STORYBOOKS FOR CHILDREN

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28794, 15 January 1959, Page 7

STORYBOOKS FOR CHILDREN

Christinas Holidays At Library

Holidays or no holidays, storybooks still hold their enchantment for children, and the librarians in the Christchurch children’s library are ready to bear witness to this. Holiday time is no slack time for them; the volume of books handled may not be as high as in the depths of winter, but the librarians have a lot of extra jobs to do. From 500 to 600 books a day are being issued at the children’s branch of the public library now, compared with about 800 a day in winter. Most of the children who regularly use the library are on holiday, but their places have been taken by those who are on visits to Christchurch. Holidaymakers need not go without the books they want; they can take out free membership in the library for their time here, provided they have an adult to certify for them. Many of these “temporary” members come back year after year, said one librarian. The cards are kept, so that if they stay with a favourite aunt in Christchurch each Christmas they need not go short of books. Normal Hours The library is open normal hours, from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., for the holidays, but librarians have found that they are busy at different times from those of the school term. Most of the children, and their parents, come in in the mornings or early afternoon. During the school term most of the customers come in after 3.30 p.m. The books read in the holidays differ too. During the school year, children take out many books on history, geography and other school subjects to help them with projects, but in holidays, their tastes differ strongly. Storybooks are much more popular. Books on hobbies and sports also show an increase in circulation. More children appear to be interested in nature study, too. Normally children over five are permitted to take out only two books, and those under five can take out one, but the library has relaxed these restrictions for the Christmas holidays. Every child is allowed to take out three books at a time, and they are also allowed to take them out for four weeks, instead of the normal two, if they wish to.