Hadow (1928)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Analysis, Preface, Introduction
Chapter 1 Books in schools 1810 to 1928
Chapter 2 Place and function of books
Chapter 3 Provision of books by LEAs
Chapter 4 School and public libraries
Chapter 5 Guidance for teachers, production of books
Chapter 6 Cost and use of books
Chapter 7 Conclusions and recommendations
Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II Practice of sample LEAs
Appendix III Provision of books in London
Appendix IV Expenditure on books
Appendix V Provision of books in Scotland
Appendix VI Publication of new books
Index

Chapter 4 School libraries and public libraries
[pages 68 - 84]

50. So far we have been considering the supply of books as provided by the local education authorities for pupils and teachers in their schools. We have now to deal with the public libraries, both in urban areas and in counties, which have now become a factor of enormous importance in the education of the childhood and youth of Great Britain.

We discuss in this chapter the various ways in which urban public libraries and county libraries can be used, and in many areas are used, to provide or to supplement the supply of books bearing on the curriculum of public elementary schools. The libraries also afford special facilities, both in the way of reading and borrowing books, to pupils attending such schools. For reasons of convenience we have also included in this chapter sections dealing with school libraries within elementary schools and with collections of works of reference for teachers in public libraries and elsewhere. It is desirable, in order to avoid misunderstanding, to state that by 'school library' we mean a collection of books housed within an elementary school for the use of teachers and scholars. By 'education library' or 'teachers' reference library' we mean a collection of works of reference on the teaching of the various subjects of the elementary school curriculum, and books on the history of education, methods of teaching, child psychology and the like, intended primarily for the use of teachers in elementary schools. Before describing in detail the ways in which urban public libraries and county libraries can cooperate with local education authorities in supplying or augmenting stocks of books for the use of scholars in elementary schools, it is necessary to give a brief account of the urban library and the county library services, which, owing to the varying conditions under which the two systems have developed, present important points of difference, partly as a result of the provisions of the Public Libraries Act of 1919, and partly in consequence of the peculiar conditions obtaining in rural areas.

51. In the following sections of this chapter we deal with the financial questions involved in cooperation between local education authorities and public libraries in urban and county areas. It is convenient, however, to state here that under the education acts the responsibility for the provision of books required to maintain the efficiency of the school devolves on the local education authority. We cordially approve close cooperation between the local education authorities and public library committees in urban areas, and between the education service and the library service in county areas, but we hope that in cases where the public library at the request of the local education authority provides books connected with the school curriculum to elementary schools, or where the machinery of the public library is used for the distribution to elementary schools of books bearing on the curriculum, the cost of these services will be met by a contribution from the Education Fund to the Library Fund.

THE URBAN AND COUNTY LIBRARY SERVICES

52. The Urban Library Service In county boroughs, boroughs and urban districts a large number of public libraries have been in existence for many years, and the reading and reference departments usually form a prominent feature of their work. Most county libraries, on the other hand, as they have to cater for scattered rural areas, consist almost wholly of small local lending departments, which are for the most part housed in elementary schools, but receive their supplies of books from the county central depot.

The relations of urban councils to their library business vary widely. In the present state of the law, a county borough council, if it was not a library authority when the Public Libraries Act of 1919 was passed, must, and if it was such an authority on that date, may or may not, as it elects, refer its library business to the education committee. Borough councils and urban district councils cannot refer their library business to their education committees, even though under Sections 31 (b) and (c) of the Education Act 1921, they may possess statutory committees for the purposes of elementary education. In a large number of urban areas close cooperation between the public libraries committee and the education committee has been secured by arranging that these committees have a certain number of members in common.

There are four main functions which urban public libraries can and in many areas do perform in respect of the provision of books bearing directly on the school curriculum, or of books suitable for general reading by scholars of public elementary schools, and of works of reference for teachers.

(i) The public library, by arrangement with the education committee and the head teachers, supplies sets of books for specified periods to elementary schools for general class reading by the pupils. Such sets of books are intended to supplement the ordinary class books in use in the school. (See section 57 (a)).

(ii) The public libraries committee by arrangement with the education committee supplies permanent or circulating school libraries to some or all of the elementary schools or departments within the area. (See section 56 (a)).

