![William H](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/William_H._Ifould_A1528180r.jpg)
William Herbert Ifould
OBE (28 August 1877 – 6 April 1969) was an Australian librarian and floriculturalist who was instrumental in the development of library services in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. He was the Principal Librarian at the Public Library of New South Wales (now State Library of New South Wales) from 1912 until his retirement in 1942.
Early life
William Ifould was born at
One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to:
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* ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song
** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...
near
Gawler, South Australia
Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...
on 28 August 1877. He was the son of Edward Lomer Ifould and Marion Burn Ifould, née Cameron.
He attended the Sturt Street School and Norwood State School in Adelaide before winning a scholarship to the Adelaide Collegiate School.
He attended the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
from 1902–07.
He married Carrie Eugenie Foale on 5 March 1907.
Career
William Ifould began his library career as a cadet at the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia in 1892. He held a number of different positions over twenty years at the Library and in 1905 was appointed Principal Librarian.
He introduced the
Dewey Decimal classification system to the Library, overseeing a twelve-year project reclassifying the collections.
On his departure from Adelaide, Ifould gave a revealing interview to journalists from
''The Advertiser'' newspaper indicating he had experienced a challenging working relationship with the board of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia.
Ifould had a lifelong interest in horticulture. He founded the National Rose Society of New South Wales in 1912, wrote a gardening column in the ''
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*''Evening News'', an alternate name for '' News Hour'' in so ...
'' for many years, and in his spare time developed an orange orchard at
Waikerie
Waikerie ( ) is a rural town in the Riverland region of South Australia on the south bank of the Murray River. At the , Waikerie had a population of 2,684. The Sturt Highway passes to the south of the town at the top of the cliffs. There is a c ...
in South Australia. He was passionate about architecture and the arts, and for 39 years served as a trustee on the Board of the
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
.
Ifould was active in
Rotary International
Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...
, representing Australia at the International Rotary Convention in St. Louis in June 1923.
At the Public Library of New South Wales
In 1912 the Trustees of the
Public Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establi ...
recommended Ifould to the Minister and he was appointed to the position of Principal Librarian of the Public Library of New South Wales (now
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...
) a position he held from 1912 until his retirement in 1942.
When Ifould took up his position at the Library, the new Mitchell Library building had recently opened in 1910
while the public library remained in a building on Bent Street.
The poor state of the Bent Street building was noted in Library Annual Reports
and debated in the local press. As the collections grew in the 1920s the conditions at the library became very crowded in both the Mitchell Wing and the Bent Street building. The Mitchell wing had been designed as the first instalment of a proposed National Library.
William Ifould cultivated the interest of Sir
William Dixson
Sir William Dixson (18 April 1870 – 17 August 1952) was an Australian businessman, collector and benefactor who bequeathed his collection of over 20,000 items of Australiana to the State Library of New South Wales, forming the ''Dixson Libr ...
as a library benefactor. Dixson, a wealthy bachelor with an interest in collecting paintings, manuscripts and an extensive Australiana collection, had a long association with the Library. In 1919 Dixson wrote to Ifould, offering his pictures collection to the NSW Government if they would provide a suitable space for them to be stored and displayed. Ifould persistently advocated the completion of the library building to the government.
In 1924 Ifould provided information to a ''Sydney Morning Herald'' journalist about the value of Sir William's collection and the importance of it being accepted by the Government and housed in a new wing of the Mitchell Library building. In 1925 the Library Trustees reported that work was to begin on the new sections of the library building.
Ifould oversaw the design and construction of the next stages of the
Mitchell Library
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.
History
The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...
, the basement section to house the Country Circulation Department in 1928, the Dixson Wing which opened in 1929 and the central portion and entrance which was completed in 1942 to house the general reference collection.
The plans for the enlarged and remodelled central portion and north-east wing were prepared by the Government Architect, Cobden Parkes, with advice from Ifould and
Nita Kibble
Nita Kibble (1879–1962) was the first woman to be a librarian with the State Library of New South Wales. She held the position of Principal Research Librarian from 1919 until her retirement in 1943. Kibble was a founding member of the Austra ...
the Principal Research Officer at the Library.
Ifould was very involved in the design and decoration of the Library.
