MINISTRY OF RECONSTRUCTION. 
 
 THIRD INTERIM REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ADULT EDUCATION COMMITTEE. 
 
 LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS. 
 
 Presented to Parliament by Command of His Maijesty. 
 
 LONDON: _ 
 PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE. 
 
 To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from 
 H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: 
 {wrperra, Hovusr, Kinesway, Lonpon, W.C.2, and 28, Anincpon Srrerr, Lonpon, S.W.1; 
 37, Perer Street, Mancuester; 1, St. ANDREW’s CRESCENT, CARDIFF; 
 3, Fortu STREET, EDINBURGH; 
 or from E. PONSONBY, Lrv., 116, Grarron Street, Dustin. 
 
 1919. 
 [Cd. 9237.]. Price 3d. Net. 
 
 a, a = 
 y ae «SS 
 
* 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE. 
 
 Tob 
 
 x 
 
 “ r 
 
 Tue Master oF Bat1ion (Chatrman),. ee 
 
 al , 
 
 Mrs. J. BAKER, ia: 
 Sir Granam Baxrour. 
 Mr. E. BEvIN, 
 
 Mr. W. Crayton. 
 
 Mr. R, Crime, 
 
 Mr. C. T. Cramp, 
 Mrs. T,. Huws Davies. 
 Mr. J. H. Doncaster, 
 Mr. R. G. Harron. 
 Mr. F, Hopes, — 
 Sir Henry Jones, 
 Mr, A, Manssripcr. Re 4 
 Sir Henry Miers, — a F 
 Mr. J. Morton, + . 
 The Rev. Canon Parry, i glean 
 Mr, R. H. Tawney, ? 
 Mr. T. H. J. Unvervown. rank 
 
 Rev. Basil A. YEAXLEE, ai i 
 
 - tk 
 
 Mr, Arruur GREENwoop )_ 
 Mr. E. S. Carrwrigur — 
 
 ' 
 r - 
 ” ig ait Ziuit ses 
 Sit ah: 15 
 eis a eae p _;, 
 - a cane rf oe Rey ae 
 : The tC Eh Sen Gok eS 71 
 vat ory <i: SOB Ee ne Beet | 
 ; , 5 + Gvw aie a i “eae to 
 ‘ EAC ; “| ie tae 
 . fe F Dee i 
 742 
 f 
 ue 
 echs % 
 ? Dam ae 
 ry ‘ = 3 
 -_ 5 4” moa 
 
To the Right Honourable Sir Aucktanp Gepprs, K.C.B., M.P., Minister of Reconstruction. 
 Sir, 
 We have the honour to present our Third Interim Report. 
 
 It was our intention to consider the problem of libraries, museums and art galleries from the point of 
 view of non-vocational adult education and to incorporate our recommendations in the Final Report of the 
 Committee. At the request of your predecessor we undertook to consider the whole question of libraries, 
 including technical libraries. We felt that in these circumstances it was advisable to present a separate 
 Report on Libraries, covering the wider reference, and including our recommendations relating to museums. 
 
 2. For the purposes of this Report we took into consultation librarians and curators, to whose experience 
 we are indebted for much valuable assistance and advice. 
 
 PART I[.—LIBRARIES. 
 
 3. The existing provision of libraries in Great Britain is far more extensive than is generally recognised. 
 Though the libraries which already exist are in a large number of cases inadequate in scope and size, and 
 are by no means fully utilised, they nevertheless constitute a valuable national asset which must be the 
 foundation of any comprehensive national system of libraries. 
 
 The libraries of Great Britain may be roughly classified as follows :— 
 
 1. State provided libraries, e.g., the British Museum, the national Library of Wales, the libraries 
 of the House of Commons and House of Lords, the libraries of State Departments (e.g., the 
 Board of Trade, Admiralty, Board of Education, Colonial Office, Foreign Office, Home Office, 
 &c.), the Royal Botanic Gardens Library at Kew, &c. 
 
 2. University and Collegiate libraries, e.g., the Bodleian and Taylor libraries at Oxford, the Uni- 
 versity of Cambridge Library, the Library of the Fitzwilliam Museum, the libraries.of Oxford 
 and Cambridge Colleges, the libraries of Universities and university colleges, theological, 
 technical and other colleges. 
 
 3. Municipal libraries, 
 
 4. Cathedral and church libraries, 
 
 5. Endowed libraries, established by bequests of individuals or corporate bodies, e.g., the Bishopsgate 
 
 Institute Library, the Cripplegate Institute Library, the John Rylands Library at Manchester, 
 the Mitchell Library at Glasgow, &c. 
 
 6. The libraries of Societies and Learned Bodies, e.g., the Royal Society, the libraries of the Inns of 
 Court, the Royal Society of Medicine, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of 
 Surgeons, the Faculty of Advocates (Edinburgh), the Royal Institute of British Architects, the 
 Royal Institution, the Royal Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Statistical 
 Society, &c. 
 
 7. Club libraries, e.g., the Atheneum, the Reform Club, the National Liberal Club, &c., the libraries 
 of the working men’s clubs, and other provincial clubs and of Co-operative Societies. 
 
 8. Travelling lbraries. 
 
 The above classification is neither complete nor logical, but it indicates the more important types of 
 library. Leaving aside the municipal libraries for the moment, the rest vary greatly in the degree to which 
 they are accessible to the public. The library of the House of Commons or of the Atheneum is provided for 
 the use of members. Others, such as the British Museum, the Bodleian, are open to the general public 
 subject to the fulfilment of certain formalities. The libraries of professional associations and State Depart- 
 ments are specialised in character. The former are intended for members, and the latter for official use. 
 Some, such as the Board of Education Library, are open to the public. The value of these libraries is limited 
 to the expert. University libraries are in most cases available for those engaged on research or special studies, 
 but in order that the fullest use may be made of the existing provision it is desirable that arrangements should 
 be made to render them more easy of access. This matter is referred to below in connection with the functions 
 of the proposed Central Circulating Library. 
 
 (A) Mounicrpa, Lrprartzs. 
 
 4. So far as municipal lbraries are concerned, we cannot do better than quote from a memorandum 
 prepared at our request by the Library Association. 
 
 ‘©The Municipal (rate supported) public library dates from the middle of last century, and is the 
 natural successor of the Mechanics’ Institutes and similar reading and mutual improvement associations 
 which arose in the first half of the century. These earlier voluntary institutions have practically 
 disappeared, and the public library is now the recognised type. The following table gives the growth 
 in periods of decades :— 
 
 Adoption of the Public Libraries Acts. 
 
 | England. | Wales. | Scotland. Ireland. | Totals. 
 1840-1849 fo 1 ~- — _- | 1 
 1850-1859... oe 18 — 1 1 20 
 1860-1869 _... 63 12 1 1 — 14 
 1870-1879 _... eee 38 5 5 —_— 48 
 1880-1889 ... bce 51 5 9 5 70 
 1890-1899 ... oa VA 17 15 8 161 
 1900-1909... nes 125 29 42 12 208 
 
 | 
 
 (19668.) Wt. 27378—134, 3000. 6/19. D&S. G, 2, A 3 
 
 UAL eee 
 
4 
 
 Since 1909, when the above return was compiled for the Carnegie U.K. Trustees, the adoptions of 
 the Acts have numbered only 12. 
 
 The more important systems embrace many branches and the total number of separate buildings 
 is estimated at 800. 
 
 It will readily be understood that the libraries are chiefly in the larger town areas, the villages 
 and country districts remain almost entirely unprovided for, except as regards the work of the Carnegie 
 U.K. Trustees, the Yorkshire Village Libraries Association, and other private benefactions. It has 
 been estimated (Prof. Adams’ Report to the Carnegie Trustees on Library Provision and Policy, 1915) 
 that not more than 57 per cent. of the population of the United Kingdom reside in areas provided with 
 public libraries, and the following table is given :— 
 
 Total Population in Percentage of 
 * | Population, 1911. Library Districts. | Total Population. 
 
 | | 
 
 Bnglatd, 0-4.) ta, ae ed eras |, 21,103,817 62 
 Wales. dhe obi tin, | ee ene 2,025,202 938,303 46 
 Scorn ae a a oe 4°76(,904 2403283 50 
 Ireland | 4'390,219 | 1,245,766. | 28 
 
 45,370,53" | 25,690,669 57 
 
 This partial and unequal development is probably due to the want of foresight of the original 
 promoters of the movement, who assumed that the institutions would appeal only to the -artisan 
 classes of the large centres of population and allowed the legislature to restrict the expenditure of 
 public money to the product of a penny rate. This might have been adequate for the municipal 
 continuation of the mechanics’ institute type, but is quite insufficient for the modern public library 
 which is used by all classes, and supplies much wider demands than were originally contemplated. 
 : Most public libraries contain the following main departments : — 
 
 Reference Library. 
 Lending Library. 
 News and Reading Rooms. 
 
 Many, in addition, have Juvenile Libraries and Reading Rooms, and others have special features such 
 as Lecture Rooms, Students’ Rooms, &c. 
 
 The Reference Departments are furnished with the larger and more expensive books, such as the 
 principal encyclopedias, the usual werks of casual reference, dictionaries, year-books, sources of 
 commercial information, &c., historical records, sets of periodicals, rare and costly books. In many 
 cases 1t is the repository of local records and special collections. In the smaller libraries the reference 
 departments, owing to small resources, are naturally very limited, but in the larger towns they assume 
 great importance and constitute the principal and in many cases practically the only centres in their 
 districts of study and research. 
 
 The Lending Department is the main feature in the smaller libraries; it provides such books as 
 are suitable for continuous reading or study and in convenient form. The books cover the whole 
 range of knowledge, physical and metaphysical, ancient and modern, philosophy, religion, sociology, 
 language and literature, science, fine and useful arts, history and travel. The recreative element in 
 reading bulks largely in the statistics of this department. Very much of what is best and most elevating’ 
 in English hterature takes the form of fiction, and selecting this with care aud discretion the library 
 gives valuable impulse in the direction of broadening the mental outlook, enlarging the sympathies, 
 and elevating the tastes and feeling of readers. Any estimate of the cultural work of the library 
 which omits the effects, more or less unconscious, of the reading of the best poetical and imaginative 
 literature is gravely incomplete and inadequate. ind 
 
 The News and Reading Rooms contain the principal London and provincial newspapers and the 
 more popular literary, technical, commercial, sociological and scientific periodicals. 
 
 Foremost among such periodicals are those most required by students, artisans, and readers 
 belonging to the professional and commercial classes. Without these it would not be possible for 
 many to keep themselves informed regarding developments in every field of intellectual, business and 
 industrial activity, as much of the material most essential to students and workers first appears in 
 periodical publications. 
 