(iii) Many public libraries provide within the building special facilities for children, e.g. a distinct junior library; a separate juvenile reading room; or a portion of the ordinary reading room reserved for children. A considerable number of urban libraries have also separate juvenile lending departments and publish separate catalogues of books suitable for children. (See section 58).

(iv) The public library maintains in many cases a special section of books bearing on education, primarily intended for the use of teachers. (See section 60).

53. The County Library Service The Public Libraries Act of 1919, which first rendered it legal for county councils to become public library authorities and to raise a rate for the purpose of library administration, provides that in counties all matters relating to the exercise by the county council of its powers under the Public Libraries Acts, except the power of raising a rate or borrowing money, shall stand referred to the education committee, and the county council shall, except in case of urgency, receive and consider the Report of the Education Committee with respect to the matter in question. The county education committee may delegate all or any of the powers conferred on it under the Public Libraries Acts to a sub-committee consisting either in whole, or in part, of members of the education committee. (1)

Between 1916 and the passing of the Public Libraries Act in 1919, ten counties in England and Wales had accepted grants from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trustees, which enabled them to establish county libraries, though at that time they had no legal authority for this purpose, and possessed no funds for maintenance, except the Carnegie grants and any other voluntary donations. In nearly all these cases, the local library centres were situated in public elementary schools, and the local librarians were head teachers. This precedent has in great part been retained and followed; it is still largely through the local centres in schools that the county library service operates, (2) and for our present purpose this close association between local education authorities and county libraries is of great advantage. The development of Women's Institutes and village halls in many county areas has to some extent offered alternative opportunities for older readers, and this holds much promise for the future of adult education.

County libraries have now been established under the Public Libraries Act of 1919 in nearly all the county areas of England and Wales, though some counties have adopted the system as yet for part of their areas only. (3) Most county libraries consist of a central collection of books, from which selections of books are periodically distributed to the different local centres throughout the area. With the help of the Central Library for Students the central depot also as a rule lends particular works required by individual readers; and in addition permanent collections of selected books are gradually being built up in the local centres. The system is primarily designed to serve areas that possess no libraries, or areas of which the libraries need to be supplemented by loans from a larger central collection. The provision of libraries in the ordinary sense, that is to say buildings to which persons can resort in order to read as well as to borrow books, forms no part of the primary idea of the county library scheme, though here and there a village reading room may occasionally be established by local effort. Partly because the county library system was originally organised by education committees, and partly because the village school remained the most convenient centre and the head teacher the most readily available librarian, most local centres for the distribution of books are elementary schools. The distribution of books from headquarters to the local centres is usually carried out by the despatch of boxes of books from headquarters several times a year by rail or motor. The boxes generally contain from 30 to 70 volumes, and in most instances include a number of books suitable for children of school age. In a few counties the circulation of books is effected by means of a travelling van containing about 2,000 volumes which visits the different centres from time to time.

There are four main functions which county libraries can and in many cases do discharge in respect of the provision of books for the use of pupils in public elementary schools.

(i) The use of the machinery of the county library to distribute to elementary schools sets of books for general class reading. These sets of books are often passed from school to school according to an arranged plan. (See section 57 (b)).

(ii) The provision of complete permanent or circulating school libraries, by arrangement with the education committee. This practice has as yet only been adopted to a limited extent in a few county areas. (See section 56 (b)).

(iii) The inclusion in the collections of library books supplied to each local centre of a number of works (including fiction) suitable for children of school age. It is thus easy for the local librarian, who is usually the head teacher of an elementary school, to encourage his pupils to borrow such books. (See section 59).

(iv) The provision, with the help of the Central Library for Students, of a special section consisting of works bearing on various aspects of education and intended primarily for lending to teachers. (See section 60).

SCHOOL AND CLASS LIBRARIES WITHIN URBAN AND RURAL SCHOOLS

54. There was unanimous agreement among our witnesses that it was of great importance to provide in every elementary school a collection of books adequate for its special requirements. It was pointed out that many schools at present possessed no library of their own, (4) and that in others the collection of books consisted chiefly of publishers' samples and odd volumes of various kinds and dates, and was seldom based on any definite plan.

