In the 1870's assistance to the reader, what has come to be known as reference service, gained recognition as a legitimate basic function of the library. Of course, librarians had always assisted readers, but organized reference work was unknown until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The primary concerns of librarians until then had been acquisitions, cataloging, classification, and circulation. Similarly, librarians have always helped users to make effective use of the resources and facilities of libraries, but it was not until the last quarter of the twentieth century that bibliographic instruction as a separate, distinct, and respectable function of librarians was recognized.

One hundred years after this idea of personal assistance for readers first appeared in library literature, the ACRL Board of Directors, at their Midwinter Meeting in 1977, approved the establishment of a Bibliographic Instruction Section; and ACRL President Connie Dunlap appointed an ad hoc steering committee "to set up the organizational framework, to arrange for an election in the Spring of 1978, and to plan the interim activities of the Section." While the immediate impetus for the Board's action was loud clamoring at the gates, reflected in part by a recommendation from the ACRL Task Force on Bibliographic Instruction, there had been steadily increasing evidence of the need for a formal ALA structure "to support quality higher educ ation by promoting instruction in the access, evaluation, and utilization of information resources," as Article II of the BIS Bylaws states. Between the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference in 1977, a set of bylaws was written, and a document was prepared outlining the first committee structure of five standing and three ad hoc committees along with charges to each.

In keeping with the goals of the Steering Committee to involve as many people as possible who were interested in bibliographic instruction, the two documents were distributed to and discussed by an audience of several hundred people at the 1977 Annual Conference. The members of the Steering Committee listened carefully, and much of what was suggested at that open hearing was incorporated into the bylaws and committee structure, both of which were approved at the 1978 Annual Conference. By the following year, the Section had 2,400 members, making it the third largest section in ACRL.

If I were not restricted in space, I would like to name the literally hundreds of devoted, hard-working people who have worked on BIS committees; we are all indebted to them. In my case, the professional achievement of which I am proudest is chairing the original Ad Hoc Steering Committee on Bibliographic Instruction. The Section which resulted from that Committee's work is one in which we can all take pride.

Some of the committee members have asked for "some anecdotes about the early days." Many of those who waved their hands could speak for hours and give you more than I on this topic, but I will make a couple of archival comments that may help to put this day in perspective.

It has been a joy today to meet in rooms almost large enough for the crowds. In the late 60's and early 70's whenever the conference program book included the words "library instruction" or "orientation" or any other related words, the crowd flocked to rooms that were inevitably too small. All the seats would be filled, all the floor space filled and the doorways and corridor space around the doors. Many is the time the group has moved two or three or even more times to find a room big enough for the committee or the program to proceed. This was particularly true after ALA made all committee meetings open in the early 70's. The poor chairs of the BI Task Force and the ALA ILU [Instruction in the Use of Libraries] Committees had to put up with a great deal of comment from the gallery.

This was one of the motivating factors that caused some of us to form the steering committee that drew up the petition for a Library Instruction Round Table. We were told, "You need 200 signatures," in a tone that almost implied, "Go away and play for a few years!" Well, we really only needed to go to one meeting and we were well over-subscribed! Then, the six of us on the steering committee got a free introduction to the structure and politics of ALA: "Take the petition to COO [The Committee on Organization]." We did appear at their meetings but they assured us that "library instruction was the business of the various divisions and they already dealt with it." When we tried to argue our case, COO urged us to go and talk to each Division; in fact, they insisted that we come back with the approval of all Division Boards. Nobody wanted to hear our arguments: a) that if it was their concern why hadn't the Divisions established anything, and b) where could library instruction librarians go to pick each other's brains and share ideas and expertise across Divisions?

We set about making contact with each of the Divisions. At least two members of the Steering Committee had a preliminary meeting with the President or a Board Member of each Division and then we all made a formal "appearance" at each of the Division Board meetings. That process required some ingenious juggling of time both on the part of Division Presidents and of our Steering Committee. One Division President who was also running a campaign for ALA President couldn't meet with us til after midnight. So we did--in the Palmer House bar til after 1:00 a.m.! The other problem was arranging time slots to appear before Division Boards whose meetings coincided with each other! In the end all Boards agreed to support our petition--some more grudgingly than others, I must admit!

The fact that LIRT does now include representatives from all types of libraries justifies the validity of our original arguments.

Then why did we need BIS [Bibliographic Instruction Section]? Well, rightly as it turned out, when it became clear that LIRT [Library Instruction Round Table] was likely to fly, ACRL's Executive Director at that time suggested that if BI librarians were to have any impact on policy making within the academic sector--after sharing ideas with colleagues from other types of libraries--there would need to be a Section within ACRL--not just a committee!

One of the main original contentions was that the two committees which existed (IULC and the BI Task Force) did not allow for sufficient membership involvement and that with a full slate of committees LIRT and BIS could provide an entree to committee work within the larger organization and this has been clearly demonstrated over the years. The number of ACRL presidents who have had BIS and LIRT committee experience provides one dramatic demonstration of the wisdom of that concept as does the number of committees listed in the ALA Handbook and the number of new members drawn into ALA each year from the constantly growing field of those involved in the business of helping library users find, select, and use sources for information through the libraries of both our countries.

If you want to hear all the funny stories that have arisen along the way, talk to Tom [Kirk] and Mimi [Dudley] and John Lubans and Jon Lindgren and the other people wearing this ribbon. Meantime, enjoy and we'll meet again in five years for the 20th Anniversary.

Miriam Dudley remembers the early days of the Instruction Section:

"There had been sporadic but ill-defined interest in ALA in library instruction for years, and in 1971 the ACRL Committee on Bibliographic Instruction (Ad Hoc) was created and charged with considering "the possibility of establishing a clearinghouse for information on instructional programs currently in operation" and exploring "methods of evaluating existing program and materials and investigating the need for research into problems connected with instruction programs." At about the same time the ACRL Bibliographic Instruction Task Force was formed, and later developed "Guidelines for Bibliographic Instruction."

However, a group of people, Mimi Dudley, Virginia Sherwood, Sheila Laidlaw, John Lubens, and Carolyn Dusenbury, felt that these two bodies were a place to start, but that by their very nature they could not provide the broad-based structure that was so ur gently needed by those interested in establishing a forum for discussing, learning, and teaching each other effective methods of teaching effective uses of library resources. From 1971 until 1977 these people met, phoned, wrote letters and documents, pounded on doors, met rejection after rejection, and were put off and put down for what was considered a faddist, even a fanatical proposal. It was suggested at the time that those interested in the topic should form a committee in RASD, form a discussion group, a round table--anything but have a section of their own. Finally, in 1977, their persistence resulted in the establishment of a Bibliographic Instruction Section. At their 1977 Midwinter Meeting, ACRL Board of Directors President Connie Dunlap appointed an ad hoc steering committee chaired by Mimi Dudley to organize and develop a section which would be responsive to the rapidly growing needs of college and university librarians throughout the country who were fighting their own battles to convince their colleagues that instruction was a necessary and vital part of the librarians' mission."