The Education of Community College Librarians
The library schools have a role to play, in being continually aware of changes taking place in general education and business, and in every phase of social, cultural, and educational development. They should be alert to changes, to interests, and to the needs and ever ready to make changes in library education which will be responsive to these needs.1 THIS STATEMENT by Martha Boaz, dean of the School of Library Science, University of Southern California, seems a fitting prefatory statement for this article on education for community college librarianship. What role if any, library schools should play in the education of community college librarians has been a matter of speculation and debate. Some educators would contend that the preparation of community college librarians is sufficient in its present form; that is, the pursuit of a masters of library science degree with academic library emphasis. Others would contend that although this preparation may have been sufficient for the 1950-70 period when this institution was developing and experiencing rapid growth, with the 1970's, the community college has established itself as a viable and responsive institution in the higher educational spectrum. These educators would contend that a significant change in the educational preparation of community college librarians is in order, in fact, over-due. A. M. Cohen and F. B. Brawer wrote:
Update in Education for Community College Library Administrators.
A nationwide survey of the educational preparation of the chief administrators of learning resource centers in public comprehensive two-year community colleges revealed that they valued their preparation in the basic library science courses, and recommended those for future directors. They did recommend strengthening certain areas, and agreed that they were not well prepared in audio-visual subjects. Suggested additional courses which they perceived as being useful for expanded duties in new administrative roles in omni-media centers could suggest new curriculum content to meet new educational needs.
Self-Paced Instruction for Library Science Students.
SEVENTY-FIVE LIBRARY SCIENCE students at the University of Texas have been greeted on the first day of class with an introductory guide beginning "Welcome to an experiment in library education!" The experiment applied the teaching strategy called selfpaced or personalized system of instruction (PSI) to two sections of the library school's Basic Reference Course. PSI, as developed by psychologist Fred S. Keller 1 and others, involves a teaching strategy in which every element is carefully chosen and interrelated to maximize student learning. It puts to use the data produced by experimentation in learning theory. As judged by student learning, motivation, and enjoyment, the method is immensely successful for library science students and merits further consideration and application. This article outlines the PSI method, its application to a particular library science course, and suggests the results that may be obtained by using it. The PSI Method. To implement the PSI method, course material is divided into units, each containing a reading assignment, study questions, collateral references, study problems, and any necessary introductory or explanatory material. The student studies the units sequen-