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THE “pioneer” of this study is A. W. McClellan (Mac) who was particularly -associated with Tottenham, London where he developed and applied his ideas on public library services and the importance of reading. His model of service became known as “service
in depth” and in parallel he developed a management scheme to deal with book stock logistics. The biography is by Mac’s son Keith and covers in detail Mac’s professional and private life from his boyhood during the First World War
to his death in 1985.
Realising that his father was an important original thinker and advocate, the author presents a commendably researched and readable account. There is skilled use of local government
(and other official) records for professional matters and family letters/documents for personal or family things. They were clearly a family who kept stuff in retrievable order. He also has an excellent memory for important events
in his father’s life.
A major focus of the book is Tottenham where he built a team of dedicated staff. Alongside this, it deals with his family life, pacifist views, his practical skills and a range of family events. In 1964
London had a huge reorganisation of local government, including the creation of Haringey and the loss of Tottenham’s separate identity. Mac did not get the “top post” and this was clearly a major disappointment and setback to him.
Fortunately, however, by the late 1960s he was appointed to a research-based lectureship at the College of Librarianship Wales in Aberystwyth. Recognising the importance of his work, the college gave him time to research, develop and
publish his theories and ideas.
Those who remember Mac will find this a fitting tribute to his life and achievements. But anyone interested in public library history and development will find this of value and interest. His
ideas on service design and staff deployment have had a pervasive effect over the years and several commentators see the potential of Mac’s logistical model for book stock in an age of modern computers.
Malcolm F. Tunley Aberystwyth
Public Library Pioneer McClellan, K. Public Library Pioneer. Privately published, 2017. 139 pp. ISBN: 978 1 9107 7936 1. £9.99.
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