Parochial Libraries: Compiling a Directory, and its Aftermath

A short account of the background and origin of the 1959 report on parochial libraries is followed by particulars of the scope, sources, methodology, and field trip experiences of the revision process. A few hitherto unrecorded collections are described, and some remarks in conclusion draw attention to changing circumstances and tendencies, good and bad, especially relating to the deposit of collections since the publication of the second edition of the directory in 2004.