 The aggregate attendance of readers in these rooms alone throughout the country numbers many 
 hundreds of thousands daily.’ : i 
 
 5. It is important that steps should be taken to increase in every possible way the usefulness of public 
 libraries to serious readers. Whilst the newer buildings used for library purposes are for the most part 
 carefully planned, well lighted, and attractively furnished, there are still many public libraries which are 
 overcrowded and inadequately equipped—a state of affairs which, we realise, in many cases, is due to the 
 financial limitations of the penny rate. With the development of public hbraries which we anticipate in the 
 near future, we hope that they will conform to nluch higher standards of furnishing, equipment, and arrange- 
 ment than has too often been the case in the past. It is, in our view, essential that in all public lbraries, 
 in addition to the usual reading room where newspapers and magazines are consulted, there should be a room 
 for the purposes of study. It is too often forgotten that many students have no place where they can study 
 in comfort. It is also most desirable that all public libraries should possess a room large enough to be used 
 for classes, lectures, and discussions. We also hope that the open access system which has already been 
 introduced in some places will be universally extended. We are aware of the difficulties of converting many 
 libraries to this system, and of the possible drawback of a loss of books or their misplacement by readers. 
 On the other hand, we are so fully convinced of the value of allowing readers to see and handle books before 
 taking them away, that we think the advantages more than outweigh the disadvantages. In towns where 
 
~ 
 
 oO 
 
 there is a central public library and branch libraries there should be the closest co-ordination, so that the 
 whole resources of the local libraries should be available for both the student and the general reader. The 
 practice in some towns of allowing readers a second or student’s ticket, thugs enabling them to borrow two 
 books at the same time, might well be extended. From the point of view of the serious student, there is 
 much to be-said for allowing him to borrow not merely two but three books at the same time. 
 
 _ 6. The provision of local public libraries lies at the basis of any national system. At the present 
 time, however, two-fifths of the population of the British Isles reside in areas where there is no public 
 library provision and where consequently the adult and juvenile population alike are deprived of the 
 stimulus and influence of books, for neither the homes nor the schools possess books of the kind, variety and 
 quantity desirable. Where municipal libraries do exist, their value is impaired by the restriction of 
 expenditure imposed by law. As the Library Association points out in the memorandum referred to above— 
 
 _‘* All the work of public libraries is strictly conditioned by the product of the library rate. A 
 legislative limit of one penny still remains in spite of the extension of their activities and the greater 
 demands falling upon them. This rate is entirely inadequate. The reduced purchasing power of 
 money has in recent years had a crushing effect particularly upon the smaller libraries. The cost of 
 their upkeep has increased by probably fifty per cent. and the only items of expenditure which can 
 be curtailed are on books, bookbinding and periodicals. The result is that in many cases book 
 purchases ‘have automatically ceased, and this at a time when there is a greater demand upon and 
 need for their services than ever before.”’ 
 
 Mr. A. L. Hetherington, of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, in a memorandum prepared for the 
 Committee, also refers to this question :— 
 
 “Under the existing law, no Local Authority may levy more than a penny in the pound for 
 library purposes unless it obtains special legislative sanction to do so. In England, 41 authorities 
 have taken special powers, and exercised those powers, to exceed the penny limit; in Wales, 2; in 
 Scotland, 4; and in Ireland, 3. Probably the greatest hindrance which exists at the present time 
 for the fuller development of Public Library facilities in urban areas is this rate limitation. Special 
 local Acts to exceed the penny are difficult and costly to secure, and, unless the Authority is obtaining 
 an ‘omnibus’ Act for other purposes as well, it seldom feels in a position to seek the necessary powers 
 to secure adequate financial means for efficient administration. Urban authorities—especially in 
 low rateable areas—are constantly faced with financial difficulties and the library facilities are 
 perforce starved, over-building is another factor which re-acts detrimentally on the library develop- 
 ment. Short-sighted town councillors and over-generous donors are apt to embark upon ambitious 
 building schemes which are an ornament to the town architecturally, but the upkeep of which leaves 
 little or nothing for the real purpose for which the buildings are erected. Many a case could be 
 instanced where, after the standing charges for upkeep and maintenance of fabric have been met— 
 and these are first charges—what is left for the purchase of books and librarians’ salaries. are mere 
 trifles and meagre pittances. 
 
 ‘“ Unless the present rate limit is removed, many towns which ought to have a Public Library 
 have little prospect of securing one which is likely to be in the least degree an efficient organisation. 
 Before leaving this question of rate limitation and that of over-building, it is interesting to note that 
 Scotland is the only country in which legislative steps have been taken to prevent undue expenditure 
 upon bricks and mortar. Under the Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1887, Section 14, 
 an Authority may not.borrow for capital purposes a sum exceeding the capital sum represented by one 
 quarter of the library rate capitalised at twenty years’ purchase. One of the greatest difficulties which 
 the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust has experienced in making grants for Public Library Buildings 
 has been to see that sufficient income for the provision of books and librarians’ salaries will remain 
 over after the first charges on the building have been met.” 
 
 7. The extension of public libraries and the abolition of financial restrictions are essential preliminary 
 steps towards the provision of adequate library facilities wpon which there is unanimous agreement amongst 
 those who are interested in the question. We agree that to abolish the penny rate and to give County 
 Councils power to apply the Public Libraries Acts in their rural areas would go far towards extending both 
 the scope and usefulness of local libraries. We think, however, that the proposal which has been made to 
 transfer the administration of public libraries to the Local Education Authority must be carefully 
 
 considered. 
 
 8. It is clear that co-operation between educational institutions and public libraries is desirable and 
 indeed essential. The necessity for co-operation is now being increasingly recognised, and the valuable 
 assistance which some public libraries have rendered to the work of local education authorities has given 
 the libraries a new importance and the schools a new ally. The developments which have taken place open 
 up new possibilities of educational advance, the realisation of which will be possible only if these experi- 
 ments in co-operation between schoo] and library are translated into general practice and if there is a unity 
 of general purpose. The problem is whether the intimate co-operation which is desired can be attained by 
 
 dual control and administration. 
 
 9. The main arguments urged in favour of preserving the existing methods of administration may best 
 be stated by quoting a resolution adopted by the Library Association at its Fortieth Annual Meeting. The 
 
 relevant portion of the resolution runs as follows :— 
 
 «<The aim of the library as an education institution is best expressed in the formula, ‘ self-development in 
 an atmosphere of freedom’ as contrasted with the aim of the school, which is ‘ training in an atmosphere of 
 restraint or discipline ’; in the school the teacher is dominant, but the pupil strikes out his own line in the 
 library, which supplies the written material upon which the powers awakened and trained in the school can 
 be exercised; furthermore, the contacts of the library into organised education cease where the educational 
 machinery terminates; but the library continues as an educational force of national importance in its contacts 
 with the whole social, political and intellectual life of the community. .... s 
 
 19668 A 3 
 
6 
 
 In speaking to the resolution, Mr. L. Stanley Jast, formerly Secretary of the Library Association, 
 developed the argument*—‘‘ The work of the librarian is sharply contrasted with that of the teacher. The 
 teacher deals with human material, the librarian with the written record, and only incidentally with the 
 people who come to consult and use it. But not only is there this wide difference in the nature of the material 
 upon which the teacher and the librarian respectively work; there is a difference of immediate aim of so basic 
 a character that one is almost the negative of the other, and therefore are they perfectly complementary to 
 one another... . . The library and the school supplement and complement each other. And the virtue 
 of each is that it is not the other. .... The material of each is different, the aims are different, and the 
 administrative machinery of the one has no real relation to that of the other. .... The resolution hag a 
 second thesis, which is that it is after all only a portion of the library field which touches education. ... . 
 We outgrow the school; we cannot outgrow the library.”’ 
 
 We have examined these arguments with the care to which the policy of the Library Association is 
 entitled. The first argument, however, rests upon a sharp distinction between the library and the school 
 which should not, in our opinion, exist. A school is a more complex and many sided institution than the 
 argument would appear to assume, and its functions are too narrowly confined by the phrase ‘‘ training in 
 an atmosphere of restraint or discipline.’? The class room is but part of a school. Other institutions—the 
 workshop, the gymnasium, the playing fields, and the library—are essential features, each of them making 
 its peculiar contribution to that self-development which is claimed to be an end of the library. The school 
 in fact, is a community which fulfils its end through a variety of agencies of which the class room is one 
 and the library another. The ideal school is one which seeks to aid self-development through the medium 
 of ‘‘ discipline’’ on the one hand, and by providing opportunities for the pupil ‘‘ to strike out on his own 
 line ’’ on the other. 
 
 10. The antithesis between the teacher and the lbrarian is also, in our judgment, too sharply defined. 
 Powers are trained by their exercise and the printed book is an integral part of the equipment of the school. 
 If the librarian deals with the written record, it is but as a means to self-development in the scholar. In 
 other words, the library is part of the educational fabric, just as much as the art room or the school clinic. 
 The school and the teacher will perform their true function only in so far as they enter into the closest 
 co-operation with the library and the librarian. The latter will fill their real place only through co-operation 
 with the former. Both school and library will be immeasurably strengthened when the artificial line of 
 demarcation is obliterated. 
 
 It is sometimes argued that the libraries would lose by the process and become subject to an over rigid 
 systematisation, to which librarians are rightly opposed. This attitude of mind appears to us to be based 
 on a want of knowledge of the strong trend towards greater freedom and initiative within the publicly pro 
 vided schools of the country. This movement, we believe, would receive a valuable stimulus from closer 
 association with the libraries, without necessarily imposing a mechanical organisation upon the libraries. 
 
 The provision of children’s rooms in libraries, the assembling of books bearing upon the work and 
 interests of students, library lessons and other developments and proposals will forge strong and necessary 
 links between the school and the library; but it is difficult to see how this intimate relationship can be 
 generally established unless there’is an organic connection arising from a single policy based upon the 
 complex needs of the pupil. Under certain circumstances the frank interchange of experience and inter- 
 relation of interests may be possible with dual control. But it is at least open to doubt whether they will be 
 generally and permanently attained without a common administration. 
 
 11. The second argument in support of independent administration for libraries is, in the words of the 
 resolution referred to above, that ‘‘the contacts of the library with organised education cease where the 
 educational machinery terminates.’? The Education Act, 1918, provides for compulsory continuation educa- 
 tion up to the age of 16, and ultimately 18. Further education of this character must lead to a growth 
 of both technical and general education beyond these ages. There is certain to be an extension of technical 
 education after the war and there will be a growing demand for non-vocational education to be met. With 
 the latter question we shall deal at greater length in our Final Report. A greater call than in the past 
 will undoubtedly be made upon our educational resources and the necessity will arise for that close co-opera- 
 tion between educational institutions and libraries which is admittedly desirable in the case of school pupils 
 if the school and the library are to fulfil their functions. 
 
 It is true that we cannot outgrow the library: but it is equally true that we cannot outgrow the 
 school, in other words, that we cannot outgrow the need for systematic education. The whole purpose of 
 our enquiries into adult education has been directed towards formulating recommendations based upon 
 this truth. Our enquiries, further, justify the view that there is a growing recognition of the need for 
 education and an increasing desire for it on the part of men and women. 
 
 12. But though the public library has an important function to perform in relation to educational 
 institutions, its activities travel beyond assistance to formal education. It exists to serve the needs of a 
 public with varied interests. It must satisfy the requirements of the serious student; but it must also 
 cater for that large class of people who are ‘‘ general readers,”’ and those who go to books for recreation. 
 The unsystematic and recreative reading which the libraries have stimulated do not, however, it seems to 
 us, provide any argument for maintaining the public libraries as an independent municipal service. Hduca- 
 tion is not to be regarded as a process, necessarily formal and even unpleasant, nor as purely systematic 
 training within the walls of an institution. The line between education and recreation or between reading 
 with a definite object and reading for pleasure cannot be drawn in actual practice. The library is primarily 
 a cultural agency and with the development of education, the proportion of serious students and trained 
 readers will undoubtedly grow very considerably and the fulfilment of their needs will be a more important 
 part of the work of the public library than hitherto. The recreative uses of the hbrary will by no means 
 disappear, but this does not in our opinion provide a just claim for keeping the library system organically 
 separate from educational administration. 
 
