DOCUMENT RESUME 
ED 129 253 
IR 004 029 
AUTHOR 
Haizlip, 
Harold 
Cc. 
TITLE 
The Role of the Library or Media Center in Education 
in the Virgin Islands. 
INSTITUTION 
Saint Croix Library Association, 
Christiansted, 
Virgin Islands. 
PUB DATE 
Jun 73 
NOTE 
21p.; Paper presented at the St. Croix Library 
Association Annual Fall Meeting 
(2nd, 
St. 
Croix, 
Virgin Islands, 
October 27, 1972); 
Studies in Virgin 
Islands Librarianship 
Wo. 
9 
EDRS PRICE 
MF-$0.83 HC-$1.67 
Plus Postage. 
DESCRIPTORS 
Elementary Education; Instructional Katerials 
Centers; Librarians; 
*Library Role; *School 
Libraries; 
Secondary Education; 
Speeches 
IDENTIFIERS 
*Virgin Islands 
ABSTRACT 
Difficulties specific to the Virgin Islands and the 
general rapid adwances in technology require the rethinking of the 
role of libravies. 
Libraries and media centers should be called 
"information centers" to reflect the explosion of informgation whict. 
is outdating the traditional media. 
Plans are underway in the Virgin 
islands to develop computer information links with the sainland 
United States and Puerto Rico. 
These links would have profound 
implications for such a geographically remote area. 
Current problems 
of librarians 
in Virgin Islands schools, 
however, 
have little to do 
with computers. 
The rote-learning curriculum and the frequent use of 
librarians as babysitters restrict the library's effectiveness. 
Rates 
of college failure among graduates of Virgin Islands schools and the 
high dropout rate reflect the lack of orientation toward individual 
needs. 
Students should be liberated to explore and analyze in their 
own ways. 
The library can facilitate needed instructional 
individualization. 
Appendixes accompanying this speech include a 
record of the question answer period which followed. 
(Kb) 
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KEE ERE ERE RAE REESE EEE REE EREEEKE RAE EEE 
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SHESEASS SSE SEESSESSEEERESESESAEREREE 
SS EERAEESEESERERAERESESESEEEEEREEEDED 
THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARY OR MEDIA CENTER 
IN EDUCATION IN THE VIRGIN ISLANOS 
(An Address to the St. Croix Library Assoclation) 
by 
Harold C. Halzlip, Ed. D. 
Commissioner of Education 
U. $. Virgin islands 
Copyright St. Croix Library Association 1973 
Studies in Virgin islands Librarianship No. 9 
June 1973 
2 
St. Croix Library Association 
Christiansted, St. Croix, V. |. 
US CEPARTMENT 
OF HEALTH 
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COPYRIGHT 
OWNER 
PREFACE 
Dr. Harold C. Haizlip, Commissioner of Education for 
the U.S. Virgin Islands, addressed the St. Croix 
Library Association at ite second annual fall meeting 
in St. Croix on October 27, 1972. 
Thie ie a publica- 
tion of that address. 
The Association is grateful to Commissioner Haizlip 
for taking the time and effort to addrese ite membere. 
Because of the importance of the information and 
material in that address, the Association is making 
tt available to the Virgin Islands. 
It s\would be noted that the question and anewer por- 
tion in the appendix has been edited by the Associa- 
tion ard the remarks, questions 
and anewere are not 
necessarily direct quotations. 
St. Croiz Library Association 
June 1973 
“ee 
CONTENTS 
An Address by Dr. Harold C. Haizlip.............. beusees 
The Introduction of Or. Haizlip by Mary Scott.... 
Remarks by Robert Vaughn...... oe baccccoesnccbecante oscece 
Question and Answer Period. 
10 
12 
THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARY OR MEDIA CENTER 
IN EDUCATION 
IM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 
! appreciate being Invited to participate 
in this meeting. 
|! delayed your lunch, 
so | belive you're due an explanation. 
The telephone call that caused the delay 
was from the Office of the Governor. 
There was a special problem which Is serious, 
but also humorous. 
it seems that a group of studerts, from a school that | shall 
not neme, had been led by a teacher, whom ! shall 
not name, 
to Bluebeard's Castle, 
this morning. 
Upon arrival, the teacher started banging on various doors shouting 
obscenities while the students applauded, standing around the doors. 
And the 
question was, "Did 
| think this was grounds for dismissal?" 
| was assured that. the Assistant Principal had been dispatched to get the children 
back Into the scnoo;i. 
Another question was, ‘Who should be dispatched to get the 
teacher?" 
This teacher is one who has come to my attention before, for similar creative and 
unique activities that go beyond the pale of what we look for in cre#i'tvity among 
teachers. 
This young man is having serious emotional difficulties and they have 
now come fully to the fore. 
So it is serious, but imagine my mental 
reaction, 
sitting here chatting with Mr. Vaughn, Mr. Oliver, and others, and suddenly the 
message | 
But you get used to it. 
So many things have happened to me In the last year and two months for which 
| could 
never have been prepared by any school or by advice from anyone. 
And | feel, that 
these experiences, basically enriching, often humorous, do provide opportunities for 
doing something really significant. 
Mr. Vaughn suggested that 
| address myself briefly to the question or the topic of 
"The Role of Libraries and Media Centers 
in Education’’. 
i'd just like to say, for 
the record, that whenever 
I'm given a topic such as ''The Role of Something" which 
does not now exist, 
| feel as if | am asked to look into my crystal ball, to antic- 
ipate 
the future, to rise above the day-to-day problems that now exist. 
