College and Research Libraries


A SYMPOSIUM 

The Teachers College Library 
T h e f o l l o w i n g four papers discuss various aspects of the teachers college library 

and its present role. T h e paper by Dr. Burkhardt was presented at the meeting 
of the A C R L Section of Libraries of T e a c h e r T r a i n i n g Institutions, in Phila-
delphia, July 8, 1955. T h e three remaining papers present further information 
o n the development and special problems of the teachers college library. 

By R I C H A R D W . B U R K H A R D T 

Increasing Responsibilities of Teachers College Libraries 

THE LIBRARY IN T H E A M E R I C A N TEACHERS COLLEGE is i m p o r t a n t a n d of increasing 
i m p o r t a n c e , because the teachers college is 
i m p o r t a n t a n d of increasing i m p o r t a n c e in 
A m e r i c a n society. 

I t is p e r h a p s necessary to m a k e this state-
m e n t as a n assertion, because t h e stereotype 
widely h e l d of t h e teachers college is n o t o n e 
t h a t assigns i m p o r t a n c e to teachers colleges. 
T h i s stereotype, like all others, was f o u n d e d 
o n some facts, some of which may still o b t a i n 
to some degree, b u t a stereotype by d e f i n i t i o n 
is a p a r t i a l description if n o t a n e r r o n e o u s 
one. Stereotypes die h a r d . W h o ever h e a r d of 
a prodigal Scot, A n d r e w Carnegie to t h e con-
trary n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g ? T h e stereotype of t h e 
teachers college is a p i c t u r e of a n o r m a l 
school—a n o r m a l school is a place, or was, 
where persons were t r a i n e d to teach small 
c h i l d r e n to recite things u n t i l they were com-
m i t t e d to memory. O f t e n the n o r m a l school 
s t u d e n t c o m p l e t e d his high school course 
while t r a i n i n g for teaching. T h u s , t h e n o r m a l 
was little m o r e t h a n a h i g h school, definitely 
n o t a college. T o my knowledge t h e r e are n o 
such i n s t i t u t i o n s in t h e U n i t e d States today, 
b u t t h e n o t i o n persists, in spite of the facts, 
like crabgrass in o u r h o p e f u l l y t e n d e d lawns. 

O n e m i g h t well ask why t h e stereotype per-
sists. T w o items a p p e a r to give some answers 

Dr. Burkhardt is Dean of the College, Ball 
State Teachers College. 

to this question. T h e r e are others which could 
be m e n t i o n e d . First, o u r teachers colleges d i d 
have very h u m b l e beginnings, a n d second, 
the g r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e teachers 
college has b e e n so r e c e n t a n d r a p i d t h a t some 
are n o t yet aware t h a t they have occurred. 

T h e c u r r e n t shortage of teachers is n o nov-
elty on the A m e r i c a n scene. F r o m o u r earliest 
days t h e r e were n o t e n o u g h teachers. S t u d e n t s 
of the A m e r i c a n f r o n t i e r o f t e n p o i n t o u t t h a t 
t h e first g e n e r a t i o n of W e s t e r n e r s — w h e t h e r 
they were west of Worcester, Massachusetts, 
C o l u m b u s , O h i o , Springfield, Illinois, or T o -
peka, Kansas—were well r e a d a n d well edu-
cated. T h e i r children, however, suffered f r o m 
lack of teachers a n d schools, f o r the f r o n t i e r 
by d e f i n i t i o n was a sparsely settled place. T h e 
task of daily living d i d n o t p r o v i d e m u c h time 
f o r l e a r n i n g . As quickly as t h e r e were e n o u g h 
p e o p l e to m a k e a c o m m u n i t y , t h e p e o p l e d i d 
set u p schools, b u t finding teachers was a 
p e r e n n i a l p r o b l e m . Persons w h o were older 
t a u g h t t h e younger. Y o u n g w o m e n t a u g h t 
school briefly b e f o r e marriage. A s p i r i n g doc-
tors a n d lawyers t a u g h t school to o b t a i n 
e n o u g h m o n e y f o r t h e i r own f u r t h e r study. 
As teachers became m o r e a b u n d a n t , longer 
periods of t r a i n i n g became possible. T o d a y 
m a n y states r e q u i r e five years of p r e p a r a t i o n 
f o r teaching, b u t the teacher shortage is caus-
ing some to m u m b l e a b o u t one- a n d two-year 
t r a i n i n g courses. T h e teacher e d u c a t i o n in-
stitutions t h a t we k n o w today were b e g u n to 

304 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



m e e t c o n d i t i o n s such as these. T h e y at-
t e m p t e d to m e e t a n a t i o n a l n e e d w i t h i n t h e 
c o n c e p t i o n of w h a t e d u c a t i o n was a t t h a t 
t i m e . T h e y d i d t h e i r w o r k well. O n e of t h e 
finest t r i b u t e s to o u r schools a n d to t e a c h e r 
e d u c a t i o n i n d i r e c t l y was H e n r y Steele Com-
m a g e r ' s article i n Life m a g a z i n e e n t i t l e d " O u r 
Schools H a v e K e p t U s F r e e . " 

T h i s was o n l y yesterday. T h e e v o l u t i o n of 
t h e teachers college has b e e n r e c e n t a n d r a p -
id. T h e first n o r m a l school was S a m u e l H a l l ' s 
in C o n c o r d , V e r m o n t , a p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n 
established in 1823. T h e first s t a t e - s u p p o r t e d 
n o r m a l school was o p e n e d in 1839 i n Lexing-
i n g t o n , Massachusetts. T h e s e firsts were really 
f o r e r u n n e r s t h o u g h , f o r twenty-five o r so years 
l a t e r t h e r e w e r e o n l y fifteen such i n s t i t u t i o n s 
i n eleven of t h e states. 1 I n 1910 t h e r e were 
264, three-fifths of w h i c h were state sup-
p o r t e d . N o w , forty-odd years later, o n l y thir-
ty r e m a i n . I s u b m i t t h e n o r m a l school has 
b e e n a r e c e n t p h e n o m e n a historically speak-
ing. 

W h a t h a p p e n e d t o t h e n o r m a l school? I t 
grew u p to b e c o m e a teachers college. Bige-
low writes t h a t i n 1951 t h e r e were 229 insti-
t u t i o n s i n t h e A m e r i c a n Association of Col-
leges f o r T e a c h e r E d u c a t i o n t h a t o n c e h a d 
t h e w o r d " n o r m a l " i n t h e i r title. 2 O n l y five 
of these w e r e l e f t i n 1954. H a l f h a d b e c o m e 
state teachers colleges a n d half h a d b e c o m e 
state colleges. 

I s u b m i t t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n has b e e n r a p -
id. I t was n o t , h o w e v e r , easy n o r is it every-
w h e r e a c c e p t e d as h a v i n g o c c u r r e d today. O n e 
classic i l l u s t r a t i o n of resistance to t h i s c h a n g e 
o c c u r r e d in N e w York City w h e r e t h e N e w 
York College f o r T r a i n i n g of T e a c h e r s was 
f o u n d e d i n 1888. I n 1892 affiliation was at-
t e m p t e d w i t h C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y . T h e first 
a t t e m p t f a i l e d because t h e C o l u m b i a f a c u l t y 
said t h e r e was n o such s u b j e c t as e d u c a t i o n — 
h o w c o u l d t h e r e b e a college f o r it? I n 1898 
T e a c h e r s College d i d b e c o m e a p a r t of Co-
l u m b i a , a l t h o u g h t h e story a b o u t t h e widest 
street in t h e w o r l d persists. 

O n e o t h e r evidence of r e c e n t a n d r a p i d 
g r o w t h can b e s u b m i t t e d . I n 1890 A l b a n y 
N o r m a l College was a u t h o r i z e d to g r a n t its 
first degrees of Pd.B., M.P., a n d D.P.—Bache-
l o r of Pedagogy, M a s t e r of Pedagogy, a n d 

1 Karl W . Bigelow. The American Teachers College, 
an address, N e w Britain Teachers College of Con-
necticut, 1954, p.2. 

2 Ibid., p.8. 

D o c t o r of Pedagogy. I n 1905 M i c h i g a n State 
N o r m a l a t Y p s i l a n t i gave its first B.A. I n 
1907 t h e I l l i n o i s colleges of t e a c h e r e d u c a t i o n 
a w a r d e d t h e degree, B a c h e l o r i n E d u c a t i o n . 
I n 1925 t h e State T e a c h e r s College a t T r e n -
t o n , N e w Jersey, a w a r d e d t h e d e g r e e of B.S. 
i n E d u c a t i o n , a n d i n 1935 t h e first four-year 
p r o g r a m f o r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of e l e m e n t a r y 
school teachers was b e g u n . 

T h e l i t t l e n o r m a l t r a i n i n g school of t h e 
l a t e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , w i t h a n average fac-
u l t y of eleven, low salaries, l i m i t e d e q u i p -
m e n t , t r a i n i n g teachers f o r t h e e l e m e n t a r y 
school in one- a n d two-year p r o g r a m s , h a s dis-
a p p e a r e d . 

T h e teachers college of t o d a y is character-
ized by m i l l i o n - d o l l a r b u i l d i n g s , h u n d r e d -
acre campuses, e n r o l l m e n t s i n t h e t h o u s a n d s , 
well p a i d faculties w i t h t h o r o u g h a c a d e m i c 
p r e p a r a t i o n a n d well r o u n d e d e d u c a t i o n a l 
offerings. I t is difficult to d i f f e r e n t i a t e be-
t w e e n g o o d l i b e r a l arts colleges a n d universi-
ties a n d today's t e a c h e r - e d u c a t i o n institu-
tions, w h e t h e r we choose as t h e basis f o r o u r 
c o m p a r i s o n p l a n t , faculty, s t u d e n t s , o r pro-
g r a m . If I m a y m e n t i o n libraries, COLLEGE 
AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES s t a t i s t i c s f o r 1953-54 
show t h a t t h e m e d i a n figure f o r b o o k stock 
f o r 61 teachers colleges was 52,767, w h i c h 
c o m p a r e s f a v o r a b l y w i t h t h e m e d i a n figure 
of 59,966 f o r 70 i n s t i t u t i o n s in Category I I I . 
T h i s set of figures i n d i c a t e s a h i g h of 168,032 
f o r teachers colleges a n d 157,888 f o r institu-
tions in Category I I I . 

T h e real c h a n g e i n o u r teachers colleges is 
i n t h e p r o g r a m offered. T h e p r e p a r a t i o n of 
teachers is n o l o n g e r r e g a r d e d as t r a i n i n g , b u t 
as p r o f e s s i o n a l e d u c a t i o n . R a t h e r l i t t l e of t h e 
courses t a u g h t can be classified as " m e t h o d s . " 
M o r e a n d m o r e of t h e c u r r i c u l u m is of a 
g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n n a t u r e a n d w h a t h a s b e e n 
called " s u b j e c t m a t t e r . " 

T h e changes i n c i d e n t to t h e t r a n s f o r m a -
t i o n of t h e n o r m a l schools i n t o teachers col-
leges reveal t h e i n c r e a s i n g i m p o r t a n c e at-
t a c h e d to t h e e d u c a t i o n a l e n d e a v o r a n d t h e 
g r o w i n g r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t t h e e d u c a t i o n a l prac-
t i t i o n e r has n e e d of a p r o l o n g e d , h i g h l y spe-
cialized technical p r e p a r a t i o n f o r his profes-
sional career. 3 I n a d d i t i o n , most teacher-
e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s offer courses w h i c h a r e 

3 Jessie M. Pangburn. The Evolution of the American 
Teachers College. Contributions to Education Series. 
( N e w York: Teachers College, Columbia U n i v e r s i t y . 
1932), p.126. 

JULY, 1956 305 



n o t d e s i g n e d p r i m a r i l y f o r t e a c h e r e d u c a t i o n , 
b u t f o r t h e g e n e r a l p u b l i c i n t h e c o m m u n i t i e s 
in w h i c h they a r e located. 

T h e significance of t h e A m e r i c a n teachers 
college is n o t r e s t r i c t e d to these U n i t e d States. 
I t seems to m e t h a t t h e r e is r e a l e v i d e n c e 
t h a t its i n f l u e n c e is felt all over t h e w o r l d . 
F o r e x a m p l e , i n 1950 C h r i s D e Y o u n g re-
p o r t e d to t h e A m e r i c a n Association of Col-
leges f o r T e a c h e r E d u c a t i o n t h a t 89 o u t of 
158 i n s t i t u t i o n s in t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n h a d 950 
overseas s t u d e n t s f f o m 79 c o u n t r i e s . 4 Earlier, 
50 G e r m a n s h a d come t o M o n t c l a i r , N e w J e r -
sey, to t h e teachers college t h e r e . F i f t y J a p -
anese were b r o u g h t t o this c o u n t r y by 
A A C T E p r i o r to 1950. I n 1951 a n o t h e r g r o u p 
of 150 G e r m a n s was sent t o t h e several 
A A C T E i n s t i t u t i o n s . T h e I n s t i t u t e f o r I n t e r -
n a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n r e p o r t s t h a t t h e r e w e r e 
34,232 overseas s t u d e n t s i n t h e U n i t e d States 
in t h e a c a d e m i c year 1954-55. F o u r p e r c e n t 
of this g r o u p were s t u d y i n g e d u c a t i o n . 

W e have, of course, sent r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s 
f r o m teachers colleges overseas, such as H a g -
gerty of N e w Paltz w h o s p e n t a y e a r i n I n d i a 
o n t h e P o i n t F o u r P r o g r a m . E m e n s of Ball 
State was t h e first p e r s o n t o visit teacher-edu-
c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s of I n d i a . T h e r e a r e a host 
of o t h e r s t h a t c o u l d b e m e n t i o n e d . 

P e o p l e f r o m o t h e r l a n d s h a v e always come 
t o o u r universities a n d m e d i c a l schools. T h e 
p o i n t is t h a t they a r e n o w c o m i n g to o u r 
teachers colleges t o l e a r n h o w to b u i l d a n d 
r e b u i l d t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a l systems. I n n a t i o n 
a f t e r n a t i o n we h e a r of p e r s o n s e d u c a t e d i n 
A m e r i c a w h o a r e a s s u m i n g l e a d e r s h i p roles 
in t h e i r n a t i v e l a n d s . 

I w o u l d assert t h e n t h a t t h e teachers col-
lege of today is i m p o r t a n t i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y , 
n a t i o n a l l y , locally, a n d t h a t t h e r o l e of t h e 
teachers college will b e a n ever i n c r e a s i n g 
o n e . T h e s t e r e o t y p e of t h e n o r m a l school will 
d i e slowly, b u t it will d i s a p p e a r s o o n e r if we 
accept t h e r e s p o n s i b l e r o l e w i t h w h i c h we 
a r e p r e s e n t e d . 

