Comprehensive and Efficient

The Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which received the Royal Assent on July 31 as the Public Libraries and Museums Act, 1964, ends one era of public library provision in England and Wales and heralds another. The previous Acts, from the pioneer Act of 1850 onwards, have all been permissive; local authorities might provide library services if they chose to do so. Now, for the first time, local authorities have a statutory duty to provide library services, and, further, these services are to be “comprehensive and efficient”.