1! come 
orward with a conceptualization of something we think we should be striving to 
achieve. 
That's what 
| would like to talk about today, for you know better than, 
or certainly as well as |, that there are problems where libraries are being used 
as classrooms, librarians being used as babysitters, non-existent equipment, and 
internecine warfare between librarians and principals. 
I'm not diminishing these 
considerations, but at this point | would rather talk about something that will 
cause all of us to stretch a bit, in terms of what we should be doing In our roles 
here In the Virgin Islands. 
There have been tremendous advances 
in educational technology. 
As a result complex 
programs involving media, involving library service, Involving the storage and 
retrieval of information have emerged. 
It has become obligatory for us to rethink 
the role of libraries and media centers 
In the educational process. 
Coupled with 
“©. 
Is the fact that we have with us now, the greater involvement of students 
in 
‘ant study and independent learning; a desire on their part to assume a greater 
Page 2 
role, to assume greater responsibility 
in the process of their own learning. 
And in addition to that, 
it is my personal conviction that unless we change our 
basic concept of what a library is, we will never succeed as librarians or media 
center managers. 
What 
|! mean 
is this. 
There 
is something called the information 
explosion. 
There 
is the information, words on paper, or tape, or what have you--- 
ideas which are being generated on the millisecond, at rates faster than we can 
anticipate collecting into pages of tcxt, and secondly collecting the texts and 
housing them in forms we now know as text books, in buildings that are called class- 
rooms, or rooms that are called libraries. 
My point is, that there is too much 
information for storage and retrieval 
by the old methods. 
Indeed, the information 
itself is changing all the time. 
|! hardly need to tell you, that oftimes before 
it is put into print, 
it is out-of-date. 
This information explosion, of which we 
are a part, really makes 
it rather ridiculous that we should think in terms of 
shelves of books, as libraries---if we are to be adequate in providing information 
and providing access to information. 
We have limited resources for the building of 
structures, and the pace of knowledge 
is growing zt a rate that exceeds our ability 
to house paper tound materials 
in the form of texts. 
As a matter of fact, it is my 
opinion that libraries should no longer be called libraries, nor media centers. 
Those locatioys where 
we are supposed to be able to gain access to information of 
any sort should be called, instead, "Information Centers". 
‘“'Library'' carries with 
it a connotation of books, and it is my belief that we really must get away from the 
notions of books, because they are soon to be outdated. 
We need to concentrate on 
the computerizing of information services. 
In colleges and universities, 
it is 
becoming the practice that a student can go to the reference center---and assuming 
that he knows the access system terminology---can dial-up the information he wants, 
read it, without putting his hands on it, and copy those sections which are relevant 
to his needs, 
in the numbers of copies that he needs 
without ever touching a-book, 
by just standing in front of a piece of electronic equipment. 
1! was fortunate, 
while with the Educational Division of Xerox Corporation, 
to become involved In, on 
an experimental basis---just this kind -* service. 
Some of you may now be familiar 
with it. 
We organized a dissertation service---Which operates out of one of the Companies 
that Xerox owns, 
in the Midwest. 
‘What we did was to put on a computer drum all 
dissertations---classified by subject areas---of ail of the major colleges and 
universities of the United States for a period of the last twenty five years. 
We 
then developed an access system. 
We also developed what we thought was a workable 
means of publicizing the availability of this service. 
It is now operating in most 
of the colleges and universities on the mainland, as one of the key sources of 
dissertation research. 
One can simply Indicate what information he needs---it can 
ve done by telephone or in writing---and out comes a printout of all the titles of 
Giasertations, the dates they were done, the universities at which they were done, 
the major headings within the dissertation down to the individual paragraphs in the 
document, for all of those that are relevant to the kind of information that he, as 
@ PhD candidate, 
is looking for. 
And you know, those of you who have written 
graduate level dissertations, spend thousands of dollars and God knows how many 
hours pouring through boring dissertations, only to find that it Is Irrelevant to 
Page 3 
your needs. 
Of course, 
the college will profit by your enrolling for another 
semester, because you haven't been able to complete the needed research! 
We at Xerox were ablc to cut through all of that, and provide information at a per 
page cost, where one paid for only the material needed, 
‘nd some minimal cost for 
the service which brought that information to him---muci less than he would ever 
pay, either spending another semester at school, or writing and waiting for 
individual copies of dissertations 
(which may not even have the information he 
needs). 
Obviously, the computerization of information---to return to my point--- 
is, essential 
for information centers. 
In a recent conversation with Miss Enid Baa, 
| found that plans are underway to 
develop computer links of the Virgin Isiands libraries with the Scientific Center 
in Puerto Rico, The Poughkeepsie Computer Center, the National 
Library of Agricul- 
ture 
in Washington, D. C., as well as the Library of Congress. 
in addition to 
that, at the College, there 
is now established and functional, two computer terminals 
---one here in St. Croix, and one in St. Thomas, which can be used, not only for 
information retrieval purposes, but also for supplemental teaching in basic skills. 
This is a step forward for us in the Virgin Islands. 
There are other lesser applica- 
tions of computer technology for the government and the private section of the 
Virgin Islands, and there is something called A.C.T here in St. Croix. 
There is 
the Virgin Islands Computer Service 
in St. Thomas and the Department of Finance also 
has a computer installation. 
However, 
these are used for what 
| would call the 
first level application, where 
it is simply plugging-in information and accessing 
it out, basic data about salaries, hours, times, dates, names, sick leave, things, 
like that---or a schedule for a high school, which is really rather simple. 
But the application of information science 
is something that 
is coming. 
In the 
Virgin Islands, where we are remote geographically from the information centers 
that we need, our ability to tie in to computer-based information sources, throughout 
the Mainland, will, of course, open up vistas that none of us have ever envisioned, 
without the kinds of expenditures for cither travel vouchers---or for buildings, or 
for paper; without the delays of shipping, losses at sea, sinking ships and 211 sorts 
of disasterous things. 
We will find ourselves much more closely tied 'n to, and 
much more up to date on, the information business, with increased demands for our 
services and jobs here 
in the Virgin Islands. 
Strangely enough, 
| learned also from Miss Baa, that the Virgin Islands 
is running 
behind Jamaica; where library services have already been computerized 
in a majority 
of the area. 
Well, as 1 see it, the library media center, the information center, should be the 
frontier for which we should be striving. 
We've had years of continuous operation 
of the library and audio-visual programs, but a unification of these media, using 
the technology that is now available, will put us light years ahead. 
The information from our point of view, as librarians, has another use. 
Those of 
you-~-and 
{! will presume to consider myself among you~--those of you who are 
in the 
7 
Page 4 
library or info: mation business must operate 
in full understanding of the philosophy 
of the school or school system in which you are providing a vital and essential 
service. 
The philosophy of the school system in large measure refliccts both the 
support that's provided the library, as well as the functions of the library. 
Most 
of us can enumerate 
in detail, countless abuses of the library, and librarians. 
| 
would say that part of the problem which makes these abuses real, on a daily and 
hourly basis, 
is that there 
is virtually no concensus on a philosophy of cducation 
for the Virgin Islands. 
And it is as a result of this fact that we find ourselves 
with students who are underachieving; with contradictory practices as far as grading 
is concerned; a curriculum which has the same labels, but thereafter, al! similarities 
cease. 
Math 
| in one class 
is completely different from Math 
| in another class, to 
say nothing of another school. 
So that the abuses you as librarians experience stem 
from a far more fundamental problem 
which has tentacles stretching throughout the 
school system. 
That is the absence of a defined and agreed upon philosophy. 
You have to know in your separate libraries, or information centers, the philosophy 
of the school system, and of the individual 
school 
in which you find yourself. 
it 
is my hope that we will 
in the course of the next year or so be able to grapple with 
the question of philosophy. 
1! come to that question, 
|! can forewarn everyone, with 
some rather strong, long-held preconceptions. 
And the library, or information center, 
is one place where 
| see my preconception as having a possibility of coming to ful- 
fillment. 
1 feel that in all areas, the first plank of any statement of philosophy should be 
to prepare and equip children to live in a free socicty. 
If we are to teach children 
to live and function 
in a democratic and free society, my first insistence 
is that 
they be provided opportunities appropriate to their age levels but similar In skills 
and in direction or in difficulties to those kinds of skills that need to be applied 
by them as adults 
in the real world. 
1! feel, secondly, that students should, as 
fast and as sw ‘-!y as possible, be removed from any school which adheres to what 
|! 
call rote 
t« 
ng and iearning. 
Feeding children knowledge and trying to teach 
them skills, 
©: 
if they were Pavlov's dogs, should be abandoned. 
This is especially 
true If we want to teach children that they have power, that they can cope, that 
they can analyze problems and devise solutions, and that we, as teacher or educators, 
will comment on the aptness of their examination or analyses of problems, and upon 
the 
effectiveness of the solutions they offer. 
The student, 
In other words, as 
plank one in my philosophy, should be encouraged to take greater responsibility for 
his own learning; rather than being told ‘Read from Page 7 to Page 11; go to the 
library and get a copy of TWELFTH NIGHT and read, in whever edition it is, Act One 
and two pages of Act Two, and so on". 
This kind of parcelling out of information 
is as insulting to the students as it is derogotory to th2 professionaiism of 
teachers. 
What | want to see is students liberated from the mode that we seem to 
stick so closely to now in the Virgin Islands. 
The library, to point out the relevance of what 
|! have just said, Is---or should 
become---one place in a school where 2 student may take a problem and obtain infor- 
mation for its solution. 
in this Institution he should be able to find out how to 
get the Information and where to get the information so that he may proceed to its 
acquisition. 
The student will then be able to determine if he has obtained the 
8 
Page 5 
the needed assistance and use it toward the solution of the original problem. 
ii 
would seem to me that we should provide both the technology and the approach to 
self sufficiency. 
Your first job is to decide what resources are here, including 
the librarian,or the manager, 
if you will, of the information center. 
We are 
in 
one small, but important way, preparing students for their own lives. 
it's this 
kind of self sufficiency that we must teach. 
it should, 
in other words, reflect the philosophy and the instructional program of 
the school]. 
More than any other aspect of the school's program, 
In the library, 
the information center, there must be primary emphasis on the individual child and 
the individual child's needs, both educational and personal. 
The student defines 
his needs, retrieves and uses information accordingly. 
The manager 
>of the informa- 
tion system, the media specialist, the librarian, whatever label yo. prefer to apply 
to him, has to be knowledgeable, therefore, about the learning process, about the 
substance of whet is to be learned in the various grade levels or jroupings of the 
school 
in which he or she is working, and the process that is being undertaken 
in 
the school as a whole as well as in the various classrooms. 
He or she should be 
able to provide information needed by teachers 
in helping them update their own 
programs and thereby utilize the resources of the library. 
We all know what's happening in the Dark Ages of 1972. 
The ifbrary is looked upon 
as the unauthorized locus of baby sitting. 
it is more often used 'n ways that would 
ref.ect punitive motivation on the part of teachers who send student's there, or 
principals who send teachers and their students there, and so on. 
