yet but little appreciated in this country, is of such dimensions as to lend itself well to the unitary and comprehensive treatment which follows. All of the library schools in the United States were visited and carefully examined; the most expert opinions on the problem were analyzed and compared; and, finally, the use made of the product of these schools, together with the need and demand for more and better training, was subjected to as thorough a statistical study as the available material permitted. As a whole, therefore, the problem is one which a single, inclusive study of this character may do much to illuminate; and it is believed that Dr. Williamson's report will prove to be of decisive value in clarifying a situation which was not so difficult as it was neglected. Henry S. Pritchett, Acting President. June \, 1923. INTRODUCTION THE primary purpose in preparing the following report was to present existing conditions in this country with respect to training for library work in such a way that the educator and the layman interested in educational problems might be able to form a true conception of the steps that should be taken to improve this phase of the library situation. The author has been obliged to limit the scope of his study to the so-called professional schools. He has treated only incidentally training classes, summer schools, and other types of library training agency. An effort has been made to discover and to point out the strong and weak points in the organization of these library schools and in the training which they offer. Many of the defects disclosed could be remedied by the schools themselves; others are due to extreme poverty and can be remedied only by increased income. All of the schools were visited and their organization and methods studied during the academic year 1920-21. The report therefore describes conditions as they existed at that period. A brief historical sketch of each of the schools will be found in Appendix I. All but two of them, the Riverside Library Service School and the University of California library courses, were considered approved or accredited schools�that is, they had been admitted to membership in the Association of American Library Schools, an organization described in some detail in the chapter on standardization. Other schools are in the process of development*, the University of Texas and the University of Buffalo, for example, have organized courses of instruction for which recognition as professional library schools may ultimately be sought; in Portland (Oregon) and in certain other cities plans for the organization of schools are also being considered. TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE CHAPTER I TYPES OF LIBRARY WORK AND TRAINING THIS chapter enters into a general discussion of the appropriate education, general and vocational, for different types of library work. Much use is made throughout the following pages of the words "professional" and "clerical." Before entering upon any systematic description or critical discussion of vocational training for library work, it is desirable to make as clear as possible the meaning which will henceforth be attached to these terms. As the word "professional" is used in these pages, it is not synonymous with vocational, tho that has been customary in library literature. Nor is the word "clerical," as used here, confined to that part of the work in a library which is essentially the same as the so-called clerical labor carried on in business and other organizations. Much of the necessary work in a library is peculiar to libraries, yet it is distinctly of clerical grade. Those who do this work, however, have not been called clerks but have been placed with all other library workers in one vocational group of "librarians." For clear thinking on the subject of training for library service it is necessary to understand the different kinds of work which must go on in a library. In this report we recognize two distinct types which, for want of better terms, we call "professional" and "clerical." Each of these types or phases of library work demands general and vocational education of a particular character. The distinction between the two is only vaguely understood and seldom applied in library organization and practice. It therefore seems desirable to dwell upon it at some length before proceeding to an examination of the library schools and other training agencies. While in one sense this is an introductory or preliminary chapter, it will be apparent that it is also a summary of some of the most important conclusions of the whole study. In library work of nearly every kind efficiency requires careful attention to a large amount of detail. The supreme importance of attention to detail in records and the necessity for skill and accuracy in routine operations have apparently been allowed to obscure somewhat the real nature of professional library work and the kind of training required to fit for the highest type of success. Library schools originated at a time when methods of handling the detailed record work of libraries 4 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE were being worked out with scientific care and precision. The difficulty of supplying libraries with assistants who were skilled in handling such detail and possessed of enough general understanding of the significance and importance of care and accuracy seems to have led the first schools to shape their curricula to meet the needs of the time, which was natural and desirable. The unfortunate result is that an attempt has been made ever since, more or less unconsciously, to give to manual labor of a purely clerical and routine nature the dignity and importance of professional work. This has made and continues to make library work unattractive and distasteful to men and women with the proper educational and general equipment for successful service in types of work which are of real professional character. A shortage of persons fitted for the higher grades of library work has been felt for some time, and will no doubt continue to be felt until some differentiation is recognized by library administrators in the organization of library staffs between duties of clerical and routine character and those requiring professional outlook and attainments. A "trained" worker in a library may be of either one or the other type, but at present it is commonly assumed that all "trained" workers are of the same general grade. There are many kinds of work in any library which can be performed just as well (perhaps better) by a young woman with a high school education and a little appropriate instruction and experience as by a college graduate with the best library school training that can be devised. Two main types of training for library work are required. The first is the broad, general education represented at its minimum by a full college course which has included certain important subjects, plus at least one year's graduate study in a library school properly organized to give a thorough preparation for the kind of service referred to in this volume as "professional." The second type calls for a general education represented approximately by a four-year high school course, followed by a course of instruction designed to give a good understanding of the mechanics and routine operations of a library, together with sufficient instruction and practice to ensure proficiency and skill in one or more kinds of the clerical and routine work which we may call "sub-professional" or "clerical." Library administrators appear to be making little or no effort to keep these two types of work distinct; or, if they do recognize such grades of work, they assume that the clerical worker will in the course of TYPES OF LIBRARY WORK AND TRAINING 5 time, and solely by continued experience in clerical work, develop capacity for the higher or professional grades. Occasionally this has occurred in the case of exceptional individuals; but the assumption that the difference between the clerical and professional worker is length of experience only is unfortunate, and has much to do with the low state of library service and the absurdly low salaries offered for even important positions of professional character. Since the library administrator does not organize his staff in such a way as to make clear the qualifications needed for different types of work, the library schools have not been under the necessity of making the distinction; and many of them have not done so. They have admitted to the same classes students who by no possible chance could give acceptable service of any except the clerical type along with those well qualified to enter the highest grade of professional work. Exactly the same instruction has been given to both groups. In other words, the schools have been trying and are still trying to train clerical workers and professional workers in the same classes and in the same way. The results could not possibly be satisfactory, and they have not been. The time has now come to apply the remedy for this fundamental defect. The situation calls for a proper organization of library service and the provision of separate facilities for training each class of worker. Graduation from an accredited college after four years of study leading to the bachelor's degree should now be recognized as the minimum of general education needed for successful professional library work of any kind. Much of the record-keeping and routine in libraries of all kinds can be carried on very well by persons who have less than this amount of general education and even by those who have had only a high school course. For the sake of the library profession and to elevate the standards of library service, some distinction between professional and sub-professional or clerical grades of library work is essential. College education is now required of the high school teacher in practically every part of the country. How can the public library, even in the smallest town, be expected to serve intelligently the needs of all classes if the librarian is not at least as well equipped as the high school teacher? The librarian, indeed, if he is to live up to his opportunities, should be the intellectual peer of the high school principal, the superintendent of schools, the minister, the editor, and all other educated persons upon whom the community depends for leadership. The need of training for librarianship, even for the smallest libraries, 6 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE is almost universally recognized; but the mistake is often made of assuming that the training needed is confined to matters of library technique and clerical routine. It is true that to be successful a librarian must understand library methods, but no amount of training in library technique can make a successful librarian of a person who lacks a good general education. The most essential part of training for librarianship is the general education that is ordinarily secured nowadays through a college course. Some knowledge of foreign languages and literature, history, sociology, economics, government, psychology and the natural sciences, every librarian worthy of the name must have. Moreover, he must know more than the average college graduate about the literature and sources of information in all the principal fields of interest, and have at his command the bibliographical tools and devices for unlocking the printed sources of information on any subject. It goes without saying that the high school student cannot do this. If he could, a college education would cease to be important as background and preparation for any profession. The time required for the specific training for librarianship is comparatively short�usually but one year� because the most important part of the equipment is general education and a knowledge of men and books which can be acquired in a variety of ways but which is most likely to be found in those who have completed a college course. A person with the intellectual and general equipment for librarian-ship can ordinarily get in one year from a properly organized library school the general technical training needed for any type of professional library work. In order to do the highest grade of work, however, and to make rapid progress in any specialized line, the student should have an opportunity for special study, not immediately following the year of general technical study, but after at least one year of professional library work. No amount of study in a library school can fit for successful library service the individual who lacks the fundamental educational equipment. On the other hand, many persons having the necessary education and native fitness and capacity have taken it up with complete success in spite of a lack of technical training. It is far easier for an intelligent educated person interested in books and people to make a success of library work than it is for one having all the technique the library school can give him, but lacking in general intellectual and cultural background. TYPES OF LIBRARY WORK AND TRAINING 7 Some discussion has been occasioned in library circles by the fact that many of the most successful librarians are without library school training. The question has been raised as to whether a library school course is helpful; whether, indeed, it may not be an actual hindrance to the highest success in types of librarianship requiring initiative, originality, resourcefulness, and large administrative capacity. Two possible conclusions are indicated: in the first place, it should be perceived more clearly that the least important part of the librarian's equipment is that which the library school gives him, and that therefore a high standard of general education should be required for admission to the professional school; secondly, it is probable that the schools should so adjust their methods of teaching and the content of their curricula that students with adequate education and capacity will not find that in the process of acquiring a knowledge of library technique they are in danger of missing the broad professional outlook, and of suffering a certain deadening of initiative and imagination which is likely to result from an excessive attention to minute detail. Library technique should be presented to men and women, properly educated for professional library work, from the point of view of principles and policies. Too often, even in the best of schools, such subjects as cataloguing and classification have been taught as if the student had no mind. "Do it this way and don't ask why," has frequently represented the instructor's attitude. Granting that such a method may legitimately be used in dealing with a class of apprentices, it is ridiculous when applied to college graduates who suppose they are being educated for a profession and in a professional spirit. To the library school of a graduate and truly professional character we should look for the workers needed to fill all positions requiring extensive and accurate book knowledge, skill in organization and administration, and expert technical knowledge in many special lines, Being professional schools, these institutions will in no case aim to train specifically for any one library staff. To another type of library school, illustrated by the "training classes" conducted by the larger libraries, we must look for trained clerical workers. The subjects covered by the two kinds of training agency will to a certain extent be the same. Clerical or sub-professional workers will need instruction in cataloguing, in classification, in all kinds of record-keeping topics, � including filing, indexing, alpha-beting,�and in typewriting. They can be taught such things as the 8 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE nature and uses of subject headings, not with the idea that they will be responsible for the subject heading work in any important library, but that they may be more intelligent and efficient within their own range of duties. For this type of training a large amount of drill and practical work will necessarily accompany the class-room instruction. On the completion of such a course an intelligent person with a high school education should be able to give efficient service, especially in the library in which and for which he has been especially trained. It should not be possible to say of him, as library administrators now often say of library school graduates, that he has been taught a great many things and has hazy ideas about library work in general but cannot do any kind of work acceptably well. Some of the so-called library schools at the present time are not equipped to do more than give a good thorough training for clerical workers. Under certain conditions that is the most important thing that can be done; and the school which neglects to do it well, in an attempt to achieve the impossible and give a professional training with inadequate resources and ill-prepared students, is doing the cause of library service more harm than good. In the last analysis every library will have to make its own decision as to what positions on its staff require professional training. The number and proportion of such positions will be determined by the size and character of the library as well as by the money available for the payment of salaries. A reference library will require a larger proportion of professional librarians than a circulating library of the traditional type. The large library system will require a smaller proportion, tho perhaps a higher grade, of professionally trained librarians than the small library, for the reason that the greater specialization made possible in the large organization permits the professional worker to supplement and supervise the work of a larger number of workers of clerical grade. The mere recognition of this principle will do much to solve the training problem. In the first place, it will considerably reduce the number of people that the professional library schools will be called upon to turn out. Assuming, as has apparently been done by some library executives, that practically the entire body of library workers, even down to pages, should have a full library school training, the impossible task would fall upon the library schools of training all library workers by means of one general type of curriculum. At the present moment TYPES OF LIBRARY WORK AND TRAINING 9 the demand for trained workers, which is alleged to be far in excess of the supply, is in reality not solely a demand for fully equipped and professionally trained workers, but for both types. When this fact is recognized, professional library work will make a far stronger appeal to college men and women as a career, not only because the professional type of work will be more attractive in itself, but also because it will make possible more adequate salaries. The confusion of clerical and professional work tends inevitably to keep salaries down to the level of the clerical grade. No matter what the financial resources of an institution, it is not justified in paying clerical workers much, if any, more than those of equal education and experience receive in commercial and other competing fields of work. In many cases the law of supply and demand will make it possible to maintain efficient clerical staffs at salaries even lower than those offered by commercial and private employers. Until the distinction between clerical and professional workers is sharply made and adhered to the demand for adequate salaries for the professional group will prove ineffective because they will be economically impossible. A careful appraisal of the duties actually performed by many workers for whom professional salaries are demanded will show that they are often in large part clerical and not worthy of higher remuneration. Until library work is so organized that professional workers devote all their time and energy to professional tasks,� tasks which workers with less adequate general and technical equipment cannot perform without permanent damage to library service,�it is not worth while to expect librarians to be paid on a professional basis. When library work is so organized and is adequately remunerated library schools able to offer professional training of high character will not need to worry about the difficulty of securing enough students to fill their classes, nor will librarians have cause to bemoan the dearth of trained assistants. The inherent attractions of professional library work will never fail to produce the necessary supply of workers when working conditions and salaries are properly adjusted. Neither will the call for trained clerical workers go unanswered when the type of worker and the type of training required are clearly defined. At no time during the last three years would the library schools have had any great difficulty in filling their classes with a good grade of high school graduate who, with proper training, would have made excellent clerical workers. Some of the library schools conducted by public libraries should confine them- 10 