We recognise the value of the arrangements, described in section 57 of this chapter, which have been adopted by some authorities in urban and county areas for supplying to elementary schools sets of books for general class reading. We also cordially appreciate the services rendered by county libraries at most local centres in providing circulating collections of good library books, which can be borrowed by children of school age. We think, however, that in addition to any such arrangements every school should possess within the building a permanent nucleus or core of books related to the curriculum, and some works of reference for teachers and pupils. It seems improbable that any scheme, however well devised, for circulating sets of books on loan for general class reading can supply schools with a graded course of good examples of English prose literature which can be available at all times for illustrating the instruction in English throughout the various classes. We consider that the permanent collection of books forming the school library should consist primarily of works bearing on the various branches of the curriculum, chosen and arranged for their appeal to children of different ages. It should contain biographies of men of eminence in action and thought, and some books and periodicals bearing on the different branches of practical instruction taught in the school. The collection should also comprise a few works of reference for pupils and teachers, such as a standard English dictionary (to supplement any small dictionaries used in class), a large atlas, an encyclopaedia, a dictionary of history, a short dictionary of biography, and at least one standard year book or gazetteer. Many authorities allow head teachers to requisition a few such works of reference as part of the equipment of books needed for the school, and covered by the ordinary allowance for books and stationery; (5) and in this way it is possible to build up within the school library a small collection of reference books which, although primarily for the use of the teachers, will also be of use to the older scholars. Some authorities make a special allowance for the purchase of a few works of reference for inclusion in the school library.

The disposition of the library within the school premises is a matter for the head teacher. We agree with many of our witnesses that in larger schools, and particularly in modern schools and advanced classes, it is desirable that small collections of books should be provided separately for some at any rate of the higher classes. It would rest with the head teacher in each case to decide whether it is more satisfactory to keep the whole collection of books together as one school library or to apportion some of them among the different classes.

In accordance with the evidence of our witnesses we emphasise the importance of providing adequate accommodation for the school library. The books should be placed on suitable shelves designed for the purpose and should be systematically arranged and catalogued.

We think that the management of the school library might in many cases be entrusted to individual scholars appointed by the head teacher, partly perhaps on the recommendation of the pupils. This is done in many schools at the present time. We were informed that in areas where school libraries are supplied from the urban or county library, the books are sometimes catalogued and arranged by the library officials. We recommend that the scholars should be encouraged to make regular use of the books in the school library, and that its arrangement and classification should be explained to them.

It seems particularly desirable that the older pupils should be encouraged to make use of any available works of reference. If children in urban areas are taught from an early stage in their school life to use intelligently the books in their own school library, they will more readily appreciate the value of the public library, when at a later period of their school career they are taken to it and shown how to use it. (6)

We consider it most important that the permanent school libraries should be kept at as high a level of efficiency as possible; and that it should be a definite duty of the officials of the local education authority, or of the urban or county librarian acting on behalf of the authority, to cooperate regularly with teachers in the systematic overhauling of the books, with a view to returning any works to headquarters for binding or repairs, for the issue of fresh copies of worn out books, or for discarding works which have become obsolete.

In many urban areas there is close cooperation between the education committee and the library committee in the selection of books for elementary schools and in the maintenance of school libraries; in a number of such areas the public libraries committee, by arrangement with the education committee, supplies complete school libraries to some or all of the elementary schools or departments in the area. (7)

It is most desirable that in urban areas the local education authority should seek the cooperation of the public libraries committee and the expert advice of the librarian in the matter of school libraries. So too in counties the education committee might arrange that the librarian of the county library and his staff should take some cognisance of school libraries within the area, and give advice, if need be, to head teachers on matters connected with them. Where this is not done, there is reason to believe that the school libraries are often in an unsatisfactory condition.

We would suggest that the authorities of training colleges might take steps to provide their students with some general instruction in the management of school libraries and the technique of librarianship. (8) We think that head teachers should consult their assistant staff, when they are preparing requisitions of books for reference and other works for inclusion in the school library.