We have yet a 
long way to go, and you of course, the keeper of the gate---those of you who have 
gates---have to bear with some of these problems; meanwhile trying to keep sone 
perspective on why the problems exist and to hold some hope that changes will be 
forthcoming. 
Struggling with all of this, you need also to be able to help teachers. 
it is un- 
fortunate that often those of us who purport to be teachers, deport ourselves in the 
most unprofessional educational ways. 
! always find myself chuckling sbout teachers 
when I'm in the presence of teachers who comment on the necessity of students’ 
being exposed to cultural and other uplifting arid educational experiences, when | know 
that the teacher hasn': read a book In the last ten years, hasn't seen a play in the 
last ten years; spends most of his time on the beach in the sun, and so on. 
And 
yet there is this kind of false professionalism which people seem to get a kind of 
special injection of wien they're coming to my office, 
in order to say that the 
problem is not with the teachers, but those who refuse to be taught. 
And 
|! chuckle 
and | think to myself "well, 
I've heard that before’. 
And | nevertheless come away from all of these meetings feeling that the students 
are not the problem. 
it's we! 
it's the adults! 
1! have yet to see a student or 
child who is uneducabie, unless he is mentally retarded or has some other kind of 
brain damage. 
But we continue to refuse to examine ourselves, our own "up-tight- 
ness" in approaching students; we refuSe 
to examine the effects of our own behavior 
on little people---who, though little, have very sensitive feelings---who often 
respond first in the affeg§ive domain and secondly in the intellectual one. 
As long 
@s we continue to do these things, we are blind to our own Ineffect!iveness---because 
Page o 
the kids just shut us out---you know, the eyes go down, head goes up, and with age 
and independence and know-how, 
the absenteeism goes up. 
Then the foul language 
comes; then the hostility for some students, and so on. 
And through all of this 
| don't blame the kids. 
Had they been given a more exciting 
program a more responsive one, less repressiveness---yet firm control 
and direction--- 
we would see quickly the diminishment of these kinds of problems. 
Many young people who have dropped-out left 
in utter frustration and in anger. 
It 
was because they sensed that while they had to put in the time, they weren't geting 
the results. 
1! don't exonerate students. 
But 
| do believe that the students are 
wos the problem, certainly not the heart of the problem. 
We need to be able to 
assist teachers in broadening the scope of their curriculum, 
in becoming aware of 
alternatives 
in the form of different materizis, different books, different approaches, 
different records, different movies---al! of which can be used 
to accomplish the 
same end, as far as a skill or basic piece of information 
is concerned---a peice that 
has to be learned by students. 
Somehow or another, more often than not, it's the one-shot emulsified injection. 
If 
he doesn't get it as presented, we turn around and flunk him this year and give him 
that same one-shot emuisified injection which didn't take last year. 
After that we 
say ‘Well, he's uncooperative, he has failed two years, and he's out"’. 
In the teacher's bag of tricks,and 
| do not mean to diminish the teacher's profession, 
but in the teacher's professional preparation, there must be alternatives, 
in as 
much as no two children are alike, nor indeed 
is the same child the same from minute 
to minute. 
So that we must, 
in our job as information systems managers, find ways 
of bringing to teachers an awareness which they seem often not to seek themselves; 
that is, alternative approaches, materials and tools to the teaching and learning 
of the same set of skills. 
Now, that's more easily said than done. 
First, because 
in the elementary school, 
teachers barely feel they have time to go to the bathroom, except, thanks to the 
Union, there is now a preparation period. 
And even though librarians are called 
texuchers, and sometimes insultingly treated the same, 
it is the case that the lack 
of cime is not the prohibition. 
There is time available, but whether teachers will 
use their time to consult with librarians, with people in the information center, 
is another question. 
More often than not, you know, you can see---if you could cut 
off the roof of the school and look down and watch the movement---you would see as 
teachers are freed of their children they run faster than the children in getting 
away, Into the teachers’ 
lounge, out the front door, or wherever, more often than 
not. 
So it is easy to say that teachers should, instead of running to the teachers’ 
lounge, go to the library and investigate with the librarian some ways of reaching 
a child whom she missed this morning. 
It's easier to say that, than do it. 
I! have 
now learned that, in spite of mandates, behavior often remains unchanged, so that 
while we can say a teachér will spend one "'prep"’ period per week In the library with 
the librarian, you will find that there are water on the knees conditions; dental 
appointments which must be kept between 11:30 and 12:15; husbands who must have 
bills paid before 2:00; or all sorts of other things which will prevent teachers from 
10 
Page 7 
being able, 
in spite of the mandate, or perhaps because of it, to do this. 
So, there has to be some attraction to the library that comes not out of mandate, 
but out of a sense that ‘Setween the librarian and the teacher there are mutual 
concerns which neither ca. 
‘ully satisfy without the other. 
It is that which comes 
out of a seuse of professionalism and commitment to your job, to your children, 
which leads you to decide that you missed someone today---maybe 
it was you, maybe 
it was 
|, maybe it was the materials. 
‘Let me find out what <clse 
|! can use, how 
else ! can approach this chilu'', should be the thought. 
But that is something which we strive for; and 
| don't feel, at this point, that 
it has been uniformly achieved. 
There are many, many, exceptions. 
| don't offer 
this as an afterthought or apology; 
|! have seen many good teechers 
in the Virgin 
islands, but 
|! have to admit that they are outnumbered. 
These are additional areas 
in which the library and media centers play critical 
parts. 
