College and Research Libraries


By E L E A N O R W E I R W E L C H 

Libraries and the 
Coming of "Workshops11 

This summary of the relation of the li-

braries in teacher training institutions to 

the currently popular "workshops" was 

prepared at the request of College and Re-

search Libraries by Miss Welch, who is 

librarian of Illinois State Normal Univer-

sity at Normal. 

WORKSHOP" has become a widely used term in today's education. It 
signifies an idea to which the conference, 

the institute, the meeting, the clinic, the 

discussion group have given way. Loosely 

used, the word can apply to any session for 

discussion of problems. Such a session 

may last from three days to twelve weeks. 

Usually it is held in the summer, taking 

the place of the customary summer school. 

Workshops seem to have crept upon 

libraries in educational institutions with-

out making much impression upon them. 

Perhaps this is because librarians are so 

used to experiments and shifts in educa-

tional method. W e have lived through 

the period when the lecture was the proper 

technique. W e have seen lectures give 

way to "practice," where the criterion was 

the "practical nature" of the course with 

"practice" by students. W e have seen the 

seminar fail because it signified too much 

research and smacked of European influ-

ences. T h e "project" is fading. T h e 

"curriculum laboratory" has not been ac-

cepted generally. T h e "activity school" 

is still a popular form. " T o learn by 

doing" has come into as much favor in the 

college of education as in the elementary 

school. This, coupled with the recogni-

tion of "individual needs," has produced 

the workshop. T h e name tells the com-

munity that the teacher is a worker, part 

of the world's labor; that Shaw is wrong 

when he says, " T h o s e who can, do; those 

who can't, teach." Unfortunately, this 

cliche* has been too often believed, and 

now the term "workshop" has come into 

popularity to disprove it. T h e teacher 

works and like any other worker needs a 

shop in which to learn his job. 

T h e workshop came into existence in 

the summer of 1936, when at Ohio State 

University a group of thirty-five experi-

enced teachers met for six weeks for a 

curriculum in science and mathematics 

for the high school under the aegis of the 

Eight-Year Study of the Commission on 

the Relation of School and College of the 

Progressive Education Association. Rep-

resentatives of other important studies, 

viz., the Commission on Secondary Cur-

riculum, the Adolescent Study, and the 

Commission on Human Relations, took 

part. T h e scheme developed phenome-

nally. Each succeeding summer, East, 

West, North, and South, more and more 

workshops came into being. Discussions 

of their advantages began to appear in 

1938, and since then over 134 articles 

have been printed in the more important 

educational periodicals. T h e articles are 

v 142 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



full of the advantages the participants 

(those attending are "participants," not 

"students") have had in free discussions 

in groups with like background, in solving 

like problems, in increased understanding 

of community situations, and in renewed 

personal life. But there are surprisingly 

few references to books and libraries in 

this literature; to be specific, only some 

twenty-four references of any importance. 

Is it because books and ideas in other 

forms of print are taken for granted; or 

is it because the leaders are somewhat 

iconoclastic, believing, to quote one of 

them, "that to a particular community 

almost all needed resources are available. 

Books are used to lend dignity to a gradu-

ate course and to make some people happy 

who weren't ready to learn that educa-

tion comes from solving real problems 

rather than from reading about how to 

solve them." Does he forget that unless 

new notions come into the community, 

either through print or the inspiration of 

a leader of wide vision and reading, it 

cannot change nor can it solve its prob-

lems? A s M r . V i t z says, "Books are 

merely the package which contains all 

ideas." W i t h infrequent reference to 

books, the participants will have few ideas 

to digest and the summer may become a 

talkfest or a playground. 

Technique of the Workshop 

T h e technique of the workshop does 

not present a uniform pattern nor is it a 

complete revolution in educational prac-

tice. There have been many attempts to 

make learning functional by utilizing a 

variety of methods and the total resources 

of the community and of the college, and 

many to integrate theory with the daily 

needs of the job in a particular school. 

