Library Instruction and Intellectual Stimulation

Library instruction classes often fail to give students the intellectual stimulation they need. Ann Irving, in her thought‐provoking article about bibliographic instruction, recognized the problem, noting that library teachers neglect subject content (Irving 1980, 11). Instead, they emphasize the process of obtaining facts and ideas. Too often, librarians get overinvolved in the process, and ignore the substance, of research. They frequently become lost in the retrieval of data and fail to teach students how to interpret the information they find. John Lubans, Jr., in his book Educating the Library User, discusses the obsessive concern with the layout of the library. A boring list of library services and dull tours are often the result of this approach to bibliographic instruction (Lubans 1974, 86). A bland and mechanical approach to the value of the library is far removed from the psychological and intellectual needs of the students. The result is a lack of student enthusiasm about the research project they are about to begin.