A Directed Independent Study Approach to a Foundations Course

Over the past decade the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, has tried several approaches to presenting the "fundamentals" of librarianship to students entering the M.S. program. Four introductory "core" courses gave way to a single team-taught course which, in turn, was replaced by the present "directed independent study" approach. In its present form, the fundamentals course consists of a series of modules. For each module the student receives a minitext, a set of readings and a workbook. The student is to study the text and readings and complete the workbook assignments related to this module. The student passes the course when all component modules are completed to the satisfaction of the student's faculty advisor. In this course the faculty member becomes largely a "resource" to help students master the material. This paper discusses the reasons for abandoning the earlier methods and describes the evolution of the present format. The course, as it exists today, is described and its advantages and limitations are presented.