As | said earlier, one key area 
is that of the development of children, a 
respect for knowledge, 
the tools 
of research---even among kindergarteners and 
first graders. 
We can inculcate these tools, we can give a sense of self reliance, 
teach children the Dewey decimal system, and let them then find, according to the 
numbering of the card catalog, a sense of accomplishment by decoding and applying 
the system to achieve an end. 
These things 
| consider to be critical 
to the development of children. 
They don't 
show up on the report card, but they certainly do show up in the way in which children 
come back to the library, and even regard the librarian---and indeed, what is more 
important, regard themselves. 
So that there is a critical 
role, in my opinion, to 
be played by the media center 
in the development of tne children. 
There is a role in the consultation with the staff, with department chairmen and 
individual 
teachers regarding curriculum. 
As you know, the unexamined curriculum 
is dead. 
it lacks luster, vitality, and | am willing to admit 
that teachers’ 
other responsibilities, of management of the class, taking the roll, of preparing 
the homework assignments, of grading the homework assignment, of preparing their 
own lesson plans become priorities, and it's my hope that the information center can 
be that constant nagging form which says, ‘while m.naging, let's provide better 
substance’. 
it's not enough to sit down and have a neatly run classroom when the 
information that is being taught 
is out of the early part of the 1920's 
And we 
often 
have accepted as good teaching simply effective classroom management. 
We 
see the results of that all the time. 
| see it. 
1! see it,and ! am really distressed. 
| heard it "loud and clear" last Sunday at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the 
College of the Virgin Islands. 
In an example of the loss in the well-managed class- 
room---well run enough---of a selected sample of 193 students who graduated from the 
public schools of the Virgin Islands last June and entered the College of the Virgin 
islands» 
of the 193 selected, 
112 failed a basic proficiency test in mathematics--~- 
where passing wes at the 7th grade level---and in reading, where passing was also 
at the 7th grade level. 
That's the distressing feedback. 
Well managed classrooms, al! the pomp and circumstance of graduation, are really 
11 
Page & 
secondary. 
| am scared that we are not turning out students who are sducated. 
And 
this is some of the evidence. 
We have begun a follow-up of mm: ©° our graduates and 
we are beginning to find that more than half of those entering coilege on the main- 
land, after graduating from our public schools, fail 
.o complete m-;« than one half 
of the first year. 
in all of these horrifying statistics, please be reminded 
| don't blame the students. 
1 don’t blame the students, at al], because they don't run the school system. 
They 
don't select the books. 
They don't have control over the decision as to what is to 
be taught. 
They don't have control over who Is to be grouped with whom, for what- 
ever Instructional purposes. 
So you can't blame them.- You can't say that they were 
incalcitrant learners, and that the exceptional student succeeded but these in- 
calcitrant one obviously failed to learn. 
You cannot blame the students 
if they 
spent their lives in a school system which did not recognize its deficiencies, and 
take action as quickly as possible, to correct them. 
in a book called, DESIGNING EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE, the authors Jesser and horphet 
Stated and summarized the gist of my remarks as fol lows: 
“Instructional equipment and materials must not---and 
| would add, cannot--- 
be used to condition learners to live in a world of standardization, con- 
formity, and alienation. 
They should serve as s force to move the educational 
system in the opposite direction, towards freedom, creativity, anc worthwhile 
sense of one's self." 
Ladies and gentlemen, 
| appreciate this opportunity of coming before you because 
|! 
feel that you have a critical role in helping all of us to 
revitalize and improve 
education in the Virgin islands. 
Thank you. 
APPEND 
IX 
THE INTRODUCTION OF DR. HAIZLIP BY MARY SCOTT, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE 
ST. CROIX LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 
Or. Harold C. Halizlip is a native of Washington, 0.C., and a product of its school 
systems. 
He received his initial degree cum laude from Amherst College. 
With a 
major in the classics to build upon, he moved 
to Harvard, where as a Woodrow Wilson 
Fellow he obtained the Master 
and Doctorate 
In Education. 
He wes employed as a high school teacher 
In Wellesley, Massacnusetts, and later in 
the Boston school system. 
But in the Boston schools he was uniquely employed 
the 
Ford Foundation. 
Following the unfortunate route of all outstanding teachers he 
moved from the classroom to be posit!oned 
in the Educational Division of the Xerox 
Corporation, 
and then to the position for which he has been most noted, Headmaster 
of the New Lincoln School. 
But not only is Dr. Haizlip an outstanding educator, 
teacher, he has distinguished himself in other areas. 
One of these Is he holds an 
award of being one of the ten most outstanding young men In Boston---a distinction 
he shares with the late John F. Kennedy. 
He is, as well, a member of the Board of 
the Ameritan Museum of Natural History 
and the Harvard Graduate School of Educa- 
tion. 
His recent position Is most unfortunate. 
You see, as Virgin Islands 
Commissioner of Education, he has been called to a climate where he cannot continue 
nis proficiency as one of the greatest amateur ice-skaters---this compliment was ex- 
tended to him by his wife. 
Since he has been here, however, we have noted that the hypothesis 
in education 
that once you know a principle of the discipline, 
it carries over to other areas 
is not true. 
For although he glosses over the ice, he does not appear as one who 
glosses over his work. 
The man, HWaizlip, 
is a most appropriate speaker for the St. 
Croix Library Association, because the library is a force for educational excellence, 
and since he has attained excellence in education, he cannot help but be aware of 
the Importance of the library in the school. 
Aware of some of his successes, we are now ready to hear Or. Halizlip. 