W h a t a b o u t t h e library? As you k n o w bet-
ter t h a n I, t h e l i b r a r y is t h e h e a r t of t h e col-
lege. I f o u n d r e s p e c t a b l e s u p p o r t f o r this no-
t i o n in a r e c e n t l i b r a r y j o u r n a l . M r . D o w n s 
w r o t e : " I t has b e e n my o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t al-
most i n v a r i a b l y a s t r o n g college or university 

4 " R e p o r t of C o m m i t t e e on I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s p e c t s of 
T e a c h e r E d u c a t i o n , " Third Yearbook, ( O n e o n t a , N . Y . : 
A m e r i c a n A s s o c i a t i o n of Colleges f o r T e a c h e r E d u c a -
t i o n , 1 9 5 0 ) , p . 2 1 0 . 

is c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a s t r o n g well s u p p o r t e d 
library, w h i l e t o reverse t h e coin, weak li-
b r a r i e s t y p i f y m e d i o c r e e d u c a t i o n a l institu-
t i o n s . " 5 

S o m e w h a t e a r l i e r M r . T i n k e r h a d w r i t t e n : 
" T h e f r e q u e n t assertion t h a t t h e L i b r a r y is 
t h e h e a r t a n d c e n t e r of t h e college is t h e sim-
p l e t r u t h . All scholarly work, a n d all u n d e r -
g r a d u a t e study as well, consists e i t h e r of t h e 
r e a d i n g a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e r e c o r d e d 
t h o u g h t of t h e past o r of t h e s e t t i n g d o w n of 
n e w i n f o r m a t i o n f o r t h e g u i d a n c e of posteri-
ty. T h i s is t r u e of science as well as of t h e 
' h u m a n i t i e s . ' E x p e r i m e n t s m a d e i n labora-
tories a r e r e c o r d e d , first of all, in n o t e b o o k s 
a n d l a t e r in t h e l e a r n e d p u b l i c a t i o n s of t h e 
science c o n c e r n e d . " 6 

O n e of these g e n t l e m e n h a s i n f e r r e d t h a t 
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s of colleges like to q u o t e 
p h r a s e s such as these, b u t s o m e t i m e s neglect 
t o act as t h o u g h they really b e l i e v e d it a t 
b u d g e t time. I t will, of course, r e q u i r e a d m i n -
istrative s u p p o r t to m a i n t a i n a g o o d library, 
b u t l i b r a r i a n s n e e d to p r e s e n t a g o o d pro-
g r a m w h i c h c a n be s u p p o r t e d . L i b r a r i a n s 
a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s will h a v e to w o r k t o g e t h e r 
to o b t a i n a g o o d p r o g r a m . H a v i n g b e e n giv-
en this r a r e o p p o r t u n i t y to s h a r e my t h o u g h t s 
w i t h you, I w o u l d v e n t u r e t o v o l u n t e e r two 
c r i t e r i a of a g o o d p r o g r a m , a p r o g r a m w h i c h 
m i g h t be t h e special c o n t r i b u t i o n of a l i b r a r y 
in a t e a c h e r - e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n . 

I find t h a t I like t h e n o t i o n t h a t a l i b r a r y 
o u g h t to be a c e n t e r f o r l e a r n i n g a n d t h a t 
t h e r e f o r e all p e r t i n e n t m a t e r i a l s s h o u l d b e 
b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r f o r t h e s t u d e n t by t h e li-
b r a r y . I a m a w a r e t h a t this is n o t n e w a n d 
t h a t it is also d e b a t a b l e . 

Carlson q u o t e s S a m u e l P. C a p e n , t h e n 
C h a n c e l l o r of B u f f a l o U n i v e r s i t y , w r i t i n g o n 
t h e l i b r a r y of 1927: 

Since the beginning of the twentieth century 
American colleges and universities have under-
gone an essential transformation. . . . T h e body 
of knowledge with which higher institutions are 
called upon to deal has been vastly augmented. 
T h e natural sciences have had an especially rap-
id development. New methods both for creating 
and imparting knowledge in these fields have 
been devised. . . . T o meet these new demands 

6 R o b e r t D o w n s . " A r e College a n d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r -
i e s A c a d e m i c ? " COLLEGE A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S , X V 
( 1 9 5 4 ) , 9. 

6 C h a u n c e y B r e w s t e r T i n k e r . " T h e L i b r a r y , " On 
Going to College, ( N e w Y o r k : O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 
1 9 3 8 ) , p.294. 

306 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



in p u r e and applied sciences, universities have 
spent immense sums for laboratories and ap-
paratus. . . . Undergraduate instruction in the 
humanities has likewise been radically modified. 
T h e single textbook has given way to a wide 
range of reference material and the increasing 
o u t p u t of scholars tends to make existing ma-
terials quickly obsolete. Most important of all, 
graduate instruction and research are no longer 
mere by-products. They have become a major 
activity of universities, involving nearly all the 
members of the teaching staffs and a rapidly 
growing body of mature students. It is obvious 
that these changes have completely altered the 
position of the university or college library. De-
mands are now made upon it that twenty-five 
years ago were unknown.7 

I was i n t e r e s t e d in F l e m i n g B e n n e t t ' s study 
of audio-visual services in colleges a n d uni-
versities i n t h e U.S.A., w h i c h a p p e a r e d in 
COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES f o r J a n u a r y , 
1955, in w h i c h 58 p e r c e n t of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s 
to his q u e s t i o n n a i r e i n d i c a t e d t h a t centraliza-
t i o n was d e s i r a b l e , 8 a l t h o u g h as h e p o i n t e d 
o u t o n l y o n e - t h i r d of his r e s p o n d e n t s h a v e as 
yet achieved it. 9 

I t seems to m e t h a t those of us i n t e a c h e r 
e d u c a t i o n h a v e a special o p p o r t u n i t y h e r e . 
As s t u d e n t s of e d u c a t i o n , we h a v e r e a d t h a t 
l e a r n i n g is t h e result of several stimuli, t h e 
p r i n t e d p a g e b e i n g o n l y o n e . W e k n o w t h a t 
if t h e l i b r a r y is to serve as a c e n t e r f o r learn-
ing, it will h a v e to m a k e a v a i l a b l e records, 
films, pictures, artifacts, as well as all of t h e 
o t h e r tools of l e a r n i n g . 

T h u s , if a t e a c h e r comes to a l i b r a r y f o r 
h e l p in p r e p a r i n g a lesson o n t h e westward 
m o v e m e n t , we can p r o v i d e o r i g i n a l sources, 
textbooks, novels, m a p s , charts, films, film-
strips, costumes, covered wagons, etc. N o t 
only a r e t h e facts a n d t h e ideas in this 
library, b u t all of t h e d i f f e r e n t r e p r e s e n t a -
tions of these d a t a so t h a t t h e t e a c h e r is a b l e 
t o select t h e a p p r o p r i a t e s t i m u l i f o r his stu-
d e n t s . 

W e n e e d n o t restrict o u r services to teach-
ers. W h y is it n o t equally p r o p e r t o assume 
t h a t a n y s t u d e n t s h o u l d find in o n e c e n t e r 
t h e d a t a r e l a t i v e to his p r o b l e m , a n d this d a t a 
in m o r e t h a n o n e form? 

T W i l l i a m H . C a r l s o n . " T h e T r e n d T o w a r d s A c a -
demic R e c o g n i t i o n of College L i b r a r i a n s , " COLLEGE AND 
R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S , X V I ( 1 9 5 5 ) , 2 5 . 

8 F l e m i n g B e n n e t t . " A u d i o - V i s u a l S e r v i c e s in Col-
leges a n d U n i v e r s i t i e s in the U n i t e d S t a t e s , " COLLEGE 
A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S , X V I ( 1 9 5 5 ) , 1 3 . 

9 Ibid., p. 19. 

O n e h a l l m a r k of a n o u t s t a n d i n g l i b r a r y 
w o u l d b e its ability to serve as a c e n t e r of 
l e a r n i n g m a t e r i a l s t o a n even g r e a t e r d e g r e e 
t h a n is n o w t r u e . T h e o t h e r h a l l m a r k w o u l d 
be its ability t o get t h e m a t e r i a l s to t h e clien-
tele. I n t h e i n t e r e s t of brevity, let us consider 
o n e segment of a library's clientele, college 
s t u d e n t s , a n d p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e s t u d e n t s at-
t e n d i n g t h e p u b l i c teachers college. 

You k n o w t h a t colleges generally a r e fac-
i n g increasing e n r o l l m e n t s . Colleges a r e fac-
i n g n o t o n l y m o r e s t u d e n t s b u t s t u d e n t s 
whose abilities a n d p r e p a r a t i o n f o r college 
differ even m o r e widely t h a n b e f o r e . T h e cur-
r e n t A m e r i c a n d e m a n d f o r e d u c a t i o n f o r all 
of t h e c h i l d r e n of all of t h e p e o p l e h a s q u i t e 
n a t u r a l l y e x t e n d e d i n t o h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n . 

N o t all of t h e c h i l d r e n of all of t h e p e o p l e 
a r e equally i n t e r e s t e d in r e a d i n g , o r a r e a b l e 
o r p r e p a r e d to r e a d . E v e n if they were all well 
p r e p a r e d a n d i n t e r e s t e d i n r e a d i n g , t h e pres-
ent-day c o m p e t i t i o n f o r t h e i r a t t e n t i o n is 
p h e n o m e n a l . I n a d d i t i o n to boy-girl o p p o r -
tunities, f r a t e r n i t y a n d sorority diversions, 
a n d i n t e r c o l l e g i a t e athletics, w h i c h h a v e b e e n 
w i t h us f o r some time, we n o w h a v e M.G.'s, 
T h u n d e r b i r d s , Corvettes, G e o r g e Gobel, a n d 
E d Sullivan. 

I t h i n k it is well to recognize o u r competi-
t i o n . T h e o l d e r c o n c e p t of a l i b r a r y as a 
place w h e r e books were k e p t will, of course, 
n o t be a b l e to c o m p e t e w i t h m o d e r n adver-
tising t e c h n i q u e s like t h e m a n in t h e H a t h a -
way shirt. 

A l i b r a r y is as g o o d as its l i b r a r i a n s . T h e r e -
fore, I a m c o n f i d e n t t h a t t h e c h a l l e n g e will 
be m e t , a n d t h a t some s t u d e n t s will e n c o u n -
ter ideas in a d d i t i o n to those in t h e p i c t u r e 
magazines. T h i s is because of t h e e m e r g e n c e 
of t h e n e w l i b r a r i a n — t h e l i b r a r i a n as a fac-
u l t y m e m b e r , t h e l i b r a r i a n as a teacher. 

Carlson indicates t h a t as early as 1876 Pro-
fessor Otis R o b i n s o n of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of 
R o c h e s t e r , w r i t i n g in t h e first v o l u m e of t h e 
Library Journal, said: 

A librarian should be much more than a keep-
er of books; h e should be an educator . . . rela-
tion . . . ought especially to be established be-
tween a college librarian and the student readers. 
No such librarian is fit for his place unless he 
holds himself in some degree responsible for 
library education of the students . . . it is his 
province to direct very much of their general 
reading; and especially in their investigation of 

JULY, 1956 307 



subjects he should be their guide and their 
friend.to 

A l t h o u g h this idea is old, I u n d e r s t a n d t h a t 
only relatively recently has m u c h been d o n e 
a b o u t it. Faculty status has been won by li-
b r a r i a n s in t h e last o n e h u n d r e d years. I n 
1927 only h e a d l i b r a r i a n s were classed as fac-
ulty. Lyle's study of s o u t h e r n i n s t i t u t i o n s in 
1948, as cited by Carlson, showed t h a t all li-
b r a r i a n s h a d faculty status in 65 p e r cent of 
the universities, in 56 p e r cent of the colleges, 
a n d in 90 p e r cent of t h e teachers colleges 
s t u d i e d . 1 1 

H e r e again t h e l i b r a r i a n in a teachers col-
lege has a u n i q u e o p p o r t u n i t y to be a real 
teacher, to m e r i t this faculty status. Being as-
sociated with persons interested in t h e psy-
chology of learning, t h e l i b r a r i a n has l e a r n e d 
t h a t teaching is n o t telling s o m e o n e some-
t h i n g . I t is n o t necessary to lecture to be a 
faculty m e m b e r . T e a c h i n g is m a k i n g a per-
son so u n c o m f o r t a b l y curious t h a t h e will n o t 
rest u n t i l h e has f o u n d a n answer to his prob-
lem. T h e r e are at least two significant steps 
in t h e process of teaching—learning; u p o n 
these h a n g all t h e o t h e r laws. T h e first I have 
r e f e r r e d to as a r o u s i n g curiosity. T h e second 

1 0 C a r l s o n , op. cit., p.25. 
11 Ibid., p.26. 

is p r o v i d i n g t h e resources f o r t h e satisfaction 
of t h a t curiosity, for w i t h o u t provision of 
these resources t h e r e can be only f r u s t r a t i o n . 
A l i b r a r i a n in a teachers college can be a 
teaching faculty m e m b e r to t h e degree t h a t 
he can get p e o p l e i n t o t h e library, provoke 
t h e m to o p e n the books, listen to the records, 
view t h e films, a n d study t h e o t h e r materials 
there. 

I suppose, to c o n j u r e u p a stereotype my-
self, t h a t the old l i b r a r i a n was a clerk of the 
books to w h o m t h e college faculty sent stu-
d e n t s with r e a d i n g assignments. T h e new li-
b r a r i a n , conversely, is a college teacher. H e r e 
I would like to use P r e s i d e n t Maxey's phrase 
f r o m his c o m m e n c e m e n t address to his W h i t -
m a n college students, where he said a teacher 
should be m o r e t h a n a reservoir, h e m u s t be 
a f o u n t a i n . 

O n l y as library faculty m e m b e r s accept re-
sponsibility with their colleagues can we com-
p e t e with 1955 mass m e d i a for o u r s t u d e n t s ' 
time a n d minds. A library w i t h such librar-
ians w o u l d i n d e e d be t h e h e a r t of its institu-
tion, e n a b l i n g it to exercise increasing respon-
sibility today a n d t o m o r r o w . T h e n e e d for 
such librarians, such libraries, such teacher 
e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s is a p p a r e n t a n d in-
creasing. I a m glad we are going to be meet-
ing this n e e d together. 

By J O H N F. H A R V E Y 

The American Teachers College Library Today 

TH E A M E R I C A N TEACHERS COLLEGE a n d i t s library have changed greatly in t h e past 
fifty years. As D r . B u r k h a r d t p o i n t s o u t else-
where in this issue, w i t h i n the space of two 
g e n e r a t i o n s this college has c h a n g e d f r o m a 
small, poorly s u p p o r t e d n o r m a l school to a 
large a n d p r o s p e r o u s teachers college. H o w 
a n d why has this change occurred? H o w has 
t h e library b e e n affected by changes in t h e 
college a n d in society? 