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE selves to this task and let their libraries look to the professional schools for the other type of trained worker. Some of the stronger library schools may find it possible and desirable to offer both types of training, in separate classes of course, and perhaps to some extent by a separate corps of instructors. In general, however, workers of the clerical grade can and will be trained for the larger libraries by their own training classes. Any library finding it necessary to add to its clerical staff as many as ten new members a year is likely to find it wise to maintain a training class. With one competent person in charge of the class and doing most of the teaching, aided as required by other professionally trained members of the staff, a library can provide its own clerical workers more economically and quite as efficiently as if it should attempt to conduct a library school. To such a program some library executives will make the objection that they wish their entire staff to have full professional training. This is at best a counsel of perfection, tho in reality it probably reveals a lack of understanding of the principles of economical and efficient administration. If it is true that the high school graduate is not fitted for the professional work, it is also true that the college graduate will not give the best service in strictly clerical positions. If a person with college education is satisfied to spend his time, or any considerable part of it, on tasks the high school graduate can perform equally well, he will probably give no better service than the latter and will actually be inferior and likely to be dissatisfied with his position and remuneration. Small libraries will find it somewhat more difficult than large ones to provide a properly trained personnel. For professional workers they will of course look to the library schools, but a supply of trained workers of the clerical grade will not be so readily secured. Requiring too few persons of this grade to warrant the expense of conducting a training class, they will have to resort to some other agency for competent clerical assistants. The most available but least desirable source will be apprenticeship. Young women residing in the community will be taken on the staff and expected gradually to learn the work by doing it under direction. In some cases this may prove fairly satisfactory. The amount of instruction that can be injected into such apprenticeship will necessarily depend on the size of the professional staff and the time and teaching ability available for the task. In many cases it should be possible for smaller libraries to make arrangements with larger ones within easy reach to train their clerical TYPES OF LIBRARY WORK AND TRAINING 11 assistants. There would seem to be no good reason why the training class of a large library should not accept students from libraries in smaller adjacent towns and cities, charging a proper fee, to be paid not by the student, perhaps, but by the library benefited. In other situations a group of smaller libraries in the same neighborhood may conduct a training class cooperatively. Still other small libraries may find a solution of the problem by sending their assistants to attend short courses and summer schools conducted for that purpose by state commissions, universities, etc. Some help in the training of clerical assistants may also be expected from properly conducted correspondence courses. Whatever the method employed for recruiting clerical workers, it is of the greatest importance not to overlook the fact that training is necessary for the best results. Without the trained clerical assistant the professional worker will be overburdened with responsibilities for detail from which he should be free in any properly organized library. A certification system should recognize the grade of clerical assistant and admit to that grade only those whose general education and library training meet the standards provided. Under a certification system which makes the essential distinction between professional and clerical grades, there will be little or no danger that individuals qualified for clerical work will be able to pass themselves off for the higher grade. There will be no reason, therefore, why accredited and standard training classes cannot, if they choose, accept for training students not under appointment or pledged to accept appointment on the library's own staff at the end of the period of training. In such a case it would be proper, of course, to charge a reasonable fee for the course. CHAPTER II THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN order to make as clear as possible to the general reader the scope and content of library school curricula, the following brief descriptions of courses have been compiled from the current issues of the announcements or catalogues of the leading schools. These statements are not designed to be a complete outline of the courses given in any one school; they constitute rather a composite summary of the descriptive statements which seem best adapted to convey a fair idea of the subjects in which it is deemed necessary for the professionally trained librarian to receive instruction in the schools. It may at first seem to the reader that we are introducing here a mass of detailed information which should have been relegated to an appendix. This matter is deliberately brought in at this point, however, in order to give at the outset a good idea of the scope and content of the library school curriculum. It serves also, it is believed, to give point to the contention made throughout this report that professional library training should be based on a broad, general education. The different courses are arranged in the order of the average amount of time given to them in the class-room schedules of the eleven schools which reported on this point. Each paragraph under a subject is taken from the statement of a different school. Cataloguing "The course includes lectures,recitations,and practice work in dictionary cataloguing and alphabeting. Each lesson is followed by an exercise in actual cataloguing, the books used being selected to furnish illustrative examples of the rules given in class. The exercises are revised from sample cards and corrections discussed in class. The corrected cards are converted into sample dictionary catalogues, which are indexed to bring out examples of rules. The A.L. A. rules mimeographed on cards for convenience in study and reference are followed with minor modifications." "A study of mechanical devices and supplies used in cataloguing; methods of duplicating cards; problems in ordering cataloguing supplies." "Practice is given in alphabeting and in the ordering, handling, and use of Library of Congress printed cards. . . . Each student keeps the revised cards for about 200 books, correctly arranged and furnished with guides, as a sample catalogue for future help. THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 13 Additional lectures are given on cataloguing of children's books, cataloguer's reference books, supplies, cataloguing of foreign books, music scores, and maps. Lectures and practice in the use of fuller collation and imprint are given. . . ." Book Selection "Designed to familiarize, so far as possible, with books and writers, their scope, qualities and respective values in certain leading classes of literature, and with sources and aids V book selection in these classes; to define and analyze the princip as underlying discriminating selection of books for library use; and to cultivate the power of judging books according to their value and suitability for different types of readers and libraries." "(a) Principles of book selection in Biography, History, Travel, Sociology, Nature and Popular Science, and Religion; study of standard and current aids and book reviewing publications; study and practice in annotation and evaluation; exercises in compilation of special lists; study of editions and series desirable for library use. (b) Survey and analysis of modern fiction (in English), covering principles of critical judgment, aids and guides, and study and practice in annotation, for modern fiction, historical fiction, foreign fiction in English translation,'borderland' fiction, short stories, fiction of the current year." "Translation of the works of the leading French novelists are read and reported upon, followed by a survey of representative novelists of Spain, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia. Recent poetry, the short-story, and modern drama are studied. . . . The class examines about forty new books each month, and attention is given to current publications by reading and checking the issues of the Publishers' Weekly. The large amount of reading required in this course may be expected to encroach upon the time which a student usually gives to general reading." "Aims to cultivate further the power of judging books as to their value and adaptability to various types of libraries and people. Practical problems in the selection of translations of the classics and foreign fiction, series, editions, quick selection of new books, etc. Reading of selected modern novelists, dramatists and poets is required and problems of selection in these fields discussed. Facility in estimating books is developed further through the writing of book-notes and reviews. The economical spending of book funds is taught through the checking of second-hand, remainder and other bargain catalogues of American and English dealers." "After considering the qualities of a good edition, the various 14 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVIGE editions of the standard authors are studied, and those best suited to library use are recommended.'' "The evaluation and selection of periodicals for library use are considered briefly." Reference Work "A study of the standard works of reference, general and special encyclopedias, dictionaries, annuals, indexes to periodicals, ready reference manuals of every kind, special bibliographies, and the more important newspapers and periodicals. Works of similar scope are compared, and the limitations of each pointed out. Lists of questions made up from practical experience are given, and the method of finding the answers discussed in the class. Problems in selection of reference books, especially for the small library, are assigned and talked over. The aim of this course is not only to promote familiarity with a considerable number of well-known reference works, but also to give the student some idea of the method in the handling of books, to familiarize him with the use of indexes, tables of contents, and varying forms of arrangement, and, finally, to suggest some method of comparison and evaluation." "Lectures and problems from the standpoint of college and university libraries, large reference libraries or departments. Principal topics: interlibrary coordination and cooperation in reference work; organization of reference material; law libraries and law books; care and use of manuscripts; medical libraries; patents publications; legislative reference; local history and genealogy; publications of learned societies; dissertations; indexes to foreign periodicals; trade and professional journals." Classification "The Dewey Decimal classification is used as the basis for a thorough consideration of the subject matter of books, with a view to their arrangement on the shelves, both of the large and small library. Lectures are given also on the Cutter Expansive and the Library of Congress classifications." "... Practical work in classifying selected lists of books, considering the various requirements of large, small and special libraries; brief history of classification; comparison of the principal systems; use of the Cutter-Sanborn tables for assigning book numbers." "The importance of adapting classification to the need of special localities and types of libraries is emphasized through the discussion of specific books. Methods of simplification, especially in biography and literature, are taught. The study of book numbers is included in this course." THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 15 A dministration "This course includes the administration of large libraries, the administration of small libraries, and a short course in business methods. ... In the consideration of the administration of small libraries, practical details of management and the adaptation of methods to the needs of a small library are emphasized. The principal topics are: library finance; statistics and reports; relation of librarian to trustees; the staff and the reading public; the place of the library in the community; cooperation, publicity, and extension of the use of the library." '' Library legislation." "Work of a library organizer; office systems; accounts and bookkeeping; business correspondence." "Forms and supplies." "An analytical study of reports and statistics in their vital relation to the practical work of the library, including the graphic presentation of these." " Methods of bringing public and library together. Outside publicity, including reaching the business men, newspaper publicity, miscellaneous printed matter and its distribution, placards, car cards, movie slides, outside bulletin boards, window displays and exhibits; and inside publicity, including lectures, exhibits, book displays, and bulletins." "Methods and problems of city extension by means of branch libraries, deposit stations and smaller agencies; rural extension, including county and township systems and the book automobile; state traveling libraries and other work of library commissions." Library Work with Children "This course aims to give the principles of library work with children, and comprises a series of lectures on management and training of children; equipment of a children's room; books for little children; books for younger children; how to judge fiction for boys and girls; historical stories; boys' reading; girls' reading; program of a children's department." "Book selection for children; administration and equipment of children's rooms; library work with schools and playgrounds; cooperation with other educational and social agencies." "Principles underlying the art of story-telling, applied to the selection, adaptation and oral presentation of stories. Students electing this course will tell stories in the playground and other branches of the library." 16 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE " History of children's literature. The purpose of the course is to trace the development of children's literature in England and America and to study the forces which affected it and determined its characteristics at different periods. Beginning with the time of Aldhelm and Bede, typical books of each period are discussed, the chap-books, old-fashioned books for children, and facsimile reprints in the Library School collection being used for study and comparative purposes. Current Events " As an aid to the student in following the affairs of the day, attention is given to the events chronicled from time to time in the daily newspapers and in the weekly and monthly periodicals." "Round table devoted to the review of important current activities and events, designed to give practice in the use of periodicals and to develop judgment of the value of the material presented." " Survey of the history of general American periodicals, also the best in special subjects, as Science, Fine Arts, and Education; English and widely-known continental magazines." Public Documents "A study of the publications of the United States Government, with a consideration of state and municipal documents, as illustrated by the publications of the state of-----------. . . . The Executive Departments, Congress, and other government offices are considered as sources of information for libraries. The printing and distribution of documents, their indexes, and their use in reference work are taken up. Emphasis is laid upon the documents of most value to the small library." Subject Headings "Principles of subject indexing as applied to the dictionary catalogue are discussed and the relation and correlation of subjects are studied both in relation to the entry of books in the catalogue and to the arrangement of books on the shelves." "Assigning subject headings on the basis of the A. L. A. List of Subject Headings and the Library of Congress lists." "In studying subject headings, analytics, cross references, and the headings assigned specific books by the students are discussed. The A. L. A. subject headings is checked by each student." THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 17 Subject Bibliography " The best and most available bibliographies and selected lists in various departments are considered as to their authority, date, content, arrangement, merits, defects, and adaptation to different uses. Special topics, such as the scope, utility and limitations of bibliography are also treated. For graduation each student submits a selected and annotated bibliography that tests,the ability . to collect, arrange, and definitely to evaluate the literature of the subject chosen. Methods of work, authorities used, and results obtained are examined and criticised. A study is made of the organization and work of those societies and institutions of America and Europe which are interested in the stimulation of bibliographical movements, in the perfecting and unifying of bibliographical methods, and the production of bibliographical material. Special attention is given to cooperative undertakings and international bibliography." History of Libraries "History of European libraries, early and present; American library movement; library associations and library periodicals; great American libraries and their specialties; American library biography." "Development, characteristics and tendencies of the American library movement; different types of libraries; library associations, national and state; library commissions and their work; library training." "... Origin, materials and development of writing; origin and spread of printing; methods of book illustration; history of bookbinding." " Book illustration, title-pages, printers' marks, and famous printers and presses." , Fiction (See Book Selection.) Lending Systems "Discussion of the principles underlying the relations of the library to the public brought about by the loan of books, and the character of the service to be rendered; a study of the various necessary and desirable records connected with this work, representative loan systems suitable for various types of libraries, and rules, regulations, and practices incidental to the service." "History and principles of charging systems, with detailed study of Browne, Newark and Columbia University charging systems. 18 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE Circulation of periodicals, music, pictures and books for foreigners. Besides loan work routine the following topics are discussed: access to shelves, rent collections,book disinfection; distribution through branches, stations, schools and home libraries, interlibrary loans." "Registration, infectious diseases vs. library books, fines, reserves, renewals, rules for lending, pay collections, training of staff, and apprentice classes." " Consideration of the business principles which should underlie routine and of the social principles which should govern relations with borrowers forms the basis of the course." Trade Bibliography "Historical development, national book-trade bibliographies of Europe; English and American book-trade bibliography, general, national, and special; related bibliographical aids, important catalogues, and special bibliographies." "Aims to give ... a working knowledge of about thirty-five American, English, and foreign trade publications which are of constant use to libraries in their dealings with book-sellers and publishers and in the acquisition of books in general." Binding and Repair "Lectures treat of materials, processes, and methods of binding; practice is given in judging materials and workmanship as to strength, durability, appearance, and cost. Students become familiar with all processes by inspecting books in various stages of binding, and by visiting binderies. The necessary technical routine and the preparation of serials, pamphlets, and books for binding and re-binding are also considered. Mending is taught by practical work and demonstration." "Publishers', and re-inforced bindings, and history of the art of bookbinding (with slides)." "Practice in mending; in preparing books and periodicals; in giving specifications for binding of a varied assortment of books; in estimating wearing qualities of different editions." "Mechanical processes necessary in preparing books for circulation, mounting pictures and clippings, binding pamphlets, magazine covers, etc." Order Work "The subjects included in this course are book-buying, discounts, ordering books, checking and entering bills, the accession book and THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 19 its substitutes, the shelf list, serials and continuations, exchanges, gifts, duplicates, pamphlets, clippings, the history of copyright and the copyright law." "Importations; second-hand auction purchases." Printing and Publishing "Lectures discussing the features of a printed book, such as the parts of a book, type pages, illustrations and color printing, the printing of books from plates, etc., are given to cultivate an appreciation for well made books. Further, the characteristics of the best known American publishers and their works are discussed to familiarize the students with the standards of publishing and the value of imprint." "Lectures and practice aim to give the student the information most needed in preparing the simplest library publications. Includes the preparation of copy, mechanical editing, routine and processes of printing, correction of proof, library stationery and blanks and forms, and examination of library reports and bulletins as to waste and economy, types, indentions, etc." School Libraries "The value and place of the high school library; types; relations to the public library; selection of books and periodicals; modifications in classification, cataloguing and other records; charging systems; aids in reference work; the administration and use of the school library; special problems of the school librarian; making and use of a clipping and picture collection; the vertical file; lessons on the use of books; vocational guidance; special features such as lantern slides, stereographs and music records." "Previous pedagogic training or teaching experience is desirable for this course." "The work of the school and teachers' department, deposit stations in the schools, educational theories and books are discussed in order to give an intelligent understanding of the possibilities of cooperation with teachers." Library Buildings "Methods of planning and equipping library buildings, with discussion of the form and arrangement of rooms for various library departments and calculation of book capacity." "Shelving, lighting, furniture and fittings, decorations, equipment for social service purposes." 