 * Public Libraries—their development and future organisation. (The proceedings of the 48th annual meeting of the Library 
 Association. ) Yi f 
 
7 
 
 alt is clear, however, that local education authorities may neglect the ‘‘ general reader’’ in their 
 desire to obtain from the public libraries the maximum of assistance for more serious students. This is a 
 danger which must be guarded against. It is part of the problem of how to retain the freedom and elasticity 
 of the library with the more organised administration of the system of public education. It is with no 
 desire to subordinate the libraries or belittle their importance that we recommend the union of educational 
 and library administration .* On the contrary, we hold that this step will increase the value of libraries, and 
 by relating their work more closely to the public educational services of the country will assist in raising 
 the status of librarians and in bringing about a long overdue improvement in their economic position. As, 
 moreover, the Local Education Authorities would need the services of trained librarians in increasing 
 numbers, a wider field of opportunity would be opened up to the profession. 
 
 14. This brings us to the question of the training of librarians. We welcome the efforts which have 
 been and are being made by the Library Asssociation to develop the professional education of librarians. In 
 view of the need for more librarians for the adequate staffing of existing libraries, the probability of a growth 
 of special technical libraries, and the possible need of trained librarians in the future in business firms, it is of 
 considerable importance that.greater facilities should be offered for the training of librarians. Such training 
 should preferably be provided in universities and colleges and not in independent specialised institutions. 
 It is particularly desirable in the case of those who are to undertake the supervision of libraries, that they 
 should possess wide interests and a broad outlook—qualities which may be best attained in institutions 
 attracting students preparing for different occupations and professions. We hope, therefore, that the 
 example of the London School of Economics and Political Science, in offering courses of training in 
 librarianship, will be widely followed by universities and colleges generally. 
 
 (B) Rurat Liprarties. 
 
 15. In the rural areas of Great Britain libraries are very rare, indeed, in most country districts they do 
 not exist. The Yorkshire Village Libraries Association founded in 1856 by the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics 
 Institutes, the Library of the Lancashire and Cheshire Union founded in 1847, the Claydon Village Libraries 
 in Buckinghamshire, the Coats Libraries scattered over the Highlands and: Islands of Scotland, and similar 
 schemes have been of real service within the areas in which they operated. The Report made by Professor 
 W.G. 8S. Adams to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust on ‘‘ Library Provision and Policy,’’? emphasised the 
 lack of libraries in rural districts. Whether from the point of view of the development of rural life or from 
 the standpoint of educational provision, the adequate establishment of libraries in the country districts of 
 Great Britain is an urgently needed measure. The fact that there are fewer social attractions in the country 
 than in the towns is in itself a strong reason for the provision of libraries. 
 
 Though individual parishes may adopt the Public Libraries Acts, the County Councils are unable to 
 do so. But the product of a penny rate—insufficient to maintain and extend a town library—is totally 
 inadequate for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a village library for which the annual income 
 might be £10 or less. The law does, however, provide in some measure for collective action; but the 
 combination of parishes for library purposes was almost unknown until this course was suggested by the 
 Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. The chief problem of rural library administration arises from the fact 
 that the population is scattered or concentrated in small communities. 
 
 16. A large stationary library for a district does not fully meet the need, and small stationary libraries 
 for each hamlet and village cannot offer sufficient variety of books to maintain local interest. It is probably 
 the latter fact which accounts largely for the moribund condition into which many village libraries have sunk. 
 The .problem, therefore, becomes one of providing a central library for an area and making adequate 
 arrangements for the regular circulation of small quantities of books to the villages within the area to supple- 
 ment the nucleus of permanent books which should be provided. The existing network of administrative 
 machinery provided by the County Education Authority supplies the nucleus of a library administration 
 covering the same area. 
 
 Reference may be made to the experiments which have been aided by the Carnegie United Kingdom 
 Trust. In several counties in England and Wales financial assistance has been given by the Trust to County 
 Education Authorities, whereby they have been enabled to organise comprehensive schemes of book provision 
 for the areas under their charge. Mr. Hetherington, in his memorandum to the Committee, points out that 
 ** the schools are the natural places where the books may find accommodation, and the schoolmaster is naturally 
 a person in more or less direct contact with the inhabitants of the village. Moreover, the school children can 
 readily carry their books home to their parents and relatives in cases where the readers find it difficult them- 
 selves to pay a visit to the school. The school, however, may not always be the best depository for the 
 consignments, and where village institutes or the like exist, consignments may be better placed therein.”’ 
 
 17. The scheme of the Staffordshire County Council Education Committee was the first of the schemes 
 of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust to be set on foot. The Trust in September, 1915, offered to the 
 Authority a sum not exceeding £5,000 to be expended during a period of about five years and to meet the 
 cost of erecting and equipping a suitable building for a central repository, the capital outlay involved in 
 the purchase of books, boxes, &c., and maintenance expenses involved in the central administration and 
 carriage of the books during the period named. The Authority was asked to provide a site free of charge 
 for the central repository and to undertake the administration of the scheme. Further, the Trustees asked 
 for ‘* reasonable assurances that, at the conclusion of the period and after the expenditure of the grant named, 
 the scheme would be maintained and supported on funds other than theirs.’’ 
 
 The scheme was gradually and tentatively introduced. At first it was confined to 54 departments of 
 elementary schools and the industrial schools in the country, and later extended to include 182 departments. 
 The books are sent to the schools in boxes, each containing thirty books, ‘‘ twenty of these, as a rule, being 
 suitable for children, and the remainder being divided between professional works for teachers and volumes 
 of general literature suitable for adult reading in general.’’t 
 
 * We return to this question in Part III. of the Report. { Director’s Report on School Library Scheme, 1916-17. 
 19668 ' A4 
 
8 
 
 The following tables, from the Director’s Second Report (1917-18), show the scope of the scheme, the 
 type of books issued and the occupations of the readers : — 
 
 Recorp or Issuges oF CrrcuLatine Lisrary Booxs at 182 Centres (lst Aveustr, 1917—3lsr Jury, 1918.) 
 
 Farmers and those engaged in 
 Agriculture generally 
 
 Persons engaged in Domestic 
 Work 
 
 Teachers 
 
 Ministers and other Professions 
 Shopkeepers and Persons en- 
 gaged in Commerce 
 
 Persons engaged in Industrial 
 Employment 
 
 Engineers and Mechanics 
 
 Clerks ... 
 
 Masons, Joiners, &c. ... 
 
 General Labourers 
 
 ee 
 
 Sociol é 
 (inetadine shae History, 
 Ficti General. Philo-}| Re- ie a one "! Lan- | Sci- | Useful] Fine Gucluding ee Bio- | motalg 
 zet1ons | Works.! sophy. | ligion. eed guage.| ence. | Arts. | Arts. | Poetry 8 el ? Igraphy. ; 
 Teach- D and Travel. 
 ing). rama) 
 30,506 10 | a 8 349 | 16 704 417 44 728 948 320 | 34,050 
 886 | — oa — 35 | — 23 32 1 26 45 15 | 1,063 
 3,919) — 3 18 | 64 3 58 29 2 106 85 59 | 4,346 
 3,212 13 24 15 452 10 154 112 39 363 191 93 | 4,678 
 63 | — = 3 21 1 7 2 _ 13 9 2 111 
 170 1 2 — 7 | = 3 2 2 7 6 5 205 
 81] 25 | 1,833 
 9 6 130 
 17 7 439 
 7 3 133, 
 16 6 466 : 
 19 5 560 
 1,433 | 546 [48,044 
 
 Nemnber of Number of 
 
 Poriad of Number Total Total Beka acca ‘Number of aareal Books issued 
 
 Dasect of Number of | Estimated rs ia aot Issues to Po ulation, | Per, head of 
 Ne Books sent. Issues. Population. Pp eee Pupils. P ; School 
 Population. : 
 
 Population. 
 73 *5,460 | 48,044 | 225,490 | *21 41,634 | 32,406 1:28 
 
 * This represents the number of circulating books at the Centres at any one time: 1,830 of these were returned to Stafford in 
 January, 1918, and a like number issued in their place. 
 
 STATIONARY LIBRARIES. 
 
 Subject Issues (Stationary Section)—Analysis of Books Taken out at 182 Centres (March, 1917— 
 
 February 28th, 1918). 
 
 sie : Natural : 
 — Fiction. Literature. Useful Arts. Se rces History. Totals. 
 | 
 Senior Books 27209 | 168 943 | 282 327 3,975 
 Juvenile Books 24,149 | 1,708 5,362 | 1,699 999 33,917 
 Total 26,404 | 41,876 6305 | 1,981 1,326 37,892 
 | : 
 Details of Readers—Analysis Thereof. 
 Rirgecs Persons Monat Shop- Persons Bact 
 ; enoaced in| eaeeged Terehe haa thet keepers andj engaged in in at Masons, | General 
 Pupils. pee in es: Pro- Persons | Industrial snaiiio: Clerks. | Joiners,| Labour-| Others. | ‘lotal. 
 culture | Domestic : fessi engaged in} Employ- | Gani a &e. ers. 
 ‘ Work. essions. | Commerce ment sae 
 generally. y ; 
 33,015 386 1,252 1,478 37 151. | 691 | 72 | 85 29 | 446 
 
Number of _ Number of 
 Period of Deposit. Number of Total E ia a Books issued resid of School Heke issued. 
 Months. Books sent. Circulation. Pp giles per head of “peed Population. Jets EE 
 opulation. | population Pupils. School 
 P ; Population. 
 Average ’ | | 
 104 3,657 37,892 226,060 17 33,015 32,368 1:02 
 | 
 
 18. The following extract from Mr. Hetherington’s memorandum already referred to throws light on 
 the method of distributing books in rural areas and upon the working of a scheme of rural libraries in 
 inaccessible districts in Scotland :— 
 
 “The following method of distribution in rural areas applies equally well for either of the two 
 general schemes described briefly above. A suitable centre is chosen and a convenient central repository 
 obtained or erected therein. All that is required in the way of a building is a commodious room for 
 housing the stock of books, and a room for administration. The books to be housed will always, in 
 greater part at any one time, be out in the villages, and shelving accommodation for about one-tenth 
 of the entire stock is all that probably is necessary, provided arrangements are made whereby the 
 interchange of consignments does not take place at the same time. The books are sent in specially 
 constructed boxes (not too large) and are exchanged, say, four times a year. The books comprise 
 selections from all classes of literature, and local industries and books of local interest find prominent 
 representation. Steps are also taken to keep records of the use made of books so that the Librarian 
 Superintendent may be able to place before the County Authority statistics and facts showing what 
 books are being read and by whom. As an illustration of the kind of facts-it is possible to secure in 
 this way, the following statistics may be quoted, showing the use made of consignments of books 
 distributed in the Shetlands, Orkney and part of the Outer Hebrides. The Scheme from which these 
 facts have been taken is one of the first instituted by the Trust, and has been organised entirely under 
 their direct control, partly because the area in question is an extremely difficult one to deal with, 
 and partly in order that its results and lessons may be studied as fully as possible. The statistics 
 quoted are merely illustrative, and, under the present abnormal conditions, no conclusions can safely 
 be drawn. In the area in question there is practically no able-bodied man or woman who is not either 
 taking a direct part in the War or who has not more than twice as much work as can be properly 
 undertaken. The statistics given below relate to returns made of the use of books at 56 places in 
 pees Shetland and the Island of Lewis for boxes of books deposited on an average for about six 
 months : — 
 
 Subject Issues. 
 
