John's Gospel: Metcalfe and the Writing of Australian Library History (original) (raw)

John Wallace Metcalfe (1901-1982) played a major role in the Australian Institute of Librarians (AIL, later the Library Association of Australia, LAA, now the Australian Library and Information Association, ALIA). He promoted the development of free public libraries, led education for librarianship in Australia and made significant contributions to the theory and practice of librarianship. This account of the controversy regarding the role of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in library development illustrates how Metcalfe’s published works, reminiscences, interviews, manuscripts and diaries have helped perpetuate his subjective view of Australian library history in the twentieth century.