College and Research Libraries


By E D I T H M . B R A I N A R D 

The Use and Administration of 
Audio-Visual Materials in 
Colleges in the Pacific Northwest: 
Report of a Survey 

Miss Brainard is head of circulation, John 
Mclntire Public Library, Zanesville, Ohio, 
and formerly assistant librarian, Portland 
State Extension Center, Portland, Oregon. 

TH I S S U R V E Y was undertaken to learn what four-year colleges in the Pacific North-
west are doing and have been doing in the use 
and administration of audio-visual materials. 
T h e colleges to which the questionnaire was 
sent are located in Oregon, Washington, Mon-
tana and Idaho, and are those listed in Love-
joy's Complete Guide to American Colleges 
and Universities. State universities were not 
included nor was Oregon State College. This 
was done because obviously the universities' 
funds and facilities would be much larger than 
those of the other educational institutions in 
this region. Oregon State was not included 
because on its campus is the Division of 
Visual Instruction which serves all the schools 
in the Oregon State System of Higher Edu-
cation. 

The colleges returning the questionnaire 
present a cross section of institutions of higher 
education in the Northwest. These comprise 
12 small, private, liberal arts colleges, four 
colleges having a combined program of lib-
eral arts and teacher training, two teachers 
colleges, two land-grant schools, and one tech-
nical institute. Enrolments range from n o to 
5000 students and faculties from 10 to 600; 
eight schools have more than 1000 students, 
six have 500 or more and six have less than 
500. 

T h e questionnaire was designed to gather 
information regarding audio-visual aids used, 
the subject fields in which used, selection of 
materials, the handling of those of which the 
library has charge, the records kept to facili-

tate ordering, scheduling, lending of films and 
other materials, and suggestions for improve-
ment of their present programs. 

Of the audio-visual aids used in the colleges 
replying, films, filmstrips, slides and recordings 
are the most popular; transcriptions and flat 
pictures are less in demand. One school re-
ported using a flannelgraph, and two, one in 
Idaho and one in Washington, have television 
sets. 

T h e fields in which audio-visual aids are 
used in teaching show a wide range, implying 
that resources are available in many fields. 
Among those listed are the following: educa-
tion and psychology, music, speech, foreign 
languages, literatures, humanities, history, 
business, sociology, religious education, nurs-
ing and health, physical education and training, 
fine arts, manual arts; and in vocational 
courses such as electrical, civil and mechanical 
engineering; metallurgy, optometry, veterinary 
medicine, animal husbandry, Air Force 
R . O . T . C . ; and in the sciences—biology, chem-
istry, geology and physics. T h e order in 
which the above are listed here does not indi-
cate the frequency reported in the replies. 

Because previewing films and other such 
materials before showing has been stressed 
in audio-visual courses, it was somewhat sur-
prising to find that doing so was not a general 
practice. Lack of time or lateness in arrival 
of films may be responsible for this situation. 

Teaching with audio-visual aids has been 
going on in these colleges for some time, for 
a third of those replying have been using them 
for more than ten years, another third has 
been using them for ten years and the others 
have used them for the past five years. All 
report that there has been an increase in use 
the past two years. T h e reasons which are 

JULY, 1953 317 



given for this may be listed under headings 
such as ( i ) improved services, which include 
a better system of ordering and scheduling of 
films and improved techniques for keeping 
faculty informed of materials available; (2) 
more materials available in a larger number 
of fields, they can be obtained from nearby 
sources, quality is improved, the cost is less, 
and colleges have made more filmstrips and 
enlarged their slide collections; ( 3 ) physical 
equipment and facilities—new buildings have 
audio-visual facilities, equipment is better and 
there is more of it; (4) administration and 
faculty are more sympathetic toward the use 
of audio-visual teaching aids, they are more 
aware of the wide range available and of their 
value in instruction; too, more faculty mem-
bers are prepared to use them; ( 5 ) more 
publicity given these materials, for coordina-
tors and directors of audio-visual centers and 
librarians have carried on a continuous cam-
paign to increase their use. T h e above reasons 
coupled with new courses being offered in 
colleges, and the development of departments 
for acquiring equipment and collections of 
suitable materials have resulted in increased 
financial support and wider use. 

There seems little relationship in the size 
of the college and the amount of equipment 
owned by it. Rather the type of school and 
subject fields emphasized in the curriculum 
seem to determine the situation. T h e one 
technical institute replying has an enrolment 
of 258 students and owns 28 projectors; a 
state college with an enrolment of 5000 stu-
dents owns 20; and a school with a combined 
liberal arts-teacher training program and 
1074 students has 13, the next largest num-
ber. Both students and faculty members 
operate the equipment, but faculty members 
or members of the audio-visual department 
take care of it. In several colleges students 
care for it under the supervision of faculty. In 
addition to projectors the schools own different 
types of slide projectors, recorders, both wire 
and tape, filmstrip previewers, radios, playback 
machines and television sets. 

Audio-visual materials for purchase are se-
lected by various persons, no one person or 
department being responsible in all the schools. 
In some the librarian and the business mana-
ger do the selecting. In others faculty mem-
bers recommend and the business manager 
decides which ones will be purchased. Or the 

heads of departments choose the ones after 
conferences with their members. In schools 
having coordinators or directors of audio-
visual programs, these do much of the select-
ing in conference with faculty. When films 
are rented, faculty members select them. 

