The Foreign Student in the American Library School. II

Abstract

Part I ["Library Quarterly" 43 (April 1973): 103-25] reported the responses to a questionnaire administered to foreign graduates of American library schools concerning their reactions to their American library education experience in terms of their adjustment problems at the time, the quality of the programs and the value of their training to their subsequent careers. Part II, presented here, builds upon the criticisms of library education which appear in these responses and attempts to offer a concept of library education as an intellectual discipline, applicable to American and foreign students alike. It stresses a solid core of intellectual content plus sufficient flexibility to permit experimentation and exploration and suggests the possibility of different approaches and specializations in the several library schools. Such a program would not be just a one-way benefit to the foreign student; the able and articulate student from another country has a contribution to make to the educational experience by adding stimulation and fresh ideas to the class discussions.