College and Research Libraries


By H . T . P A Y N E 

The Junior College Library 
and the Student 

Mr. Paynef a student at the Virginia 
Junior College, gave this, the third paper 
in the symposium of the Junior College 
Libraries Section, June 25, 1942. 

EVERY STUDENT w h e n he e n r o l l s in school, be it a college or a university, 
is aware of t w o things. First of all, he 

knows that most of his time is going to be 

taken up w i t h studying and the majority 

of that studying w i l l be done from books. 

Furthermore, he is aware that he is going 

to acquire, in some measure at least, that 

elusive quality, culture. Here, too, books 

w i l l play an important part. F o r the most 

part this reading w i l l be done from text-

books, but there is an additional minimum 

of required reading which must be done 

from supplementary books. 

W e might w e l l ask whether or not a 

junior college library is really necessary. 

W h y not make use of the public library, 

where such is available, rather than go to 

the trouble and expense of providing an 

additional school building? 

Being a student, I am unfamiliar w i t h 

the technicalities of library planning and 

problems, and shall confine myself, there-

fore, to presenting the question from the 

standpoint of the student—something like 

the meditations of a guinea pig at the con-

clusion of an experiment in which he was 

the principal character involved. 

It might be said by some that where a 

well-stocked public library is available, a 

junior college library is unnecessary. 

Surely, the public library has plenty of 

books for the student w h o wishes to use 

them, and facilities for study are not lack-

ing. 

A l l this is true enough as far as it goes, 

but it doesn't go far enough. I t isn't a 

question simply of the number of books 

available, but are they the kind needed? 

W e may have all the facilities for study 

we need, but if the atmosphere of study is 

lacking, no amount of aids w i l l help. A s 

D e a n M o e has so ably pointed out, the 

library is something more than a depart-

ment, it is a "powerhouse." W h e n it be-

comes merely a dispenser of books, it seems 

to me that it defeats its purpose. 

T h e public library of necessity caters to 

the general public, whereas the junior col-

lege library concentrates—or at least it 

s h o u l d — i t s attention on the needs of the 

student. M a n y a "superior" student has 

remained in the " a v e r a g e " bracket simply 

because the proper books for his supple-

mentary reading were not available. 

Furthermore, a great deal of the stu-

dent's time between classes and after school 

is spent in the library where he has not 

only the facilities for study but the atmos-

phere as w e l l — n o t that he always avails 

himself of the opportunity. 

Q u i t e often the approach of a student 

to the library is dependent on the inspira-

tion, or lack of it, he receives from his in-

structor. T h i s places a certain amount of 

DECEMBER, 1942 67 



responsibility on the part of the instructor 

to not only inform himself as to the con-

tents of the library but also to cooperate in 

interesting the student in its proper value. 

T h e library, too, can do much to assist 

and encourage the student to make use of 

the books lining its shelves. T h e required 

reading w i l l more or less take care of 

itself, but some effort must be made to 

interest the student in things other than 

facts and figures. H e must be shown that 

books are not only medicine to be taken 

for one's intellectual health but are friends 

w o r t h cultivating and respecting. 

A s has been stated, the library is more 

than just a dispenser of printed m a t e r i a l ; 

it is a powerhouse and should endeavor by 

periodic displays and other pertinent pro-

grams to arouse the interest of student 

and instructor alike. 

T h u s far I have placed the w h o l e bur-

den on the shoulders of the library and 

instructor, apparently absolving the stu-

dent f r o m any responsibility w h a t e v e r . 

T h e student, however, is not like a sponge 

ball bounced about between the w a l l s of 

learning absorbing, or refusing to absorb, 

whatever he comes in contact w i t h . N o 

matter how great his opportunities, they 

are wasted until he applies himself and 

avails himself of them. 

T h e student should learn to use his li-

brary as a place of mental recreation and 

stimulus as w e l l as for study. O n c e the 

technicalities of the indexes, file boxes, 

and references are mastered he w i l l find 

the library has a character all its o w n . 

H e should spend an hour or t w o when-

ever possible doing nothing but browsing. 

H a n d l e the books, become familiar w i t h 

their size and shape, color and design. 

Each book has a personality of its own, 

seldom revealed by its call number. T h e r e 

is a pleasant mustiness about an old book, 

a crisp vigor about a new book which can 

only be k n o w n through actually handling 

them. 

A s a student I w o u l d say, therefore, 

that the junior college library is important 

as a source of supplementary textbook 

reading, a convenient and congenial place 

for study and for acquiring a greater 

knowledge through the thoughts and lives 

of men of all ages. 

Field Library Services of the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture Library 
(Continued from page 40) 

perhaps not communicated to you more 

than a factual statement concerning the 

g r o u n d w o r k w h i c h has been laid the past 

eleven months and has not indicated to 

you the vastly interesting nature of the 

job. A s G a u s and W o l c o t t 1 have pointed 

1 G a u s , J. M . , a n d W o l c o t t , L . O . Public Ad-
ministration and the United States Department of 
Agriculture. C h i c a g o , P u b l i c A d m i n i s t r a t i o n S e r v i c e , 
1940. S34P-

out, except for an over-all picture, the 

w o r k of the department should be viewed 

not f r o m its W a s h i n g t o n center but from 

studies from its regional centers. T h e 

really stimulating and interesting papers 

about our field w o r k w i l l be w r i t t e n by 

the field librarians themselves w h o w i l l 

have firsthand stories to tell. 

68 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES