THE AGENT AND THE LEARNER:

Abstract

Relationships between adult independent learners and assisting tibrarians were examined using the critical incident technique, a means for eliciting narrative data. Thirty-nine learner's advisors-participants in a project of the College Board-provided descriptions of important effective and ineffective encounters with adults who sought new skills or knowledge through systematic library assistance. Eight critical themes were found: individuation, mutuality, support, information, expectation, motivation, learning from practice, and clarification. These themes are dynamic, interpenetrative, and mutually supportive. The agent and the learner create complex encounters in which the information given is less important to learning than the quality of the giving.

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