T H E C O L L E G E 

The Curriculum.—The old n o r m a l school 
h a d a very n a r r o w a n d limited c u r r i c u l u m , 

Dr. Harvey is librarian, State Teachers Col-
lege, Pittsburg, Kansas. 

as Dr. B u r k h a r d t indicates. I n the n a t i o n ' s 
schools of fifty years ago, 96 p e r cent of the 
s t u d e n t s were in e l e m e n t a r y school, c o m p a r e d 
with 75 p e r cent today, so e l e m e n t a r y school 
teachers d o m i n a t e d t h e m a r k e t even m o r e 
t h a n they d o now, a n d the c u r r i c u l u m was 
designed accordingly. 

N o liberal arts o r g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n pro-
g r a m existed. S t u d e n t s were n o t t r a i n e d to 
live as citizens, as voters, or as t h i n k i n g 
adults, only as teachers. N o r was it possible 
to o b t a i n e d u c a t i o n for any o t h e r o c c u p a t i o n . 
N o o t h e r c u r r i c u l u m existed t h a n t h a t for 
t r a i n i n g teachers. 

T h e present-day teachers college has m a n y 
curricula. I t trains teachers, a n d this is still 
its p r i m a r y business, b u t it n o l o n g e r concen-

308 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



trates on elementary teachers, n o r is it strictly 
teacher-training. T h e e n r o l l m e n t of high 
schools a n d j u n i o r colleges is increasing great-
ly, a n d so is d e m a n d for their teachers. N o w 
this college trains teachers for specialized 
subjects, such as art, choral music, a n d history, 
as well as specialized positions, such as teach-
ing exceptional children a n d c o o r d i n a t i n g 
audio-visual a n d g u i d a n c e programs. General 
education has received m o r e a t t e n t i o n in re-
cent years with many colleges r e q u i r i n g stu-
d e n t s to take at least a t h i r d of their courses 
in this area, c o m p a r e d with almost n o n e in 
1900. 

T h e e n l a r g e m e n t of t h e c u r r i c u l u m has 
elevated the status of the subject d e p a r t m e n t 
so that it now offers a subject field m a j o r , a n d 
in m a n y instances offers a choice of several 
different m a j o r s a n d minors. N e i t h e r m a j o r 
n o r m i n o r was offered in the n o r m a l school. 
T h e m a j o r i t y of the faculty m e m b e r s now 
teach in subject d e p a r t m e n t s . S t u d e n t s pre-
p a r i n g for secondary school teaching n o w 
spend almost half t h e i r time in their subject 
d e p a r t m e n t a l m a j o r a n d m i n o r fields, in ad-
d i t i o n to the t h i r d s p e n t in general e d u c a t i o n . 

F u r t h e r m o r e , this e n l a r g e m e n t of the cur-
r i c u l u m has n a t u r a l l y led the colleges to of-
fer degrees n o t connected with teaching. I n 
a d d i t i o n to two degrees in education, my own 
i n s t i t u t i o n now offers a choice of eight o t h e r 
baccalaureate degrees, r a n g i n g f r o m a liberal 
arts degree to degrees r e q u i r i n g specializa-
tion in science, music, fine arts, i n d u s t r i a l 
arts, m e c h a n i c arts, a n d business administra-
tion. U n d e r g r a d u a t e m a j o r s may be o b t a i n e d 
in thirty-five areas a n d preprofessional train-
ing for twenty professions. T h e n o r m a l school 
offered a certificate for teaching only. 

T h e a d d i t i o n a l curricula a d d variety to the 
offerings of the college a n d a p p e a l to a m u c h 
larger clientele t h a n did the single curricu-
l u m of the n o r m a l school, a n d they allow t h e 
college to a t t r a c t a n d t r a i n students with 
m a n y different vocational goals. T h e college 
has become a c o m m u n i t y college in the sense 
of a p p e a l i n g to almost all college-bound per-
sons in its own t r a d e area. W i t h i n a r a d i u s of 
75 miles or m o r e it attracts most of t h e stu-
dents who a t t e n d college, n o m a t t e r w h a t 
their fields. A n d one-third of t h e m eventually 
e n t e r occupations o t h e r t h a n teaching. 

T h e change in n a m e of m a n y teachers col-
leges reflects this change in status a n d en-

l a r g e m e n t of purposes. First they were called 
n o r m a l schools, t h e n state teachers colleges, 
a n d now m a n y have become state colleges 
a n d have d r o p p e d the word "teachers" f r o m 
their names entirely, e.g., Milwaukee State 
College a n d East Carolina College. A few 
have even become state universities, such as 
S o u t h e r n Illinois University, Bowling G r e e n 
State University, a n d New Mexico H i g h l a n d s 
University. 

T h e d e m a n d for m o r e school administra-
tors, the e n l a r g e m e n t of the teachers college, 
a n d t h e raising of teacher certification re-
q u i r e m e n t s have led m a n y colleges to offer 
g r a d u a t e work, thus e n t e r i n g a n area previ-
ously reserved for the university. Masters' 
degrees are offered in several d e p a r t m e n t s 
with f u l l a p p r o v a l of regional accrediting as-
sociations, a n d s u m m e r school e n r o l l m e n t in 
several teachers colleges is a t least one-third 
g r a d u a t e . 

Students.—The n o r m a l school usually en-
rolled less t h a n 300 students, b u t the m o d e r n 
teachers college averages 1,200 students w i t h 
15 p e r cent e n r o l l i n g m o r e t h a n 2,000. T h i s 
places it at the level of the large college 
which it most nearly resembles, with the larg-
est teachers colleges h a v i n g e n r o l l m e n t s com-
p a r a b l e to the small universities. T e a c h e r s 
College, C o l u m b i a University, a n d San Jose 
State with 9,000 students, San Francisco State 
with 7,000, a n d W e s t e r n Michigan with 6,000 
are a m o n g the leaders. 

T h e poorly p r e p a r e d students of t h e nor-
mal school are n o longer with us, t h o u g h 
m e d i a n scholastic a p t i t u d e is still somewhat 
below t h a t f o u n d in t h e good liberal arts 
college or university. T o d a y , in m a n y states 
t h e state university a n d the large liberal arts 
colleges still carry h i g h e r prestige a n d a t t r a c t 
a larger p r o p o r t i o n of the superior students, 
while t h e teachers colleges a t t r a c t m o r e of 
the less sophisticated students f r o m t h e small-
er towns a n d farms, the type of s t u d e n t now 
b e i n g r e p r e s e n t e d in college in r a p i d l y in-
creasing n u m b e r s . N a t u r a l l y its course of 
study a n d its s t a n d a r d s are a d a p t e d to its 
m e d i a n s t u d e n t a n d its f u n c t i o n as a p u b l i c 
tax-supported i n s t i t u t i o n . 

Income.—With increased e n r o l l m e n t has 
come increased income. T h e general pros-
perity of state-supported colleges has b e e n 
shared by the teachers colleges, most of which 
are state s u p p o r t e d . T w e n t y p e r cent spend 

JULY, 1956 309 



m o r e t h a n $1,000,000 p e r year a n d 5 p e r cent 
s p e n d m o r e t h a n $2,000,000, according to 
COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARY statistics.1 

Few n o r m a l schools s p e n t m o r e t h a n $50,000 
p e r year. 

Faculty.—Faculty m e m b e r s also reflect t h e 
change f r o m n o r m a l school to teachers col-
lege. T e a c h e r s in t h e n o r m a l school o f t e n 
lacked even bachelors degrees; successful p u b -
lic school t e a c h i n g seemed to b e t h e chief 
r e c o m m e n d a t i o n . I n s t r u c t o r s n o w a r e com-
p a r a b l e to t h e i r fellows in liberal arts col-
leges. M a n y h a v e p u b l i c school t e a c h i n g 
b a c k g r o u n d s , a n d so u n d e r s t a n d t h e p u b l i c 
school teacher's p r o b l e m s , b u t h a v e d o n e 
t h e i r g r a d u a t e work in subject fields. All edu-
cation courses are t a u g h t by e d u c a t i o n spe-
cialists. L o w e r division courses are n o t rele-
g a t e d to g r a d u a t e assistants as in the univer-
sities b u t are t a u g h t by f u l l professors as well 
as instructors. T h e t e a c h i n g loads of these 
faculty m e m b e r s have b e e n sharply r e d u c e d 
in t h e past fifty years, t h e r e b y allowing m o r e 
f r e e time f o r course p r e p a r a t i o n , counseling, 
travel, a n d research. 

Causes.—Why have all these changes oc-
curred? H o w have changes in society affected 
t h e teachers college? 

Reasons f o r these changes are easy to see. 
P o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h a n d t h e greatly increased 
p r o p o r t i o n of s t u d e n t s c o n t i n u i n g t h e i r edu-
cation b e y o n d e l e m e n t a r y school have pro-
vided m o r e p u b l i c school students, d e m a n d 
f o r m o r e teachers, a n d m o r e college students. 
T h e p u b l i c schools h a v e b e c o m e a big busi-
ness—a $6.5 billion business each year (com-
p a r e d w i t h $0.2 billion in 1900)—which oc-
cupies a sixth of t h e U . S. p o p u l a t i o n , so it is 
n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t t h e teachers colleges h a v e 
p r o s p e r e d . State g o v e r n m e n t s have b e e n pros-
p e r o u s in r e c e n t years, a n d so have b e e n able 
to s u p p o r t t h e i r teachers colleges relatively 
well. T h e newly e n l a r g e d a n d e n r i c h e d cur-
r i c u l u m h a s a t t r a c t e d a m u c h larger p r o p o r -
t i o n of t h e s t u d e n t s a t t e n d i n g college f r o m 
t h e i m m e d i a t e t r a d e area. As size a n d i n c o m e 
h a v e increased t h e college has b e e n able to 
a t t r a c t well t r a i n e d faculty m e m b e r s . 

T H E L I B R A R Y 

T h e library has shared t h e p r o s p e r i t y a n d 

1 "Teachers College Library Statistics, 1954-55," COL-
LEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES, X V I I ( 1 9 5 6 ) , 76-82. 

changes in emphasis of t h e m o d e r n teachers 
college. 

The Book Collection.—The n o r m a l school 
library was m u c h like a n y small college li-
b r a r y of its p e r i o d . I t h a d a small book col-
lection, little used, f u l l of pedagogical texts, 
was short o n l i b e r a l arts books a n d on in-
come. T e x t b o o k t e a c h i n g d o m i n a t e d , so t h e r e 
was little n e e d f o r a library. T h e l i b r a r i a n 
p r o b a b l y t a u g h t a f u l l - t i m e load a n d was un-
able to p r o m o t e library use except f o r oc-
casional assigned r e a d i n g . H e was p r o b a b l y 
a n ex-school t e a c h e r w i t h n o special library 
e d u c a t i o n . 

T o d a y t h e m o d e r n teachers college library 
is q u i t e d i f f e r e n t . W i t h a varied clientele to 
serve—students a n d faculty w o r k i n g in m a n y 
d i f f e r e n t d e p a r t m e n t s — t h e library's book 
b u y i n g m u s t be as well b a l a n c e d a n d com-
p r e h e n s i v e as t h a t of any o t h e r large college. 
T h e book collection in liberal arts m u s t 
e q u a l t h a t of n e i g h b o r i n g large liberal arts 
colleges. M a n y of these libraries have brows-
i n g r o o m s to p r o m o t e r e c r e a t i o n a l r e a d i n g , 
e.g., N o r t h w e s t Missouri State College Li-
brary, a n d sizable collections of periodicals 
f o r r e f e r e n c e a n d research, e.g., t h e 1,500 titles 
received by N o r t h T e x a s State College. I n 
short, they m u s t k e e p pace w i t h t h e improve-
m e n t of o t h e r types of college libraries. 

T h e s e libraries have o f t e n d e v e l o p e d spe-
cialized services to h a n d l e t h e i r special ma-
terials a n d p r o b l e m s . Some i n c l u d e curricu-
l u m m a t e r i a l s centers f o r t e x t b o o k s a n d 
course o u t l i n e s (the c e n t e r a t Ball State 
T e a c h e r s College is well k n o w n ) , a n d most 
have l a b o r a t o r y school libraries giving serv-
ice to e l e m e n t a r y a n d h i g h school students. 
T h e audio-visual center is also a n i m p o r t a n t 
p a r t of m a n y libraries. O f t e n t h e teachers 
college is t h e only agency in t h e area train-
i n g school l i b r a r i a n s a n d so supplies library 
p e r s o n n e l f o r most of the n e a r b y p u b l i c 
school systems, as does t h e State T e a c h e r s 
College a t K u t z t o w n , P e n n s y l v a n i a , f o r in-
stance. 

Book collections m u s t o f t e n be large a n d 
rich e n o u g h to s u p p o r t g r a d u a t e research in 
several d e p a r t m e n t s . T e n p e r cent of these 
libraries n o w h a v e over 100,000 volumes a n d 
a d d m o r e t h a n 5,000 volumes a n n u a l l y . 
T e a c h e r s College, C o l u m b i a University, leads 
w i t h 270,000 volumes. 

Income.—Teachers college library incomes 

310 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



have risen with general college prosperity. 
T e n p e r cent have a n n u a l incomes of $75,000 
or more, a n d a t h i r d spend m o r e t h a n $30,000 
p e r year—good for libraries serving primarily 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e institutions. San Jose State 
College L i b r a r y spent $220,000 last year to 
lead the field. 

T h e s e colleges also treat their libraries well 
in terms of the p e r c e n t a g e of all college ex-
p e n d i t u r e s going to the library. I n A C R L 
statistics, the m e d i a n p e r cent for the teach-
ers college g r o u p , 4.57 p e r cent for the 1954-
55 year, exceeded the c o r r e s p o n d i n g figure 
for large universities, liberal arts colleges, 
a n d j u n i o r colleges.2 West T e x a s State Col-
lege spent 10.8 p e r cent last year. 

Staff.—Staff m e m b e r s have i m p r o v e d in 
b o t h q u a n t i t y a n d quality since t h e days of 
the n o r m a l school library, as should be ex-
pected. T h e y share the interests of liberal 
arts college a n d university librarians in giv-
ing library service of high quality, a n d they 
are n u m e r o u s e n o u g h — a seventh have t e n 
o r m o r e full-time staff members a n d a f o u r t h 
have five or m o r e — t o offer m a n y services n o t 
f o u n d in smaller colleges, a n d never d r e a m e d 
of by the n o r m a l school l i b r a r i a n . San Jose 
State College again shows u p well with 38 
full-time staff members. 

Salaries, according to the COLLEGE AND RE-
SEARCH LIBRARIES' figures, c o m p a r e favorably 
with those in the o t h e r three groups of li-

2 "College a n d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y S t a t i s t i c s , 1954-
5 5 , " COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES, X V I I ( 1 9 5 6 ) , 
56-84. 

braries. I n fact, m e d i a n salary p e r full-time 
staff m e m b e r showed teachers college librar-
ians to exceed all f o u r of the o t h e r groups. 
T e n p e r cent of the chief l i b r a r i a n s were 
p a i d $7,500 o r m o r e p e r year. 