20 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE "Principles are illustrated by lantern slides and photographs showing plans of library buildings." Community Relations "Study of library work and possibilities of a definite city or other community. The topography, population, political, financial, industrial and other social conditions will be considered in their relation to actual and potential library work in the community." "Designed to give the student a knowledge of the library's relation to the community as a whole and of the various agencies for industrial, social and civic betterment with which it may cooperate." "Municipal and government activities and problems, methods of working with local organizations, neighborhood survey, etc." Shelf Work "This course includes practice in assigning book numbers by the Cutter-Sanborn author tables; lectures on the shelf-list, showing its value for inventory and statistical purposes; methods for checking continuations and government documents, and caring for pamphlets, pictures, slides, etc." "Book supports, shelf labels and other appliances; preservation and arrangement of pamphlets; inventory; shelf-listing. Model shelf-lists are made both on cards and on sheets." Languages " Technical French and German. A study of an extensive list of German and French book titles, customary abbreviations, etc." Accessioning "The condensed and loose-leaf accession books are used, and other systems of keeping .accession records and of withdrawing books from the library are taught. The mechanical preparation of books for the shelves is included." Indexing "Marking matter for indexing; choice of headings; form of citation; verification; filing; full and brief indexing; periodical indexes; indexing documents; correlation of entries; cross references; editing for print; form of printing; labor-saving methods and devices." THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 21 Notes and Samples "Each student is required to submit for inspection a collection of material on the various phases of library work. This collection includes books and pamphlets on library economy, bibliographies and reading lists, library periodicals, publications of individual libraries, blanks and forms used in library administration and the problems, notes and other required work of the regular courses. No certificates or diplomas are awarded to students who do not present well-selected and well-arranged collections of reasonable size." Special Libraries "Information regarding the important and rapidly growing work of industrial, commercial, financial, and other special libraries, by visiting librarians, and experience in such libraries." Books for the Blind "Lectures are given on library work for the blind, the history of types for the blind, books, magazines, games, writing appliances and music, and other subjects of interest to the blind." Altho no less than twenty-five distinct courses are recognized in the curricula of the library schools, about half of the student's time is devoted to four subjects�cataloguing, book selection, reference work, and classification. These four subjects may well be called the heart of the curriculum, for altho the actual time devoted to any one of them varies greatly from school to school, these are the subjects on which all the schools lay primary emphasis. The table on page 9& shows the number of class-room hours devoted to the major and most of the minor subjects in the curricula of the eleven schools from which reports were received. Differences of terminology and the variety of groupings and combinations of subjects encountered make it impossible to arrive at strictly accurate averages or to compare one school with another at every point. The table serves, however, to indicate the remarkable variations in the time given by different schools to even the major subjects. Cataloguing, for example, gets 105 class-room hours in one school and only 35 in another, the average for the eleven schools being 60. One school devotes 76 hours to book selection and another only 27. Time allotted to reference work varies from 69 to 80 hours. Classification claims 47 hours in one school and only 20 in another. In the minor subjects variations are naturally still more pronounced. 22 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE NUMBER OF HOURS OF CLASS-ROOM INSTRUCTION . GIVEN BY ELEVEN LIBRARY SCHOOLS IN THE MAJOR AND MORE IMPORTANT MINOR SUBJECTS IN THE CURRICULUM Average for Subjects School1 eleven schools 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 reporting . Cataloguing 44 57 105 90 57 45 35 66a 43 61 61 60 Book Selection 57 60 27 60 36 52 50 60 76 45 32 50 Reference Work 53 47 44 60 80 50 30 44 36 69 60 48 Classification 42 47 44 25 35 30 20 336 28 32 33 34 Administration 76 25 20 18 36 37 20 40 27 17 . 34 32 Children's Work 15 6 18 30 9 18 35 12 c 27 24 18 Current Events 15 c 35 c 18 c 15 c 30 24 32 15 Public Documents 13 12 10 25 10 15 10 16 12 11 20 14 Subject Headings 30 17 15 20 10 c? e 10 e e 19 30 14 Subject Bibliography / 30 6 g 13 10 12 10 26 32 / 13 History of Libraries 3 30 14 32 10 2 10 5 10 8 8 12 Fiction 6 gh 25 5 gh lOh 10ft 24 gh 16 32 12 Lending Systems 6 10 5 7 6 19 10 8 13 16 18 11 Trade Bibliography 10 17 4 30 7 10 8 gi 6i 16 / 10 Binding and Repair 7 12 7 9 10 10 23 5 4 6 12 10 Printing & Publishing 13 10 8 9 2 5 18 c 5 9 6 8 Order Work 4 9 6 6 6 5 5 16i 12 8 3 7 School Libraries 2 26 1 g 6 1 20 gj c 5 2 5 Library Buildings 4 9 4 6 1c 6 3 3 8 5 6 ' 5 Filing 2 I 8 6 4 1 10 g 10 2 4 4 Community Relations g 9 3 g g 9 15 g 10 8 g 4 Shelf Work 2 7 9 Se 2 2 3i d 8 2 2 4 Languages m m 23 m m m m m m m 20 4 Accessioning 3 2 S g 4 8 2 i i 2 2 3 Indexing 8 9 5 g 3 1 g g n c 3 2 Inventory 1 o 0 o P 1 lo g o 2 1 1 a. Includes shelf listing. 6. Includes subject headings. c. Not given. d. Included in cataloguing. e. Included in classification, /. Included in reference work. g. Not segregated. h. Included in book selection. i. Included in order work. j. Included in children's work. h. Included in library administration. I. Included in indexing or cataloguing. m. Required for entrance, n. Included in filing. o. Included in shelf work. p. Included in accessioning. Several conclusions of possible significance may be drawn from these facts. Obviously there is no agreement among the schools as to the relative importance of the different subjects in the curriculum. The amount of time given to a subject seems to depend on the personal opinion or desires of the instructor or the principal. While considerable interest has been manifested in discussions as to what should constitute the minimum essential instruction in cataloguing, apparently no effort has been made by the Association of American Library Schools to arrive at minimum standards for the course in cataloguing. Complaint is common that the curriculum is overcrowded, while important new subjects are clamor- 1 Numbers replace names of schools. THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 23 ing for admission. The school that succeeds in giving its students the essentials of cataloguing in thirty-five hours, while others require two or three times that length of time, can take up other subjects that may be more important for the general professional course. Teaching skill, as well as equipment and methods, is an important factor in determining the amount of time to be given to a subject. While it manifestly would not be desirable to bring about strict uniformity in the content of the various courses in the curriculum, there does seem to be need for a certain degree of standardization of both the major and minor courses given in the first year of professional library school study. Nomenclature should be standardized and standard courses worked out and officially adopted by the proper professional body. The term "book selection" means far different things in different schools, and terms used in presenting the subject do not have at all the same meaning everywhere. The situation is similar in other parts of the curriculum. It is impossible to tell what instruction a student has had in book selection from the mere fact.that he had a course in that subject in an accredited library school. The fundamental courses in library schools, as in schools of law and engineering, should all have the same scope. To bring this about should be one of the important duties of the certification board recommended elsewhere in this report. Before such a board can accredit a library school for the certification of its graduates, it must satisfy itself that standard courses are given. Development of training in service for library workers through other agencies than library schools will require the formulation of minimum standards as to the scope and the content of courses which are to be accepted for certification purposes. The library school curriculum has passed through something of an * evolution, and it is quite likely to undergo even greater changes in the future. The schools at first confined their attention largely to technical library subjects, such as cataloguing and classification. Later, cultural and other studies were introduced to make good any deficiencies in the student's education. The present tendency is to eliminate the general cultural and informational courses from the library school curriculum, requiring for admission everything of tliat nature considered essential for successful library work. Courses in literature are still given in some schools, but usually in a limited way as a part of the subject of book selection. A "fiction seminar," or special course in the study of fiction, is now given in about half of the schools. Where this is considered im- 24 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE portant, it is not looked upon as a cultural subject but rather as a part of the technical equipment of the library worker, needed equally by those who have and those who have not had adequate college courses in literature. There is no doubt that such a course is valuable for the librarian who is called upon to select and purchase fiction for his library and to guide the reading of its patrons. The point that seems to be overlooked, however, is that for similar reasons the library school student needs instruction in the literature of scientific, technical, business, social, economic, and political subjects. Instruction in such subjects is even more important than in pure literature, since the standard library reference books and current guides for book selection in fiction and pure literature are more numerous and of higher quality than in scientific and practical subjects in general. Neglect of these large new fields of interest by the reading public may be due in part to the one-sided character of the library school curriculum. Too much attention is still paid by the library schools to pure literature, both in their entrance requirements and in their curricula. The traditional view of the library as the workshop and playground of the literary and leisure classes persists, tho social and economic subjects are now competing for first place in the interests of book selection experts. It is impossible, within the library school curriculum, to give instruction in the wide range of subjects which must claim the attention of the professional librarian. To be equipped for his work, he must enter upon this professional training with nothing less than a good all-round college education. Many library schools still consider it desirable to give a course in current events in order to create an intelligent interest in the more important subjects that engage the attention of the reading public. For the most part, however, these are the schools that require only a high school education for admission. Schools with higher standards of education look upon the teaching of current events as they would upon a course in elementary economics or general history �necessary, of course, for the skilled librarian, but a prerequisite to and not a part of, library school training. The library school curriculum as it stands represents in the main the current demands of the librarians who employ the graduates and the experience of the graduates themselves. Most library school teachers and principals are keenly alert to discover any new topic of interest to librarians or any new development in the library world in order to bring them into the curriculum. One school has an active advisory com- THE LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 25 m it tee of three graduates to which the question of changes that may be desirable in the curriculum is regularly put. Another school circularizes its graduates periodically to get suggestions for new courses or new topics to be introduced. Everywhere library school officials have an ear to the ground for any evidence of dissatisfaction with what the schools are teaching. This attitude, however, does not make for radical changes in the curriculum. Rather it results in excessive conservatism and conformity to custom and tradition. The suggestions that come back to the schools are only echoes of what they have been doing. No school has ever attempted or is now prepared to disregard what has been done in the past and make a thorough, scientific analysis of what training for professional library work should be and build its curriculum upon its findings, instead of following tradition and imitating others. A more aggressive leadership is needed. Those who are interested in promoting training for library work should see to it that men and women of energy and initiative are brought into the schools. Some of the pioneers in the library school movement were of this type and they have left their mark. It would be ungracious to criticize the schools for not doing more to put library service on a higher plane. Within the limits of their pitifully small resources they have probably done all that can fairly be asked of them. Not, therefore, as a criticism but as encouragement to push on to better things, it should be pointed out to the library schools that an opportunity is theirs to wield a potent influence in bringing about a new library movement. Some of the epoch-making advances just ahead in the library world are discussed elsewhere in this report. Standards of service are to be worked out; a certification system inaugurated; methods of training in service for library workers devised, including an effective system of correspondence instruction; and county libraries and library extension promoted to the point where "books for everybody" will be a reality. In university, research, and other types of library, ' equally rich opportunities await the advent of leaders with vision and enthusiasm to set new standards of service. It is to the library schools that we should be able to turn for inspiration and guidance; but it must be confessed that trained leadership of the quality now demanded is not likely to be produced by the present curriculum and personnel of the professional schools. CHAPTER III ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS WITHIN certain limits it is probably true, as Mr. E. A. Bost-wick, librarian of the St. Louis Public Library, says, that the greatest service of the library schools is in selecting people fitted for library work.1 Certainly schools cannot turn out a satisfactory product with only one year of instruction unless the students selected have the necessary education and special aptitude. All the schools pay special attention to the selection of their students, but the methods employed seem to warrant careful scrutiny and possibly considerable revision. Little or no effort seems to have been made to utilize modern vocational and psychological tests. Except as to age of applicants admitted, there is little agreement as to what entrance requirements should be. As a rule, applicants must be at least twenty-one years of age and not over thirty-five. Two or three schools put the lower limit at twenty years, while one specifies thirty and another forty years as the age beyond which a person should not attempt to enter library work through the schools. Tho persons above thirty-five are seldom rigidly excluded, they are strongly advised against taking the course unless they have been continuously engaged in similar intellectual pursuits. Persons over thirty-five are said to find the work difficult and to be at a decided disadvantage in securing positions. A four-year college course is required for admission to only two schools, the New York State Library School and the University of Illinois Library School. The Los Angeles and the Carnegie Library Schools require a college degree only for the special course in high school library work. Even the college course is not considered sufficient by the better schools unless it has included two foreign languages. "A knowledge of foreign languages is always necessary," says the New York State Library School, "and each additional language with which the student is acquainted is a direct professional asset." The "best preparation for general library work is a college course which includes a rather wide range of subjects." Most of the schools recognize the value of a college education but do not find it practicable to require it for admission. In the Los Angeles school, "two years of college will ordinarily be required. Four years of college is strongly advised and is 1 Proceedings of the American Library Association, 1912, p. 155. ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 27 essential for school library work." The Wisconsin catalogue states that "the importance of a four years' college course as an educational equipment for library work cannot be too strongly emphasized." Admission to all the schools, except the New York State and the University of Illinois, is by examination, altho applicants having degrees from approved colleges are accepted without examination in practically all others, with the reservation by some that the college course must have included a broad training and modern languages. In all cases applicants for examination are required to have had four years of high school or its equivalent. The examinations of all the schools cover about the same range of subjects�history, literature, general information, current events, and one or more modern languages. The purpose and scope of these examinations are well expressed in the following statement from the circular of the New York Public Library School: "The entrance examination is designed to test the candidate's qualifications for professional library training, and particularly to determine whether he possesses the habits of mind and the fundamental knowledge essential to the proper performance of his duties as a librarian. It involves answering questions on history, current events, general information, and literature, together with translation of French and of one other modern foreign language, preferably German, the choice of which is subject to approval by the Faculty. The questions, while allowing fair range of choice, assume reasonable familiarity with the main facts and names of literary and general history; and as regards the present, an intelligent interest in local, national, and international affairs." Typical lists of examination questions are given in an appendix to this report. To the ordinary educated person, and even to the experienced library worker who has been out of school or college for a few years, the questions asked in many entrance examinations may seem too difficult and varied, especially in history and literature. But the examinations follow practically the same lines each year, so that a candidate in possession of a series of questions from the different schools can form a pretty close estimate of what he must do to pass. It does not appear to be the practice to mark the papers rigidly or to hold to any definite passing mark, the theory being that the examiners can learn what they need to know about the candidate whether he answers the questions correctly or not. Two possible criticisms may be made of these examinations. If the questions are used primarily as mental tests, they are very crude and un- 28 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE scientific. Far better tests could be devised for selecting persons with the general information and personal qualities requisite for library work�tests, too, which would not appear so formidable that many excellent persons would be deterred by the fear of failure and disgrace from attempting to enter a library school. On the other hand, the kind of examination commonly used cannot be considered as an adequate means of testing the candidate's general education and information: they cover too narrow a range of subjects and in too superficial a way. Languages and general information are of fundamental importance for all professional library work. But special knowledge of literature and history is not as important for many kinds of library work as is acquaintance with social and applied sciences. As an educational preparation for library work nothing has been discovered which can take the place of a thorough college course of varied content. The University of Illinois and certain other schools suggest in some detail a program of college studies which should be followed in preparation for library work. A high school graduate may often pass the type of entrance examination given by the library schools as readily as the college graduate. Nevertheless, the college graduate of equal native ability has a breadth of view and an ability to attack new problems and master them which are very important for the professional library worker, but which are seldom found in one whose education has not been continued beyond the high school. It is not meant to imply that every college graduate is fitted for library work. It may well be that even when the college degree is required some properly constructed selective test should also be applied. The point that should not be lost sight of is that a high school education does not fit any one for professional library service, and that no entrance examinations can be devised that will serve as a substitute for four years of college education. Entrance examinations are usually held in June, tho several of the library schools which admit by examination also hold another in the fall. By the cooperation of local libraries, candidates who live too far from the school may take the tests in or near their own home town. Since the examinations of all the schools using that method cover approximately the same range of subjects and hold to about the same minimum standards of education, the desirability of uniform examinations or a single examination for all the schools suggests itself. Some of the schools have felt the need for such a system. It is increasingly ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 29 difficult to prepare examinations without repeating questions previously asked by some school. A uniform system would put all candidates on the same basis, and make it unnecessary for a student to take the examination of two schools or more so that if he fails to pass for one he may still enter another. Some school authorities believe a higher grade of student would be secured by uniform tests. If scientific and approved tests are to be employed, it is particularly desirable to have them worked out cooperatively. The uniform college entrance examinations need only be cited to show the advantage and possibilities of such a system. A student who passes the general examination could select the school he prefers to attend, while the school itself would be free to accept or reject those who pass the general examination. As matters stand at present, however, there is little likelihood that separate examinations by the schools will be abandoned. Some of the schools take a seemingly unwarranted pride in their own particular questions; others find it advantageous to use flexible standards in rating the papers of applicants. The heads of some schools state that they seek a particular type of student and for that reason could not dispense with their own examinations. The latter objection would be more convincing if some clear description of the special type of student sought were given. Should the national certification board, recommended elsewhere in this report, become a reality, it may be possible to work out uniform admission tests that will satisfy all parties. For the time being, local conditions, jealousies, and rivalries stand squarely in the way of this as of many other desirable improvements. Perhaps the most mooted feature of the entrance requirements of library schools is actual experience in library work. The views of those who insist on the desirability of such previous experience are well expressed in this statement, which appears in the catalogue of the Library School of the University of Wisconsin: "It is desired that as many as possible shall come to the school with library experience. Practical work in a good library for a year or more, in addition to the educational and literary attainments, is the best preparation for the year's work in the school. It tests the candidate's aptitude for library work, gives a knowledge of library terms, and familiarity with library processes, and makes a student more eager for, and appreciative of, what the library school has to offer. . . . While it has not seemed wise as yet to establish an absolutely rigid requirement of library work extending over a definite period, still this preliminary library experience is considered so im- so TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE portant that applicants without it are strongly advised to spend much more than the required several months in apprentice work before entering the school." The New York State Library School also considers previous experience so desirable that "all admitted students without such experience are strongly urged to spend as much time as practicable in voluntary or other staff service in their local libraries or elsewhere before entering school." "Some library experience," it is further stated in the latest catalogue, "will in all probability be an entrance requirement in the near future." On the other hand, several of the most important library schools do not even recommend previous experience. They consider that employment in libraries of inferior standards, unsupervised and unrelated to the student's actual need of preparation for school work, is very likely to prove a serious handicap. There is no doubt, however, that the wholly inexperienced student does need an orientation in the library business before being plunged into the maze of technicalities of the professional library course. He needs to become familiar with the ordinary library tools and terminology and to get some insight into the aims and methods of library service. This orientation is accomplished by several schools through a preliminary period of practice work for inexperienced students just before the opening of the regular school year, usually in the library with which the school is connected. This preliminary practice ordinarily covers two weeks. It is not clear that this short practice period is always so organized and supervised as to accomplish efficiently the desirable or necessary orientation. It would seem that, if this is as important as many authorities believe it to be, special pains should be taken to give the student as good an introduction as possible through lectures, reading, inspections, and individual conferences. It is to be feared that at present so much is left to chance in this preliminary course that it is of doubtful value. Many of the schools have much to say about the " personality" qualifications for admission. Several of the circulars announce that in considering applications for admission personal qualifications and natural aptitudes for library work are taken into consideration. The usual method of applying this personality test is an interview with the head ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 31 of the school. The following quotation from the circular of one of the schools illustrates the stress laid upon "personality" and the "interview." "Personal qualities and a more or less discriminating sense of literary values are, however, essential considerations. It follows, therefore, that an interview ... is an important entrance requirement. Despite the expenditure of time and money involved by such an interview, it is insisted upon, except under unusual conditions." Undoubtedly it is very important to give much weight to personal qualifications and natural aptitudes. It is impossible, however, to put much confidence in the personality tests as now applied. In the first place, no attempt has been made to determine scientifically what personal qualities are essential: it seems to be assumed that library work is of a homogeneous character, and that consequently the same personality tests can be applied to all who desire to enter library service. It may be questioned whether there is any such thing as "library work" in general. There are many kinds of library work; and if there are any special capacities and aptitudes which make for success, they must be considered in relation to each distinct type of work. It will probably be found that any qualities which are necessary for library work in general are just those qualities required for success in most other professions. The first thing for the library schools to do is to define the qualities that they seek in candidates. The next thing is to give more assurance that they are able through a brief interview conducted by one person to detect the presence or absence of those qualities with sufficient exactness to justify giving weight to the result. The impressionistic method of the interview seems likely to reflect the personality of the interviewer as much as that of the interviewed. If it were possible to arrange independent interviews by several competent persons the results could be accepted with much greater confidence. The personality test as conducted at present may actually be responsible in part for the acute shortage of competent library workers. Those who apply the "personality" test have their own background of experience and acquaintance with types of library and library work. Their undefined ideal personality seems likely to embody the qualities they would seek for the kinds of library work they know best. By eliminating all others in the selective process, school officials may uncon- 32 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE sciously deprive libraries of many excellent workers in special positions. The impressionistic, or interview, method cannot disclose temperamental defects. These come to light later; and every school has among its graduates persons who constitute perpetual "problems" for the school principal assuming, as most of them do, a large measure of responsibility for keeping every graduate employed and contented. Much can be said in favor of simplifying entrance requirements by specifying a full college course for all students in professional library schools and at least a high school course for admission to training classes. If desired, the school can call for the applicant's college record and accept only those whose work is of high grade. If classes must be further limited, other tests can be applied to applicants; but any effort to base selection on personal qualities and aptitudes for library work should be discouraged until such qualities and aptitudes are carefully and clearly defined and more accurate methods of detecting them are worked out by vocational psychologists. It does not appear that up to this time any of the library school authorities have approached their problem in the scientific spirit or made any use of scientific methods. Before leaving the general topic of admission requirements, some reference may be made to certain minor features. The earlier schools concerned themselves largely with training in the technique, and even the mechanics, of library work. With the lapse of time a differentiation, not clearly recognized, however, has taken place between the broader or professional type of training and the training necessary for those who are to do the actual clerical work of record-keeping, etc. The development of library work as a profession has been hampered by the tendency on the part of the public to look upon it as wholly clerical in nature. The library schools and the actual organization of libraries have not only done little to remove this handicap but have even done much unconsciously to perpetuate it. Some of the library schools still require students to acquire the vertical or library handwriting, while nearly all of them lay great stress on skilful use of the typewriter. Several schools require the ability to operate a typewriter with fair accuracy and speed before admission; others permit students to make good the deficiency during the year's course, often providing machines for practice. There is much to be said, of course, in favor of ability to operate a typewriter as a part of the general equipment of any educated person. Any intellectual worker is likely to derive considerable advantage from the ability to make skilful use of the typewriter, but it is not clear ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS 33 why such skill should be required as part of the professional librarian's equipment any more than of that of the teacher, the engineer, or the business man. The typewriter is far more indispensable in every business office than it is in the average library, yet the professional schools of business do not make typewriting an essential part of their course. That is left to the schools for training the clerical staffs required in business offices. The same general relations should obtain between the library training class and the professional library school. It is not surprising to find that able and ambitious college men and women hesitate to look to library work as a professional career when assured by the catalogues of the so-called professional training schools that "a ready ability to use the typewriter is an important part of a modern librarian's equipment "and is "necessary in almost any library position." CHAPTER IV THE TEACHING STAFF A DETAILED analysis of the training and experience of members of the teaching staffs of twelve of the library schools - seems to indicate a quite definite lack of fitness of a large proportion of them for giving instruction of high professional character to students with college or university education. The table on the following page tells the whole story. About half (48 per cent) of the instructors giving ten lectures or more during the year 19�1 were not college graduates. Many, it is true, had had a partial college course, while others had carried their studies somewhat beyond the high school in educational institutions of some kind. It should not be inferred that a college degree is considered an absolutely indispensable part of the equipment of the library school instructor. Certainly some of the most successful teachers now on the staffs of the library schools are without the college degree. The bachelor's degree, however, is in general a fair measure of an individual's intellectual equipment and has come to be regarded as the minimum essential for all kinds of teaching above the elementary school. In no part of this country would instruction in a well-organized high school be considered acceptable if half of the teachers were not college graduates. Library school instruction, moreover, should rank not with high school but with college instruction. In respect to college faculties, the best opinion is even more insistent on full college education, and in the better institutions an advanced degree is usually a sine qua non for instructors. It does not seem probable that a few small library schools will get better results from a teaching staff of which 48 per cent, are without the bachelor's degree than would a college. No self-respecting college would attempt it. Some of the protagonists of things as they are attempt to justify the existing condition by belittling the value of a college education and arguing that some instructors are better without it than others ever will be with it. As a matter of fact, the present situation is due almost entirely to economic necessities and inadequate standards. College graduates of fair ability are not attracted by the salaries library schools offer. Consequently library schools have to recruit their staffs from a group which is not eligible for attractive positions in other fields. If proper salaries GENERAL EDUCATION, TECHNICAL TRAINING, AND LIBRARY EXPERIENCE OF LIBRARY SCHOOL INSTRUCTORS IN 1920-21 INCLUDING ONLY THOSE GIVING COURSES OF AT LEAST TEN CLASS-ROOM HOURS School Wo. of instructors No. of college graduates No. of library school graduates iVb. teaching in same library school from which graduated No. having previous teaching experience No. having teacher's training Experience in library work of value in teaching number1 Good Apparently inadequate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 6 17 6 5 9 8 9 11 5 9 8 8 2 11 1 3 5 5 6 5 4 4 4 2 6 16 5 4 5 6 8 7 3 8 5 8 1 13 4 1 2 3 6 2 0 4 0 6 2 0 0 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 0 5 10 4 4 7 5 7 9 4 7 3 3 1 7 1 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 5 5 Total 100 59 81 42 20 7 68 32 1 See note 1, page 22. 