Many students have found a course in bibliography and research meaningful for their future work, teaching, publication and oral presentations; conversely, others whose later teaching and writing would have benefited from such study have come to regret the lack of such a course. Three matters are important in setting up the course:

A. ‘Bibliography’ covers more topics than simply documentation forms. Though knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is important, these handbooks do not investigate ‘bibliographic’ matters that research will encounter.

B. The course should present content and activities that relate to many fields, approaches, and interests as well as many periods of literature and all genres. Content and activities should encompass the fields and interests of the students, the methodologies of writing and criticism, and the kinds of work that the future may require of a dedicated professional. Therefore, the course should not be devoted, for example, to a study of T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land (the instructor's particular interest), but its study may very easily be included.

C. The course should include such topics as editing, resources for information, the significance of past ‘knowledge’, the revision of past knowledge by updated study, and sources of correct and up-to-date information. Memory can often be faulty; knowing where to find information is ultimately more important than actually knowing it.