Our South African correspondent writes:—Considerable damage has been done to the University Library of the Witwatersrand as the result of an extensive fire which destroyed a large…
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Our South African correspondent writes:—Considerable damage has been done to the University Library of the Witwatersrand as the result of an extensive fire which destroyed a large part of the collection and the building. The Library was, in the course of the past year, in process of reorganisation….. A plea for closer co‐operation between the libraries of South Africa was made by Mr. Percy Freer of Johannesburg at a meeting of the Witwatersrand and Victoria Branch of the South African Library Association. Mr. Freer said that most of the libraries were concentrating on particular subjects, and it was desirable that all libraries should be able to draw on the resources of each other. He suggested that the following libraries should function as regional centres with a view to relieving pressure on the National Central Library: the South African Public Library (Cape Town), Bloemfontein (operating with Kimberley), Maritzburg (with Durban), Johannesburg, Bulawayo and Port Elizabeth. The headquarters of the National Central Library itself should be attached to the State Library at Pretoria. A union catalogue and other bibliographical aids were desirable…. Dr. Gie (Secretary for Education) has been urging teachers to have a greater regard for books. He had been astonished to learn from recent investigations that many teachers not only did not read current books and periodicals regularly, but did not keep in touch with current topics through the newspapers. He advised teachers to assist in setting up libraries and centres where they did not exist.
WHAT were the circumstances that prompted the Carnegie Corporation of New York to send to South Africa last year its President and Secretary; to make subsequently a liberal grant…
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WHAT were the circumstances that prompted the Carnegie Corporation of New York to send to South Africa last year its President and Secretary; to make subsequently a liberal grant to libraries here, and further to delegate Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Pitt to report on them? Did our silence forbode feverish activity or stagnation? In either case the matter should be investigated, and if accused of suspecting the latter state, the Corporation could plead its interest in the former only. However, without ascribing to the instigators of the present survey any but philanthropic motives, its inception was obviously not without reason. The most self‐satisfied amongst us would not imagine for one moment that current South African library practice reflects the professional Manual. Is our conservatism due entirely to financial impoverishment, or has the enervation of a South African summer produced a winter lassitude in would‐be reader and librarian alike? Let us hastily glance at existing conditions.
THE subject of penalties for undue detention of books may be regarded from various points of view. The librarian, it must be admitted, is prone to consider the receipts from this…
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THE subject of penalties for undue detention of books may be regarded from various points of view. The librarian, it must be admitted, is prone to consider the receipts from this source as a welcome addition to the library's income. It assists him to eke out the expenditure of the restricted rate, and few library authorities are able to do without this additional income, even if they desire to do so. Where other penalties are inflicted it will usually be found that the rate limit of those libraries has been removed; however, it has been whispered that even in some of the libraries where the experiment has been tried the authorities are considering the policy of reverting to the old system.
ALL journals move with the times if they are vital. We have always held that The Library World has been in touch with the currents of thought and practice and, as this is our…
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ALL journals move with the times if they are vital. We have always held that The Library World has been in touch with the currents of thought and practice and, as this is our jubilee number, we would stress these facts again. Fifty years ago, the pioneer public librarians of the closing nineteenth century found that they needed a means of expression and communication, and indeed of criticism, untrammelled by the necessary reticences of the official associations. That is not to say that they were not, as now, supporters of the Library Association; indeed, they were its most active members; but they realized that The Library Association Record is the property of the members. It is bound to refrain from undue praise or blame of any activity of any of those members. At least, that was the view then prevalent and we still think it is a fair one. Thence came THE LIBRARY WORLD with its open secret that the honorary Editor was James Duff Brown. It drew on a wide range of contributors, and was the voice of those who were fighting for open access, subject‐indexes, close‐classification, and the card catalogue, as well as the general liberation of libraries from indicators with all the restrictions those contraptions sustained. That echo of a dead controversy of long ago rings naturally in our jubilee hour. It was an influence from the start, and in its unbroken career almost every librarian of importance has written something for it; indeed, many young writers first saw themselves in print in it. That was and is a characteristic of our editorial effort—to furnish a forum for librarians of any age, in the belief that age needs the criticism and suggestions of youth as much as youth needs those of age. If, occasionally, an article has appeared which has betrayed the prentice hand, we have made no apology for it; there has always been something in it that repaid the publication. Generally, however, the methods which now prevail in public and other libraries, but perhaps especially in public libraries, were first expounded in our pages. Then we have writers who have written for nearly forty years in that remarkable correspondence, Letters on Our Affairs, which even today is probably the most‐read of all library writings. At least a dozen faithful correspondents have been involved in them.
GUEST editor of this South African issue of THE LIBRARY WORLD is Hendrik M. Robinson, Director of Library Services, Transvaal Provincial Administration, Pretoria.
Contrary to what might be expected from the rather pessimistic view of library literature taken in another paper in this issue, the production of this annual review of the…
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Contrary to what might be expected from the rather pessimistic view of library literature taken in another paper in this issue, the production of this annual review of the literature intended for special librarians becomes progressively more difficult, owing to the growth in the volume of the material from which the selection must be made. The aim of this survey has always been to pick out from the literature generally available in Great Britain in the year in question those items likely to be of practical assistance to library and information workers—particularly those with little experience or training working in small libraries. It therefore lists important reference works and tools which the special librarian ought to know about, even if he doesn't possess them, but omits all articles of purely theoretical interest, and those which describe practice in large libraries, except where they are capable of application in small libraries. Much of the increase in the volume of literature is due to an increase in the number of works of reference, many produced under the encouragement of bodies such as Unesco, but there is also a definite tendency for a closer link between theory and practice in much of the writing on library work. In these circumstances, the selection of a list of a hundred items becomes more than ever a matter of personal judgment, on which no two persons could be expected to agree, but it is hoped that all items included will prove useful, and that all sections of the field are fairly represented.
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…
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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.
IN all probability it will not cheer the heart of the librarian to know that 1912 has been a record year in British publishing. Nevertheless the “Analysis of books published in…
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IN all probability it will not cheer the heart of the librarian to know that 1912 has been a record year in British publishing. Nevertheless the “Analysis of books published in 1912,” appearing in The Publishers' Circular, gives many facts that are both interesting and informative. During the year 12,067 books were published, an increase of 1,153 on the figure for 1911 (the previous highest). The totals for the various classes of literature are set forth in a table arranged according to the recommendations of the International Congress of Librarians at Brussels in 1910, and each class is sub‐divided into “new books,” “translations,” pamphlets,” and “new editions.” The totals for the various classes are as follows:—
WHILE there is no doubt that the system of issuing books at “net” prices is of great benefit to booksellers, there is also no doubt that, unless care is taken, it is a serious…
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WHILE there is no doubt that the system of issuing books at “net” prices is of great benefit to booksellers, there is also no doubt that, unless care is taken, it is a serious drain upon a limited book‐purchasing income. A few years ago the position had become so serious that conferences were held with a view to securing the exemption of Public Libraries from the “net” price. The attempt, as was perhaps to be expected, failed. Since that time, the system has been growing until, at the present time, practically every non‐fictional book worth buying is issued at a “net price.”
IN our last issue of 1935 we published a symposium, contributed to by well‐known British librarians, on the above fascinating subject. The symposium aroused a considerable amount…
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IN our last issue of 1935 we published a symposium, contributed to by well‐known British librarians, on the above fascinating subject. The symposium aroused a considerable amount of interest. Readers will, we feel sure, welcome the views of a number of distinguished overseas librarians on the same subject.