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The Free Library Movement (1935)[edit]
The Free Library Movement was a social movement to form a free public library network in New South Wales. Initiated in 1935, the movement was inspired by the Munn-Pitt Report, and led to the passing of the New South Wales Library Act of 1939, which aimed to "make further provision for the establishment, maintenance, and management of libraries and free library services."[1]
History[edit]
The Munn-Pitt Report of 1935[edit]
In 1934, Ralph Munn, a prominent librarian from the Pittsburgh Public Library in the USA, along with the assistance of Ernest Pitt from the Public Library of Victoria, was asked to perform a survey of Australian libraries and provide advice on methods of improvement by the Australian Council for Educational Research. The report, popularly known as the Munn-Pitt Report, made note for various limitations in the Library System and critiqued the lack of well-established government-funded libraries in Australia.
According to Gough Whitlam, the report made three key suggestions for improvement:
- Capital cities (except Sydney): Establishment of combined state-municipal libraries, funded and run by both state and local authorities.
- Outside capital cities and in country areas: Establishment of free municipal libraries subsidized by the state government.
- The National Library taking on a national role as an official depository of specialized books and historical records and in providing other libraries with bibliographical and cataloguing services.[2]
The Movement[edit]
The Free Library Movement began as a public meeting on 26 June, 1935, in Chatswood, New South Wales. The meeting was organized by the President of the Middle Harbour Progress Association, G.W. Brain. At initial meetings of the movement, the Munn-Pitt Report was read and discussed, which inspired Geoffrey Cochrane Remington, initially just an attendee, to become the father of the movement.[3]
The first annual general meeting of the movement took place in March 1936, and Remington was instated into a formal role as a Councillor then; before this meeting, he had already begun the work of the Movement on a broadcast radio show in January 1936. For this, as well as other vocal support he offered, he was elected Chair of the Executive Committee later in June 1936. He continued to scout influential figures for a broader reach of the movement, and succeeded to indict those like former Prime Minister W.M. Hughes into the movement. Remington also amassed a diverse range of friends for the movement, ranging from those in the Theosophist Society to those from the New South Wales Trades and Labour Council. He also garnered lots of media attention.[3]
The New South Wales Library Act, 1939[edit]
Within one and a half years of the movement's conception, the media attention as well as the public campaigning was catching the attention of government officials in the New South Wales parliament. Remington, along with his peers John Metcalfe and William Herbert Ifould, tried to make the momentum of the movement bring tangible change, as they lobbied for the attention of senior government officials. Remington was assured by the then-Premier, B. S. B. Stevens, that a drafted bill had been approved by members of Cabinet and the legislation would be passed in 1939; however, due to the onset of World War 2, the Library Bill was deferred after weeks of it being in consideration.[4]
Remington and Ifoult continued to lobby government officials, important people in their networks, and members of the press. The movement had the strong support of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph, which brought the Bill back to the attention of Cabinet. The Library Act of 1939 was officially passed on 3 November, 1939.[4]
See Also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Library Act: Act No. 040, 1939. New South Wales Government Legislation. 1939.
- ^ Whitlam, Gough (1986). "The Munn-Pitt Report—50 Years on". The Australian Library Journal – via Routledge.
- ^ a b Whitlam, Gough. “The Munn-Pitt Report—50 Years On.” The Australian Library Journal 35, no. 1 (January 1986): 40–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.1986.10755539.
- ^ a b Maguire, Carmel. 2016. “Ifould, Remington and Metcalfe: Three Mostly Wise Men Behind the New South Wales Library Act 1939.” The Australian Library Journal 65 (1): 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2016.1126810.