EVEN when in a dim monastic cloister he presided over his twenty treasured volumes, the librarian had his vade mecum, his refuge and strength in time of trouble. When asked an…
Abstract
EVEN when in a dim monastic cloister he presided over his twenty treasured volumes, the librarian had his vade mecum, his refuge and strength in time of trouble. When asked an unexpected question, he, like his successor of the twentieth century, rushed to the encyclopedia. Indeed, it would seem that during the middle ages, when books were few and parchment was dear, the encyclopedia, the work which attempts to include all human knowledge, reached its greatest popularity.
The Library Association of Ireland issued last month the first number of An Leabharlann, their new official journal. The title, for those of us who do not speak the language of…
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The Library Association of Ireland issued last month the first number of An Leabharlann, their new official journal. The title, for those of us who do not speak the language of Erin, means The Library. It is an extremely interesting venture which will be followed by librarians on the mainland with sympathetic curiosity. In particular our readers would be interested in the first of a series of articles by Father Stephen J. Brown, S.J., on Book Selection. The worthy Father lectures on this subject at University College, Dublin, in the Library School. It is mainly concerned with what should not be selected, and deals in vigorous fashion with the menace of much of current published stuff. No doubt Father Brown will follow with something more constructive. Mr. T. E. Gay, Chairman of the Association, discusses the need for a survey of Irish libraries and their resources. We agree that it is necessary. The Net Books Agreement, the Council, Notes from the Provinces, and an article in Erse—which we honestly believe that most of our Irish friends can read—and an excellent broadcast talk on the Library and the Student by Miss Christina Keogh, the accomplished Librarian of the Irish Central Library, make up a quite attractive first number. A list of broadcast talks given by members of the Association is included.
IN this issue we conclude our symposium on Modern Library Planning, and although it is not as complete as we could wish, it has certainly proved to be one of the most interesting…
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IN this issue we conclude our symposium on Modern Library Planning, and although it is not as complete as we could wish, it has certainly proved to be one of the most interesting subjects we have been able to deal with in recent years. We regret that lack of space has prevented us from including some interesting details about new libraries, and that we have laid ourselves open to the criticism of over‐crowding. We hope, however, that we shall be able, from time to time, to add further material as the occasion warrants. We had hoped to obtain a description of the Central Library Extension of the Hull Public Libraries, but this has, unfortunately, proved impossible. Lancashire County Library, too, is constructing four new branch libraries, an account of which we should have liked to include. Plymouth may be mentioned as still another library of which the material was not ready in time for our symposium. Also, we are sorry to have had to omit some of the illustrations which librarians have been kind enough to offer us for reproduction. In spite of these omissions, however, we have been able to gather together much that is new and interesting in modern planning, and one of the points that is well worth notice is the willingness of librarians to experiment in new ideas, even if conservatively.
WE are as yet without the means of verifying the forecast in our last issue that there would be a cutting of library estimates this year. There has been some; one library…
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WE are as yet without the means of verifying the forecast in our last issue that there would be a cutting of library estimates this year. There has been some; one library authority known to us having ordered a five per cent. cut. The fact still is that such retrenchments can only be made at the expense of a very few items of our estimates, and of these the book fund is the severest sufferer. This is a fact that cannot always be brought home to finance committees who only think as a rule in gross figures, and do not know that the library estimate consists mainly of fixed charges. The librarian who forms an estimate in anticipation of cuts does not aft quite honestly, but in the way of the world at present he may, like the Unjust Steward, be acting wisely. But it is pitiful to think that this should even be a matter for discussion.
China around 1900 was an enormous domain with approximately 400 million people, almost all of them desperately poor. Most were farmers, working intensively on small tracts of land…
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China around 1900 was an enormous domain with approximately 400 million people, almost all of them desperately poor. Most were farmers, working intensively on small tracts of land using relatively primitive technology. It was in many respects a Malthusian economy, with high death and birth rates and many residents living close to the subsistence level.
MAKE no mistake about it, WORK STUDY, is an embracing title. It includes incentives, work analysis, O & M, process and production control and methods engineering. Allied to it are…
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MAKE no mistake about it, WORK STUDY, is an embracing title. It includes incentives, work analysis, O & M, process and production control and methods engineering. Allied to it are cost accounting, word processing and ergonomics.