APPEND 
IX 
REMARKS BY ROBERT V. VAUGHN, PRESIDENT OF T4E ST. CROIX LIBRARY 
ASSOCIATION AFTER DR. HAIZLIP'S ADDRESS 
i'm certoin Or. Halzlip's remarks will make each of us take a new look at our own 
role in Education. 
Perhaps we sometimes feel a little bit like a target sitting 
still in the library---a target for people to take pot-shots at. 
There Is a Puerto Rican say!ng which has an influence on our role in education: 
A man must do three things during his life---nlant trees---write books--- 
and have sons. 
Louls Munoz Marin said---! wish they would plant more trees and write more books. 
The expanding population does affect our role in education. Let's take a look at 
our role In education, realistically. 
Let's look at, among other things, the 
important matter of library standards. 
You may wonder why |, a private school 
IIibrarlan, would be concerned about Standards 
for libraries. 
If you are a part of a public school system, you have the same problems 
| have. 
My school 
is designed with a low teacher/pup!i! 
ratio. 
As a result, all 
classrooms are used throughout the academic day. 
Well, what do kids do when 
they're not in the classrooms? 
The sun Is bright. 
We don't have any extra class- 
rooms. 
We don't have groves of trees for shade. 
Obviously the kids come into the 
library. 
So you see, we all have the same basic problem, the problem of what to do 
with all the students who are not in a classroom. 
We all want to do a job---to give service to these young people. 
We want them to 
be able to come up to us and tell us what they want and need. 
We want thelr teachers 
to be able to tell us what they want us to do. 
But, how many times do we actually 
have teachers coming in to us, 
teachers who are doing research for their own classes. 
Obviously rarely. 
Now, I'm not saying it's all the teachers'fault. 
Very often, | 
have a feeling thet wien a teacher comes Into the library, because of pressing duties, 
too many children, etc., that Individually you and ! might not have a very pleasant 
look on our faces. 
If you see a batch of kids---20 kids coming Into the library all at once---perhaps 
unannounced or unanticipated---!'l! bet | would see the same expression on anyones 
face. 
Perhaps---just perhaps---a little better attitude on our part might help a 
little bit. 
These kids need solid help---solid help they're not generally getting nov. 
Some of 
this solid help is going to come about throught the establishment and impiementation 
of some very realistic standards for our school libraries. 
14 
Page i] 
it's fine to talk about 1960, 1969, and just as Dr. Haizlip has indicated, we 
should really be planning for a period of time ahead of these years, not to mention 
today. 
Well, wa're here now, we have to live with it. 
Could we have some questions which you librarians would tike to ask Dr. Haizlip, 
concerning standards or any other problem? 
i'm sorry !'m making a target of ‘ou, Or. Halzlip. 
APPEND 
1X 
THE QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD FOLLOWING DR. HAIZLIP'S ADDRESS * 
Patricia Oliver (Central High School): 
Or. Halzlip, ! agree with your philosophy, 
but what can we do in our library when we start off with 150% capacity of the 
library. 
They are not there because they come to use the iibrary, in all cases. 
We do try to make it a friendly place. 
Students want to use the library, but there is no place for them to come In to 
use the meterials avallable,primarily because too many students belng there for 
other reasons. 
c 
If students could find the materials themselves, 
| could work myself out of a job. 
But | can't even get the student there to explain to him how to use the Dewey 
decimal system. 
The question is, because of over population In the library, when 
will the students be allowéd to use the materials? 
Or. Haliziip: 
There are all kinds of problems which have in turn caused you your 
unique problem---most of which have been resolved (but not fully)---classes with 
two teachers and few students for three perlods a day. 
We have begun eliminating 
the inequities represented by some teachers teaching four classes, or three, and 
others teaching five, so that more teachers and students are in class. 
Also we 
tried to fill up classes to the desirable limit. 
Now this Is not something | am 
proud of, but It Is a necessity that we use the bullding effectively and well. 
We still have some problems in scheduling. 
! am not sure haw or how soon we are 
going to be able to ss!vc the problems at Central. 
We have solved many of them, 
but clearly we are not at an optimal state at this point. 
Coacerning libraries, 
| don't agree with an ostrich approach. 
The problems ‘n the 
library have to do with things outside the library itself. 
Your problem Is 150% 
occupancy and this endless stream of kids who make it Impossible---even with any 
degree of self-respect---to call yourself a librarian. 
1! don't question for a 
moment that you should be outraged. 
Concerning occupancy, the question Is where are we going to put them? 
There are 
answers. 
We have accomplished a great deal. 
There Is logic in a solution to the 
problem, 
But the simple logic does not always seem to be applied, without some 
pressure from the outside. 
The solutions Iie In that we need more effective use of 
the existing piznt and that would partially take the pressure off librarians. 
Whether our solutions will have stopped the steady flow of abusers Into your Ilbrary, 
8 can’? saye--but we will certainly try. 
This is not limited to Central by any 
@sens. 
There are different problems in different schools, but the effects are 
® Motes 
The questions and answers have been edited, and are not necessarily direct 
quotations. 
16 
Page 13 
often the same. 
Libraries are probably the most abused areas in most schools In 
the Virgin Islands at this time. 
Christiane Moravia (Grove Place School): 
Do you think the problems In St. Croix 
are more important at the high school 
level than they are at the elementary level? 
Or. Haiziip: 
No, | don't. 
In some ways, 
If |! had to make choices, they would be 
at the secondary level---but only as a result of time. 
For example, we are now analyzing all the test results in math and English (where 
tests are administered) of our seniors in the high schools of the Virgin Islands. 
