THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 134, 9 June 1930, Page 6

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

The annual report of the chief librarian tells the public what everybody interested in the institution has known for a long while, that the central library is seriously overcrowded. One has only to use the library a little to see that the limit of congestion has been reached. Though the present is not the most opportune time to propose that the necessary extension be 'provided, the City Council will have to do its duty by the library sooner or latex'. The library does not exist merely to .provide fiction for the public of Auckland. Apart from the encouraging fact that the demand for non-fictional works in the lending library is increasing, there is the reference library to consider. A good central reference library is essential to a city, and the present one is seriously cramped. It should also be remembered that Auckland is fortunate in possessing special collections of books, the value of which often astonishes visitors. Then there is the old colonists' museum, a most interesting and valuable link with the early days, frhis should be steadily extended, but at present it also is congested. The obvious solution is to extend the library into the portion of the buildings now occupied by. the Art Gallery. This involves a decision about the future of the gallery, whether it is to remain on the present site or not, and the Council must consider this question before long.