Simmons College - Microcosm Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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3... 0 as ':--' ww 4 V g f 'K LL fs . 1 H QP Y 1 The first summer . . . s Director, Mrs. Evangeline H. Morris Floor Supervisor, Surgicas I

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School of Library Science lbrarian, Law Specialist, Reference Librarian You don't judge a book by its cover as any librarian will tell you. Consider its scope, authority, up-to-date- ness, publisher, and method of treatment. These are vital terms to the students enrolled in the School of Library Science and imply more than an intellectual interest in books. Fundamentally, the librarian works with books and related material which covers every subject. A general education is, therefore, the essence on which the 4-year Simmons program is planned. Technical skill and practical knowledge complement a foundation in liberal education. Librarians groomed by Simmons replace the con- ventional ivory-tower characteristic of librarians with a new emphasis on dynamism. Libraries are sidered social institutions, attaining a new significance. No longer can a librarian be a depository or dispenser of knowledge. The librarian's primary concern is the guidance of people. He becomes in effect a mediator between people and books. He must have the ability to judge books in terms of the numbers of the individ- uals who use them 'and have the enthusiasm and desire to reach readers. A closely integrated program prepares the Simmons student for librarianship. Papyrus rolls and clay tab- lets become intimate facts of knowledge in Mr. James Boudreau's Introduction to Librarianship course, re- quired of all seniors. The societal function of libraries at various periods in history is studied with emphasis on the contemporary American library, its ideals, personnel, and services. This course also includes presentations by visiting lecturers and field trips to typical libraries in the Boston area. Practical applications of the principles involved is experienced with Miss Ruth Leonard's Cataloguing and Classification. This factual and time consuming course is rendered lighter by Miss Leonard's sprightly cornsot and gravestone hunting divergencies. Book Selection taught by Miss Sigrid Edge gives firm con- the library science student a basis for guiding adult and children readership. The aesthetic appreciation of books is taught by our own Walt Whitman expert and rare book collector, Mr. Rollo Silver. If there are blisters on the fingers of any of our girls, it's probably the result of Miss Mary Kinney's Reference course. C.B.I., P.T.L.A., S.T.C., hold the answers to questions like Who was the first woman who ran for president? or What is the significance of the third passing of a bill in Congress? When a library science student tucks Peter Grirnefv Fairytales or Heidi under his arm he's not regressing or taking the book home for baby sister. It's all part of the Children's Books course taught by Mrs. Ruth Viguers. This course aims to develop criterion for the selection of books for boys and girls through the reader's interest, habits, and abilities. The broad scope of opportunities in the library science profession is constantly expanding. Interests range from scholarship to administration, adult edu- cation to research specialists. You can work exclusively with children or exclusively with adults. A Braille li- brarian forms an important function in large com- munities. For the travel minded librarians, there are opportunities in bookmobile work. In a specialized or general field, the library science student is con- tinually given the growing importance of public relations. Throughout the four-year program at Simmons, the library science student gains professional confi- dence imbued from the friendly guidance and under- standing of the school's director, Mr. Kenneth Shaf- fer, and the solicitation of the schoo1's instructors. Whether discussing the Dewey decimal classifica- tion with Miss Leonard or whether Whitman's Leaves of Grass has formv with Mr. Silver, the student-faculty relationship for the class of '54 ends in friendship.

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Month by month, semester by semester comes a host of new and wonderful changes from Simmons School of Nursing - constant improvements to co- ordinate the collegiate and clinical phases of the 5- year program - improvements to make the program more enjoyable - to develop the student as an individual and as a professional nurse, who through her awareness of professional and personal respon- sibilities, will be able to make real contributions to the needs of our changing society. Simmons develops this social consciousness and sound professional attitudes and competencies in nursing by providing a broad scientific, academic, and professional foundation. After the first year, the student follows a specific plan of work preparing for her professional objective. The first semester of the second year includes such courses as General Chemistry, a Liberal Arts elective, perhaps English 37 or a History course, two of the more popular nursing electives 5 and Introduction to Nursing, a required course in which a background of information on the scope of nursing is presented to amplify and broaden the student's preconception of the field she has chosen. Formal class sessions are kept to a minimum and the majority of time is spent in hospital orientation in studying the community from which the hospital draws its patients, in discussions with those individuals whose disciplines make them part of the health team, and in acquiring some basic nursing skills in an actual clinical situation. The second semester follows with the continuation of General Chemistry and Introduction of Nursing, Bacteriology, Food Preparation, and a study of Nutri- tion, with a consequent gain of insight into the types of nutrition problems with which a nurse may come in contact in her professional work, and an academic elective. After a short vacation, second semester is followed by an eight-week summer session conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital, which continues the orientation process. All the students live in Arnold Hall where - after all is said and done - a very enjoyable and extremely valuable summer is spent, working, studying, and playing. Enthusiastically, these same students return to Simmons for a third year to pursue Physics, Philoso- phy, Sociology and the Control of Communicable Disease, and later on, Physiology, Child Development, two nursing education courses: Principles and Meth- ods of Teaching and Professional Adjustments, another elective, and Introduction to Pathology. These latter courses are taken at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Three years quickly fly by. The student leaves the college building and becomes an integral part of the Massachusetts General Hospital where she receives two full years of clinical instruction and prac- tice geared to the maturity and capacity of the col- lege student. In general, the Hrst year of hospital work includes experience in medical nursing, surgical nursing, out-patient nursing, operating-room tech- nique, dietetics, neurological and orthopedic nursing, and allied theoretical instruction. The second year offers experience with related instruction in pediatrics at the Children's Medical Center, obstetrics at Boston Lying-In Hospital, psychiatry at McLean Hospital, in surgical specialties and in public health. In order to complete this extensive program, a prospective nurse must take, at all times, a long- range view, never losing sight of her goal. Perhaps many more would fall by the wayside were it not for the understanding guidance, encouragement, and intense interest in each one of us, not only as a potential Simmons nurse but also as a distinct and growing personality, that we receive - for this, we are deeply grateful! rector, Anesthetician, Community Nurse School of ursing