 : F . ; ; Literature, in- Hist. : 
 Fic- Jen Reli- | Socio-| Lan- Sciencs.| ful, | /ie cluding Poetry Geog. and ee Gaelic | Totals. 
 tion. sophy.} gion. | logy. | guage. hee Arts. end Drains Travels erepey | 
 a lbntantaed ee.) ees | ee ee Bey | Weis oe CEE eee 
 6,604 | 11 | 73 | 194 228 7 344 203 | 200 327 752 131 141 | 9,215 
 
 It is, however, interesting to note who have been readers of these books and the following table 
 brings out these facts :— 
 Detatls of Readers. 
 
 Fishermen : Sip Masons, Dress- 
 Crofters, &c. and Rea Teachers. a eee paner, Joiners, | makers, Others. Pupils. Totals. 
 Sailors. rete Sl &e. &e. 
 633 194 1,048 | 803 174 | 321 52 372 319 5,299 At) 
 The cost of the rural library schemes organised in the way indicated above is relatively small. As Mr. 
 
 Hetherington points out ‘‘ no costly building is involved and the whole expenditure goes in defraying the 
 real purposes of a library, namely, the provision of books and their administration. A comprehensive scheme 
 for a County in which some 300 or 400 schools are supplied with boxes of books regularly can be equipped, 
 stocked and maintained for 5 years for about £5,000 or £6,000, and the ultimate cost thereafter for future 
 maintenance would be about £500 per annum. These figures are quoted as a result of a fairly short 
 experience and may need to be modified in the light of later facts, but they are not likely to be greatly 
 exceeded.”’ 
 
 With increased opportunities for reading, however, and the development of non-vocational and technical 
 education in rural areas, it may well be that the demand for libraries will be stimulated beyond the provision 
 assumed above. The principle of travelling libraries will, of course, economise the available supply of books 
 and the expenditure involved in a large scheme will be small in comparison with the enormous social value 
 of well equipped rural libraries. 
 
 19. Though certain weighty objections may be adduced to the transfer of urban libraries to local 
 education authorities, it appears to us that there is a particularly strong case for requiring county education 
 authorities to undertake the establishment and control of public libraries within their area. Non-county 
 boroughs and urban districts should, however, continue to control public libraries already established by them.* 
 It is clearly impossible in most rural communities to appoint full time librarians except for the central 
 libraries, and the utilisation of the services of the village teachers is an obvious way of meeting the difficulty. 
 
 * See par. 55. 
 
 19668 AS 
 
10 
 
 As the schoo] will naturally be the centre of local distribution in most cases, the machinery of educational 
 administration could be used for library purposes. Even where village institutes already exist, or spring 
 into existence it would still, in our judgment, be desirable on general grounds that administration should rest 
 with the county education authority. 
 
 (C) TecHNiIcaL aND CoMMERCIAL LIBRARIES. | . 
 20. The development of technical libraries raises its own peculiar problems. Uluiversities and colleges 
 possess technical libraries covering the range of technological studies for which they provide. Various 
 professional associations possess specialised libraries for the use of their members, e.g., the Royal College 
 of Physicians, the Pharmaceutical Society, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Institute of 
 Hlectrical Engineers, &c. The Library of the Patent Office is an example of a Government library .of a 
 technical character. The municipal libraries provide books on technical subjects. 
 The existing provision of technical libraries is, however, not fully utilised, nor is it nde vests to 
 meet the needs of a great industrial and commercial country. 
 In the case of general libraries the unit of organisation and administration is the local authority, in the 
 case of the technical library system it should be the industry. In many instances, however, a library 
 might cover a group of allied trades. This is not to suggest that public libraries should confine themselves 
 to the provision of general literature. On the contrary it is important that they should contain an adequate 
 supply of books dealing with the various trades carried on in the district. But a comprehensive policy of 
 technical library provision must be arranged industry by industry. It should clearly be closely related 
 to both technical education and research, 
 21. The establishment of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 
 was a step of far reaching importance, and the work which has already been undertaken indicates how very 
 intimate are relations between research, education and libraries. For example, the Committee report* that 
 ‘‘ with a due regard to the needs of the industry and of research students in technical optics, our Glass and 
 Optical Instr uments committee have called our attention to the deficiency of books in the English language 
 on geometrical and technical optics. They recommend that a series of foreign works on “these subjects 
 
 should be translated and published with corrections and additions. . . . . We have endorsed this 
 recommendation and the Committee of Council have accordingly authorised the issue by the Department 
 of revised versions in English of (certain) standard works at cost price.’”? Again, the Committee of Council 
 
 ““asked a Special Committee of the Standing Committee on Engineering to prepare a memorandum on the 
 field for research with lubricants and lubrication, with analysis of the problems involved, and a suggested 
 scheme of research. The Special Committee have submitted an Interim Report, recommending the compila- 
 tion of a bibliography on the physical, chemical and engineering aspects of lubricants and lubrication, and 
 the preparation of abstracts of selected researches of importance, preparatory to the critical review of existing 
 knowledge on the subject and the formulation of plans and estimates for new researches.’’+ The Committee 
 realises that ‘‘ the documentation of existing information”’ is a necessary preliminary to its work and there- 
 fore regards it as falling within its province. Further, the Department is itself undertaking the dissemina~ 
 tion of knowledge by means of publications. ‘‘ The publication of the first numbers of ‘ Science and 
 Industry ’ marks the beginning of work which we expect,’’ say the Committee “‘ to be a permanent part of 
 our activities. The series is intended to record the progress made at home and abroad in the application 
 of science to manufacture, and to include papers that discuss the many problems of training, organisation 
 and procedure involved in successful industrial research. . . , We have also begun the issue of a 
 series of ‘ Bulletins’ intended to convey scientific information, useful to the industries of the country and 
 based upon research work undertaken at the public cost.’ 
 
 Somewhat similar publications are also issued by We Board of Agriculture, the British Museum, and 
 other public institutions and departments. 
 
 It is interesting to observe that the line between research and libraries is so fine that the Committee 
 cf Council are of opinion that Research Associations set up in different industries might usefully take powers 
 to establish libraries and museums. It is explained that ‘“‘it is not intended to impose this specimen. 
 Memorandum of Association on industries desiring to establish Research Associations. . . . The ‘ objects’ 
 themselves may have to be varied by either excision or enlargement. A But amongst the objects set out in - 
 the Draft Memorandum of Association suggested for research “bodies is the following : a= 
 
 **To establish, form and maintain museums, collections, libraries and collections of literature, statistics 
 and information relating to the said trade or industry, as to matters of interest to the members thereof, and 
 to translate, compile, collect, publish, lend and sell, and endeavour to secure, or contribute to, the transla- 
 tion, compilation, collection and publication by Parliament, Government Departments and other bodies or, 
 persons of any such literature, statistics and information.’’|| 
 
 22. It would appear, therefore, that when Research Associations are more generally established there 
 will be in each industry an agency which, though primarily directed to research and the application of 
 scienée to manufacture, will be deeply interested in technical libraries and museums and in technical 
 education, particularly that of an advanced character. On the other hand, it 1s probable that most, associa- 
 tions will peoard their responsibilities in the matter of research as sufficiently onerous, and will not, therefore, 
 desire to add to them the development of libraries and museums. It will be wenerally admitted, however, 
 that whatever be the methods adopted, there should be close co-operation between the Research Association 
 and those who are made directly responsible for the organisation and supervision of libraries and museums. 
 The arrangements which will be made to secure this will naturally vary from industry to industry, and no 
 hard and fast scheme would be of general value until more experience has been gained. 
 
 23. We would, however, in this connection, draw attention to the proposals contained in the First 
 Interim Report on Toint Standing Industrial Councils of the Committee on Relations between Employers and 
 Employed. Industrial research is included amongst the many functions which the Committee suggest that 
 Industrial Councils might perform. The Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial 
 Research in the Report already quoted express the opinion that Industrial Councils would, “‘ if they could be 
 brought to work successfully, ereatly help the formation and development of ‘Trade Research Associations,’’** 
 
 It would clearly be desirable to establish some organic relation between the Industrial Council and the 
 Research Association in an industry. We suggest that where the Research Association does not include in 
 
 * Report of the Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research for the year 1916-17—Cd. 8718. 
 3d. net. P. 26. 
 1: ae cit. p. 28. £ Op. cit. p. 30. § Op. cit. p. 51. || Op. cit. p. 52. | Cd. 8606. ciety oy ITP. 
 
Id 
 
 its objects the establishment and maintenance of museums and libraries, that the Industrial Council should 
 consider how these matters should be dealt with, and how any organisation proposed for this purpose should 
 be related to the Industrial Council.* If this were done and a link between the Industrial Council and the 
 Research Association established, research, libraries and museums would then be closely associated. : 
 We do not think it either desirable or possible to lay down any cut and dried methods by which this 
 necessary co-operation can be carried out. Industrial Councils and Research Associations are not yet suffi- 
 ciently established to have obtained the experience upon which alone future developments and means of 
 closer working can be‘based. It is desirable, however, that existing Industrial Councils (or Interim Industrial 
 Reconstruction Committees) should consider the problem of technical libraries, and we suggest that the 
 Government Departments concerned should bring the matter to their notice. They must, we imagine, 
 concern themselves with certain cognate problems such as apprenticeship, workshop training, the method 
 and terms of entry to a trade, &c. -These are questions which are often dealt with in industrial agreements 
 between employers’ associations and trade unions. In view of recent developments and of the changed 
 circumstances which will obtain after the war, it seems to be eminently desirable that existing methods 
 of apprenticeship and industrial training should be reviewed and where necessary remodelled in. accordance 
 with new needs and possibilities. A discussion of these questions must involve the consideration of oppor- 
 tunities for technical education and the provision of libraries. ; 
 24. We may now outline our tentative proposals for a technical library system for each industry. 
 Public libraries will naturally provide literature dealing with the predominant industries in their 
 localities. This provision, however, must be re-inforced from other sources. A local library cannot be 
 expected to bear the expense of providing costly technical works of an advanced character for which there is 
 only a relatively small demand. Moreover, it cannot reasonably be asked to supply technical books covering 
 those industries which are of little local importance. But it is, of course, necessary that advanced. books 
 should be available in the former.case and that in the latter case provision should be made for satisfying thé 
 demand which is not met by the local library. i! 
 What form this extra-local provision of books should take depends upon the character of the industry, 
 and the existing libraries of technical literature bearing upon it. We think that each industry should make 
 a survey of its library facilities. Universities, technical colleges and institutes, professional associations 
 and other libraries will in varying degrees be found to contribute towards the library needs of the industry: 
 It may be that the sum total of this provision is adequate to meet normal needs; in which case the problem 
 is one of mobilising these resources and rendering them available to those who desire to use them. We 
 regard it of the utmost.importance in the interests of economy and efficiency that these technical 
 libraries should be made readily accessible to all students and not confined to specially privileged persons. 
 Arrangements, under due safeguards, should be made for the loan of books through the post. Distant 
 reference libraries have but a limited value. The experience of the Central Library for Students is sufficient 
 to show that the loan of books through the post is practicable. We return in a later paragraph to the method 
 whereby the plan of lending books to students from existing collections may be carried out. 
 25. It may be, however—and in some industries, we fear, it will be 
 
 found that the aggregate supply 
 of books in existing libraries is inadequate. The question then arises as to how the deficiencies can best be 
 ‘met. It is true that libraries are generally not static. Further works are added from time to time; but this 
 gradual development of libraries—largely in order to keep pace with new industrial developments—will 
 not necessarily overtake the demand. We are then faced with the need for establishing for the use of all 
 those engaged in the industry a national library for the industry or group of allied trades. We believe 
 that in most industries there would be forthcoming substantial contributions from those engaged in industry 
 for providing and maintaining such a library. | ret 
 
