The habit of seeking: Liberal education and the library at Berea College

IN 1993, BEREA COLLEGE INAUGURATED a new general studies program that includes seven courses with faculty-approved goals relating to communication and research. The program's course-integrated library instruction collaboratively by instructors and their library liaisons. Library assignments are intended to introduce the logic of the library and its tools gradually and cumulatively so that students' understanding, use, and evaluation of the library's resources become increasingly sophisticated as they proceed through their general studies classes. The article begins with an overview of Berea College and its commitment to liberal education then argues that there is a natural connection between a liberal education and a curriculum that emphasizes regular use of the library's resources. A description of the library's role in Berea's new general education program follows.