36 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE were paid in all library schools and the best instructors possible were secured, it would not be long before at least 90 per cent, would have college training. Most library schools also retain something of the flavor of apprenticeship training, in which beginners are put into the hands of those who have not yet risen to the higher ranks but who have become proficient in some part of their craft. If the library schools hope to take rank with other professional schools of the higher grade, they must accept the existing academic standards for all teaching above the elementary schools. Throughout this report it has been emphasized that professional library work requires a college education. College graduates going into library service should not be asked to take their professional training under a group of instructors one-half of whom are without the college viewpoint. The library schools have been more careful, in recruiting their staffs, to secure instructors with technical training than those with general education: while only 52 per cent, of the instructors are college graduates, 81 per cent, have completed some kind of course in a library school. It is significant also that 42 per cent, are teaching in the same school in which they took their own library training. Certain schools, by choice or necessity, select nearly all instructors from their own graduates. The obvious disadvantages of this practice are an inevitable inbreeding and a certain imperviousness to new ideas or methods. It is not at all surprising that among library school instructors special skill in teaching is not conspicuous. Only 7 per cent, of the instructors have had any kind of training in the science or art of teaching. It seems safe to assume that none at all has had the slightest instruction in the methodology of the teaching of library subjects. In recent years the growth of vocational education has drawn attention to the need of special teacher training for each of the many subjects to be taught. The need of preparation for teachers of agriculture, for example, seems to be well recognized. A recent report of the United States Bureau of Education does not regard the work of a state agricultural college as bonajide "unless the curriculum includes at least a two-hour course in special methods of teaching agriculture and at least one three-hour course in either psychology or education." Is that an unreasonable standard? Is special preparation for his work any more important for the teacher of agriculture than for the teacher of library theory and practice? THE TEACHING STAFF 37 Only 20 per cent, of library school teachers bring to the library school any experience in teaching. The outstanding successes on the faculties are found almost entirely within this 20 per cent, who had behind them good teaching experience in school or college before taking up library school instruction. Opinions may differ as to the desirability of requiring actual experience in library work as a qualification for teaching the various subjects in the curriculum of the library school. Some teachers lacking extensive experience in any kind of professional library work may prove more satisfactory than others whose experience has been excellent but who lack teaching ability. Granted a scholarly attitude of mind, a thorough knowledge of the subject-matter, an interesting personality, and ability to teach, an instructor's work must benefit very greatly from a considerable period of somewhat varied experience in library work. Long experience alone, however, is ho evidence of qualification for library school teaching. An examination of available information as to the practical library experience of these one hundred instructors indicates that a little over two-thirds (68) have held library positions of such a character for such a period and with sufficient bearing on subjects taught as to make it possible to describe their experience as "good." The experience of thirty-two of the instructors, on the other hand, must be characterized as "apparently inadequate." This is not surprising, however, in view of the very low salaries paid. A man or woman with fair qualifications for teaching and good experience can ordinarily command a much larger salary than is available in library schools. Almost without exception library school principals complain of the extreme difficulty they experience in securing new teachers. Low salaries are probably at the root of the problem. On the surface, however, it does not seem to be primarily a question of salaries. A strong disinclination toward teaching pervades the library profession,largely as the result, perhaps, of the fact that so many librarians were formerly teachers who have found library work more congenial, if not more remunerative. A further difficulty in finding persons to fill the comparatively few positions on library school faculties is the fact that of those who are inclined to teach not many are qualified. Few of those who possess the necessary professional knowledge and experience have either the essential personal qualifications or the training and experience required for successful teaching. 38 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE Concerted effort should be directed toward raising the quality of instruction in the library schools. Tho an increase in salaries will not of itself bring relief, other measures are likely to be of no avail so long as salaries remain at anything like the present level. A teaching position on a library school faculty must in some way be made to carry at least as much professional prestige as the higher administrative posts in public libraries. It must be made possible for men and women of the highest quality, who are good teachers, to find a permanently satisfactory career in library school instruction. The schools themselves must be put on a higher professional basis and an opportunity offered to instructors, through longer vacations and freedom from excessive drudgery and overloaded schedules, to make contributions to the scholarly or practical sides of library work. Library school teaching may be less attractive than college teaching because of the comparative lack of freedom as to the content both of the curriculum as a whole and of the individual courses. The tendency has existed from the beginning for library schools to be more or less dominated by a single personality. The ideas and ideals of that personality, consciously or unconsciously, mold the content of the courses and even determine the methods of instruction. Most school principals are conscious of exercising control only to the extent required to prevent overlapping of courses and direct conflict as to rules and practices taught in the schools. As a matter of fact, actual control probably goes much farther�so far, indeed, that little scope is left for the originality and enthusiasm of the gifted teacher. In a one-year course this is almost inevitable. The time is so short for covering the wide range of topics with which an acquaintance is considered essential that the curriculum must be very closely planned and organized. In the curriculum of any professional school the necessity for covering a specified range of subjects is likely to seem more compelling than in a college of liberal arts. In library schools particular effort seems to be made to give the student a cursory acquaintance with every kind of library work and every problem he is likely to meet. This tends to reduce the teaching to routine and to make the work unattractive to the genuine teacher, to whom it seems more important to give the student a professional attitude toward his work, to awaken his enthusiasm, and to develop his power of attacking problems, than to hurry him through a prescribed list of topics. For apprenticeship and training classes a minute control of the con- THE TEACHING STAFF 39 tent of the course and the rules taught may be quite proper. For the professional library school it is at least an open question as to whether better results would not follow from a greater use of the project method, with* less lecturing and a much less strict adherence to syllabi which years of use have made well-nigh exhaustive on every subject. We could profitably cease to expect the library schools to send out graduates crammed with information about every conceivable subject, from incunabula to color-band filing, and demand, rather, men and women of liberal education, well grounded in the fundamentals of library practice and ideals, familiar with the librarian's tools, and resourceful in attacking and solving problems as they arise. Instead of suppressing differences in the views of library school instructors, it would be well to encourage them to emphasize their own opinions and points of view. Otherwise students, having little incentive to think problems through and form their own opinions, take them ready made from the instructor who teaches what the principal has decided to be the official policy of the school. CHAPTER V METHODS OF INSTRUCTION THE lecture method predominates in all library school instruction, altho the better the school the fewer the lectures and the larger the use of other methods. In catalogue descriptions of courses, lectures are usually said to be supplemented by readings, problems, recitations, seminars, class discussion, class practice, quizzes, or individual conferences with students. While the proportion of lectures and other forms of instruction necessarily varies somewhat, depending on the nature of the subject, the size of the class, etc., nevertheless, most of the library schools apparently place an excessive dependence on the lecture. This is frankly admitted by most of the library school authorities, who agree that, in general, the best schools and the best teachers make the least use of the lecture. Altho it is freely conceded that the lecture method is overworked, it is claimed that the worst abuses have now disappeared, and that further improvement is scarcely possible under existing conditions. This problem is not peculiar to library schools. In all higher and professional instruction the lecture has proved to be the line of least resistance for the poorly prepared, overworked, or unskilled teacherj Yet even the skilled teacher in the library school finds a measure of justification for much lecturing. Inadequate preparation of a part of the students in a class seems to put a natural limit on the effectiveness of other methods. Library school classes which include college graduates with excellent library experience and students having only a high school education and no acquaintance with libraries drive even the best teachers to an excessive use of the "pouring in" method. None of the schools are large enough to permit of a classification or grading of students on the basis of education and experience. As the curriculum has developed, it contains subjects of somewhat minor importance to which only a few hours of instruction can be given. The necessary orientation, for which the lecture is probably the best method, requires so much of the time allotted for the subject that, in order to cover the ground in the little time that is left, the instructor persuades himself that he must lecture continuously. While a conscious effort on the part of the administrative and teaching staff to METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 41 economize the students' time is entirely praiseworthy, it is doubtful whether the desired result can best be reached by emphasizing the lecture method. The general use of mimeographed syllabi represents a vast improvement over the old lecture system. Yet one still finds occasionally that library school students are required to write into their notes verbatim the language of the instructor. The need of better text-books and manuals to save the students' and the teachers' time and to improve the efficiency of library school teaching is so acute that it will be discussed in more detail in another chapter. It must also be made clear, in fairness to the library schools, that methods of instruction of which more use might advantageously be made are out of the question because of the heavy demand they would make on the instructor's time in the holding of individual conferences and the reading and revision of written work. It is particularly important, not only in teaching all of the so-called "record work," but also in such courses as book selection and reference, to require the student to express himself in writing. In the professional school this should not be allowed to degenerate into a mere drill in routine processes for the sake of acquiring skill and speed but should be used judiciously to ensure rapid and firm grasp of principles involved. One of the results of the common failure to distinguish between professional library training and the training for routine and clerical work is that library schools which should be conducted on a professional plane do not stop at giving their students a grasp on principles and methods but are deadening their initiative and enthusiasm by drilling them in the routine processes of hand work and the memorizing of rules and classes. The professional library schools have need to be on their guard against overemphasizing skill in clerical technique: there is danger that by forcing upon their students a perfection in detail, they will stifle the indispensable qualities of enthusiasm, imagination, and initiative. The wholly legitimate and desirable use of written work is limited in the library schools to-day by lack of proper assistance for the instructors. Each school has one or more "revisers," who assist the instructors in reading and correcting written work. Not much improvement can be made in library school instruction until money is available to employ a sufficient number of competent revisers to free the instructor from the detailed work which now takes time that should be devoted to study and research, and contacts with practical library work and with 42 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE his colleagues in the profession. In important scientific schools laboratory assistants may outnumber the teaching staff itself, but poverty has all but denied such aids to library schools. We cannot refrain at this point from noting that what has just been said about the nature of instruction in library subjects shows it to be peculiarly adapted to the correspondence method. Even in the residence schools, where student and teacher can meet and talk, the best instruction in many courses is carried on by means of written communication between them. Correspondence instruction as a method of "training in service" is fully discussed in a later chapter. One of the curious results of low standards for both instructors and students and of lack of contact of many schools with institutions of learning is the incongruous adaptation of the methods and terminology of the university. One who, being accustomed to think of the seminar as a group of students engaged in original research under the guidance of a scholar and investigator, comes upon the "seminar" of high school students engaged in acquiring a modicum of elementary information on book selection or some other subject in the curriculum under a teacher without college training or experience in research, can understand a certain reluctance on the part of university faculties to accord library schools the recognition to which their field of work and general relations to intellectual pursuits abundantly entitle them. It is fortunate, however, that the schools do take themselves with the utmost seriousness, and by dint of patient and devoted, if not brilliant, effort do achieve results which are surprisingly large when measured by their resources in personnel and equipment. Better teaching equipment, higher standards of education and experience on the part of the teaching staff, and more attention to methods of instruction, are obvious needs of all the library schools, tho, of course, in varying degrees. On no question in the administration of the library schools is there a wider diversity of opinion than on the use of part-time as against full-time instructors. As library schools have virtually all developed in close connection with some public or university library, their direction and most of the teaching have usually been in the hands of the members of the library staff. Certain schools have separated the school staff from the library staff and are convinced that no other plan is practicable. Other schools, on the contrary, have no full-time instructors at all and seem equally confident as to the superiority of that method. Most of the schools have one or more persons giving full time to instruction, a larger METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 43 or smaller share of the teaching being done, as a rule, by members of some library staff in the vicinity. The certainty that the principal of each school will be found defending its own practice suggests that library schools have acquired the convenient habit of making a virtue of necessity. There can be no doubt that the part-time and full-time systems have each their peculiar advantages as well as disadvantages: that under one set of conditions the balance may be in favor of part-time instruction, while under other conditions full-time service may give the best results. For the most part, the actual practice of the schools is not determined by theory but by finances. Schools in a financial position to employ a corps of full-time instructors do so. The great advantage claimed for part-time instruction, and usually the only advantage mentioned by its advocates, is the opportunity through constant contact with actual library work to keep abreast of library progress. It is alleged that the full-time instructor is in danger of becoming an impractical theorist and even a formalist or reactionist. The claim is made in some schools that under the part-time system a better type of person is secured for both sides of the work than either school or library alone could hope to secure. Unfortunately, the results of actual experience under the two systems are far from conclusive. The two schools which give a two-year course and require a college degree for admission pursue diametrically opposite policies. The University of Illinois Library School has a separate faculty, believing that the greater part of any professional course should be in the hands of instructors giving full time to the work, and that it is difficult to secure persons who can give first-class service on both the library staff and the school staff. The New York State Library School, on the other hand, depends for its instruction almost entirely on the staff of the state library and holds that any other method would be far less satisfactory. Serious disadvantages inhere in the part-time method. The instructor has no continuous contact with the student and is not so freely available for consultation and informal discussion. Part-time instructors are not likely to view their teaching in a broadly professional spirit nor take a deep interest in educational problems. In any such division of work, one part or the other, or both, are almost certain to suffer. Not many of those whose opinions have been sought fail to recognize the need of at least one or two full-time instructors to look after details of organization and administration and to give the technical and 44 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE major courses�cataloguing, classification, and perhaps book selection. The part-time instructor in such subjects as cataloguing and classification is in too great danger of teaching the methods he uses in his own library. For training schools that is possibly acceptable, but for strictly professional instruction a broadly comparative and detached point of view is essential. Many of the minor subjects in the curriculum can well be taught by librarians fresh from their professional duties. Perhaps it would not be altogether fair;, under present conditions, to use as a basis for ranking the schools the proportion of the teaching staff giving full time to the school. That, however, is coming to be a practical method of appraising other kinds of professional schools and must sooner or later be applied also to the library schools. This is, in a sense, inevitable, because the part-time instructor is usually a result of an attempt to conduct a school with insufficient funds. The school with an adequate income, other conditions being the same, will be the best, for it will employ the best instructors, who will give all their time to their school work. It appears from all the available evidence that a library school of high professional rank should be large enough and provided with sufficient funds to require the full-time services of at least four instructors to give the major courses, particularly the so-called technical courses. Being conscious of the dangers pointed out as inherent in full-time service, the individual instructor should, with the cooperation of the school, make the necessary plans to get the requisite contact with actual library work and problems by vacation service on library staffs, by making library surveys, by sabbatical years, etc. The special or visiting lecturer, even more than the part-time instructor, is an outstanding characteristic of nearly all library schools, tho in some cases the difference between special lecturer and part-time instructor is not very clear. Ordinarily the special lecturer gives only one or two lectures. He may be either a resident or non-resident specialist who is brought in from year to year to supplement the regular instruction in some definite way. The special lecture of the right type is considered quite essential in the conduct of many of the minor courses, but satisfactory lecturers are difficult to secure. Sometimes a course, such as library administration, is made to consist largely of these special lectures, the instructor's part being to correlate and supplement them as best he can. In theory the special lecturer, like the part-time instructor, is supposed to bring to the class- METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 45 room the practical point of view and to help in making a vital contact between theoretical instruction and actual library work. Certain special lectures, usually classified as inspirational, may have little or no direct relation to the work of instruction; while others are conceded to be neither instructional nor inspirational but are considered to have value in introducing the students to the leading personalities in the library profession. In the latter group are found library administrators who are invited to talk to students solely for placement purposes. The best authorities confess that the special lecture feature of library school instruction has been overworked. In consequence, in recent years the better schools have greatly limited or virtually abandoned the number of such lectures. When put to the test, they have been found to have very little either of informational or inspirational value. This is particularly true of the single lecture. The value of special lectures is said to increase with the number given by one individual on the same general topic. It has been found difficult to correlate single lectures, even when they are excellent in themselves; but too often they have been entirely disappointing. Speakers classed as specialists frequently fail to develop their subject as desired. One library school principal, admitting the futility of special lectures, holds that they do, nevertheless, have a good