Whet we have decided to do for those students who are functioning at or below the 
ninth grade level 
(or its equivalent level) 
in each of those two subject areas, we 
are going to Institute a mandatory supportive tutorial program---on top of the 
regular level. 
! can't honestly sit here and call myself Commissioner of Education, 
and sign my name to a high school diploma, when the student is, In fact, functioning 
below the high school level. 
! am just that much of a professional. 
So, I've made a choice. 
Although 
|! would quickly say that 
while doing this with 
this year's seniors, we are also planning now for the next year's seniors, next 
year's tenth grade, ninth grade, seventh grade, sixth grade, right down to kinder- 
garden. 
|! want to take care of this problem first, because, come June, these kids 
will be gone! 
Moravia: 
But, | think it's better to prevent these problems than to have remedial 
programs. We can do It by starting at the kindergarden level. 
Dr. Halzlip: 
| would like to do everything at the same time, but it Is easier sald 
than done. 
We have to admit that for as long as the present trend continues, we 
will have as many new students In the system as we have old. 
We are getting almost 
as many students from other places as we are promoting. 
It is my feeling that a 
rather drastic and fundamental snd total re-organization of the entire system Is 
necessery. 
There are some special problems to which we have to address ourselves, as long as 
we expect this Inflow to continue, and as long as we still have our own high reten- 
tion rate. 
We have age increasing, achieving remaining constant (or decreasing), 
and we have students coming In who have already been out of school for several 
years---and even at the time they left they were significantly below grade level. 
So, for example, you have ‘ourteen year olds who are non-readers. 
We had more than 
100 such children come Into the Virgin Islands public schools this year---fifteen 
year olds with reading and math scores on the first and second grade levels! 
This sets up problems 
that ere difficult to cope with.. 
. 
Gage 14 
Looking very closely at the placement decisions that are bein, made at individual 
schools by guidance counsellors 
proves to be an unsatisfactory compromise 
in 
every instance. 
What happens 
is that because of the child's size, 
if not age, a 
child who is fourteen but tested at the first grade level 
is perkaps placed at the 
sixth grade level. 
it's like guaranteeing that the child will not get instruction 
at the level needed by him. 
Instead, 
it is an accomodation. 
| think we've reached 
the point where we cannot accomodate anymore. 
Mary Scott 
(St. Peters School): 
You're familiar with the Harvard Report which 
stated that equal education does not necessarily mean identical education. 
Even 
though we have ostensibly gone to the non-graded system, 
| find the 1920 attitude 
of the teachers being king in his classroom prevails, and the librarian 
is treated 
as though he was still hired by the public library and is not allowed to infringe 
upon the kingdom of the teacher. 
My question is, when you speak of the librarian serving as curriculum consultant, 
what method do you plan to institute that's going to make people accept the fact 
that the librarian 
is no longera little old lady, with a bun on the back of her 
head, who has nothing else to do with her days and really who has gone through all 
these changes. 
Then, you have some 
idea what It's like when you decide you're going 
to be a librarian. 
How are you going to get the teachers to understand that we're 
really not there to serve as curator of materials or order-keepers of children? 
The only way a librarian gets a "'prep'period 
is if she leaves the library, which 
most of us don't want to do. 
You know, we are not accepted. 
It's like the stuff 
that you bring up, and raise hell about, and all this kind of stuff, they say, ‘Yes, 
Baby,'' and that's all! 
Just as if they figure you're some kind of a put to want to 
sit in there with books. 
Hortense Darrin (Concordia School): 
You know, 
| would like a copy of your speech. 
| want It because you are the first person 
in five years who stood up 
fn a group 
like this talked with us and made this more real than it's ever been! 
The class- 
room teachers view you on only the TV panel, and the opening day of school. 
They 
don't hear this. 
This is our subject, and I'd like every teacher 
in my school 
to hear 
it, even 
if | have to stand and read 
it to them individually. 
Or. Haiziip: 
I! would just like to say, ''Thank you."' 
But let's return to Mrs. Scott's 
comments . 
| don't think there's a rat formula for converting principals and teachers to a 
greater appreciation of the library, the librarian, and library service. 
The ques- 
tions you raise are really in the area of how to change the attitudes of teachers 
and principals. 
There's no formula for that, because for every change that you pro- 
pose, there is a very active, sometimes subconscious, reinforcement against the 
suggestion that you're making. 
Scott: 
Well, you're talking about going from tradition to innovation. 
Or. Halzlip: 
Yes, 
| know, and | believe 
it is possible to do just that. 
But, 
wnat I'm saying is that neither reading my speech to them nor telling them that 
ycu're not some kind of ''kook'' for liking books to sit in a room with them, 
Is 
going to change ei<%er the!: perception of themselves, or of you. 
1 think there 
is another kind of approach that is generally necessary. 
I often 
ask myself, ‘Why do some principals and teachers 
in their image, treat their 
responsibilities as if they were externai statements of themselves?" 
Probably what we need to do is to begin building within our principals and teachers 
confidence 
In themselves, performing---If you will---as "information agents" for 
children---not jailkeepers. 
We provide a service and there's nothing more rewarding 
for us than a well-educated and well-adjusted child. 
When | talk to principals, 
|! often feel that problems 
in schools first represent 
problems between teachers and principals. 
Those problems can take the form of 
personal security, whether on the part of the teachers or on the part of principals. 
Personal security can be related 
in terms of your feeling of being adequate to 
your job, your feelings that you are perceived either to be, or not to be, 
adcquate in the performance of your job by your subordinates. 
To be adequate we should relax a little bit, accept criticism (as well as praise). 
Accept the limitations that all of us have; 
accept it without feeling that by 
accepting it, we will somehc or another be struck from our jobs. 
