DUNEDIN ATHENÆUM

Evening Star, Issue 21006, 21 January 1932, Page 16

DUNEDIN ATHENÆUM

ANNUAL REPORT

The annual report of tho committee of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics’ Institute states:—

Tho receipts for tho year were 3,415, an increase of £55 from the previous year. Subscriptions increased by £3B. Tho actual expenditure was £3,315. The not result of the year’s finance is that the bank overdraft has been further reduced by £IOO, from £sll to £4ll, in spito of an increased expenditure on books and on library assistance. Tho committee views this result with satisfaction, particularly since receipts and membership have both shown such an increase as, combined with the evidence of book issues, warrants the belief that the institution is making constant progress. During the year the sum of £B9O 10s 2d was expended in tho purchase of books, as against £725 11s lid during 1930. The cost of magazines and newspapers for tho year was £324 18s sd, as against £343 2s 5d for tho previous year. Both sets of costs have been unfortunately affected by the adverse rate of exchange. The net increase in the number of members for the year was 101. The accessions numbered 3,265 works (in 3,280 volumes), of which 2,803 were works of fiction and 462 works in other departments of literature.. The library now contains 38.606 works, represented' by 42,650 volumes. During the year 1,414 volumes were withdrawn from the library and offered for sale to members and others. The total number of issues of books From the library during tho year was 255,247, as against 239,987 for 1930. The details of the issues are as follows :—Science, 320; fine and recreative arts, 129; useful arts, 201; social and political science, 259; philosophy and religion, 109; history and geography, 2,637; biography and. correspondence, 1,793; language and literature, 31; poetry and dramii, 005; miscellaneous works (including magazines in book form), *402; fiction, 248,761. As prizes for proficiency in English and history, seventy-nmo tickets of membership were presented by the committee to the pupils of tho secondary and primary schools of the city and suburbs. The committee is glad that the new departure of selling new and second-hand books appears to have proved useful to members. Members may be interested to know that the librarian will be glad to arrange for indent orders for books. A very gratifying mark of the interest taken by members in the institu’ : on was the offer by Mr Alfred Crawford of a free membership prize, to bo offered annually for competition among boys attending the Technical High School. Air Crawford’s generous gift was gratefully accepted, and Conditions have beep drawn up and approved Joy him and by the committee.