Towards the education of librarians

WHAT SHOULD A keynote speaker say on an occasion such as this? Particularly a speaker such as myself—almost totally ignorant of every subject to be discussed in your later sessions? Have I, I wonder, quite innocently given the organisers the same impression, in agreeing to talk at this dinner, as Dr Johnson gave his friends when he said he could repeat a complete chapter of the Natural history of Iceland from the Danish of Horrebow? The chapter reads: ‘Concerning snakes, there are no snakes to be met with throughout the whole island’. But I think I can manage a few more sentences than that, and since I have not been altogether unconcerned with library planning, with research, the role of management, and with education in its broadest cultural sense I think we can find sufficient common ground to justify my appearance tonight. Indeed as head of a library staff of 1700 how could I not be concerned with library education?