- Adams, Prof. W. G. S., on library provision, 136-139
- Administration, 14, 183-184, 200-210, 221
- Administration of Centralized Library System, 179
- Adult Education, 4-6, 98-99, 111, 149, 154, 202-204, 208-209
- Adult Education Committee and Board of Education, 200-201
- Adult Education Committee and Central Library for Students, 190-191
- Adult Education Committee, centralization, 73, 171-2, 175, 194, 197, 198, 202
- Adult Education Committee, fiction question, 230-235
- Adult Education Committee, Final Report, 165-167
- Adult Education Committee, on grants, 186-187
- Adult Education Committee, on intelligence bureaux, 89-90
- Adult Education Committee, on lectures, 111
- Adult Education Committee, on reading Rooms, 62
- Adult Education Committee, on reconstruction, Preface, 30, 31, 73, 171-172, 175, 194, 197, 198, 202
- Adult Education Committee, Technical and Commercial Libraries, 78-80
- Advertising, 48-49, 103
- Agricultural Libraries, America, 160-161
- Airdrie, adoption of Library Act, 22
- America, books for the blind, 94
- America, children’s libraries, 64, 68, 74, 131
- America, Education Authorities a. Library Authorities, 201-202
- America, indexing, 227-228
- America, inspection of Libraries, 184-186
- America, librarianship, 224
- America, libraries, 25, 41, 118
- America, library schools, 213, 216, 219-220
- America, rural libraries, 156-162
- America, school and library, 131
- America, State Library Commissions, 156, 184-186, 209
- America, travelling libraries, 156
- American Library Association, 211
- Ancient Libraries, 11
- Andersonian Institute, Glasgow, 8
- Antwerp, Institute of Commerce, 77
- Apparatus, Library, 219
- Apprentice Classes, America, 220
- Archbishop Tenison’s Library, 12
- Architecture, library, 219
- Assistants, 212, 217-219
- “Athenæum”, The, 181
- Baillie’s Institution, Glasgow, 23
- Bath, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Bibliography, 131, 171, 220, 223, 225
- Birkbeck, George, 8
- Birkbeck College, 8
- Birkenhead Public Library, 22, 64
- Birmingham Commercial Library, 80
- Birmingham, library rate, 27
- Birmingham Public Libraries, reference library, 45, 48, 50
- Bishopsgate Institute, reference library, 51
- Blackburn, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Blind, libraries for the, 91-95, 171
- Board of Education, 208-209
- Board of Education as central authority, 200-201
- Bolton Public Library, 21, 80
- Book issues, 25, 40, 41
- Book selection, 34-36, 54, 97, 129-130, 179, 215, 223, 224, 228-235
- Book selection for children, 68, 70-72
- Book selection, periodicals, 57, 59
- Book supply, 41-43, 70, 105, 142
- Bookbinding, 42, 180-181
- Bookbinding demonstrations, 218-219
- Book-box system, 138, 139, 141, 142, 144, 146, 149, 164, 165
- Books, requirements of good, 72, 180-181, 227
- Bootle Public Library, lectures, 101
- Borough councils, 173
- Borrowers’ restrictions, 40-41
- Bradford Commercial Library, 80
- Braille system, 93
- Branch libraries, 37
- Bright, John, 18, 21
- Brighton, Local Act, 1850, 21
- Brighton Public Library, 120
- Bristol Commercial Library, 80, 81, 86, 85-87
- Bristol Public Library, 11, 45, 50, 101
- British Museum, 12, 13, 14, 170, 182
- British Museum Library, 34, 54, 55, 195
- Bromley Public Library, lectures, 101
- Brotherton, Joseph, 13-19
- Brougham, Lord, 1, 4, 9
- Brown, James Duff, 54, 55
- Buckinghamshire, village libraries, 135
- Bureaucracy, dangers of, 7, 208, 222
- Burslem, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Bury, William, 11
- Business librarians, courses for, 216
- Camberwell Public Library, 22, 101
- Cambridge, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Canterbury, 16
- Canterbury, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Cardiff Public Libraries, 22, 45, 50, 89, 101
- Cardiganshire Rural Library, 140
- Carnegie, Andrew, 23, 25, 77
- Carnegie Rural Library Scheme, 31, 139
- Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, annual report, 140-141, 145-146
- Carnegie United Kingdom Trust and Central Library for Students, 145-146, 190
- Carnegie United Kingdom Trust and National Library for the Blind, 92-93
- Carnegie United Kingdom Trust and rural libraries, 31, 139
- Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, Scotland, 139-142
- Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, and training in librarianship, 213
- Catalogues, 39, 40, 171, 182, 226, 232
- Cataloguing, 179, 218
- Central clearing house, 170
- Central Library for Students, 111, 170, 177, 188, 190
- Central Library for Students, relations with rural libraries, 143, 145, 147
- Central repository, 139, 141, 142
- Centralization in library system, 29-30
- Rural, 137-138, 161
- Urban, 169-210
- Chambers of Commerce, 85
- Chelsea Public Libraries, 51, 101
- Cheltenham, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Chetham Library, Manchester, 11, 17
- Children, books for, 129-130
- Children, library work with, 216, 219
- Children’s Libraries, 63-74, 205-6
- Children’s Reading room, 63, 64
- Choice of books, See Book Selection
- Christian Socialists, 10
- City and Guilds Institution, 194-195
- Classification, 53, 83, 213, 223, 225-226, 227
- Closed system, See Open access
- Coats Libraries, 135, 139
- Cobden, Richard, 13
- Cockerell, Mr. Douglas, on bookbinding, 180
- Commercial Libraries, 74-91, 219
- Co-operation, 174-176, 177, 196-197
- Co-operation, rural 150-155
- Co-operation with industries, 97
- Co-operation with outside organizations, 117, 150-155
- Co-operation with schools, See Schools
- Cork, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Correspondence classes, 212
- County Education Authority and rural libraries, 149
- County library schemes, 137-139, 156-160
- Coventry, 22
- Coventry Public Library, 22, 41, 120, 133
- Croydon Public Libraries, 80, 101, 106-107, 119
- Croydon Public Libraries, junior library, 65, 66, 106-107, 133
- Curriculum of School of Librarianship, 218
- Czechoslovakia, library school, 220
- Degrees in library science, America, 219
- Derby Public Library, lectures, 101
- Dickens, Charles, on libraries, 21
- Digests, from periodicals, 182
- Discipline in children’s libraries, 66-67
- Discussion, value of, 109-110
- Dr. Williams’s Library, 12
- Doncaster, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Dover, 16
- Dramatic Circles, 114-117
- Dublin Public Library, reference library, 45
- Dundee, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Dunfermline, central repository, 139, 147
- Dunfermline Public Library, 61
- Edinburgh Public Library, 23, 45
- Education, 1-6, 72-74, 98, 122, 173, 184, 210-211.
- See also Libraries and education
- Education Act, 1870, 2, 24
- Education Act, 1918, 224
- Education Act for Scotland, 1918, 140
- Education authority as library authority, 175, 200-210
- Education Bill, 1807, 1
- Education Bill, 1820, 2
- Education Department, 2
- Edwards, Edward, 13-17, 21, 29, 183, 184
- Edwards, Passmore, 25
- Elementary Education Act, 1870, 22
- Engravings, 50
- “Erewhon,” 221-222
- Ewart, William, 6, 13-19
- Ewart Act, See Public Libraries Act, 1850
- Examinations in Librarianship, 212, 214, 219
- Exeter, adoption of Library Act, 21, 22
- Exhibitions, 120-122
- Fiction question, 34-35, 230-235
- Filing, 58-59, 226
- Finance, 25, 26, 31, 41, 42, 102, 148, 193
- Fisher, Mr. H. A. L., 98
- Formby, Thomas, 25
- Forster’s Act. See Education Act, 1870
- France, librarianship in, 220
- Fulham Public Libraries, lectures, 101
- Furniture, fittings, etc., 82
- Germany, library schools, 220
- Glasgow, 8, 23
- Glasgow Commercial Library, 80
- Glasgow Mechanics’ Institution, 8
- Glasgow Public Libraries, 38
- Gloucester Public Library, 163
- Gloucestershire Rural Libraries, 140, 163
- Government department as library authority, 172-3
- Government grants, 184-188
- Government inspection of libraries, 183-188
- Grantham Rural Libraries, 140
- Grants, 29, 184-188
- Greenwich Public Libraries, co-operation with schools, 127
- Greenwood, Thomas, 29, 183
- Guide-books to books, 179, 225, 232
- Guildhall Library, 51
- Hackney Public Library, 22, 127
- Hampstead Public Library, 51, 101
- Hebrides, rural library scheme, 147
- Hereford, adoption of Library Act, 22
- History of library movement, 1-31
- Holland, library school, 220
- Hornsey Public Library, lectures, 101
- Huddersfield, 8
- Hull, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Illustrations, 43, 52, 53, 64, 65
- Indexing, 47, 53, 61, 181, 213, 223, 226, 227, 228
- Indicators, 38-39, 222
- Industrial libraries, See Technical libraries
- Industries, co-operation with, 79
