Milestones of the 1960's
Financial economies still dogged progress in the early 1960's, when in 1961/2 the library rate was reduced from 5½d. to 5d. (2½p), with corresponding reductions in books, staff and hours of opening. Saturday early closing at 5 was the final straw for the local Union of Shop Workers, who lodged a formal complaint because their members were being deprived of the choice of library use. Reading rooms were so much missed when they closed for a day each week that volunteers from the W.V.S. at Cowes and members of the Borough Surveyor's staff at Ryde rallied to re-instate the lost day by taking duty rostas. The restricted hours at Newport in the lending library took a toll of book issues - down 5% adult and 17% children.
Tangible progress was made at least in two directions.
Relationships between the county and Sandown/Shanklin Urban District Council improved when they at last agreed on a mutual interchange of library tickets from April, 1962. In Ryde the County Architect's plans for the conversion of the former School of Art to a library was announced, at a preliminary estimate of £24,000.
During internal re-decoration at Newport in 1964, an interesting historical find was made. Men taking down the old counter came upon the date January 1st, 1904, with the names of the carpenters who built it written on the wood. They had dismantled the counter built ready for the opening of the Seely Library, and it had been in use for 60 years.
1964 seemed destined for historical milestones. HATRICS, the co-operative scheme for technical, scientific and commercial information, in which the Isle of Wight County Library was to enter as a partner, began. Excavations in the foundations of the old School of Art in Ryde revealed a bottle containing coins and newspapers of 1874, laid under the foundation stone by the Crown Princess of Germany. These relics were to be re-deposited in the structure of the new library.
But by far the most important happening of that 60th Anniversary year was the passing of the Public Libraries and Museums Act, 1964, which for the first time removed the requirement of county councils to delegate their library powers to education committees. Several mainland counties opted to keep their libraries under education control. Wisely, the Island County Council chose to give its library independent status; although the newly-founded committee felt that its new responsibilities should be stretched fully by taking under its wing also the department of the Honorary County Archivist, Edward Earl.Thus on October 1st, 1965, the Libraries and Records Committee began its (relatively short) life of 9 years, which would end as a result of far more dramatic legislation.
The transition of powers from sub-committee to new committee was happily marked by the opening of the new Ryde Library by the Governor, the Earl Mountbatten, on October 14th, 1965. It was the last really prestigious landmark for some time, because the last 5 years of the 1960's were to be marred by setbacks. Predictably, the new Ryde Library brought a 33% increase in borrowers, and 50% more books were issued. But this in turn brought problems of pressures, and there were barely enough staff to go round, either at Ryde or, it seemed, at library headquarters. "One of the difficulties in attracting and retaining staff," said Frederick Green in December, 1965, "is the irregular hours and the uncertainty about periods of duty because of rostas [being] changed on leave, sickness or resignation."
Right through 1966 and 1967 there were backlogs and delays. Books were held up awaiting processing; the local collection was neglected; inadequate issue figures for books at schools did not help; there was concern over losses from non-recoverable overdue loans; and undue amounts of time had to be spent on compiling statistics for the insatiable appetite of the Department of Education, which increasingly was pre-occupied with standards.
1966 trivia such as a falling cornice at Ventnor, scratches on the new travelling van from overhanging trees, and a ceiling-light fire and staff purse thefts at Ryde, only added to the ongoing catalogue of misfortunes. It is perhaps not surprising that when the Sandown/Shanklin in question was again raised, the Urban District Council were adamant about retaining their library powers - particularly as their library expenditure per head as early as 1963/4 was 10d. (4½p) more than that of the county. In 1966/7, twenty-six other public libraries of a similar size spent more per head on books than the Isle of Wight.
Pleas by the County Librarian for some alleviation of the burdens of inadequate resources and insufficient staff resulted, in April, 1968, in a far-ranging work-study report. Its recommendations were for fundamental changes in staff deployment and re-allocation; and these changes were in the course of being made when Frederick Green died suddenly on November 15th, 1969.
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