We understand that the contract for the conversion of the Central Lending Library to Open Access has been accepted, and the work is being placed in hand immediately.

There is evidently no doubt in the minds of the Sheffield City Council as to the value of Public Libraries. Other authorities might do well to note this attitude of a great and progressive community.

SWADLINCOTE (Urban District, near Burton-on-Trent) Public Library, which has been closed for re-decorations and alterations, and in order that the Open Access system should be instituted, was re-opened last month by Mr. MAURICE H. BRETT MASH, Librarian of Burton, who had been of great assistance to the Committee in carrying out the alterations. It is seldom, surely, that the privilege of publicly opening a library building falls to the lot of a librarian, and that Mr. Mash should have been asked to do so seems to us to have been a most gracious recognition of his work.

CLASSES IN LIBRARIANSHIP.

SPECIAL COURSES AT THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL, Liverpool. Classes are being held this winter as usual at the Central Technical School, Liverpool. These classes are arranged by the Liverpool Education Committee, through the agency of the Library Assistants' Association (Liverpool and District Division).

The Instructors are Mrs. Wilson (Preliminary Course), Mr. E. C. Wickens (Literary History), and Mr. J. T. Evans (Library Routine). About fifty assistants have enrolled, in preparation for next year's Library Association Examinations.

'So far as Great Britain is concerned, MCGILL UNIVERSITY library in its departments of general Zoology and Ornithology, is inferior only to that of the British Museum. It is worthy to rank at least with the library of the Zoological Society of London in these branches of science, and it is almost certainly superior in these respects to the library of any other British institution, not excepting the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge."

Dr. Gerhard R. Lomer, librarian of McGill University, who has been over in England, together with Dr. Casey Wood, making purchases for the Blacker Library of Zoology and the Emma Shearer Wood Library of Ornithology, reached Montreal on Saturday on the Minnedosa, and when questioned about his mission he cited the foregoing expression of opinion, which had been made by an English expert familiar for twenty years with the libraries of Great Britain, who had looked over these purchases.

The gift of $40,000 for the establishment of a library on Zoology was made by Robert R. Blacker and Nellie Canfield Blacker, of California, early this year.

REVIEWS.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS.

BRISTOL Syllabus of Half Hour Talks to Children. CROYDON: Programme of Library Talks and Readings. ISLINGTON: Public Lectures; Public Lectures to Children. LIVERPOOL : Free Lectures; Free Lectures to Children. SHEFFIELD Programme

of Public Lectures.

These are samples of library extension enterprise that deserve attention, Croydon leads in number and variety with 28 lectures for adults and 24 for children—all in the three months October to December, 1921. Moreover, in addition, we read Story hours will be held in the Junior Libraries once or twice weekly," and further, "At Christmas, a Story week for Children will be held at the Central Junior Library, when stories, mainly illustrating the Christmas Season, will be told once or twice daily." The Bristol programme is of seven talks, each to be repeated, for upper classes in the local Elementary Schools, to be given at the Central Library, and is accompanied by well-selected lists of books. It would be interesting to know why the admission is limited to local" elementary "schools. Are not the pupils in other schools the children of ratepayers? Islington is to be congratulated on setting library lectures going. It has more library lecture room space, and hitherto has used it less, than any other London borough. Both the lectures for adults and for children are well thought out. Liverpool has an elaborate programme of full-dress lectures by famous lecturers consisting of 20 lectures for adults and 10 for children, to be given in the three months November and January-February.

Sheffield has six lectures at the Central Library, and four at each of the six branches. The programme is an admirable one, with lists of books; but stronger type distinctions might have been made.

Except in the case of Sheffield and Bristol, we are not sure that these lectures are sufficiently connected with the books. It is true that the Liverpool programmes call attention to the Libraries, and the Croydon one states that lists of books, carefully selected in conjunction with the lecturers, are displayed one week before and after each Talk," but in neither programme is an actual book-title given. We think a half-dozen titles under each lectureentry would serve a more useful purpose than a lecture synopsis, especially as the latter usually means little, and is rarely followed.

In commenting upon the above programmes, we may say that they are in no way unique-except that of Croydon, in its sheer volume of events--and that we appreciate the fact that a score of other libraries are doing similar valuable work. We want to see it become universal.

BURNLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY. Catalogue of music and of the literature relating to music at the lending and reference libraries. Large 8vo., 40 pp., 1921 3d.

This collection of music can best be described by saying that it would suit both those gentlemen who dealt with the Hampstead Music catalogue a short while ago; it in there is music for Mr. Hulme and music for Mr. Aristonymous, and for others besides, which is an excellent thing. Never before have I seen listed, I think, so varied a selection, ranging from High Jinks" to Moussorgski, with a leaning, perhaps, to the popular side. There is a lot of rubbish in the collection, certainly, but it is the sort of rubbish that some readers want, and not the sort of rubbish that kindly donors evidently didn't want; and, moreover, those with more sophisticated tastes are not neglected. And so no one can complain. When the great red dawn is sh.ning seems out of place in a public library, yet the presence, in the same paragraph of the catalogue, of Purcell's "When I am laid in earth," prevents our condemning the first choice. Until people want Purcell they must have The great red dawn," which is infinitely preferable to nothing.

"

The most serious music has been well selected; all the classics are to be found, and in the purchase of modern music Englishmen have not been

overlooked, though there are, as could only be expected, a few important omissions such as Cyril Scott and John Ireland. The books on music, too, are thoroughly representative and up-to-date. I notice that volume 6 of Grove's" Dictionary "is catalogued and would mention, lest any of our readers should not have seen this volume, that it is exactly what it is described as being, "An American Supplement "—and not a general supplementary volume, music scores with a European reputation only being omitted. Though a valuable reference work it is limited, and therefore it seems desirable to point this out to any who may be interested, lest they should be unreasonably disappointed were they to purchase it under a wrong impression of its scope. GLASGOW CORPORATION PUBLIC LIBRARIES, WOODSIDE DISTRICT LIBRARY. Guide for Young Readers. 8vo., 404 pp. 1921

I do not think it would be quite fair to Mr. Pitt and his colleagues at Glasgow to speak of this catalogue in the way in which I feel impelled to review it. It was printed and published at the expense of Glasgow people and for Glasgow children, and not to be pounced upon by librarians, from Timbuctoo to Tooting, as a model, and as a guide to juvenile book selection. I would like to suggest that every librarian who is interested in work with children should -but I won't. Why should I cause Mr. Pitt to make enemies by refusing to circulate a few hundred copies of an expensive publication to those for whom it is not intended?

Let me instead write down some of the striking features of this catalogue. To begin with, the idea of providing children with a fully classified (Dewey) list is an excellent one. They are trained, thereby, in the use of the classification which they must understand as adult users of the library, and not in a simplified version which they will need to unlearn later. Needless to say, this could not be advocated by itself. Were the alphabetic lists and the subject index (which is specially designed for intelligent youngsters) not provided. the class list would surely prove too complicated. Accompanied by those additional guides to book-finding, nothing could be more desirable, for the class list is something that an alphabetic list will never be a guide to book selection. For example, a lad may read Henty's Beric the Briton. His interest in the early history of this country, and in the wonderful civilization of Rome which impinged upon our own undeveloped condition, is aroused. How can that interest be fostered? He turns up the index under" Romans in Britain' and the figures 942-01 become a magic word that unlocks for him a treasurehouse of nineteen good yarns and twelve histories and biographies dealing with the period.

"

Nearly all the subject headings include a good selection of stories—even such prosaic headings as Mammals and Political Economy." That even the loftiest reading can be part of the search for information, and that the driest subject can be made matter of fireside reading is shown to the child at once. When he grows up he will cease neither to read fiction nor nonfiction, but there will be behind what seems, to the opponent of fiction, madness, a method, and a purpose. And his recreative reading will be no less recreative. Further, the tone" of the catalogue is the right one. It is not an insult to the average child; it does not count upon his being endowed with a minimum of intelligence. The methods are simple, without appearing obviously simplified. There is nothing of the "dear little child about it, rather the "Here, young man, if you want to make good use of a good collection of good books study this idea.

Many other points call for notice: The list of reference books--children must be taught how to use the essential tools of every man and woman; the man who sits with a dictionary and a Whitaker at his elbow will not swell the ranks of those who make rash statements and believe everything they're told; the pithy annotations, long enough to give the really essential facts, and short enough to permit of an annotation for nearly every entry; the neatly printed. pleasing page; and the excellence of the collection.

The cost of printing this catalogue must have been considerable at a rough estimate I should say about £800-but the Glasgow ratepayers may be

quite assured that the value of such a catalogue, could it be estimated in. pounds, shillings, and pence, would exceed that amount by hundreds of pounds. I don't believe in the value of a printed catalogue of an adult library where the greatest demand is for the newest books, and where the value of a collection depends largely upon the up-to-date nature of the information supplied by it, but with a juvenile library it is another matter. The number of new children's books which definitely replace existing works is small; the basic stock of to-day will be very much the same in ten or twenty years' time, and the value of such a catalogue as this, as a guide to the intelligent use of a library, will more than compensate for the omissions that will accumulate in time. It is a pity we can't all issue such a catalogue—but have we all such a fine collection to list? L. R. McC.