- Industry as local authority in technical library system, 198
- Information Bureau, 54, 76, 82-83, 88-90
- Information desks, 89
- Inspection of libraries, 183-188
- Ipswich, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Ireland, Public Library Act, 20, 22
- Ireland, reference libraries, 45
- Islington Public Libraries, 22, 43, 55, 69-70, 101, 127
- Issues as index of reading, 25
- Italy, library schools, 220
- Jast, Mr. L. S., on Schools and libraries, 203-204
- Journalism, schools of, 223
- Kidderminster, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Kilmarnock Public Libraries, reference library, 50
- Kingston Public Libraries, lectures, 101
- Kirkwood, James, 11
- Lamb, Charles, 116
- Lambeth Palace Library, 12
- Lancashire and Cheshire Union library, 135
- Lancashire and Cheshire Union of Mechanics’ Institutions, 8
- Lantern slides, 52, 106, 119
- Leamington, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Lecture rooms, 62, 99-107
- Lectures, 64, 65, 99-107, 211, 212, 215, 228, 232
- Leeds Commercial Library, 80, 88
- Leeds Public Libraries, 8, 22, 45
- Leeds Technical Library, 88
- Leek Public Library, lectures, 101
- Leicester, adoption of Library Act, 16, 22
- Lending libraries, 33-43, 233, 234
- Librarian, 66, 67, 69, 106, 107, 127, 205, 214, 216
- Librarianship, definition of, 216-217
- Librarianship, training in, See Training
- Libraries and education, 29, 175, 200-210
- Libraries Board, suggestions for a, 209-210
- Library Association of the United Kingdom, on bibliography, 227
- Library Association on centralization, 171-2
- Library Association, commercial and technical libraries, 78, 80
- Library Association, libraries and education, 29, 202-203, 204
- Library Association on rural libraries, 153
- Library Association and school libraries, 13
- Library Association, Subject-Index to Periodicals, 181
- Library Association on technical libraries, 198-201
- Library Association Education Committee, 211
- Library authorities, 173, 174, 175
- Library authority, parish council as, 137
- Library committees, 28, 173, 175
- Library economy, 213
- Library extension, 96-134, 219, 224
- Library provision, 136, 139
- Library rate, 15, 18, 19, 26, 136, 137
- Library schools, 211-220
- Library service, 14, 32-95, 138
- Liberal education, 217, 222
- Lichfield, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Light literature, See Fiction
- Literary and Scientific Institutions, 33
- Literary and Scientific Institutions Libraries, 12
- Literary history, 228
- Liverpool Commercial Library, 80
- Liverpool Public Libraries, 16, 37, 45, 48, 50, 91, 100, 102
- Liverpool, Special Act, 1852, 21
- Loan Collections to schools, 122, 124-125, 133
- Local collections, 51-52
- Local Education Committee, 31
- Local Education Committee as library authority, 201
- Local Government Act, 1894, 27
- Local records, 52
- London, City of, 20, 22
- London Education Committee, 127, 175, 192
- London libraries, 22, 47-48
- London libraries, lectures, 101
- London libraries, reading rooms, 60
- London libraries, reference libraries, 45, 49, 50
- London libraries, special collections, 50-51
- London libraries, statistics, 178
- London libraries, and students, 195-196
- London library, 34
- London, Library Act, 1877, 24
- London Mechanics’ Institution, 8
- London School of Economics, 211-212, 225
- London, University of, School of Librarianship, 213, 216, 218-219, 222
- London, University of, University College, 191, 213
- McKillop, John, supplemental library scheme, 191-197
- Magazine rooms, 55
- Magazines, See periodicals
- Maidstone Public Library, 22, 101, 163
- Manchester, 13, 15
- Manchester College of Arts and Sciences, 8
- Manchester Commercial Library, 80, 81
- Manchester Commercial library, contents, 83-85
- Manchester Commercial library, vertical file, 225
- Manchester, library rate, 27
- Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 8, 61
- Manchester Public Libraries, 21, 38, 45, 48, 49, 101
- Maps, 43, 52, 58, 82, 119
- Marylebone, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Massachusetts Agricultural College, 161
- Massachusetts Free Library Commission, 185-6
- Mechanics’ Institutes, 5-10, 26
- Mechanics’ Institute Libraries, 5-10
- Meredith, George, on fiction, 230
- Metropolitan Association of Mechanics’ Institutions, 8