C O N C L U S I O N 

If this article has seemed u n d u l y f a v o r a b l e 
to the m o d e r n teachers college, t h e reason is 
t h a t comparison usually has been m a d e with 
the old n o r m a l school, r a t h e r t h a n w i t h t h e 
goals of the m o d e r n college. G r e a t improve-
m e n t has occurred in the past fifty years, b u t 
obviously teachers colleges still have as m a n y 
problems awaiting solution as have o t h e r col-
leges. For instance, the r e l a t i o n between 
courses in e d u c a t i o n a n d those in subject 
specialization has n o t yet been worked out, 
n o r is the typical s t u d e n t body q u i t e as prom-
ising as we would wish, n o r are e n r o l l m e n t s 
large e n o u g h to satisfy all the requests to fill 
vacancies. 

W e can conclude t h a t the m o d e r n teachers 
college library has emerged f r o m t h e " d a r k 
ages" of the n o r m a l school p e r i o d . T h e col-
lege c u r r i c u l u m has been greatly enriched, 
a n d the d e v e l o p m e n t a n d prosperity of the 
subject d e p a r t m e n t s bodes well for t h e gen-
eral e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m . College a n d library 
will be prosperous so long as state-supported 
institutions are prospering. F u r t h e r improve-
m e n t seems in prospect for this new type of 
college, p a r t teacher education a n d p a r t com-
m u n i t y college. 

By H A R O L D F. S M I T H and C H A R L E S A . G A R D N E R 

Curriculum Materials in the Teachers College Library 

FOR A NUMBER O F YEARS e d u c a t o r s a n d teachers have given increasing a t t e n t i o n 
to c u r r i c u l u m p l a n n i n g a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . 
Colleges a n d universities have offered courses 
in c u r r i c u l u m d e v e l o p m e n t a n d p l a n n i n g as 
a m a t t e r of course. Boards of e d u c a t i o n have 
offered aid to their teachers a n d administra-

Mr. Smith is acquisitions librarian and Mr. 
Gardner circulation librarian, Colorado State 
College of Education. 

tors by p r o v i d i n g " c u r r i c u l u m materials cen-
ters." 

T e a c h e r s colleges have given increasing at-
t e n t i o n in the last fifteen years to c u r r i c u l u m 
materials a n d the special h a n d l i n g a n d serv-
icing they r e q u i r e , b u t d e v e l o p m e n t of cur-
r i c u l u m materials centers has n o t been uni-
f o r m a n d there is scant l i t e r a t u r e on the sub-
ject f r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of library adminis-
t r a t i o n . T h i s may be partly because curricu-
l u m materials have o f t e n been m a i n t a i n e d by 

JULY, 1956 311 



t h e e d u c a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t i n teachers col-
leges. N o w t h e l i b r a r y is b e c o m i n g t h e agen-
cy t h a t houses a n d h a n d l e s t h e m . R e c e n t 
i n d i c a t i o n s of i n t e r e s t by l i b r a r i a n s h a v e re-
vealed some vagueness a b o u t w h a t curricu-
l u m m a t e r i a l s a r e a n d h o w they m a y b e h a n -
d l e d . T h i s discussion, t h e r e f o r e , will d e a l 
w i t h some of t h e aspects of c u r r i c u l u m ma-
terials in t h e teachers college l i b r a r y . 

C u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s a r e aids a n d / o r de-
vices to h e l p t h e t e a c h e r in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t 
of a c u r r i c u l u m , o r to h e l p h i m i m p r o v e a n 
e x i s t i n g c u r r i c u l u m , o r m a t e r i a l s t h a t will 
a i d t h e t e a c h e r i n i n s t r u c t i o n . T h i s i n c l u d e s 
a large r a n g e of m a t e r i a l s such as t e x t b o o k s , 
courses of study, u n i t s of work, s t a n d a r d i z e d 
tests, a n d audio-visual m a t e r i a l s of all k i n d s . 
Audio-visual m a t e r i a l s , by t h e i r n a t u r e a n d 
t h e special p r o b l e m s they p r e s e n t in h a n d l i n g 
a n d servicing, a r e usually m a i n t a i n e d by a 
s e p a r a t e d e p a r t m e n t of t h e l i b r a r y o r t h e 
college. F o r t h e p u r p o s e s of this discussion 
textbooks, courses of study, u n i t s of w o r k , 
a n d s t a n d a r d i z e d tests will be t r e a t e d as cur-
r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s . 

T h e c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r is a n idea 
t h a t a c c o m m o d a t e s itself to t h e n e e d felt in 
teachers college l i b r a r i e s t o p r o v i d e a special 
section f o r t h e n e e d s of e d u c a t o r s c o n c e r n e d 
w i t h c u r r i c u l u m study. Since c o m p a r i s o n a n d 
e x a m i n a t i o n of d i f f e r e n t m a t e r i a l s is a n im-
p o r t a n t e l e m e n t in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of cur-
r i c u l a , t h e l i b r a r y s h o u l d f u r n i s h such a col-
lection if a t all possible. 

A c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r s h o u l d h a v e 
a c o n v e n i e n t l y l o c a t e d a n d well a r r a n g e d a r e a 
f o r shelving a n d storage. T h e m a t e r i a l s 
s h o u l d be a d j a c e n t to a study a r e a o r confer-
ence r o o m , w h e r e p e o p l e u s i n g t h e m can h o l d 
discussions a n d e x a m i n e t h e m . A t r a i n e d per-
son well a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e m a t e r i a l s s h o u l d 
m a k e t h e c e n t e r a v a l u a b l e resource. T h e 
h a n d l i n g of these m a t e r i a l s involves some of 
t h e p r e p a r a t i o n a n d service f u n c t i o n s com-
m o n to l i b r a r y service, so it is d e s i r a b l e t o 
h a v e a l i b r a r i a n w i t h a b a c k g r o u n d i n t h e 
field of e d u c a t i o n . 

As these m a t e r i a l s vary s o m e w h a t i n t h e i r 
use f r o m o t h e r l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s , so does 
t h e i r a c q u i s i t i o n a n d h a n d l i n g . T e x t b o o k s 
a r e a n e x a m p l e . T e x t b o o k s d e a l w i t h a defi-
n i t e s u b j e c t of s t u d y a r r a n g e d systematically, 
i n t e n d e d f o r use at a specific level of instruc-
t i o n , a n d used as a m a i n source of study ma-

t e r i a l f o r a given course. A l t h o u g h t h e r e a r e 
t e x t b o o k s f o r e l e m e n t a r y , secondary, a n d 
college levels, those f o r t h e first two usually 
m a k e u p t h e m a i n p a r t of a t e x t b o o k collec-
t i o n , a l o n g w i t h t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g m a n u a l s , 
w o r k b o o k s , a n d teachers e d i t i o n s . 

Use of texts varies. U n d e r g r a d u a t e s will 
c o m p a r e t e x t b o o k s d e s i g n e d to b e u s e d in a 
specific s u b j e c t a r e a o r f o r a p a r t i c u l a r g r a d e 
level in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h w o r k in a c u r r i c u l u m 
class. Classes s t u d y i n g r e a d i n g will b e asked 
to c o m p a r e r e a d e r s a t v a r i o u s levels a n d t o 
check w o r d c o u n t s . M a n y teachers w h o a t t e n d 
s u m m e r school will s p e n d t i m e l o o k i n g over 
t h e n e w t e x t b o o k s in t h e i r s u b j e c t so t h a t 
they will b e b e t t e r a c q u a i n t e d w i t h those 
a v a i l a b l e f o r t h e c o m i n g year's t e a c h i n g . 
T e a c h e r s f r o m t h e college c o m m u n i t y o r 
n e a r b y will s t o p in w h e n they wish to check 
o n n e w p u b l i c a t i o n s , a n d if t h e college has a 
l a b o r a t o r y school its staff will avail itself of 
t h e o p p o r t u n i t y to see n e w a d d i t i o n s . T h e 
l i b r a r i a n m a y find a l i m i t e d r e f e r e n c e use 
w h e n h e is l o o k i n g f o r s o m e t h i n g u n u s u a l , 
such as a special history m a p , o r a n illustra-
t i o n t h a t c a n n o t b e f o u n d elsewhere. An-
thologies of l i t e r a t u r e f o u n d in h i g h school 
t e x t b o o k s a r e o f t e n e x c e l l e n t a n d occasion-
ally f u r n i s h r e a d i n g s n o t r e a d i l y located else-
w h e r e . Sometimes s t u d e n t s will use t h e m as 
h e l p f u l review m a t e r i a l s . 

T h e r e a r e m a n y sources of i n f o r m a t i o n 
listing t h e p u b l i c a t i o n of n e w t e x t b o o k s . O n 
r e q u e s t , p u b l i s h e r s f u r n i s h catalogs t h a t list 
t h e latest e d i t i o n of a t e x t o r series. Pub-
lishers' Weekly a n d t h e Cumulative Book In-
dex list n e w t e x t b o o k s a n d w o r k b o o k s . Ad-
v e r t i s e m e n t s o n specific b o o k s o r series a r e 
sent o u t r e g u l a r l y by p u b l i s h e r s . T h e Ameri-
can Educational Catalog is a g o o d checklist. 
P u b l i s h e r s ' r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , of course, can 
k e e p t h e l i b r a r i a n i n f o r m e d o n t h e i r com-
p a n i e s ' p u b l i c a t i o n s . 

O f t e n p u b l i s h e r s will f u r n i s h books to t h e 
c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r o n a c o m p l i m e n -
tary basis, b u t f r e q u e n t l y w i t h t h e s t i p u l a t i o n 
t h a t they m u s t b e m a i n t a i n e d o n a n e x h i b i t 
basis a n d n o t b e c i r c u l a t e d o u t s i d e t h e li-
b r a r y . R e q u e s t s f o r t e x t b o o k s can be d i r e c t e d 
e i t h e r to t h e p u b l i s h e r or to t h e r e p r e s e n t a -
tive in t h e l i b r a r y ' s t e r r i t o r y . I t is best to 
w o r k w i t h t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , as t h e publish-
er g e n e r a l l y directs such r e q u e s t s back to 
h i m anyway. Since a c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s li-

312 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



b r a r y is a g o o d p l a c e to display his latest text-
books, t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e will usually s u p p l y 
t h e m as they b e c o m e available. 

T e a c h e r s o n t h e staff of t h e college or lab-
o r a t o r y school occasionally receive compli-
m e n t a r y copies of textbooks, a n d these they 
c a n b e e n c o u r a g e d to d o n a t e to t h e curricu-
l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r . A l e t t e r s h o u l d b e sent 
to t h e p u b l i s h e r a c k n o w l e d g i n g these items 
a n d e x p l a i n i n g h o w they came to t h e center, 
w i t h a n expression of t h a n k s j u s t as t h o u g h 
they h a d b e e n received d i r e c t . 

P u b l i s h e r s ' r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s h a v e t h e i r books 
o n display a t e d u c a t i o n a l m e e t i n g s o r b o o k 
fairs several times d u r i n g t h e year. T h e state 
e d u c a t i o n association c o n v e n t i o n , local edu-
c a t i o n m e e t i n g s , l i b r a r y c o n f e r e n c e s a n d col-
lege " b o o k weeks" h a v e p u b l i s h e r s ' e x h i b i t s . 
T h e s e a f f o r d a n o p p o r t u n i t y to see t h e newest 
items i n p r i n t , check items t h a t h a v e b e c o m e 
obsolete, a n d o b t a i n t h e latest p u b l i s h e r s ' 
lists, a n d they offer a n excellent o p p o r t u n i t y 
f o r t h e p u b l i s h e r ' s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e a n d t h e 
c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s l i b r a r i a n to b e c o m e ac-
q u a i n t e d . 

A l t h o u g h a t e x t b o o k collection m a y be 
m a i n t a i n e d by t h e l i b r a r y o n a n e x h i b i t basis, 
nevertheless it m u s t be a d m i n i s t e r e d a l o n g 
g e n e r a l lines of l i b r a r i a n s h i p . A catalog list-
i n g t h e books is necessary so t h a t p a t r o n s m a y 
k n o w w h a t is a v a i l a b l e a n d h o w it is ar-
r a n g e d . T h e listing s h o u l d i n c l u d e t h e m a i n 
a u t h o r (or t h e e d i t o r of a series if his n a m e 
is a key one), t h e series t i t l e as well as titles 
of i n d i v i d u a l books i n t h e series (if t h e titles 
a r e distinctive ones), p l u s s i m p l e b u t defini-
tive s u b j e c t h e a d i n g s . 

T h e classification system s h o u l d g r o u p t h e 
books o n t h e shelves i n t h e way best calcu-
l a t e d to serve t h e p a t r o n . Classification by 
s u b j e c t c o n t e n t usually is most satisfactory. 
G r o u p i n g by p u b l i s h e r , w i t h a s e p a r a t e sec-
t i o n f o r t h e b o o k s of each, is less desirable, 
as is g r o u p i n g by g r a d e level. Books, work-
books, a n d m a n u a l s can b e classified t o g e t h e r 
so t h a t they will b e a d j a c e n t o n t h e shelves. 
As t h e m a n u a l s a n d w o r k b o o k s t h a t o f t e n 
a c c o m p a n y a t e x t b o o k f r e q u e n t l y a r e p a p e r -
backed, they can be p l a c e d fiat or in p a m p h l e t 
boxes at t h e e n d of t h e shelf on w h i c h t h e 
t e x t b o o k is shelved. 

A c o m m o n p r o b l e m is i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of t h e 
g r a d e level of t h e b o o k . T h i s m a y be indi-
cated o n t h e book, o r in t h e title, by a n u m -

ber, by symbols o n t h e cover (stars, etc.), o r 
by some i n d i c a t i o n o n t h e t i t l e page, i n t h e 
p r e f a c e , o r i n t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n . Since a u t h o r s 
a n d p u b l i s h e r s o f t e n a t t e m p t to o b s c u r e g r a d e 
level f r o m t h e c h i l d r e n w h o will use t h e 
b o o k , it f r e q u e n t l y is difficult t o find a clue 
o n t h e b o o k itself. A file of p u b l i s h e r s ad-
v e r t i s e m e n t s is h e l p f u l in a n s w e r i n g such 
q u e s t i o n s . T h e American Educational Cata-
log also is h e l p f u l . 

I n these m a t t e r s p e r t a i n i n g t o t e x t b o o k s , 
it is well to w o r k w i t h t h e p u b l i s h e r s ' r e p -
resentatives o n a c q u i r i n g t h e latest e d i t i o n s , 
a n d it is especially i m p o r t a n t to c o n s u l t t h e m 
o n discard of books. U n l e s s t h e college's in-
s t r u c t i o n a l p r o g r a m m a k e s a c o m p a r a t i v e 
study of o l d e r t e x t b o o k s w i t h new, t h e col-
l e c t i o n will b e m a d e u p of latest e d i t i o n s 
only. T h e p u b l i s h e r will g e n e r a l l y i n d i c a t e 
his desire to h a v e s u p e r s e d e d b o o k s physically 
destroyed w h e n a n e w e d i t i o n is sent. T h i s is 
because t h e books a r e g i f t s w h i c h t h e p u b -
lisher does n o t w a n t in c o m p e t i t i o n w i t h his 
t r a d e stock. 