T h e workshop method seems most use-

ful in two situations, the first being that 

of the experienced teacher who comes back 

to college to complete study for a bache-

lor's degree or to do graduate work after 

years in the classroom. T o this type of 

mature student the conventional class, 

based on recitation, assigned readings (not 

always up to date), and lectures by an 

instructor long removed from the public 

schools, who may talk glibly of an out-

moded "ideal school," has little to offer 

beyond credit. T h e participant comes to 

the workshop for light on special prob-

lems that have grown out of his actual 

classroom. H e wants to know about voca-

tional guidance, about special tests, about 

building a practical curriculum in some 

given subject, about the effect of this war 

on adolescents, about school child health 

problems, about the wider use of collateral 

materials, or about the use of nonschool 

community resources in the classroom. 

He frequently comes not only for himself 

but as a representative of his school sys-

tem. He is to take back from his summer1 

workshop the solutions for definite prob-

lems. T o provide these, the workshop, 

according to the participant, must possess 

the following characteristics. It must 

have flexibility of organization. It must 

proceed without the fixed syllabi of the 

conventional classroom. It must place 

its emphasis on the problems and needs 

of the individual student. T h e unified 

cooperation of the instructional staff and 

of the resources of the college must be 

at the disposal of the participant. 

H o w does the college library fit into 

the picture? W h a t changes has the tech-

nique brought about in the library's meth-

od? For an answer to this, letters were 

sent to the libraries of the teachers col-

leges most frequently mentioned in the 

literature on the workshop. T h e con-

MARCH, 1944 143 



sensus of opinion secured was that the 

workshop groups involved were so limited 

in relation to the student body as a whole 

— n o t more than 100 in any session—that 

no change in library policy was justified. 

Such groups should, of course, have library 

service but not undue attention—no more 

than the proportion offered any other sec-

tion of students on the campus. 

Five of the colleges questioned had been, 

offering workshops since 1939. In three 

cases the library was unaware there was 

to.be a workshop until the day it began. 

In eight the librarians or some members of 

the staff were on the "planning commit-

tees." In these instances the librarians 

knew the probable scope of the problems 

to be treated. Librarians and leaders dis-

cussed the library holdings in the fields, 

where the collection was weak, what new 

items to secure in time to be of use. In 

two cases workshop leaders acknowledged 

the librarians' help and indebtedness to 

their bibliographic knowledge of the fields 

,to be covered. 

Special Collections 

In five instances materials chosen as 

pertinent to the problems of the workshop, 

such as books and pamphlets on the high 

school curriculum in home economics, the 

health of the elementary child, and social 

science materials for junior high schools, 

were arranged in seminar rooms before 

the groups arrived. O n e library reported 

the transfer to the workshop conference 

room of 2500 courses of study, sample 

textbooks, and tests to be used in the work-

shop or to be checked out as the students 

decided. T h i s collection was added to as 

need arose for special materials. O f 

course at the same time all other library 

resources were available to the workshop. 

In four instances alcoves or tables in 

the reference room were set aside for the 

special use of participants. O n these ta-

bles were displayed books and periodicals 

with marked articles for quick consulta-

tion. In a few instances collections of 

library holdings were sent to other build-

ings on the campus or nearby. In one 

it was to the student union, in another 

to a center on a lake fifteen miles away. 

In such cases there were complaints 

that often desired references were lack-

ing and that it took too long to get 

them. A s a result, the work was delayed 

or interest was lost. In one college a 

suite of rooms was set aside for the work-

shop. O n e of the rooms became the li-

brary, "with a good work collection trans-

ferred from the department and the col-

lege library." Here were bulletin boards 

for reviews of books, for book lists, and 

for student comments on pertinent articles, 

all under a library committee of par-

ticipants. It was, in fact, a small library 

of its own. 