effect by giving the students more respect for and confidence in their regular instructors! For some schools the expense involved constitutes the principal objection to the special lectures. Casual lecturers, usually librarians of professional standing who happen to be at the school or in the vicinity and are asked to talk to a class, ordinarily are not paid, but as a rule the special and visiting lecturers receive an honorarium of from $5 to $25, traveling expenses also being paid, at least for the single lecture. To reduce the item of traveling expense and yet secure desirable lecturers from a considerable distance, the library schools in the eastern states have cooperated informally in arranging lecture circuits. The principal of one of the schools is designated each year to arrange a schedule for one or more lecturers, usually of the inspirational type. Traveling expenses which would make one lecture or two prohibitive for a single school bear less heavily when shared by three or four schools. The difficulties of finding lecturers acceptable to several schools and of arranging satisfactory schedules tend to confine the lecture circuit system, even in the east, to rather narrow limits. In the central and far 46 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE west, distances are so great that it is seldom feasible for even two schools to cooperate on a single lecture. A more ambitious plan of cooperation among library schools proposed from time to time combines to some extent the system of part-time instructor and visiting lecturer. It seems desirable that many of the minor subjects in the library school curriculum should be taught by specialists. Local specialists not being available, and the work covering only a few weeks each year, so that a full-time member of the faculty is out of the question, it is natural to suggest that a person who combines the required special knowledge or experience and teaching ability should be engaged to go from school to school repeating a short intensive course. In theory it would be possible in this way for each school to enjoy the best instruction. Too often the minor subjects have to be presented by some local librarian not especially qualified or by some regular member of the school staff who is not a specialist in the subject and is already overburdened with the range of subjects he is expected to teach. In a very limited way cooperative effort of this kind has been employed. The Los Angeles School and the Riverside School, for example, both employ Mr. W. Elmo Reavis, of Los Angeles, to teach bookbinding. Perhaps the two other schools on the Pacific Coast would benefit by engaging the same excellent teacher. Serious difficulties, however, at once arise. Mr. Reavis might find that his business would not permit a month's absence in Berkeley and another in Seattle. It might not be practicable to give up his business and spend his entire time going from school to school. To most persons such an occupation would be distasteful, and there is some question as to whether the quality of a teacher's work would be maintained through even a short period of such teaching. Again, there is the difficulty, at times insuperable, of the inflexible schedules of individual schools. On account of the time lost between courses and the extra travel and living expenses, the cost to each school of securing such specialists might prove prohibitive with their present budgets. Similar difficulties also stand in the way of exchange of instructors, even for short intensive courses, tho undoubtedly much benefit would result from such exchanges if they could be arranged. Such considerations may perhaps render any extensive scheme of cooperative instruction impracticable at the present time; but as the schools raise their standards and undertake more specialization they METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 47 will probably be forced to seek opportunities to cooperate in this way. With fewer and larger schools and more adequate budgets, it may also become possible to do many things which, under present conditions, seem impossible, however desirable in theory. CHAPTER VI TEXT-BOOKS THE efficiency of library schools and other training agencies would be greatly increased by satisfactory teaching aids, particularly text-books. For the most part, the volumes which students are required to buy, such as the American Library Association Catalog Rules, the Decimal Classification, the American Library Association List of Subject Headings, and Kroeger's Guide to Reference Books, are not text-books at all but manuals of practice and reference books for the practising librarian. The library student must, of course, learn to use these tools of the trade, just as the engineering student must learn to use engineering handbooks, books of formulae, tables of logarithms, and many other aids to computation; but while familiarity with such tools, an understanding of their purpose, and some skill in their use is indispensable, an engineering school could hardly use them as text-books in courses devoted to mastering the principles of any branch of engineering. The emphasis given here to the lack of text-books should not be construed as a recommendation that library school instruction be conducted by the text-book method, the teacher assigning "lessons" and hearing recitations. Perhaps that obsolete method, however, has as much to commend it as the extreme form of the lecture system under which the instructor attempts by the class-room lecture to give the student all the information he is supposed to need. Most of the subjects taught in the library school involve the presentation of much detailed information. In bibliographical and technical subjects, such as cataloguing and other record work, much importance attaches to the precise form in which the facts are written or printed. In many of the fundamental subjects, also, free use should be made of illustration in the way of reproduction of forms and records, photographs, plans, etc. Much of the content of the curriculum needs, like the subject of architecture, to be presented to the eye, so that ordinary lectures are a peculiarly inappropriate method. The student needs to have placed before him an unusually large amount of printed matter, much of it prepared especially for instructional purposes. Two types of printed matter are needed, the text-book and the treatise : the first designed particularly for the student in training and the TEXT-BOOKS 49 second more of the nature of an encyclopedic compilation of practice and procedure, methods and policies, adapted to the needs of both the beginner and the experienced library worker. From the pedagogical standpoint, virtually no text-books are available for the library schools and other training agencies. The efficiency of all types of library training agencies would be incalculably increased by well-written manuals presenting a reasonably complete exposition of the theory and practice of the various subjects, with enough concrete description and illustration to fix the principles and the main facts in the student's mind, the whole presented in such form and arrangement as to lead the student into the subject by the easiest path, and onward through its more difficult phases in the shortest time with the least effort on his part. Every library school instructor has now to utilize some unsatisfactory substitute for the kind of teaching tools that should be available. In the hands of the skilful teacher the A. L. A. Catalog Rules and the Decimal Classification are better than no text-books at all, but without a teacher few students, however serious and capable, could make much progress with them. One of the chief difficulties that must be met and overcome in establishing the system of correspondence instruction recommended in this study is the lack of proper text-books. When such volumes do become available they will mean much to the untrained, isolated worker everywhere. Some teachers attempt to make up for the lack of text-books by preparing reading lists of the best available material on the topic, in the form of periodical articles, reports, papers, etc. On many important subjects, however, useful literature is not only inadequate but scattered and inaccessible. The attempt to use it results in such waste of the student's time that some schools have abandoned required readings altogether. The lack of text-books has resulted in a very extensive use of syllabi in mimeographed form, prepared by each instructor for his own courses and revised from time to time. These syllabi, containing outlines of lectures, bibliographical matter, definitions, etc., are indeed a great step forward from the time when the student learned everything by means of lectures. Important points, definitions, and much detail regarded as important were dictated to the class slowly enough to enable the student to write it out precisely in longhand. Notebooks slowly and laboriously compiled in this way the student was taught to regard as indispensable, not only for the purpose of his school work, but also for 50 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE guidance in dealing with problems to be met later in his active library work�a kind of vade mecwm or cyclopedia of library practice. Adequate handbooks and treatises covering many phases of library administration and practice would relieve the schools of the necessity that seems now to confront them of presenting to their students a systematic and comparative description of library practice and procedure largely through lectures. The lack of a suitable professional literature of a cyclopedic nature seems to have a tendency to force the library schools to develop their lecture courses in that direction. The effort to cover the subject comprehensively and completely to the last degree tends to obscure principles and policies by the very mass of detail, and to substitute the acquisition of facts for an understanding of their significance. If accessible and authoritative treatises were available, it would be easier to put professional instruction on a higher plane: the instructor would be relieved of the feeling of responsibility for systematically presenting every detail of the subject. This would also relieve the curriculum from extreme pressure and make it possible to devote more time to accumulating information on subjects which cannot easily be worked up from printed sources whenever the need arises. It was apparently the need for something of this kind that prompted the publication of the A. L. A. Manual of Library Economy. This "manual" consists of some thirty-two chapters by different authors, all but three of which have appeared as preprints, these three being still in course of preparation. Eight of these chapters deal with types of libraries, eighteen with problems of organization and administration, and six with special forms of library work. Some of these preprints are used for instructional purposes in the schools, but all of them are inadequate both as text-books and as manuals of practice. They are too brief and sketchy. A volume instead of a pamphlet should be prepared on each important subject treated. If text-books and systematic treatises are so much needed, why are they not forthcoming ? One reason is, perhaps, the comparatively small demand. The financial return does not promise to be sufficient to stimulate either their preparation or ^publication. The experience of the A. L. A. Publishing Board indicates, however, that such publications can be made to yield a small profit, tho of course not enough adequately to compensate the author. The preparation of such works should not have to wait upon a financial stimulus. Professional interest and service should be sufficient, and doubtless would be, save for the fact that TEXT-BOOKS 51 comparatively few librarians have either the capacity or the time for authorship. In education, engineering, medicine, law, accounting, and many other professions, technical treatises and text-books multiply, regardless of slender financial returns to the authors. We must look to the leading experts in the library profession and, above all, to the instructors in the library schools to produce an adequate and worthy professional literature. Library schools must be able to pay salaries that will secure for their instructional staffs the leaders in the profession, who not only can teach but who can contribute to library progress by producing useful and much needed publications. This will help to give the library schools the prestige in university faculties which they now lack, and will aid in drawing a better class of student to the schools. A very important contribution could without doubt be made at this time to the improvement of instruction in library schools by a comparatively small amount of money used to stimulate the preparation of text-books and manuals adapted to instructional purposes. On the faculties of the library schools are a few men and women who have been hoping for years to have an opportunity to put into shape for publication the results of their study and experience in special fields. Teaching schedules are heavy, however, and not many library schools can afford to give their instructors sabbatical years. There should be available for a period of years a sum of money large enough to pay the salary, and perhaps an allowance for traveling expenses, of one library school instructor on leave of absence each year for the specific purpose of enabling him to complete for publication' a work which, when published, will be useful to the schools and to the library profession generally. Such a prize or fellowship should be made competitive and awarded by a properly constituted committee instructed to select the person who has in hand the piece of work most needed by the schools and so near completion that it can be finished within the year. The A. L. A. Publishing Board (endowed by Mr. Carnegie) would doubtless find it profitable to publish any book written under these conditions. The stimulating effect of this would not be confined to the prize winner of the year, but would extend to all who might hope by hard work to win it in some future year and would therefore begin at once to lay their plans with that in view. The entire effect on the teaching in the library schools should be good. Such a "fellowship" might be offered for a period of five years in the beginning. Toward the end of that 52 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE period it would be easy to determine whether it should be continued or modified or abandoned. If the certification board recommended in this report should be organized, that would be an ideal body to entrust with the responsibility for awarding the fellowship. CHAPTER VII FIELD WORK A LL library schools supplement their class-room instruction given / \ in the form of lectures, readings, discussions, problems, semi-Jl jL. nars, etc., by bringing students into contact in one way or another with some phase of actual library work. The methods of accomplishing this differ very considerably, but the methods are no more divergent than the terminology. The Association of American Library , Schools has made some effort to standardize the terminology, with the result that " practical work," as distinguished from "practice work," is now the accepted term for describing the activities supposed to be carried on by the student under actual library conditions. In some cases this is done under the supervision of representatives of the school, while in others practical work means actual library work done altogether outside of the supervision of the school. "Practice work" thus comes to mean class practice, or the work done by the student either in preparation for or following and definitely related to the class-room exercises. In cataloguing, classification, book selection, and other courses there is ample opportunity for class practice, that is, for work not done under actual conditions but in accordance with assignments made by the instructor and later corrected or revised. "Field work" in some schools has exactly the same meaning as " practical work." In general, however, the term tends to be used to describe that part of the practical work which is done in a library other than that with which the school is connected, and frequently seems to be restricted to work in libraries at some distance from the school. But the terminology is not settled, some schools�Wisconsin, for instance � using the terms "practice," "field practice," and "practical work,"interchangeably. Certain schools use the term " laboratory work," with the idea, apparently, that such a simile tends to put their field work on a more scientific basis or on a little higher plane. As a matter of fact, the class practice, such as can well be carried on apart from any actual operating library, bears to library instruction the same relation that laboratory work does to instruction in the natural sciences. Class practice is therefore as appropriately labeled "laboratory work" as is the field work. In the course of his instruction the student should come into close contact with actual library work of many kinds. In doing this through 54 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE his field work he may actually serve as a member of a library staff, or he may be present merely as an observer working out problems assigned by his instructor. If in the instructor's opinion he can carry on his observations better, can get a better insight into the problem assigned and do it in a shorter time by working as a member of a library staff, there can be no objection to that plan. But there must be many points in a professional library course at which the student can gain far more through a very short period of purposive observation than through a long period of actual service on a library staff. This will be elaborated in subsequent pages. Every library school recognizes to some extent the desirability of supplementing its theoretical instruction by contact with or active participation in some kind of actual library work. It does not appear, however, in the published or oral statements made on behalf of the schools, that there is anywhere a very clear understanding of the underlying pedagogical principles involved. Certain schools seem to proceed upon the assumption that the class-room instruction itself may be expected to make of some of the students, at least, skilled librarians, and that the field work is designed merely to demonstrate their skill or reveal their lack of it. "It is necessary and important," says the catalogue statement of one school, " that students be brought into contact with actual library conditions and their ability tested." Other schools proceed on the theory that field work is merely a means of clinching the class-room instruction by giving a better understanding of theory and principles and a firmer grasp on the essential facts. This view is expressed by the statement of one school that its field work is designed to give " an opportunity for the demonstration of the principles presented through class instruction." Another school bases the need of field work on both the test-of-ability and the aid-to-instruction theories. Its brief period of supervised "practice" "serves not only to test the ability of students when confronted with actual conditions, but also makes clear much of the class work." Most of the schools give no explanation of their reason for devoting from an eighth to a quarter of the year to field work; perhaps there is no reason why they should. But several of the best schools do attempt to explain the basis for their procedure, and these explanations seem to show clearly that in so far as the program of the library schools is based on any conscious philosophy, it relies almost entirely on formal instruction. In theory field work is merely an adjunct to, or one phase of, formal instruction. FIELD WORK 55 In one or two cases, however, the casual use of the word "experience" in reference to field work suggests the possibility that some of those in charge of schools may be thinking of such work as a means of acquiring skill of some kind. One school, while clinging to the idea that its "practice" work "enables the student to test the theories discussed in the class-room," actually goes on to make a fair statement of the way in which at least the beginnings of skill in library work may be acquired by supervised practice. Explaining the purpose of its field work, the Library School of the University of Wisconsin says that by means of it students "acquire poise and confidence in meeting and serving the public, and ascertain for themselves how library work reaches out to all interests in a community, and becomes a vital element in its life." This is the nearest approach that has been found in any of the printed matter issued by the library schools to a recognition of the fact that skill in the performance of any kind of library work must be wrought out by actually doing the work. The amount of field work included in the one-year library school course would seem to