Off the cuff

ONE OF THE endearing myths of librarianship is that there are posts in certain systems which guarantee their holders future greatness. In earlier days the myth said that one had only to serve in certain libraries to be able to jump into a desired post without trouble. There has been some truth in it; many years ago it appeared that all large‐city librarians had served in Croydon, or Bolton; later it was certainly true that the top jobs were held by people who had been trained in Sheffield, Leeds or Westminster. Until quite recently the number of chiefs who were ex‐Sheffield was very high indeed, and of particular posts, deputy librarian at Westminster or Chief Assistant at Hull seemed to be a way of being groomed for stardom. Not only public libraries produce this phenomenon; those who have been deputy librarian at Leeds University have also very often made their mark.