Courses of study, a second type of curricu-
l u m m a t e r i a l , a r e t h e official g u i d e s p r e p a r e d 
by a school system as a n aid to t e a c h i n g i n a 
given s u b j e c t or area of study f o r a given 
g r a d e , c o m b i n a t i o n of grades, o r o t h e r des-
i g n a t e d class or i n s t r u c t i o n g r o u p . Actually, 
they o f t e n h a v e a b r o a d e r r a n g e t h a n this 
a n d m a y i n c l u d e aims of a course, scope a n d 
n a t u r e of m a t e r i a l s to b e s t u d i e d , suggestions 
as to s u i t a b l e i n s t r u c t i o n a l aids, a n d a variety 
of c o n t i n g e n t m a t e r i a l . 

Courses of study get heavy use in a curricu-
l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r . College classes in cur-
r i c u l u m m a k i n g m a k e use of n o t o n e b u t m a n y 
courses of study f o r a given s u b j e c t o r g r a d e . 
S t u d e n t s d o i n g s t u d e n t t e a c h i n g utilize t h e m 
heavily as they e n c o u n t e r t h e i r first teach-
i n g e x p e r i e n c e . T e a c h e r s in t h e c o m m u n i t y 
o r those a t t e n d i n g s u m m e r session are de-
v o t e d customers as they seek n e w ideas a n d 
as they e v a l u a t e t h e i r o w n t e a c h i n g p r o g r a m . 

Listings of courses of study a r e difficult t o 
find. T h e y a r e scattered a n d usually f a r f r o m 
c o m p l e t e . Courses of study vary widely i n 
q u a l i t y , a n d a v a i l a b l e listings seldom give a n 
e v a l u a t i o n . T h e Monthly Checklist of State 
Publications lists some, b u t it is n o t com-
p r e h e n s i v e . Some a r e listed in School Life 
a n d occasionally in o t h e r U . S. Office of E d u -
cation p u b l i c a t i o n s . T h e Education Index 

JULY, 1956 313 



lists a n u m b e r u n d e r v a r i o u s s u b j e c t h e a d -
ings. State e d u c a t i o n association j o u r n a l s 
s o m e t i m e s h a v e listings. A b o a r d or d e p a r t -
m e n t of e d u c a t i o n will occasionally m a k e u p 
a list of its o w n a n d d i s t r i b u t e it as a p r i c e 
list, b u t this is n o t a g e n e r a l p r a c t i c e . Stu-
d e n t s o r teachers m a y m e n t i o n ones they 
h a v e u s e d o r seen elsewhere. 

R e q u e s t s m u s t b e d i r e c t e d t o school sys-
tems. L e t t e r s of i n q u i r y m u s t b e sent o u t by 
t h e l i b r a r i a n w h o is t r y i n g to a d d courses of 
s t u d y t o t h e c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r . 
S o m e t i m e s t h e school system does n o t dis-
t r i b u t e its courses. I n o t h e r cases l i m i t e d dis-
t r i b u t i o n is specified " t o l i b r a r i e s a n d b o a r d s 
of e d u c a t i o n o n l y , " o r " t o select l i b r a r i e s , " o r 
" t o s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s . " I n o t h e r cases, ma-
terials may be r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e a n d lists f u r -
n i s h e d o n r e q u e s t . U s u a l l y p a y m e n t in ad-
v a n c e is r e q u i r e d . 

A l t h o u g h t h e h a n d l i n g of courses of study 
poses some of t h e same p r o b l e m s as text-
books, it offers some t h a t a r e d i f f e r e n t . A 
catalog listing t h e issuing agency (city, state, 
o r o t h e r ) , t h e title of t h e course of study, a n d 
t h e g r a d e level is n e e d e d . T h e r e s h o u l d b e 
e n t r i e s u n d e r t h e issuing agency a n d t h e sub-
ject, b u t usually n o t by title, as t h e titles a r e 
n o t o r d i n a r i l y distinctive. 

I n h o u s i n g courses of study, g r o u p i n g by 
p u b l i s h e r p r o b a b l y is n o t too i m p o r t a n t to 
t h e user of t h e collection. A classification by 
s u b j e c t g e n e r a l l y m e e t s t h e n e e d b e t t e r . Since 
courses of study a r e usually p a p e r b a c k e d they 
m a y h a v e to be p l a c e d flat-shelf style. Alter-
n a t i v e s a r e to p l a c e t h e m in large p a m p h l e t 
boxes o r storage bins, o r in vertical files. 
H e r e they can be filed by s u b j e c t o r by source 
if t h e collection is n o t a large o n e . I t is ad-
visable n o t to c i r c u l a t e t h e m , d u e t o t h e 
heavy use they receive. 

U n l i k e t e x t b o o k s , courses of study a r e n o t 
difficult to g r a d e . U s u a l l y level is clearly in-
d i c a t e d o n t h e cover o r i n t h e title. 

W e e d i n g courses of study is n o t a clear-cut 
m a t t e r . T h e y will b e c o m e obsolete w i t h age. 
If t h e c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s c e n t e r is a de-
p o s i t o r y f o r some p u b l i s h e r s , t h e l i b r a r i a n 
will b e n o t i f i e d w h i c h items a r e s u p e r s e d e d 
o r n o l o n g e r valid. O t h e r w i s e , t h e l i b r a r i a n 
m u s t e v a l u a t e each o n e o n its merits. 

U n i t s of work a r e similar to courses of 
s t u d y i n f o r m a n d t h e way they a r e h a n d l e d , 
b u t they differ s o m e w h a t in scope a n d 

emphasis. A u n i t of w o r k is a subdivision of 
a course of study, a t e x t b o o k , or a s u b j e c t 
field, w i t h activities a n d o t h e r l e a r n i n g ex-
p e r i e n c e s d e v e l o p e d a r o u n d a c e n t r a l p u r -
pose o r p r o b l e m . A u n i t can b e p a r t of a 
course of study in a s u b j e c t such as t h e social 
studies, or it m a y cross s u b j e c t lines (inte-
g r a t e d u n i t ) a n d tie t o g e t h e r e l e m e n t s of 
several subjects. Such a u n i t m i g h t i n t e g r a t e 
t h e g e o g r a p h y , history, music, l a n g u a g e , a n d 
a r t of a f o r e i g n c o u n t r y . 

S t u d e n t s in m e t h o d s courses s p e n d t i m e 
s t u d y i n g u n i t s of w o r k a n d devising n e w 
ones. S t u d e n t teachers also use t h e m , a l o n g 
w i t h courses of study, in t h e i r t e a c h i n g . 
T e a c h e r s , of course, a r e always l o o k i n g f o r 
n e w ideas. 

F o r t h e most p a r t , u n i t s of w o r k will come 
f r o m t h e same sources as courses of study. A 
list f r o m a city o r state school system will in-
c l u d e titles of b o t h so t h a t they m a y some-
times be difficult to d i s t i n g u i s h w i t h o u t ex-
a m i n i n g t h e m . U n i t s of w o r k m a y b e m o r e 
difficult to o b t a i n because they a r e less o f t e n 
listed. A l t h o u g h m u c h l i t e r a t u r e is i n d i c a t e d 
in t h e Education Index u n d e r t h e h e a d i n g 
" U n i t s of W o r k , " m a n y of t h e articles a r e 
descriptive. M a n y m o r e u n i t s of work a r e 
devised t h a n courses of study b u t most of 
t h e m d o n o t find t h e i r way i n t o p r i n t because 
t h e t e a c h e r has d e v e l o p e d t h e m f o r a specific 
classroom. 

U n i t s of w o r k g e n e r a l l y can b e h a n d l e d like 
courses of study. A unit-of-work catalog 
s h o u l d list t h e c e n t e r ' s h o l d i n g s . T h e catalog 
listing s h o u l d b e m o r e specific t h a n f o r 
courses of s t u d y as t h e u n i t deals w i t h a nar-
r o w e r a r e a . Classification s h o u l d b e m a d e so 
t h a t they a r e g r o u p e d by s u b j e c t , p u b l i s h e r , 
or g r a d e level. O f t e n t h e same classification 
system used f o r courses of study can be used 
f o r u n i t s of work. G r o u p i n g by s u b j e c t is 
most desirable, a l t h o u g h k n o w i n g g r a d e level 
is m o r e i m p o r t a n t w i t h u n i t s of w o r k t h a n 
w i t h courses of study. Level is usually indi-
cated o n t h e cover o r title page. I t is advisa-
ble n o t to circulate t h e m because of t h e in-
tensive use they receive. T h e y m u s t be 
w e e d e d o n a n i n d i v i d u a l basis, t a k i n g i n t o 
a c c o u n t age a n d possible i n s t r u c t i o n s f r o m 
t h e issuing agency. 

S t a n d a r d i z e d tests a r e t h e f o u r t h t y p e t h a t 
figures p r o m i n e n t l y a m o n g c u r r i c u l u m ma-
terials. T h e y a r e tests f o r w h i c h c o n t e n t has 

314 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



b e e n selected a n d checked empirically, f o r 
which n o r m s have b e e n established, f o r 
which u n i f o r m m e t h o d s of a d m i n i s t e r i n g a n d 
scoring have b e e n developed, a n d which may 
be scored w i t h a relatively h i g h degree of 
objectivity. T h e y i n c l u d e all g r a d e levels 
t h r o u g h college, as well as a d u l t a n d general. 

A file of tests gets wide a n d steady use. 
Courses in testing offered on t h e c a m p u s have 
s t u d e n t s c o m b i n g t h e file, e x a m i n i n g a n d 
e v a l u a t i n g tests. T e a c h e r s go t h r o u g h the file 
to see w h a t tests are n e w or to e x a m i n e con-
tents of tests o n t h e i r subject. Professors m a k e 
use of t h e m f o r specialized needs. 

Listings of tests are readily available. T e s t 
p u b l i s h e r s regularly issue catalogs. T h e y fur-
nish advertisements of selected tests to pro-
fessors, a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , teachers, school per-
sonnel officials, a n d librarians. I n selecting 
tests, r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s by professors a n d 
p e r s o n n e l officers should be relied u p o n . 

I n d e v e l o p i n g a test file, t h e c u r r i c u l u m 
materials l i b r a r i a n should r e q u e s t specimen 
sets of the tests h e wishes. T e s t s are m a d e u p 
in packets of 25 w i t h a m a n u a l a n d a set of 
instructions. T e s t p u b l i s h e r s m a k e u p speci-
m e n sets t h a t i n c l u d e t h e set of i n s t r u c t i o n s 
t o a c c o m p a n y o n e copy of t h e first f o r m of 
t h e test. T h e s e they d i s t r i b u t e to i n t e r e s t e d 
persons. T h e s e are available at a cost usually 
well u n d e r o n e dollar. 

If t h e test file is a t all large t h e r e should 
b e some system of classification. T h e catalog 
listing should be fairly detailed, giving t h e 
a u t h o r s (usually m u l t i p l e ) , title, a n d at least 
o n e subject h e a d i n g . T h e c o n t e n t s of t h e 
specimen set should be n o t e d on t h e card, 
i n c l u d i n g f o r m , r a n g e , a n d time f o r a d m i n -
istering. T h e copyright d a t e of the test is im-
p o r t a n t . 

A vertical file is a good place to house tests. 
If t h e file is small, they can b e k e p t in t h e 
m a n i l a envelopes in which they were received. 
If t h e file is large, each test can easily be 
stapled i n t o a m a n i l a f o l d e r . A c o n v e n i e n t 
device on t h e f r o n t of t h e e n v e l o p e or f o l d e r 
is a paste-on copy of t h e catalog card infor-
m a t i o n . T h e classification n u m b e r can ap-
p e a r on t h e t a b of t h e f o l d e r . 

As a checklist f o r tests, t h e Mental Meas-
urements Yearbook is excellent. T h e r e a r e 
also several u s e f u l periodicals on testing. A 
great deal of care should b e used in w e e d i n g 
tests, as o l d e r ones have v a l u e f o r compara-
tive study. T h e y should n o t b e discarded with-
o u t t h e advice of t h e professor or p e r s o n n e l 
officer. 

Also of value to a c u r r i c u l u m materials 
c e n t e r are materials c o n c e r n e d w i t h curricu-
l u m b u i l d i n g . Books on c u r r i c u l u m m a k i n g , 
testing, courses of study, a n d u n i t s of work 
are all h e l p f u l . Magazines, too, are excellent 
sources of i n f o r m a t i o n . W h e r e possible, it is 
well to have these close at h a n d f o r s t u d e n t s 
to use in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h the materials. 
W h e t h e r they are placed in or a d j a c e n t to 
t h e center m u s t be d e t e r m i n e d by library 
use, o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d policy. Books on cur-
r i c u l u m generally are shelved in t h e b o o k 
stacks, a n d the c u r r i c u l u m materials l i b r a r i a n 
should be a c q u a i n t e d with t h e m a n d t h e i r 
location. 

T h e l i b r a r i a n in charge of c u r r i c u l u m ma-
terials m u s t b e abreast of d e v e l o p m e n t s in 
t h e field, a n d h e must have a n a c q u a i n t a n c e 
w i t h the l i t e r a t u r e a b o u t it. Since c u r r i c u l u m 
materials have come to play such a n i m p o r -
t a n t p a r t in teacher p r e p a r a t i o n , t h e c e n t e r 
t h a t can offer good service f r o m a u n i f i e d 
collection will serve t h e teachers college com-
m u n i t y in a vital way. 