In its passage through the Grand Committee the Food Bill is being amended in a number of important particulars, and it is in the highest degree satisfactory that so much interest…
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In its passage through the Grand Committee the Food Bill is being amended in a number of important particulars, and it is in the highest degree satisfactory that so much interest has been taken in the measure by members on both sides of the House as to lead to full and free discussion. Sir Charles Cameron, Mr. Kearley, Mr. Strachey, and other members have rendered excellent service by the introduction of various amendments; and Sir Charles Cameron is especially to be congratulated upon the success which has attended his efforts to induce the Committee to accept a number of alterations the wisdom of which cannot be doubted. The provision whereby local authorities will be compelled to appoint Public Analysts, and compelled to put the Acts in force in a proper manner, and the requirement that analysts shall furnish proofs of competence of a satisfactory character to the Local Government Board, will, it cannot be doubted, be productive of good results. The fact that the Local Government Board is to be given joint authority with the Board of Agriculture in insuring that the Acts are enforced is also an amendment of considerable importance, while other amendments upon what may perhaps be regarded as secondary points unquestionably trend in the right direction. It is, however, a matter for regret that the Government have not seen their way to introduce a decisive provision with regard to the use of preservatives, or to accept an effective amendment on this point. Under existing circumstances it should be plain that the right course to follow in regard to preservatives is to insist on full and adequate disclosure of their presence and of the amounts in which they are present. It is also a matter for regret that the Government have declined to give effect to the recommendation of the Food Products Committee as to the formation of an independent and representative Court of Reference. It is true that the Board of Agriculture are to make regulations in reference to standards, after consultation with experts or such inquiry as they think fit, and that such inquiries as the Board may make will be in the nature of consultations of some kind with a committee to be appointed by the Board. There is little doubt, however, that such a committee would probably be controlled by the Somerset House Department; and as we have already pointed out, however conscientious the personnel of this Department may be—and its conscientiousness cannot be doubted—it is not desirable in the public interest that any single purely analytical institution should exercise a controlling influence in the administration of the Acts. What is required is a Court of Reference which shall be so constituted as to command the confidence of the traders who are affected by the law as well as of all those who are concerned in its application. Further comment upon the proposed legislation must be reserved until the amended Bill is laid before the House.
According to Truth the War Office has selected Mr. C. C. DUNCAN, F.I.C., the Public Analyst for the County of Worcester, for a special post, in which “ he will be responsible for…
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According to Truth the War Office has selected Mr. C. C. DUNCAN, F.I.C., the Public Analyst for the County of Worcester, for a special post, in which “ he will be responsible for the examination of the water supply for the troops.” “It might be supposed,” our contemporary observes, “that the services of this scientific expert would be worth at least the pay of a Captain. The War Office thinks differently. It is giving Mr. Duncan the pay of a private soldier, a piece of parsimony in no wise excused by the fact that the difference between his military pay and his regular salary will be made up by the Worcestershire County Council.” It appears that MR. DUNCAN has been selected for the post in question on the recommendation of a body described by Truth as “ The Institute of Analysts.” As no such body exists we presume that either the Institute of Chemistry or the cumbrously‐named “ Society of Public Analysts and Other Analytical Chemists” is referred to. It would be interesting to know what the Councils of either or both of these concerns have got to say about the treatment of this member of the profession which they are supposed to represent and whose dignity and interests they are supposed to maintain. The monstrous advertisement issued by the Woolwich Arsenal authorities about a year ago in which scientific chemists with University degrees were invited to apply for appointments at the munificent remuneration of £2 per week is a sufficient illustration of the value put upon scientific attainments by Government Departments in this country. But even this example of fatuous ignorance and inane parsimony has been eclipsed by the present arrangements for the employment of scientific chemists in the Royal Engineers, in which they are invited to enlist with the rank of Corporal and with Corporal's pay and “allowances.” The sulphuric acid scandal recently exposed by The Globe makes it once more abundantly clear that where scientific advice even of an elementary kind is needed no attempt is made to obtain reliable guidance. The wrong people are invariably applied to for advice and the wrong men are appointed to fill responsible posts. The following remarks appear in The Globe of September 23rd :—“We have evidence of the incompetence of the High Explosives Department which thought it fitting to appoint as the comptroller of the shipment of oleum” (i.e., a form of sulphuric acid shipped from America) “a young man, wholly inexperienced, at a handsome salary, his only qualification apparently being that he was the son of his father. This young man was completely ignorant of the properties of oleum. His first introduction to the acid was when he was called upon to advise as to the best method of shipment.” According to the facts stated in The Globe the result of this bungling has been a loss of some hundreds of thousands of pounds to the taxpayers of this country.