College and Research Libraries B y H O W A R D A . B U R T O N Maximum Benefits from a Program for Staff Reading Dr. Burton is an instructor in English and has taught in the Developmental Read- ing Program at Purdue University. TH A T L I B R A R I A N S S H O U L D K N O W m o r e about books than their covers and the cards w h i c h locate them is easy to see, but it is not a l w a y s so easy to see h o w this g o a l can be achieved. L i b r a r i e s cannot depend on getting s t a f f s made up only of devoted booklovers or of those determined to keep up w i t h the best of c u r r e n t books; they cannot depend, that is, on the e x t r a c u r r i - c u l a r ambition of their s t a f f s . B u t at last the profession is becoming m o r e acutely a w a r e of the problem and is suggesting w a y s of s o l v i n g it. A n y e f f o r t to prevent the disappearance of the w e l l - r e a d l i b r a r i a n is p r a i s e w o r t h y . O n e of the best of such e f f o r t s is that of R o b e r t H . M u l l e r , 1 w h o suggests that libraries a l l o w on-the-job time f o r l i b r a r i a n s to read. " W h a t [such a ] p r o g r a m w o u l d create (he w r i t e s ) is a staff of l i b r a r i a n s w h o read and w h o k n o w books and w h o m a y thus be in a better position to stimulate r e a d i n g in others. . . . I t is the book-steeped atmosphere thus engendered that w o u l d also save the soul of m a n y a l i b r a r y employee and encourage others to j o i n the p r o f e s s i o n . " M r . M u l l e r proceeds to w o r k out the details of the pro- g r a m , w h i c h I need not s u m m a r i z e , since his proposals are f a m i l i a r to the readers of this j o u r n a l . 1 " A Program for Staff R e a d i n g , " COLLEGE AND RE- SEARCH L I B R A R I E S , 1 4 : 2 3 5 - 2 3 9 , J u l y , 1 9 5 3 - M r . M u l l e r ' s is no doubt the u l t i m a t e solution, but the cost of the p r o g r a m as stated (he estimates $ 2 3 . 5 5 P e r book r e a d ) is so exceptionally high that it appears un- likely of adoption in more than one or t w o f a r s i g h t e d — a n d w e a l t h y — l i b r a r i e s . B u t a w a y is open to reduce the cost by at least 5 0 % , or f r o m $ 2 3 . 5 5 to a p p r o x i m a t e l y $ 1 1 . 7 8 per book read. T h i s reduction is possible by increasing the efficiency of the r e a d i n g ; f o r it can be demonstrated that the a v e r a g e reader can double his reading speed w i t h no loss of c o m p r e h e n s i o n — o r perhaps even w i t h a slight gain in compre- hension. T h e f o r t y pages per hour as an estimate of the speed of the a v e r a g e deader of the a v e r a g e book, as cited by M r . M u l l e r f o r his calculations of the cost of the p r o g r a m , can be accepted: but w h e n the a v e r a g e reader reads eighty pages per hour instead of f o r t y , the cost is of course reduced by one-half. A n d since librarians u s u a l l y have a predisposition in f a v o r of reading, else they w o u l d not be l i b r a r i a n s , they are probably above-average readers, and m a n y could expect w i t h brief t r a i n i n g to triple their r e a d i n g speed or to m a k e still more exceptional gains. If the staff members par- ticipating in M r . M u l l e r ' s p r o g r a m , or one like it, could learn to triple their reading speed ( a n d I should not be surprised if they d i d ) , the cost w o u l d be $ 7 . 8 5 per book read. N o t only w o u l d the cost of the p r o g r a m of staff r e a d i n g be reduced w i t h the help of a p r o g r a m of developmental reading, but the other reading activities of the staff w o u l d JULY, 1954 277 a l s o be m o r e e f f i c i e n t — t h e i r o t h e r l i b r a r y t a s k s as w e l l as the r e a d i n g t h e y do on t h e i r o w n t i m e . M r . M u l l e r ' s p r o g r a m c a l l s f o r t w o h o u r s d a i l y , o r a b o u t 2 5 % of s t a f f t i m e , w h i c h r e p r e s e n t s a p e r c e n t a g e i n c r e a s e re- q u i r e d to p a y f o r t h e p r o g r a m " o f p r o b a b l y less t h a n 1 3 % of t h e t o t a l b u d g e t in p u b l i c l i b r a r i e