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With comments by J. C. Harrison, Prof. Raymond Irwin, and W. B. Paton.

AT the time this appears about ten per cent of the librarians of this country will be studying how best to profit by the Hastings conference at the end of the month. The town itself is interesting, the old and new being combined in a quite graciously intriguing manner, and the library service there is worthy of attention. We say that pointedly because the pressure of these meetings is so great that the library of the place, the local example of all librarians stand for, is, by the majority, not even visited. In our October issue we hope to give an impression, at any rate a preliminary one, of the proceedings. From the advance notices, which are all that are as yet available, they are to revolve somewhat loosely round staff, stock, and standards, which can be made to cover the whole of librarianship, so that we need not descant upon its importance or pretend that it presents any original subject. Its treatment we hope will be so, as the most ordinary library topic is an old one, but fresh light upon it is always possible. The speakers appear to be all librarians of relatively small libraries and, as these comprise 75% at least of public libraries, there can be no quarrel with that. The new chairman of the L.A. Education Committee, Mr. W. B. Paton, is to look again at the pressing question of staff recruitment and training; we know he will look with clear eyes at a real problem. The Annual Lecture will be by Sir Ben Bowen Thomas, who is Permanent Secretary of the Welsh Department of the Ministry of Education. There will be the usual section meetings, annual dinner, and exhibition. We may be sure that the Presidential Address will be characteristic of Mr. C. B. Oldman, which means that it will be a scholarly reflection of many or some of his wide range of library interests; and also that, under his guidance, the whole conference will be managed well.

HASTINGS is now a memory of a conference in which the members of the L.A. heard papers of singular merit and one or two addresses of marked distinction. If we were to select the Presidential Address of Mr. C. B. Oldman, the beautiful Annual Lecture by Mr. Bowen Thomas and the quite remarkable performance in English of Mr. Bengt Hjelmqvist, on the organization of his native Swedish libraries, as the highlights of the general sessions, and Nigel Balchin's model after‐dinner speech as another, we are not the less aware of the excellence of nearly all the papers submitted at every session; indeed, there was not really a bad paper throughout, although some were much too long. They averaged forty‐five minutes. Possibly the Conference Committee set this length; if so, we suggest respectfully that however long the written paper may be the time should be reduced by at least one third for which the audience is required to listen. One felt in several cases that even the authors of the papers grew weary, or were under a sense of hurry, before they reached the end. This was occasionally caused by extempore insertions, a most difficult performance in which few succeed. Fortunate is the reader who addresses a morning session; he escapes the afternoon somnolence.

Bookings for the Conference at Edinburgh from 4th to 8th June promise to be heavy, and librarians and other delegates who have not yet made their bookings for accommodation are advised to lose no time in completing their arrangements, as accommodation is already tight. The Conference Programme promises well for a week of much interest, and it has been varied so that it should appeal to librarians not only in the town and county service but also in specialist libraries. The general sessions, and the more important of the Section meetings will be held in the Music Hall. Monday afternoon and evening will be devoted to the registration of delegates and to the opening of the exhibition at which publishers, booksellers and library specialists will show a wide range of their stocks and equipment. The Opening Session will be held on the morning of 5th June, under the Chairmanship of the President, Mr. James Wilkie. A welcome to the City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh will be extended by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and this will be acknowledged by the President. The award of the Carnegie Medal will be made to Mrs. E. Vipont Foulds for her story The Lark on the Wing. This will be followed by the Presidential Address, which members will look forward with particular interest to hearing, and the Association's vote of thanks will be given by Mr. Robert Butchart, Principal Librarian, Edinburgh Public Libraries. In the afternoon members are invited to a Garden Party at Lauriston Castle, by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost. In the evening the Annual Lecture will be given by Mr. J. Murray Watson, Editor of the Scotsman, whose subject will be “The Book and the Newspaper”, followed by votes of thanks expressed by Mr. Charles Nowell, City Librarian, Manchester, and Dr. W. King Gillies of the Edinburgh Public Libraries Sub‐Committee on Books. On Wednesday, 6th June, the morning session will be addressed by Mr. J. W. Forsyth of Ayr on “The Scottish Public Library Service”, with Mr. Wilkie in the Chair; and it is greatly hoped that the Report of the Advisory Council for Education in Scotland, dealing with the Scottish public library service, may by that date be available for consideration. The afternoon and evening will be devoted to section meetings, at which the speakers will be Mr. F. A. Sharr of Manchester, Mrs. Naomi Mitchison, Dr. L. W. Sharp, Mr. W. B. Paton of Lanarkshire County Library, Mr. W. Pearson, Ministry of Town and Country Planning, Mr. E. Hargreaves of Leeds Public Libraries, Dr. A. J. Walford, and others. On the morning of Thursday, 7th June, the Annual General Meeting will be held, to be followed by an address by Mr. W. A. Munford of Cambridge Public Libraries entitled “New World Symphony”, which will deal with aspects of the library position in the United States. In the afternoon the University and Research Section will hear a paper by Mr. W. Beattie of the National Library of Scotland entitled “An Outline of Scottish Printing”. The Annual General Meeting of the County Libraries Section will be held at the same time, to be followed by a symposium under the title of “Looking Forward” to be contributed to by Mrs. Mary G. Brown, County Librarian of the Stewartry, Miss G. Jones, Buckinghamshire County Librarian, and Mr. G. Davies, Montgomeryshire County Librarian. This symposium should be one of much interest as county library policy is still unsettled in some regards. On the morning of Friday, 8th June, there will be a general session devoted to library service to industry and this will be a symposium with contributions by the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine on “National Problems”, by Mr. F. C. Francis, Librarian of the British Museum, on “The Scientific Bibliographical Aspect”, and by Mr. L. R. McColvin, City Librarian, Westminister, on “The Public Library Aspect”. There will also be round table discussions for those interested in special aspects: these will be held on the afternoon of the Friday. The social side has been given due attention. Reference has already been made to the Garden Party at Lauriston Castle. The Annual Dinner of the Library Association will be held on the evening of Thursday, 7th June, under the Chairmanship of the President, and the Toast List is an attractive one, including Ald. Robertson, Chairman of St. Pancras Public Libraries, who will propose the Toast of the City and Royal Burgh of Edinburgh, to be responded to by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Provost. Other speakers will include Sir Alexander Gray, Miss J. A. Downton, Chief Librarian, Preston, and Mr. Eric Linklater. From this record it will be gathered that the members are going to be kept as busy as possible at the sessions; but the social occasions arranged for will provide opportunities for relaxation, and it may be that a large number of the delegates will want to avail themselves of the arrangements being carried through in connexion with the Festival, and to see shows and to visit the libraries and art galleries which in range are not equalled by any other city in Great Britain, apart from London. Had times been normal, the Association might have looked forward to having a large number of foreign delegates in attendance, as there are many of our colleagues across the world who may yet remember the banner year of 1927 when Edinburgh drew the library limelight of the world to the Conference scene.

