WHAT THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT CAN DO FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES1 WALTER S. CLARK, SUPERINTENDENT OF THIRD DISTRICT OF ALBANY COUNTY Although many things have been added to our public school curriculum in the past generation and varied emphasis has been placed on these different subjects, it still remains a fact that reading is the most important thing the school can teach the child. The ability to gain ideas from the printed page, to translate the printed characters into ideas, thoughts, motives and actions is the greatest thing any one gets from school. No matter what the school teaches, if it does not create a love of knowledge and the reading habit, it is a failure. That school is also a failure which omits what to read, as well as the one which fails to establish the reading habit itself. Both ends must receive careful consideration if the school is to fulfil its first duty to the pupil. In the large village and city schools, the mechanics of reading and the organization and use of school libraries are now receiving much expert attention, but in the rural districts there is today great need of improved methods of teaching reading and better equipment and use of the school collections. Under our present system of rural supervision, district superintendents are the persons upon whose shoulders rests the main responsibility for improving such conditions, and I believe the success or failure of a district superintendent as a supervisor will be measured to a large degree by what he is able to do and does do in improving the rural school libraries and the school reading in his district. To do his best work in this matter he must first of all familiarize himself with good books suited to the needs of the pupils of the grades. To aid him in obtaining this information, there are the syllabus list, the list issued recently by the Division of School Libraries, the Pittsburgh list and the Cleveland and Buffalo lists. These, with many others that are easily available, will furnish good guides in the selection of books that are known to be suitable. In addition to his study of what others have recommended, he should always be on the lookout for new and fresh material. He must be a constant and interested reader of children's literature and of the books he recommends. He must be a close student of child life and child interest. His knowledge of juvenile literature should not be a shadowy reminiscence, but like that of the trained librarian, a never failing source of information and suggestion. He must know the books which make a normal and direct appeal to immature minds, so that he may be sure when a recommended book is placed in the school library, it will be sought and generally read if due attention is called to it. In the matter of securing money for the equipment, shelving and proper care of the library, the district superintendent has a leading and responsible part. I believe that where the importance of the school library is properly presented in any district, the funds needed will be cheerfully, given. Each district superintendent should have as one of his aims for each year the addition of at least ten dollars' worth of new books to each school library in his jurisdiction, and if he fails to get that amount, his success as a superintendent falls short of what it should be. To attain his object he should endeavor in various ways to work up a library spirit in each district. He should utilize the public press in calling attention to the importance of the library and its part in school work, and should also have the matter presented at public meetings. He should see that an appropriation for the library is asked for at each annual district meeting, and any district failing to vote in favor of such appropriation should receive his particular attention. Where necessary to secure the desired funds, he should arrange for an entertainment in the district for this purpose, if possible, and thus keep the matter before the public mind. A circular might also be issued annually by the superintendent with good effect, showing the amount of money appropriated for library purposes by each district under his supervision, the number of volumes in each library, the number of new books added, the number of books read, and containing a few words as to the value of the library in school work. Each superintendent should have a 'Summary of paper presented at meeting of New York State Teachers Association, Buffalo, November 26, 1912 standard for "front line schools" in library matters, and the standard of each school should be given in the circular. I believe it would also be a good thing, as a means of rousing interest in our rural school libraries, to have a day set apart each year and known as "Book day." On this day special exercises might be held, in which the reading of books, the work of the library and its needs should be duly emphasized and illustrated. As a rule, the people in rural districts believe in school libraries. The reason why it is difficult to get appropriations in many districts is simply because of a failure to use the material already on hand. This is largely due, of course, to bad selections, but each library, no matter how poorly the selections may have been, has some good books which would be used if only the proper efforts were made. In the districts where the teachers have made the most of the books which they have, additions of new books are most easily secured from the taxpayers. In this work of promoting use of books, the direct and main responsibility falls upon the teacher. It is the book which teacher recommends that the boy and girl will want to read, and it is the book which teacher reads that will be in greatest demand. The library, like the textbook, needs the human interpreter. Teachers must arouse an appetite for good books on the part of the pupil. We say no pupil should be allowed to go from our public schools without having an opportunity to read good books, but the mere opportunity is not enough. He must be taught to use his opportunity. His love for reading in after years will depend very largely on the reading habits established in school. Owing to the many duties that demand the attention of the teachers in the rural schools, very little thought has thus far been given by them to this matter, so it is incumbent on the superintendent to give it due emphasis. In arranging teachers meetings, one period should be devoted at each to the school library. Such questions should be discussed as What does the teacher need to do to promote better use of the library?" Are the children interested in reading?" "If not, how may we interest them?" At the end of the period, let one or two library books be assigned for special study for the next month. An outline should be given to help in such study, such as, for example, is given by Superintendent Kern in his book entitled "Among Country Schools." His outline is as follows: (1) Kind of literature; (2) Suitable for what grade to read? (3) May be read by what grade? (4) General theme of the book; (5) Why is the book interesting to children? (6) What in the book is valuable to the child as literature? (7) Give a general report of