College and Research Libraries


By M I L D R E D H A W K S W O R T H L O W E L L 

Reading and the Training 
School Library 
Mildred Hawksworth Lowell is research 

assistant to the dean, Graduate Library 

School, University of Chicago. 

OF T H E P R O B L E M S characteristic of a training school library about which 
a teachers college librarian might speak, 
that of reading seems most pertinent and 
appropriate at this time for two reasons. 

First, because the state of the world at 
present and the national defense theme of 
this conference point to a more active 
participation by librarians in the study of 
the influence of reading on public opinion. 
People in democracies need to read with 
intelligence and discrimination in order to 
detect propaganda, to arrive at considered 
judgments, and to achieve a tolerant 
equilibrium. Librarians aid in formulat-
ing the attitudes and opinions of readers 
through the selection and distribution of 
printed materials. Particularly is this true 
of school and college librarians w h o guide 
the reading of the younger generation at 
the time when many of their ideas and 
prejudices are being formed. I t is true 
that librarians try to fit the "right book 
to the right child" and to provide the 
college student with suitable printed mate-
rials on his immediate problems. But, in 
selecting and distributing these materials 
are such factors as the following consid-
ered?—the reading ability of the reader; 
the reading experience or background of 

the reader which will condition how he 
interprets the printed material; and the 
effects on the reader of what he has read. 

The Library the Scene of Action 

Second, because the new education, as 
found in most teachers colleges, is making 
new demands upon the library staff and 
is making reading basic to all the activities 
of the school. Curricular emphasis has 
shifted from textbook-learning to a learn-
ing which involves the whole personality 
of the individual—physiological, physical, 
emotional, mental, and social. T h i s new 
type of teaching and learning situation is 
an active education concerned with relat-
ing the educational program of each boy 
and girl to his or her individual differences 
and capabilities. Pupils search through 
printed materials for that information 
which will help them solve particular 
problems. T h e library rather than the 
classroom is frequently the scene of action 
and the librarian rather than the teacher 
is the guide to the materials of instruction. 
Such a situation makes demands upon the 
librarian which necessitates a broad and 
sufficient knowledge of all areas of read-
ing. 

Perhaps a cursory inspection of the vari-
ous factors involved in reading may help 
training school librarians as well as other 
librarians to visualize more effectively 
their role in democracy and in education. 

226 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



The Larger Conception of Reading 

In the past ten years, the conception of 
reading has broadened from a subject 
limited to the elementary grades taught by 
a few teachers to a subject extending from 
the kindergarten through and beyond col-
lege and taught by all teachers of every 
subject at all levels. Reading is no longer 
considered an isolated skill or an end in 
itself; it is now regarded as one part of 
the broad complicated pattern of com-
munication. Reading has expanded from 
a n a r r o w concern with mechanics to in-
clude the social and emotional aspects of 
reading. 

T h e old n a r r o w conception conceived 
of reading as the process of recognizing 
printed or written symbols. T h i s involved 
accuracy in recognizing words and phrases, 
rhythmical progress of perceptions along 
lines, comprehension, and speed. T h e 
concept today is far more comprehensive 
as it also includes a clear grasp of the 
meaning implied, an accurate understand-
ing of the facts and ideas presented, and 
an integration of the ideas into definite 
thought and action patterns. T h e reader's 
apprehension of meaning involves his back-
ground of related experiences, his enlarge-
ment of previous concepts, and his 
acquisition of new experiences. Inherent 
in this broader definition of reading is the 
concept that reading is a form of experi-
ence which modifies personality, deepens 
understanding, stimulates intellectual and 
emotional growth, and alters behavior. 

Facts about reading do not fit any 
one academic discipline but overlap sev-
eral fields. Education, psychology, li-
brarianship, sociology, publishing, political 
science, journalism, and literature all 
contribute to the knowledge of reading. 
Scholars and students working in the dif-
ferent areas of reading are inclined to 

think of reading in their own field and to 
neglect studies of reading in other fields. 
Psychologists are apt to think of reading 
in terms of nerve responses; physiologists 
in terms of physical aspects of the eye and 
e a r ; educators in terms of how to teach 
reading; librarians in terms of " w h o reads 
w h a t ; " and sociologists in terms of the 
propaganda effects of reading. Each of 
these areas is essential to an understanding 
of reading. One might think of reading 
as a crystal with many faces, each face of 
which presents a different aspect or area. 

T h e field of reading might be divided 
into the following four m a j o r divisions: 
( I ) the physiological aspects of the read-
ing process, ( 2 ) the social uses and effects 
of reading, ( 3 ) the content analysis of 
publications, and ( 4 ) the methodology of 
reading instruction. 