ARRANGEMENTS ADOPTED IN DIFFERENT URBAN AND COUNTY AREAS FOR DEFRAYING THE COST OF THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF SCHOOL AND CLASS LIBRARIES

55. We collected from a number of representative local education authorities information respecting the financial arrangements adopted by them for the provision and maintenance of school and class libraries. It would seem that in most areas these libraries are gradually built up out of the general allowance given for books and stationery. (9) Several Directors of Education pointed out that the development of reading on individual lines rendered it easier for schools to form libraries out of their book allowances than was the case when complete sets of the same publications were ordinarily required for class use. In some areas the school libraries are built up and maintained almost wholly by voluntary effort on the part of teachers, pupils, parents and private donors. In certain areas several methods are simultaneously in use. (10) For example, in some counties the cost of school and class libraries in elementary schools is met either by a special grant from the authority, or out of the ordinary fixed allowance per pupil for books and stationery, or by special contributions from the teachers, pupils and friends of the school, or from the proceeds of special efforts by the teachers. In other cases the proceeds of school concerts, sports and the like, have been employed in aid of the provision of libraries. In a number of areas the authority makes a special grant to school libraries that have been built up by the voluntary efforts of the teachers and pupils.

Several authorities give grants towards the provision of school libraries at their inception only. Others make separate annual allowances for the maintenance of such libraries, either by a lump sum, or on a 'per capita' basis. (11) In a number of urban areas the authority has delegated the function of providing school libraries to the public libraries committee, and has allocated to it a lump sum for this purpose. (12) In a few county areas the county library service is used to provide school libraries in certain instances. (13)

THE PROVISION OF COMPLETE SCHOOL LIBRARIES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FROM URBAN AND COUNTY LIBRARIES

56. (a) Urban areas School libraries may be and often are supplemented by collections of books supplied by a public library, and in some urban areas complete school libraries are provided in this way. (14) We quote a few examples of the ways in which the authorities of urban public libraries cooperate with the schools in this matter. At Cardiff every department in the boys', girls' and mixed schools contains a school library maintained by the public libraries committee, and a number of infants' schools are also provided with suitable books from the same source. A Joint Committee of the Education Committee, the Library Committee and head teachers controls the scheme, and the public library provides a staff for supervision. At Halifax a number of departments in public elementary schools are supplied with selected volumes from the public library, according to the number of pupils on the register. Each collection is permanent and not interchangeable between school and school. The scheme is managed by a small committee of head teachers with the Chief Librarian as technical adviser and organiser, and the Central Public Library is used as the headquarters and clearing house for administrative work. At Coventry the education committee and the public libraries committee work in close cooperation, the expenses being defrayed by the education committee. Thirty-nine elementary schools have been provided with school libraries from the central depot. The system consists of fixed libraries supplemented by a circulating library. Books are selected from the central store by the head teachers, assisted in many instances by the class teachers, who in some cases ask for suggestions from the scholars. The books composing the circulating library are distributed from the public library, but are registered there separately as the property of the education committee.

Under the existing law the responsibility for the supply and use of school books lies with the local education authorities, and we accordingly consider that the most satisfactory arrangement for the provision of school libraries within elementary schools is that the responsibility should rest with the local education authority and that it should provide the funds.

We think, however, that the education committee would be well advised as a rule to seek the cooperation of the library committee and the expert assistance of the librarian. One method of securing effective cooperation in urban areas is that the education committee should include members of the library committee and that the library committee should include members of the education committee. In a number of urban areas this arrangement has been adopted and appears to work well. In county areas such cooperation is already secured by the constitution of the library committee.

(b) County areas In a few counties it is the practice to supply some elementary schools with libraries through the agency of the county library. For instance, we were told that in Lancashire the supply of school libraries to elementary schools formed an important part of the county library's work. The cost fell on the elementary education rate, but it was found very convenient to have the county library machinery available for this service. We were informed that in Kent, though the county library service did not, as a rule, provide school libraries, nevertheless in a few cases school libraries had been established as part of that service. In view of the use made by the schools of the county library service in this way the Kent Education Committee make a grant from the elementary education fund to the county library fund. We assume that, if the county library service be utilised to provide books for school libraries in elementary schools, or books connected with the curriculum, the cost of the service will be borne by the local education authority.