 But whether in any industry the available supply of books is adequate to meet the normal demand or 
 not, a central library organisation in each industry is necessary. : 
 
  Tts first function would be to establish and maintain a library to supplement existing libraries. It should 
 keep, with the co-operation of the various libraries concerned, a catalogue of works available in these libraries; 
 and it should be the medium through which applications for the loan of books from these collections should be 
 made. It should lay down in consultation with the libraries concerned the conditions under which books 
 may be borrowed. This central library should contain the results of recent research both at home and 
 abroad, foreign technical works on subjects of interest to the industry, complete files of British and foreign 
 trade journals and copies of relevant official publications of this and other countries. Such a central 
 library might become an Intelligence Department for the industry, and should in this, as in other connec- 
 tions, work in close touch with the Research Association of the industry. ; ; 
 
 A central library would need adequate accommodation. It may be that many of the City Companies, 
 who in various: directions have in the past assisted the trade from which they originally sprang, would 
 willingly provide a home for the library. In other industries, perhaps, a professional association might 
 offer accommodation. Where an industry is strongly localised, as, for example, the pottery industry,f satis- 
 ‘factory arrangements might be made with a local technical institution or public library to provide 
 
 tion. 
 
 = teteg cases of those trades which are widely diffused throughout the whole country, such as building, 
 ‘baking, &e., the sources of supply would be the local public library or perhaps also the local technical school 
 and the central library. There are, however, a number of industries which are concentrated in a few 
 important areas, as, for example, shipbuilding. The local libraries and the libraries of technical institutes 
 may or may not be adequate. If they are not, it would be for the industry to consider how far its industrial 
 library should be decentralised. Some of the smaller industries might not desire to adopt so large a scheme 
 -as is here outlined. For them, the Central Circulating Library suggested below would be available. 
 
 26. The central library for the industry, which we have proposed, would necessitate a certain capital 
 outlay and an annual charge for maintenance. We think that the firms in the industry, or their organisations 
 should support an institution of this character. On the other hand, we hold that there is a case for State 
 assistance. We recommend, therefore, that the State, through the Department of Scientific and Industrial 
 Research, should contribute a sum not exceeding 265 per cent. of the sums received from other sources. 
 
 * We assume that in some cases two or more allied industries would combine to establish a single library, But this is a matter 
 
 j \ dustrial Councils in the different industries. , Lilacs apes 
 a Me once Uitted Kingdom Trust purchased the Library of Louis Solon who had, during the later years of his life, built 
 up a Ceramic Library of great value. It has been placed in the National Pottery School at Stoke-on-Trent and is available for all 
 indents whether working in the Potteries or elsewhere. The library consists of about 4,000 volumes and papers dealing with 
 
 -eeramics. In addition, the Ceramic Society's library is housed in the same building, 
 
12 
 
 The body controlling the central library for the industry would be similar in many ways to a Research 
 Association. It would receive moneys from people in the industry and from the State and would disburse 
 them in pursuance of the purposes laid down in its list of objects. In order that the library may be closely 
 in touch with industrial opinion, technical education and industrial research, its governing body should be 
 related to the Industrial Council where it exists. 
 
 27.- In dealing with technical libraries, we have limited the use of the term to libraries dealing with 
 productive industries rather than with commerce. Commercial libraries require separate treatment. We 
 have taken the view that technical libraries will not be established on a sound basis until each industry has 
 its own specialised library supplementing the existing libraries which should be made readily available for 
 the use of students. Im the case of commerce, we do not think that such a degree of specialisation is 
 necessary Public libraries should provide an adequate selection of books dealing with the theory and 
 practice of commerce and cognate subjects. In important commercial cities they will undoubtedly go beyond 
 this. Glasgow and Liverpool, for example, have established special commercial libraries which partake in 
 some degree of the nature of intelligence bureaux. The line of demarcation between the functions of the 
 Commercial Intelligence Department of the Government or of the trade association on the one hand, and 
 the Commercial Department of the public libraries on the other, is by no means easy to draw. It must be 
 left to the future to mark out with any precision their respective fields of work. We would suggest, however. 
 that the function of the commercial department of a local library is primarily to provide books concerned 
 with the theory and practice of commerce and cognate subjects, rather than detailed information on matters 
 of trade. 
 
 28. There can be no doubt that in the past technical library facilities have been inadequate. It is 
 generally agreed that the limitation of rate has seriously retarded the growth of technical sections of public 
 libraries. Moreover, the resources of other technical libraries have not been fully used. The proposals 
 we have made aim at a development of the technical sides of local public libraries by a close association 
 with the local education authority and participation in Board of Education grants, by rendering accessible 
 to students other libraries containing technical literature, and by providing for a central library in each 
 industry. aided by State grants, to act as a central clearing house, to supplement the existing libraries, 
 and to work in close touch with the Research Association for the industry. Our object has been to avoid 
 unnecessary duplication, to obtain the greatest possible assistance from the libraries already available, and 
 to knit the technical library system with technical education and industrial research. We are convinced 
 that a comprehensive library policy is necessary to sound industrial development and that, therefore, the 
 formulation and application of such a policy is an indispensable part of industrial reconstruction. 
 
 e 
 
 (D) Non-VocationaL Epucation. 
 
 29. Both for technical and other students the provision of lending and reference libraries is essential. 
 The keen student will always be prepared to purchase books, so far as his means allow, and it is desirable 
 that he should, for the common library does not render unnecessary the need for a personal library. On 
 the other hand, it is equally true that the personal possession of books is never a complete substitute for 
 the lending and reference library. The adult student pursuing his studies for non-vocationa} ends often 
 accumulates gradually a library of considerable educational value. Many working-class houses hold libraries 
 which compare favourably with the collection of books housed by those who have had greater educational 
 opportunities. The need for a reservoir of books from which loans can be made becomes more insistent as 
 the private purchase of books extends. In the case of non-vocational education, the necessity for adequate 
 libraries is even more important, if that were possible, than in the case of technical education. The purchase 
 of books by technical students is in the nature of an investment which may yield an economic return; but 
 there is no such motive in the mind of those desiring non-vocational education. 
 
 Public libraries have been the mainstay of the existing provision for non-vocational students, and a 
 tribute must be paid to the services they have rendered to adult education. In addition, some working men’s 
 clubs possess libraries. A library for the use of members is often one of the features of the largest co-operative 
 societies. and their libraries are often extensively used. The libraries of Mechanics’ Institutes and other 
 similar institutions must also be numbered amongst existing resources. But with the growth of systematic 
 adult education, the present provision is inadequate to meet the need for several reasons. Non-vocationall 
 classes may be held, and often are held, in towns and villages where library facilities either do not exist or are 
 negligible. The high standard of work which is aimed at in some types of adult education involves the provi- 
 sion of books which are large and expensive and for which there is but a small general demand. Further, the 
 course of study, and, therefore, the books required, may change from year to year. Moreover, and here we 
 touch a matter of some importance, a group of adults may desire to read the same work at the same time. 
 Libraries do not as ‘a rule contain nfore than one copy of a book. To ask them to supply, say, a dozen copies of 
 it would be a serious drain on their resources which would prevent the purchase of a dozen different books for 
 each of which there is some demand. Loca! facilities cannot therefore be relied upon. The demand by a 
 number of students for books on a particular topic of political science or economics may be met to some extent 
 by the loan of a box of books from, say, the Fabian Society, which for a small fee provides boxes of books 
 selected from its library. By this method local resources may be supplemented. But it is obvious that further 
 and more systematic provision is essential. This has been supplied in the case of University Tutorial Classes 
 and of University Extension Lecture Courses by means of travelling libraries. It should be observed that 
 the Board of Education, as a condition of recognition for grant, require to be satisfied that the Supervising 
 Body has made adequate provision for the supply. of books bearing on the courses of study for its University 
 Tutorial Classes. The tutor of the class usually prepares a lisit of the books which he considers it desirable to 
 place within the reach of the students. As often as not he will ask for several copies of some works, if they 
 are available. The University Joint Committee from its library makes up a box of books which during the 
 session is generally housed where the class meets. In some few cases the book box is kept at the public 
 library, so that books may be changed on other than class nights. The class appoints its own librarian, who 
 takes charge of the box and the circulation of the books. It cannot be said, however, that the supply of 
 books to University Tutorial Classes is satisfactory, and efforts are necessary to increase the reservoir from 
 which the travelling libraries are drawn. Nevertheless, much useful work has been done, and in the case 
 of at least one tutorial class library assistance has been given to other than tutorial class students. Reference 
 may be made to the library of the Oxford University Tutorial Classes Committee which has gradually been 
 built up since the University established the first Tutorial Classes in 1908. Recognising the importance of 
 an adequate supply of books, the Committee has gone to considerable expense to ensure proper provision for 
 
13 
 
 its classes. During the past ten years the Committee has expended a sum of £650 on the purchase of books, 
 and now possesses a library of over 3,000 volumes, chiefly in History, Economics, Philosophy, Political 
 Science and English Literature. As in each class several copies are required of the more important works, 
 the Committee has in its library as many as thirty or forty copies of certain books. It has been the practice, 
 after supplying its Tutorial Classes to meet the need of a few Preparatory Classes or Study groups held at 
 Oxford centres or at certain branches of the Workers’ Educational Association. An endeavour has also 
 been made, especially before the establishment of the Central Library for Students, to provide from the 
 shelves of the Joint Committee’s library for the individual wants of some of the students in its classes. 
 Further, during the past two years it has made loans out of its surplus stock to several Army Camps in which 
 educational schemes had been initiated. 
 
 30. It is clear that with the development of adult education which we anticipate after the War, a 
 far greater provision of books in lending and reference libraries will be necessary. ‘The growing interest in 
 political, social and economic questions and in natural science and literature has been reflected in the 
 provincial libraries which in many cases have striven to meet the demand as far as they could in view 
 of the limitation of expenditure imposed by law. We make below proposals for the establishment of a 
 large central library; but such provision ‘n no way supersedes the need for adequate local provision of works 
 for which there is likely to be a steady demand. No doubt the Board of Education, if our proposals are 
 adopted, will require as a condition of grant that the library provision should be commensurate with the 
 educational provision of the locality and the needs of the adult student. 
 