have no scientifically determined basis. It actually varies in the different schools from a total of four weeks in one school to approximately twelve weeks in another, counting a week as forty hours. No better illustration can be found of the complete lack of carefully determined standards for the library school course. Some schools find that the best results can be secured by four weeks of practical work, while others find it desirable to extend the period to twelve weeks and to reduce correspondingly the amount of class instruction. It does not seem possible that both methods can be equally sound, yet it would doubtless be difficult by comparing the work of students trained under the two methods to say which is more effective. The reason for the difficulty is that so many other factors are present in the final result. Not only are the ability and previous experience of the student to be considered, but the amount and character of class-room instruction and, in the matter of the field work itself, the efficiency with which it is adapted to the needs of the particular student and the amount and character of the supervision that he receives. The amount of field work varies greatly; but the point in the course at which it is introduced is subject to an even greater variation. The two main types are: (1) the "blocked," or full-time "practice," usually in the months of February or March, or both; and (2) an equal or larger amount scattered irregularly throughout the year or with a given num- 56 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE ber of hours per week. The first is illustrated by the library schools of the New York Public Library and of the University of Wisconsin, and the second by the University of Washington. Various combinations of these two methods, along with still other devices, are found, as the following tabular statement shows: FIELD WORK: ITS AMOUNT AND POSITION IN LIBRARY SCHOOL CURRICULA Four weeks' "blocked practice," in February, usually in two assignments Fifty hours during year in State Library and local libraries; "blocked practice" during March, outside of Albany Throughout year; outside field work during spring vacation Two weeks in March; two weeks in summer vacation between j unior and senior years One hundred hours, distributed throughout the year; eighty-one hours of "blocked" field work latter part of second semester Eight weeks of field work, February and March One month of field work One week in the months of November, February, and March; and the month of June Six hours a week for five quarters for undergraduates; twelve hours a week for thirty weeks for graduate students Three hours a week throughout the year; four weeks in February Three hundred sixty-six hours distributed throughout the year Three hundred forty-eight hours scattered throughout year, with two weeks "blocked practice" in February The wide variation in methods followed grows partly out of theoretical and partly out of practical considerations. Those in charge of some schools believe that the results for the student are better if he is allowed New York Public Library New York State Library Pratt Institute Simmons College Western Reserve University University of Wisconsin University of Illinois Los Angeles Public Library University of Washington St. Louis Library School Carnegie Library, Atlanta Carnegie Library School, Pittsburgh FIELD WORK 57 to concentrate on his class-room work for the first semester, and then to give all his time to field work for a month or two, coming back to the class-room again for the rest of the year, except for occasional observational assignments. Other schools proceed to scatter field work throughout the year on the theory that the assignments can be so correlated with class instruction that students will benefit by having their theoretical and practical work on each subject at about the same time. No effort seems to have been made to weigh the merits of these two diametrically opposed methods by careful experimentation or scientific procedure. It seems very doubtful whether it can ever be possible for any school to arrange schedules of instruction in such a manner that students will actually have their practical and theoretical work on every subject at the same time. Most schools would certainly find it quite impossible. It may also be somewhat easier in a small library to give a large amount of practical work to many students if their assignments are scattered throughout the year. Where practice students are not relied upon to supplement the regular staff, and especially in the larger libraries, "blocked practice" is doubtless more convenient. It would seem that, on the whole, the time at which the field work is given has been determined with reference to the convenience of the practice library or of the school rather than from any consideration of educational theory. Particular enquiry was directed to the methods of making assignments for field practice. The results are disappointing. No clear-cut arid well-defined objective was discovered. Among the points considered was the method of determining to what type of library and to what particular library a given student should be sent for his outside practical work, or "field" work. Shall the student be placed in the kind of work in which he is already interested, which may be taken to mean his probable future work, and perhaps the kind of work in which he already has some degree of skill ? On this point two very widely divergent theories emerge. Certain schools assert that assignments are based on the needs of the student, which would necessitate placing him in a type of work in which he is not especially interested, but in which his class work shows he needs to strengthen his equipment, in order to go out with a well-rounded training and general acquaintance with professional library work. Another group of schools pursues the opposite policy and places the student for field practice in that particular type of library in which he is most interested and to which he looks forward for permanent ser- 58 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE vice. The latter usually leave the choice of a library for field work to the student's own initiative; unless his choice is obviously unwise, it is approved. In a few cases an effort is made to divide the practice period and follow both methods. The earlier part of the field work would thus be devoted to strengthening some weak point, and the later to some line of work in which the student is already well equipped. Schools that provide a large amount of "practical" work in one library�usually the one with which they are connected�and a relatively short period of "field" work in outside libraries make more or less effort to distribute the former work among all the principal types of service. Thus the Pratt Institute School of Library Science devotes to practical work in the cataloguing, circulating, and reference departments about one hundred hours each, sixty-six hours in the children's department, and twenty-one hours in the reading-room. The outside work or field work can then be chosen with reference to the student's future work, if that is known; and if not, with reference to his interests and preferences. ***' , ,.. Still another basis of selecting a location for field work disregards both the student's needs and preferences, and strives to place him under the supervision of particular persons. This may be sound philosophy and a safe policy to follow, if superior individuals can be found who have the time to devote to practice students. Unless the standards for this personal basis of choice are very clearly defined and strictly adhered to, there is grave danger that it will do harm. It would be easy, for instance, for a school to assume that any field work must be good for its students if done under its own graduates, no matter what the type of library. The fundamental purpose of field experience should determine the method of making assignments. If the purpose is to acquire skill, then future work and present interests should be the determining factor. If grasp of principles and better understanding of subjects taught is the purpose, then the practical work, if it cannot cover all subjects, should be selected to represent the branches in which the student has not shown proficiency. For example, if his class work in cataloguing has been weak and uncertain, he should be put into cataloguing for the field practice. If the aim is to try him out, to see whether his success in actual work is what could be anticipated from class-room work, then the type of field work does not greatly matter, and nearly everything depends on the skill of the supervisor and the kind of report made to the school officials. FIELD WORK 59 Field practice in a one-year professional course as a means of acquiring skill should be left out of consideration. Grasp of principles and a clear understanding of subjects taught are the objects of class-room instruction. If only students of first-class ability and maturity are admitted to the schools and then if the instruction is of high quality, the student should be able, by the aid of systematic and detailed observation in contact with actual library work under the instructor's supervision, to get sufficient grasp of the principles of every phase of professional work. A prolonged period of field practice should not be necessary as a test of the student's general capacity. The faculty should be able, by means of class-room exercises and the so-called class practice, to gain adequate insight into the student's ability. If it cannot be acquired in this way, certainly the chances are small that it will be acquired by means of the so-called practical work. t* If a long period of field practice under actual library conditions is not necessary or desirable as a part of the first year's professional instruction, neither should much time be given to it as a means of helping the student to find the type of work he desires to take up. In the first place it may be that his mind is already quite made up on that point; but even if it is not, he is very likely to find the first openings in other and quite different fields. As the "practical" or field work is usually managed, the student would not have sufficient opportunity to make an adequate experiment in all the different possible lines. Furthermore, as to the student's actual choice, the testimony of school principals seems to show that this does not after all result from the field work, but rather from his general range of interests and tastes, aided most by the impressions gained from tours of inspection to various libraries. From the report forms furnished by the schools for the use of librarians who supervise practice work it may be inferred that one important object of the field practice is to secure information about the student which will be useful in placement. This purpose is nowhere avowed in print and is suggested only by inference in oral statements and in the report blanks alluded to. It may be an open question whether the school is justified in taking very much of the student's time to discover, if possible, some of his personal qualities which may have a part, even tho a very important part, in determining his professional success. Even if it does nothing else, the year's study must lay broad and deep the foundations of knowledge, ensure grasp of prin- 60 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE ciples, impart an appreciation of the ideals of library service, and develop a professional attitude toward the work. It seems impossible to escape the conclusion that the school cannot be expected in one year to do all this and find time for the prolonged practice necessary to produce a skilled professional librarian. And is the school justified in taking much of the student's time to gain information to be used principally for placement purposes? So long as the schools feel called upon to give so much attention to this phase of their work, undoubtedly all the information they can get about the student from the reports of supervisors of practice is valuable. But there are at least two large questions involved here: the first is whether the schools are not assuming too much responsibility for the placing of the student, especially in view of the fact that they cannot pretend to turn out skilled workers; the other point of doubt relates to the fullness and reliability of any information concerning the student's capacity and fitness for library work which is contained in reports on his field work. Does the use of the field practice for placement purposes justify the time devoted to it? Much depends on: (1) the skill used in putting the student into an environment which will elicit the desired information about him; and (2) the skill of the supervisor in taking the student through those experiences which will furnish an adequate and reliable test of his capacities and in reporting on them. The latter requires on the part of the supervisor a full and sympathetic understanding of the aims and methods of the school, a fairly intimate acquaintance with the student's previous training and experience, and, above all, plenty of time to devote to the student under his supervision. As these conditions are seldom or never fulfilled, it becomes necessary to question the value of field practice as a means of gaining information needed for placement purposes. Still other considerations point in the same direction. Not only do the reports of supervisors fall short in quality, but they are inadequate also in point of quantity. Reports are based on brief contact with a student who is not, and cannot be, given an opportunity to take responsibility, and who, with a feeling of being on trial, does not do himself justice. It may well be urged that the task of the school is simply and solely to give the student instruction, inspiration, and stimulus, and not to assume responsibility for any other element of his success. As it is, the schools seem to feel responsibility for (1) selecting only students who FIELD WORK 61 are certain to succeed; (2) giving instruction; (3) analyzing character, ability, and special aptitudes of students in order to place them successfully at the end of the year's study or remedy mistakes as soon thereafter as possible; and (4) developing a degree of skill, in several lines of library work, so that the student can enter upon the practical duties of almost any type of position offered at the close of the course. In the discussion of entrance requirements we have already expressed doubt as to the success of the selective process as now carried on. The primary and fundamental responsibility which the school cannot escape, and by which it must be judged, is its work of instruction. It probably should assume less responsibility for placement and disclaim any pretence of being able in the one-year general course to add to instruction the experience necessary to produce skilled library workers. The best thing the school can do for the student and for the library profession is to devote itself to instruction and to drop students who do not show the mental capacity to maintain a high standard. The professional library school should not permit itself to be turned aside from its main purpose to experiment with the student and plan for launching him on his professional career. It will do well to confine itself to selecting students of the highest ability and broad education, free from obvious defects of character or health, and then give them the best possible instruction, making the work of so high a grade that differences in capacity will appear in records of scholarships. The student's school record and the judgment of instructors, added to his own preferences and desires, should be the basis for recommendations to employers. Many schools take particular pains to emphasize the fact that students are sent into libraries to work as members of the staff under actual library conditions. Practice work should not be actual library work under normal conditions. Actual library work is not carried on for the benefit of the staff or to give instruction to students. Of course an intelligent member of the staff gradually acquires information and skill in some kind of work, but that is purely incidental to a vast amount of routine work; and some very intelligent people work all their lives in a good library without getting a professional outlook. The thing to be avoided ordinarily is putting the student to work under actual conditions. He should not even be treated as a new member of the staff. His work must be planned and supervised, not with reference to his present or future usefulness to that organization, but solely with a view to giving him an opportunity to observe and learn at first hand as rap- 62 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE idly as possible everything he needs in order to possess a broad grasp of the whole range of library problems. If his work is properly organized, it is not done under actual conditions; it then closely resembles class practice in purpose and method. To treat the library school student as a member of the active staff is to exploit him, or, at best, to waste his time. Field work carried on by the student as a member of a library staff is in most cases wasteful of his time and unsatisfactory because it does not give him an opportunity to observe minutely, critically, and comparatively all phases of the work of a completely organized library unit. It is assumed that, no matter what he is doing, he is gaining experience which will help him when he takes a position; whereas his future work may be very different, and even if it is not, it may be so unlike in detail that what he has acquired by practice may be no help at all but an actual hindrance. Student practice is in general poorly supervised and inadequately analyzed and reported to the schools^ To give the best and largest results, field work needs as competent guidance as class work. Comparatively few head librarians or heads of divisions and departments have the time, th& desire, the knowledge, or the skill to supervise the student's field workLThe ideal supervisor must be a real teacher, a skilled library worker, fully informed as to the other work of the school, and well acquainted with the student's attainments and needs. $uch supervisors are so rare that it would seem as if the schools must needs keep the supervision of the field work pretty much in their own hands. This is quite practicable where the instructors are members of the practice library staff and can also supervise the field work. This dual function puts more responsibility on the instructor and requires more of him in the way of all-round practical ability. If, however, field work must be supervised by some one not a member of the school staff, the school must see to it that the supervising librarian is qualified for the task, has the time to give to it, and is possessed of the essential facts about the student. Some schools pay considerable attention to this; others very little. The librarian selected to supervise a student's field work should be given a full account of his previous education and experience, his work and record in the school, his strong and weak points, etc. Certain schools do this with some degree of care. The instructor talks with the students, either as a class or individually, about their field work, and then writes more or less FIELD WORK 63 fully to the outside supervisor. This is all helpful and good so far as it goes. Supervisors usually report, either by means of a blank form or by letter. The chief use made of these reports, as pointed out above, seems to be to gain information for placement purposes. They add comparatively little to what the instructors already know as to the student's ability and habits of work. There is no doubt that the long period of field work during which classes are entirely suspended gives some relief to overworked instructional staffs. The poverty of the schools, however, should not be translated into poverty of professional equipment on the part of the student. The year's study is none too long to lay well the foundations for professional work. The curriculum is crowded and other important subjects are pressing for recognition. It is exceedingly important, therefore, that the student should not put more time than necessary into his field work, that it be so organized and supervised that he will gain from it the maximum concrete information and breadth of view and resourcefulness. If more instructors are necessary, they should be forthcoming. If a more competent director of field work is needed, school authorities should press for the necessary funds. If satisfactory supervisors of field work not connected with the school can be found, they should be paid for their services. It is not reasonable to expect librarians to devote themselves to students without compensation. The service that can be rendered by even the best student in the course of his field work in a properly conducted library is not adequate compensation for the attention that