American Library Association

Forming the Library HabitAuthor(s): Jean D. CochranSource: ALA Bulletin, Vol. 62, No. 1 (January 1968), pp. 41, 44-46Published by: American Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25697776 .

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publicity makers, the building is being used more fully, and variety and interest are added to the cultural life of the city. It makes the li

brary activity a moving part of the commu

nity. Because the two meeting rooms are on the

lower level and all public areas are on the main floor, we have enlisted the aid of volun teers to staff the gallery when a show is on. After some initial minor difficulties, we now have a well-organized group who takes this

responsibility, and in the progress, they have become more closely identified with the li

brary. This volunteer group is the result of re

cruiting by the Mill Valley Art Commission, members of which also arrange for some of the shows and frequently have the job of

hanging them. Our staff is not large enough or experienced enough to do this kind of job so it is done either by the sponsors or the Art Commission.

All of these extra activities attract attention to the library and make the library appear to be a livelier institution. They are worthwhile for these reasons, as well as others, as long as

they do not impair the main function of the

library?getting books and people together. Jerome Cushman expressed the mission of

the public library very well in his article on "Public Library Service to Adults."3 Although he was discussing the medium-sized library, it

applies just as well to the small library:

What is the mission of the medium-sized li brary? Our responsibilities have tended increas

ingly toward specialization?perhaps a reflec

tion of our national preoccupation with things rather than ideas. Yet it is in the realm of ideas that, in the long run, the library will make its

most telling contribution. There is little need to repeat the library's basic tasks; its informa

tional, educational, and cultural responsibilities have been discussed in almost every imaginable context. I believe, however, that the medium

sized library?and all libraries for that matter?

should stress ideas rather than "things," "facts,"

"specifics." Let us gear our program to in

dividuals, whether independent or group-associ ated. This can be done without surrendering the necessity of attention to "factual" informa tion. Nor does it imply a shift from the prac tical to the ethereal. The library that is truly practical will embrace the function of a com

munity information center and that of a center

for the inculcation and spread of ideas.

References 1 Based on the definition established by the Adult

Services Division, "adult clientele . . . those patrons, real and potential, who have undertaken adult re

sponsibilities regardless of their chronological age." 2 Gerald Johnson, Minimum Standards for Public

Library Systems, 1966. 3 Jerome Cushman, "Public Library Service to

Adults," in Leon Carnovsky and Howard W. Winger, eds., The Medium-sized Public Library: Its Status and Future (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963), p. 77.

by Jean D. Cochran

Work with adults in today's public libraries is

changing. In looking at adult services in a somewhat typical, medium-sized southern li

brary, an administrator sees a rapidly chang

ing clientele and type of service. Now we are more actively attempting to serve those who have felt no need for or have had no knowl

edge of libraries as well as those who turn nat

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urally to books and libraries to feed their minds.

More than ever before, we are going out

side the library in an effort to reach those who have never established the library habit. We are working more with organized groups which furnish us captive audiences to demon strate how the library can be of practical as

sistance in their lives. In a far too limited

way, we are working with groups of the cul

turally, educationally, and physically disad

vantaged.

Perhaps because of today's affluent society, this library, along with others in the nation, has experienced a slight reduction in fiction circulation. However, the search for serious

materials constantly increases as does the vol ume of reference work. The sharp increases in cost of expensive reference tools lead small business firms to consult the library and can

cel their own subscriptions. These and many other changes in the economic picture help to increase library usage and emphasize the im

portance of work with adults. Adult services li

brarians now need to be book people with the

temperament for social services. They must

know how to start with people where they are

and how to help them increase their intellec tual and economic potentials.

