Education
The young Chaplin was educated at Bedford Modern School and later studied Latin at the University of London.
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Arthur Chaplin
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In 1963, he was the first non-American recipient of the Margaret Mann Citation in Cataloguing and Classification for ‘his masterly preparation of the Draft Statement of Principles which showed creative insight into universal conditions of bibliographical entry’ and would form the basis of an international agreement reached at the International Federation of Library Associations Conference on Cataloguing Principles held in Paris in 1961. Arthur Hugh Chaplin was born in Bexhill-on-Sea on 17 April 1905. After his degree he obtained a Diploma of The School of Librarianship and Archives at University College London.
He was demonstrably adept at modern languages and used his skills to great effect as a later interpreter at international cataloguing conferences.
Chaplin’s career in librarianship began at the university libraries of Reading and Belfast. He joined the British Museum in 1930 as its Assistant Keeper and was promoted to Deputy Keeper of Printed Books in 1956.
In 1959 he was made Principal Keeper of Printed Books and later took charge of the public services of the British Museum Library. In 1963, he was the first non-American recipient of the Margaret Mann Citation in Cataloguing and Classification for ‘his masterly preparation of the Draft Statement of Principles which showed creative insight into universal conditions of bibliographical entry’ and would form the basis of an international agreement reached at the International Federation of Library Associations Conference on Cataloguing Principles held in Paris in 1961.
Chaplin was made a Fellow of University College, London in 1969 and Companion Order of the Bath in 1970.
Chaplin died in London on 24 December 1996.
Achievements
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Often known as Hugh Chaplin, he was a prolific author in the fields of librarianship and cataloguing, working hard to achieve an international standard for cataloguing through participation in the major international conferences of his time. Chaplin was a prolific author in the fields of librarianship and cataloguing, working hard to achieve an international standard for cataloguing through participation in the international conferences of his time.
