Public libraries have developed and broadened their role greatly since their inception in 1850. One man who influenced developments from his first appointment as a junior assistant in Tottenham library in 1925 to being Director of Libraries and Museums for the borough from 1945 until 1965, was Tottenham-schooled A.W. McClellan. Known as ‘Mac’ to colleagues and friends, "he was a man with ideas who, unusually, put them into practice, tested and proved them."

McClellan was known in libraries world-wide for his ‘Tottenham Experiment’ - a research survey on reading, assisted by the Mass Observation.

So, what influenced ‘Mac’, what were these ideas, and how are they reflected in our libraries today?

Join us for an illustrated talk by Keith McClellan, about his newly-published book about the life and work of his father, A.W. McClellan (1908-1985).

Copies of the book will be available for sale.

Kindly supported by the Friends of Bruce Castle.