He was involved in the establishment and development of the Australian Institute of Librarians (AIL), the Free Library Movement and education for librarianship in Australia.

[1] Metcalfe married Thelma Constance Vagg on 3 March 1934 at St Matthew's Church of England, Manly.

[4][5] This paper was given to Ralph Munn and Ernest Pitt who had been funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1934 to tour and inspect Australian libraries and to publish their report.

[4][6] In July 1934 Metcalfe was offered a travel grant of £2,000 by the Carnegie Corporation which allowed him to inspect libraries in the USA and Great Britain.

[1] In 1947 Metcalfe represented Australia at the second United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization general conference in Mexico City, chairing a working party on public libraries.

[1][12] Metcalfe opposed censorship, appearing before the Supreme Court of Queensland in a case involving 'objectionable' comics in 1955.