Ifould also oversaw the establishment of the Research Department of the General Reference Library in 1919–20 as an extension of the reading room reference service
creating a library service that was accessible to the public, including people living in country areas not just to researchers and scholars. Ifould built the reputation of the Library as a leading institution in the Commonwealth for collecting records and documents relating to Australian history.
As Principal Librarian during World War I, William Ifould recognised the significance of the personal stories of Australian servicemen in World War I to the nation's historical record. In December 1918 he launched ''
The European War Collecting Project''. Ifould placed newspaper advertisements around Australia, New Zealand and in the United Kingdom seeking diaries, letters, photographs and related material from servicemen and their families to be deposited in the library collection. Approximately 500 diaries were collected by the Library through the campaign.
The New South Wales Library Act 1939
There were very few free public libraries available to the people of New South Wales in the early years of the twentieth century. Different types of subscription libraries, including mechanics institutes, schools of arts and some commercial lending libraries were the only option in many communities. Several municipal libraries had begun only to close down and by the 1930s there were only two free lending libraries which served the people of Broken Hill and Sydney.
In 1934, at the instigation of the
Australian Council for Educational Research
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), established in 1930, is an independent educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria (Melbourne) and with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Dubai, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Lond ...
the
Carnegie Corporation of New York
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
funded two commissioners,
Ralph Munn
Ralph W. Munn (September 19, 1894 – January 2, 1975) was an eminent figure in the field of American and international library and information science. Recognized by the journal ''American Libraries'' as one of "100 of the most important leaders ...
and E. R. Pitt, to tour and inspect Australian libraries and to publish their report. The Munn-Pitt report examined the differences between regional library networks in Australia and the United States of America and England. The report was highly critical of the state of libraries across the country. The main recommendations from the Munn–Pitt report were the strengthening and growth of the profession of librarianship in Australia through the establishment of a library association to raise the status of trained library staff; fostering the National Library's development; combined state-municipal libraries in all capital cities except Sydney; the establishment of rate-supported municipal free libraries outside the capital cities, with continued state government subsidies; the establishment of district or regional library services covering small towns and rural areas. Not all of the Munn–Pitt recommendations were adopted, however two of these recommendations were priorities for William Ifould "to establish tax-supported municipal 'free libraries'; and to strengthen and extend librarianship by professionalising the training and registration of librarians."
In New South Wales, the Munn–Pitt report was the impetus for the establishment of a lobbying group. William Ifould addressed a public meeting held on 26 June 1935 in
Chatswood where the
Free Library Movement
Free may refer to:
Concept
* Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything
* Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism
* Emancipate, to procure ...
(FLM) was established.
They enlisted a range of high-profile supporters and created a publicity campaign which included distributing transcripts of a speech by Geoffrey Cochrane Remington, a prominent Sydney solicitor, an address by Mrs Hubert Fairfax to the
Country Women's Association
The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...
in 1937 together with several radio interviews all promoting the introduction of public libraries.
A visiting Carnegie scholar, Hartley Grattan, also published a leaflet ''Libraries: a necessity for democracy'' in 1938 supporting the free public library cause.
In response to the lobbying of the Free Library Movement the Minister for Education, D. H. Drummond, established the Libraries Advisory Committee which was chaired by William Ifould.
The Committee prepared a report which was adopted in principle by the New South Wales Cabinet in January 1939 and led to the preparation of a ''Library Bill''. Some of the Munn-Pitt report recommendations, including the establishment of free public libraries in every local council area, were enshrined in the ''Library Bill'',
which Ifould and Deputy Principal Librarian John Wallace Metcalfe helped to draft.
The progress of these activities was interrupted in September 1939 by the outbreak of World War II. In September 1939, Cabinet deferred the introduction of the ''Library Bill'' into Parliament. The Free Library Movement continued to lobby the government. Ifould approached members of the exclusive
Australian Club
The Australian Club is a private club founded in 1838 and located in Sydney at 165 Macquarie Street. Its membership is men-only and it is the oldest gentlemen's club in the southern hemisphere.
"The Club provides excellent dining facilities, ...
winning their support along with other businessmen and newspaper editors.