With this number the Library Review enters on its ninth year, and we send greetings to readers at home and abroad. Though the magazine was started just about the time when the depression struck the world, its success was immediate, and we are glad to say that its circulation has increased steadily every year. This is an eminently satisfactory claim to be able to make considering the times through which we have passed.

In our Winter, 1954, number we presented views on professional education by Messrs. W. B. Paton, W. R. Aitken, J. Brindle, N. E. Dain, and other writers. Aspects of the subject, and with particular reference to the association of professional library education with the universities, are discussed in this number by Messrs. W. Caldwell and P. H. Sewell, both of whom are in charge of library schools; and by Dr. E. A. Savage, who has been actively connected with library educational training for many years. Readers who have views to express on the subject are invited to send them for publication.

Controversy on this subject has now ranged over our past six numbers, and still the discussion continues, but with rather less urbanity on the part of some colleagues than might have been expected. In this further Symposium the contributors are Mr. B. A. Ower, Librarian, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Ottawa; Miss Freda F. Waldon, Librarian, Hamilton Public Library, Ontario; Mr. Eric Moon, Editor, Library Journal and lately Secretary and Director of the Newfoundland Public Library Services; Miss Dorothy McNaughton, Secretary to the Institute of Professional Librarians, Ontario Library Association; A Canadian Librarian; Mr. W. B. Paton, Honorary Secretary of the Library Association. From the nature of the comments and the theories presented, British, Canadian and American librarians who propose to be at the Montreal Conference will be enabled to follow every angle of the discussions.

AN ESTEEMED correspondent points out that there are about two dozen library magazines of all sorts and sizes in circulation, whereas when he started his career there were no more than three. Our correspondent has himself had considerable editorial experience, and it may be that he is still in harness in that regard. One of his earliest efforts was in running the magazine of the old Library Assistants' Association, and it is not likely that that magazine has ever reached the same heights of excellence as it attained in his day. He observes that there are far too many library magazines now in circulation. We agree.

PRELUDE “A child's abnormalities may prove his subsequent strength as an individual”: that scathing note annotating an article in an American library periodical typifies F.G.B.H.'s concern for people early and late. In 1937, he was horrified by the battery of specialists trained on the child who failed in reading in the USA. They included “the physician, the oculist, psychologist, reading specialist, social worker … psychiatrist and the teacher”. Hutchings commented

At the Annual General Meeting of the Library Association held at Bournemouth on 2nd May, 1952, a motion was passed instructing the Council to prepare in consultation with branches and sections a revision of Section B of the Byelaws (Constitution of Council, Committees and Officers), designed to ensure that the majority of the Council shall consist of persons nominated and elected by the members at large. It will be recalled also that the President gave an undertaking that the Council would consider proposals for proxy voting at annual meetings, and for a referendum by postal vote as a means of securing for all members an effective voice in the affairs of the Association. These contentious matters have been duly debated by the Executive Committee, whose findings are submitted in reasoned form in a Memorandum, which, by the consent of the Council, has been issued to branches and sections, who are asked to consider the suggested constitutional changes, and to send their observations, together with any alternative proposals, to the Secretary at Chaucer House not later than 23rd February, 1953. It is stressed that the whole matter is still under consideration by the Council, whose final decision will presumably be made in the light of recommendations from branches, sections and individual members interested enough to express their opinions. The subject is so important for the future of the Association that this symposium of views by representative librarians is offered as a stimulus to the membership at large.