Some experiences of the Loughborough Conference
Abstract
The sound orientation in various document collections and in the wildemess of information pertaining to the indivldual subject fields has seemingly become ever more troublesome over the past few decades. One internationally accepted approach to this problem is to educate the users of information.
It was with this end in mind that IATUL (International Association of Technological University Libraries) organized its conference on Educating the Library User in April, 1970, at Loughborough.
The most common forms of training the users in information are: courses, serias of lectures, seminars, educational films, teaching machines, and the application of other audio-visual aids and techniques. The contents of education largely depend on the actual stage of development of librarianship and information activities in the individual countries. To show the two extremes: library orientation may be described as the lower limit, and the users' training in the use of computer-based information retrieval systems as the upper limit (e. g. Leadermart-System).
To organize the education of users most effectively, we must have adequate knowledge of the information behaviour and customs of users. Besides the didactic, organizational and content elements in the education of users, libraries also have to concentrate on the exploration of the users' needs.
The major part of the task to educate university students in this field falls on the university libraries. It is therefore highly desirable to find a proper place for the library within the organization of the university. If libraries - in addition to the traditional library functions - are to perform educational tasks, too, it is justifiable to propose that the library should be given the status of a university department.
The Loughborough Conferenoe offered some useful experiences; their adaptation to our special conditions is a major task for both university libraries and information centres engaged in education of the library user.
It was with this end in mind that IATUL (International Association of Technological University Libraries) organized its conference on Educating the Library User in April, 1970, at Loughborough.
The most common forms of training the users in information are: courses, serias of lectures, seminars, educational films, teaching machines, and the application of other audio-visual aids and techniques. The contents of education largely depend on the actual stage of development of librarianship and information activities in the individual countries. To show the two extremes: library orientation may be described as the lower limit, and the users' training in the use of computer-based information retrieval systems as the upper limit (e. g. Leadermart-System).
To organize the education of users most effectively, we must have adequate knowledge of the information behaviour and customs of users. Besides the didactic, organizational and content elements in the education of users, libraries also have to concentrate on the exploration of the users' needs.
The major part of the task to educate university students in this field falls on the university libraries. It is therefore highly desirable to find a proper place for the library within the organization of the university. If libraries - in addition to the traditional library functions - are to perform educational tasks, too, it is justifiable to propose that the library should be given the status of a university department.
The Loughborough Conferenoe offered some useful experiences; their adaptation to our special conditions is a major task for both university libraries and information centres engaged in education of the library user.
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Published
2019-05-09
How to Cite
Szepesváry, T. Some experiences of the Loughborough Conference, Scientific and Technical Information, 17(11-12), p. 889–902, 2019.
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