Page 40 - Training for librarianship; library work as a career

TRAINING FOR LIBRARIANSHIP

needs of the cataloger. The catalog is the
key to the resources of the hbrary ; hence, she
who is charged with its making should under-
stand the mechanics of hbrarianship without
having a mind that is narrowly mechanical.
Accuracy is another fundamental require-
ment; a slipshod and careless person should
not undertake the work. Wide general in-
formation and familiarity with languages are
invaluable assets.
The material having been secured, classi-
fied and cataloged, the next task is to see
that it is used. This phase of the work falls
under the head of reference work and circu-
lation work; in large libraries each forms a
major part of the activities pursued and each
is regarded as an important department.
A necessary part of the work of any library
is to be able to advise where information on
a given subject can be found. This branch
of administration concerned with assisting
readers to use the resom-ces of the library is
called reference work. It is the duty of the
reference librarian to aid readers in their
search for information, to bring book and
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