Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

the class record (one 12 inch 33.3 rpm recording) which consists of four language exercises. There is a comprehension section (spoken at conversational speed), an imitation section (spoken in phrases with pauses for student imitation), and a series of questions (with pauses for student response) and the correct answers to the questions (with pauses for student repetition). Titles of the exercises included in Volume I Number 1 are "Les Vetements de Papier," "Le Tour de France," "Le Nouvel An" and "Les Debats Politique." Then there are the student records —designed to be taken home to be heard on home phonographs. Each of these is a single 7-inch 33.3 rpm record. A complete script is provided for both the teacher's disc and the student's disc. As for use— laboratory or classroom can be the scene of study. The records are essentially aimed at second year secondary school students and the subject matter thus far heard is broad enough to appeal to beginning language students in the colleges. Singing In Spanish These are not the only language records recently released. Cabot label offers two new records for elementary school children on a "sing along" basis to encourage the participation of intermediate graders in singing in the foreign language. The Spanish record, "Let's Sing Songs in Spanish" offers eight songs which children will enjoy. These are first offered in song, the words are heard and repeated by the children and finally the child is encouraged to sing with a chorus of children. This record and the parallel "Let's Sing Songs in French" are designed to motivate interest in the foreign language and in the culture of the country represented. These are useful materials to have at hand, and children enjoy this opportunity to participate. Another new idea has come from Boston— from Creative Associates of 690 Dudley Street, Boston 25. Somehow this does not 'come off quite as well as do most of the productions reported earlier this month. "Boston, Birthplace of Liberty" is a guided tour of the city. It is an hour long visit to such historic landmarks as the Park Street Church, Kings Chapel, Old South Meeting House, Faneuil Hall, the Paul Revere house, "Old Ironsides," Bunker Hill Monument and Old North Church. In these several places we are introduced to local officials who tell us of the part played Iftd in the American Revolution by the building or its inhabitants. Perhaps this can be described as 'too much of a good thing.' To appreciate the presentation thoroughly, listening students will have to be more than somewhat acquainted with the places described. As a teacher in or near Boston I would surely want to visit these landmarks with my students for obvious reasons and I'd want to use this recording to summarize for the youngsters what they had seen. But, to those who live too far away to make the pilgrimage to these shrines, the recording does not succeed in filling the void. Perhaps the record accompanied by appropriate illustrations would. Or the recording could if it were presented in dramatic form rather than as a narrative and conversation. The material is superior but the presentation needs something to take it out of the textbook class and give it vitality for children. There are now approximately 2,000 libraries in the United States and Canada which support record collections. This is good. But this is also not very good, for the record is as much a part of literature as the book. And of these 2,000, many offer only music. And some of these collections are, I am sure, insignificant. In one library (nameless, of course) which reported having a record collection, the entire catalog of records was maintained in one drawer of one desk— and was not listed for borrower use. Indeed, these records were never loaned (they might be misused) and the library had no record player. The records, by the way, were of recent vintage— all five of them. They had been given to the library by a promotion-minded record producer. So five records, unused and Comments arvd materials for review should he sent to the department editor—Max U. Bildersee, 36 Holmes Dale, Albany 3, N. Y. unavailable, made up a 'record collection.' Perhaps it did. But the collection for special program purposes can be highly specialized. For instance, allowing for a two week vacation, the library can offer 50 weeks of solid adult programming by using the records offered in the Academic Recording Institute catalog. At the same time they can bring C. Northcote Parkinson, John Mason Brown, Ashley Montagu, Charles Frankel and Samuel Eliot Morrison into the hbrary in their voices. Shakespeare plays? There can be a season of 13 weeks or 26 weeks of Shakespeare. Gilbert and Sullivan— of course! Modern American poets or English poets would make another good season. Certainly public libraries can accept the challenge and use these and other ideas as levers to bring listeners (and borrowers) into the library. The reaction we met once— "What? That would mean I'd have to do some work!" —happily is rare. In fact some librarians have gone out of their way to plan special listening sessions for young borrowers, knowing that these young people, tomorrow's adults, will want to borrow more and more records. Yes, the public libraries are seeing and many are accepting the challenge. More will. And so will many college libraries as they plan special programs for undergraduate and graduate listening. And so, too, will some secondary school libraries, we hope! FREE TO NEW SUBSCRIBERS DIRECTORY OF RECORD PRODUCERS ON 3 X 5 CARDS AN AUDIO CARDALOG EXTRA already distributed free to all subscribers ORDER AUDIO CARDALOG BEFORE September 15, 1961 AND GET YOUR FREE DIRECTORY, TOO Audio CARDALOG PC Box 1771 Albany 1, New York Directory available at $5.00 to subscribers after September 15, 1961. ITniT/^AXTrkivAT GlrmrE'iv A ivn ArTnrrkVT«lTAT niTini? A prit 1Q6