This work was published by the late author in 1903, and a second, and largely remodelled, edition appeared in 1907. For some years past it has been out of print, to the loss of more recent students. The delay, however, has not been without its compensations, as librarianship has made several advances which have been generally accepted, and has made many experiments, the issue of which is not yet decided, in the twelve years since the publication of the second edition. The work has been regarded with much justice as the most comprehensive complete treatise on library economy, and is the standard to which most British libraries conform in general; indeed, it is not too much to say that the whole modern school of librarians here has been moulded by the work. When, therefore, I was asked to prepare a new edition I was faced with the question of how best to preserve its comprehensive character. I might have revised it conservatively, merely touching up the statistics, adding to the bibliographies, and correcting statements which have been modified by later experience; but that would have left the book partial and incomplete. Rightly or wrongly, I have rewritten almost every chapter, have added sections on questions touched upon only lightly or not at all in previous editions, and have omitted several statements in which strong personal views were expressed; in fact, I have tried to preserve everything that seemed to be of permanent value, to excise everything merely controversial, and to avoid obtruding any idiosyncrasies of my own. I cannot hope to have succeeded completely, and any suggestions for the improvement of future editions will be welcomed.

Both of the earlier editions retain their value for students, but the criticism which may fairly be levelled at them is that Brown rarely contemplated the needs of a library of more than 40,000 volumes, and, therefore, omitted much that is necessary in the administration of such libraries. I have tried to balance this. It is perhaps desirable to set out the particulars in which the third edition differs from the second. The following chapters have been rewritten in their entirety: IV., V., VI., XV., XVIII., XX. and XXVII. The following are new: all Divisions I., XIII. and XIV.; and Chapters VII., XXVII., XXVIII., XXIX. and XXX. Everything else has been retouched, except the chapter on museums and art galleries; that I have left, because although the librarian ought to have a knowledge of curatorship, that knowledge is not library economy; and, within its limits, the chapter is good common sense. I have dealt drastically with the bibliographies, which consisted in the main of lists of articles in library periodicals. Every library student knows that textbooks and treatises are supplemented by periodical literature, and a reference to the indexes of library journals should be an obvious thing for him to make on any subject; and seeing that we have Cannons’s Bibliography of Library Economy, 1876-1909, for the years covered by the title, and that the best articles are now indexed in the Library Association Index, it seemed sufficient to make a general reference to Cannons and otherwise restrict the lists with few exceptions to separate publications. Appendix II, “The Librarian’s Library,” has been revised by Mr Richard Wright, M.C., to whom my thanks are due. An important omission is the Appendix of “Factors and Percentages,” which gave figures for calculating the size, cost, output, etc., of libraries. This has been deliberate; the conditions created by the War are so fluid that factors which are likely to have a permanent value are impossible to compile. Brown’s Guide to Librarianship gives the pre-war factors, and it is unnecessary to reprint them here.

The Memoir is based upon the obituary notices and appreciations which were collected and edited by Mr L. Stanley Jast for The Library Association Record, the biographical facts in particular being drawn from the memoir by Brown’s nephew, Mr James Douglas Stewart, which is included in those notices. Others will share my regret that his preoccupation with his new work at Manchester prevented Mr Jast from revising this Manual. I cannot but perceive, now that my work is finished, how much better it would have been had he filled my place. A few notes, prepared by Mr Jast for Chapters I.-II., have been included.

Usually, when one has written a book, one has to acknowledge much help from other librarians, but, owing to the extraordinary circumstances in which this revision has been made, I felt that I ought not to call for help from others already overburdened. My own task has been completed under great pressure, most of the work being done between 6.30 and 8.30 a.m. My wife has saved me from many blunders, and her experience as a former member of Mr Brown’s staff has been most valuable to me.

W. C. BERWICK SAYERS

Postscript.—As the final proofs are leaving my hands I learn that the long-expected Government Bill to remove the penny rate limitation was introduced into the House of Commons by Mr Herbert Lewis and read a first time on the 28th of November. The second reading occurred on the 2nd of December, and the Bill became law on the 23rd of December 1919.

It is now practically certain that the powers in regard to Public Libraries which were held by the Local Government Board now accrue to the Ministry of Education, and, consequently, wherever the Local Government Board is mentioned in the Manual, the Ministry of Education should be understood.—W. C. B. S.

Croydon, 1919