ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


and to m ark his 25 years a t th e University.
Selection of recipients is m ade by the faculty
of the school. M erritt was chosen for the fol­
lowing reasons:

His editorship of the ALA Newsletter on In ­
tellectual Freedom, 1962 to the present.

Service to the profession in organizations de­
voted to freedom of information. This has
included testimony before legislative com­
mittees w here he frequently was th e only
defender of freedom to appear to counter­
balance the proponents of restrictive legis­
lation.

A large and distinguished body of w riting and
speaking in behalf of intellectual freedom.

Success in bringing before students th e issues
involved in book selection as distinct from
censorship.

Considerable individual counseling w ith
threatened librarians, both in person and in
correspondence.

Service to the cause of freedom of informa­
tion, in general, through his work in civic,
service and other organizations in communi­
ties where h e has lived and taught.

M erritt w ent to th e University of Oregon
from the University of California at Berkeley,
w here h e h ad  taught for over 20 years. He
received his doctoral degree in library science
from the University of Chicago library school.

■ ■

C H IC A G O  LIBRARY
T E C H N IC IA N  PROGRAM

An expanded two-year library technical as­
sistant program  will be offered this fall a t the
Wilson Campus of Chicago City College to
ease the nationwide shortage of librarians.
Six prominent Chicago librarians have assisted
in the development of th e program.

W illiam Woods, Associate Professor and D i­
rector of the Library Technology Program a t
the Wilson Campus, 7047 South Stewart Ave­
nue, said th a t Wilson has been offering an in­
troductory course in library technology since
September, 1967. I t was th e  first of its kind in
Chicago. H e said: “W ith the help of th e six
librarians, who have served as an advisory com­
m ittee sincė last April, w e have been able to 
expand our course offerings into a full pro­
gram to train library technical assistants. The 
committee represents a variety of types of li­
braries, and has helped to gear our courses to 
the specific needs of special library technicians.”

Members of th e committee are:

Sister Mary Chrysartha, Librarian, Felician Col­
lege Library, 3800 W est Peterson Avenue;

Dr. Alex Ladenson, Acting Director, Chicago 
Public Library, 78 E ast W ashington Street;

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

Dr. Miriam Peterson, Director, Division of Li­
braries, Chicago Board of Education, 228 
N orth LaSalle Street;

Miss Anne C. Roess, Supervisor, Library Serv­
ices, Institute of Gas Technology, 3424 
South State Street;

Dr. Fritz Veit, Director of Libraries, Wilson 
Campus and Chicago State College; and

Miss Helen Yast, Librarian, American Hospital 
Association, Asa S. Bacon Memorial Library, 
840 N orth Lake Shore Drive.

Woods also said: “There are over 1,000 li­
braries in Chicago alone—in business and indus­
trial organizations, hospitals, factories, schools, 
government offices, churches, and laboratories. 
Few  of these libraries are adequately staffed. 
To help ease th e shortage of librarians, a new 
para-professional occupation has been created, 
th a t of the library technical assistant. Although 
our program is th e  only tw o-year course for 
library technical assistants offered in Chicago, 
there is a national organization called the 
Council on Library Technology (C O L T ) with 
200 members, representing 80 two-year colleges 
in the United States and Canada, th a t has been 
active in defining th e educational requirements 
for th e recently-created position.”

Currently, th e Wilson Campus offers the fol­
lowing courses in library technology: Intro­
duction to Library Procedures, Audio-visual 
Procedures, Library Public Service, Materials 
Acquisition Procedures, Preparation Procedures, 
Library Practicum, and School Library Proce­
dures. Students in the two-year program will 
take a general core curriculum in communica­
tions skills and social science in addition to the 
specialized courses. Tuition is free for Chicago 
residents. Classes are offered in th e day and 
evening and on Saturday mornings. ■ ■

N E W  LIBRARY SCHOOLS 
A C C R E D IT E D

Three graduate programs of library educa­
tion have been officially accredited by  the 
American Library Association according to an 
announcem ent issued by the Association’s Com­
m ittee on Accreditation. The newly accredited 
programs are offered by th e School of Library 
and Informational Science, University of Mis­
souri, Columbia (R alph H. Parker, D e a n ); the 
Ecole de Bibliotheconomie, University of Mon­
treal, Montreal, Quebec (L aurent-G . Denis, 
D irector); and the D epartm ent of Librarian- 
ship, San Jose State College, San Jose, Cali­
fornia (Leslie H. Janke, C hairm an). This brings 
th e  num ber of library schools offering programs 
accredited by the American Library Associa­
tion to 48, the highest num ber yet recorded 
under the Revised Standards of 1951. ■ ■

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