Mr. ROOT gave in detail the work he is doing at Oberlin in this line. He
said:
We offer at Oberlin a course in bibliography in each college year. The
first year the work has to do with the use of libraries, with questions
of classification and cataloging, and is designed to aid the new
students in becoming familiar with the methods in use in our own library
and also with accepted methods in all well-conducted libraries. The
course in the second year has to do with the history of books and of
printing. This work is almost entirely historical. Some study is given
to the process and history of binding, with examples of famous bindings.
The third year work deals with palæography and the history and
development of handwriting, illumination, and work with manuscripts in
general. The fourth year work is in the nature of a seminar and is
devoted to instruction in bibliography. After an outline of the leading
national and trade bibliographies, problems in bibliography are handled
and discussed. The courses fill half of the college year, one lecture
per week being given. The work is entirely elective and the completion
of all of it enables a student to elect one-eighth of his course in this
subject. I should be glad to see recognition by the leading library
schools of this work, perhaps giving students advanced credit when work
has been satisfactorily done at any reputable college.
WALTER M. SMITH, librarian of the University of Wisconsin, briefly
outlined the elementary work done there with new students, and
maintained that formal lectures were not so good as practical
instruction in the use of the library both from the librarian's desk and
from the reference desk.
Miss SHARP, librarian of the University of Illinois, stated that a
one-hour course was given there for the general student body in the use
of the library. Regular university credit is given, but students may
attend these lectures optionally and many do so.
ANDREW KEOGH, of Yale University Library, described a short course in
the use of the library offered at that university. Two lectures are
given, one in the class room and one in the library, accompanied with
actual demonstration with the books. Some further and more elective work
is given as graduate work at Yale, but the elementary work is compulsory
with all new students.
A letter was read from Dr. H. P. TALBOT, of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, giving full description of his