 31. The’ universities, so far as adult education is concerned, have a special responsibility. We have 
 already alluded to the provision of travelling book-boxes for University Tutorial Classes and University 
 Extension Lecture Courses. This provision is in our opinion not generally adequate. _We think that the 
 supply of libraries in connection with extra-mural university education, of whatever kind, should be as 
 efficient in its way as the library provision in connection with intra-mural work. As in the case of public 
 libraries, the proposed Central Circulating Library referred to below is intended to be supplementary to the 
 provision made by universities and to meet demands which the universities cannot be expected to meet. 
 
 We think that in the future greater regard should be had by the Board of Education in assessing grants 
 for extra-mural university work to the provision of facilities for consulting books. 
 
 But the development of public and University libraries will not in themselves suffice to cover the field. 
 There will also be need for a Central Circulating Library, to a consideration of which we now turn. 
 
 (E) ProposEp DEVELOPMENT OF THE CENTRAL LIBRARY FOR STUDENTS. 
 
 382. It was the library problems created by the growth of adult non-vocational education which led to 
 the establishment of a central Library by the Workers’ Educational Association in conjunction with Toynbee 
 Hall, for the purpose of supplying books to members of University Tutorial and W.H.A. Classes. In 
 1914-15 this library issued 1,046 volumes to students in various parts of the country. Professor 
 W.G. 8S. Adams, in his Report on Library Provision and Policy to the Carnegie United Kingdom Trustees 
 in 1915, remarks that ‘‘it is already evident that some much more adequate provision is required to enable 
 working men and women students to get necessary books for their course of systematic study. The books 
 required are, as a rule, far beyond the means of the working student, and it is important that the student 
 should be able to get these books and take them home. Local centres cannot afford to buy these books, nor 
 would it be economic to do so, as the subjects of study change from year to year in the centre, and the set 
 of books which is available for one centre in one session should be available for another in a subsequent 
 session,’’* After referring to the growth of educational movements, Professor Adams continues, ‘‘ A central 
 lending library, common to the Workers’ Educational Association, the Adult School movement, and all other 
 organisations of working men and women which are carrying on systematic study work, would be an 
 institution of great public utility.’’t : 
 
 33. In its second Annual Report for the year ending 31st December, 1915, the Carnegie United Kingdom 
 Trust announced its intention to aid such a central lending library and ‘‘ to meet the cost of the necessary 
 initial outlay on books, premises, &c., and to assist in maintaining the Library for a period of five years, 
 while it is passing through its experimental stage.’’ The following grants were made: £600 to assist the 
 establishment of the Library; £2,000 for additions to the stock of books; £400 per annum for five years only, 
 on condition of £320 per annum being raised by voluntary subscriptions. 
 
 “The purpose of the Library is not only to ensure that all bona fide students coming under its notice 
 shall be helped in their studies if they are unable to obtain the use of the necessary books elsewhere. but 
 also to stimulate and develop higher study on the part of those, for the most part isolated students, who, 
 owing to the lack of book facilities and book guidance, have been content with a lower level of knowledge 
 than they are capable of acquiring. . . . It will be complementary to big national libraries which do 
 not send books out, or only to a restricted clientele. It will supplement the book supplies of libraries which 
 are unable for various reasons to store a number of duplicates of books for which, owing to the development 
 of local studies, there is a temporary demand.’’} 
 
 At the end of February, 1917, the Library consisted of 3,249 volumes, and the number of volumes issued 
 during the period from October Ist, 1916, to February 28th, 1917, was 2,005. In February, 1919, the 
 Library consisted of 15,020: volumes, whilst the issues for the year ending February 28th, 1919, amounted 
 to 11,337, an increase of 9,332 over the number for the first year. The books were issued to individuals, 
 groups of students, and societies and institutions. As the above figures show, the demand for books is rapidly 
 increasing. The books are lent free, the borrower paying the cost of carriage both ways. 
 
 34. Our opinion, reinforced by the opinion of representative librarians, is that the Central Library 
 for Students should be regarded as the nucleus of a much larger Central Circulating Library. Such a 
 library is necessary in the first place to supplement the book collections of local libraries by supplying 
 on loan local demands for larger and more expensive works than public libraries can _ provide, 
 and for books of a more specialised character than local libraries are justified in obtaining. Even 
 in the case of the large public lbraries only one copy could be provided of such advanced and 
 specialised works, and there is need of a reservoir from which further copies can be drawn in case of need. 
 By means of a Central Circulating Library, local libraries would, without great expense, be able to satisfy 
 special, temporary, and changing demands made upon them. We have already recommended the formation of 
 
 * See page 20. + See page 21. 
 ¢ First Annual Report of the Library Committee, 1916-17, pp. 6-7, 
 
14 
 
 industrial libraries. Some industries, however, might prefer that their technical libraries should be housed 
 and administered by the Central Circulating Library. But even where industrial libraries exist the Central 
 Circulating Library would still be necessary for the supply of books dealing with pure Science and of advanced 
 works bearing upon more than one industry; in a word to supplement industrial libraries and to economise the 
 supply of technical and scientific works appertaining to more than one industry. Then also the Central 
 Circulating Library should meet the needs of individuals for whom no other provision is available. 
 Individuals residing in districts where no public library exists might make application for books or for 
 information and advice through the medium of the Local Education Authority, or, as in America, direct 
 to the Library. The Central Circulating Library would also be a source of supply where for,purposes of 
 group study many copies of certain books were needed. It should, however, be no part of its function to 
 supply quantities of cheap textbooks, and it should not supply books prescribed for examinations. 
 
 With the assistance of experts the Library should organise the supply of bibliographical information 
 and advice, and should index periodical literature in co-operation with other libraries and agencies. Though 
 we have had the supply of books mainly in mind, we think the Library should provide on loan maps and 
 charts and other essentials to group study. 
 
 We have insisted in this Report upon the importance of mobilising the resources of libraries to ensure 
 their maximum efficiency. In the case of Industrial Libraries we have suggested that the resources of the 
 existing libraries should be pooled. Some such arrangement is necessary for libraries generally. It could 
 only be effectively carried out through a central organisation which the Central Circulating Library should 
 supply. The existing libraries would be more fully used, unnecessary duplication of books would be avoided, 
 and funds set free for fresh purchases. This proposal implies a general catalogue, which it would be the duty 
 of a Central Circulating Library, acting as a clearing house, to compile and keep up to date. The suggestion 
 is a practicable one and the system has been worked successfully in Germany for some years. 
 
 35. Such a Central Circulating Library as we have suggested would call for the co-operation of public, 
 central, technical and other libraries and of the authorities and voluntary organisations engaged in educational 
 work. We recommend that the Central Library for Students, now established at 20, Tavistock Square, 
 London, should be asked to undertake these larger functions and to become the Central Circulating Library. 
 The various interests concerned would, of course, be closely associated with its working. We think that its 
 income should be derived from the subscriptions of local authorities, voluntary organisations and individuals. 
 In addition, the Library should be subsidised from public funds by an annual grant from the Board of 
 Education. : 
 
 It is, of course, impossible to estimate the demands which would be made upon the Central Circulating 
 Library and therefore to calculate the income necessary. But it may be well to consider the existing experi- 
 ence as to the cost of conducting libraries in order to throw some light upon the probable expenditure both of 
 the Central Circulating Library and the proposed Industrial Libraries. | 
 
 The accounts of the well-known London Library of 14, St. James’s Square, tend to show that when once 
 fully established, with a large stock of old books on which to draw, a library such as the contemplated 
 Central Circulating Library can be managed and built up at an average cost of one shilling on the number 
 of volumes circulated, of which about ninepence must be allocated to working expenses and about threepence 
 to the purchase of books. 
 
 In 1860, the first year for which the figures are on record, 27,945 volumes were circulated, and payments © 
 amounted to £1,598 (of which £339 was for books). In 1904 the circulation reached tts maximum, 137,208, 
 and payments amounted to £6,704 (of which £1,785 was for books). During the forty-five years 1860-1904 the 
 total circulation recorded is 3,759,805, and the payments £180,460 (of which £44,808 was for books), as 
 against £187,990, the yield of a shilling a volume on the circulation. Since 1904 the financial prosperity of 
 the London Library has been assured by a combination of increased receipts and diminished circulation, and 
 the payments have included large sums for the redemption of debentures issued for the purchase of freeholds 
 and rebuilding. But the figures quoted for the 45 years 1860-1904 afford a solid basis for the estimate of a 
 shilling a volume on the circulation as sufficing, when a library of this kind has reached a certain stage, to 
 pay all working expenses and build up a large stock of books. 
 
 While this calculation appears to rest on a solid basis, it must be pointed out that it was not until well 
 on in the ’seventies, when the London Library had been established some thirty years, that the expenses 
 and cost of new books were brought down to so low a figure as a shilling a volume on the circulation. The 
 small experience offered by the Central Library for Students shows that in the initial stages working expenses 
 are far heavier, and that for rapid development a special book-fund is a necessity. In its first year the circu- 
 lation of 2,001 volumes cost in expenses £633, or about 6s. 4d. a volume; in its second year 6,303 volumes 
 were circulated for £944, or about 3s. a volume, and the cost per volume will doubtless continue to diminish 
 rapidly as the circulation expands (the circulation of books during the first 4 months of the third year is 
 more than treble that of the corresponding period of the second year), though so long as a large part of the 
 income has to be gathered by the expensive process of collecting voluntary subscriptions it must remain high. 
 In the first year £444, and in the second £828, was spent on books from a fund provided by the Carnegie 
 Trustees. The more quickly its stock of books is increased the more quickly will the cost of circulating 
 them drop to the 9d. a volume attained after thirty years of slow growth by the London Library, and the 
 modest figure of 3d. a volume on the circulation suffice for the purchase of new books. 
 
 Combining the experience of the two libraries, it seems a safe estimate that an assured income of £2,000 
 a year for ten years ought to enable a Central Circulating Library to attain a circulation of at least 40,000 
 volumes a year in less than ten years, and thereafter to work at a total cost for expenses and purchases of 
 not more than a shilling a volume on its circulation. Though these conclusions may not hold precisely in 
 the case of technical libraries, it is at any rate certain that with the grant-in-aid suggested, the net cost of 
 Industrial Libraries will not be a charge beyond the reach of the various industries of the country. 
 
 36. We may perhaps summarise our proposals by assuming that the organisation we have recommended 
 has been fully adopted, and by describing the steps which would be taken to supply a reader with the 
 books he needs. 
 
15 
 
 Let us first take the case of a technical student. THis first approach would be to the public library 
 in his own district. If his needs were not fully supplied, he would then apply to a Branch Industrial 
 Library, where such existed, or in other cases to the Central Library for the Industry, which, when unable 
 Made demands upon it, would call to its assistance other technical libraries or the Central Circulating 
 
 ibrary. 
 
 In the case of the non-technical student, he would, in the first instance, make use of the local public 
 hbrary. Books unobtainable there, he would apply for to the Central Circulating Library, either direct 
 or through the public library as might be arranged. If from its own stock the Central Circulating 
 Library were unable to supply the books required, it would draw upon the resources of the brary or 
 libraries where the books were available. 
 
