An Interview with Thomas Kelly (1909-1992)

Thomas Kelly has published a great deal of history and historical biography: a history of adult education in Great Britain, a biography of George Birkbeck, founder of the Mechanics' Institutes, and more recently he has turned his attention to library history, with Early public libraries (London: Library Association, 1966) and now his seminal History of public libraries in Great Britain from 1845 to 1975 (London: Library Association, 1973), the most comprehensive so far attempted. We surely think of Tom Kelly as the doyen of public library historians. I would like now to talk to him firstly about his own career, and secondly about his views on the writing of history, the practical problems and perhaps also the philosophy behind it.