By J O E W . K R A U S 

Teachers Colleges and the Education of School Librarians 

MA N Y T E A C H E R S C O L L E G E L I B R A R I A N S find themselves astride two horses, o n e 
n a m e d library a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , t h e o t h e r li-
b r a r y e d u c a t i o n . T h e way to successful col-

Mr. Kraus is librarian, Madison College. 

lege library a d m i n i s t r a t i o n is reasonably well 
c h a r t e d , b u t advice on t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e p a r t m e n t s of school librar-
i a n s h i p is scanty a n d o f t e n c o n t r a d i c t o r y . 
T h e role of t h e teachers college in t h e p r e p a -
r a t i o n of p u b l i c school teachers is n o w gen-

JULY, 1956 315 



erally a c k n o w l e d g e d , d e s p i t e challenges f r o m 
some q u a r t e r s , a n d is s u p p o r t e d by r e g i o n a l 
a c c r e d i t i n g agencies, by a n active p r o f e s s i o n a l 
o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e A m e r i c a n Association of 
Colleges f o r T e a c h e r E d u c a t i o n , a n d by a 
c r e d i t a b l e r e c o r d of g r a d u a t e s t e a c h i n g i n 
p u b l i c schools. H o w e v e r , t h e p a r a l l e l task of 
p r e p a r i n g l i b r a r i a n s f o r t h e p u b l i c schools 
h a s received l i t t l e e n c o u r a g e m e n t f r o m na-
t i o n a l l i b r a r y a n d e d u c a t i o n a l associations. 
T h e t e a c h e r - e d u c a t i o n colleges w h i c h offer 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e i n s t r u c t i o n in school l i b r a r -
i a n s h i p h a v e b e e n , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t , d e n i e d 
a c c r e d i t a t i o n by t h e A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y As-
sociation, a n d g e n e r a l l y t r e a t e d w i t h t h e em-
barrassed c o n c e r n o n e gives to a p o o r r e l a t i v e 
w h o insists o n a p p e a r i n g a t t h e f a m i l y re-
u n i o n . T h i s article a t t e m p t s t o state t h e case 
f o r t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e p a r t m e n t of l i b r a r y 
science i n t h e teachers college by r e v i e w i n g 
t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of u n d e r g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y 
science i n s t r u c t i o n in t e a c h e r - e d u c a t i o n insti-
t u t i o n s , by s u m m a r i z i n g t h e status of l i b r a r y 
science d e p a r t m e n t s i n a selected g r o u p of 
teachers colleges, a n d by o f f e r i n g some rec-
o m m e n d a t i o n s f o r discussion a n d possible 
a c t i o n . T h e p o i n t of view is t h a t of a n advo-
cate, n o t a d i s i n t e r e s t e d b y s t a n d e r . 

B A C K G R O U N D 

I n s t r u c t i o n i n l i b r a r y science i n teacher-
e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s is n o i n n o v a t i o n . As 
early as 1905 a c o m m i t t e e of t h e N a t i o n a l 
E d u c a t i o n Association o n i n s t r u c t i o n i n li-
b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n n o r m a l schools pro-
p o s e d a series of t e n lectures a n d t w e n t y 
h o u r s of p r a c t i c e w o r k a n d r e p o r t e d t h a t 
t h e r e was "every r e a s o n f o r o f f e r i n g this in-
s t r u c t i o n in n o r m a l schools, a n d possibly 
even i n h i g h schools w h i c h a r e p r e p a r i n g 
t h e i r g r a d u a t e s to teach, a n d n o r e a s o n f o r 
i g n o r i n g this [ i n s t r u c t i o n ] . " 1 N o statistics 
o n t h e n u m b e r of n o r m a l schools t h a t fol-
l o w e d this suggested o u t l i n e a r e available, 
b u t t h e p r o c e e d i n g s of t h e L i b r a r y D e p a r t -
m e n t of t h e N . E. A. d u r i n g t h e n e x t f e w 
years c o n t a i n m a n y a c c o u n t s of l i b r a r y in-
s t r u c t i o n at v a r i o u s n o r m a l schools. I n 1912, 
a c o m m i t t e e o n n o r m a l school l i b r a r i e s pre-
p a r e d a syllabus of courses f o r t h e n o r m a l 
school s t u d e n t , f o r t h e p r o s p e c t i v e teacher, 

1 Elizabeth G. Baldwin. Report of the Committee on 
Instruction in Library Administration in Normal 
Schools, ( W i n o n a , M i n n . : National Education Associa-
tion, 1 9 0 6 ) , p. 9. 

a n d f o r t h e p o t e n t i a l school l i b r a r i a n , re-
spectively, to p r o v i d e some u n i f o r m i t y of in-
s t r u c t i o n . 2 

A survey by t h e U . S. B u r e a u of E d u c a t i o n 
in 1914 b r o u g h t r e p l i e s f r o m 166 n o r m a l 
schools, 93 of w h i c h o f f e r e d i n s t r u c t i o n in 
l i b r a r y science, r a n g i n g f r o m a f e w lectures 
to a course c o v e r i n g a p e r i o d of t w o years. 
T w e n t y - n i n e states were r e p r e s e n t e d . 3 F r o m 
a q u e s t i o n n a i r e s e n t t o 125 teachers colleges 
a n d n o r m a l schools i n 1919, M a r y E. R o b b i n s 
f o u n d t h a t 85 o f f e r e d some i n s t r u c t i o n in 
school l i b r a r i a n s h i p , b u t f e w h a d d e f i n i t e 
courses f o r t e a c h e r - l i b r a r i a n s . Miss R o b b i n s 
f o u n d e n c o u r a g e m e n t , however, i n t h e pro-
g r a m s o f f e r e d by five colleges a n d f o u r n o r m a l 
schools i n W i s c o n s i n , w h e r e t h e i n s t r u c t i o n 
was b a c k e d by a f e w o t h e r n o r m a l schools. 
T h e a d v a n t a g e s of school l i b r a r y t r a i n i n g in 
a n o r m a l school w e r e h i g h l i g h t e d , she be-
lieved, by a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e educa-
t i o n a l system of a state a n d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y 
f o r o b s e r v a t i o n a n d p r a c t i c e i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y 
schools usually o p e r a t e d by n o r m a l schools.4 

A l t h o u g h t h e W i l l i a m s o n r e p o r t 5 i g n o r e d 
t h e t e a c h e r - e d u c a t i o n i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d con-
c e n t r a t e d o n t h e fifteen l i b r a r y schools w h i c h 
l a t e r b e c a m e t h e first a c c r e d i t e d schools, in-
s t r u c t i o n i n teachers colleges c o n t i n u e d to 
grow. I n t h e second r e p o r t of t h e B o a r d of 
E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p a sixteen-semes-
t e r - h o u r p r o g r a m f o r t e a c h e r - l i b r a r i a n s to b e 
o f f e r e d by n o r m a l schools, colleges, a n d u n i -
versities was p r o p o s e d as t h e m i n i m u m re-
q u i r e m e n t . Courses in b o o k selection, cata-
loging, c h i l d r e n ' s l i t e r a t u r e , field work, li-
b r a r y w o r k w i t h c h i l d r e n , a n d t e a c h i n g t h e 
use of t h e l i b r a r y i n t h e school w e r e speci-
fied.6 N o p r o v i s i o n was m a d e f o r t h e inspec-
t i o n of schools o f f e r i n g this c u r r i c u l u m o r 
f o r a c c r e d i t a t i o n by t h e B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n 
f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p . F o r f u l l - t i m e school librar-
ians, a thirty-semester-hour p r o g r a m i n a n 
a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y school p r e c e d e d by a t least 
t h r e e years of college w o r k was p r e s c r i b e d . 

2 National Education Association, Journal of Pro-
ceedings and Addresses, 1912, pp. 1258-62. 

3 H e n r y R. Evans. Library Instruction in Universi-
ties, Colleges and Normal Schools, ( W a s h i n g t o n : U . S . 
Govt. P r i n t i n g Office, 1914; U . S . Bureau of Education 
Bulletin, 1914, no. 3 4 ) . 

4 Mary E. Robbins. "Training Teacher-Librarians in 
Normal Schools," Bulletin of the American Library 
Association, X I I I ( 1 9 1 9 ) , 279-81. 

6 Charles C. Williamson. Training for Library Serv-
ice ( N e w York, 1923). 

6 American Library Association, Board of Education 
for Librarianship, Second Annual Report (Chicago: 
A L A , 1926), pp. 73-74. 

316 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



T h e B o a r d expressed t h e h o p e t h a t t h e "gen-
e r a l a d o p t i o n of r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r special 
p r e p a r a t i o n will n o d o u b t h a s t e n a satisfac-
tory r e c o g n i t i o n [of t h e status of school li-
b r a r i e s ] ." 7 

T h i s p r o v e d to b e a f o r l o r n h o p e . T h e 
pressure of d e m a n d s f r o m p u b l i c schools f o r 
l i b r a r i a n s a n d t h e lack of a n y s u p e r v i s i o n of 
l i b r a r y science d e p a r t m e n t s o f f e r i n g less t h a n 
full-fledged l i b r a r y school c u r r i c u l a led t o a 
s i t u a t i o n l i t t l e b e t t e r t h a n b e f o r e t h e issu-
a n c e of t h e s t a n d a r d s . F o u r years l a t e r t h e 
B o a r d n o t e d t h a t " i n a d e q u a t e staff a n d a 
t e n d e n c y to u n d e r r a t e t h e a m o u n t of instruc-
i o n necessary a r e still p r o b l e m s " b u t believed 
t h a t in n u m e r o u s instances t h e m i n i m u m 
s t a n d a r d s h a d a i d e d teachers colleges to se-
c u r e c u r r i c u l a a n d facilities m o r e n e a r l y 
e q u a l to those of t h e l i b r a r y school.8 

T h e r i s i n g u n e m p l o y m e n t of l i b r a r i a n s 
d u r i n g t h e e c o n o m i c d e p r e s s i o n of t h e 1930's 
f o r c e d t h e A L A to t a k e a s t r o n g e r p o s i t i o n 
by d i s c o u r a g i n g a n y increase in non-accred-
ited l i b r a r y science c u r r i c u l a a n d u r g i n g t h e 
a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y schools to l i m i t e n r o l l m e n t 
by s c r u t i n i z i n g t h e q u a l i f i c a t i o n s of a p p l i -
cants m o r e c a r e f u l l y . I n 1935 t h e B o a r d of 
E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p r e p o r t e d t h a t 
t h e most serious i m m e d i a t e p r o b l e m was t h e 
t r a i n i n g agencies o t h e r t h a n l i b r a r y schools. 
M o r e t h a n o n e h u n d r e d i n s t i t u t i o n s i n thir-
ty-three states were o f f e r i n g courses in school 
l i b r a r y service of less t h a n l i b r a r y school cali-
b e r . 9 

A t r i p a r t i t e s o l u t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m of 
e d u c a t i o n of school l i b r a r i a n s was a t t e m p t e d 
in 1935-36 w i t h t h e a d o p t i o n of a n e w set of 
m i n i m u m s t a n d a r d s f o r t e a c h e r - l i b r a r i a n 
t r a i n i n g agencies 1 0 by t h e A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y 
Association in D e c e m b e r , 1934, s u p p l e m e n t -
ed by L u c i l l e F. Fargo's b o o k , Preparation for 
School Library Work,11 and by the report of 
a j o i n t c o m m i t t e e of t h e A m e r i c a n Associa-
t i o n of T e a c h e r s Colleges a n d t h e A m e r i c a n 
L i b r a r y Association o n How Shall We Edu-
cate Teachers and Librarians for Library 
Service in the School?12 Compared with pre-

7 A L A B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p , op. 
cit., p. 38. 

8 ALA Bulletin, X X I V ( 1 9 3 0 ) , 176. 
9 ALA Bulletin, X X X ( 1 9 3 6 ) , 318. 
1 0 A L A B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p , " M i n -

i m u m R e q u i r e m e n t s f o r T e a c h e r - L i b r a r i a n T r a i n i n g 
A g e n c i e s , " ALA Bulletin, X X I X ( 1 9 3 5 ) , 87-90. 

1 1 L u c i l l e F . F a r g o . Preparation for School Library 
Work ( N e w Y o r k : C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 3 6 ) . 

12 N e w Y o r k : C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1936. 

vious a t t e m p t s at h e l p i n g t h e teachers col-
leges to achieve a distinctive n i c h e i n the 
l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n scheme, this was a H e r c u -
l e a n l a b o r . I n t h e n e w s t a n d a r d s , t h e B o a r d 
of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p o u t l i n e d a 
set of g u i d i n g p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h a college 
c o u l d a d a p t to t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of t h e insti-
t u t i o n ' s a c a d e m i c policies. Fargo's b o o k sug-
gested a c u r r i c u l u m f o r teachers a n d teacher-
l i b r a r i a n s i n w h i c h t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g institu-
t i o n s m i g h t i n t e g r a t e w h a t h a d b e e n consid-
e r e d d i s p a r a t e f u n c t i o n s i n t o a p r o g r a m f o r 
t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of l i b r a r y - o r i e n t e d teachers 
a n d teacher-librarians. T h e J o i n t C o m m i t t e e 
p r o p o s e d a syllabus of sixteen semester h o u r s 
f o r teacher-librarians, i n c l u d i n g t h e follow-
i n g courses: h o w t o use t h e library, r e a d i n g 
g u i d a n c e , o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of 
t h e small school library, t h e school l i b r a r y as 
a n i n f o r m a t i o n c e n t e r , a n d o b s e r v a t i o n a n d 
field w o r k . F u l l - t i m e school l i b r a r i a n s were 
e x p e c t e d to receive t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l educa-
t i o n in a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y schools. 

A r e p o r t o n field studies of t h i r t y - t h r e e 
t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s by t h e B o a r d of 
E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p i n 1935-36 rec-
o m m e n d e d t h a t t h e n u m b e r of t r a i n i n g 
agencies be l i m i t e d , t h a t e n r o l l m e n t i n u n -
d e r g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y science courses b e lim-
i t e d to t h e m a x i m u m n u m b e r of teacher-
l i b r a r i a n s justified by a c t u a l d e m a n d , t h a t 
courses f o r t e a c h e r - l i b r a r i a n s b e d e v e l o p e d to 
m e e t t h e n e e d s of p r a c t i c i n g school l i b r a r i a n s 
r a t h e r t h a n c o p i e d f r o m t r a d i t i o n a l l i b r a r y 
school courses, a n d t h a t t e a c h e r - t r a i n i n g in-
s t i t u t i o n s p r o v i d e l i b r a r y i n s t r u c t i o n f o r col-
lege s t u d e n t s a n d school a d m i n i s t r a t o r s as 
well as f o r t e a c h e r - l i b r a r i a n s f o r t h e smaller 
schools.1 3 

A l t h o u g h prospects f o r some standardiza-
t i o n of u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e p a r t m e n t s of l i b r a r y 
science seemed to b e h i g h l y f a v o r a b l e , t h e 
decision of t h e B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r Li-
b r a r i a n s h i p to use t h e m i n i m u m s t a n d a r d s 
f o r advisory r a t h e r t h a n a c c r e d i t i n g p u r p o s e s 
d i l u t e d t h e s t r e n g t h of t h e i r r e c o m m e n d a -
tions. T h e A m e r i c a n Association of T e a c h e r s 
Colleges, too, received t h e r e p o r t of t h e j o i n t 
c o m m i t t e e b u t took n o steps to i m p l e m e n t 
its r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . T e a c h e r s colleges n o w 
f o u n d themselves u r g e d to e x t e n d l i b r a r y 
science courses to p r o v i d e l i b r a r i a n s as well 

13 A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n , The Preparation of 
Teacher-Librarians ( C h i c a g o : A L A , 1 9 3 7 ) . 

JULY, 1956 317 



as teachers f o r t h e p u b l i c schools, yet n o na-
t i o n a l a c c r e d i t i n g agency was w i l l i n g to en-
dorse t h e i r efforts. 

