A Connecticut Librarian in Great Britain: A look at some middle‐sized public libraries Available to Purchase

AT THE OUTSET of this article I should reveal my prejudices. I am an Anglophile. I have visited England several times and enjoy greatly the ambience of British life. This is, I believe, reflected quite clearly in the courtesy, hospitality and respect for individuality that one senses in every British public library. It is also reflected in the very natural use that British people make of their public libraries. The public library is obviously not just a cultural activity, but what the British term an amenity. An amenity is something that enhances everyday individual human life. Book reading is almost universal in England. Books are read on the underground and in railroad trains. In open‐air markets there is always a used‐book stall with throngs of buyers surrounding it.