THE PART PLAYED BY THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IN SOME URBAN AND COUNTY AREAS IN CIRCULATING TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SETS OF BOOKS FOR GENERAL CLASS READING

57 (a) Urban areas It has now come to be recognised more and more that the supply of books adapted for the use of public elementary schools should not be restricted to the books used in class, or even to those in the school library, unless that library be exceptionally well stocked with books for general reading, but should include a supply of good books for silent reading at school and for home study, e.g. English classics, historical novels, and works of travel.

In a number of urban areas the education committee has made arrangements with the public libraries committee for the circulation among some or all of the elementary schools in the area of sets of books for general class reading, in addition to the ordinary school stock. At Accrington sets of books (40 per set) are in circulation for general class reading, and the number allows from two to five sets for each school at any one time, according to the size of the school. The sets are changed half yearly, and the borough librarian or his deputy visits the schools periodically to inspect the books and to arrange for rebinding and repairs. At Liverpool the teachers in many departments of elementary schools prepare lists of books for the reading of scholars, and arrange with the local branch of the city library for the collective borrowing and return of such books.

(b) County areas In several county areas the education committee has made arrangements with the county library for the circulation of sets of books suitable for general class reading to elementary schools in the area. In Wiltshire, for example, sets of 12 to 25 books of the same type, adequate for the needs of half or whole classes, are sent out from the county library to certain schools, the sets being exchanged terminally.

We were told that under this arrangement each pupil could be given the use of 8 books a year, and inasmuch as the books were graded as junior, intermediate and senior some pupils could even read as many as 24 books during the year.

These sets of reading books are purchased, distributed and repaired by the staff of the county library, but the cost is met by the education committee, which also bears a proportion of the administrative expenses incurred by the county library in connexion with the distribution of the books. We regard the practice of circulating sets of books for general reading either in the school or at home to schools both urban and rural as a useful arrangement. It should be possible to use the machinery of county libraries more extensively than at present for circulating such sets of books.

FACILITIES AFFORDED BY URBAN LIBRARIES TO SCHOLARS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR READING IN THE LIBRARY AND FOR BORROWING BOOKS

58. The available evidence shows that in many urban areas the public libraries committees, in cooperation with the local education committee, have made arrangements to provide special facilities in the public libraries for children attending elementary schools. (15)

In many urban areas school classes periodically pay organised visits with their teachers to the lending departments of the local public libraries. (16) The arrangement and use of the catalogue is explained to them by the library officials, and they are shown how to find in it any books which they may desire to borrow. We were informed that as a result of such visits there had often been a noticeable increase in the number of books issued to children.

At Hampstead there is a separate lending library and reading room for children in the central library building, together with children's comers at each of the four branch libraries. In winter weekly lectures are given in the library for children during school hours, and at the end of each lecture displays of books on the subject of the lecture are made in the juvenile department, and from time to time special lists of books are duplicated and distributed among the elementary schools. Attendance at such lectures may be officially recognised for purposes of school attendance. Similar facilities for children have been provided in a number of urban libraries throughout England and Wales.

Many urban libraries, (e.g. Marylebone and Lancaster) have published separate catalogues of books suitable for children, in some cases with brief notes describing the contents and scope of individual works.

Many places issue to elementary schools tickets for borrowing books direct from the library; these tickets are given to children who in the opinion of the head teacher are likely to make good use of them.

It may be of interest to describe the arrangements in use in a few typical areas. At Birmingham the authority has arranged with the public libraries committee for the issue of borrowers' tickets to scholars attending elementary schools, and the authority bears the cost of replacing or making good any books lost or damaged.

At Bristol separate children's departments have been established on the open access system, an arrangement that permits of more directly personal work on the part of the library staff in bringing children into intimate touch with the books which may be used upon the premises or borrowed for home reading.

