QUALIFICATIONS FIRST.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1932, Page 11

QUALIFICATIONS FIRST.

. Miss M. R. ?J f Edwards is the first woman.guide-lecturer to be appointed by the trustees of the British Museum and the .first guide-lecturer of either sex.' to be taken on the. permanent’and, pensionable. state of the Civil Service. Coupled with her appointment, the experiment is being initiated of starting weekly lectures by members of the scientific staff of the museum. Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith, .secretary of the Natural History Museum, said to a representative -of the “Observer”: “The selection of Miss Edwards" was not made on the ground that a woman was necessarily preferable for such a post, but because she was the best qualified of the applicants. She has been spending some months studying the exhibits in the galleries in preparation for the course of lectures which will be given. Normally she will lecture twice every week-day, at 12 noon, and at 3 in the afternoon, but she will also take parties of visitors by special arrangement at other times, since we have frequent requests from schools and natural history societies for special instruction for parties of their members.. Last year the guide-lecturer’s tours were attended by some 12,533 members of the public.”