The Physiological Aspects of the Reading 

Process 

T h i s is logically of first consideration 
since an individual must have the neces-
sary physical equipment before he is able 
to read. In this field, the following types 
of information contribute to the reading 
a c t : the individual's visual, vocal, and 
mental processes; his breathing apparatus; 
his bodily movements; and hygienic condi-
tions of the body conducive to reading. 
Reading studies in this field include eye-
movements, fixation pauses, regressions, 
span of recognition, perception, or recog-
nition of words, apprehension of meanings 
and pronunciations, reading readiness or 
degree of maturity of the individual, and 
amount of light necessary for effective and 
comfortable vision. 

Knowledge of these aspects of reading 
are useful to librarians in several ways. 
First, such information directly affects the 
planning of library buildings. Provision 

JUNE, 1941 22 7 



should be made for keeping the reader's 
body in a good reading position, for tables 
of proper height and shape, for enough 
foot-candles of light at every place where 
reading will be engaged in, and for quiet 
congenial surroundings. Second, such in-
formation makes librarians aware of the 
disabilities or the difficulties which readers 
may be experiencing. Being aware of the 
difficulties makes for much more under-
standing and helpful service on the part 
of the library staff. I n the third place, 
such information helps in building a book 
collection suitable for the mental and 
physical abilities of the young people in the 
school or college. For example, because 
ophthalmologists are agreed that the eye 
reaches maturity by the time the child is 
eight or nine years of age or earlier, it 
has been found that young children read 
fairly small type more easily than they 
do large type.1 T h i s means that librarians 
need no longer search for books written 
in large type for kindergarten and first-
grade children. 

The Social Uses and Effects of Reading 

If an individual has the necessary 
physiological equipment for reading, read-
ing as a social process is the next logical 
consideration. T h i s includes: the cul-
tural, social, and physical conditions affect-
ing publishing activity; the distribution 
and availability of reading materials; the 
traits and motivations of readers; the re-
action to and use of the ideas apprehended ; 
and the effects of reading on the individual 
and on the group. T h e social uses of 
reading need to be studied in relation to 
other social agencies and influences. 

1 N a t i o n a l Society f o r t h e S t u d y of E d u c a t i o n . 
36th Yearbook, Pt. 1: "Teaching of Reading: a 
Second Report." P u b l i c School P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y , 
B l o o m i n g t o n , 111., 1937, p. 231-32. 

I t has only been within the last decade 
that systematic and scientific programs of 
research in the sociology of reading have 
been undertaken. A recent book2 reviews 
the pertinent literature in this field and 
brings together w h a t is known about the 
subject by advertisers, publishers, authors, 
teachers, librarians, and publicity agents. 
T h e writers of this book point out that 
clarity in discussing the effects of reading 
demands attention to the following five 
major factors: 3 

(1) the social context (folkways and group 
conflicts and personal conditions), which ex-
plains the publication of some writings and 
non-publication of others; (2) the methods 
of distributing publications, which explain 
the variations between what different groups 
of people would prefer to read and what they 
do read; (3) the differences among the pub-
lications themselves, which explain why and 
how some are more influential than others; 
and (4) the different predispositions of read-
ers, which explain why the same publication 
will incite one reader to revolutionary action, 
will be vigorously condemned by another, 
and will be ignored or read with apathy by 
a third. T o these, for logical completeness, 
should be added a fifth; namely, (5) the 
influence of other communications than read-
ing, since the influences of radio, films, public 
speeches, or private conversations may either 
reinforce or offset the influences of reading 
as such. 

Reading studies of this type clarify the 
pressing problem of analyzing public opin-
ion. Since schools and libraries should be 
interested in controlling the influences of 
reading in the public interest, educators 
and librarians should seek to apply these 
factors to their practical working situa-
tions in order to facilitate such control. 
Librarians could encourage desirable read-

2 W a p l e s , D o u g l a s ; B e r e l s o n , B e r n a r d ; a n d B r a d -
shaw, F r a n k l y n R. What Reading Does to People: 
a Summary of Evidence on the Social Effects of 
Reading and a Statement of Problems for Research. 
T h e U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago P r e s s , 1940. 

3 Ibid., p. 9. 

228 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



ing by proper control of book selection, of 
distribution, and of other factors which 
can be controlled. 