the contents. At the following meeting, the reports should be given and discussed. This method will prove of interest to the teachers and soon they will be applying the test to all books read. Superintendents should also encourage the teachers to read to the children from library books, seeking those chapters which are especially interesting and which will arouse a desire on the part of the pupils to read the books themselves. This practice will almost invariably produce good results. As a means of stimulus to this work, superintendents should work out some plan for giving official recognition to the work in reading. A pupil, for example, who reads six library books a year might receive a certificate and his name The placed on an honor roll for the year. details of the plan each superintendent can work out for himself, the important thing being that there be a plan. It is hoped that the State Education Department will soon give its official recognition to library work done in the grades. Thus far I have treated the library solely in relation to the children and the teachers in the schools. But in rural communities the school library may well serve a larger and wider purpose as a means of bringing good books to all the people in the district. Such a purpose can be served without in the least interfering with the work of the school, and the larger the number of people that get the use of the books, the more certain is the vote for a library appropriation. Where the school library is small the superintendent may do much both for the pupils and for the general public by securing one or more of the traveling libraries of the State for their use. These libraries containing 25 volumes are furnished entirely free of cost and bring the best within the reach of all. In spite of the liberality of the State in supplying these libraries, as yet very few districts are availing themselves of the opportunity offered. This is doubtless due to a lack of knowledge of what the State is doing in this matter, so district superintendents may render a large service both to their schools and to their whole districts by giving full information to teachers and trustees and by imparting the necessary stimulus to definite action. As a motive for the efforts which I have recommended, think of the vital influence emanating from good books! It may mean the saving of a young girl's soul. It may mean the keeping untarnished of some young man's honor. It certainly means the raising of ideals in many a young life to heights otherwise undreamed of. It means filling young minds with truth, purity and love. TRAINING SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE ART AND TASTE OF READING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NEW YORK CITY Proper reading of books is an art which, like every other art, must be acquired and practised if proper results are to be expected. In our schools we have formal reading, supplementary reading and reading of books taken from the class and from other libraries. In formal reading the child acquires the mechanics of reading. In supplementary reading he learns to apply the knowledge acquired in formal reading, and in library book reading he applies himself to reading for pleasure or for knowledge or for both. Formal reading and supplementary reading are class exercises or group exercises, but library book reading is an individual exercise, upon the tendency of which much of the pupil's success and happiness will depend. If the pupil leaves school without having acquired the habit of reading a book by himself, he will either not read good books at all and thus lose the power of utilizing his leisure hours for pleasure or profit, or he will in many cases read cheap, accessible books and papers that appeal mainly to the senses and unduly inflame the imagination. If it be true that good books are companions, that they make life more worth living, that they cheer us in grief, that they instruct us, entertain us, edify us and make us better, then it is worth while to learn how to read them. Inasmuch as most of the reading public of the future is now in school and will leave before graduation, some effort should be made to give it the art of reading books. While your committee does not pretend to be able to lay down definite instructions as to how this should be done, yet for the purpose of emphasizing the necessity for teaching the art, a few guiding principles are submitted: I The object of reading a book should be to make oneself, to a degree, master of its contents. 2 The library should be used by children to supplement, strengthen, elaborate instruction, rather than to prepare for it. 3 Children should be taught to read slowly and attentively, which, it must be remembered, are relative terms. The same tempo should not be insisted upon with all children, as they differ in powers of concentration, quickness of eye and field of vision. 4 They should be advised to pause in their reading, to think about what they have read. At first these pauses should be more frequent. 5 They should be taught to reread what they do not understand; if then they still fail to understand, they should be taught to seek for explanation from teacher, parent or friend. 6 After a child has acquired the mechanics of reading he should read. As, however, there is desirable as well as undesirable reading matter, a right way of reading and also a wrong way, it is evident that control is needed. 7 It is as essential for the teacher to be familiar with the contents of the books in his class library as it is for him to know the character and tastes of his children. If he knows both, he can guide the child's reading into the proper channels and utilize the contents of the books in his daily instruction by reference to them. This knowledge will also enable him to fit the book to the reader. 8 As it is highly important that the child should find pleasure and intelligent enjoyment in reading, the teacher should not compel him to read for the sake of reading. A boy who does not wish to read can be otherwise better employed. As a witness of the evident pleasure of his companions in their reading, he may eventually try it. 9 At first books selected by the children should be given to them without hesitation. If the teacher sees, however, that the book is not arousing any interest in the pupil, he may advise him or select for him. A clever reader of character can not fail to arouse dormant faculties and inclinations and thus start the child in self-culture. 10 There are times when it is wise to prohibit reading altogether, or to restrict it, and there are other times when it should be encouraged. II While pupils should be encouraged to take notes while reading, to speak to the teacher or to a fellow pupil about what they have read, this should not be insisted upon in all cases, as it may make reading a task and thus discourage it. 12 The taste of readers of school age can be trained. It should not be one-sided or too many sided. One-sidedness must be combated as well as the tendency to dabble in too many and too various subjects. 13 The misuse of reading is to read vicious books, or to idle away in reading time that should be devoted to more important duties. 