Close cooperation between education committees and public library committees is secured to a considerable extent in many urban areas by arranging that the public libraries committee and the education committee have a certain number of members in common. We commend the practice now obtaining in many public libraries of reserving special rooms, or portions of rooms, as reading rooms for children, and consider that all public library committees should, where possible, organise juvenile lending departments. The children should, if possible, be allowed personal access to the bookshelves in the juvenile department. The staffs of juvenile reading and lending departments should be carefully selected on account of their knowledge and sympathy with children and tact in dealing with them. Teachers, on their part, should encourage their pupils to use the juvenile reading and lending departments of public libraries, in areas where they are available. To this end they should from time to time, in concert with the librarians, organise visits of whole classes to the public library, at which the contents, system of classification, and method of obtaining books, whether for purposes of reference or on loan, might be explained to the scholars by a member of the library staff or by a teacher who has made a special study of the subject. In districts where a suitable juvenile reading room is available the scholars might be encouraged to use it for purposes preference and general study.

We regard it as specially important that children in urban areas, during their time at school, should acquire the habit of using the reading rooms and the reference and lending departments of public libraries, and that they should be informed on leaving school of the facilities afforded to adult readers

ARRANGEMENTS FOR LENDING LIBRARY BOOKS FROM LOCAL CENTRES OF COUNTY LIBRARIES TO PUPILS IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

59. We have already explained that in many county areas most of the local centres are in schools, and that the head teachers generally act as local librarians. But it is of the essence of such local administration that methods should be varied according to the needs of readers and the character of the district. The number and quality of applications for books from adult readers outside the school, the reading done by members of the school staff, and the capacity and persistence of the local librarian, will clearly vary in different districts. In many villages there would normally be no chance of maintaining a 'live' library of any kind, if the teachers were not willing to give their time and labour, and if the school buildings were not available to house the books. In centres of this kind, while local conditions remain as they are at present, it is evident that, in spite of the influence and encouragement of the county library committee or sub-committee and the county librarian, the local branch will continue to exist almost wholly for the benefit of the village school; though even here the influence of the children's example upon their parents' reading should not be ignored.

On the other hand, in a village where, as a result of long-established endowments or other special conditions, there is a widespread desire to read good books, the school may not be the most convenient centre, and the supplies of library books for children and for adults may have to be divided. In such instances, the interests of the children should not be allowed to suffer during their school life, and they should be encouraged to proceed to the senior library. We regard it as highly important that scholars in public elementary schools in all parts of county areas should be enabled and encouraged to obtain on loan suitable books for general reading from the local centres of county libraries, and we accordingly recommend that in districts where this is not at present easy, the county library committee should take steps to remodel the library organisation for this purpose.

EDUCATION LIBRARIES AND COLLECTIONS OF REFERENCE BOOKS FOR TEACHERS AND OTHER ARRANGEMENTS FOR PROVIDING WORKS OF REFERENCE FOR TEACHERS

60. Some authorities maintain a Central Education Library of their own in which books may be consulted and from which they may be borrowed. (17) Others keep collections of reference books for teachers (often described as Teachers' Libraries or Teachers' Reference Libraries), which are usually housed at the local Education Office. (18) Special catalogues of these professional libraries are often printed separately and distributed to the teachers in the area. Municipal and county libraries are frequently used to house and distribute the contents of such libraries. Nearly all authorities now avail themselves of the facilities offered by the Central Library for Students, from which they obtain individual volumes for applicants. We recommend that, where a special teachers' library is not provided by the local education authority, the urban or county library should contain an educational section available for teachers. The libraries of the various provincial universities and university colleges, especially that at Armstrong College, Newcastle-on-Tyne, have been generous in affording special facilities to teachers for consulting and borrowing books. We consider it is highly desirable that such opportunities should be extended so far as is possible without impairing the value of such libraries for the students and the academic staff, for whom the books are primarily intended.