The pressures 
of remaining 
iin the job sometimes can have an adverse effect on one's willingness 
to be honest about himself. 
1! think teachers are as responsible for the difficulties 
we now have, as are principals and supervisors. 
But, if you have In any school--- 
and this Is a personal >2lief---a group of angry upset teachers, the kids have had 
it! 
And so you can share with me my concern about the ager, the hostility, and 
so on, that seems 
to be prevalent 
in so many of our schools. 
1 think a lot of this problem could be resolved 
if we as professionals could accept 
that we have these problems arid avoid any labelling, and that we have our separate 
and joint roles in eliminating them. 
There's no formula for it. 
You really have 
to take little steps at a time. 
it's professional humility and security which +511 allow us to admit making a 
mistake without it's appearing cn the front page of one of our newspapers. 
Marjorie Masters (College of the V.1., St. C->ix Campus): 
Dr. Haizlip, | am wonder- 
ng 
many teachers come into the librarias to make themselves more aware of the 
resources there for students 
in their clesses, so that when they bring or send 
their students to the library, that they can better use the facilities and materials 
there---rather than just occupying the chairs. 
|! am wondering if any of them really 
try to learn what is in their own libraries. 
19 
Page 16 
Dr. Haizlip: 
1! can't answer the question as to how many do, or don't. 
I feel all 
should---but it's like sprinkling water in the rain, you just don't know. 
Masters: 
If they do not, then there is a need for better orientation of teachers. 
Dr. Haizlip: 
Not only orientation. 
It is my contention that upon the opening of 
school, it is necessary for a teacher to come to school more than two hours before 
the school opens, 
in order to prepare. 
Masters: 
Or. Haizlip, 
in the College here in St. Croix, there are many teacher 
trainees currently in the program. 
They come and ask me for some sort of library 
training, because they themselves do not know how to use either the College library 
or the school library. 
They do not know how to use the school 
library to further 
their own class needs. 
This results because there 
is no other Instruction given--- 
only on an individual basis. 
They ask for it, repeatedly. 
And until these teacher 
trainees are allowed to have some sort of a library program within the scope of 
their education, then we are gcing to turn out, again, into the local schools, 
teachers who are perpetuating the problems. 
Darrin: 
1 would like to say something about teacher trainees. 
1! have invited them, 
and begged, pleaded and cajoled. 
I! have a few coming in. 
However, 
| think that 
something should be done on this teacher training program from the top down, because 
| can't tell a teacher trainee, ''You should come."' 
| can invite them. 
1 can show 
them. 
1! do get a certain percentage, but | can't get all of them. 
Or. Haizlip: 
twill have Mr. Oliver make plans to meet with Mr. Austin Donovan and 
the College. 
| assumed they did have in thelr program of study at least one unit 
on the contents, organization and use of the library. 
1! find the people at the 
College to be very willing and excited to help us. 
In areas such as reading, library 
services, tutorial services, and curriculum consultation, and so on, they are 
very much interested. 
Oliver: 
There was a question of personnel 
in the budget. 
Or. Haizlip: 
Concerning the budget, we often find ourselves going through the 
process of 
specifying what we want, specifying first what we have. 
On the personnel 
budget slone, you must specify every single person working In the Department of 
Education, making up a report when he was employed, 
in what department, at what 
salary, at what raises per year. 
Now you know some people have been here for 
forty years! 
Then, you have to put beside this information,on all new positions, 
where the money is to come from. 
Then, sometimes there's a three word pronouncement 
"no new positions," which makes it all just a wasted effort. 
20 
Page 17 
> 
1 also must say | don't have sole control over the budget for the Department. 
1! do 
once we get it, but 
| don't 
in terms of getting it. 
We compete with all other 
departments, and it's up to the government to decide which priorities come first. 
So, as an example, while 
| put im enough In 
our capital budget for a gymnasium at 
Central High School, at Wayne Aspinall, and Nazareth, 
the fact 
is a decision 
is 
made, notice there is no agent, a decision 
is made to use the funds for other 
purposes. 
And then | don't have any money to build a gymnasium, and I'm asked 
why it hasn't been built. 
Moravia: 
1! would like to descrite my library, because no words can explain the 
Situation. 
Since 1970,! have on my desk a shoebox 
and my shelves are made up of 
concrete block and pieces of wood, even though they are setting up shelves all over 
the school, and 
| am told I'll have to wait. 
1! wish you would visit Grove Place. 
Or. Haizlip: 
Concerning this shoebox, 
it sounds a little bit humorous, but in a way 
that makes us want to cry rather than laugh. 
But, 
|! have {+ say that 
| believe 
in 
the "squeaking wheel'' philosophy. 
If you don't make any noise, often you don't get 
ary change. 
Moravia: 
Oh, 
|! make noise. 
Edwin Golden (Lew Muckle School): 
1! have been at the Lew Muckel school since its 
opening, and up to now 
| don't have furniture. 
Or. Haizlip: 
1'11 look Into it and find out what happened. 
What Is it really that 
you are lacking? 
Golden: 
Well, we are lacking chairs, tables, all these things. 
We do not have an 
adequate number of chairs and tables. 
1 borrow some chairs from the lunch room 
and whatever 
desks are not teing used in classrooms, 
so that we'll have some place 
for the kids to sit. 
Or. Haizlip: 
1! don't know the full story---nor any part of it---but 
| will next week. 
1 am afraid 
| had a three o'clock appointment. 
! had better run. 
Once again, though, 
1 do thank you very very much for inviting me. 
It's been my pleasure.