These out-of-the-library deposits were 

made from duplicate library holdings or 

with the understanding that materials 

would be called in if needed by other col-

lege groups. Wherever the special collec-

tions were, they were available at least 

seven hours a day and usually for all the 

hours the library building was open, an 

average of fourteen hours daily. One col-

lege library was arranged in such a way 

that the seminar room used by the 

workshop could be made available on Sun-

day when the rest of the building was 

closed. Other libraries made no special 

room arrangements for the workshop 

groups. 

T h e materials employed vary greatly. 

T w o libraries reported the use of library-

owned records and films; two others say 

records were used but owned by the in-

v 144 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



structors. A s a whole, 55 per cent of the 

printed matter consulted was in book 

form. T h e other 45 per cent was courses 

of study, textbooks in use in the public 

schools, and state and federal pamphlet 

material. W h e n the problems touched 

the community, heavy use was made of 

publications of the state agricultural divi-

sion and of the United States Department 

of Agriculture. One librarian of a state 

university reported that all books and 

other printed materials on hand were, as 

far as he knew, the property of the in-

structors. T h e y preferred to use their 

own, with which they were familiar. 

Otherwise, about 65 per cent of the ma-

terials were library owned; the rest, 

either the property of the workshop fac-

ulty or of the college departments in-

volved. T h i s latter is made up of 

advanced copies of new titles or ephemera. 

It is the sort of material that is mimeo-

graphed, such as collections of course 

descriptions, evaluation instruments, ex-

periments in a particular school system, 

and personnel forms, much mention being 

made of government reports and pam-

phlets. 

Librarian Assigned to Workshop 

In but one instance was a librarian as-

signed to give part-time service to the 

workshop, though all libraries indicated 

some conference with workshoppers. One 

librarian writes, "These workshops came 

into existence when our enrolment was 

low and our staff still intact. Perhaps 

later we might need extra help." In four 

cases the workshop group chose a number 

or a committee of the workshop to bring 

in new material, and this individual or 

committee was responsible to the library 

for its return. In each case the group 

made its own rules, and "so there was 

no feeling of authority." T h i s feeling of 

constraint is more irksome to mature stu-

dents attending summer schools than most 

librarians realize. 

W h e n new items were bought for the 

use of the workshop, in four cases the 

money came from the college fund set 

aside for the summer workshop; in one, 

from a fee of a dollar charged each par-

ticipant in the workshop; in another, from 

the library budget of the college depart-

ment. In all other instances the money 

was from the general library fund. 

In no case was a separate record kept 

of the use of materials. One library 

added the statistics to those of its branches, 

and in all other instances the circulation 

record was part of the general college cir-

culation statistics. O f course, the very 

plan of the workshop means frequent use 

of material in groups for discussion pur-

poses and seminar room consultation. It 

is the type of heavy use librarians all hope 

for but cannot estimate in circulation 

numbers. 

Special Exhibits 

Some libraries report special exhibits of 

materials for the workshops. A t times 

it has been recreational books for the lei-

sure time of the workshoppers (if they 

have any) ; or titles that would interest 

their pupils, such as health books on the 

elementary school level or volumes on 

home decoration for high school home eco-

nomics pupils. In two cases a library 

assistant was in attendance an hour or two 

a day to suggest other titles and to aid 

buying for the home schools. One li-

brary arranged for book luncheons for the 

workshop. Here titles of certain types 

for elementary schools were discussed, one 

day being given to books of travel, another 

to aviation books, another to vocational 

MARCH, 1944 145 



material, another to books for a special 

grade, or another to picture books for young 

children. 

W h a t do the participants say of the 

library service of the workshop? N o t a 

great deal. But a goodly number report 

that they find themselves using a greater 

variety of source material (by this they 

mean maps, movies, government pam-

phlets, magazines) when they return to 

their jobs because of their touch with 

the workshop library. Others regret "the 

lack of time during the summer to digest 

the book resources in our room." A n -

other feels the "need of someone whose 

job it is to know children's books so I 

can talk about my children's reading." 

