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Dissertation Information for Alice Virginia Wituckle

NAME:
- Alice Virginia Wituckle
- (Alias) Alice Virginia Witucke

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Columbia University (USA) (1974)

ADVISORS:
- Leland B. Jacobs

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: The place of library experience in library education

Abstract: Five types of preprofessional library

experience were identified for study:
1. Practicum.
a.
Field work: professionally supervised

library experience offered as part of the

library school's program and taking place

during the academic sequence.
b.
Internship: full-time professionally

supervised library experience at a

professional level following completion of

library school course work.
2. Independently acquired experience.
a. Library work prior to entering library

school.
b.
Traineeship concurrent with library school

attendance: formalized work-study programs

in which the employing library takes some

responsibility for the student's

professional growth.
c. Non-traineeship employment concurrent

with library school attendance.

The status of these experiences in the 55

American library schools accredited as of

March 1972 was surveyed.

Four of these schools, with

varying,practicum policies, were chosen
for further study. Data on preprofessional

experience and attitudes toward experience

were gathered in mid-1972 through interviews

and questionnaires. Respondents vere faculty

members, summer graduates of 1969, 1971, and

1972, and supervisors of preprofessional

work experience.

Information on field exPerience in

theological, social work, and elementary and

secondary education was gathered through the

respective professional literature.

Findings
Library school policies toward experience

varied. At some schools it was considered

highly desirable; at others field work was

omitted from the program and experience

ignored when acquired independently.
At least 80 percent of each group studied

(faculty, students, alumni, and supervisors)

at the target schools had had one or more

preprofessional work experiences. Thus,

library experience is a part of library

education, whatever the policies of the

library school toward experience. The

experience was most likely to have been

acquired independently prior to or

concurrent with Library school. Field work

followed in number of participants; few

respondents had served traineeships or

internships. All groups believed in the

desirability of library experience, stating

that their own preprofessional experience

had had a positive effect on their overall

professional preparation. Half said that

field work should be required of all who

lack other preprofessional experience; 40 ~
percent labeled it a highly recommended

option. All types of preprofessional

experience were considered potentially

valuable. The traineeship was consistently

seen as having the most value. Conditions

interview respondents saw as enhancing the

learning value of preprofessional work

experience were concerned supervisors,

committed students, varied, activities, and

a view of the library's overall operation.

Questionnaire respondents called for

supervision, planned
experience. a variety of ctivities, work at

varying levels of complexity, communication

among the principals (faculty, supervisors,

students),
recognition of the experience by pay or

credit, analytic and questioning students.
The three other professions studied all saw

as desirable a series of experiences in the

field, starting with observation and moving

on to full professional responsibility, with

a variety of activities in a variety of

libraries with a variety of clienteles. The

most useful preprofessional work experiences

were those which
were well supervised, took place in well-

rated libraries, consisted of
experiences primarily professional in

nature, included a variety of
activities. Feelings of confidence toward

entrance to the profession,
and satisfaction with library education, did

not correlate clearly with
preprofessional experience.
When asked if they would build library

experience into a library school curriculum,

all respondents but one said that they would

and among them proposed a variety of

approaches to that experience.
The recommendation was made that at each

library school the appropriate place of

library experience in the curriculum be

studied in terms of the objectives of that

school and the possibilities for getting

that experience. The other professions

studied offered models useful to library

education. However,the ultimate information

needed is an objective measure of the effect

of this experience on librarian's overall
professional preparation

MPACT Scores for Alice Virginia Wituckle

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-04-07 20:56:57

Advisors and Advisees Graph

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Students under Alice Virginia Wituckle

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None