User education: the plans of Laszlo Modis: contributions to the historiography of the issue.

The Hungarian Basic National Curriculum adopted in 1995 prescribes the teaching of library and computer use until students reach the age of 16. The significance of user education and the possibilities of its incorporation in the curriculum have already been included in a plan elaborated by Laszlo Modis, librarian of the Debrecen University Library in 1958. His proposal essentially recommends that all members of society be trained in the use of books and libraries systematically and institutionally, and that the task should be carried out by teachers in the training institutions. He compiled detailed curricula for all three levels of training (elementary, secondary, higher education). The plan has never been realized due to the lack of proper school libraries, as well as poor receptivity, but it still offers useful ideas worthy of consideration today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]