In addition to the libraries and the other collections of school books and works of reference for teachers described above, there are several large libraries containing extensive collections of school books and works on education. One of the most important of these is the Education Library of the London County Council, which is intended primarily for the use of members of the council and of the education committee, and of officials and teachers connected directly with the work of the education service of the council. It contains a large number of works of reference for circulation, which are described in a separate catalogue with short notes on each book for the guidance of readers. By permission of the London County Council, this library, together with the collection of specimen school books at the County Hall, is available for consultation by teachers of schools outside the London area. Another comprehensive collection is the education library at the Central Offices of the National Union of Teachers, which is available for use by all members of the union. There are also large collections of school books in the four great libraries in England and Wales, which are entitled to receive under the Copyright Act (19) copies of all works published in the United Kingdom, viz. the British Museum, the National Library of Wales, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and the Cambridge University Library. We would suggest that the responsible authorities of these great libraries might consider whether it would not be possible to place the collections of school books in a separate part of the buildings, and to make arrangements to render them even more accessible than they are at present for the use of teachers and other persons interested in education. It might, for instance, be found possible at some future date to prepare separate catalogues of such publications.

61. On reviewing the available information regarding the part played by urban public libraries and county libraries in respect of the supply and distribution of books for the use of pupils in public elementary schools, we think that general cooperation between urban and county libraries and public elementary schools is the most economical and effective method of increasing within the near future the total supply of books available for scholars in such schools. From this point of view we consider it of great importance that the different library authorities throughout England and Wales should cooperate with one another in order to increase the scope and efficiency of the public library service as a whole. We have read with deep interest the recommendations made to this end in the recent Report of the Public Libraries Committee, (20) and we find ourselves generally in agreement with the findings of that Committee. In particular, we regard it as especially desirable that those areas for which no statutory library provision has yet been made or apparently contemplated should, without delay, either singly or in combination, be brought under the operation of the Public Libraries Acts.

Footnotes

(1) Public Libraries Act 1919 (9 and 10 Geo. 5. Ch. 93.) Section 3 (1) and (2).

(2) The following statistics in respect of county libraries, printed in Table XIV on page 245 of the Report on Public Libraries in England and Wales (1927) (Cmd. 2868), show clearly that most of the local centres for the distribution of books in county areas are housed in schools.

(3) cf. Report of Public Libraries Committee (1927) (Cmd. 2868), page 99, Section 298. 'Under the Public Libraries Act of 1919, however, a county can adopt the Act for part of its area; and it does not necessarily follow that it serves the whole area for which it adopts the Acts. The majority have included within their resolutions the whole of their area, so far as it was not an 'existing library area' within the meaning of Section 10 of the Public Libraries Act 1919. Berkshire, Cheshire, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucester, Middlesex, Northumberland, Nottingham, Oxford, Stafford, Warwick, Wiltshire, Worcester, Yorkshire (East Riding) and Yorkshire (North Riding) in adopting the Acts have excluded certain areas. We have proposed in Chapter 1 with a view to completing the library provision in England and Wales, that every county council should now be constituted a library authority for the whole of its area, so far as it is not already covered.'

(4) In this connection it is of interest to refer to the figures relating to the provision of school and class libraries in Scotland as quoted in Appendix V.

(5) e.g. Appendix II, No. 4.

(6) See Section 58.

(7) See footnote 14 below.

(8) See also Section 64.

(9) e.g. Appendix II, No. 15.

(10) e.g. Appendix II, No. 10.

(11) e.g. Appendix II, No. 7.

(12) e.g. Appendix II, No. 1.

(13) The financial adjustments made in cases where urban or county libraries provide complete school libraries are described in section 56.

(14) The statistics published in the Report of the Public Libraries Committee (1927) p. 243, Table XII show that in 1924 113 urban public library committees were actively cooperating in the provision of school libraries, and that 1440 schools or departments were thus supplied with books.

(15) In 1924 151 urban public library committees provided juvenile lending departments; 87 provided reading rooms for children; and 316 stated that they reserved volumes for children. Report of Public Libraries Committee (1927) (Cmd. 2868), page 243 (Table XII) and page 252 (Table XXV).

(16) At Bradford 244 visits were made by classes to three of the branch libraries in 1925-26, the number of scholars attending being 6,686.

(17) e.g. Appendix II, No. 16 and Appendix III (London)

(18) e.g. Appendix II, No. 8 and No. 17.

(19) Copyright Act, 1911, Section 15.

(20) Report of Public Libraries Committee (1927) passim and paragraphs 68, 81, 82. 421, 542 and Recommendations Nos. 2, 5. 6. 25. 37 and 50 (i).