Content Analysis of Publications 

T h e reading content of publications is 
responsible for many of the differences be-
tween the social effects of reading and the 
social effects of other communications and 
other experiences. Content analysis seeks 
to describe publications with primary at-
tention to their influences upon typical 
readers. T h e r e are several ways of an-
alyzing content. For example, advertisers 
and propagandists analyze in terms of the 
effectiveness of publications in exploiting 
the consumer and the citizen. Social 
scientists analyze publications to describe 
changes in social attitudes or indications 
of social conflicts and processes. T h i s field 
is just developing and can be expected to 
contribute substantially to the sociology of 
reading in the near f u t u r e . 

"Basic English" or the semantic ap-
proach is one form of content analysis 
which has achieved considerable notice re-
cently. It investigates multiple meanings, 
generalizations or abstractions, and the 
relations between thought and feelings in 
language. It attempts to bring words 
closer to experience and experience closer 
to words. I t recognizes that communica-
tion and thinking are inseparable. T h e 
persons who have probably done the most 
in this field a r e : C. K. Ogden,4 I. A. 
Richards,5 and Alfred Korzybski.6 Stuart 
Chase attempted to popularize the idea of 
s e m a n t i c s in his Tyranny of Words.7 

* O g d e n , C. K., a n d R i c h a r d s , I . A . The Meaning 
of Meaning; 5th ed. K e g a n P a u l , T r u b n e r & Co., 
L t d . , 1938. 

5 R i c h a r d s , I . A. Interpretations in Teaching. 
H a r c o u r t , 1938. 

" K o r z y b s k i , A l f r e d . Science and Sanity: an 
Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and Gen-
eral Semantics; 2d ed. T h e Science P r e s s , 1940. 

1 Chase, S t u a r t . The Tyranny of Words. H a r -
c o u r t , 1938. 

Count Korzybski has an Institute of Gen-
eral Semantics in Chicago which is attract-
ing students from all parts of the country. 

Methodology of Reading Instruction 

T h i s division of reading is placed last 
because it is based on the preceding three. 
Reading cannot be taught intelligently un-
less the teacher has a thorough compre-
hension of each of the above phases of the 
reading problem. Each of the factors 
which have been isolated and determined 
in the other three areas of reading must 
be related to the teaching situation. As 
research in all areas of reading progresses, 
the conceptions of the nature and character 
of reading change. These new factors 
and changes inevitably influence the role of 
reading in education. T h i s latter area 
includes organization of the reading 
curriculum; determination of grade place-
ment and time allotment for specific 
reading activities; selection and study of 
reading materials and vocabulary; develop-
ment of basic habits and skills, method of 
teaching, and tests and measurements; and 
remediation and diagnosis of reading prob-
lems and disabilities. 

In the past, reading instruction has been 
limited to the lower elementary grades. 
But because of the widespread criticism of 
the inability of college students to read, 
there are indications that in the years just 
ahead reading instruction will be part of 
the instructional program of all schools 
from first grade through college. T h e 
type of instruction for the upper levels 
will be radically different from that taught 
in the lower grades; and might include the 
characteristics of inductive and deductive 
thinking, the techniques of critical inter-
pretation and evaluation, and the elements 
of logic and scientific method. 

Mortimer J . Adler's currently popular 

JUNE, 1941 229 



How to Read a Book8 is pertinent to this 
phase of reading. D r . Adler points out 
that reading extends all the way up to 
the bachelor's degree; and that the tech-
niques of communication are the first obli-
gation of a sound educational program in 
a democracy which depends upon a literate 
electorate.9 

Conclusion 

I n view of the changed conception of 
reading in recent years, of recent research 
which reveals the importance of the ef-
fects of reading, and of the extension of 
reading instruction up through college, is 
it not logical to ask w h a t active part the 
school and college librarian is to play in 
the f u t u r e ? 

T h i s enlarged concept of reading re-
quires a broader and more extensive 

8 A d l e r , M o r t i m e r J . How to Read a Book, the 
Art of Getting a Liberal Education. S i m o n a n d 
S c h u s t e r , 1940. 

9 Ibid., pp. 80-81. 

knowledge of books than individual teach-
ers ordinarily possess; and it requires a 
greater knowledge of reading than li-
brarians ordinarily possess. A t present in 
most schools and colleges reading is every-
one's and no one's business. Because of 
the increasing importance of all four of 
the reading areas herein outlined, it would 
seem that schools and colleges may find it 
necessary to have some one person as a 
director of reading or director of uses of 
print. Should this person be teacher or 
librarian? Either would have to know 
much more about all aspects of reading 
than most do at present. In addition, the 
teacher would have to know more about 
books. Since librarians already possess 
knowledge of books, they might be the 
logical persons to direct the uses of print 
if they are willing to prepare themselves 
in the physiological, sociological, analyti-
cal, and educational areas of reading. 

230 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES