College and Research Libraries


By HARRY W. NERHOOD 

Instructor--Librarian Cooperation 
in the Social Sciences 

Some teaching possibilities for college li-
braries as seen by an instructor at Whit tier 
College. 

T HE COLLEGE TEACHER in the social sciences who desires to facilitate the 
learning process i~ the student rather than 
to indoctrinate him by the lecture method 
quickly finds himself faced with the prob-
lem: How can the best use be made of 
library personnel and materials? 

We are developing a technique at Whit-
tier College which almost eliminates lectur-
ing and enables the student to arrive at 
opinions based on his own reading and 
thinking. · Extensive use. is made of the li-
brary, and it is this phase of · the experi-
ment I propose to discuss. 

Our program is based on the belief that 
history teaching is the proper handiing of 
"content." . Two principles have guided us 
'in evolving a method: (1) the student 
should read carefully as much material as 
possible in the time which is available ; ( 2) 
formal Classroom lectures should be 
abandoned in favor of "directed reading." 
Translating these principles into action has 
resulted in the transfer of the student from 
the classroom to the library. 

The plan for the course which deals with 
Europe during and between two wars, 
1914-4-, will serve as an illustrative ex-
ample.· The usual semest~r of seventeen 
weeks (not counting exaniinati"on week) is 
divided into five units, with one week for 
introduction and one for review. During 

MARCH, 1945 

the first week the mechanics of the course 
are explained and a general survey of the 
period is presented. · Each student takes an 
intensive examination, the results of which 
serve the teacher in future counseling. 

The class never meets in a "classroom." 
The librarian 1 has made · available a small 
·offic.e for personal counseling and a seminar 
room for weekly meetings. ·After the in-
troductory period for each unit every stu-
den't receives a question list designed to fill 
in the gaps in his knowledge of the unit (as 
indicated by the preliminary examination). 
Since the course is for three credits, at least 
five hours a week are spent reading in addi-
tion to a one-hour seminar. Experience has 
shown that the average student must read 
seven hours to complete the questions ade-
quately. There is no textbook since it is the 
purpose of the seminar on the first day 
of the week to bring out the continuity 
of the material as well as to emphasize the 
salient points. 

Arriving in the library the student finds 
a special shelf of materials dealing with that 
week's assignment. The teacher, now a 
"guide," has gathered together in one place 
most 'of .the books on the subject and . has 
compiled, with the assistance of the li-
brarian, a comprehensive list of magazine 
articles and pamphlets. This bibliography 
is not a "controlled" list; it is a guide. The 
difference between "control" and ·"guid-
ance" may be likened to the driv'er of · the 
herd as opposed to. the she.pherd of the 

1 Wilma Bennett, acting librarian. 

139 . 



sheep. The purpose of guidance is to make 
representative materials available, not to 
neglect some and to exploit others. 

Studenl s Introduction 

Meeting the materials for the first time 
the student is encouraged to examine each 
book and judge its general worth as well 
as its pertinency to his list of questions. 
It is suggested that he note certain informa-
tion about the book, such as its title, author, 
purpose (as indicated in the preface), and 
date (significance in relation to time writ-
ten). The instructor-librarian (this term 
is used to indicate the cooperative action of 
the instructor and librarian in assisting the 
student), having read the books or critical 
reviews on them, is present to offer addi-, 
tional help in determining the relation of 
the book to the information sought. The 
teacher is also present to assist in clearing 
up confusion aroused by contradictory 
statements or to indicate other sources in ad-
diti~n to those collected by the instructor-
librarian. The teacher has regular hours in 
his library office, and students are encour-
aged to drop in and . discuss their work. 

Thus, during a unit each member of the 
class spends at least fifteen hours in library 
ieadi!lg and three hours in seminar, in 
addition to the time spent in consultation. 
At the end of the unit he makes an evalua-
tion of the work he has done. To do this 
he writes a short summary of the historical 
period studied and indicates his impressions. 
This paper is not prepared in formal ex-
amination style but after personal counsel-
ing with the teacher. As each unit is 
completed it is related to all the previous 
periods, so that by the end of the semester 
the student is ready for art intensive review 
and over-all evaluation. 

