The Library World Volume 61 Issue 3

THE L.A. Conference can be said to have finished off the summer, albeit somewhat ingloriously. Frankly it was not a very inspiring affair. However the papers and atmosphere are well described in this number by Mr. Jack Dove and in this column we will confine ourself to that excitement‐packed Annual General Meeting which now probably holds the world record for the shortest A.G.M. of a serious professional institution. The opportunity to express an opinion or ask a question on any aspect of the affairs of the library profession comes only once a year, but the only persons who spoke at the Annual General Meeting were the Chairman, the proposer of the Hon. Auditors, the Mayor of somewhere inviting the Association to hold the Conference there next year and a mover of a vote of thanks to something or other. It makes you wonder. After all the past year has not been entirely without interest to librarians. There are some, we know, who are heartily sick of the sound of the word Roberts but is there no one sufficiently moved to express an opinion on the recommendations contained in the report of the Roberts Committee? It is simply astounding that there was not one motion on the agenda on any aspect of that report. At the time that the agenda was prepared, it was not known that there would be a general election immediately after the conference but surely it is important that the profession as a whole should manifest its view of the recommendations of the committee so that the government could prepare legislation which would have our support. Only one of the major political parties has announced in its manifesto to the electorate that legislation will be introduced in a new Parliament to improve the public library service but of course no details of its proposals have been given. We must know that there is no end to the possible stupidities which could be incorporated into an Act—unless all the bodies concerned impress on the Minister the confirmed opinion of their members. The Association of Municipal Corporations and the County Councils Association have not been slow in making their views known. The Library Association Council presented evidence to the Committee which enjoyed (sic) the support of the membership but it cannot be said that the recommendations have the same support. But does anybody care? Apparently not. We shall grumble when new legislation is presented and then spend the rest of our lives blaming “them”. Is it any wonder that in the words of a London Town Clerk, “librarianship is a depressed profession”? Which leads us nicely to that other apparently unimportant event of the past year.