Defining the clientele

"Adult clientele" is defined by the Adult Services Division as "those patrons, real and

potential, who have undertaken adult responsi bilities regardless of their chronological age." The adult services department in this library serves a broader clientele than this definition covers. Our clientele includes the mentally ill, the functionally illiterate, the retired, and

young adults. The local veteran's hospital brings groups

of mental patients to the library for library orientation as one phase of a program prepar

ing patients to live in "halfway houses" before

completely releasing them from the hospital's care. While these patients at the moment are not assuming adult responsibilities, the library assists in helping prepare them to assume such

Miss Cochran is director of the Augusta

Richmond County Public Library, Augusta, Georgia.

responsibilities. Our adult staff works with the new reader

by providing a special book collection and by encouraging library visits from basic educa tion classes. The functionally illiterate are

people who have been unable to earn a good living because of their lack of an education, but they certainly are adults with adult needs, some of which the library can fill. Certainly we must treat them as adults and help to

equip them to assume adult responsibilities. Retired people make good use of the library

as individual readers and make up a good per centage of the audience in group activities. These people are the responsibility of the adult department even though their adult re

sponsibilities may be light or almost nonexis tent.

In the case of the above groups, I may have

given too literal an interpretation to the

quoted definition. Regarding our service to

young adults, however, this is not the case. In the experience of this library, and doubtlessly of many other libraries with limited budgets, the maintenance of a separate young adult de

partment, even if desirable, is financially im

possible. At the risk of being considered a

heretic, I question the importance of keeping adult services separate from young adult ser vices.

Certainly young adult services cannot be

completely separated from adult services, par ticularly not in a library of this size. Actually I am not convinced that it would be good to do so if we could. In my opinion, the empha sis of young adult work as separate from that of adult work is no longer pertinent. Isn't it

important to serve those who come to the li

brary as individual people, meeting their needs without questioning their age? Isn't the need of the individual the important consider ation? And cannot this need be met by which ever type of librarian happens to be available at the moment?

I do think it is important to have a staff member or members designated as young adult librarians to plan and promote group work with young adults and to give reading guidance when available. Also, I will concede that a separate collection of fiction for brows

ing purposes may still be important. Further than that, in this library we could not keep

44 ALA Bulletin January 1968

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the young adults separate from the adults or out of the adult department even though we

tried, since class assignments in increasingly lower grades require the use of the adult book collection more and more each year.

Yes, we do have a young adult librarian. She is one of six professionals who staff the information desk. Obviously, she cannot cover the desk for the 72% hours that the library is

open each week. Even when she is scheduled on the information desk, she is helping both adults and young adults as is each of the other five librarians.

Introducing the library With this explanation of our particular

adult clientele in mind, we will now focus at tention on this clientele and ways in which

they learn about the library and its services.

Today as never before, certain motivating forces are at work in our community to bring some of the unreached into the library for

practical purposes, either as individuals or as members of a group.

In the past, we have often failed to reach the patron who needed our books for practical purposes?the auto mechanic, radio operator,

plumber, and other craftsmen. Now economic motivation is bringing them to the library.

We have many adults going back to school who experience a need for their public li

brary, perhaps for the first time, through a school assignment. Military recruiting officers refer interested people to the library. Doctors send patients with a prescription for a specific book or books. People turn increasingly to the

library for "how-to-do-it" books. Those taking civil service examinations are referred to the

library for sample tests and for books to pre pare them for passing the tests. Adults come to the library for help as a result of an indus

try's recommendation that they take the Gen eral Educational Development tests. Need for

duplicating personal papers brings people in and serves as an introduction to the library.

Staff members from the Department of

Family and Children's Services come to the li

brary looking for special booklists, such as one for adoptive parents. Ministers and church members come looking for films and lesson materials. The telephone company re

fers the inquiring public to our sizeable collec

tion of telephone directories for out-of-town addresses. Community leaders in various other agencies and fields as well as guidance counselors constantly refer people to the li

brary.

Frequently the public is referred to the li

brary by articles in popular magazines. Re

cently, on a busy Sunday, a lady appeared at the information desk saying very emphati cally, "They said I could find this information at the library."

Forming the library habit

In all of these cases and for whatever other reason an adult or young adult comes to his

public library, I feel strongly that his visit rep resents an opportunity and a challenge. It is the responsibility of our adult and young adult staff to make using the library a pleas ant and meaningful experience so that this new user wilf return again and again, and, hopefully, will form the library habit.

