THE SCIENCE REFERENCE LIBRARY

40 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

appreciation of the work of the inventor and it will lead to asatisfaction which may encourage future independent attempts.The average teacher can hardly do more.

It is quite possible that any observations of the naive ques-tions of educated adults may differ from those of immaturepupils. But the results are at least suggestive of a method thatcan be followed by anyone who is interested. If the five typesof naive questions reported or other similar ones are found to becommon among secondary school pupils and to form a hierarchy,they will afford valuable suggestions to teachers of the order inwhich phenomena may be considered in science classes to insurethe economical acquisition of information and of methods ofprocedure. Whenever possible, the habits of nature should befollowed rather than combated.

THE SCIENCE REFERENCE LIBRARYBY GRACE M. HARPER

The Highlands High School, Fort Thomas, Ky,In no other department except English is such a wealth of

material available to teacher and student as in science, yet manyotherwise well-equipped schools fail to amass a creditablescience reference library.The present article is a resume of various plans, most of which

have been used by the writer during the last three years. Theultimate purpose throughout has been to make science diverta little more of the pupiFs outside time and establish in him ahabit of interest in current scientific problems. From thestandpoint of the science teacher this aim involves a considerationof the following topics:

SCOPE or ARTICLEI. Standards observed in selecting reference material.II. The securing of reference material.III. Making material available for student use.IV. Securing systematic use of current reference material.

I. STANDARDS1. Perhaps the best and only standards that need be applied

�to a book or magazine are its accuracy of scientific statementand its "readableness^ from the child^s viewpoint. The firstof these probably possesses less importance than we usuallyattach to it. Many a Gadgrindian scientist has in childhoodpored over the "Rollo" books and ^Twenty Thousand Leaguesunder the Sea" without permanent injury to his later discrimina-

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tion. To be sure, nothing that is grossly incorrect or unscientificshould be placed in the school library, but it may be necessaryto include some reading matter that is considerably below thestandard of the best, according to mature scientific definition.We must, in any case, provide material of sufficient range toallow the pupil to find that which is suited to his mental develop-ment. Magazine and newspaper articles, in particular, can wellbe used in teaching discrimination in the relative value ofprinted items. The pupil learns to strike a balance between thescepticism that rejects every new or unfamiliar statement andthe credulity that accepts anything ^in print." The pupiPsreaction to a pseudo-scientific article, in fact, gives an excellentopportunity for testing out his grasp of scientific principles.

Kind of Material ProvidedIn choosing books for the pupil we do well to remember that

he is in the romantic age with a capacity for interest in theromances of invention, a tendency toward "hero worship^ ofthe pioneer scientists�if only their lives and struggles bereadably presented�and a desire to plumb the mysteries ofenergy and matter that gives him a derived interest in the latesttheories of science. For the practical, matter-of-fact type ofstudent we must, on the other hand, provide some technicalworks of applied science in the special fields. The pupils them-selves will usually furnish very good lists of books they haveenjoyed reading and when the teacher can select from a numberof these lists there is little doubt that the books will be keptin circulation.. ’

The reference material that the science teacher can collectand systematically relate to the class work falls into the follow-ing classification:

a. Books that present applied science in a manner that is sufficiently"popular" to make an appeal.

b. Magazines that contain "popular science" articles.c. Government bulletins, catalogues, pamphlets, etc.d. Clippings from all available sources.e. Books and magazines of a more technical nature that deal with

special fields of science.II. SECURING BOOKS AND MAGAZINES

If the appropriation for reading matter is inadequate, variousplans may be used to supplement the stock.While it may seem outside the field of the present article, a

word might be said about the home library. Every effort shouldbe made to get readable scientific books and magazines into asmany homes as possible. Fathers and mothers without scientific


training can often enjoy the reading matter that appeals to theirhigh school sons and daughters, and an immeasurable growthresults from family discussion of such reading matter. A greatdeal can be done through the Parents-Teachers^ Associations.Parents are usually glad to be given suggestive lists of books ormagazines, especially around Christmas time. The results aremore noticeable if pupils have been encouraged through theschool to ask for or make presents of such a nature. Clubs canoften be formed among the pupils and the three or four maga-zines received by the group passed from member to member.

Supplementing the School LibraryMost schools provide for the purchase of books more liberally

than they do for the purchase of magazines. Even ten or fifteendollars spent in books each year will furnish a nucleus, althoughconsiderable supplementing will be required.

If the school is in a town with a progressive public library,the directors are often willing to buy books recommended bythe science department of the school, provided the books are ofsufficiently popular treatment fco keep in circulation. Somelibraries lend the school sets of books chosen by the teachers ofthe various departments. If no such ideal cooperation betweenthe school and the library is attainable, the school can at leasthave one or more library cards to be used by teachers in placingon the shelf desired reference books not owned by the school.As a lasfc resort, there are the pupils^ individual cards. -Byconcerted action on the part of borrowers, a number of extrabooks^ on a special topic can be transferred to the school libraryshelf for a couple of weeks. The teacher must, of course, knowthe resources of the public library in each topic assigned forcollateral reference work. However complete a cataloguingsystem the public library possesses, and however well trainedthe pupils have been in its use, the teachers card catalogue filesshould include all articles or topical references she expects to useduring the year.In a community where no public library exists, as may some-

times occur in the case of the rural centralized high school, thereis normally such an eagerness for good reading matter that aschool bazaar, home baking sale, candy sale, etc., for the purposeof providing library funds is generously supported.