should be given to him. To try to balance the account in this way is certain to result in improper exploitation of the student. Only one school, so far as enquiry has shown, pays the outside supervisors anything for guiding the students' field work, and even in this one case the pay allowed is wholly inadequate. One of the weakest points in the "practical" or field work is the common failure to require adequate reporting from students. Even in some of the best schools students doing field work make no reports at all or no regular reports. In some cases the instructor later discusses the work with the student; but this is evidently not a satisfactory substitute for frequent, regular, and careful written and oral reports by the student. It would seem to be self-evident that nothing should be left undone to induce the student in the field to think about what he is doing and to relate it to what he has learned in the lecture and class-room. The mere spending of a certain number of hours a day in a library for a definite 64. TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE period carries no assurance that the student is deriving adequate benefit from his experiences. He should not be sent to any post except for a definite purpose. He should be told what he is expected to get, and should make as definite a report as on any assignment in his course. This would require a different system and higher standards for supervision of practice work. As a matter of fact, the field work should probably be planned by the various instructors, each one laying out a program as definitely related to the instruction given in his own courses as is the so-called class practice. This is necessary if the field work is to be regarded as a supplement or aid to instruction. Too much is now left to chance in definitely relating field work to instruction. If observation is to clinch class instruction, the two must be very closely correlated. The time that can be devoted to supervised practical work in the course of one year's study is entirely too short to produce skilled library workers. The most important thing�the really essential thing �is to give the student during the one year as thorough a grounding as possible in the principles underlying library practice and methods. There is not enough time to give him the background of facts and principles which are essential for the highest skill and also to make it possible for him actually to acquire some degree of skill in the only way it can be acquired, namely, by doing actual library work, preferably, at least in the beginning, under the supervision of a skilled worker. The schools should not hesitate to admit that they cannot turn out skilled workers, and should attempt to give only such instruction as will make the acquisition of skill speedy and certain. With this clear understanding, the schools may properly continue to include in their one-year general course a small amount of so-called "practical" work, solely as a means of increasing the efficiency of class-room instruction, and not at all with an idea of producing skilled library workers. In the best sense, the average graduate of a one-year course in a library school is not a trained librarian; he should have had the best of instruction, but he should not be expected to have acquired special skill. A large amount of field practice in a general professional course of one year is open to serious question on several counts. The primary purpose of the school is to lay a broad basis for skill in some type of professional work, not to develop that skill, and certainly not to impart skill in the routine processes which belong to the clerical grades of library service. The latter is a very important consideration. It is the function of the training class to give the student skill in the perform- FIELD WORK 65 ance of the duties of some particular position in a particular library. The relatively small amount of instruction which accompanies the practice is not calculated to give any professional equipment, but to make the acquisition of skill in routine clerical work easier and more certain. One instructor with the aid of members of a library staff can give all the instruction required by a training class. Professional library work should be organized on a very different basis. The large part which the practical work has hitherto played in the professional course is additional evidence that no clear distinction has yet been made between professional training and clerical training. The place for the field practice as a means of imparting skill in professional grades of library work is not in the one-year general course, but in a second year devoted to advanced study in some special field. This is the real counterpart of the extensive practice which necessarily forms a large part of the training-class work. The years immediately following the general professional course, together with a second year of specialized study, correspond to the medical student's interneship. The four-year course in medicine is not interrupted by short interne-ships or periods of practical work. Throughout the period of instruction, and particularly toward the end, the student is brought close to practical work by laboratory and clinic and given full opportunity for observation under the guidance of the instructor, but there is no thought of turning him loose to "practice" under the actual conditions that will confront him after he has his degree and is licensed to practice. It will be said, of course, that a student who'has not done much practice work will be a mere theorist, without practical knowledge and unable to do anything well. It is a little theory that is the dangerous thing. The present system of field practice does not sufficiently clinch and check up theories learned from lectures and reading, but it does seriously interfere with thorough instruction. Thorough comparative study, carried on under the supervision of competent instructors and conforming to a high standard, will be the best safeguard the school can have against turning out half-baked theorists. The present system of field work in the one-year course certainly gives no such assurance. The proposal to do away tox a large extent with the so-called practical work as a part of the first year's study does not mean that a successful library school can be conducted apart from good library facilities. On the contrary, it assumes the widest possible range of libraries and library service of high standards for observation purposes. Train- 66 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE ing-class work can be conducted in a single library, and even in a very small library; but professional training requires a wide acquaintance with library methods and organization, to be acquired only by systematic observation and reporting under the guidance of a skilled instructor. In passing, it ought to be said that a supervisor of field work should be the most experienced and practical library worker on the staff of the school, and at the same time a trained teacher. The failure to recognize the fundamental difference between professional training and the sub-professional type of training is nowhere more apparent than in the assumption that adequate professional education can be given in a small isolated library, however excellent that library may be of its kind. No worthy professional school can be conducted out of easy reach of many libraries of different types and sizes, maintaining high standards of organization and service. An important feature of the program of several of the older and best known library schools is the annual library "visit," or tour of observation and inspection, made by the entire class and lasting a week or more. The classes of the New York State Library School, accompanied by some member of the faculty, spend about ten days visiting, in one year the leading libraries of Washington, Philadelphia, and New York and vicinity, and in the alternate year the libraries of Boston, Springfield, Worcester, and Providence. Pratt Institute, the New York Public Library, the Carnegie Library School of Pittsburgh, and the University of Illinois Library School make similar class trips each spring. Other schools, not able for one reason or another to provide for such expensive trips, seek to accomplish the same result by means of one-day visits to nearby cities, while still others are able to extend their observations no further than to libraries in their immediate locality. There is no question that these extended trips are of very great value, if not absolutely essential, for professional training. The school authorities in every case report that students return from such trips enthusiastic about what they have seen, and enter into the class work with keener interest and greater appreciation. Students thus have an opportunity to become acquainted with different types of libraries, to appreciate the needs which give rise to them, and to observe their methods of operation. Many students have a very limited acquaintance with large library systems and the more important kinds of special libraries. On the basis of the observations made on these trips, they are sometimes able* to decide definitely what line of library work they wish to FIELD WORK 67 enter. Another very practical end not lost sight of by the school authorities is the introduction of students to leading workers in the profession and even to prospective employers. Various other advantages accrue from these trips, in the nature of by-products, perhaps. Thus, one school finds the annual trips help to keep the school instruction abreast of library progress, while another finds that the instructor in charge of the excursion is able to acquire an intimate acquaintance with the students such as could be got in no other way. These trips are not designed to be mere pleasure junkets. The students are held responsible in one way or another for showing definite additions to their professional knowledge and outlook. In some cases topics for report are assigned in advance to each student. Other schools organize the class into various committees, each being responsible for reports on special topics, and after their return the presentation of reports may be followed by discussion and quizzes. On the whole, the aim is very much the same as that of the so-called "practical" work�to reinforce and illustrate class instruction, to fix important facts and ideas in the student's mind, and to instil in him the habit of taking a comparative view of methods and procedure. Some schools do not differentiate trips of inspection and observation from field work. In the University of Wisconsin there are no library visits apart from the field work, but the libraries studied are reported on in great detail, following a standardized, elaborate outline. Schools which, because of their location or other unfavorable conditions, cannot make the class trips for observation are still able to realize a large part of their advantages by means of planned visits by individual students to libraries within easy reach. While something of the enthusiasm and inspiration which comes from the extended class trip is likely to be lost, the student stands to gain, on the other hand, by the more leisurely inspection and more detailed reports made possible. If our conclusion as to the real object of the field work is valid, it is not participation in actual library work so much as directed and supervised observation that is to be sought. This is also the purpose of all kinds of library "visits" and inspection trips. Any course designed to provide a thorough professional training should include both the extensive observation afforded by the brief trips to other cities and the intensive observation which must be secured in local libraries. Whether the extensive or intensive observation should come first is largely a pedagogical question. Tentatively, it may be assumed that the local and 68 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE intensive observation, related somewhat closely to the class instruction, should precede. With this as a background the student will go on the extended trips with seeing eyes. The outline of points to be covered in the more rapid surveys will have been fixed in his mind by his detailed comparative studies in local libraries. CHAPTER VIII JOINT COURSES, ACADEMIC CREDIT, DEGREES, AND ACADEMIC STATUS A CONSIDERABLE proportion of the fifty per cent, of library school graduates who have the college degree did not take a * four-year college course and then the library school course, but took both in four years, receiving college credit for the library courses. About two-thirds of the graduates of the Simmons College School of Library Science have taken the library training as a part of the general college course. In the University of Washington and the University of California the library school admits students who have completed the junior year in the undergraduate college. After spending his senior year in the library school, the student gets his bachelor's degree. In the University of Wisconsin and Western Reserve University the library schools receive a few students from the arts colleges under a joint course arrangement which enables the student to receive both degrees in four years. In some instances colleges in the same locality with the library school, tho not parts of the same institution, have arranged similar joint courses. Thus Occidental College in Los Angeles gives the A.B. degree for three years of work in the college and one in the Los Angeles Public Library School. A similar arrangement has recently been made by the Carnegie Library School with the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the University of Pittsburgh. Graduates of any accredited library school may be permitted, in individual cases, to offer certain library courses for the bachelor's degree; but college faculties are not always willing to give full academic credit, particularly for technical courses. In the University of Illinois, for example, college credit is given for the courses in the history of libraries, reference work, and sometimes book selection. A representative of the faculty of one college which has refused to consider a joint course with the library school of the same university explained that his college had certain standards of scholarship for its own faculty which the library school did not maintain; and that since it did not attempt itself to instruct seniors and freshmen in the same classes, it did not care to credit seniors for library school work taken with a class a majority of whose members had had no college study at all. While this position may seem ultra-conservative, it is undoubtedly reasonable and exposes a real 70 TRAINING FOR LIBRARY SERVICE danger that the joint courses may seriously weaken the college course. One of the fundamental viewpoints of this report is that professional library work requires a college education or its full equivalent. Three years of college study, however, are better than two, and two are better than none. In so far as the joint courses have been a means of improving the general education of library school students, they can be endorsed. Certain library schools have frankly sought to effect joint course arrangements with neighboring colleges with the hope of getting more students and raising the general level of their preparation. Even the joint course, however, should be considered a temporary expedient. Every professional library school should make definite plans to pass on to a strictly graduate basis. The joint course plan as described above, in which three years of college work are followed by one year devoted exclusively to library school study, is to be preferred to the Simmons College plan, in which the library courses are spread throughout the four years. While comparatively little of the vocational work in Simmons is given before the junior year, it would seem much better to postpone all vocational courses until the senior year, and better still, until after the bachelor's degree has been received. Only seven, or less than half, of the library schools recognized in this study have the power to confer degrees or are connected with degree-conferring institutions. Students in the schools which cannot confer degrees usually receive a certificate on satisfactorily completing the one-year course, and a diploma at the end of the two-year course. The degrees conferred for work in library schools are B.L.S. (Bachelor of Library Science)^ B.S. (Bachelor of Science), A.B. (Bachelor of Arts), B.L.E. (Bachelor of Library Economy), and M.L.S. (Master of Library Science). A committee of the Association of American Library Schools has recently considered the subject of professional degrees for library courses. In its report it is recommended that the B.L.S. degree be recognized as the professional degree to be conferred on the completion of a course of two years of professional and technical study, for admission to which a four-year college course is required. This has been the practice in the past. The New York State Library School and the University of Illinois are the only schools that have given the B.L.S. degree (with the exception of two by Syracuse University). The*B.L.E. degree formerly conferred by the University of Washington and Syracuse University as COURSES, CREDIT, DEGREES, AND STATUS 71 a professional first degree on the completion of one or two years of study has been dropped, as recommended by the committee. It was also recommended that the degree of M.L.S. be conferred whenever the character of work done in library schools which are on a graduate basis meets the requirements usually set for graduate work leading to a master's degree. Seven M.L.S. degrees have been conferred by the New York State Library School and one by Simmons College. Approval of the Association is given to the general practice of conferring the degree of A.B., or B.S., either with or without the addition of "in Library Science," on the completion of one year of professional and technical study, when that year forms a part of a four-year college course, or one year of such study in addition to four years of undergraduate college work. The B.S. degree has been conferred in this way by Western Reserve University and Simmons College, and the A.B. by the University of Illinois, the University of Washington, and the University of Wisconsin. In library schools affiliated with a municipal or state library and not organized as a part of a university, all members of the teaching staff have the rank of instructor, regardless of salary, length of service, or experience. This fact may, perhaps, have had some influence in keeping all salaries low. If different grades of teaching service were recognized, it is possible that the higher grades would command larger salaries. In schools organized as an integral part of a university, members of the faculty in most cases have the same grades and salaries as in other departments or schools. The head of the university library school usually has the rank of professor. In certain cases the rank of assistant professor is found, but with few exceptions every one on the staff, except the director, ranks as an instructor and has only the salary of an instructor. Every existing university library school is a negligible part of the institution, often unnoticed or looked down upon by the other faculties and especially by departments in which research is emphasized. The causes for this lack of prestige seem to be the smallness of the library school, the brevity of the course, the predominance of women in both faculty and student body, the preponderance of teachers having only the rank of instructor, and the total lack of anything recognized as productive scholarship. All of these conditions are remediable and will tend to disappear as the standards of the library profession are gradually raised, increasing the size and importance of the professional schools. CHAPTER IX FINANCIAL AND OTHER STATISTICS ONLY ten of the library schools were in a position to give any information in response to a request for the total amounts of their budgets for 1920-21. And of the ten schools included in the following table only two, apparently, pretend that the figures give anything more than a rough approximation of the total cost of operation. Two or three schools only have independent budgets, the others being operated as an integral part of a library or an educational institution. Probably in no case do the figures include any charge for heat, light, janitor service, etc. LIBRARY SCHOOL BUDGETS TOTALS FOR ALL PURPOSES AND AMOUNTS OF SALARIES AT VARIOUS PERIODS School 1910-11 1915-16 1920-21 umbe r1 Total Salaries Total Salaries Total Salaries 1 $15,133a $9,322a $16,604 $11,878 $21,500 $14,885 2 7,0006 4,8286 7,5006 4,9366 19,048 15,120 3 12,602c 7,830 11,506c 7,525 15,309c 11,930 4 11,181 10,066 . 11,540 10,590 5 8,050 4,950 8,970 5,520 9,360 6,260 6 7,190c 4,290 7 4,764 3,976a 5,145 4,300 6,650 5,850 8 2,390 5,553a* 5,895 9 4,500 2,939 4,500 2,950 4,500 3,455 10 2,050 t,410