College and Research Libraries By N A T W H I T T E N Audio-Visual Services at Lycoming College Mr. Whitten is librarian and director, audio-visual education, Lycoming College. CH A N C E L L O R Robert M . H u t c h i n s of the University of Chicago has said, " T h e film has the power that no other medium can command . . . and can do more than any other single thing to unite the w o r l d . " 1 H a d D r . H u t c h i n s said film and sound, he would have been more nearly correct, for the t w o move hand in hand into a position within the educational proc- ess. T h e world events of the past decade have caused many people to see and hear much which had previously been beyond imagi- nation. M u c h of this has been by actual experience, a great deal more vicariously. M o r e than ever we, adults and students, have become used to learning t h r o u g h see- ing graphic representations or hearing sig- nificant sounds. T h e s e experiences have become so vast and i m p o r t a n t t h a t it would be difficult, even impossible, to revert to a total reliance upon the printed page which will not give up, but will share its po- tentialities with the various graphic arts and sound techniques. Unless educational systems realize this fact and make audio- visual methods a positive reality within their organizations, they will be in danger of not only being out-of-date, but will deny our younger generation a f u l l education which is essential now, more than ever, to 1 From a talk by Chancellor Hutchins at a meeting of the National Association of Visual Education Deal- ers, Aug. 5, 1947. make the world safe for men and women. I t is w i t h this total pattern in view that Lycoming College, along with many other schools and colleges in the country, has undertaken to incorporate within its pro- gram the best methods of instruction which have been and will be to a greater extent augmented w i t h pictorial representations, recorded talks, speeches, and music, as well as direct experiences and observations. Library Serves as Depository T h e library has assumed this responsi- bility with the idea that students and faculty require information about various fields of interest and that such information must be supplied w h e t h e r it be through the printed page, pictorial representations, or sound. T h e library, in this respect, will not only be a depository for these various sorts of materials, but through its staff will afford suggestions and will be a place for advisory service so that the audio-visual methods will be used by the faculty with maximum efficiency and capacity. O u r plan considers the college curricu- lum as being more than classroom activity and concerns itself with the total mental and physical development of students. T h e r e f o r e , the audio-visual program, as such, does not recognize the extra-cur- ricular, but must be concerned w i t h all the activities which touch the lives of our stu- dents. T h e faculty and staff act as in- terpreters. F o l l o w i n g is given an outline of the 308 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES audio-visual program discussing the me- chanical devices used, the methods of organization, and some of the purposes which are considered important for im- mediate use and for f u t u r e development. Specifically for the purpose of instruc- tion, the new academic building is provided with a large room which will seat sixty persons comfortably. Classes will be scheduled in this room for special sessions to look at moving pictures and hear records which are selected to enrich the particular subjects being studied. T h i s room, though not complete, will eventually be equipped with the best of modern lighting and sound devices. In addition to this room, other class rooms and assembly places will be used as the particular cases demand. T h e physical equipment which has already been bought and planned for this school year is only a beginning of w h a t is expected when the program has become fully developed. Film Equipment F o r moving pictures, there has been ob- tained a 16mm. projector w i t h many features, including silent and sound con- trols, a stopping device for seeing a single picture for a longer time than is possible when the film is moving, and a public ad- dress attachment which will be used in some of the larger assemblies. Pictures will be shown to class room groups, assemblies of the students, and at certain exercises to which the public will be in- vited. Pictures made on the campus are to be shown. ( O n e football game has been photographed and shown to the team for studying faults and possibilities as had been represented by the actual game.) Pictures rented f r o m the various educational film agencies, and bought for the film library will also be shown. O n l y film with more than ephemeral value will be bought. Included in the visual equipment will be a combination slide and filmstrip pro- jector which, in most cases, is to be used in direct class room experiences. Filmstrips and slides are available on many subjects and include pictures which can be projected quickly and easily to present graphically w h a t the instructor is attempting to teach. T h i s device can be used in the middle of a classroom discussion or wherever the oc- casion arises. I t has proved to be an excellent way to increase the understanding about certain objects and ideas which are difficult when only a verbal description is available. T h o u g h this projector can be used successfully in all subjects, it lends itself particularly to scientific materials. T h e library also keeps files of many flat pictures, both mounted and unmounted, which can supplement the other visual aids. Wire Recorder T h e wire recorder is one of the newest and mo$£ effective devices in the sound field. W i t h the wire, phonograph, and radio combination, it is possible to record the spoken word or music onto the wire through a microphone arrangement, or di- rectly f r o m the radio or phonograph to the wire. T h e wire may be replayed as fre- quently as desired or demagnetized and re- used an indefinite number of times. Each spool of wire will run continuously a little over an hour. T h e wire recorder can be used for a number of purposes. T h e language and speech departments will re- cord the voices of students at various times throughout the year, these recordings to be used to study the development of language techniques. A n y musical or spoken item may thus be recorded and saved to be played back whenever the occasion de- mands. T h i s year we hope to use this ma- chine f o r preserving some of the special events concerning the centennial celebra- tion. OCTOBER, 1948 29 7 Record Library T h r e e record players will be available, and though wire does supersede the record in many respects, the latter will be a large item in the p r o g r a m . T h e college owns a record library of many rare musical records, and is in the process of adding recent releases of musical recordings. O n e benefactor has presented the library w i t h several records of considerable value. Represented in the record library will be examples of good speech, literature, and historical speeches which have been made by persons who are involved in the m a j o r w o r l d issues. I n connection w i t h the record library, there will be many occasions w h e n students and faculty may listen together to the great artists who have recorded the best in musi- cal literature. T h e s e gatherings are in- formal, the only requirement being an interest in good music. D u r i n g the ap- propriate seasons, this group will come to- gether to hear the broadcasts of the M e t r o p o l i t a n O p e r a and N e w Y o r k Phil- harmonic Symphony O r c h e s t r a . T h e last item in the original program is the public address system which will be used in the gymnasium, chapel, athletic field, and other places w h e r e there are large assemblies. T h i s outfit consists of t w o in- door speakers, two outdoor speakers, and a control box which carries both a micro- phone and a record changer. T h i s equip- ment is to be used for athletic events, dances, assemblies, and other all-collegiate functions. O u r audio-visual program will be under constant examination, study, and evalua- tion and it is the intention of the college staff to develop its maximum values in the whole pattern of the educational process. University of Oregon's Audio-Visual Service (Continued from page 307) zation of field trips designed to produce for the f u t u r e historian both audio and visual records of O r e g o n industries, peoples, institutions, and folk arts and customs. A committee of faculty members representing the anthropology, history, business, music, and other departments, as well as the li- brary, has been appointed by the president to plan and help execute field trips of this kind. Consideration is being given to such projects as the sampling of local church services, city council meetings, lumbering activities, and such c u l t u r a l groups as the Basques in E a s t e r n O r e g o n . Conclusion As stated earlier, w h a t e v e r is unique about the University of O r e g o n ' s audio- visual department derives largely f r o m the effort to correlate the acquisition, organiza- tion, and use of audio, visual, and printed resources under the administration of the university librarian. T h e effort is f r a n k l y experimental, and its success or failure should be significant not only to librarians but also to audio-visual specialists and uni- versity administrators. T h e faculty atti- tude, w i t h very few exceptions, has been w a r m even when departmental equipment was being t r a n s f e r r e d to the custody of the library. T h e library staff has been co- operative and eager to learn. If the ex- periment succeeds, the practicability of a fully correlated audio-visual and book serv- ice on a university campus will have been demonstrated. 310 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES