time is seriously curtained. Therefore, some of them are making it a policy not to make school stops, and urging school administrators to develop school library service under the administration of boards of education, or under contractual arrangements.

The standards in chapter 12 recommend a central agency for library resources and services in small schools to serve a number of small school districts. In addition to a basic collection in each small school, these centers would provide a centralized pool of books and other materials to supplement and enrich the basic collections and could be used interchangeably by a number of schools. The quarters should provide space and facilities for centralized processing for all the schools, and a conference room for teachers to examine the materials. A staff of professional librarians and clerical workers should service this agency: one or more of these professional staff members would be field librarians to serve the small schools by working a number of hours each week in each school, assisting teachers and pupils in the selection of materials, and in using them to the best advantage.

In both small and larger schools, a school library program presupposes a well selected, organized, and cataloged collection of materials, and it also presupposes the continual purchase of new materials, and the weeding out of out-of-date holdings. It demands a steady flow of information from the library to the faculty, pupils and community-lists of new materials, lists on special subjects, description of services-and publicity in the form of exhibits, newspaper articles, assembly programs, etc. Moreover, the school library provides an information service on other community resources of value to teachers and pupils.

The modern school library includes professional collections for teacherspreferably in a place set aside for teachers within the library or makes accessible material from a school system's central collection. These collections are com prised of professional books and periodicals (including subject journals), curriculum guides, selection tools, and sometimes sample textbooks. We must help our teachers and librarians to keep informed of new methods and materials through readily accessible professional collections.

A good school library is a bright and lively place where teachers and pupils all day and every day can study, read, pursue interests, view films, listen to recordings, receive library instruction, confer with librarians-in general, carry out those activities which will contribute best to the education of our youth. A fully developed school library program comes only with understanding of its philosophy, cooperative planning, and gradual growth. It is a complex tasknot easy, but keenly interesting-and full of deep satisfactions for all educatorsadministrators, teachers, librarians.

In moving toward the implementation of school library standards, it will be most useful for school administrators to reexamine their concepts of the profession of school librarianship. In all States of the United States except one, school librarians must be certified as teachers, as well as librarians, and this requirement exists in New Hampshire. School librarians are educators in the same sense that teachers are, but with a broad responsibility to serve the entire school, including the guidance and health programs. They are expected to know curriculum, materials, child and adolescent psychology, and library techniques. In addition, they are expected to have the maturity, poise, and insight to work effectively with all the adults and youth of the school and community. Nevertheless, in many schools over the country they are serving as typists, clerks, and disciplinarians. They are dependent for help on student assistants, and some of them have lost interest in much of the school library program except the training of student assistants and other activities connected with these groups. (Student assistant programs in the library should be a guidance function— helping boys and girls to realize the meaning of service for its own sake, and in general, contributing to their social development. The dependence on student assistants to carry out the library routines is essentially an exploitation of students, and retards the provision of clerical personnel for really efficient school library service.)

Because of our shortage of librarians, we have been cutting back on preservice education, and employing librarians with emergency certificates and limited training. As a result, many of our school librarians lack the confidence necessary to direct a school library program, or, if they have it, they have been discouraged by conditions unfavorable to the development of the library's purposes and functions. It is not our intent here today to examine all of the problems of recruitment and professional education of school librarians. Your

State department of education has shown genuine concern with the need for leadership in school library development, and for recruitment and training, and will contribute greatly to progress in these areas. But it is your concern, I think, through inservice education, to encourage and assist school librarians in building fully professional library services. "Standards for School Library Programs" discusses in some detail the professional status and functions of school librarians and I hope that administrators will give particular attention to this section.

I am always impressed by the genuine concern of administrators to develop good schools. I am sure you will want to examine the standards, not only for the elements of a good school library program, but for the conditions of school librarianship which influence so profoundly the quality of school library service. I am also deeply impressed by the dedication of school librarians to their educational service. In the implementation of the school library standards, there are no problems which cannot be solved by increased understanding and communication among administrators, librarians, and teachers, and a ready will to start where we are and go forward.

QUANTITATIVE STANDARDS FOR STAFF MATERIALS, QUARTERS, FUNDS1

In 1950 when I was working for a master's degree at the School of Library Service, Columbia University, I conducted a research survey "Activities and Services of the School Library as Related to Modern Concepts of Its Educational Function." In this study, I attempted to measure the amount of educational services given by school libraries in 50 schools of New York State, which met the ALA quantitative personnel standards for school libraries. (These standards were stated in "School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow, 1945.") They recommended 1 trained librarian and 1 full-time paid clerical assistant for every 500 pupils. I had difficulty in locating schools which met these specifications; at that time, however, there were a considerable number of high schools in New York State with enrollments of approximately 500 students, with 1 full-time librarian, and a selection from these schools comprised 48 of the 50. I found only 2 schools with enrollments of 1,000 which had 2 full-time librarians. Only 1 of the 50 schools measured up to the personnel requirements in paid clerical help, and that was one of the larger schools. The activities and services were divided into three categories clerical, technical, and educational— and these activities and services were compiled after a thorough study of school library and education literature on the functions and services of a school library. The technical functions included ordering, processing, and circulation of materials, and the administrative aspects of serving pupils in the library. The educational functions were approximately the same as I described this morning— reading and personal guidance, library instruction, reference services, and developing with administrators and teachers library service to all aspects of the school's program.

The hypothesis of this study was that even in schools which met the 1945 ALA personnel standards, librarians could not perform accepted educational functions of school libraries because of lack of time, and other factors. The study was weakened, of course, by the fact that 49 of the schools included in the survey did not have paid clerical assistants. I found out, of course, that the clerical and technical functions of schools library service were carried out to a high degree, and that the educational functions were not fulfilled, except in part. The educational services most often neglected were those related directly to curriculum. In the libraries with two librarians there was a higher degree of participation with teachers in curriculum planning, and in services by librarians to classrooms, and to classes in the library. This fact was true, even though the equation of librarians to pupils was the same in all the schools. Responsibility for supervision of students in the library and clerical activities were designated by the librarians as the chief deterrents to participation in the school's educational program. I found out one other unlooked for fact: Some of the school

1 New Hampshire State Department of Education, and American Association of School Librarians. "Conference on School Libraries-A Pilot Program," May 6, 1960, by Miss Mary Helen Mahar, school and children's libraries specialist, U.S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

librarians showed a lack of understanding of their own place in the educational program, and expressed greater concern with more time for clerical and technical duties.

This introduction is rather a long preamble to the quantitative standards for personnel in our 1960 standards. It helps me, however, to make a point about quantitative standards for personnel. If I were a school administrator beginning to develop a school library program, the first personnel standard I would try to implement is the paid clerical assistant-we do have heavy clerical duties in school libraries, or in central agencies; they should be performed by a clerk, and a librarian must be free from these duties to perform educational library services. At the same time, I would work with my librarian to define her true functions in the school, and to assist her to put them into practice. I would also take a look at her supervisory duties in the library, and see if these cannot be shared with other school personnel. The time spent in supervision could better be spent in guiding students to books of meaning and value, in conferring with the teachers on materials for units of study, or on selecting professional materials.

In implementing the standards for professional personnel, it is advisable to relate the increase of personnel to the development of the library program. This suggestion is equally true for all aspects of the quantitative standards-to begin with program, and add staff and materials, as the need grows, and use is developed. Along with this progress toward superior school library service, administrators need to continually interpret to school boards and communities the significance of school libraries for the education of children and young people. It has been my experience that communities will give support to school library service, when they understand its meaning for their children.

In reading and studying "Standards for School Library Programs," I suggest you read the whole pamphlet first, except pages 24 and 25, and then go back and look at those pages where the quantitative standards are summarized. (This is page skipping recommended by a librarian.) I hope this idea will not encourage you to read only pages 24 and 25. At any event, the quantitative standards have very little meaning except as they relate to the philosophy described. They have been met and exceeded in some schools, and they are good standards, not excessive, for good school library programs.

For professional personnel, they recommend 1 librarian for every 300 students, for the first 900 students. After that figure, 1 librarian for every 400 students. They recommend additional personnel when school librarians have complete, or partial responsibility for audiovisual programs and materials. On page 51 "Standards for School Library Prorgams" you will find this statement: "The recommended standards provide for only an extremely small amount of time for the librarian to work with individual students during the schoolday— approximately 6 minutes a week for each student in schools having 300-900 students and approximately 5 minutes a week for each student in larger schools, if the school librarian did nothing else but this guidance and teaching of individual students. The recommendation is sometimes advanced that students should use the school library at least three times a week. If a student came to the library three times a week during the schoolday, and if each library staff member worked with no more than 40 students a class period (a maximum load) then the total amount of time available for each student would approximate 12 or 2 minutes a period, and would be much less when the periods included library instruction, book talks, storytelling, or other activities designed for the group as a whole. Again, this figure is based on the premise that the librarian would be nothing else but working with students, a situation that is actually extremely rare." The clerical ratio recommended is 1 clerk for each 600 students. For size of collections, the standards recommend 6,000-10,000 books for schools having 200-299 students, and in schools of 1,000 or more students, 10 books per student. At this point, I would like to call attention again to chapter 12, "Library Resources and Services in Schools Having Fewer Than 200 Students." In the chapter you will find the following statement (p. 103). "In view of the fact that schools with 200 students need at least 6,000 books in their school libraries, smaller schools, where circumstances permit, can use collections of proportionate size." On pages 24 and 25, you will also find quantitative figures for periodicals, professional, supplementary, and audiovisual materials.

The recommendations for periodicals have concerned some school librarians to whom I have talked. They are as follows:

Schools with grades K-6: 25 titles.

Schools with grades K-8: 50 titles.
Junior high school: 70 titles.

Senior high school: 120 titles.

Periodicals in the high school are significant for a number of reasons:

1. They comprise a major share of reading material for our less able students.

2. They satisfy a very wide range of interests.

3. They are invaluable for information on current events and points of view on controversial issues.

4. Files of periodicals are essential for research.

5. Some of the more sophisticated periodicals-journals in the social and pure sciences, the literary magazines, the little magazines of poetry and short stories are important for gifted students.

The quantitative standards also recommend "an extensive collection of pamphlets covering a wide range of subjects." Pamphlet materials often have special appeal for high school students; their brevity, graphic presentation and sometimes simple and direct language help them to grasp a subject more readily. Furthermore, they are often free, usually inexpensive, facts which will have special appeal for planners of school budgets.

Recommendations for the annual budgets for printed materials are in schools having 200 to 249 students, at least $1,000 to $1,500, and in schools having 250 or more students, at least $4 to $6 per pupil. The minimum of $4 means that "approximately only one book per student can be added to the school library each year. The current cost of books (allowing for discounts) averages $3 per book for the elementary school library, $3.50 for the junior high school library, and $4 for the senior high school library. Production costs of books have been rising steadily during the last decade, and there is every indication that these costs will continue to mount." These figures do not include, encyclopedias, periodicals, audiovisual materials, rebinding and supplies; these latter materials, of great importance to school library programs, are treated separately both in the quantitative summary on pages 24 and 25, and in the text.

Specifications for library quarters and equipment for schools having 200 or more students are included in the appendix of Standards for School Library Programs. They include specifications for the following areas: reading room, listening and viewing space, conference room, classroom, stacks, workroom and offices, teachers' space or room, magazine room, and informal reading area. The specifications are detailed, and for new schools, and the remodeling of older school buildings, they will be of great value. I am not attempting to repeat these specifications here, but to relate them to a few fundamental concepts of the relationship of quarters to programs. An official of a State department of education attending the meeting of the Study Commission of the Chief State School Officers in Georgia last December made a statement that in his State a lot of money was wasted on beautiful new school library quarters in which nothing much was happening. Again, therefore, we must emphasis programs (you will be tired of this word) and apply functional library design specifications to these programs. Furthermore, a school's program and size may modify or change some specifications for library quarters. For example, if you are going to expand your modern language program, you may wish to provide for listening areas for tapes and recordings in the library. You should also keep in mind that such program expansion may occur at a later date. As a school librarian, I like very much a library classroom-for the teaching functions of the library. Some librarians are not as enthusiastic about library classrooms as I am.