According to replies received, there are few 
or no standard sources used in the selection 
of these teaching aids. T w o small, liberal 
arts colleges go to local audio-visual com-
panies in Portland where the schools are lo-
cated. Another small, private college with 
close denominational affiliation, consults its 
field men. Another bases its selection on ma-
terials with which the faculty is familiar. 
One college gave this list as the source its 
faculty consults: "catalogs available such as 
Coronet, Jim Handy, Northern School Supply, 
Free Films, Slide Films, and Teaching Film 
Annual." T h e State College of Washington 
at Pullman has an extensive program of selec-
tion about which it says: " W e have a complete 
file of all sources. A staff of seven has spent 
the past year in searching for and screening 
6500 films and filmstrips to approve those suit-
able for use as overseas training and informa-
tion films. These are now being used by the 
U.S.A. in the Marshall Plan countries." Not 
any of the other colleges reporting have such 
extensive resources or facilities. When select-
ing materials some refer to lists in textbooks, 
in professional journals, and to lists from pub-
lic libraries, industries and large corporations. 

Small colleges are just beginning to set up 
programs for purchase of equipment and ma-
terials. T h e larger ones, on the other hand, 
have extensive plans for expansion of their 
programs. Budgets range from $ 1 0 0 in the 
smaller institutions to $8000 in the largest. 
One college has $2000 for purchase of equip-
ment and an equal amount for materials. 
Some have no separate budget for this kind of 
material and part of the library fund is used. 

T h e schools having programs and budgets 
also have storage facilities for their equipment 
in audio-visual centers. In others equipment 
and materials are scattered over the campus 
in faculty members' offices, in departmental 
offices, and in the library. Faculty members 
have charge of storage places, except when 
the library is used in which situation a mem-
ber of the library staff has charge. 

Not all colleges reporting subscribe to maga-
zines which deal with audio-visual materials. 

318 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



The two magazines most frequently received 
are Audio-Visual Guide and Educational 
Screen which go to eleven schools. See and 
Hear is received by four, and Audio-Visual 
IVorld is listed on three replies. Other peri-
odicals mentioned are Radio Electronics, Radio 
and Television News, Photography, American 
Photography, Sound Tips, Audio Record, and 
Film Counselor. 

Some of the schools queried catalog their 
audio-visual materials, but the cards f o r these 
are kept in a file separate from the regular 
card catalog. Most of them rent the films 
they use, but slides are kept in the departments 
in which made, or by students if they made 
them. A s more funds are allotted, a larger, 
number of schools are buying equipment and 
will purchase materials later. 

Answers to the question of whether the 
library should have a part in the audio-visual 
program varied according to whether a library 
staff member or a faculty member filled out 
the questionnaire. Librarians, of course, re-
plied that not only should the library have 
a part in the program but should be the center 
for audio-visual aids. Only the larger library 
buildings or those built or remodeled recently 
have adequate space. Too, only libraries 
having adequate staff could accept the addi-
tional responsibility of administering the pro-
gram. Some of the reasons advanced by the 
librarians for being the audio-visual center 
were: the library has an established ordering 
system, full-time supervision is available, the 
library is open more hours than any office or 
department on the campus, and the library is 
not affected by sudden change of policy. This 
last reason might not be valid, for library 
practices usually conform to the needs of its 
students and faculty. However, the turnover 
in library personnel may be smaller than that 
in other departments. One faculty member's 
reply reflects the viewpoint of some, for he 
states: " N o , it (the library) should not have 
(a part in the audio-visual program). L i -
brarians have all they can do to care for books 
and periodicals. It is better to have a separate 
audio-visual center even if it is no bigger 
than an office for a starter. A librarian can 
not well take time to check machine condi-
tions and adjust." Another faculty member 
wrote: " I am not a librarian, and I am 
wondering why librarians should want to 
trouble themselves with the work and the 

service involved. This alone can reach such 
a large proportion that an audio-visual co-
ordinator who can make adjustments and 
minor repairs is a desirable officer. Materials 
are to be used and not to be waiting repair 
or adjustment." 

T h e section of the questionnaire inquiring 
about records kept and forms used was the 
one most frequently not filled out. T h e 
records mentioned were requisitions for pur-
chase, forms for requesting rental and those 
for loaning materials to faculty and students. 
Information included on these was brief, the 
main points being date, source from which 
ordered, date for which needed, title, depart-
ment, cost, date when film must be returned, 
shipping charges. Forms for loan to faculty 
or students indicated date on which loaned, 
name of person or department to which 
loaned, and date returned. Order forms for 
purchase of material indicated date of order, 
source from which ordered, title or name of 
material wished, department or person for 
which ordered, date received and cost. 

T h e suggestions for improvement of exist-
ing programs fall into general categories, such 
as centralization of materials and equipment in 
one designated storage place, separate and 
larger budget, increased space for quarters and 
staff, larger library staff to catalog materials, 
a full-time person to handle the materials and 
care f o r the equipment, and keeping faculty 
and administration informed regarding ma-
terials available. 

T h e information provided by this survey 
might be summarized in this w a y : ( i ) it ap-
pears that colleges in this region are using 
various kinds of audio-visual aids increasingly 
in their instructional programs; (2) that the 
use of these materials is growing due to more 
and better equipment, the availability of more 
and better materials, and because more 
people know how to operate the equipment; 
( 3 ) that college faculties are beginning to 
consider these aids as an essential part of 
their instructional materials, plan to set up 
programs for purchase of equipment and ma-
terials soon if they have not yet done so, and 
to employ a full-time trained person when the 
size of the program makes that necessary; (4) 
that faculty and administration are coming 
to realize that these materials can do a par-
ticular type of instruction more successfully 
than can be accomplished by any other means. 

JULY, 1953 319