College and Research Libraries The Happy Medium in Library Instruction at the College Level I N AN EFFORT to avoid the extremes of no library instruction for college students and the required library course for all students, library instruction has fallen in our institution- a liberal arts, church- related college with student enrollment of 1,000-at a midway point between these two extremes. In an earlier self-examination of our library instructional program for stu- dents, we had reached the following con- clusions about our offerings: 1. A freshman does not need to know in one hour what librarians have learned in one or more years of library school. 2. A freshman does not need to know specialized reference tools of which his own instructor may be unaware. 3. The guided library tour is the low- est form of iJ;lstruction. 4. The copying by twenty-five students of problems solved by four students has no real educational value. 5. Our sophomores, juniors, and sen- iors are the forgotten students in sys- tematic library instruction. Our current program has been built around the concept that the library does have something for every student and there is a time in the academic life of the student when he will accept this fact. FoR THE FRESHMEN All freshmen, through their English classes (thirteen sections with an average of thirty students to the section this year), come to the library for one hour of library instruction near the beginning of the fall semester. During this hour a se- ries of slides is shown and a real effort is made to avoid crowding in detailed information for which the student has NOVEMBER 1960 By ANNIE MAY ALSTON Miss Alston is Librarian~ Harding College~ Searcy~ Arkansas. no immediate use. In this first series slides are shown which illustrate (I) ev- ery aspect of the physical plant (a brief explanation is made of the various ac- tivities carried on in each area); (2) arrangement of library materials; (3) li- brary policies and regulations (although the library handbook contains this infor- mation, the slides do a better job at this point); (4) sets of catalog cards; (5) cita- tions from Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. During the second semester the fresh- men come back through their English classes for another hour of library in- struction before beginning their term paper. A second series of slides is shown including (1) detailed instruction on the card catalog; (2) Library of Congress sub- ject-headings; (3) additional information on Readers' Guide to Periodical Litera- ture; (4) information on International Index; (5) periodical files; (6) Essay and General Literature Index. FoR THE SOPHOMORES In the second year, through the hu- manities classes, a one-hour lecture on general reference books, with accom- panying bibliography, is given to all soph- omores. Specialized reference tools are omitted from this instruction. Appearing on this bibliography are unabridged dic- tionaries, adult encyclopedias, biographi- cal tools, atlases, Statistical Abstract, World Almanac, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, Granger's Index to Poetry 469 and Recitations~ and the "Oxford Com- panions." An additional sheet of cita- tions from Essay and General Literature Index~ Readers' Guide to Periodical Lit- erature~ International Index~ Education Index~ and Public Affairs Information Service is distributed to students. FoR THE JuNIORS AND SENIORS During the fall semester a one-hour meeting is held with majors on the jun- ior and senior level by departments of instruction. Faculty members in the de- department attend these meetings and make valuable comments on library re- sources. Meetings are held with the fol- lowing departments: art, Bible and re- ligion, biology, business and economics, education and psychology, English, home economics, music, social science, and speech. The chemistry department has its own course in chemical literature but follows the bibliographical guide pre- pared by the library. These meetings with the majors in different departments have the following objectives: (1) to teach students the approach to the spe- cialized reference books ·in their major field; (2) to acquaint students with types of reference books in their area of spe- cialization; and (3) to insure the fact that students know authorities and some of their contributions to their major field of study. In this discussion on specialized refer- ence tools the college library comes near fulfilling its mission of bringing teachers, librarians, and students together in a true spirit of learning from books. All of the above sessions are initiated by the library but do meet with the full cooperation of the teaching staff. In ad- dition to these classes, the library con- tinues to welcome special invitations from faculty members for library instruc- tion to groups throughout the year. LC Publishes Monumental Guide A monumental bibliographical Guide to the Study of the United States of Amer- ica has just been published by the Library of Congress. Compiled by Donald H. Mugridge, Blanche P. McCrum, and other members of the Library's staff under the direction of Roy P. Basler, Director of the Reference Department, the volume de- scribes in its more than 1,100 double-column pages approximately 10,000 books "that reflect the development of life and thought in the United States." The Guide has 32 chapters, each taking in the various aspects of a single broad subject. The most comprehensive-the work of Miss McCrum-is on on "Litera- ture," which includes about a third of the nearly 6,500 entries. Other fields receiv- ing extensive treatment include "Literary History and Criticism," "Periodicals and Journalism," "General History," "Diplomatic History and Foreign Relations," "Lo~ cal History," "Travel and Travelers," "Society," "Art and Architecture," "Music," "Law and Justice," "Constitution and Government," and "Politics, Parties, Elec- tions." An appendix furnishes a list of books useful for those studying American civilization in its broad aspects, and there is a detailed index for locating informa- tion in the text. Copies of the Guide to the Study of the United States of America may be pur- chased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Wash- ington 25, D. C., for $7.00 each. 470 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES