b.
Cardiff
,
11 June 1874
, son of
William
Farr
, a native of
Salisbury
, and
Martha Rebecca
(
Harris
)
, his wife. His mother died in
Dec. 1875
, after giving birth to twin sons who also died in the same month. It appears that
William
Farr
enrolled after the death of his wife as a student in the
Cardiff Science and Art School
. The
Annual Report
for
1880-81
records that he was one of two senior students who had been appointed
pupil teachers
, and in the following session he was promoted to be
art master
. In the meantime his young son,
Harry
, was sent to
Salisbury
to be educated. He joined the staff of the
Cardiff Free Library
, as it was then called, in
1891
, was appointed
Assistant in charge of the Reference Department
in
1896
and
Deputy Librarian
in
1901
. In
1908
he succeeded as
Chief Librarian
John
Ballinger
(
DWB
, 23-4)
who left to become the first
Librarian
of the
National Library of Wales
. During his 32 years’ tenure of office
Farr
continued and extended the enlightened policies of his predecessor. Two new branch libraries were built at
Gabalfa
(
1928
) and
Ely
(
1933
), six older branches were extended and children's halls provided where such had not previously existed; public lending centres were provided in schools at
Ely
,
Llanishen
,
Llandaff North
and
Rumney
to serve areas which boundary changes had brought within the city's jurisdiction. In
1925
a bindery was established at the
Central Library
for the binding of periodicals and the repair and restoration of rare books and manuscripts. By
1940
the lending department of the
Central Library
had been rearranged and reorganised. When the collections of the
Cardiff Museum
, previously housed on the top floor of the
Central Library
were transferred to the
National Museum of Wales
, it was decided in
1923
to make use of the vacant space to
establish a Research Room for the use of students and others wishing to consult the Library's manuscripts and rare books
. The provision of these research facilities together with the construction of a fire-proof strongroom led the
Master of the Rolls
to recognise the
Cardiff Central Library
in
1931
as a repository for historical records. At the same time the policy of allocating part of the annual book fund for purchasing manuscripts, deeds, documents, prints and early printed books was vigorously pursued.
N.R.
Ker
in his
Medieval MSS in British Libraries
(
1992
) lists 32 valuable MSS purchased by the
Cardiff Library
,
1920-36
. In the acquisition of MSS and other expensive items
Farr
was greatly helped by benefactors who either donated or provided the funds to purchase valuable collections, for example, the famous
Havod collection of MSS
, the cost of the purchase of which was defrayed by
Mr.
Edgar
Evans
of
Ely
in
1918
.
To
Farr
and his staff belongs the credit for organising the
Welsh Book Festivals
which were held each year
from 1930 to 1939
in the
City Hall
Cardiff
, usually in the weeks before and after
St. David's Day
. The productions of
Welsh
book publishers were put on display, books, prints and manuscripts from the
Cardiff Library
Welsh
collections were exhibited, as well as valuable items lent by other libraries and private collectors. Each year a different aspect of
Welsh
life and letters was taken as a theme and catalogues were produced which served to bring to the attention of a wide public the richness of the
Welsh
cultural heritage.
A library service to hospitals in the city was commenced in
1931
. In
1932
the
Regional Library Scheme for Wales
was inaugurated and thanks to
Farr
's efforts
Cardiff
was selected as the
Regional Centre for Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire
. Mention should also be made of the public lectures which he organised at the
Cardiff Central Library
and of the many book
exhibitions he arranged, apart from the
Welsh Book Festival
already mentioned, in particular the
Bible Exhibition
in
1911
, the
Exhibition of Early Printed Books
in
1913
and the
Exhibition of Shakespeariana
in
1923
, all of which were accompanied by valuable catalogues.
Farr
was a well-known figure in the Library world. He became an
F.L.A.
in
1910
and served on the
Library Association Council
. In the course of his career he
wrote a number of articles and pamphlets on different aspects of librarianship
including
Libraries in Rural Districts
(
1909
) and
Library Work with Children
(
1910
). He was recognised as a
bibliographer
of repute and an acknowledged
authority on incunabula and early printed books
, the editions of
Shakespeare
and the productions of private presses. He possessed a keen and lively mind and was not afraid to experiment. He even devised a decimal classification of his own, which was in use in the Library until the development of centralised cataloguing led to it being abandoned.
When
Farr
retired in
1940
the
Cardiff City Library Service
was recognised as one of the finest in the country and the
Central Library
as one of the great municipal libraries of
Great Britain
. But it was not only a municipal library. Its reference department, open till 9 o'clock in the evening, was used by readers beyond the confines of the city. Its
Welsh
collections served the needs of students throughout
Wales
.
Harry
Farr
m. in
1913
Elsie Olive
Davies
, a member of his staff, who predeceased him. They had five children, three sons and two daughters. He d.
19 Jan. 1968
.
