LIBRARY STOCKS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 106, 6 May 1936, Page 11

LIBRARY STOCKS

PURCHASES LAST YEAE

MANY BOOKS OUT OF DATE

"It is estimated that the libraries possess altogether 126,152 volumes," states the City Librarian, Mr. J. Norrie, in his annual report. "During the year 12,733 books were added, as compared with 9800 the previous year. It is obvious that the stock will need complete and substantial revision before it is transferred to its new quarters. The opening of the new library building will be a critical moment in the institution's history, and it is essential that those members of the public who pay their first visit to the library I should be favourably impressed by the comprehensive and authoritative nature of the stock.

"The recent days of economy have been necessary, but regrettable. With the beginning of prosperity, the libraryshould pay its part even more fully in helping the manual and intellectual worker in his work or in his leisure, and for this purpose books are a prime necessity. It would appear that the best way of bringing the collection up to date would be the approval of the principle of a book fund on a rising scale for a fixed period of years.

"Statistics may show a great number of books in stock, but many of them are out of date and have little application to the problems of today. The whole work of the libraries depends on the book stock, and it is only when the expenditure on books is adequate that expenditure on maintenance merely incidental to the books is justified. It is proposed, if funds permit, to revise the whole of the stock of works of non-fiction, replacing superseded books by their more modern equivalents and filling such gaps as may be necessary; in some cases of scientific and technical books, gaps of a comparatively serious nature.

"While the main effort of the libraries has been to improve the standard of reading and to ensure that a proper supply of informative books is available, it must not be. forgotten that a people's library caters also for pleasure. Intellectual appreciation is not enough for a full and useful life —emotional satisfaction is also necessary. Literature in the form of fiction is potent in its influence on good taste, on mentality, and the understanding of human nature. FICTION AND HALF FACTS. "Fiction has for many fallen into disrepute—for there is much modern fiction which is worthless. But even the worst of the modern novels are less harmful than much of the popular superficial writing which, while not fiction, finds a public through half truths, unsound reasoning, and often through insincerity. It is the duty of a library to furnish recreational reading; not necessarily all of it profound, but at least wholesome and of good quality. The need for recreational literature is as great as that for informative literature. It is the library's task to hold the scales as even as may be. "The fiction stock of the libraries compares very favourably with fiction stock elsewhere," stated the librarian. "The most modern method of purchase of fiction has now been adopted. Buying has been standardised as much as possible in other respects as well, but the stock of books of reference and more serious works in the lending department is still very far from the state in which it should be to make a proper showing in the new building. Needless to say, the acquisition of a collection of books such as is proposed would have a thoroughly vitalising effect on the stock as a whole, and should prove a particularly fine asset to the city."