Page 234 - Training for librarianship; library work as a career

TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSHIP

is taught cataloging, classification, binding,
etc., at the library school, not because he will
thereby become a cataloger, classifier or
binder, but because only in that way can he
gain full and definite understanding of cer-
tain fundamental elements in library activity.
He is taught to use dictionaries, encyclope-
dias, and indexes so as to gain a sense of real-
ity regarding the nature of the work and the
materials employed in it. The development
of this sense of reality is necessary to make the
occupational activity concrete. Realizing
the soundness of this educational principle,
the schools teach the use of tools often
elementary, but none the less necessary.
The apprentice-in-training, and the
worker in the library trying to prepare
himself for librarianship through practical
experience, are too often forced to conform
to the needs of the library in which they are
employed. They do not always receive com-
plete training; they do not get that rounded
view of the work which is the prime need of
the library executive. On the other hand, the
schools are frequently criticized for the theo-
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