Magazines

As was suggested above, there is often a failure to provide

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current reading matter for school use. It can, however, usuallybe obtained by one of the following methods.

a. From school-fund appropriation (if such exists) for books andmagazines.

b. From ^library fee^ imposed on pupils who register in sciencecourses.

^c. From fund formed by payment of dues in a science club that com-

bines social and informational features.d. From fund subscribed by members of community, Mothers^ Club,

etc., or earned by members of science classes.

Of the four methods suggested, (a.) is most generally used,though (c) will be found to promote a spirit of cooperation andpride of possession not fostered by any of the other methods.Even such a nominal, sum as twenty-five cents a year from eachmember will provide enouch magazines to circulate duringstudy periods, though there will be certain favorite magazinesfor which there is an overdemand.

BulletinsGovernment bulletins, pamphlets, catalogues, etc., are

usually furnished on application or afc a very nominal cost. Thecollection of such material is a simple matter, though its classifi-cation, which will be considered in the next section, is far fromsimple.

ClippingsClippings, likewise, are more easily collected than catalogued,

through eternal vigilance on the part of the teacher is requiredto effect the garnering of all valuable material. Many monthly,weekly, or daily publications of a literary or journalistic naturedevote considerable space to scientific matters. Examples arefound in the "Science and Invention" column of the LiteraryDigest, "Everybody^ Business^ in the Saturday Evening Postspecial sections, in the Outlook, Independent, Pathfinder, CurrentEvents, Sunday school leaflets, and any number of other publica-tions that circulate in the homes. These papers are often dis-carded on the arrival of a later issue and a number of clippingsof an especially fine article can be secured. The daily andSunday newspapers are a valuable source. (Madame Curlersrecent visit stimulated a wealth of information in the newsjournals on scientific history and biography, radium, the growthof knowledge and other related topics.) Critical discussion ofthe articles brought in teach the pupil to value the newspaperas a chronicle of events in the scientific world, but to discredit thecomments of the average reporter on these same events.

It is advisable to recognize and reward in some manner the


initiative shown by pupils in collecting clippings. This workof collecting and classification may be turned over to the "Infor-mation Committee" of the science organization, or to a groupof the pupils who show a special bent for such work.

III. CLASSIFICATION AND FILINGIt is worse than useless, however, to collect material without

filing it away in some systematic manner.A regular filing cabinet and indexed cards is the best device,

although a large pasteboard box with a lid can be arranged toserve the same purpose. Clippings may also be temporarily filedinside the covers of a large magazine such as the Literary Digest.This plan is especially convenient in making a rough prelimi-nary classification. The covers can be given such labels asHeat, Light, Sound, Electricity, Radioactivity, Potash, etc.It is well to follow the same plan in filing away groups of articlesfor bulletin board display. All articles relating to a special topicsuch as electrical resistance or chemical fertilisers can be keptin one file until the class is studying the topic.

In addition to filing articles away topically, a reference indexof the more useful ones should be kept on three-by-five or somemore convenient-sized cards. This takes considerable super-vision, but a well organized band of helpers greatly reduces theteachers labor.

Card CataloguesThe table of contents and indexes of the books will give a

fairly good basis for classifying the contained subject matter.The bulletins, etc., are also relatively easy to dispose of. A cardcatalogue system of topical reference, when once worked out forthe school and public library supply of books, pamphlets, etc.,remains a static, up-to-date unit. This is^iot the case, however,with the magazines. They pour in faster than the committeescan classify their subject matter. ; Most of them contain nosatisfactory table of contents. Few of them are dealt with inthe Readers7 Guide. If the material they offer is to be availablewhen desired, they must be looked over page by page.The Popular Science Monthly can be disposed of by utilizing the

service sheets that are furnished on application. One of theseservice sheets can be posted on the bulletin board for the studentsto use. Another can be cut up into separate units and pasteddirectly on the cataloguing cards. The National GeographicBulletin prints at the end of the school year a very complete

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list of all articles published during the year. (This list, however,is not available during the current year.) Even if the othermagazines contain a satisfactory table of contents� which mostof them do not� the articles are of such unequal length andscientific worth that a descriptive catalogue of the home madevariety is the only solution. It is, of course, comparativelyeasy to get a catalogue of the references in any special field.Two pupils at work on each magazine can usually card cataloguea special topic in one study period.

IV. SYSTEMATIC USE OF MATEBIALAttention to Bulletin Board

No matter how varied and how interesting the magazines thatare furnished, however, students show a tendency to read by^fits and starts^ unless they are held down to some systematicp an. Some of them even disregard material posted on thebulletin board, unless their knowledge of it is checked up fre-quently. This checking up might very easily be done by meansof true-false, completion, or matching tests. If a hectograph isused, the preparation, giving, and scoring of the tests wouldconsume a minimum of time and effort.

