ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries May 1986 / 321 D eveloping a partnership in library instruction By D onald J. Kenney Head, General Reference Virginia Polytechnic Institute b State University and Linda J. Wilson Project Manager fo r User Education Virginia Polytechnic Institute b State University A joint effort between school and academic librarians to teach library skills. Most academic library instructional programs are aimed prim arily at undergraduates, p articu ­ larly the entering freshman students. W hile the content of these programs may vary from library to library the m ajority are designed to teach students to use catalogs, periodical indexes and abstracts, and to familiarize the students w ith the local facili­ ties. Efforts to build on the bibliographic skills th at students have acquired through library instruction at the high school level are chiefly ignored, result­ ing in academic librarians reteaching very basic skills. Consequently, little tim e is devoted to the teaching of new skills related to evaluating and m anaging inform ation. W hile efforts to stream line the content of in­ structional programs and to move them beyond the teaching of basic skills and concepts have been som ew hat successful, total success is dependent upon building on the skills th a t students have ac­ quired prior to entering college. This success is con­ tingent on establishing a sequential program from high school to college. Obviously this will necessi­ tate a joint effort by school and academic librari­ ans. In an effort to accomplish a more unified library instruction sequence through cooperation between high school and academic librarians, we applied for a grant through the Virginia State Library. Funding for projects prom oting interlibrary coop­ eration am ong all types of libraries was provided through the L ibrary Services and C onstruction Act, Title III. The purpose of the grant program is to encourage all types of libraries to cooperate in improving the quality of library service by provid­ ing programs not currently being offered. O ur proposal, “A Cooperative Instruction Pro­ gram for College-Bound High School Students in S o u th w est V ir g in ia ,” w as one of te n fu n d e d through this cooperative program in Virginia in 1985. The project is a cooperative effort for library instruction involving high school libraries and an academic library. The proposal suggests a program of library instruction for college-bound high school students in twenty-six counties of Southwest Vir­ ginia. Institutions of higher education in Southwest Virginia attract a large p art of their student body from the surrounding counties. By and large, these students are uninitiated in the use of a large library facility. At best they have been exposed to a school library collection or perhaps a small public library. Even those students who have had adequate in­ struction in the use of a library have had little op­ portunity to put these skills to use. As a result, li­ brary instruction in many academic institutions is characterized by “basic library skills” programs. 322 / C&RL News There is little opportunity to design programs that deal w ith the other vast problems of accessing, evaluating, and managing information. The grant proposal will attem pt to address two major problem areas. First, entering students lack the skills needed to use indexes, abstracts, and peri­ odical literature in general and to interpret biblio­ graphic information in catalog systems, indexes and abstracts, and bibliographies. Furtherm ore, they do not understand the concepts of authorship and classification of library collections. Second, classroom teachers and school librarians seem to lack a clear understanding of the inform a­ tional needs of entering students at an academic in­ stitution like Virginia Tech. For example, students may be taught how to use a specific classification system, such as the Dewey Decimal System, but may not be taught the concept underlying classifi­ cation systems to enable them to tran sfer this knowledge to the LC system. In addition, most school librarians have not had the opportunities to update their knowledge of the latest developments in librarianship, particularly in the area of com­ puter technology. Students from these 26 rural counties are some­ times at a disadvantage in using libraries due to lack of exposure to larger library systems. This grant addresses the needs of these college-bound students in a variety of ways. By working closely with high school librarians and teachers, we will identify the library skills needed by students to use academic libraries. Training sessions for librarians are being developed, instructional aids are being w ritten, and a videotape is being filmed in an aca­ demic setting. All instruction will be designed to cover both the concepts behind information stor­ age and access as well as fundam ental library skills. The distribution of teaching packets and video­ tapes as well as the scheduling of training sessions for high school librarians will be im plem ented through a clearinghouse established at the Virginia Tech Library. Plans are being made to ensure the m aintenance and continuation of the clearing­ house. An initial survey among the school librari­ ans w ithin the geographic area covered by the grant elicited enthusiastic response and input, rein­ forcing the idea th a t this kind of joint effort is needed and welcomed. Planning and development will continue throughout the 1985-86 year. T rain­ ing sessions and teaching packets will be available by the summer of 1986. Ideally, a successful instructional program of any subject or discipline is designed to teach basic skills as well as concepts. Admittedly this has been a weakness of academic library instruction programs throughout the country. Efforts to establish a com­ mon base, especially at