Assumptions that libraries are central to the process of learning are as yet neither well defined nor supported directly by empirical research evidence. However, recent advances in the study of learning have yielded research results of greater relevance to the study of library organization and use than were previously available, allowing a closer integration of the fields of librarianship and education. Several such studies are briefly reviewed.
A conceptual model uniting "libraries" and "learning" is called for, in order to faci litate the application, and generation of research of relevance to the two areas. The concepts "independence" and "structure" are suggested as possibly central components of such a model, and problems of the operational definition of such terms are discussed. Recent approaches to the study of learning are interpreted as a new "challenge to librarians", and implications for research in librarianship are outlined.
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