Use o) Magazines in Class PeriodSystematic reading of the magazines can usually be secured

if the work is socia ized to some degree. One or two class periodsa month can very profitably be given over to reports and discus-sions of various articles that have appeared during, the month.This feature of the work can be placed under the direction of theexecutive board of the science club, previously mentioned.Every month a committee of five or ten pupils may be ap-pointed, each of whom is interested in some special field. Thecommittee looks over the magazines as they come in and eachmember selects two or three articles which seem to him mostsignificant in his special field. A list of the selected articles isposted and each pupil in the class is held responsible for athorough perusal of two or more of them in addition fco hisvoluntary reading.^ A class discussion as to whether or not thearticles selected are really mosfc worth while usually brings abouta comparative discussion of related articles.The program committee can occasionally allow the members

of the class to make their own selections. Three or four daysbefore the report period each pupil must have given the chair-man of the committee the title of the article selected for report.


The chairman presides, calls for reports, and conducts discussionsaccording to parliamentary procedure. The material presentedin such reports should be of inherent interest to the student, andshould be presented in an interesting manner to the class.The pupils may occasionally be required to take notes on theindividual reports. These notes, which are collected and glancedover by the teacher, will be found to range from a summarizingtopic statement to a fairly creditable outline of the reportedarticle. Such exercises form a good test of the concentration ofthe individual pupils and, needless to say, the reporter is heldstrictly to account for a clear presentation of the central idea.

It is well to encourage a great deal of browsing during thefirst four or five weeks of the term, followed by frequent informal-discussions of a volunteer nature. Some time during the secondmonth each pupil in the eleventh and twelfth grade may berequired to choose a topic in which he is especially interested,or may be assigned one if his special preference cannot be dis-covered.

Theme WorkIt is undeniably difficult to get pupils of high school age to

gather information regularly and methodically from a numberof sources and finally, when the unorganized items have attainedsome volume, mould them in an organic whole. Their preferencelies in the direction of reading a book or encyclopaedia articleand then condensing it by copying every fourth or fifth sentence.

Special difficulty is therefore encountered in getting the pupilto glean part of his information from current magazines and partfrom different books, files of clippings, etc. If he has chosen asubject, however, in which he is really interested�one that ispractically a hobby�his eight or nine months’ search throughmagazines, bulletins, clippings, etc., the perusal of the variousphases of his subject in well-written books, and even the finalassembling of his ideas in well organized form will not be utterdrudgery.The final result should be an article or term paper of at least

one thousand words which is to be criticised by the Englishteacher for sentence structure, technicalities, spelling, etc., andby the science teacher for accuracy and organization of subjectmatter.

Conference PeriodsThe pupil may need frequent ^prodding" to keep him at his

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task. Oral report sessions should be held at least once a monthduring which each pupil is required to report on information hehas gained during the time. Some suggestions for additionalsources of information will be offered by other pupils during theseoral report sessions. The teacher can frequently make a sug-gestion concerning the relation any particular item reported onwill have to the whole subject. Conference periods at leastonce a month should likewise be held. Individual conferencesare always preferable, but if the teacher has too large classes orhas no free period it may be necessary to hold conferences witha group of ten or twelve whose problems can be dealt with ingroup session.

Pupils will need some help in working out a logical treatmentof the subject-matter and also considerable advice about note-taking. They can be trained to collect scattered bits of informa-tion on separate sheets, for instance, of a four-by-six scratch pador convenient-sized card. They can also be helped to realizethat these various scraps of information fall under one or anotherof the main topics of the subject.Each student may be required to keep, on the regular library

catalogue cards, a bibliography of his reference sources. He mayfrequently insist he is unable to find any magazine article on bisspecial topic. If the subject has been wisely chosen, he can beshown that he simply has not looked carefully enough. He will,moreover, if extensive enough reference reading is required, ac-quire an increasing ability to glance over the pages of a bookor magazine and isolate the matter pertinent to his field. Thebibliography he has collected will, of course, help solve theteachers problem of cataloguing reference material.

GLACIERS AT THE EQUATORWe do not usually think of glaciers in connection "with "darkest Africa"

or any other part of that continent, but according to the United StatesGeological Survey, Department of the Interior, there are small glacierson three of the highest mountains in Equatorial Africa�Mount Kili-manjaro, 19,321 feet high; Mount Ruwenzori, 16,800 feet high; andMount Kenya, about 17,007 feet high. On Kebo Peak, which is a partof Mount Kilimanjaro, there is an ice cap 200 feet thick, which fills theravines forming glaciers, several of which extend down to points 16,000feet above sea level and one to 13,800 feet. Both Mount Ruwenzoriand Mount Kenya are close to the equator, but their lowest glaciersextend down to points 12,700 and 14,460 feet, respectively, above sealevel. A study of the moraines formed by these glaciers shows thatduring the Ice Age the glaciers were much larger than they are now,

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THE SCIENCE REFERENCE LIBRARY