s . " W h e n the d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d - i n g p r o g r a m is a d o p t e d as a p a r t of the s t a f f r e a d i n g p r o g r a m , o n e h o u r d a i l y s h o u l d be s u f f i c i e n t to b r i n g the s a m e r e s u l t s , a n d t h e cost w o u l d be a b o u t 6 % of t h e b u d g e t . I n t h e i m p r o v e m e n t of r e a d i n g s p e e d s , I b e l i e v e , lies t h e a n s w e r to the p r o b l e m of f i n d i n g t i m e to be w e l l r e a d . A n d t i m e to be w e l l r e a d is d o u b l y n e c e s s a r y f o r li- b r a r i a n s if t h e y a r e to c o n t i n u e to be g u i d e s to the i n s i d e s of b o o k s as w e l l as to the o u t - s i d e s , a n d i f , as M r . M u l l e r s a y s , the p r o - f e s s i o n of l i b r a r i a n s h i p is to c o n t i n u e to a t t r a c t not t h e d u l l , r o u t i n e , a n d c l e r i c a l , b u t t h e l i t e r a t e , t h e w e l l i n f o r m e d , a n d t h e j u d i c i o u s . I t is Arell to s a y , i m p r o v e y o u r r e a d i n g speed t w o - o r t h r e e - f o l d , w i t h n o loss of c o m p r e h e n s i o n ; b u t h o w is it to be d o n e ? F o r t u n a t e l y , t h e m e t h o d is n o w , a f t e r e i g h t o r ten y e a r s of r e s e a r c h a n d e x p e r i m e n t , w e l l k n o w n , a n d c a n , I t h i n k , be c o n s i d e r e d a l m o s t c e r t a i n of p r o d u c i n g e x c e l l e n t re- s u l t s . 2 T h e d e t a i l s of the m e t h o d a n d t h e r e c o r d of t h e r e s u l t s a r e e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e . 3 B r i e f l y , t h e m e t h o d is t h i s : o n e w h o w i s h e s to r e a l i z e m o r e f u l l y his r e a d i n g p o t e n t i a l r e a d s a n h o u r o r so s e v e r a l t i m e s a w e e k w i t h a pacer4 d e s i g n e d to e n c o u r a g e h i m to 2 The development reading is not to be confused with remedial reading for handicapped readers. Developmen- tal reading programs are designed for average and su- perior readers. 3 Among these are Cosper, Russell and Mills, B a r r i s s , "Developmental Reading at P u r d u e , " Journal of Higher Edtication, 24:258-262, M a y , 1 9 5 3 ; and Kinne, Ernest W . , " R e a d i n g Improvement f o r A d u l t s , " College Eng- lish, 1 5 : 2 2 2 - 2 2 8 , J a n u a r y , 1954. 4 Several types of pacer are available. Among them are the Accelerator (Science Research Associates, Chi- cago, $ 1 0 5 . 6 7 ) , the Shadowscope ( L a f a y e t t e Instrument Company, L a f a y e t t e , Indiana, $95.00), and the Rate- ometer (Audio-Visual Research, Chicago, $35.00). List prices are given. a d d g r a d u a l l y to his h i g h e s t p r e v i o u s s p e e d . I f the r e a d e r is o n e of a g r o u p , he m a y a l s o see a s e r i e s of f i l m s 5 w h i c h g u i d e his e y e m o v e m e n t s r h y t h m i c a l l y a l o n g a p r i n t e d t e x t , t r a i n i n g h i m in the t e c h n i q u e of b e t t e r r e a d i n g . T h e r e a d e r w i l l p r o b a b l y be t e s t e d f r e q u e n t l y in his speed a n d c o m p r e - h e n s i o n of a r t i c l e s of v a r y i n g d i f f i c u l t y . I f a r e a d e r is w o r k i n g a l o n e , 6 he w i l l g i v e h i m - self e s s e n t i a l l y the s a m e t r a i n i n g e x c e p t t h a t he w i l l n o t h a v e access to the f i l m s . A n d w h a t r e s u l t s c a n be e x p e c t e d ? P u b - l i s h e d f i n d i n g s v a r y , of c o u r s e , w i t h the n a t u r e of t h e i n s t r u c t i o n a n d w i t h the a b i l i t i e s a n d a p p l i c a t i o n of the r e a d e r s ; b u t in t h r e e o r f o u r m o n t h s of r e g u l a r t r a i n i n g a v e r a g e r e a d e r s c a n e x p e c t to d o u b l e t h e i r r e a d i n g r a t e s a n d to g a i n s l i g h t l y in c o m - p r e h e n s i o n . T h e 6 0 8 s t u d e n t s in the D e - v e l o p m e n t a l R e a d i n g P r o g r a m a t P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y , f o r e x a m p l e , in t h e f a l l s e m e s t e r ° f 1 9 5 3 , b e g a n w i t h an a v e r a g e r e a d i n g speed of 2 2 2 w o r d s p e r m i n u t e , a n d e n d e d w i t h a speed of 4 5 7 w o r d s p e r m i n u t e . T h i s is 1 0 6 % i m p r o v e m e n t , o r s o m e t h i n g m o r e t h a n a d o u b l i n g of the b e g i n n i n g r e a d - i n g s p e e d s . 