 There will be many difficulties to overcome, and it will most probably be found necessary to make 
 modifications in the general scheme of organisation. What we wish to insist upon, however, is the 
 importance of developing our library system and putting the existing resources to the fullest possible use. 
 
 Our proposals for the future co-ordination of libraries may be illustrated by diagram, as follows :— 
 
 eee | 
 
 Central Other UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES. Other Non- 
 Industrial <= Technical : ; Technical 
 Libraries. Dbaries: (a) Technical. (6) Non-Technical. Libraries. 
 
 Y y 
 
 Branch 
 
 Industrial Gt 
 tine, Y CENTRAL CIRCULATING LIBRARY. 
 Industrial 
 N Libraries. 
 
 Technical Non-Technical 
 Student. Student. 
 
 (I") GovERNMENT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 37. Before leaving the question of libraries, we would draw attention to the assistance which we think 
 the Government should give to libraries by providing copies of official publications. Presumably these docu- 
 ments are issued because they are of public interest, yet to the ordinary citizen they are wellnigh inaccessible. 
 The Government is the largest publisher in the country, but its publications, unfortunately, form an 
 insignificant part of the equipment of most libraries, in spite of the fact that the documents ‘issued. are 
 intended for public consumption. In view of the extension of education, and more particularly of the 
 growing interest in political studies, and the extension of the franchise, we consider that the more important 
 official publications should be given a prominent place in public libraries. We do not suggest a wholesale 
 distribution of reports and annual returns to all libraries. We recommend, however, that public libraries 
 should receive regular notice of new publications, and that they should be able to obtain any Government 
 document whatever free of charge on application. 
 
 But these publications are issued in a form which renders them unfit for library use. The folio size, in 
 which so many are published, is not only inconvenient for storing, but ungainly to handle. The type is 
 often not the most suitable, the printed lines are too long, and the pages too large and too full of print: 
 to be attractive to any but serious students. We cannot think that there ig any real reason why Government 
 publications should almost always be ill-produced, without any regard to the convenience and comfort 
 of the reader. On the contrary, we are of opinion that official books and pamphlets should conform to 
 good standards of production. For example, there seems no reason why those likely to have a considerable 
 sale should not be produced in octavo form, as in the case of the recent Reports of the Committees appointed 
 to consider the Teaching of Science and the Teaching of Modern Languages in the educational system 
 of Great Britain. (Cd. 9011 and Cd. 9036.) 
 
 Perhaps we may be allowed to touch upon a further matter relating to official documents. The more 
 extensive provision of Government publications by public libraries will probably lead to an increase in their 
 sale if obstacles to purchase can be removed. At present the machinery for their distribution is not such 
 as to promote their circulation, yet their circulation is necessary in the interests of an informed public 
 opinion. The Reports of Royal Commissions, Government Committees and Public Services are indispensable 
 to the study of political, social. economic and historical subjects and the mechanical difficulties in the way 
 of rendering them readily available should be removed. So long as they are obtainable only in London, 
 Edinburgh and Dublin, or ‘‘ through any bookseller” (to whom there is little inducement to supply official 
 publications) artificial restrictions on their sale will remain. We are of opinion that Government publica- 
 tions should be obtainable through any post office, and the post offices should be used to inform the public 
 of the issue of official documents. ' ; 
 
 38. We have endeavoured to lay down a general library policy allowing for the progressive develop- 
 ment of libraries and with a view to the maximum of efficiency. We are fully aware of the many difficulties 
 involved in our proposals, but the present position with regard to libraries is so unsatisfactory owing to the 
 obstacles with which they are faced and the lack of proper co-ordination that we believe that comprehensive 
 
 and far-reaching changes are essential. 
 
16 
 PART II.—MUSEUMS. 
 
 39. The movement towards co-operation between educational institutions and public libraries has its 
 counterpart in a similar growth of co-operation between educational institutions and museums.* ‘Though, 
 however, some provincial museums have become important adjuncts of the educational activities of the 
 locality, in other cases the amount of co-operation is small. Some museums arrange courses of lectures 
 independently of the local education committee or possess libraries of their own, which (apart from the 
 libraries of learned societies) are often difficult to maintain. In other cases there is no organic connection 
 between the museums and the public libraries. 
 
 Where provincial museums are under the control of voluntary bodies and associations there is, of course, 
 no certainty that they will be in close touch with local educational needs. On the other hand, where 
 museums are maintained out of local rates, the limitation of the rate which can be used for museums to one 
 halfpenny in the pound and the absence of any State aid (except the limited grant in aid of new purchases 
 provided by the Board of Education), their sphere of usefulness is obviously restricted and their outlook 
 narrowed, 
 
 At the present time, the country is not sufficiently provided with museums; those that exist are generally 
 hampered from lack of funds, and their activities are not adequately co-ordinated with the work of local 
 education authorities and public libraries. 
 
 40. The local museum should embody local history, activities, and ideals. It should be the home of 
 a living, continuous regional survey covering the geological, ethnographical, biological, economic, social 
 and intellectual aspects of local life. It should be intimately related to—and indeed should reflect—the 
 many-sided activities of the life of the community. But the museum, and particularly the art gallery, 
 should not be merely local in its outlook. Both museums and galleries should make a wide appeal, illus- 
 trating national life and ideals and the noblest human achievements and ideals. On this side, however, 
 a district cannot successfully rely on its own resources. It is necessary, therefore, that local exhibits should 
 be from time to time reinforced from other collections. We refer to this question later. 
 
 The museum should be at once the workshop or study of the pupil, and a place of regular resort for the 
 general public, attracted there by the variety of its interests and the periodical re-grouping of its exhibits. 
 The museum, thus conceived, is an educational institution of the highest value and should play an important 
 part in the educational life of the community. 
 
 41. In recent years there has been a growth of co-operation between museums and educational institu- 
 tions. The movement is relatively new, and it would be unwise to generalise as to the precise forms which 
 it should take. In some places the utilisation of museums for educational purposes is a well established 
 practice; in other places but little has as yet been done to bring that organic connection between the museum 
 and the school which must be a source of strength to both. Such experience as there is clearly indicates 
 ’ the far-reaching influence which the museum and the school may exert upon each other when the resources 
 of the former are made fully available to the latter through a policy of co-operation. In the future it is 
 hoped that the hard and fast line between class room and library will vanish. It is also to be hoped that 
 for many purposes the class room and the museum will be interchangeable terms. Many inspiring and 
 living lessons may be given in the museum and much educational work carried on there, whilst the organi- 
 sation of travelling loan collections by the museum may bring the museum to the school for certain 
 purposes The exhibits of the museum can provide a wealth of illustrative material for the study of history, 
 geography, literature, natural science, and the arts, without which these studies are robbed of the greater 
 part of their value. But the maximum value will not be obtained from the museum merely by means 
 of desultory tours round its exhibits or ‘‘ educational visits.’’ A much more intimate contact is necessary, 
 so that the museum will be as continuously used as the library, the art room, or the playing fields. 
 
 42. Technical education has also much to gain from the better utilisation and development of museums. 
 The place of the industrial arts in the museum has never been fully recognised. Perhaps the branch which 
 provides most exhibits is ceramics; but here is no reason why the field of exhibits should not be widely 
 extended. Furniture, metal work, glass, lace, leather work, and other products might find a place, and be a 
 source of inspiration and assistance to the technical student. The museum should contain samples of the 
 various raw materials used in local industries, exhibits illustrating the development of local industries, and 
 jn some cases perhaps samples of foreign and other wares of special interest. The technical branch of a 
 museum ought not to be regarded as a substitute for adequate equipment in the technical school, but rather 
 to supplement it by exhibits of special value. The section of the museum devoted to the economic aspects 
 of local life would not only serve the needs of the technical student, but would be of value to those interested 
 in non-vocational studies such as industrial history and economics. A well planned and adequately equipped 
 economic section of a museum would bridge over the somewhat artificial distinction between technical and 
 general education. A close co-operation between the technical institute, the museum, and the public library 
 would be a powerful stimulus to the growth of technical education. 
 
 43. The museum has also its contribution to make to adult non-vocational education. In so far as it 
 epitomises and renders concrete the past and present activities of the community in its different aspects, 
 it may be used to illustrate the political, social, economic and historical studies which play so large a part 
 in adult education, The exhibits, whether models, charts, prints, or other objects, illustrating civie 
 life and problems should be invaluable aids to the whole range of civic studies and should do something at 
 least to extend a living knowledge of local affairs, strengthen public spirit and develop higher standards. 
 of citizenship. 
 
 44. The museum, like the public library, must cater for a general public, not bent on a 
 serious quest for knowledge. It is necessary therefore that museums should have regard to the display of 
 exhibits of general interest. In this connection the periodical re-grouping of exhibits and the arrangement 
 of special loan exhibitions is important. Careful labelling of exhibits, and suitable guide books, and the 
 services of an adequate staff are essential. We would also recommend the extension of the practice already 
 adopted by some museums of opening on Sundays. 
 
 45. Certain museums arrange public lectures and series of lectures. We think that museums should 
 be provided with lecture rooms and that lectures should be given of interest both to the general public and 
 to more specialised audiences. But such arrangements should be made as part of the local provision for 
 education and should be related to the other educational activities of the local authority. The lecture room 
 of the museum should be available for the use of local scientific, antiquarian, historical and other societies 
 interested in the museum. 
 
 * The term “museum” is used in this Report to cover “art galleries,” except where it is clear that reference to “art galleries” is’ 
 not intended. 
 
17: 
 
 46. In Part [. of this Report we have emphasised the importance of mobilising our library resources 
 with a view to the most efficient use of them. There is need also of a policy which will bring the treasures 
 of our national and provincial museums and galleries within the knowledge of the largest possible public. 
 Temporary loan collections have in the past done something to bring exhibits of various kinds before a large 
 publhe. Whilst it is obvious that many works of art and other exhibits cannot be removed from the 
 permanent collections, of which they form a part, there are nevertheless both in national and provincial 
 museums and galleries, exhibits which are worthy of a wider attention than they can possibly receive, even 
 in London, much less in a provincial town. We have alluded above to the value of temporary loan exhibi- 
 tions, which throw the permanent exhibits of museums into a new relief and form an important means of 
 maintaining a living interest in local collections. There are clearly many difficulties in the way of 
 developing a national policy which will bring the enjoyment of the treasures of the museums and galleries 
 of the country within the experience of the largest possible number of people. Co-operation will be needed 
 if such a plan is to be realised. We have recommended the establishment of a Central Library. We think 
 also that some similar institution or institutions will be necessary in the case of museums. In this case, 
 however, we are of opinion that the existing national museums and galleries would serve the purpose of 
 national clearing houses of information, each within the range of its activities maintaining a classified 
 catalogue or catalogues of national and ‘local exhibits which the authorities concerned are willing to lend 
 for short periods to other museum authorities. This would enable those interested to know the extent of 
 the resources available for supplementing national and local collections for special purposes. 
 
 47. The rural areas present a special problem. Museums should be established in those market towns 
 which form the natural centres of rural life. Improved transport facilities and the improved economic 
 conditions of the agricultural population must give a new importance to the market towns as centres of 
 social activity. Moreover, it is desirable that the villages should build up collections of their own, reinforced 
 from time to time by travelling exhibits from the county collection, maintained by the County Education 
 Authority. 
 
 48. The present financial resources of museums render them unable, in a large number of cases, to 
 provide an adequate staff. We think that the curator should be a person of wide interests and administrative 
 capacity. The range of subjects illustrated in a provincial museum—science, art, history, &¢.—is so wide 
 that no curator can be intimately acquainted with them all. Yet it is necessary that the museum should 
 have at its disposal the services of specialists. So long as the museum js an independent institution it will 
 be difficult to provide specialist assistants. Where the museum was large enough, full time assistants should 
 be employed, who might deliver lectures on their subjects in accordance with the general educational scheme 
 of the local authority. Jn the case of the smaller museums, the specialist assistants might devote part of 
 their time to teaching in secondary, technical or art schools, or to research. 
 
 49. The existing financial position of museums, however, is so unsatisfactory that these and other 
 developments are impracticable. Whilst it is hoped that the benefactions of dividuals and societies will 
 not cease, but rather increase, the uncertainty of private support militates against the full efficiency of 
 those museums which are so maintained. The halfpenny rate in the case of public museums is insufficient 
 to provide both the expenses of maintenance and new additions which are essential. As in the case of libraries, 
 the limitation of rate has crippled development. The abolition of the limitation, however, will not solve 
 the problem, as it will be no inducement to those districts who made no provision hitherto to make it in 
 the future. ; 
 
 We believe that the solution of the financial difficulty with regard to both public and other museums 
 lies in the establishment of organic relations with the other forms of local educational etfort and the provision 
 of state assistance. I¢ is clear that the fullest co-operation between educational institutions and museums 
 is necessary if both are to perform their respective functions successfully. It is true that much of the work 
 of museums and galleries falls outside the scope of the organised educational activities of an area. The 
 function of both libraries and museums is broadly cultural, and the arguments we applied in the case of 
 libraries hold good so far as museums are concerned. Museums have much to gain from vital association 
 with and participation in a well ordered scheme of social effort, and from the fuller activity and greater 
 usefulness which must result from direct contact with a many-sided programme of educational activity. 
 On the other hand, the freer atmosphere which is claimed for the museum, as for the library, should be 
 brought to bear upon the educational service. 
 
 From the financial point, the provision of State assistance raises the question of the central authority. 
 We do not think that such aid should be administered directly by the Treasury. The Department primarily 
 concerned is the Board of Education, and grants from the Exchequer should be distributed by the Board. 
 If our proposals are adopted, this would be done as part of the grant to local educational authorities in 
 respect of its whole programme of work. 
 
 50. The proposal to establish war museums is in our opinion one which needs to be carefully considered 
 in view of the dangers inherent in it. We can conceive that many war exhibits might be of high educational 
 value. On the other hand, we fear that many more may be not merely of doubtful value but actually 
 injurious in their influence. It, would appear to us unfortunate if museums were to be loaded with 
 miscellaneous war trophies of various kinds, claiming a disproportionately large amount of space for display, 
 and therefore we think that war exhibits should be considered from the: point of view of permanent 
 educational value and that those concerned should have regard to the needs and importance of other branches 
 of museum exhibits. 
 
 51. We have not dealt at length with the problem of museums. We are concerned mainly with their 
 extension and development on the one hand and the establishment of full co-operation with the local 
 authority on the other. These ends we believe will be completely attained only through the recognition 
 of the local education authority as the museum authority. We deal with this question in Part III. of 
 the Report. 
 
18 
 
 PART III. 
 THE LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS. 
 
 52. We have already referred (paragraphs 18 and 51) to the importance of co-ordinating the adminis- 
 tration of public libraries and museums with the local administration of education, Recent developments 
 are pointing the way towards the assimilation of various forms of educational activity in a comprehensive 
 national system. The tendency of the central educational administration to regard as the unit the educa- 
 tional activities of the local authority asa whole, rather than the individual institution or class, is in 
 general to be welcomed. This policy we regard as sound, and calculated to lead to the full utilisation 
 of the whole resources of the country. It is desirable that State aid should normally be assessed upon 
 a comprehensive view of the various educational agencies, their relations with each other, and the nature 
 of the work carried on by them. The effectiveness of ,the educational facilities of a locality depend, in 
 part at least, upon the degree of cc-operation between the educational institutions aud the public libraries 
 and museums; and the work of the libraries and museums must, therefore, be taken into account in 
 arriving at a considered view of the local educational system. 
 
 53. Clause 1 of the Education Act, 1918, provides that :— 
 
 ‘* With a view to the establishment of a national system of public education available for all 
 persons capable of profiting thereby, it shall be the duty of the Council of every county and county 
 borough, so far as their powers extend, to contribute thereto by providing for the progressive develop- 
 ment and comprehensive organisation of education in respect of their area, and with that object any 
 such council from time to time may, and shall when required by the Board of Education, submit 
 to the Board schemes showing the mode in which their duties and powers under the Education 
 Acts are to be performed and exercised, whether separately or in co-operation with other authorities.”’ 
 
 ““The main ideas of educational administration ’’ upon which the proposed revised draft regulations 
 for continuation, technical, and art classes in England and Wales are based, are the following :— 
 
 (1) The need for a complete and systematic plan of elementary education in each area, properly 
 related to elementary and secondary schools and universities, adapted to local needs and 
 particularly to industrial needs, and offering to every student facilities for a graduated and 
 progressive course of instruction suited to his or her requirements. 
 
 (2) The position of the Local Education Authority as the body responsible for formulating and 
 carrying out such a plan. 
 
 Neither the Education Act nor the proposed Regulations quoted above refer specifically to the inclusion 
 of the activities of libraries ‘and museums in the plan of work carried out by an authority, The Education 
 (Scotland) Act, 1918 (clause 5), however, provides that :— 
 
 “Tt shall be lawful for the education authority of a county, as an ancillary means of promoting 
 education, to make such provision of books by purchase or otherwise as they may think desirable, 
 and to make the same available, not only to the children and young persons attending schools or 
 continuation classes in the county, but also to the adult population resident therein. 
 
 ‘‘ For the purpose of this section an education authority may enter into arrangements with 
 public libraries, and all expenses incurred by an education authority for those purposes shall be 
 chargeable to the county education fund: Provided that where in any burgh or parish as defined 
 by the Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act, 1887, the library rate by that Act authorised 
 is levied, there shall be raised within such burgh or parish on account of any such expenses such 
 sum as will, with the produce of the said library rate, amount to the sum which would have been 
 raised within such burgh or parish under this section had such library rate not been levied -within it.” 
 
 This Clause, without establishing the Edueation Authority as the library Authority, recognises the 
 essential part which library authorities must play in a local educational scheme such as authorities are 
 required to submit under Section 6 of the Act to the Scottish Education Department. 
 
 54. Our proposal is that the scheme of education for a local area in England and Wales should 
 
 include its library and museum programme as well as its proposals relating to the work of its schools. The 
 
 activities of the lbraries and museums would then be taken into account by the Board of Education in 
 assessing the total amount of State grants to be allotted to the local authority. In this way both museums 
 and libraries would receive assistance from the national exchequer, and the many-sided activities of a 
 locality would be more closely knit together. ; 
 
 55. It will be seen from the earlier sections of our Report that we are strongly in favour of a full 
 co-operation between local education authorities on the one hand, and public libraries and museums on 
 the other. We think that the local education authority should be the authority responsible for the 
 administration of public libraries and public museums in order to ensure the closest relationship between 
 the activities of schools, libraries, and museums. In England and Wales local authorities for higher 
 education should be the authorities for libraries and museums, though in the case of those Part III. 
 authorities which now possess their own public libraries it would be advisable, at any rate for the present, 
 
 not to disturb the control of their libraries but to arrive at a working agreement between authorities for — 
 
 elementary education and the county authority. In university cities, where the museum is administered 
 by a Joint Committee of the Corporation and the university, as, for example. in Manchester, this arrangement 
 might well continue. In the case of Scotland the new Education Act may lead to further developments in 
 the future; and until experience has been obtained as to the operation of Clause 5 it would be premature 
 to suggest further administrative changes. 
 
 56. The public libraries and museums should be remitted to special committees of the education 
 authority. On each of these Committees it would be desirable to co-opt representatives of voluntary organi- 
 sations and societies specially interested in the work of the Committees such as local educational bodies, 
 scientific societies, and art clubs. Librarians and curators should, of course, have direct access to their 
 respective committees and the fullest possible scope for their powers and special knowledge. 
 
 57. The time is opportune to make the administrative changes we have suggested. Clause 4 (3) of 
 the Ministry of Health Bill, 1919, provides for the transfer by Order in Council “‘ to any Government 
 Department any of the powers and duties of the Minister relating to the matters specified in the First 
 Schedule ’’ of the Bill. Public libraries and museums are amongst the matters so specified, and we urge 
 that the powers and duties of the Local Government Board regarding public libraries and museums should 
 
19 
 
 be transferred forthwith to the Board of Education. Moreover, the developments which are now taking 
 place in the activities of local authorities offer a fitting opportunity, before administration again becomes 
 erystallized, to bring public libraries and museums into living relations with the educational system. 
 
 58. We have not entered upon many problems of considerable importance concerning libraries and 
 museums. We have directed our attention more particularly to the co-ordination of libraries and museums 
 with the many sided activities of educational institutions, as it is only through such co-ordination that the 
 community can take the fullest advantage of the new opportunities which now lie before it. The schools, 
 libraries, and museums are an allied group of institutions, each of which will fulfil its responsibilities and 
 realise its aims through the development of the others. 
 
 We have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 
 Your obedient Servants, * 
 
 ARTHUR L. SMITH (Chairman). 
 H. JENNIE BAKER. 
 
 GRAHAM BALFOUR. 
 
 WILSON CLAYTON. 
 
 ROBERT CLIMIE. 
 
 C. T. CRAMP. 
 
 ALICE HUWS DAVIKS. 
 
 J. H. DONCASTER. 
 
 : RONALD G. HATTON. 
 FRANK HODGES. 
 HENRY JONES. 
 ALBERT MANSBRIDGE. 
 HENRY A. MIERS. 
 JAMES MORTON. 
 
 R. ST. JOHN PARRY. 
 R. H. TAWNEY. : 
 T. H. J. UNDERDOWN. 
 BASIL A. YEAXLEKE. 
 
 ARTHUR GREENWOOD \ 
 HK. 8. CARTWRIGHT 
 
 Secretaries. 
 
 May Ist, 1919. 
 
 * Mr. Bevin did not attend the meetings of the Committee when the subject matter of the Report was under consideration, and 
 therefore does not sign the Report. 
 
 Printed under the authority of His Majesty’s Stationery Office 
 By DARLING anpD SON, LIMITED, BACON STREET, E.2. 
 
* 
 ys 
 at iA 
 Vers 
 : *, 
 cARECS 
 
 feta aera tt ore . 
 (fan itoarieg FINE Tt} 
 
 = 
 = 
 
 (fogt 
 . ei 
 eax 
 
 aad 
 N 
 i 
 
 bts 
 PTT ahs i 
 girs ETC 
 
 pt 
 
 ae 
 
 pe? 
 
 ihe as 
 see! ivy