Programmed instruction
Library science was not immune to the advancement of educational theory. Programmed instruction for library use is an example of how new theories of behavior and learning were incorporated into bibliographic instruction. Programmed instruction was based on the theories of psychologist B.F. Skinner, and began to be used for library instruction in the early 1960s. In essence, it was a self-teaching method. It was structured to allow individual learners to proceed at their own pace, mastering a body of knowledge through small steps. Using a specialized workbook, learners were given immediate feedback on the correctness of their answers. An example of programmed instruction in action can be found in the library use instruction developed by Miriam Dudley and her staff at the College Library of UCLA (Dudley, 1974). The model developed by Dudley allowed an institution, whether a large university or a small college with limited staff, to walk students through the process of searching for information in the library. This program included the Library Instruction Workbook, with 20 sections, an introduction, and accompanying assignments (Dudley, 1981). Using this workbook, students learned to locate tools such as the library catalog, indexes, and so on, and to utilize them effectively to answer questions. During the 1970s and early 1980s, a variety of academic libraries in the US and other countries adapted this model to construct their own programmed instruction for library use.