It is obvious that we cannot depend entirely on outside forces for our library converts. The adult services staff must be continuously alert and busy to promote the use of the library. In addition to planning bulletin boards, staff

members prepare booklists, weekly newspaper columns, weekly radio programs, and radio and TV spots.

Attractive displays proudly advertise the li

brary and its services at such well-attended

community affairs as the hobby show, the an

tiques fair, and the science fair. (Interestingly enough, no books are lost in the extensive book collections exhibited at these public functions.)

Once an individual is attracted to the li

brary, nothing can take the place of personal, individual attention and empathic interest in the potential patron's need. Skillful reading guidance, individual hints on the use of the li

brary and its materials, and careful attention to reference inquiries will send the new patron home with his need met and his heart warmed

by the librarian's interest. Hopefully, he will return.

The adult public can be served in groups as well as individually. In this library, group services include regular film programs with book displays. Forums are planned making use of experts in the community. For example,

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a "Medical Forum" series was held in cooper ation with the county Medical Society; a se ries titled "Security for Women?Financial and Physical" was held in cooperation with the local insurance and banking associations and the police department. The many garden clubs in the city are invited to come to the li

brary for a meeting and are introduced to the wide variety of books related to gardening, flowers, and flower arrangement. A Mother's Half-Hour coincides with the Picture Book Half-Hour for preschoolers and provides an

opportunity for library orientation and book talks on subjects of interest to the group.

Programs of a cultural nature have not been overlooked. In addition to the film pro gram, occasional art lectures are held to coin cide with the opening of art shows in the main

library's auditorium. Great Books discussion

groups, originally sponsored by the adult ser

vices department, now meet in the library but

operate independently. For several years, a small foundation grant

made possible a series of library arranged

BOOKS FOR ADULTS BEGINNING TO READ

Revised 1967

The Committee on Reading Improvement for

Adults of the Adult Services Division has pre pared a recommended list for libraries develop

ing special services for the beginning adult reader. In selecting the materials for individuals

who are illiterate, functionally illiterate, or

whose reading skills are underdeveloped, effort

was made to include a range of interests?basic

adult education, family life, job information, personal and community problems, and inspira

tional and pleasurable reading. The predomi nant factor in the selection process, however,

has been the level of reading. Each entry is accompanied with a critical

annotation and frank evaluation on the use of

the material.

Reprints of this list are available from the Adult Services Division, ALA headquarters, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago 60611. For nine copies or less there is no charge. Above that number,

the price is ten cents per copy.

chamber music concerts, lectures, and dra

matic presentations known as "Winter Eve

nings with the Arts." Our "Evenings in the

Appleby Garden" series, which consists of

weekly outdoor programs of a similar type, held at the Appleby Branch, a former ante bellum home, finished its thirteenth season last summer. This twelve-week series is made

possible through a continuing grant from the

Appleby Foundation. The Parris Island Ma rine Band concert is traditionally the final

program and draws audiences of 2000. Our staff is constantly seeking opportunities

to meet with organized groups in the library. Programs for these groups are planned with the club's program chairman, but the library staff leans strongly toward book talks and in structions on the use of the library in con

junction with a library tour. In many instances, meetings with large

groups involve the time of two or more li brarians. Such cooperation gives variety to the program and is a necessity when a tour of the library calls for breaking up into smaller

groups. Included in these group activities and as

suming an ever-greater importance is the work

with young adult groups. Not only does the

young adult librarian make trips to the junior and senior high schools with a slide program she has developed on the use of the card cata

log and of the Readers9 Guide, but whenever

possible, such groups are brought into the li

brary for the purpose of orientation, library instruction, and a tour. Naturally, this young adult librarian needs the assistance of the adult librarians in handling this work. Very recently, two groups of over one hundred stu

dents each came to the library from the Au

gusta Technical School for this type of orien tation. We are quite encouraged by the results of such visits since the majority of the people in these groups have never been library users.

In summary, I see adult services work as a

kaleidoscope of activities and services to both individuals and groups with increasing em

phasis on orientation and instruction on the use of the library and with further expansion into the community where the great need of education exists but where the library is ig nored or unknown as the best equipped public institution to meet this need.

46 ALA Bulletin January 1968

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