Clyde Taylor at Ninety

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 28, 1 January 1995, Page 91

Clyde Taylor at Ninety

An Appreciation by Sheila Williams

Clyde Romer Hughes Taylor, Chief Librarian of the Alexander Turnbull Library from April 1937 to August 1963, has this year celebrated his ninetieth birthday.

Prior to being appointed to the position of Assistant Librarian at the Turnbull in 1933, he had gained an MA with honours and a Diploma in Journalism while working for the Lands and Survey Department in Christchurch. He moved to Wellington in 1929 to take up the position of Librarian in the Department of Agriculture. The award of a Carnegie Fellowship in 1934 enabled him to study at the Michigan Library School and to visit notable overseas libraries.

When the original Turnbull Librarian, Johannes C. Andersen, retired in 1937, Mr Taylor was appointed to the position of Chief Librarian. Drawing on his overseas experiences, he initiated a number of changes to make the library more available to the general public. Instead of the front door being locked and users having to knock to be admitted, the door of what is now Turnbull House was left open to encourage readers. During the time he was in charge, the staff increased from four to 23 and such specialised collections as the Photograph Collection were developed. Other notable achievements during his time as Librarian included the formation of The Friends of the Turnbull Library and the establishment of a publication programme in order to make the resources of the Library better known; he was instrumental in the establishment of the Turnbull Library Record.

As well as his position in the Library, he was closely involved with other organisations, most notably the Polynesian Society, of which he was secretary for nearly twenty years, compiler of several editions of the Index to the Journal of the Polynesian Society, and editor of the Journal. The Polynesian Society published the first edition of his important bibliographic compilation A Pacific Bibliography: Printed Matter relating to the Native Peoples of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia (Wellington, 1951). Clarendon Press (Oxford) published a second edition in 1965.

A keen interest in numismatics led to his election as a fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and his editorship of the Numismatic Journal, and he served as the New Zealand Secretary of the Hakluyt Society for over twenty years. He also worked part-time for 14 years as Assistant Film Censor. In 1960, he was awarded a Nuffield-Rockefeller United States Government Travel Fellowship, which enabled him to carry out further research abroad, and he was elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Library Association in 1962.

Following his retirement from the Library, he accepted a part-time position as librarian of the National Council for Adult Education and remained there for ten years, during which time he compiled Continuing Education in New Zealand: A Bibliography of Published Material (Wellington, 1975).

Among his other publications are four editions olThe Gothic Beauties and History of the Canterbury Provincial Buildings, and the pamphlets Milestones and Fifteen Great Names in New Zealand History. Bibliography of Publications on the New Zealand Maori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands (Oxford, 1972) is a revised and updated version of the New Zealand and Maori sections of th Bibliography.

Clyde Taylor is essentially a bibliophile. His detailed knowledge of typography, paper manufacture, and book-binding enabled him to confirm the authenticity of works or to spot possible forgeries. He performed this service for members of the public as well as for the Library although his advice to eager owners that their supposedly priceless manuscript was in reality a later copy was not always well received! Described on his retirement as a man who was dedicated to books without being bookish, he is a practical man, who turned his hand to book-binding and repair work when necessary. For many years, he serviced the small hand-cranked Gestetner used to reproduce the library’s catalogue cards. He also maintained a large garden, kept bees, and serviced his own car.

Clyde Taylor’s thirty years as Assistant and Chief Librarian have played a large part in making the Alexander Turnbull Library what it is today. We wish him well in his ninetieth year.