- Middlesex, rural library scheme, 163-164
- Ministry of Reconstruction, 30
- Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 23
- Monastic libraries, 11
- Motor service, 38, 141, 146
- Museums, 15-16
- Museums Act, 1845, 15, 18
- Museums and Gymnasiums Act, 1891, 27
- Music, 43
- National Art Library, South Kensington, 178
- National Home-Reading Union, 112, 119
- National Institute for the Blind, 93
- National Library for the Blind, 92-95, 171
- National library service, preface, 155, 169-210, 220
- National Science Library, South Kensington, 60-61, 178
- New York Public Library, 94, 118, 132-133
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne Public Libraries, 27, 45, 50
- Newspapers, 43, 55-59
- Newsrooms, 47, 55-59
- Non-municipal libraries, incorporation of, 177-178
- Northampton Public Library, 50, 80, 120
- Norwich Public Library, 11, 21, 80, 101
- Nottingham Public Libraries, 22, 45, 50, 64, 91-92, 101, 120
- Obsolete methods, 220-221
- Ogle, J. J., 29
- Oldham, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Oldham, library rate, 27
- Open access, 37, 38-40, 161, 232
- Orkneys, rural library scheme, 147
- Overseas Trade Department, 85
- Oxford, adoption of Library Act, 21
- Paddington, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Paisley, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Palæography, 52, 218, 220
- Parish council, as library authority, 137
- Parochial libraries, 11-12
- Parochial Libraries Act, 12
- Patent Office Library, 178, 193, 195, 200
- Peacock, Thomas L., 9
- Periodicals, 47, 56-61, 181-182
- Periodicals, indexing of, See Subject-Index to Periodicals
- Permanent collections of books in country districts, 138, 149
- Perthshire Rural Library, 140, 146
- Philadelphia, Commercial Museum, 77
- Philosophical Radicalism, 4
- Polytechnics, 195
- Poplar, school and library, 126-127
- Post Office, transmission of books by, 95, 191
- Practical instruction in librarianship, 218-219
- Press clippings, 53, 65, 82
- Preston, library rate, 27
- Prints, 43, 52, 119
- Privy Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 78-79
- Public Library Acts, 6, 96, 136
- Public Library Act, 1850, 12-20, 30
- Public Library Act, 1853, 12-20, 26, 30
- Public Library Act, Ireland, 1853, 20
- Public Library Act, Scotland, 1853, 20
- Public Libraries Act, 1892, 24, 27
- Public Libraries Amendment Acts, 1894, 28
- Public Libraries Act, 1919, preface, 112, 122, 135, 140
- Public Libraries Act, 1921, 30
- Public Library Acts, adoption of, 21, 22, 23, 24
- Public Library Bill, 1854, 20
- Public Record Office Library, 178
- Publications, library, 179-180
- Purdue University agricultural library, 161
- Putney, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Rate, library, 27, 30, 172, 174, 175, 187-188, 193
- Readers, issues, 40, 41
- Reading circles, 62, 64, 65, 104, 110-111, 112-114, 143, 215, 228-229, 232
- Reading courses, 64
- Reading, standard of, 40, 42, 60, 229-235
- Reading rooms, 55, 61-63
- Ready-reference library, 48
- Reconstruction, preface, 29-30
- Reconstruction Committee, 30
- Reference books, 44, 46, 47, 52, 58, 70, 138, 149
- Reference libraries, 34, 36, 44-55, 176-177, 223
- Regional committees, 189, 210
- Rochdale Public Library, business section, 80
- Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 1
- Royal Blind Asylum and School, Edinburgh, 93
- Royal College of Science, 194
- Rural libraries, 31, 110-111, 112, 135-168, 188, 219
- Rural libraries, co-operation with outside organizations, 150-155
- Rural libraries, co-operation with schools, 141-144, 148-149, 150-155
- Ruskin, John, 134
- Rye, Mr. R. A., libraries of London, 178
- St. Bride Foundation Library, reference library, 51
- St. Helen’s, library rate, 27
- St. Kilda, transport of books to, 146-147
- St. Pancras, adoption of Library Act, 22
- St. Paul’s Cathedral Library, reference library, 51
- Salaries, 179, 212
- Salford Public Library, 13, 16, 27, 101
- Sayle, Miss, village libraries, 135
- School libraries, 70, 72, 73, 122-125, 216
- School of Librarianship, University of London, See London, University of
- Schools, 2-5, 98, 154, 200-210, 224
- Schools, co-operation with, 23, 29, 51-52, 64, 65-74, 97, 106, 122-134, 137-138, 141-144, 148-149, 150-155, 200-206, 223-224