Ifould suggested to the Minister that the Act could be passed but the financial clauses deferred, adding that "If the Government drops the ''Library Bill'' at this stage every important metropolitan newspaper will hammer it as showing no courage or leadership. I will give the newspapers all the pabulum they require for such a campaign. I must, of course, first resign from the service."
Cabinet met on 10 October 1939 agreeing to introduce the Bill into Parliament while suspending the financial provisions. The Library Bill passed through the New South Wales Parliament on 3 November 1939 with bipartisan support.
The involvement of Australia in World War II delayed the full implementation of the ''Library Act 1939'' until Premier William McKell announced that the Act would be fully proclaimed, including the financial clauses, taking effect from 1 January 1944. Municipalities began to introduce public library services, with 32 councils adopting the Act by the middle of 1945.
Another of the Munn–Pitt report recommendations, that professional training be made available for librarians, was also implemented by Ifould when a Library School was established at the Public Library of New South Wales in 1939. It also experienced an interruption due to World War II and was suspended during 1940 but reopened in 1941.
Australian Institute of Librarians
During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
awareness of social and political issues had grown in Australia, including censorship and the
freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
. As a profession, librarians responded by establishing the
Australian Institute of Librarians (AIL). Fifty-five librarians attended the inaugural meeting of the AIL in Canberra on 20 August 1937 to form the association. William Ifould was elected as the foundation president (1937–38).
John Metcalfe wrote that they believed in access to "the best that has been and is being thought and said, pictured and played, written and read by our people, and throughout the world"
Later life
Following his retirement from the library in February 1942, Ifould was appointed Deputy Director of the Department of War Organisation of Industry in New South Wales.
William Ifould died on 6 April 1969. He was survived by one son,
Edward Lister Ifould, but his two younger sons were killed in action in World War II.
Honours and awards
![Portrait bust of William Ifould](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Portrait_bust_of_William_Ifould.jpg)
* In 1921 he was made an honorary member of the Institute of Architects of New South Wales.
* In 1928 he was awarded the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
.
* Ifould received a Carnegie travel grant in 1936.
* He was elected a Fellow of the Library Association (UK) in 1939.
* A bronze bust of Ifould by sculptor
Arthur Fleischmann
Arthur Fleischmann (1896, Bratislava2 March 1990, Tenerife) was a Slovak-born, London-based sculptor, who pioneered the use of perspex in sculpture. He spent time in Bali, and in Australia, where he was at the centre of the Merioola Group, before ...
, a gift from the library staff, was placed in the vestibule of the Public Library of New South Wales.
* He was made a Foundation Fellow of the
Library Association of Australia
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. F ...
in 1963.
The Ifould Medal was established in 2013, in honour of William Ifould. The medal is awarded by the Library Council of New South Wales for distinguished achievement as a professional librarian, archivist or curator consistent with the ideals and objectives of the
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...
.
See also
*
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...
*
List of Australian diarists of World War I
This is a list of Australian diarists of World War I including Australian servicemen and women, other Australians associated with the armed forces, and those who remained in Australia.
Personal diaries
Many soldiers chose to keep a diary to d ...
*
Henry Charles Lennox Anderson
Henry Charles Lennox (H.C.L.) Anderson (10 May 1853 – 17 March 1924) was instrumental in the establishment of the Mitchell Library (now The State Library of New South Wales) and held the position of Principal Librarian of the New South Wales F ...
*
Ralph Munn
Ralph W. Munn (September 19, 1894 – January 2, 1975) was an eminent figure in the field of American and international library and information science. Recognized by the journal ''American Libraries'' as one of "100 of the most important leaders ...
*
Jean Arnot
Jean Fleming Arnot MBE (23 April 1903 – 27 September 1995) was an Australian librarian, trade unionist, activist for equal pay for women and feminist. She worked at the State Library of New South Wales from 1921 until her retirement in 1968. ...
*
Nita Kibble
Nita Kibble (1879–1962) was the first woman to be a librarian with the State Library of New South Wales. She held the position of Principal Research Librarian from 1919 until her retirement in 1943. Kibble was a founding member of the Austra ...
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ifould, William Herbert
1877 births
1969 deaths
Australian librarians
Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Directors and Presidents of the Art Gallery of New South Wales