College and Research Libraries Training Program for Library Technicians IN A RECENT ARTICLE on "Personnel Short- ages," Donald Strout suggested certain points to be considered in connection with the present problem of filling li- brary positions. He stated that libraries could "Establish the importance of the clerical and his desirability over the pro- fessional in certain aspects of library op- eration; improve his salary structure; and develop a program of clerical recruit- ment." He also suggested possible utili- zation of professional personnel more ef- fectivel y through replacement by clerical workers. 1 In the last few years librarians fre- quently have discussed the possibility of establishing a new category of library workers, to fall between the librarian and the clerical in training, duties, and salary. Whether or not the libraries es- tablish a separate technician level in their job classification plans, there is a need for people trained to follow the direc- tions of the librarian in certain clerical and technical duties. Four years ago Ferris State College, Big Rapids, Michigan, established a li- brary technology program. Although preparations for this type of training had begun in 1958, no students were enrolled until September 1959. As stated in re- ports and records, there was assistance and counsel from many able librarians and close cooperation with the Michigan State library at Lansing. Through the efforts of the college ad- ministrators and others, the plan to train technicians took the form of a two-year program. V\Tith the aid of an advisory committee made up of staff members 1 Donald F. Strout, " Personnel Shortages: The Library Profes sion's Number One Problem." L ibrary Journal, LXXXVII (January 1962), 41. NOVEMBER 1963 Bv BERNICE E. HEADINGS Miss Headings is Director-Instructor in the Library T echnician Program of Ferris Stat e College, Big Rapids, Michigan. from different types of libraries within the state, a curriculum was planned, lead- ing to an Associate of Applied Science degree. The program was organized as one of the offerings of the Collegiate Technical Division of the institution and not as an adjunct to the library. At the same time there was splendid coopera- tion with the library. From the first, Ferris has recognized the importance of a strong background of general education courses in the sci- ences, the social sciences, and the human- ities. Requirements are fifty-six quarter credits in the liberal arts, sixteen in sec- retarial work, and twenty-one in library technology. This curriculum stresses the importance of practice work, and ar- rangements are made for it in the three libraries of Big Rapids: the High School library, the Big Rapids Community li- brary, and the Ferris State College li- brary. . Since the purpose of the courses has been to provide competent people to as- sist the librarian, there has been a stress upon flexible training: a background in the philosophy of library service; filing; simple reference work; routine corre- spondence, and following directions in simple cataloging, copying cards, circula- tion procedure and book ordering. The first, basic course, Effective Use of the Library, has been built around a term paper. Using Margaret Cook's New Li- brary Key as a textbook, the students have considered libraries as a whole, 481 then the use of the Ferris State College library in particular. While the lectures have stressed the Dewey decimal system, the use of the card catalog, and reference books, the two-hour laboratory period has been devoted to the supervision of the search for materials. As students make their working bibliography on cards, they start learning the structure of the catalog card. Later they use indexes and compile a section on periodicals, fol- lowed by pamphlets, if appropriate. The note cards, the outlines, and prefaces ~ must be approved before the paper is be- gun. Finally, a typed bibliography and footnotes are required. When the project is completed, the students have not only produced a theme, but have learned to use the library. While the course in Book Selection in- corporates certain basic principles in choosing books and building libraries, the emphasis has been on the activities connected with acquisition work: pre- paring multiple order slips and order sheets, computing prices from invoices, entering items on financial record sheets, making annotations, and performing sim- ilar duties. The course in Reference is taught more or less in the traditional manner, with many lists of reference questions, class discussions, and at least one biblio- graphical assignment. In the second year, the students take specialized courses of study such as Cata- loging, Circulation, and Library Prob- lems. They learn to copy cards and to do simple cataloging. They become familiar with registration procedures, problems connected with the care of books, han- dling fines, library displays, and various types of circulation systems. During this time they have experience in preparing bibliographies, writing short papers, and handling extraneous materials. In the winter and spring sessions the students have six hours per week of prac- tice, working under actual library condi- tions. The total number of hours of ex- perience is approximately 120. There has been an effort to provide a wide va- riety of tasks, with little duplication. The experience of assisting with acquisition work and cataloging has been provided mainly in the college library, while the inventory and shelf-reading tasks have been stressed in the other libraries. Also, the college library has provided experi- ence in filing and circulation. While the students have had a variety of experience in all of the libraries, it is hoped that in the future it will be possible to provide more circulation experience in the pub- lic and school libraries. During the last few years much time has been given to experimentation in teaching methods and to planning. Flex- ibility, it is anticipated, will continue to play an important part in the actual re- sults of this program. From the beginning, Ferris has faced a problem in recruitment. The Michigan State library has made a valuable contri- bution by offering four student scholar- ships per year to the new students. That agency has been active in promoting the program and has given statewide pub- licity to the availability of the scholar- ships . Both Ferris and the state library have prepared leaflets concerning the program, and particularly the scholar- ships. A deterrent to higher enrollments has been the fact that there are few tech- nician positions on existing job classifica- tion charts. Students hesitate to take the program because they are uncertain about their chances for advancement within a library, although it is of course hoped that as their availability becomes more widely known they will increas- ingly be called upon to fill assignments on a middle or semi-professional basis. The use of library technicians, it would seem, could do much to release profes- sional people for tasks requiring grad- uate training. • • 482 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES