OVERSEAS TOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 58, 9 March 1936, Page 9

OVERSEAS TOUR.

ATJSTRAUAN LIBRARIAN

Librarian of one of the largest municipal libraries in Victoria and of the largest public library in that State, Mi'. Alfred E. McMicken, of Praliran, honorary aeeretai'v of the Library Association of Victoria, was a passenger by the Mariposa, which arrived at Auckland on Saturday. Mr. McMicken has accepted an invitation from the Carnegie Corporation of Nsw York to visit the principal libraries in America and Great Britain, and he will be absent from Australia until September next.

Mr. McMicken said that lie had read the report on New Zealand libraries which was issued recently by Mr. Munn, of the Carnegie Corporation, and was much impressed with the development of public libraries in New Zealand. He was interested in the possibility of the

introduction of rate-supported libraries in Australia. In Victoria they had a system of free lending libraries, though they were not yet quite the vogue in other Stp.tes in the Commonwealth. They possessed 20 libraries in Victoria which were essentially free. Mr. McMicken added that he was particularly interested in children's libraries, which he understood were very greatly established in the United States and' England, and in the course of his tour he proposed to make a study of this particular branch of library work. There were about six children's libraries in Victoria, and the Prahran Library was the founder of the movement in this connection.