Public Libraries Since 1945 (Signed copy)

The Impact of the McColvin Report, signed by Philip Whiteman

Author

Philip Whiteman

Publisher

Clive Bingley, London, 1986

Public Libraries Since 1945 (Signed copy)

Printing Details

First edition, first printing. Hardback in dustwrapper. 22.5 × 14cm, 219pp.

Signed and dated by Philip Whiteman to the title page.

"Lionel McColvin was the dominant personality in public library and Library Association affairs from the late 1930s, through the war, and into the 1950s. His report, The Public Library System of Great Britain, published by the Library Association in 1942, was a watershed in public library thinking. It subjected the public library to the most searching analysis it had ever received, and came up with the most radical proposals for reform, before or since.

In this book, the contents of the report is summarized and re-examined. The reaction of the profession is discussed and the report's influence on subsequent Library Association policy traced. The direct and indirect influence of the report involved such matters as post-war professional education (full-time library schools); BNB; and the Roberts Report and 1964 Act. Also considered as such 'external' influences as local government re-organization which, to some extent, implemented McColvin-style reforms but by a different route.

The conclusion is that the McColvin Report profoundly affected professional thinking, was a lasting stimulus to informed debate, and was more successful than most such documents in having so many of is proposals translated into practice."