The University of California Libraries: A Plan for Development (1977)

VII. Information and Instruction 105
with card catalogs and require assistance with the simplest lookups;
they have difficulty finding materials in the stacks; they know little
about bibliographic resources. In other words, they are unfamiliar
with the rudimentary mechanics of library use." 8
The problem becomes serious as teaching methods change and place
more emphasis on learning to learn, rather than on absorbing knowledge;
as the report of the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education notes,
"the teaching of existing knowledge becomes comparatively less essential
to the task of higher education, and the imparting of skills for continuing
self-education comparatively more, particularly in independent
study and through the library." 9
There are various ways in which instruction in using library
materials can be given, and most of these ways have been used for
some time in the University of California libraries. At the simplest
level, there is the familiar "orientation" technique, or guided tour,
the main purpose of which is to familiarize students with the layout
of the library building and the location of various resources and
services. At a more specific level, there are also "point-of-use"
instructions, including printed guides on basic techniques in using
the resources of the library; brochures on how to use bibliographic
tools, such as indexing and abstracting services; video-tape, audio
tape and slide-tape presentations; and personal guidance by reference
librarians in methods of pursuing research in particular fields.
In the last few years, a third type of instruction has also gained
increasing support in academic libraries throughout this country and
abroad, particularly in Great Britain. This method is the formal
course in bibliographic and research methods, offered for academic
credit, and particularly designed for undergraduate students. The
major objective of such classes is to impart skills for continuing
self-education on the part of the student, and they also "serve to
8
Quoted in Allan J. Dyson, "Organizing Undergraduate Library Instruction:
The English and American Experience," Journal of Academic
Librarianship, v. 1, no. 1 (March 1975), p. 11.
9
Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, Reform on Campus, McGraw-
Hill, 1972, pp. 23-24.