7 C o m p r e h e n s i o n of m a t e r i a l r e a d a t t h e b e g i n n i n g w a s 5 8 % a n d of s i m i l a r m a t e r i a l a t the e n d of the t e r m , 7 0 % ; so t h a t , f a r f r o m s a c r i f i c i n g c o m p r e h e n s i o n f o r s p e e d of r e a d i n g , t h e r e w a s a c t u a l l y a s i g n i f i c a n t g a i n . I n d i v i d u a l r e a d e r s , n a t u r a l l y , g a i n e d m u c h m o r e in r e a d i n g s p e e d ; a n d p e r h a p s e i g h t o r t e n r e a d e r s o u t of a h u n d r e d r e a d m o r e t h a n 1 0 0 0 w o r d s p e r m i n u t e a f t e r t w o o r t h r e e m o n t h s of i n s t r u c t i o n at t w o h o u r s e a c h w e e k . A n 5 Best known is the H a r v a r d University series of seventeen films. 6 Among the books designed to improve the abilities of a reader working alone as well as the member of a group a r e : Lewis, Norman. How to Read Better and Faster, rev. ed. N. Y . , Crowell, 1 9 5 1 ; and Glock, Mar- vin D. The Improvement of College Reading. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1954. 7 I realize that an increase figured on the basis of " a v e r a g e beginning subtracted from average ending" is different statistically from an average figured on indi- vidual gains; but the difference is slight, and in any case the figure for the average of individual gains is not now available. 278 COI.LEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES occasional, g i f t e d r e a d e r w i l l i m p r o v e his r e a d i n g speed t e n - f o l d w i t h no loss of com- prehension. S o m u c h f o r a brief a c c o u n t of the m e t h o d s and possibilities of a p r o g r a m to i m p r o v e r e a d i n g habits. H o w can such a p r o g r a m help l i b r a r i e s w i t h their p l a n s f o r staff r e a d i n g ? T h e e x a c t m e t h o d w i l l n a t u r a l l y v a r y w i t h the f a c i l i t i e s of the col- lege or research l i b r a r y . If the l i b r a r y is connected w i t h an institution w h i c h al- r e a d y has a d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g p r o g r a m , the l i b r a r y need o n l y a r r a n g e to h a v e selected staff m e m b e r s a t t e n d the classes. A f e w staff m e m b e r s , upon c o m p l e t i n g the pro- g r a m , m a y w i s h to c o n t i n u e their r e a d i n g w i t h a pacer as l o n g as they i m p r o v e their r e a d i n g skills. T e s t s s h o w that most of the increases in r e a d i n g speeds are r e t a i n e d , even a f t e r three or f o u r y e a r s , a n d , w i t h c o n t i n u e d r e a d i n g , the increased speed is p r e s u m a b l y r e t a i n e d i n d e f i n i t e l y . M o s t l i b r a r i e s , h o w e v e r , w i l l n o t h a v e access to an a l r e a d y established p r o g r a m of d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g . A college l i b r a r y w i l l do w e l l , in this case, to enlist the assistance of someone in the E d u c a t i o n D e - p a r t m e n t or in the E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t w h o is f a m i l i a r w i t h the d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g p r o g r a m in o r d e r to secure p r e l i m i n a r y counsel, or to appoint a m e m b e r of the staff to i n v e s t i g a t e the p r o c e d u r e a n d m a k e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . T h e p r o c e d u r e w h e n no established p r o g r a m is a v a i l a b l e is to supply t r a i n i n g f a c i l i t i e s f o r the i m p r o v e m e n t of r e a d i n g skills on an i n d i v i d u a l r a t h e r than a class basis. S u c h f a c i l i t i e s m i g h t be pro- v i d e d in this m a n n e r : the l i b r a r y w i l l set aside a r o o m ( b e h i n d the scenes in com- f o r t a b l e s u r r o u n d i n g s , as M r . M u l l e r s u g g e s t s ) f o r on-the-job r e a d i n g by partici- p a t i n g staff m e m b e r s . A s m a l l r o o m of office size w i l l suffice. T h e room w i l l be equipped w i t h a table and c h a i r , a pacer a n d book of instructions. 8 W i t h this m i n i - m u m e q u i p m e n t , a staff m e m b e r is r e a d y to r e a d . H e w i l l spend his f i r s t f e w d a y s f a m i l i a r i z i n g himself w i t h the principles and methods of r e a d i n g i m p r o v e m e n t and w i t h the operation of the p a c e r . H e w i l l set the pacer at a speed s l i g h t l y too f a s t f o r r e a d i n g c o m f o r t and t r y d a i l y to increase his speed by f i v e o r ten percent. N o t a l l the a d d e d speed w i l l r e m a i n w i t h him, of course, but m u c h of it w i l l ; a n d as he be- comes m o r e c e r t a i n of his r e a d i n g tech- niques, his speed w i l l rise m o r e r a p i d l y . I n t w o or three w e e k s he w i l l h a v e com- pleted the o r i e n t a t i o n and the r e a d e r w i l l need to r e f e r o n l y o c c a s i o n a l l y to the in- s t r u c t i o n s f o r a d d i t i o n a l suggestions f o r his r e a d i n g i m p r o v e m e n t . H e is n o w f r e e to r e a d , at a steadily i n c r e a s i n g rate, the books w h i c h are his share of the l i b r a r y staff read- ing p r o g r a m . H e l e a r n s to r e a d books of v a r y i n g d i f f i c u l t y at v a r y i n g rates of speed. F o r a f e w m i n u t e s each w e e k he w i l l t u r n f r o m his r e a d i n g at the pacer to time his r e a d i n g of an a r t i c l e a n d to check his com- prehension. T h e s e w e e k l y exercises serve as a m e a s u r e of his p r o g r e s s . S e v e r a l books h a v e been designed f o r this purpose. 9 R e a s o n a b l e application to this p r o g r a m w i l l soon enable him to read in one h o u r m a - t e r i a l w h i c h f o r m e r l y r e q u i r e d t w o or three. Since each m e m b e r of the p r o g r a m w i l l use the room f o r o n l y one h o u r a d a y , the room w i l l s e r v e as m a n y m e m b e r s as there are h o u r s in the l i b r a r y d a y — e i g h t , t w e l v e , or as in a f e w u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i e s , sixteen. A n d if the l i b r a r y w i s h e s to h a v e its staff m e m b e r s read t w o h o u r s a w e e k instead of f i v e or s i x , the n u m b e r of staff m e m b e r s w h i c h c a n be* a c c o m m o d a t e d in the de- 8 See L e w i s or Glock in note 6. 9 Cosper, Russell, and Griffin, E . Glenn, Toward Better Reading Skill, N . Y . , Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1 9 5 3 , has thirty articles, questions 011 each article f o r determin- ing comprehension, problems for f u r t h e r discussion, vo- cabulary lists, and conversion tables; P e r r y , William G., and Whitlock, Charles P . , Selections for Improving Speed of Comprehension, Cambridge, H a r v a r d U n i v e r - sity P r e s s , 1948, has fifteen articles, questions, and con- version tables. JULY, 1954 279 v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g room w o u l d be d o u b l e d or t r i p l e d , one s h i f t of staff m e m - bers r e a d i n g f o r an h o u r on M o n d a y a n d T h u r s d a y , say, a n d a n o t h e r on T u e s d a y and F r i d a y . O r , as one set of r e a d e r s is w e a n e d f r o m the p a c e r , those r e a d e r s c o u l d use a n o t h e r p a r t of the r o o m , w h i l e a second set of r e a d e r s begins i n s t r u c t i o n s a n d read- i n g by the p a c e r . T w o h o u r s a w e e k in- stead of t w o h o u r s a d a y w o u l d , of course, reduce the cost of the p r o g r a m still f u r t h e r , to a b o u t 2 % or 3 % of the total b u d g e t ; but M r . M u l l e r believes t h a t too g r e a t a l i m i t - i n g of the time a l l o w e d f o r the r e a d i n g p r o g r a m w i l l r e d u c e the e f f e c t i v e n e s s as w e l l as the cost. I t s h o u l d be r e m e m b e r e d that an u n d e r - s t a n d i n g of ideas is the p a r a m o u n t purpose in r e a d i n g and that a p r o g r a m of i n c r e a s i n g speed is not a r a c e . M e m b e r s of a de- v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g p r o g r a m a r e not in competition w i t h each o t h e r , but w i t h them- selves. A l i b r a r y c a n n o t g o into the d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g p r o g r a m w i t h an eye chiefly on the m o n e y to be s a v e d by m a k i n g r a p i d r e a d e r s of its s t a f f , and s h o u l d r e a l i z e that its p r o f i t s w i l l come p r i m a r i l y f r o m w i d e and efficient r e a d i n g by the s t a f f . T h e staff s h o u l d not be m a d e to f e e l that their o b j e c t in i m p r o v i n g r e a d i n g s k i l l s is to save m o n e y , as indeed it is not, because h o w e v e r f a s t the r e a d i n g is done, the li- b r a r y is s t i l l u n d e r w r i t i n g the p r o g r a m a n d is s i m p l y o f f e r i n g an a d d i t i o n a l service w h i c h w i l l benefit a l l c o n c e r n e d . B e n e f i t s a c c r u e because r a p i d r e a d i n g is good r e a d - ing, a n d s l o w r e a d i n g is poor r e a d i n g : a l l r e c o r d s of d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g p r o g r a m s I h a v e seen, i n c l u d i n g those of the p r o g r a m at P u r d u e f o r f o u r y e a r s , c o n f i r m this state- m e n t . W h e n a r e a d e r is a b s o r b i n g f a c t s and ideas at top speed, his c o n c e n t r a t i o n is heightened and his susceptibility to distrac- tion is d e c r e a s e d ; w h e n a r e a d e r p l o d s a l o n g , his m i n d gets ahead of his eyes and he is an easy v i c t i m to a l l i n t e r r u p t i o n s , espe- c i a l l y to m i n d - w a n d e r i n g . T h e c o n c e n t r a - tion a t t e n d a n t upon r a p i d r e a d i n g is p r o b a b l y the reason f o r the s u p e r i o r i t y in c o m p r e h e n s i o n tests of the f a s t r e a d e r to the s l o w r e a d e r . T h e idea that one reads s l o w l y " t o g e t m o r e out of the r e a d i n g " is d e m o n s t r a b l y a m y t h . A n d since one of the purposes of l i b r a r i e s is to e n c o u r a g e m o r e a n d better r e a d i n g , they h a v e a re- sponsibility to u t i l i z e w h a t e v e r p r o v e d m e t h o d s are a v a i l a b l e . W h e n the l i b r a r y staff n o l o n g e r needs the pacer a n d book of i n s t r u c t i o n s , the r e a d - ing r o o m c o u l d be equipped w i t h com- f o r t a b l e c h a i r s a n d c o n t i n u e d , a c c o r d i n g to the p l a n M r . M u l l e r has designed, as a r o o m f o r staff r e a d i n g . T h e pacer a n d in- s t r u c t i o n s , m e a n w h i l e , need not go u n u s e d . T h e y c o u l d p r o f i t a b l y be placed in the m a i n r e a d i n g room f o r use by interested p a t r o n s of the l i b r a r y w h o a r e u n a b l e to secure class i n s t r u c t i o n in r e a d i n g techniques. T h e device itself w i l l a t t r a c t attention a n d a poster n e a r b y c o u l d e x p l a i n the a d v a n t a g e s of a f e w h o u r s a w e e k spent in the de- v e l o p m e n t of r e a d i n g skills. A staff m e m - ber c o u l d i n t r o d u c e the p a t r o n to the m e c h a n i c s of the p r o g r a m a n d , i n c i d e n t a l l y , g i v e a f i r s t - h a n d a c c o u n t of the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the t r a i n i n g . I f the p r o g r a m p r o v e s p o p u l a r , as it is l i k e l y to do, o t h e r f a c i l i t i e s f o r t r a i n i n g better r e a d e r s m a y be a d d e d . I believe that as the a d v a n t a g e s of in- s t r u c t i o n and practice in efficient r e a d i n g become better k n o w n , and as there a r e m o r e g r a d u a t e s of d e v e l o p m e n t a l r e a d i n g p r o - g r a m s , m o r e l i b r a r i e s w i l l c o n s i d e r the f a c i l i t i e s f o r i m p r o v i n g r e a d i n g abilities an indispensable p a r t of their p r o g r a m to en- c o u r a g e m o r e r e a d i n g — a n d better r e a d i n g . 280 COI.LEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES