Page 235 - Training for librarianship; library work as a career
P. 235
TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSHIP
retical character of the training which they
give, for their emphasis on technic over
method, their comparative lack of apprecia-
tion of practical details, and the inexperience
of their students. Whatever the view taken,
however, it is certain that the best prepa-
ration for librarianship is to be attained
through library experience superimposed on
previous personal preparation, or library-
school training.
Applied library science is yet in its experi-
mental stage. There is on this account every
opportunity for the man or woman possessed
of initiative and resourcefulness to rise to a
place of leadership in the profession. To the
outsider librarianship, like every other pro-
fession, seems to be overcrowded and to offer
little chance for development. Yet this is
not the case. Poorly prepared and untrained
persons and those of second-rate ability will
naturally find it difficult to advance; this is
the case in every profession. The clerical
worker is never as well rewarded as is the
able manager, nor does the common laborer
receive as good a wage as the skilled worker.
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