Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Jean M. Clarke, MBE, 1928–2010

2010; Wiley; Volume: 27; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1471-1842.2010.00913.x

1471-1842

David Matthews,

Library Science and Administration

Jean Clarke, who died on 22 June 2010 at the age of 81, was the last of the original 'gang of four' who started the Hospital Libraries and Handicapped Readers (HLHR) Group of the Library Association in 1961. Mona Going was the first chairman, Ronald Sturt, vice-chairman, Mona's successor, Joy Lewis, treasurer. Jean Clarke was secretary and the third chairman of the group. They were all enthusiastic and committed people who, not entirely coincidentally, were each subsequently appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), a relatively unusual honour in the library profession. As secretary for the Group's first 4 years, Jean laid the foundations for all that followed during the next two decades and beyond. This included the merger of the HLHR Group with the Medical Section to form the Medical, Health and Welfare Libraries Group of which Jean became chairman in 1983–1984. She had been appointed librarian of St. Thomas' Hospital in 1960 in succession to Sheila Moore, who had invited Jean to help her there during her illness. Jean had already worked there between 1951 and 1955 as Sheila Moore's professional assistant, so that the library was familiar ground, a homecoming. Jean Clarke was a worthy successor to Sheila Moore who had been the inspiration for professional library services for patients in hospitals. It was she who had instigated a course of lectures in 1959 which in 1963 were published by the Library Association as the first edition of Hospital Libraries and work with the Disabled edited by Mona Going. Jean expanded the service, recruiting excellent assistants and by the time of her retirement in 1988 she had become District Librarian, West Lambeth Health Authority responsible for libraries at South Western Hospital and at Tooting Bec Psychiatric Hospital as well as the home base in St. Thomas'. She also oversaw the appointment of a professional librarian at the new Nightingale School of Nursing. Her service was seen as a centre of excellence to which students were sent for field work placement and where visits were made from library schools. Paradoxically, Jean had begun her career at Worthing Public Library in 1944 before the great post-war development of library schools and she herself qualified the hard way in her spare time. Her efforts were successful and she qualified as a Chartered Librarian by the time she had reached the minimum age of 23 in 1952. In 1950, she had moved to Coulsdon and Purley public libraries but the following year that first spell of work as a hospital librarian began. She returned to public libraries in 1955, first as Branch Librarian at Bletchley (Buckinghamshire County Libraries) and then to Hampstead (later Camden) as assistant lending librarian. This latter post had some relevance to her subsequent career as it included responsibility for the then embryonic service to the Housebound. Two years later a further change of direction led her into another pioneering field as librarian to an Inner London Comprehensive School. It was not to be her metier: the call from Sheila Moore intervened and 1960 saw her back at St. Thomas' and the dawn of a distinguished career. She had married Ron Clarke in 1959 and settled in their beautiful house and garden in Reigate. She was thus widely experienced by the time she arrived at St. Thomas' and very soon guided the new Library Association group. During those early years, besides publication of the text book, the Group had compiled and published Hospital Libraries: recommended standards for libraries in hospitals and had held annual conferences with the publication, also under the LA imprint, of their conference papers. Organising the conferences and editing the papers was, and remained, the not inconsiderable responsibility of the Hon. Secretary. I had succeeded Jean in that role under her excellent chairmanship in 1964, and after the end of her 2 years and 2 years as past-chairman, she widened her horizons by entering the international scene as secretary of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Libraries in Hospitals Sub-Section from 1969–1977 and as chairman 1977–1981. Jean's contribution to the profession continued throughout her career at St. Thomas'. These included the L.A.'s Community Services Committee and representing the LA on the British Red Cross & St. John Hospital Library Committee. She was on the advisory committee of BLOT (British Library of Tape recordings for Hospital Patients), subsequently merged with the Talking Books Library, and was a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Health Libraries Journal, the predecessor of this publication. In 1986, her outstanding achievements led to her appointment as MBE. She worked on the LA's Guidelines for library provision in the health service: a consultative document, 1978, on the 1984 IFLA Guidelines, and she edited (and largely wrote) the 4th & 5th editions of Reading for the visually handicapped [new title Can't see to read?]. She wrote the chapter 'Users with Special Needs' for British Librarianship and Information Work 1981–1985 edition and had made a small contribution to the second edition of Hospital Libraries … (1973). For the third edition, 1981 she was more largely involved, where the title page gives the editor as Mona Going 'in collaboration with Jean M. Clarke'. In that edition she had revised the chapter on 'Equipment' and had written the final chapter 'The International Scene'; the 33 items on the Reading List to that chapter included two by Jean, one of them a conference paper she had presented at the 1978 conference in Czechoslovakia. Her IFLA work led to her large and life-long circle of overseas friends. By the 4th edition, Hospital Libraries and Community Care, her name now appeared first: it was 'Clarke and Going', (LA 1990). The edition was completely reorganised with several new chapters and contributors. In the year of her retirement she edited, with Eileen Bostle, Reading Therapy (LA 1988), of which Jean had written the first chapter, an outline of the growth of Reading Therapy in the UK. The volume opened with a tribute to Wylva Partington, a former chairman of the Hospital Libraries Group, who had recently died; Jean's own tribute recalled especially their joint love of books and reading. I would want to emphasise this, for Jean never forgot what libraries are for. As a librarian serving patients especially (but also her colleagues) she knew how important it was to get the right book to the right, often vulnerable, reader. Jean's personal kindness to her staff, whether appointed by her as assistants, or as students placed so beneficially with her was outstanding. One of these, Anne Willis (Mrs. Tucker) writes: 'I would just like to contribute from a personal point of view what a marvellous boss Jean was for a young professional to have, always encouraging one to take on challenges she was confident one could cope with when one was not so sure! I think her exhortations that 'it will be good experience' must be legendary and it was a voice I could hear throughout my career! She also had a knack of encouraging one to fly the nest when the time was right without one ever feeling that she was trying to get rid of one, and I very much appreciated the ongoing relationship I had with her'. Anne adds that Jean's example and influence had led to her own involvement in the profession and she too became chairman of the Medical, Health and Welfare Libraries Group. Of course Jean Clarke could not retire! Her life in Reigate was also filled with activity of a beneficial kind. She was President in 1984 of the Reigate and District Branch of Soroptimist International, was active in National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Associations and the National Trust, organising holiday tours for local members and being very active in her local Methodist church. Jean was a lovely, a civilised and very human being and had an immense circle of friends. She enjoyed music and art and continued her life-long love of books, of which her correspondence gave ample account. There were no children but she was close to her nephew, Martyn Cox and his wife Jan and was especially supportive of his filmed World War II project which included an interview with one who had served at the D-day landings with his father, Jean's brother. After her husband Ron Clarke died in 2007, she travelled very widely and was disappointed that the onset of her illness had prevented a holiday to Libya for Leptis Magna. Writing to me at that time she said that she had no fear of the future as she had a great Christian Faith. She was a devoted and extremely active member of the Methodist church wherever she had lived and in Reigate for her funeral the church was attended by many grieving friends who were celebrating a life full of joy and good works.