Certain library situations arising out of 
this change in procedure may now· be ex-
amined. The most obvious result is the 

new relationship which now exists between 
library and teacher. In a sense, teacher 
and class are the guests of the library, or 
should look upon themselves as such. Rapid 
adjustment to the rules and regulations 
already existing, and the creation of new 
ones, are necessary. On the teacher's part 
an obligation to counsel his students in the 
observance of book care, withdrawal, and 
return must be recognized. The student 
should learn to respect the efforts of the 
librarian and staff and impress upon him-
self the value of .the materials he is han-
dling. 

This kind of teaching leadership is bound 
to fail unless the librarian understands what 
the teacher is trying to do and lends as-
sistance at every point. The teacher owes 
it to librarian and staff to acquaint them 
with full details of the course, either by 
syllabus or weekly discussion. 

One feature of this technique is bound 
to frighten away some teachers. It is the 
necessity of knowing what materials are 
available in the library and what can be 
secured. The instructor-librarian must 
know everything or else have a suggestion 
as to how it can be known. The instructor-
librarian should make an exhaustive study 
of the library, and bibliographies should be 
prepared. Student awareness of the sources 
cannot come about unless the teacher has 
a thorough understanding of the library. 
Books, newspapers, periodicals, films, 
learned journals, pamphlets-all these must 
be studied for their value to the course. 
It must not be the aim of the teacher to 
overwhelm the student with a mass of 
sources, for nothing arouses fear and con-
fusion in the average student more quickly 
than the sight of an impossible amount of 
work, supposedly to be done. Rather the 
instructor-librarian must exercise judgment 
and guidance in the sense we have already 
indicated. 

140 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



' . 
irhe instructor-librarian must learn to 

select "representative" materials. All iides 
of any question should be presented and, 
by counseling; the student can be trained to 
look for the signs which point to the atti-
tude most useful for his purpose. A Great 
Teacher once said that a tree is known by 
its fruits. In the examination of materials 
dealing with a political system, for instance, 
this rule can be applied. It seems obvious 
that any political organization which pro-
hibits sane vocal, physical, or mental ex-
pression is far from democratic. The 
student who is encouraged to be critical in 
his reading will not be too gullible. 

Finally, the librarian should stand ready 
to assist the teacher in providing the physical 
setting necessary. In addition to shelf space 
for books, the teacher must have a seminar 
room and an office for consultation. Both 
of these rooms should be in or adjacent 
to the library. The physical needs of rooms 
and equipment are an important considera-
tion, for we have found that enthusiasm in 
student and teacher varies according to the 

availability of the materials and the ease 
with which they are used. 

To some observers the plan outlined 
above may seem to be nothing more than the 
regular seminar method. It is an adapta-
tion, but its peculiar feature is the im-
mediate guidance by the teacher. Assuming 
that most undergraduates are not qualified 
to do completely independent research, this 
procedure nevertheless lifts teacher and 
student above the level of the "dishing-out, 
lapping-up" process so common today. 

• It is a happy medium designed so that 
the teacher may have time to encourage 
the more serious student while preparing 
him to do graduate research. On the other 
hand, the student who is taking the course 
for general culture may read as· much as 
he desires, while the "grade and . credits" 
student may pursue his inclinations without 
inconveniencing the others. 

In the last analysis, such a plan seems 
desirable because it brings together the 'two 
most important elements in the study of the 
social 'sciences-the libra.ry and the student. 

University Reference "Work After the "War 
(Continued from page 107) 

be their own detectives and to use the 
various reference books with freedom of 
action and with skill. Some departments 
work a little bibliographical instruction 
into their courses. Well an4 good, but 
wh.at about a general course that will teach 
the use of the card catalog and the periodi-
cal indexes, union catalogs, etc., graded 
according to the background and training 
of the student, perhaps covering simple tools 
the first year, the more advanced ones in 
the third year, and the specialized ones for 
the graduate student in a specia:l field in the 
fourth year? 

The already overbusy reference librarian 
is going to ask, "How can all this be done 
when we are already overcrowded with 

MARCH, 1945 

~ork ?" Perhaps we need a little examina-
tion of our own activities. Are we doing 
tasks that some other department should be 
doing? Are we doing bibliographical work 
already covered by some printed biblio-
graphical service for which we should be 
subscribing? What can we possibly leave 
out of our daily schedule that will enable 
us to have a few more minutes for reading 
book-reviewing periodicals and other bibli-
ographical publications? With all our 
desire to push a little harder to make our-
selves more efficient, however, we should 
never forget that our own friendly yet help-
ful manner is the important factor in work-
ing with faculty and students at this critical 
time in tl}.e readjustment of the lives of 
many young men and women. 

141