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IN wishing our readers the compliments of the New Year, we can congratulate them and ourselves upon the manner in which libraries of all kinds have survived one of the mo difficult economic times in memory. It is true that the Great War furnished many library authorities with a pretext, perhaps to some extent justified, to reduce their library activity. But of late they have had the authority of a Government demand for retrenchment in actual money, which was likely to have had a severe influence upon libraries. Fortunately, as Lord Irwin pointed out at the opening of Chaucer House, public libraries escaped the universal axe which was applied to other departments—at any rate in a measure; although, indeed, there were places, like Sheffield, where the cut was not reasonable. Nevertheless, on the whole it may be said that public libraries came out of the difficult situation with happier results than most institutions. It is not accurate to say that the crisis is over, but it is quite true that its worst time has passed, and that there is a definite opening out of financial possibilities throughout Great Britain. “We see not yet the full day here, but we behold the waning night,” is a quotation which we may apply to the present situation.

I HAVE sometimes been asked whether I am conscious, as the present editor of THE LIBRARY WORLD, of the spirit and influence of its founder, James Duff Brown, and of his editorial successors, who included J. D. Stewart and W. C. Berwick Sayers. The answer is that of course I am—how could it be otherwise?

THE occasional moving of stock in open‐shelf libraries creates a sense of novelty in the reader. We experienced this recently in entering a library familiar to us where we found the Literature section had been moved and reduced in order to make space for the increase in the Applied Arts class. Further the librarian declared that there was no excessive demand for much of modern poetry, but although the library has the poems of T. S. Eliot in several copies, none was on the shelves or at the moment available. One wonders if poetry that is “modern” has been read by the majority in the past half‐century; it is an art form, often lacking substance and therefore caviare to the ordinary reader. The poets of today with such exceptions as Walter de la Mare and Alfred Noyes, neither of whom is young, have not increased their chances by their deliberate or unconscious obscurity. Even the said‐to‐be most influential of the modern, T. S. Eliot, in such a work as Ash Wednesday, topical this month of course, is completely unintelligible, in spite of the almost divine music of some of its lines, to many quite intelligent and habitual readers. Our librarian declared that readers remain for Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, Browning and even for Longfellow, in short for the real classics. This conclusion is borne out by the examination of a day's borrowings a year ago at Manchester. “Modern poetry,” its Report tells us, “seems to be departing from the range of the general reader into some esoteric mystery of its own,” and while the older classics, Browning, Chaucer, Donne and Tennyson were borrowed to the extent of four copies each, other poets were less in demand. Altogether 21 works of individual poets and 16 anthologies went out that day. A small array but, if continued through the year, it meant 11,100 works which are not a negligible number.

REPORTS that reach us do not bear out the assertion we have heard rather frequently of late that the issues from libraries are declining. There is no evidence that this is so with non‐municipal libraries and the circulation from county public libraries grows, it would seem, almost phenomenally; it is even doubtful if they are as yet anywhere near their full possibilities. The centenary announcements brought correspondence in at least one London Sunday newspaper deploring the lack of library facilities in at least three districts, all of them we understand in a county's area. Where, as here appears to be the case, there are such deficiencies, it might be considered if the Library Association could make direct representations of the need to the authorities concerned and not wait until a new Libraries Act has produced the inspection and direction that seem to be wanted. Our charter gives us definite duties—or such are implied—to promote better service. We do not think they have been followed in the way of “direct approach.” In spite of our propaganda, there are still many places where what is good library service is not known or not understood, where those with power might do something if they did know and understand. A candid picture of their shortcomings in comparison with towns or counties, definitely indicated to them, might induce them to overcome them; for the one thing a council member does not like is to learn that his own services are poor compared with those of similar places.

IN their schemes of after‐the‐war library work those who prepare them would do well to confine themselves to a few cardinal principles. A London scheme that we have seen appears to concern itself with areas to be covered, actually picking out certain cross‐roads as centres to which traffic runs as suitable centres from which area activity might radiate. All this, as the scheme‐makers themselves rather suggest, seems to be premature and much of it, ingenious as it is, is extremely debatable local topography. We would not discourage such scheme‐making so long as its speculative character is recognized. Yet it might be better if the factors of an adequate library service were first determined. They may not be new; they may indeed be mere affirmations of approved good practice. These considerations, we are sure, have not been overlooked by those who plan, nor by Mr. McColvin in drafting his report on our needs.

AT the very outset of this paper it is necessary to make clear that it is not an attempt to compile an exhaustive bibliography of literature relating to special librarianship. Neither space nor time permit this. In fact, the references given can only claim to be a sample of the wealth of material on the subject and this paper is submitted in the hope that it will stimulate others to more scholarly efforts. Reference numbers throughout this paper refer to items in the ‘Select list of references to the literature of special librarianship’, section 2 onwards.

‘An education which is practical, realistic and vocational must send boys and girls out into the world literate and able to perform simple calculations with confidence and accuracy.’ So says Half Our Future, the Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England) which was asked by the Minister to advise him on the education of pupils aged 13 to 16 of average and less than average ability. The pupils who were the subject of this Report constitute approximately half those in secondary schools; those who will become eventually half the citizens of this country, half the workers, half the fathers and mothers.

SOME popular journals have, for some time now, been publishing a short list of books which are selling successfully. Books and Bookmen has a feature of the best‐selling titles from two or three bookshops in town and the provinces; Time and Tide publishes a list compiled with the assistance of the National Book League: Time in its “Time Listings” enumerates the top twenty best sellers (of America) and similar lists no doubt appear in other journals. The outstanding characteristic of these lists is the remarkably high quality of the books mentioned. Rare indeed is a title which would not deserve a place on the shelves on any public library. Most of the titles are, of course, new, although it is interesting to note how really outstanding titles retain a place on the lists for many weeks. Thus in the last “Time Listing”, Dr. Zhivago, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Aku Aku among others, have all been published for some months.

THE PRESIDENT of the Library Association for 1929–30 will be Lord Balneil, the son of the Earl of Crawford, and it is difficult to think of a better choice. Lord Balneil has an admirable bibliographical ancestry—if we may so put it—seeing that his grandfather, the 26th Earl of Crawford, was President in 1898; and the Haigh Hall Library at the family seat is one of the noble private libraries of England. Lord Balneil is the Chairman of the Appeal Committee for the endowment of the School of Librarianship and so has already identified himself in a practical manner with the cause of libraries.