Page 51 - Training for Librarianship Library Work As a Career

TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSHIP

or office employees for their apparent un-
willingness to use the hbrary, the fault is as
often with the librarian as it is with those
outside. The sole justification for any
library is its use. A few books in the hands
of an intelligent assistant are far better than
a large collection poorly handled.
Different positions entail different qualifi-
cations, but in every instance the responsibil-
ity rests with the librarian of seeing that each
employee is placed in the position for which
he is best quahfied, that the person must be
made to fit the job and not the job the person.
Every library should aim within reasonable
limits to provide its staff with every oppor-
tunity for self-improvement. In many libra-
ries lectures for the staff and study classes are
in vogue.
Hitherto but slight attention has been
f
given to the human side of library adminis-
tration. Yet the rapid growth of libraries
with their increasing personnel points clearly
to the fact that librarians will have to give
increasing thought to their labor problem.
The fact that trade unions among hbrary
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