14 In our school readers the tendency is to exalt, biographically, poets, generals, novelists and painters. As there have been and are still living many people in other walks of life who have contributed much to the welfare of the human race, stories of nobility, of usefulness, of high ethical character from all stations of life, even the humblest, should be placed within reach of the children. They will help in the formation of character. It is not ethically wise to hold before children constantly examples of the heroic and successful along brilliant lines. There have been heroes in the domestic, scientific, ethical and civil walks of life whose attainments will inspire thousands of children because they feel within themselves the possibility of reaching such a plane, when stories of the great heroes will leave them unmoved. 15 It should be remembered that all work leads to fatigue. 16 Circulation per se should under no circumstances be aimed at. Not he who has read much has utilized his time wisely but rather he who has assimilated what he has read. 17 The teacher who has succeeded in making reading a matter of good tone in his class has done his duty. While the 18 Books should be accessible. class library should not be hampered by bureaucracy, long reports, card catalogs, etc., children should be made acquainted with the card catalog system of public libraries. The cataloging of books, distribution, circulation and other administrative work should be done by the pupils, leaving the teacher to do other and more important work. As a practical means of putting these principles into effect, the board resolved: "That, in the reconstruction of the time schedule of the courses of study, some time, probably one period per week, will be set aside for book reading." THE LIBRARIAN'S SHARE IN VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE THROUGH THE HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY FANNY D. BALL, CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL, DETROIT, MICH. As the high school is the main field for the exercise of vocational guidance, the high school library must enlarge its work to meet the new demand. The librarian may be the one to lead the way by calling attention to books and magazine articles on the subject, or the teachers may begin the work in their classes, but in either case the intelligent assistance of the librarian will add greatly to its success. 66 The first effort of the librarian must be in the selection of suitable books. These will be on the various subjects included under vocational guidance. There must be books which set forth the fundamentals of character which are essential for success in life, such as Marden's "The Making of a Man,” or Mathews's Conquering Success." Then there must be biographies of men and women of strong character and great qualities who have attained success and dignity in the different walks of life. They must be written also in a style that will appeal to boys and girls of high school age, and not be beyond their comprehension or appreciation; Sarah K. Bolton's Famous Leaders among Men," the "Life of Mary Lyon" or the "Making of an American" are good examples. Such biographies are too few in number, especially for men of our own times, and the librarian who can bring to light any overlooked books of this class, or the writer who can give us new biographies, will be conferring a favor on everybody engaged in guiding young people in their choice of a life work. Then should come books describing the world's work in general, the different kinds of occupations, and the special qualifications needed to carry them on. For this phase of the study, Parsons's Choosing a Vocation," Stoddard's "What Shall I Do?" or Fowler's "Starting in Life" are very useful. 66 There should be in the list books that are specially concerned with the occupations of men, and those that treat of the occupations of women. There must be books that deal with the preparation for life's work, when the choice of training school or college must be made. For data in regard to suitable schools the library will need to have a collection of catalogs and bulletins of colleges, schools of art, of music, and of technology. The librarian will find it useful to have duplicates of many of these books on her list. The number would depend on the size of the school and the demand for any certain book. In order to make the collection most accessible there should be a section of shelves reserved for the books on vocational guid ance. The shelves should be plainly labeled and the books grouped to correspond with the divisions of the subject as studied in the school. It will be helpful for the librarian to make lists of magazine articles on the various occupations, and post them as occasion requires. Another useful device is to have a card index of occupations, with a bibliography of the literature on each trade and occupation, and data on those found in the locality, or of special importance in the community. Pupils can often be interested in helping to make such an index. It is most important that the librarian know the contents of the books on her shelves, in order to meet the needs of the pupils. She should know which are inspirational and which are practical, which deal with special training and which with character development. She should know where to find comprehensive lists and outlines and where to get details. The librarian who takes up this vocational work understandingly and in a sympathetic way will find not only an increased interest in the library from both teachers and pupils, but also a renewed enthusiasm in herself. It is a new field for the schools and the library, and one that gives an added zest and a vitalizing impulse to the old lines of work in education. A SUGGESTIVE LIST OF REFERENCES ON HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES MARY E. HALL, LIBRARIAN, GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLYN It is hoped that these references may prove helpful to principals, teachers, and librarians interested in increasing the efficiency of high school libraries. Certain articles, while not directly on the high school library, have proved suggestive of possibilities in work for high school pupils. This bibliography of high school libraries has been carefully revised by members of the committee on high school libraries of the National Education Association. General references on the importance of the library and its work Aley, Robert J. Books and high school pupils. National Education Association, Journal of proceedings and addresses, p. 84448. 1909 Bates, W. H. The library as an aid to school work. School Review, 7:179-82. March 1899 Bishop, W. W. School libraries and public libraries. Public Libraries, 1:94-95. July 1896 Shows the importance of a school library in addition to a public library. Carlton, P. H. Relation of the college library to the student. Educational Review, 33:202-6. February 1907 Much that is said applies to high school libraries quite as well as college libraries. Chamberlain, A. N. Increasing the efficiency of the library as an educational factor. American Library Association, Proceedings. Bulletin 4, 5:154-62. July 1911 See p. 158-63 for suggestions for school libraries. |