Several report they have compiled lists 

of books they really want to read during 

the winter, while another says, "I've al-

ways been afraid of all the library has 

until this summer, when we had the books 

I needed in one place." One of the fail-

ings of the workshop was, in several stu-

dents' eyes, the fact that there was no one 

to show them ways of using the library 

quickly without waste of precious time. 

Since the problems under consideration 

in all the workshops reporting dealt di-

rectly with public school' situations and 

since in most cases the practice schools of 

the college were laboratories, the libraries 

of the demonstration or practice schools 

were used heavily. In some instances 

they transferred collections to the work-

shop rooms. In all cases the pupils were 

watched to see what they read and how. 

A t some places the workshoppers had in-

terviews with pupils as to their tastes, 

their purposes, and the amount of their 

reading. M a n y times the practice school 

librarian had more contact with partici-

pants and gave more aid than any other 

librarian on the campus. 

Off-Campus Workshops 

Such is the picture of the campus work-

shop. There is, on the other hand, the 

off-campus workshop that is taking the 

place of the familiar extension class or the 

short-term teachers institute. T h e tech-

nique seems especially fitted to give some 

training to the emergency worker or to the 

largely unprepared rural teacher. Every 

part of the country today has large num-

bers of semitrained new teachers or in-

structors returning after the lapse of years 

to the classroom—all teaching on emer-

gency certificates for the duration of the 

war. T h i s year Kentucky alone has 2200 

such persons. T h e y have little money for 

going to school, little grasp of present-day 

school needs, and less vision of what a 

modern school should be. Public school 

leaders have asked the schools of educa-

tion in their vicinities to send instructors 

to convenient centers to conduct work-

shops, hoping in this way to give through 

in-service education some acquaintance 

with teaching materials and through study 

and discussion of actual classroom prob-

lems to convey an awareness of the school 

and the community. Such centers rarely 

have adequate libraries at hand. T h e in-

structors must gather them. Ordinarily 

what can be secured is a combination of 

books from the local public library, the 

local school library, the school administra-

tor's office, the libraries of the instructors, 

and the sponsoring college library, plus 

perhaps a few gifts. In some cases the 

collection is good, though usually it is 

lacking in reference material. It was 

found in the off-campus workshops in both 

Kentucky and Michigan that more plan-

ning was necessary before the group met 

than when the workshop was on a college 

campus. During the years when a li-

v 146 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



brarian was a member of the planning 

staff the situation was relatively satis-

factory. N o matter how well the instruc-

tors may see the students' library needs, 

the material must be obtained; and when 

someone with library training is in charge 

of securing the material, it is used more 

and to better purpose. From Kentucky, 

D r . Seay, director of the Bureau School 

Service of the University of Kentucky, 

wrote in 1943 regarding the off-campus 

centers: 

W e have found it very desirable to add 
our special library collection to whatever 
library facilities are available in the com-
munities. In the workshop which I am to 
direct this summer we shall place our li-
brary in with the high school library. 

W e have had no difficulty in keeping our 
workshop library open and available 
throughout the day. W e simply keep it 
open all the time when students are there, 
with at least one staff member present. In 
fact, we so plan our library that a very 
large part of the time of all the students is 
spent in it. I might be more correct to say 
that the library is not a separate feature of 
the workshop but that it is woven into the 
entire plan. W e have two or more rooms 
set up with tables and chairs and our li-
brary materials. Except for the group 
meetings and individual conferences and for 
the time when teachers are observing in the 
demonstration school, the students are work-
ing in these rooms where the library ma-
terials are available. 

T h i s is a setup very like that of on-

campus groups. A f t e r the workshops were 

over, the collected material was kept in a 

library for teachers in the county seat or 

distributed among the various schools of 

the section. 

For Michigan, Miss Beust has re-

ported that: 

Students' contacts with the library 
through the workshop and all the services 
that the library could offer them increased 

their interest in library work. In fact out 
of the workshop at Charlotte, Mich., there 
grew a county-wide library association. 
The librarian worked with the elementary 
and high school teachers, the workshop stu-
dents, and the faculty. 

