If much has been written about the artist's tools and next to nothing about the writer's, it is presumably because a painting emerges into the light of day direct from its maker's…
Abstract
If much has been written about the artist's tools and next to nothing about the writer's, it is presumably because a painting emerges into the light of day direct from its maker's hands, whereas the written word, if ever it reaches the judgement seat of public opinion, arrives transposed into print; only the completed edifice visible, so to speak, the supporting scaffolding taken down and packed carefully out of sight.
FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR sees the forty‐fifth anniversary of the founding of the Bermondsey Bookshop, that quixotic venture whose extraordinary blend of the sophisticated and the…
Abstract
FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR sees the forty‐fifth anniversary of the founding of the Bermondsey Bookshop, that quixotic venture whose extraordinary blend of the sophisticated and the naive, the complacent and the committed, epitomized in its nine‐year history a good many of the prevailing literary and social attitudes of the Twenties.
Our local Public Library is a Victorian Gothic building with two wings which look like public conveniences, and are. Its windows look out upon the borough mortuary, and a…
Abstract
Our local Public Library is a Victorian Gothic building with two wings which look like public conveniences, and are. Its windows look out upon the borough mortuary, and a churchyard where, beneath a crumbling sarcophagus long since converted to a flight deck for pigeons, one of the Regicides lies interred. From basement gratings across the way, ambiguous odours, wafting from the canteen in the Town Hall, merge in the petrol‐laden air with reminiscences of carbolic that almost, but not quite, overlay the delectable aroma of printers' ink.
It is a moot point whether people use abbreviations in speaking and writing in order to save time or in order to have more time to waste; but there are good grounds for thinking…
Abstract
It is a moot point whether people use abbreviations in speaking and writing in order to save time or in order to have more time to waste; but there are good grounds for thinking that, in one form or another, abbreviations are very nearly as old as language itself.
The reading room of the large library was packed to capacity. The Saturday morning rush of harassed students revealed their anxiety to make the most of the short hours of an early…
Abstract
The reading room of the large library was packed to capacity. The Saturday morning rush of harassed students revealed their anxiety to make the most of the short hours of an early closing day. All‐important examinations loomed ahead. It was necessary to be first in the field, to procure the essential books available in the various courses of innumerable subjects. Surging round the entrance desk of the reading room, the work‐weary handed in their quota of white paper slips, then waited with an uneasy patience for the arrival of the books on which their future depended.
Concerning this business of testimonials: I daresay those of my readers (if I have any readers) who are chief librarians (if any of them are) will agree with me that it is fraught…
Abstract
Concerning this business of testimonials: I daresay those of my readers (if I have any readers) who are chief librarians (if any of them are) will agree with me that it is fraught with difficulties. When, as a mere counter‐hand, and lamentably few in the pod, so to speak, I first summoned up the temerity to appeal to the Overlord for the usual formal bouquet, it never occurred to me that I was subjecting him to a grave ordeal. For how—short of outrage to his immortal soul—could he be expected to dilate upon me? My shortcomings were, as Professor Saintsbury said of Donne's, “gross, open and palpable.”
During the past two years a Joint Committee of representatives of the Library Association and Aslib has met at intervals to consider ways in which the syllabus of the Library…
Abstract
During the past two years a Joint Committee of representatives of the Library Association and Aslib has met at intervals to consider ways in which the syllabus of the Library Association could be made to suit more fully the needs of all types of library and information work. The aim has largely been to discover how the present syllabus could be changed so that anyone holding the chartered qualification of the Library Association would be competent to work effectively, on the basis of the knowledge they had gained, in any type of library. In the March, 1957, Library Association Record, there was published a draft scheme, and this scheme has formed the basis of the comments in this Symposium. The draft has been fairly well surveyed by our contributors, but we are open to publish further comment.
So far in these articles I have dealt with Scottish publishers of books in all lines of literature, and have not covered the subject, but the material presented is sufficient to…
Abstract
So far in these articles I have dealt with Scottish publishers of books in all lines of literature, and have not covered the subject, but the material presented is sufficient to indicate a fine record. Now I shall deal with a number of publishers of books of special character. In this case also selection is eclectic; even so it is quite significant.
ELSEWHERE in this number we list libraries which have Esent us copies of their annual reports which we are glad to have. Now and again we are able to elaborate on these, but in…
Abstract
ELSEWHERE in this number we list libraries which have Esent us copies of their annual reports which we are glad to have. Now and again we are able to elaborate on these, but in the present issue that has not been possible. We would say, however, that these reports are deserving of the attention of librarians generally, and of students at the library schools. They are records of work in progress, and they do suggest the development of library policy. The best of them are of textbook value.
The characteristics of the so‐called Kailyard school of Scottish novelists are similar to what may be found in Catherine Sinclair, Norman Macleod and the short stories of Mrs…
Abstract
The characteristics of the so‐called Kailyard school of Scottish novelists are similar to what may be found in Catherine Sinclair, Norman Macleod and the short stories of Mrs Cupples: close observation of persons and traditions in a well‐known, confined locality, a good deal of humour and a good deal of pathos, sometimes deteriorating into sentimentality. None of the most typical Kailyard books was meant for children, but the three principal authors—S. R. Crockett, Ian Maclaren and J. M. Barrie—all wrote at least one juvenile book of some merit.