§ Mr. Hamlingasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on his policy with regard to the separate units of the British Museum Library.
§ Mr. Gordon Walker:Final decisions about our national libraries, including the British Museum Library, must await the recommendations of the Dainton Cornmittee, which will be based on a study of users' needs. Reports that it is the Government's aim to break up the collections are entirely without foundation.
456WThere will be consultations between the Government and the institutions and others concerned about the Committee's recommendations. Subject to what may emerge from the report and these consultations, there are some obvious advantages in uniting those parts of the library now separated from each other. Decisions on the number of books to be stored in central London must also await the Committee's report.