HARLESDEN PUBLIC LIBRARY. Catalogue of works of fiction contained in the lending department. 50 pp.

This list is described as being "reprinted, July, 1921," but we are not told when the list was first issued judging by the entries, so long ago that it seems hardly desirable to reprint without revision, or to let the statement in the foreword that "this catalogue is a complete list stand. Up to a certain date the selection is so good that it seems a pity to give a wrong impression of what is most likely a satisfactory collection.

POPLAR PUBLIC LIBRARIES. Quarterly Record. October, 1921.

We are glad to see this bulletin putting something more appealing into its pages than the mere Union list of books which used to be its almost sole feature. This contains notes on library matters, and a brief article on Gissing and his works. The book entries would be much more interesting if they were not so meagre even the fact of illustrations is omitted-and they should be annotated throughout. Surely there are few districts where annotated entries would be more advantageous than they would be at Poplar.

The second number of the WARRINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY READERS' GUIDE, Contains in addition to notes and a list of new books the first instalment of a complete catalogue of the lending library.

Readers are advised to subscribe regularly for the Readers' Guide, as by this means they will eventually be in possession of a complete classified catalogue." It seems a good idea, but as the Guide is only published every few months, and as the present number takes us only up to Dewey 133, will any of the present generation be alive by the time the catalogue is complete?

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

DANIELSON (Henry) Bibliographies of Modern Authors. 8vo., pp. xii. 212, 6 facsimiles of titles, cloth. Bookman's Journal, London, 1921. 12/6.

The recent development of interest in the first editions of modern authors, which has led to an enormous appreciation in price if not in value, is the reason for the publication of this volume. Collectors will now have the joy of discovering that George Gissing's Sleeping Fires was issued in salmon-coloured paper covers simultaneously with the issue in fawn buckram. Apart from these minutiæ of detail, it is certainly useful to have a descriptive list of the works of fifteen of the most interesting of the younger authors of the modern school. Altogether, Mr. Danielson's excellent piece of bibliography deals with 275 works by Max Beerbohm, Rupert Brooke, Hubert Crackanthorpe, Walter de la Mare, John Drinkwater, Lord Dunsany, James Elroy Flecker, George Gissing, Francis Ledwidge, Compton Mackenzie, John Masefield, Leonard Merrick, Richard Middleton, Arthur Symons, and Hugh Walpole.

LIBRARY ASSISTANTS' ASSOCIATION.

The Inaugural Meeting of the 26th Session was at the Stoke Newington Public Library on Wednesday, 12th October, and proved an unqualified success. The Association has held a number of meetings at this Library, and they have always been interesting as well as highly enjoyable affairs, and for very good reasons: the local people are proud of their library and interested in its doings; the institution itself is an excellent one, well-favoured by book-loving folk; there is every convenience for meetings and the hospitable spirit is always in evidence. Moreover, the Mayor, or the Chairman of the Library Committee, usually presides, and there is generally a good sprinkling of Committee-men present too; also an exhibition of rare and valuable books adds interest to the occasion, and so we may say frankly that we like to go to Stoke Newington and always come away feeling an increasing indebtedness to Mr. Preece, his staff and his Committee, for the unostentatious kindliness unfailingly displayed. At this meeting, Mr. Alderman Beavis, a former Mayor, presided, and gave a cordial welcome to well over one hundred members and friends of the Association, including several "chiefs." Mr. J. C. Squire, the well-known literary critic and editor of The London Mercury, was the principal speaker, and addressed the audience on the subject of book selection. In a witty and able extempore address, Mr. Squire gave expression to his views with respect to the difficulties and dangers involved in the building up of a representative collection of books; but he had not proceeded far before it became clearly apparent that he was completely out of touch with present-day methods of public library practice in that direction. Freely confessing his own total lack of experience in practical librarianship, and stating that he had never made more than casual use of a public library, he supposed that a librarian was so occupied with details of administration as to have no time for the proper consideration of additions to stock: hence the accumulations of such frightful rubbish he imagined to exist in most public libraries ! He concluded that 90 per cent. of the average public library stock consisted of fiction, and pretty bad fiction at that, while as to catalogues they must of necessity be an almost hopeless proposition. However, even among public library readers some of the elect might perchance exist, and the astute librarian could judiciously take advantage of their knowledge and taste by seeking their advice in a friendly way as to the books which should be acquired for the benefit of the community at large. Further, it would be an inestimable advantage to this privileged few to be permitted access to the library shelves: they would know how to handle books and to make a right use of them; but to allow all and sundry to roam about the place would be an impossibility, as the library would thus quickly become a bear garden. This was the main theme of Mr. Squire's address, and there was a general atmosphere of expectation when the Chairman threw it open for discussion. Mr. F. E. Sandry (Canning Town)