- Scientific associations’ libraries, 178-179
- Scotland, adoption of Library Act, 22, 23
- Scotland, Education Act, 1918, 140
- Scotland, Public Library Acts, 20, 26, 28
- Scotland, reference libraries, 45
- Scotland, rural libraries, 135, 140
- Selborne, Roundell Palmer, Earl of, 19
- Sheffield, adoption of Library Act, 21, 22
- Sheffield, library rate, 27
- Shelf-room, 180
- Shetlands, rural library scheme, 147
- Sion College Library, 12
- Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 9
- Somerset Rural Library, 140, 162-163
- Special collections, 43, 49-51, 52, 53, 119-120, 198, 225
- Staff, 76, 77, 90, 183, 184, 211
- Staffordshire Rural Library, 139-140
- State aid, See Grants
- State control, 29, 137-8, 179
- State Library Commissions, America, 156, 184-186, 209
- Statistics, Bristol Commercial Library, 86
- Statistics, Islington Public Libraries, 43
- Statistics, library provision, 136
- Statistics, London libraries, 178
- Statistics, public libraries, 16, 17, 23, 35, 43, 81, 86
- Statistics of reading, 35
- Statistics, rural libraries, 140-141, 144, 148
- Statistics, supplemental library, 193, 194
- “Steam Intellect Society,” 9
- Stirling’s Library, Glasgow, 23
- Story-telling for children, 64, 65
- Stratford-on-Avon Public Library, reference library, 50
- Students, 41, 46, 54, 62, 195-7
- Students’ Library, Oxford, 92
- Students’ reading rooms, 62
- Subject-Index to Periodicals, 61, 171, 181, 182
- Summer Schools, 211, 220
- Sunderland, library rate, 16, 27
- Supplemental libraries, cost of, 193-194
- Supplemental libraries in national scheme, 188-193
- Swansea, library rate, 27
- Sweden, library schools, 220
- Syracuse University, library school, 216
- Teachers, 72-73, 132, 133, 142, 205
- Technical associations’ libraries, 178-179
- Technical libraries, 74-91, 197-200, 219
- Thackeray, W. M., on libraries, 21
- Training in librarianship, 171, 179, 211-235
- Transport, 38, 141-142, 146-148, 191
- Travelling collections for schools, 124-125
- Travelling libraries, 135, 139, 156
- Tutorial Classes, 104, 109-111, 142, 215
- Union Catalogue, 182
- Union of educational and library administration, 72, 73, 122, 133-134, 200-210, 234
- Universities, 1
- University Extension Courses, 107-114
- University libraries, 45
- Utilitarian function of the library, 74-77
- Van Wert County Library, Ohio, 157-159
- Verney, Sir Edmund, village libraries, 135
- Village clubs, 141
- Village Clubs Association, 151-153
- Village Institutes, 8, 165-167, 168
- Village libraries, 135
- Voluntary workers in libraries, 103, 138, 141-142
- Wales, National Library of, reference library, 50
- Wallasey Public Library, lectures, 101
- Walsall Public Library, 22, 27
- Walthamstow Public Libraries, lectures, 101
- Warrington Public Library, 16, 17, 27, 101
- Warwick, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Washington Training School for Business Librarians, 216
- “Weeding-out,” 36, 159, 177, 225
- West Riding Union of Mechanics’ Institutions, 8
- Westminster, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Whitbread, Samuel, 1, 4
- Whitechapel, adoption of Library Act, 22
- Whittington, Sir Richard, 11
- Wigan Public Library, 27, 101
- Wilts Rural Library, 140, 163
- Winchester, adoption of Library Act, 21
- Wisconsin, University of, 161, 216
- Wolverhampton Public Library, 22, 27
- Woolwich Public Libraries, lectures, 101
- Workers’ Educational Association, 99, 110-111, 119, 142
- Working Men’s College, 10
- “Workshop theory,” 36
- Yorkshire Village Libraries Association, 135
- Young Mens’ Christian Association, 150, 153, 154
- Young Women’s Christian Association, 150
About This Book
The author surveys the origins and evolution of public library services, outlining their historical development, organizational forms, and social functions. He analyzes what constitutes an effective library service, outlines strategies for extension into urban and rural districts, and argues for coordinated national provision and professional training for librarians. The book combines descriptive sketches of notable collections and reading rooms with practical recommendations on legislation, funding, and adult education, emphasizing libraries' potential to foster self-improvement, broaden cultural access, and contribute to civic reconstruction.