The ROLE OF PROFESSIONAL PERIODICALS IN EDUCATION FOR LIBRARY AND INFORMATION WORK Available to Purchase

When I came to prepare this paper, and considered carefully the subject I had chosen, it became apparent that there were two possible levels on which it could be treated. The first is the most practical in the narrow sense and may be summed up in a slogan modelled on the one the hatters use: ‘If you want to get through the exams, read your journals’. This cannot be said too often, because so few candidates realize it. Because the periodicals contain all the latest information and ideas on all the topics which are likely to come up in the papers, to be able to cite recent work reported in journals is the one way of being able to stand out above your fellow candidates, and with any luck you might be able to ‘blind the examiner with science’ by quoting something he has not read himself. This applies particularly to the Final Examination, where a knowledge of the periodicals is absolutely necessary, but it is also well worth remembering in the Registration, and even in what we have now got to call the First Professional Examination. Of course, it does not mean you can neglect the text‐books, but you must strike a happy balance.