Conclusions 

There are several lessons that can be 

drawn from this sketchy picture of the 

workshop on and off campus. There is 

little mention of books and libraries in 

educational literature on the subject, 

either because our services are so familiar 

they are assumed or because the leaders of 

the movement feel that "the librarian 

trained to get and classify material in the 

forlorn hope that someone might need it, 

could have put the whole program on the 

college campus level where all the answers 

could be found in books and no one dis-

turbed by it." If there is any bit of truth 

in this quoted statement, it is time college 

librarians hid the mechanics of library 

housekeeping. It is time they showed an 

alert interest in the material in books, in 

people, in teaching problems, and in com-

munity betterment. It is time we ceased 

to be interested in circulation figures but 

became interested in answering the needs 

of our students' jobs through books—even 

if it means for us the reading of many 

books on the curriculum and on health 

and on child psychology. It is time we 

made our coworkers and our students feel 

our willingness to experiment. Whenever 

a new "ism" springs up, be it in religion 

or economics or education, it is because a 

particular phase or emphasis has been 

lost to sight in current thinking. T h e 

workshop stresses personality and infor-

mality—the easy personal approach to the 

instructor, the importance of the personal 

problems of the individual student, and 

(Continued on page 181) 

MARCH, 1944 147 



and praiseworthy, but to raise so much in 

theory may result in no raise in practice. 

Administrators and boards of trustees will 

be hard-pressed to use the committee's 

minimum and maximum figures as a yard-

stick to measure current salary schedules. 

T h e theory is so far above the practice that 

the theory may be discarded as sheer wish-

ful thinking. Optimism in planning for 

the future is good. But when suggested 

minimum salaries are as much as 50 per 

cent above normal current salaries, they 

would seem to me millennial salaries. 

But despite its several acknowledged 

shortcomings, the classification and pay 

plan, if utilized, is a valuable contribution 

to the library profession. T h e committee 

has prepared a comprehensive and detailed 

plan by which a librarian can evaluate the 

personnel and organization of his library. 

T h e plan emphasizes an impersonal and 

scientific approach to the problems of 

classification of positions and salary sched-

ules and such an approach is as essential 

to good administration in libraries as it is 

in business, industry, and government. 

T h e plan is sufficiently flexible to cover the 

many variations in library organizations 

which exist even in institutions of com-

parable size and function. It represents 

a synthesis of years of library administra-

tion of the highest caliber. It provides 

an excellent opportunity for librarians to 

evaluate their organizations by tested 

methods. If ij:s potentialities remain un-

realized, the fault will be with library 

administrators and not with the committee 

whose efforts have produced an opus wor-

thy the serious consideration of every 

librarian. 

Libraries and the Coming of "Workshops" 
(Continued from page 147) 

the solution of these problems through 

informal contact with people with like dif-

ficulties. In the past the use of books and 

the truths fti them have been objective. 

W e have felt we must keep the library 

and its services impersonal. W e now 

must take our wares from the formal at-

mosphere that can be so deadening. W e 

must make our libraries warm and in-

viting. W e must be willing to cooperate, 

to make education and educational ends 

interesting, not boring. N o w that we are 

not so oppressed with great numbers of 

students, we must not be so busy about 

many things that we cannot talk over 

problems and books informally with any 

student. W e must simplify the approach 

to ourselves and to our stock. W h i l e the 

workshop as yet may not be of enough 

importance in the college picture as a 

whole to change methods and techniques 

of library service, it is showing us that 

the librarian must be approachable enough 

to contribute to new ideas and to student 

problems from his own research, his own 

experience, and his own thinking. H e 

must have time to show a path through 

the library material that will help the 

student to reach his answers as easily and 

quickly as possible. T o paraphrase, he 

must make "print as exciting and as easy 

as sin." 

MARCH, 1944 181