PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 128, 27 November 1934, Page 7

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

SHOULD BE FREE iS

NEW ZEALAND'S NEED

. "The free public library as it exists la Great Britain and the United States is- almost unknown in New, Zealand," says the report on the New Zealand Libraries prepared by Mr. Ealph Munn, director of the Carnegie Library at Pittsburgh-and Mr. John Barr, chief librarian of the Auckland public libraries. "With rare exceptions, public libraries in New Zealand aire subscription libraries with,borrowing privileges limited to members. Fees vary greatly, the average annual charge being about ten shillings for the privilege of borrowing ono volume and one magazine at a time. The fee far children is frequently less, and in some cases it is as low as one shilling a year. "To qualify as a public institution for the receipt of municipal rates or grants, public libraries always provide a free Teading room which, with the exception of the larger libraries, usually contains only a selection of newspapers and a few out-of-date popular periodicals. An atmosphere of cheerless charity usually. ,pervades these rooms. They 'are severer ly set aside from the other parts of the building which are sometimes conspicuously labelled 'Strictly for Members Only.' Libraries are also compelled by law to open their reference collections to the general public. In the larger cities, and an.occasional smaller one, this is of real-value to the community. : , '":■' "This subscription basis of service is perhaps the greatest ■'- weakness 'of Now Zealand public, libraries. Inl ah ago when .widespread popular education is 'conceded:.to"be the foundation of democratic society, these libraries are restricting their lending' services to those who pay a fee. "It is-argued that anyone who is really interested in reading can easily afford to pay. a":fee of ten shillings.per annum; but the fact remains that no New Zealand- library; with th .' exception of Timaru—which; it should be noted has a free lending service;—approaches such high records of use as are common among free libraries in" other countries. It is also unwise to*restrict the use of any service which is'as educational as libraries to those- whoso initial interest is strong enough to induce them to pay directly for it. The experience of England, the; -United States, and Canada is that many people whose reading interest J3 quite '? latent would b& attracted to a free , service and would develop good reading habits. QUALITY OF BEADING AFFECTED. '' The quality of reading is' also affected adversely by the subscription basis. The library must attract the largest possible number of subscribers because it need 3 their fees. With ft

few exceptions this is accomplished by — offering the lightest and most exciting novels, almost to the exclusion of books of greater merit. In many of the smaller libraries novels comprise 95 per cent, of the book stock. If the

library were supported entirely from rates the librarian would be free to "—^ cater for all interests. The number of readers might'be reduced temporarily by this policy, but it would no doubt eventually result in a much wider interest and use of the library just as in other countries. ,' " Membership fees are never sufficient to maintain a well-developed service, , and 'wherever a library is worthy of the ' name it is found that a high, percentage of its cost is met from public funds. "One result,/*^ "theianb; scriptiori plan is' that public libraries are not generally accepted as a natural' and, necessary • part of ' the public educational plan. As they exist today, most of the libraries have little claim to such, a position. Indeed, many of them are little more than groups of subscribers who receive public funds to aid'them'in purchasing light and pleasant reading - matter ' for themlel'vei."