In older school buildings, where immediate expansion of space may not be possible, the library quarters should be made as attractive, decorative, and functional as possible. Dark brown furniture, dull paint, and grim portraits of our forefathers on the walls are not conducive to the delights of quiet reading, or browsing, or to the peaceful and relaxed atmosphere which can have such good effect on student behavior. Limited space should not be used as a reason for limiting a school library program: Often existing space can be reutilized to better

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advantage. Furthermore, administrative flexibility in library attendance can permit greater utilization by classes. If a teacher would like to bring a class to the library one period, it usually does not create too great a hardship on students for voluntary use, if the number permitted from study halls that period is announced beforehand. If you would like to go forward with an audiovisual library program, and have limited funds, sometimes school custodians are good cabinetmakers and can provide storage for audiovisual materials at minimum cost. In a high school where I was librarian for 10 years, we had recordings, films, and filmstrips-stored in homemade cabinets out in the hall outside the library, and we had a good program. These measures were temporary-the high school library in the film you will see today grew out of the program in that school; while we made the plans for the new school library, and its equipment, we served our teachers and pupils.

In planning new school buildings, it is well to recall that modern trends in education, indicate that libraries will become even more significant in the total school program. Individualized instruction, both in the elementary and secondary school, point to a need for larger quarters for more use by pupils of library facilities. Some of our newer school libraries are already equipped with carrels for student study. Our library quarters in new schools should reflect our plans for the future.

May I suggest again that in implementing either National or State quantitative standards for school libraries, in staff, materials, quarters, and funds, that your approach be gradual in terms of library programs and in relation to community understanding. The process of formulating State standards is a highly constructive and educational experience, and provides a steppingstone and a sense of direction toward national recommendations.

I hope that you and all New Hampshire educators will have a great deal of interest and success in improving school library services for your children, in the fine tradition of education in New England.

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY SERVES THE PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTION

1

I am very impressed by the great strides you have made in school library development. A Guide for Montana School Libraries and Standards for Accreditation including school libraries in both elementary and secondary standards, are major achievements. During my previous visits to Montana, I visited schools, both large and small, and although I do not know your State well, I am familiar with some of your needs in school library service. However, in this talk I am not dealing with immediate problems but long-range objectives in school library service.

The use of school libraries is a method of education by which all teachers in schools employ school library materials in basic (not peripheral) classroom procedures, and by which all elementary and secondary pupils for all subjects of the curriculum use library materials to achieve the purposes of education in terms of their specific and individual capacities and needs. This philosophic concept is supported by the Council of Chief State School Officers in the council's recently published policy statement, Responsibilities of State Departments of Education for School Library Services. In the foreword of the publication is this statement: "The principles, responsibilities, and guidelines set forth in this statement are based on the generally accepted premise that improvement of instruction is a major function of the State department of education; that school library services are a part of instruction and are thought of as applying to all schools for which the State department of education has responsibility."

The policy statement further supports this philosophy in this statement: "School library service cuts across grade levels and permeates the entire curriculum. Educational research has demonstrated that, within both elementary and secondary grades, intelligence, achievement, and interests of pupils vary to a great extent, so that curriculum methods and materials must be flexible and varied to accommodate widely divergent pupil requirements. For example, in the third grade the reading level of pupils may vary as much as seven grades,

1 For publication in the "Proceedings, 14th Annual School Administrators' Conference," State Department of Public Instruction, Helena, Mont., Mar. 27, 1962. Mary Helen Mahar, School and Children's Library Specialist, Library Services Branch, Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington 25, D.C.