Experimenting in Education for Library Associates

Abstract

MANY LIBRARIES have on their staffs capable and educated people who are not able to attend library schools. They may, for example, have family and financial responsibilities or they may live at too great a distance to make it feasible for them to attend a library science program. Yet they are often competent to do more than clerical work and can serve beside professional librarians as library associates. Increasingly, libraries are interested in providing education for these people to equip them to serve in these capacities. Leadership comes from librarians who have undertaken formal education in library science and who are willing to share their expertise. Faculty members from colleges and universities can be secured to serve as consultants and to work for brief periods of time in formal instruction. These programs, in fact, will have more depth and quality if they can be related to library schools, thus taking advantage of the experience of the faculty of these institutions. It is possible to work with state libraries and other systems in cooperating in these educational ventures. Cooperation among library schools, systems, and local libraries, in fact, makes for more effective education for these people. Careful planning is essential. Some state libraries have consultants to help local libraries set up programs of this nature. The objectives may be carefully established, and priorities need to be set. Some areas for possible inclusion are the organization and retrieval of information,