D e b a t e o n t h e p l a c e of t h e teachers col-
lege c o n t i n u e d to h o l d c o n s i d e r a b l e i n t e r e s t . 
M a b l e H a r r i s 1 4 a n d C h a r l e s V. P a r k 1 5 u r g e d 
t h a t t h e colleges e x t e n d t h e i r w o r k in l i b r a r y 
science w h i l e E s t h e r S t a l l m a n 1 6 a n d E a r l U . 
R u g g 1 7 h e l d t h a t teachers colleges s h o u l d 
l i m i t t h e i r efforts to p r e p a r i n g teachers to use 
t h e l i b r a r y m o r e effectively in t h e i r t e a c h i n g . 
O t h e r s believed t h a t t e a c h e r - l i b r a r i a n s f o r t h e 
small schools m i g h t well receive t h e i r t r a i n -
i n g in teachers colleges b u t t h a t such w o r k 
s h o u l d n o t be c o n f u s e d w i t h t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l 
t r a i n i n g of t h e a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y school. 1 8 

T h e s t a n d a r d s e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e r e g i o n a l 
a c c r e d i t i n g agencies a n d state d e p a r t m e n t s 
of e d u c a t i o n a t t e m p t e d to fill t h e v o i d l e f t 
by t h e f a i l u r e of n a t i o n a l b o d i e s to t a k e posi-
tive a c t i o n . State d e p a r t m e n t s of e d u c a t i o n 
i n g e n e r a l r e q u i r e a m i n i m u m n u m b e r of 
credits in l i b r a r y science (the r a n g e is f r o m 
six t o t h i r t y semester h o u r s ) a n d they d o n o t 
d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n colleges t h a t a r e ac-
c r e d i t e d by t h e A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Associa-
t i o n a n d those t h a t a r e n o t . 1 9 

P o s t w a r d e v e l o p m e n t s in l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n 
h a v e b e e n u n s e t t l e d , to p u t it mildly, a n d 
m a r k e d by r e n e w e d studies of e d u c a t i o n f o r 
school l i b r a r i a n s h i p , a g e n e r a l r e v a m p i n g of 
t h e c u r r i c u l a of t h e a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y schools, 
a n d a m i l d r e v o l u t i o n a m o n g a c c r e d i t i n g 
agencies; b u t a n o p t i m i s t can see p r o s p e c t s 
f o r closer c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n u n d e r g r a d u -
a t e a n d g r a d u a t e i n s t r u c t i o n in l i b r a r y 
science, if a m o r e c a r e f u l l y d e f i n e d p i c t u r e 
of t h e p l a c e of t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s 
c a n b e d r a w n . 

I n 1946 t h e T h i r d S o u t h e r n L i b r a r y P l a n -
n i n g C o n f e r e n c e o n t r a i n i n g f o r school li-
b r a r i a n s h i p p r e p a r e d a d e t a i l e d o u t l i n e f o r 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l a of twelve, e i g h t e e n , 
a n d t h i r t y semester h o u r s respectively to pre-

u " T h e Responsibility of the T e a c h e r s College in the 
T r a i n i n g of School L i b r a r i a n s , " Library Journal, L X I I I 
( 1 9 3 8 ) , 259-61. 

15 A m e r i c a n Association of Teachers Colleges, Nine-
teenth Yearbook, 1940, pp. 99-104. 

16 " H o w Shall W e Meet the Challenge P r e s e n t e d by 
the I n c r e a s i n g N e e d for the T r a i n i n g of School Librar-
i a n s ? " Library Journal, L X I I I ( 1 9 3 8 ) , 261-65. 

17 American A s s o c i a t i o n of T e a c h e r s Colleges, Nine-
teenth Yearbook, 1940, pp. 104-10. 

18 ALA Bulletin, X X X I I I ( 1 9 3 9 ) , 82. 
19 Mildred L. Nickel, "Standards and Certification," 

Library Trends, I ( 1 9 5 3 ) , 345-56; F r a n c e s L. Spain, 
" T h e Application of School-Library S t a n d a r d s , " Na-
tional Society f o r the S t u d y of Education, Forty-Sec-
ond Yearbook, P a r t I I ( 1 9 4 3 ) , pp. 269-92. 

p a r e l i b r a r i a n s f o r service in schools of vary-
i n g sizes. T h i s syllabus has b e e n a d o p t e d 
widely in teachers colleges of t h e s o u t h e r n 
states, b u t h e r e a g a i n t h e r e g i o n a l a c c r e d i t i n g 
agency f a i l e d to i m p l e m e n t t h e r e c o m m e n d a -
tions. 

T h e t i m e - h o n o r e d a s s u m p t i o n t h a t teacher-
l i b r a r i a n s r e q u i r e less l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n t h a n 
f u l l - t i m e school l i b r a r i a n s was c h a l l e n g e d by 
R u t h E r s t e d w i t h t h e f o r t h r i g h t s t a t e m e n t 
t h a t " t h e d i c h o t o m y of t r a i n i n g f o r teacher-
l i b r a r i a n s a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s s h o u l d 
be d i s c o n t i n u e d . " 2 0 Most of t h e certification 
r e q u i r e m e n t s of t h e state d e p a r t m e n t s of edu-
c a t i o n , however, still d i f f e r e n t i a t e b e t w e e n 
t h e e d u c a t i o n r e q u i r e d f o r t w o types of serv-
ice. 

T h e d e s i r a b i l i t y of i n t r o d u c i n g library 
science as a n u n d e r g r a d u a t e s u b j e c t was ac-
c e p t e d by t h e a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y schools, al-
t h o u g h n o t w i t h o u t m u c h soul-searching, a n d 
i n 1951 t h e A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association 
a d o p t e d a n e w set of s t a n d a r d s f o r a five-year 
p r o g r a m w h i c h w o u l d c u l m i n a t e in a mas-
ter's degree, w i t h t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n " t h a t 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s offered a t o t h e r in-
s t i t u t i o n s shall be a c c e p t e d by a l i b r a r y school 
i n so f a r as they c o n t r i b u t e to t h e objectives 
of t h e five-year p r o g r a m . " 2 1 

T h e i n i t i a t i o n of a n i n t e r v i s i t a t i o n pro-
g r a m by t h e A m e r i c a n Association of Col-
leges f o r T e a c h e r E d u c a t i o n in 1951 led to 
t h e r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t n o s t a n d a r d s f o r u n d e r -
g r a d u a t e d e p a r t m e n t s of l i b r a r y science ex-
isted, e x c e p t f o r t h e n o w obsolete s t a t e m e n t 
of 1934. A set of t e n t a t i v e s t a n d a r d s was pre-
p a r e d by t h e B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r -
i a n s h i p a n d a p p r o v e d f o r use by t h e A A C T E 
to s u p p l e m e n t t h e association's g e n e r a l stand-
ards. T h e s e s t a n d a r d s w e r e based u p o n t h e 
f o l l o w i n g a s s u m p t i o n s : (1) t h a t t h e u n d e r -
g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m in l i b r a r y science s h o u l d 
b e n o t less t h a n f i f t e e n n o r m o r e t h a n eight-
e e n semester h o u r s in l e n g t h ; (2) t h a t t h e r e 
s h o u l d be a r t i c u l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e u n d e r -
g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s a n d t h e g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y 
school p r o g r a m s i n t h e same a r e a ; (3) t h a t 
in-service t r a i n i n g f o r school l i b r a r i a n s 
s h o u l d b e a v a i l a b l e ; (4) t h a t t h e basic cur-
r i c u l u m s h o u l d be t h e same f o r p a r t - t i m e a n d 

20 " E d u c a t i o n for Library Service to Children a n d 
Y o u t h , " in Education for Librarianship; Papers Pre-
sented at the Library Conference, University of Chi-
cago, August 16-21, 1948. ( C h i c a g o : A L A , 1 9 4 9 ) , p. 
159. 

21 ALA Bulletin, X L V ( 1 9 5 1 ) , 217. 

318 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



f u l l - t i m e l i b r a r i a n s ; a n d (5) t h a t n o instruc-
t i o n b e given by c o r r e s p o n d e n c e . E v a l u a t i v e 
c r i t e r i a based o n these a s s u m p t i o n s were used 
by A A C T E i n s t i t u t i o n s i n t h e i r intervisita-
t i o n p r o g r a m . 

T h e q u e s t i o n of w h a t agency s h o u l d serve 
as a n a c c r e d i t i n g agency f o r u n d e r g r a d u a t e 
l i b r a r y science offerings is still u n a n s w e r e d , 
a n d has b e e n c o n f u s e d by p o s t w a r skirmishes 
i n t h e a c c r e d i t i n g field. A N a t i o n a l Commis-
sion o n A c c r e d i t i n g , established i n 1950 by 
seven m a j o r e d u c a t i o n a l associations in a n 
effort to s t o p o v e r l a p p i n g services a n d re-
q u i r e m e n t s of t h e n u m e r o u s p r o f e s s i o n a l ac-
c r e d i t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s , r e q u e s t e d a m o r a -
t o r i u m o n a c c r e d i t i n g by these o r g a n i z a t i o n s 
f o r 1951-52. T h e A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Associa-
t i o n a n d t h e A m e r i c a n Association of Col-
leges f o r T e a c h e r E d u c a t i o n c o m p l i e d w i t h 
this r e q u e s t a n d t h e f o r m e r b e g a n to w o r k 
o n p l a n s f o r c o o p e r a t i v e a c c r e d i t i n g pro-
cedures to b e carried o n e v e n t u a l l y w i t h t h e 
r e g i o n a l a c c r e d i t i n g agencies. A "cease a n d 
desist o r d e r " was issued by t h e N a t i o n a l Com-
mission in N o v e m b e r , 1952, to e l i m i n a t e all 
a c c r e d i t i n g activities of t h e A L A a n d t h e 
A A C T E a n d to t r a n s f e r this r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to 
t h e r e g i o n a l a c c r e d i t i n g agencies by J a n u a r y , 
1954. Sober t h o u g h t p r e v a i l e d , however, a n d 
t h e o r d e r was m o d i f i e d to p e r m i t t h e A L A t o 
c o n t i n u e its a c c r e d i t i n g u n d e r t h e g e n e r a l 
supervision of t h e N a t i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n to 
allow m o r e t i m e f o r t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of co-
o p e r a t i v e p r o c e d u r e s w i t h t h e r e g i o n a l 
g r o u p s . T h e A A C T E r e l i n q u i s h e d its accred-
i t i n g f u n c t i o n to a n e w o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e Na-
t i o n a l C o u n c i l f o r A c c r e d i t a t i o n of T e a c h e r 
E d u c a t i o n , o n J u l y 1, 1954. 

A t p r e s e n t , t h e teachers colleges t h a t offer 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e courses in l i b r a r y science h a v e 
a set of m i n i m u m s t a n d a r d s p r e p a r e d by a 
B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p w h i c h 
does n o t offer a c c r e d i t a t i o n to t h e m ; they 
a r e i n s p e c t e d by a visiting c o m m i t t e e of t h e 
A m e r i c a n Association of Colleges f o r T e a c h e r 
E d u c a t i o n w h i c h is n o l o n g e r a n a c c r e d i t i n g 
agency; a n d they a r e u r g e d to p r o v i d e school 
l i b r a r i a n s f o r t h e i r r e g i o n by p u b l i c school 
s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s w h o n e e d m a n y m o r e librar-
i a n s t h a n t h e a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y schools can 
h o p e to s u p p l y . 

T H E P R E S E N T S C E N E 

T o l e a r n m o r e a b o u t t h e l i b r a r y science 
courses offered by teachers colleges, t h e fol-

l o w i n g d a t a h a v e b e e n g l e a n e d f r o m t h e cata-
logs of t h e 284 m e m b e r i n s t i t u t i o n s of t h e 
A m e r i c a n Association of Colleges f o r T e a c h -
er E d u c a t i o n . T h e m e m b e r s h i p of t h e 
A A C T E , a n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of teachers 
colleges of e d u c a t i o n in multi-college institu-
t i o n s was chosen as a w o r k a b l e s a m p l e of 
t e a c h e r - e d u c a t i o n colleges. T h e twenty-two 
A A C T E i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h h a v e schools o r 
d e p a r t m e n t s of l i b r a r y science a c c r e d i t e d by 
t h e B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p 
were n o t i n c l u d e d i n this s u m m a r y , n o r were 
colleges w h i c h offer only courses i n t h e use 
of t h e library. T h i s is obviously n o t a study 
of all u n d e r g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y science instruc-
t i o n 2 2 n o r of u n d e r g r a d u a t e library science 
i n s t r u c t i o n offered by all teachers colleges. 

F i f t y - o n e p e r c e n t (145) of t h e colleges i n 
t h e A A C T E offer some u n d e r g r a d u a t e in-
s t r u c t i o n in l i b r a r y science. T h e p r o g r a m s 
r a n g e f r o m a single two- o r three-semester-
h o u r course in l i b r a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n to a 36-
semester-hour c u r r i c u l u m . N e a r l y o n e - f o u r t h 
(36) offer at least 24 semester h o u r s ; half 
(85) of these schools offer 18 semester h o u r s 

o r m o r e ; f o u r - f i f t h s (116) offer 12 semester 
h o u r s o r m o r e . W e c a n n o t be c e r t a i n of t h e 
n u m b e r of s t u d e n t s e n r o l l e d in these courses, 
b u t we can surmise t h a t t h e courses are active 
ones because a c o m p a r i s o n of 132 catalogs of 
f o u r years ago w i t h t h e c u r r e n t ones of t h e 
same i n s t i t u t i o n s shows t h a t o n l y t h r e e of 
these colleges h a v e d r o p p e d l i b r a r y science 
f r o m t h e i r course offerings while m a n y 
schools h a v e a d d e d library science courses 
d u r i n g t h a t time. N i n e of t h e A A C T E insti-
t u t i o n s i n d i c a t e t h a t l i b r a r y science courses 
a r e offered " o n d e m a n d " or in s u m m e r ses-
sions only. T h e colleges o f f e r i n g u n d e r g r a d u -
a t e l i b r a r y science i n s t r u c t i o n a r e located in 
t h i r t y - n i n e states in all sections of t h e c o u n t r y . 
P r o x i m i t y to a n a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y school ap-
p e a r s to be n o d e t e r r e n t to t h e d e v e l o p m e n t 
of l i b r a r y science c u r r i c u l a by teachers col-
leges. Six colleges offer such c u r r i c u l a in Il-
linois, t e n in W i s c o n s i n , seven i n M i n n e s o t a , 
eight in T e x a s , five i n M i c h i g a n , a n d six i n 
T e n n e s s e e . 

