Page 242 - Training for librarianship; library work as a career

TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSHIP

A good education is naturally basic for in-
telligent work.
The librarian who possesses a fund of
knowledge and can use this to supplement
information in the library's collections, is
obviously more capable of offering satisfac-
tory service and, indeed, of making himself
invaluable than one without such an intellec-
tual background. The men or women who
know are ever in demand; they do not have
to wait for opportunity, they create it. But
always preparedness is fundamental to effi-
cient functioning.
He who is undertaking to equip himself
for library work should temper his theoretical
knowledge or training by practical experi-
ence in a library. This will give him greater
insight into his life work. It will open the
window of experience and enable him to see
more correctly the relationship between the
library and those whom it undertakes to
serve. Theory and practice are the alphabet
of effective work in a hbrary as elsewhere.
They are the solid ground upon which every
skilled worker stands. Neither theory with-
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