the public school level, will in the long run benefit academic library instruction programs. Helping school librarians to teach fun­ dam ental library skills to college-bound students will enable academic institutions to design pro­ grams that go beyond the teaching of basic skills and instead concentrate on teaching students to ac­ cess and m anipulate information. ■ ■ PAPERS OF THE NAACP Part 3. The Campaign for Educational Equality: Legal Department Records, 1919-1950 Editorial Adviser: August Meier The NAACP papers are an indispensable source for the study of race relations in the twentieth century. This series makes more widely available a collection that has been at the center of scholarship in Afro-American history. — Dr. Nancy J. Weiss Professor of History Princeton University Since its founding in 1909, the NAACP has unquestionably played a unique and essential role in translating American constitutional principles into social realities. It is quite possible, how­ ever, that the NAACP’s most profound and enduring legacy is the long and difficult struggle to bring about equal educational opportunities for all races, and the history of this struggle epit­ omizes the philosophy and tactics that have made the NAACP such an effective proponent of human rights in the United States. New in 1986, The Campaign for Educational Equality focuses exclusively on the grueling legal battle to achieve unrestricted access to the best available education— a battle that was waged in courts around the country over four decades. The ultimate target of the NAACP’s legal department was the “separate but equal” doctrine sustained by the Supreme Court in Plessyv. Ferguson at the end of the nineteenth century. Manifestly the legal backbone of segregation in the U .S., “separate but equal” did much to institutionalize the socioeconomic advantages of the white majority, in effect justifying the grossly unequal facilities and policies extended to minority groups in virtually every area of life. The Campaign for Educational Equality reproduces in exhaustive detail the NAACP’s systematic assault on segregated education that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education. Of central importance in The Campaign for Educational Equality is the meticulous docu­ mentation of NAACP participation in court cases pertaining to segregated education; whether the Association was challenging the status quo or attempting to parry anti-integration maneu­ vers in northern and border states. Editorial adviser August Meier has carefully identified in the NAACP’s extensive records every case that has relevance to the educational equality cam­ paign, and the files of each of these cases are reproduced in their entirety (including preliminary drafts of legal papers). Numerous original briefs, motions, depositions, writs, trial transcripts, and opinions— supplemented invaluably by memoranda, notes, and correspondence of staff attorneys— will enable researchers to analyze in depth the legal tactics and final dispositions of scores of noteworthy cases prior to Brown. Ordering Information___________________________________________________________ Papers o f the NAACP. Part 3: The Campaign for Educational Equality. Series A: Legal Department Records, 1919-1940. 35mm microfilm (24 reels) with printed guide. Price: $1,700. ISBN 0-89093-893-8. Available now. Series B: Legal Department Records, 1940-1950. 35mm microfilm (17 reels) with printed guide. Price: $1,200. ISBN 0-89093-894-6. Available now. Discount: There is a 10 percent disco u nt for standing orders to P apers o f the NAACP. Note: This collection has been published from the M anuscript Division of the Library of C ongress. UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS OF AMERICA Dept. A-CRLN586 44 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701 CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-692-6300 Building library buildings Providing library serv ices Resources from A L A Preparation of Archival Copies of Theses and Dissertations Jane B oyd and Don Etherington A brief and informative guide for students, faculty members, and librarians on the proper physical preparation and care of theses. Discusses both traditional paper formats and new techniques in thesis presentation, such as form and reduction printouts, sound recordings, and computer-generated data. $3.95pbk. 20p. 0-8389-0449-1 85-28939 April 1986 Planning Academic and Research Library Buildings Keyes D. Metcalf. Second edition by Philip D. Leighton and David C. Weber Manage the complex task of planning and designing new academic and research library buildings or renovating ex­ isting buildings with the updated edition of Keyes Metcalf’s classic text for librarians, architects, and institutional planning officials. Emphasizes the importance of long-range planning for the growth of the library collection and the use of new technologies. $60.00cl. 544p. 0-8389-3320-3 85-11207 August 1986 Easy Access to Information in Gnited States Government Documents Julia Schwartz Valuable information in government documents is accessible to everyone with this unique handbook for librarians and library users. An alphabetical index of subjects and types of documents directs readers to a concise description of the appropriate index, its format, and the information it contains. Price to be set. 0-8389-0456-4 August 1986 Directory of Oral History Tapes of Librarians in the Gnited States and Canada Doris Cruger Dale Provides access to unique perspectives on library history by locating nearly 200 interviews of librarians and friends of libraries, located in 40 North American library collections. Interviewer, length and date of interview, and availability of transcripts are indicated. $20.00pbk. 120p. 0-8389-0443-2 85-30649 February 1986 American Library Association Publishing Services 5 0 East Huron Street ■ Chicago, Illinois 60611