W i t h i n t h e colleges, l i b r a r y science r a t e s 
a listing as a d e p a r t m e n t in most (117) of t h e 

22 A t p r e s e n t 579 i n s t i t u t i o n s o f f e r i n s t r u c t i o n i n 
l i b r a r y s c i e n c e a c c o r d i n g t o a p r e l i m i n a r y s t u d y b y t h e 
U . S . Office of E d u c a t i o n of t h e c a t a l o g s of t h e c o l l e g e s 
l i s t e d in i t s Educational Directory, 1954-55. ( L e t t e r 
d a t e d D e c e m b e r 13, 1955, f r o m W i l l a r d O . M i s h o f f , 
s p e c i a l i s t f o r college a n d r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s , U . S . O f -
fice of E d u c a t i o n . ) 

JULY, 1956 319 



colleges, a l t h o u g h i n t w e n t y catalogs l i b r a r y 
science is listed in t h e e d u c a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t , 
i n six schools t h e E n g l i s h d e p a r t m e n t (or de-
p a r t m e n t of languages) is t h e host, a n d o n e 
college h a s a n i n t e r e s t i n g c o m b i n a t i o n de-
p a r t m e n t of special services ( g e o g r a p h y a n d 
l i b r a r y science). I n multi-college i n s t i t u t i o n s 
l i b r a r y science is a d e p a r t m e n t of t h e college 
of e d u c a t i o n e x c e p t i n t w o colleges w h e r e t h e 
college of a r t s a n d sciences assumes t h e ad-
m i n i s t r a t i v e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d i n o n e i n 
w h i c h l i b r a r y science is o f f e r e d i n t h e e v e n i n g 
college. 

O n e - f i f t h (33) of t h e colleges offer a m a j o r 
i n l i b r a r y science a n d n e a r l y 50 p e r c e n t (71) 
o f f e r a m i n o r b u t t h e r e is c o n s i d e r a b l e varia-
t i o n i n t h e n u m b e r of courses r e q u i r e d f o r 
a m a j o r o r m i n o r . A m a j o r m a y consist of as 
few as t w e n t y - f o u r semester h o u r s o r as m a n y 
as thirty-eight, a l t h o u g h t h e f o r m e r r e q u i r e -
m e n t prevails i n eleven of t h e twenty-eight 
colleges o f f e r i n g a m a j o r . A n eighteen-semes-
t e r - h o u r s e q u e n c e is t h e typical r e q u i r e m e n t 
f o r a m i n o r a l t h o u g h t h e r a n g e is f r o m eleven 
a n d o n e - f o u r t h to twenty-seven semester 
h o u r s . H a l f (74) of t h e A A C T E schools offer 
e n o u g h l i b r a r y science elective courses to 
m e e t t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s of r e g i o n a l o r state 
a c c r e d i t i n g agencies b u t h a v e n o p r o v i s i o n 
f o r m a j o r s o r m i n o r s . 

T h e u s u a l p a t t e r n of courses r e q u i r e d o r 
r e c o m m e n d e d to t h e p r o s p e c t i v e school li-
b r a r i a n i n these college catalogs i n c l u d e s a 
course i n b o o k selection, o r b o o k s a n d r e l a t e d 
m a t e r i a l s f o r c h i l d r e n a n d y o u n g p e o p l e , o r 
c h i l d r e n ' s l i t e r a t u r e (in t h e o r d e r of t h e fre-
q u e n c y of o c c u r r e n c e i n t h e catalogs); a 
course i n school l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d 
t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of m a t e r i a l s , o r f u n c t i o n s of 
t h e school l i b r a r y ; a course i n r e f e r e n c e , o r 
t h e l i b r a r y as a n i n f o r m a t i o n c e n t e r ; a n d a 
course i n c a t a l o g i n g a n d classification, o r 
t e c h n i c a l processes. Courses i n supervised li-
b r a r y p r a c t i c e a n d i n audio-visual m a t e r i a l s , 
o r n o n - b o o k m a t e r i a l s , a r e a l i t t l e less likely 
to b e r e q u i r e d o r r e c o m m e n d e d . S e p a r a t e 
courses in r e a d i n g g u i d a n c e , history of p r i n t -
i n g o r history of libraries, t e a c h i n g t h e use of 
libraries, a n d b o o k b i n d i n g a n d r e p a i r a r e 
r e q u i r e d m u c h less f r e q u e n t l y . T h e course i n 
c h i l d r e n ' s l i t e r a t u r e m a y b e t a u g h t by t h e 
E n g l i s h o r e d u c a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t s a n d t h e 
audio-visual course is i n most i n s t a n c e s of-
f e r e d e i t h e r by t h e e d u c a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t or 
by a d e p a r t m e n t of audio-visual i n s t r u c t i o n . 

O n e s h o u l d n o t assume, however, t h a t all 
courses listed i n these catalogs can b e p l a c e d 
i n these n e a t categories. T h e r e a r e a n u m b e r 
of courses, b e a r i n g v a r i o u s names, w h i c h at-
t e m p t to r e l a t e t h e l i b r a r y to t h e school a n d 
t h e c o m m u n i t y , some w h i c h a i m t o give t h e 
s t u d e n t a n o r i e n t a t i o n t o v a r i o u s types of 
l i b r a r i e s a n d a few w h i c h d e a l w i t h special 
types of m a t e r i a l s . I n g e n e r a l , t h e r e is m o r e 
e m p h a s i s o n b o o k s t h a n o n t e c h n i q u e s , m o r e 
o n t h e use of t h e l i b r a r y t h a n o n t h e preser-
v a t i o n of collections, a n d m o r e o n t h e rela-
t i o n of t h e l i b r a r y to t h e classroom t h a n o n 
t h e l i b r a r y as a s e l f - c o n t a i n e d u n i t . 

T h e courses r e q u i r e d in s u b j e c t s o t h e r t h a n 
l i b r a r y science a r e t o o v a r i e d t o b e s u m m a -
rized h e r e , b u t i n g e n e r a l some specialization 
is r e q u i r e d i n a second s u b j e c t i n a d d i t i o n to 
t h e courses i n p r o f e s s i o n a l e d u c a t i o n re-
q u i r e d by t h e s t a t e c e r t i f y i n g agency f o r 
teachers a n d l i b r a r i a n s a n d t h e courses re-
q u i r e d f o r t h e s t u d e n t s ' g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n . 
M o s t l i b r a r y science courses a r e o f f e r e d in 
t h e last two years of college, some i n t h e 
s o p h o m o r e year a n d a very f e w i n t h e fresh-
m a n year. 

C O N C L U S I O N S 

D e b a t e o v e r w h e t h e r o r n o t teachers col-
leges should offer courses f o r school l i b r a r i a n s , 
o n c e a q u e s t i o n f o r s p i r i t e d discussion, n o w 
seems p o i n t l e s s . P r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r y science 
courses are b e i n g o f f e r e d i n teachers colleges 
i n i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s a n d o n e w o u l d b e 
f o o l h a r d y i n d e e d to suggest t h a t these courses 
b e a b o l i s h e d . School officials will c o n t i n u e to 
t u r n t o t h e teachers colleges f o r school l i b r a r -
i a n s as well as f o r teachers of all subjects a n d 
t h e t a x - s u p p o r t e d colleges c a n n o t i g n o r e these 
r e q u e s t s . 2 3 O u r energies m i g h t b e t t e r b e ad-
dressed t o t h e q u e s t i o n of h o w these courses 
can b e s t r e n g t h e n e d a n d m a d e a v i t a l p a r t 
of l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n . 

T e a c h e r s colleges c a n serve a u s e f u l p u r -
pose i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of school l i b r a r i a n s 
by o f f e r i n g l i b r a r y science c u r r i c u l a p r o v i d -
i n g t h e basic i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t b o o k s f o r 
c h i l d r e n a n d adolescents, t h e p r i n c i p l e s of 

23 N o n a t i o n - w i d e s t a t i s t i c s a r e a v a i l a b l e on t h e n u m -
b e r of school l i b r a r i a n s who received t h e i r e d u c a t i o n i n 
n o n - a c c r e d i t e d l i b r a r y science p r o g r a m s , b u t in V i r -
g i n i a 276 of 479 ( 5 7 p e r c e n t ) school l i b r a r i a n s r e c e i v e d 
t h e i r l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n in p r o g r a m s not a c c r e d i t e d by 
t h e A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n . One-half of t h e 
school l i b r a r i a n s in V i r g i n i a r e c e i v e d t h e i r l i b r a r y e d u -
c a t i o n in t e a c h e r s colleges. ( D a t a supplied b y Office 
of School L i b r a r i e s a n d T e x t b o o k s , S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t 
of E d u c a t i o n . ) 

320 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of school 
libraries, t h e r e f e r e n c e sources a p p r o p r i a t e 
f o r e l e m e n t a r y a n d secondary schools, sim-
plified c a t a l o g i n g a n d classification, audio-
visual m a t e r i a l s , a n d supervised school l i b r a r y 
service. A t t h e same time, t h e l i b r a r y science 
offerings s h o u l d e n c r o a c h as little as possible 
o n t h e g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n of t h e s t u d e n t . O n 
t h e basis of t h e l i m i t e d d a t a a v a i l a b l e t h e 
c u r r i c u l u m s h o u l d b e b e t w e e n e i g h t e e n a n d 
t w e n t y - f o u r semester h o u r s in l e n g t h , b u t t h e 
availability of g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y schools a n d 
o t h e r local c o n d i t i o n s s h o u l d g o v e r n t h e 
course offerings. 

T h e s t a n d a r d s p r e p a r e d f o r t h e A A C T E 
will be h e l p f u l to teachers colleges i n assess-
i n g t h e i r l i b r a r y e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s b u t o n e 
m u s t r e m e m b e r t h a t these s t a n d a r d s are t e n t a -
tive a n d t h a t they n e e d f u r t h e r study a n d 
revision i n t h e light of t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h e 
A A C T E i n u s i n g t h e m d u r i n g its four-year 
i n t e r v i s i t a t i o n p r o g r a m . T h e s t a n d a r d s a r e 
m o r e likely to be revised effectively if t h e 
A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association will m a k e cer-
t a i n t h a t t h e d a t a collected by t h e A A C T E 
a r e n o t filed away a n d f o r g o t t e n . 

As soon as satisfactory s t a n d a r d s can b e 
d e v e l o p e d , some f o r m of a c c r e d i t a t i o n m u s t 
be given to t h e d e p a r t m e n t s of l i b r a r y science 
t h a t m e e t these s t a n d a r d s . I n s p e c t i o n of these 
schools is obviously b e y o n d t h e capacity of 
t h e p r e s e n t B o a r d of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r -
i a n s h i p , b u t t h e r e g i o n a l a c c r e d i t i n g agencies 
c o u l d e v a l u a t e d e p a r t m e n t s of l i b r a r y science 
as p a r t of t h e i r e v a l u a t i o n of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n 
w i t h t h e assistance of r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of a n 
e n l a r g e d advisory b o d y of t h e B E L . T h e pro-
fessional advice w o u l d t h e n come f r o m t h e 
n a t i o n a l p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n b u t re-
sponsibility f o r e n f o r c e m e n t w o u l d rest w i t h 
t h e r e g i o n , w h e r e it logically belongs. 

T e a c h e r s colleges can p e r f o r m a u n i q u e 
service t o school l i b r a r i a n s h i p by a d a p t i n g 
t h e i r courses t o m e e t t h e specific n e e d s of 
t h e i r regions, by r e l a t i n g t h e i r i n s t r u c t i o n to 
t h e c u r r i c u l a r t r e n d s of t h e i r state, a n d by 
e n c o u r a g i n g t h e i r strongest g r a d u a t e s to con-
t i n u e t h e i r studies i n a g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y 
school. Effective c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e 
classroom t e a c h e r a n d t h e school l i b r a r i a n 
m u s t b e based o n a n u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e 
p r o b l e m s of t h e teacher, a k n o w l e d g e of t h e 
best practices of successful teachers, a n d a n 
awareness of t h e h i g h p o t e n t i a l in p u b l i c ed-
u c a t i o n . S h a r i n g a c o m m o n u n d e r g r a d u a t e 
career s h o u l d h e l p school l i b r a r i a n s to be-
come colleagues of t h e classroom t e a c h e r i n 
fact as well as o n school o r g a n i z a t i o n a l charts. 

D e s p i t e t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of t h e B o a r d 
of E d u c a t i o n f o r L i b r a r i a n s h i p t h a t " t h e r e 
s h o u l d b e a r t i c u l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e u n d e r -
g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s a n d t h e g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y 
school p r o g r a m s in t h e same a r e a " t h e f a c t 
r e m a i n s t h a t l i t t l e h a s b e e n d o n e to encour-
age such c o o p e r a t i o n . T h e c o o p e r a t i v e p r o -
g r a m s of t h e state colleges a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y 
of O k l a h o m a a n d of R u t g e r s U n i v e r s i t y a n d 
t h e N e w Jersey State T e a c h e r s College a t 
T r e n t o n a r e i n t e r e s t i n g e x c e p t i o n s . T h e r e is 
n o g o o d r e a s o n why u n d e r g r a d u a t e study a t 
a teachers college c o u l d n o t satisfy t h e pre-
requisites f o r admission to a g r a d u a t e l i b r a r y 
school. I t m a y well be t h a t o n e of t h e most 
effective devices f o r r e c r u i t i n g lies in this u n -
t a p p e d field. C e r t a i n l y b o t h t h e g r a d u a t e 
schools a n d t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e p a r t m e n t s 
c o u l d g a i n m u c h f r o m a n e x c h a n g e of ideas, 
of s t u d e n t s , a n d of m u t u a l esteem. P e r h a p s 
t h e first necessary step t o w a r d b u i l d i n g a n 
effective p l a n of e d u c a t i o n f o r l i b r a r i a n s h i p 
f o r all s h o u l d be a r e c o g n i t i o n of t h e v a l u e of 
b o t h types of library e d u c a t i o n . 

Consultants on Reprinting 

T h e A L A C o m m i t t e e o n R e p r i n t i n g , i n 
a n effort to o b t a i n valid a n d r e l i a b l e i n f o r m a -
t i o n c o n c e r n i n g t h e advisability of r e p r i n t -
ing titles i n v a r i o u s fields of interest, h a s 
v o t e d to establish t h r e e p a n e l s as follows: (1) 
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e l i b r a r i a n s f o r t e s t i n g books of 
g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t , (2) l i b r a r i a n s r e p r e s e n t i n g 
special s u b j e c t fields, (3) l i b r a r i a n s a n d o t h e r 
p e r s o n s r e p r e s e n t i n g m a j o r l i b r a r y associa-

t i o n s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s . All of these rep-
resentatives will act as c o n s u l t a n t s f o r t h e 
g e n e r a l C o m m i t t e e o n R e p r i n t i n g . R o b e r t 
E. T h o m a s o n , supervising b i b l i o g r a p h e r , U n i -
versity of N o r t h C a r o l i n a L i b r a r y , is con-
s u l t a n t to t h e c o m m i t t e e a n d official rep-
r e s e n t a t i v e f o r t h e Association of College a n d 
R e f e r e n c e L i b r a r i e s . A n y suggestions of titles 
f o r r e p r i n t i n g s h o u l d be sent to h i m . 

JULY, 1956 321