THE WELLINGTON LIBRARY

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 146, 17 March 1934, Page 6

THE WELLINGTON LIBRARY

An attempt is to be made by internal structural alterations to add a little more space to the already over-taxed accommodation, of the Wellington City Public Library. It is stated that the building shows definite signs of having been strained.by the recent earthquake, and that the alterations may help to brace it against future stresses. The question arises whether it might not be much better business, and better provision for the future, to build a new library. The present building is quite inadequate for a city like Wellington, and it has previously suffered from earthquake strain. Sooner or later one will have to be provided more commensurate with the dignity of the capital city. It is impossible to give adequate library service in such cramped quarters. Some idea of the present condition of the library is given in a news article which is published in another column to-day. Making every allowance for the present financial stringency, it must be plain that this condition calls for action. The original plan of the present building provided for twice the accommodation. That was over 40 years ago, and the growth of population and the consequent demands upon library accommodation, both for books and visitors, have greatly outgrown the facilities. The scheme propounded by Mr. G. A. Troup when Mayor, for a reconstruction of the entire civic block, included the provision of a new library building. Is there not some way in which that could be provided, even though the larger scheme may be for the present beyond the city’s means?